Kanger Subtank Mini RBA keeps having a burnt taste

[guitarfanatic20]

Hello all!
I have a Kanger Subtank Mini with the mini RBA base and I keep getting dry hits/burnt taste. I have placed many different thicknesses of cotton wick in it and played around with the length of the wick and I still keep getting dry hits and a burnt taste. I wrapped the coil myself and it is 0.35 ohms with a diameter of 3.0 mm. I used 23 AWG Kanthal wire and used a kuro concepts coil wrapper. I use 100% VG juice and I usually let it sit for over an hour before I start vaping it and it still happens. The cotton is not bunched up in the base and I even tried not covering the juice channels and I still run into the same problem. The coil has no hot spots at all either. What should I try next?

 

[tedigram]

Do you mean the literal juice channels, like you have the old RBA with the juice slots at the bottom, near the deck, not the new RBA with the round juice holes in the side of the RBA?

If so you may just flat be out of luck, since the old RBA is notoriously bad at wicking high VG juices. From what I've seen you may have some luck with the "pancake" wicking method, or you can use a file or dremel to widen the juice channels yourself. Or if you're really ambitious I've seen people who've drilled the round juice holes into the old RBA sleeve themselves.

 

[guitarfanatic20]

This is my coil that I built on it.

 

[guitarfanatic20]

The coil seems fine but the wicking is where I run into trouble.

 

[guitarfanatic20]

No matter how much wick or how little I use, it always dry burns/has a burnt taste. I even tried to avoid covering the juice channels (the holes on the sides) and cut the wick in half and put them on both sides of the hole and it still tasted burnt.

 

[guitarfanatic20]

Should I try Organic Cotton Balls? I use Japanese Organic Cotton and I don't use very much of it at all.

 

[tedigram]

Oh, you do have the new RBA. Well in that case I'm not sure. With proper wicking it should handle high VG fine, and you certainly shouldn't be getting dry hits right away.

Try working with the minimum amount of wicking possible—less can often be more in that RBA. Also, when you're first breaking in a wick, make sure to start at a very low wattage/voltage, then slowly work your way up to the level where you normally vape.

Other than that I'm not sure what else to suggest, it's strange that you'd get so much dry hitting.

*edit* Maybe let's narrow down what you consider to be a "lot" and a "little" wicking. How do you cut your wick? My procedure is to hold the cotton up to the coil, then cut the strip about 1mm wider than the outside width of the coil. But start by first pulling the big organic cotton pad in half, so it's half the thickness it comes in out of the package. That should be a very workable wick size for you, it's what I use to vape 70-90VG. If you're still getting dry hits with that amount of wick, there must be some other variable in play here.

*edit edit* Also if you could get a clear picture of your wick setup before and after it's primed and wet, that might help

 

[guitarfanatic20]

Oh, you do have the new RBA. Well in that case I'm not sure. With proper wicking it should handle high VG fine, and you certainly shouldn't be getting dry hits right away.

Try working with the minimum amount of wicking possible—less can often be more in that RBA. Also, when you're first breaking in a wick, make sure to start at a very low wattage/voltage, then slowly work your way up to the level where you normally vape.

Other than that I'm not sure what else to suggest, it's strange that you'd get so much dry hitting.

*edit* Maybe let's narrow down what you consider to be a "lot" and a "little" wicking. How do you cut your wick? My procedure is to hold the cotton up to the coil, then cut the strip about 1mm wider than the outside width of the coil. But start by first pulling the big organic cotton pad in half, so it's half the thickness it comes in out of the package. That should be a very workable wick size for you, it's what I use to vape 70-90VG. If you're still getting dry hits with that amount of wick, there must be some other variable in play here.

*edit edit* Also if you could get a clear picture of your wick setup before and after it's primed and wet, that might help

I ended up using organic cotton balls from the store and I have not had one dry hit/burnt taste from it at all. I guess the japanese cotton I was using wasn't very good. Thanks for all the help!