Kanger ProTank 2 short Wick Life

[Go4iT]

I'm new to using tank systems, and recently purchased an Innokin itazte MVP. It came with 2 iClear 16 tanks, but I'd read on the forums here that the Kanger ProTank was the way to go, and I do like the idea of a bottom coil. My question is, how long should the wicks last? I've been vaping a dark caramel/butter rum juice and the wicks only last about 2 days. This seems crazy, as even the iclear 16 tanks with the top coil and long wicks last about a week. Any ideas?
Thanks for any help, as I'm a bit frustrated. Kurt

 

[Wizard Bliss]

HI
What I do . . . every refill of the tank I pull off the head and rinse it and drop it in a glass of water. Then I put on a head that I rinsed, soaked, and let dry. I've been doing that for two months, three tanks, Kanger mini pro II, and two Evods all take the same head. Every so often I pull the flavor wicks and replace them with cotton embroidery thread that I boiled < 2 mm. >. So far I've been lucky. The flavor wicks keep the tanks from leaking at all. And I dry burn the coils when I change the top wicks. It's pretty much a habit now, so I'm used to doing it that way. Just my two cents... good luck.
Blessings and Joy on your journey,
Bliss

 

[Art02]

How much are you vaping? Dark liquids clog the coils up. Soak the coil in hot water to clean it. I am probably using 3 tanks now, and I am not sure if I have replaced a coil. So I have had 3 coils that have lasted me 2 weeks each and they are still good.

I got the iTaste MVP V2 too. It is good. I got the Vamo V5. I think I like it a little more.

I like the Protank 2 Mini's.

When the tank is almost empty, take it apart and soak it in hot water. It makes it better again. I think I heard that the atomizers last from 1 week to a month.

Don't throw anything away.

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

What is your vaping technique, long hard drag like on an analog, or puff puff puff like a cigar, long hard drag dries out the tiny wick and it burns the juice...not good

Also thick juice wicks slower, unless you do a simple "Tuneup" on the coils

 

[ZeroOhms]

Great posts.
Frequency of changing atomizer head can be frustrating but it becomes easy when you do it for a while.
1) Warm water rinse
This helps a lot. Rotate few heads. Change the head on every refill for dark juice and every few refill for lighter juice. Once you take out the head, rinse under warm water (or soak in a cup of hot water). Blow on the bottom hole and Let it dry over night. If you use 4 - 5 heads in rotation, you can let the head dry for few days. This reduces the speed of gunk building up on the wick.
2) Dry burn
After a while, atomizer will taste burnt no matter what you do. A quick dry burn will remove that. I usually pile up used atomizer head and dry burn them in a batch. I can usually do this 3 - 4 times per head. 5 heads will last me over a month or longer. But little over $1 per head, I toss them after about a month.

3) Cotton wick and recoil
I have done this many times in the past but I don't do it anymore. Just not worth the hassle. If you want to build coils or mess with cotton wicks, do it on RDA instead.

 

[Mrs C]

Dark and sweet will trash a wick pretty quickly. I use a coffee caramel vanilla mint that requires a wick change after 1 fill up.
No amount of soaking/rinsing will help.

If you use those kind of juices learning to replace wicks will save you on replacement cost.
Replacing with cotton is quick and easy once you get the hang of it.

 

[Go4iT]

HI
What I do . . . every refill of the tank I pull off the head and rinse it and drop it in a glass of water. Then I put on a head that I rinsed, soaked, and let dry. I've been doing that for two months, three tanks, Kanger mini pro II, and two Evods all take the same head. Every so often I pull the flavor wicks and replace them with cotton embroidery thread that I boiled < 2 mm. >. So far I've been lucky. The flavor wicks keep the tanks from leaking at all. And I dry burn the coils when I change the top wicks. It's pretty much a habit now, so I'm used to doing it that way. Just my two cents... good luck.
Blessings and Joy on your journey,
Bliss

Thanks so much for the info. I wasn't aware that you could clean and re-use the heads and replace the short wicks in them. I'll give this a try. Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

 

[Go4iT]

How much are you vaping? Dark liquids clog the coils up. Soak the coil in hot water to clean it. I am probably using 3 tanks now, and I am not sure if I have replaced a coil. So I have had 3 coils that have lasted me 2 weeks each and they are still good.

I got the iTaste MVP V2 too. It is good. I got the Vamo V5. I think I like it a little more.

I like the Protank 2 Mini's.

When the tank is almost empty, take it apart and soak it in hot water. It makes it better again. I think I heard that the atomizers last from 1 week to a month.

Don't throw anything away.

I vape about 1ml per day, and the guys at e-cig crib in MN told me the same thing, that you go through more coils/heads when vaping darker liquids. I really like their "Mike's Blend" which is a caramel/buttered rum flavor that's so good I could vape it in my sleep. The only bad thing, I'm learning is that because it's dark, it will burn out the coils faster. I should go through the new trash bag I just put in and pull out the coil I just through away and clean it like you recommended. If I keep going through coils every 2 days I'll be hanging out on a street corner with a cardboard sign. I've also got a Halo Triton tank system which I use as a pocket device, and the cheap coils in it last a lot longer than the Kanger bottom coil. I figured I must be doing something wrong. I'm hoping to move up to a Provari or an Itaste 134 (that thing is a monster, though). Thanks for your reply, it's very helpful.

 

[Go4iT]

What is your vaping technique, long hard drag like on an analog, or puff puff puff like a cigar, long hard drag dries out the tiny wick and it burns the juice...not good

Also thick juice wicks slower, unless you do a simple "Tuneup" on the coils

I let the device do the work for me, so I take very light puffs. I'd be interested in learning more about the simple Tuneup on the coils, so I'll follow the link. Thanks for your help, this forum is awesome!

 

[Go4iT]

Dark and sweet will trash a wick pretty quickly. I use a coffee caramel vanilla mint that requires a wick change after 1 fill up.
No amount of soaking/rinsing will help.

If you use those kind of juices learning to replace wicks will save you on replacement cost.
Replacing with cotton is quick and easy once you get the hang of it.

Thanks for the advice, Mrs. C! It sounds like the juice I'm using is hard on the wicks, but it's the best I've tried. I'm not a fan of most tobacco flavors because they taste like burnt peanuts. I found a "hybrid" tobacco flavor called KY4 that's an updated recipe of the RY4, and doesn't taste like peanuts, but it's still not as good as the Mike's Blend. I'm going to talk to the pros at e-cig crib to learn how to rebuild and wrap the coils myself. They say it's pretty easy, and it sounds like it will save a lot of money. What type of cotton do you use? Is it available in a spool like the other wick material? I'm also thinking of trying out the new (to me) Kanger Aerotank. It sounds like it's better than the Pro Tanks from what I've been reading. Any experience with them? Thanks for your help and advice! You folks are the best!

 

[Go4iT]

Great posts.
Frequency of changing atomizer head can be frustrating but it becomes easy when you do it for a while.
1) Warm water rinse
This helps a lot. Rotate few heads. Change the head on every refill for dark juice and every few refill for lighter juice. Once you take out the head, rinse under warm water (or soak in a cup of hot water). Blow on the bottom hole and Let it dry over night. If you use 4 - 5 heads in rotation, you can let the head dry for few days. This reduces the speed of gunk building up on the wick.
2) Dry burn
After a while, atomizer will taste burnt no matter what you do. A quick dry burn will remove that. I usually pile up used atomizer head and dry burn them in a batch. I can usually do this 3 - 4 times per head. 5 heads will last me over a month or longer. But little over $1 per head, I toss them after about a month.

3) Cotton wick and recoil
I have done this many times in the past but I don't do it anymore. Just not worth the hassle. If you want to build coils or mess with cotton wicks, do it on RDA instead.

Thanks ZeroOhms! Wow, I'm learning a lot in just a short time on this forum. I'm really glad I signed up here! I won't be throwing out the coils now, and will follow your rotation method. I have a couple questions... what is an RDA, and what does "dry burn" mean? I suppose it's explained on the forum, so I'll have to check it out. Sounds like it's' a huge money saver. Thanks again, you just saved me a ton of money!

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

Thanks ZeroOhms! Wow, I'm learning a lot in just a short time on this forum. I'm really glad I signed up here! I won't be throwing out the coils now, and will follow your rotation method. I have a couple questions... what is an RDA, and what does "dry burn" mean? I suppose it's explained on the forum, so I'll have to check it out. Sounds like it's' a huge money saver. Thanks again, you just saved me a ton of money!

RBA= Rebuildable Atomizer
RDA = Rebuildable Drip Atomizer

Dry burning is firing the coils on a wick that won't burn OR without a wick even present (most stock coils come with silica wick which can withstand the heat generated by bone dry wicking material and the coil turning bright red)



DON'T dry burn cotton!

 

[maxd]

pls, dont rush to RDA and start from RBA

RDA might require a bit more time to get to it.

 

[Mrs C]

Rewicking and rebuilding protank/evod coils is a breeze. There are several posts with very detailed instructions and pictures on the forum, also a bunch of you tube vids. You can get the cotton at any pharmacy either sterile or organic. You can get wire from various vendors both online and B&M. It may take a few tries but once you get the hang of it you can make an old head better than new in just a couple of minutes.

 

[revco]

I go entirely by taste...you'll know when it's time to change out the atomizer. Most of the time the flavor will change, but sometimes you'll just notice reduced performance. As far as changing juices, I regularly swap on the fly without any cleaning...but I only do that with compatible flavors. For example, I might take a butterscotch and put it on a previous cinnamon roll...but I wouldn't take a lime and put it in a baked good most likely. When I want to try to restore a coil, I'll usually drop it in some Everclear overnight and can restore it much of the time. Sometimes a flavor just won't go away...in which case, it's time to just replace.

I really got into rebuilding the Kanger coils and that's probably the biggest reason I prefer them over others. It's really pretty easy once you figure it out and you can get better than stock results most of the time. Once I started doing this, it's pretty simple to switch out the coil...and since it only costs pennies to rebuild, I find myself swapping out for rebuilt more than I used to. If you're the handy type, you might try giving a go at it...it just takes a few relatively simple/inexpensive materials and tools you probably have lying around.

Good luck with your journey! Glad you decided to join us!

 

[Huckleberried]

I had to give up one of my favorite flavors because it was dark and sweet. A real coil clogger. Didn't take long to find a flavor to replace it, though, lol.

There are some great videos on youtube for dry burning and also "rebuilding a protank coil" videos. It's the same build for an Evod, as well. That,and this forum, are how I learned. There's a learning curve, but you'll get there. That's why "don't throw anything away". Great advice from that post.

You can buy a skein of Sugar and Cream yarn from Hobby Lobby or Michael's or whatever DIY craft shop. Someone said Wal-mart sells Peaches and Cream yarn. They're 100% cotton, easy to thread (I remove one strand from whatever I cut and save that for flavor wicks if necessary). Buy white.

Good luck to you!

 

[Weizenheimer]

accumulate a decent number of used ones, then on each pull off the top post, remove the loose wick material on top and toss it, soak them overnight in cheap vodka, rinse with water, dry fire without the top post on until any left over gunk is burned off, replace the loose wick you tossed with some new, replace top post, and reuse. Getting around 15 or so of them will allow you to go months without replacing\rebuilding if you follow this cleaning method first.

Some people use them without the loose wick on top. I tried it on a couple, and they worked great until my tanks were about half empty. Then they got gurgly. I put a snip of wick on top and they worked great all the way to empty.

 

[WakeUpDead]

Most people are using just the good old 100% Organic non bleached cotton balls. Unroll one, pull out a small piece, roll into a wick, tread through coil, snip ends and bam, best tasting wick out today IMO! Have heard people use cotton yarn or thread, some say to boil the cotton, I dont and havent had any issues. As long as you get the Organic non bleached cotton you should be fine.

Replacing the wick is easy, if your going to make new coils too yes please watch Youtube how to's and or speak with your local shop, just make sure you understand the Ohm's law so you dont blow up your battery or pop coils fry your tank.

Good luck and never forget why we vape, to live a longer life, a tobacco free life!

 

[Go4iT]

Awesome! Thanks WarHawk... The video was very helpful!

 

[Go4iT]

Rewicking and rebuilding protank/evod coils is a breeze. There are several posts with very detailed instructions and pictures on the forum, also a bunch of you tube vids. You can get the cotton at any pharmacy either sterile or organic. You can get wire from various vendors both online and B&M. It may take a few tries but once you get the hang of it you can make an old head better than new in just a couple of minutes.

Thanks Mrs C! All of this info is GREATLY appreciated