Using more cotton doesn't always mean it needs to be thicker/wider. Try leaving more length rather than width because you know you don't want it to be too tight inside the coil. Practice makes perfect...I expect you'll find your perfect build soon.
Kanger Subtank Mini, RBA...
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I've had the rba on the mini for a few weeks now. The coils that came in the packaging were not bad but I would recommend some 26g kanthal. The little screwdriver for the rba works well for making a good channel but as said before, "fluff dont stuff". Heavy VG juices dont work well and dry hits are always a possibility no matter what juice or wicking method.
Hope that helps
I've been using either 28g or 26g A-1 kanthol, exclusively. All of my juices are 70 VG or lower, and from what I understand 70/30 mix or lower is ideal for the subtank RBA. At least that's what I've read. I've definitely noticed that I have fewer dry hit issues with 50/50 as opposed to 70/30 though. I just love those 70/30 juices...I wouldn't say I'm a cloud chaser, definitely more of a flavor chaser, but it's still very gratifying to see those bigger clouds with the 70/30 mix.
So you would recommend more length as opposed to girth, and then just use the pancake method?
It all comes down to trial and error. Most of the time it's wicking though. You can have the greatest build and device but if the wicking is off, it won't work right.
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Try going down a hole size or two for more flavor, and put more lung into it....
I had same problem , but found that I actually had too much wick. Air hole clogging happens if I let the tank sit with juice in it for a day or so without using, and Iam sure this is aggravated by the cookie type juices I vape.
Just tried this and you're absolutely right...normally I have airflow wide open because I like the draw better, but turned it down one setting and the flavor is much more pronounced. I noticed the vapor density was a little higher with tighter airflow so I'm assuming that is what's contributing to the flavor.
Stopped by this thread because I also occasionally have similar issues with my STM. Tastes great, feels great, slowly starts getting gunky after a few tanks, so I re-wick the same coil (thinking I'm doing it pretty much the same way it was when it was working without an issue), enjoy a few awesome super tasty hits, leave the house and start getting those dry, tasteless hits. It sucks as a recent convert from cigs to vaping and even though I carry a Nautilus Mini tank as a backup, it's usually in a desert flavor, and I pretty much rely on my STM to deliver the goods (because it does 95% of the time). So I understand the importance of getting this tank to work properly.
In addition to the good points mentioned (thanks, all), I'm going to throw a couple other things out there. Keep in mind, I'm still pretty new at vaping, so I'm no expert.
1. Out at work or play or somewhere else you can't take it apart and re wick? Close the air hole down to zero (no airflow at all). Don't hit the fire button. Draw on it hard. Watch for a bubble or two coming up into the tank from the juice channels. Do it again. This has worked for me okay. Doesn't fix the problem, but mitigates the issue until you can get home and fix it up.
2. Related to that. Ive noticed that my STM usually goes off the rails and starts going dry when I am out and about. If she's working at home, she continues to chug along great. The only major differences between at home and out are temp fluctuations and tank position. I've taken to keeping my rig close enough to my body to mitigate much of the temp problems, I think, which leaves tank position. Love the STM because i doesn't leak. That also means it sometimes falls down sideways in my inside jacket pocket. Why I think this matters is air. It was something I noticed on my Lemo Drop, which is has similar juice channels. I could sometimes see an air bubble just inside the juice channel. It's just sitting there right under the lip of the natal chimney part that hits the deck. I'll cold hit (that's my new gaping lingo for the day I'm using for the act of drawing on the device with no power as described earlier) , which usually clears things up. But there he is, like a bouncer at the door. The juice can't get past him. To get him out of the way, I hold the device this way and that, blow, suck and do whatever I can to get him to either go in or out. Eventually it works. I've seen other threads where people have mentioned getting airlocks that affect wicking. I don't know if this is the same thing. For me, it usually happens with the thicker juices, but even the thinner ones have had this issue on occasion.
Good luck
In addition to the good points mentioned (thanks, all), I'm going to throw a couple other things out there. Keep in mind, I'm still pretty new at vaping, so I'm no expert.
1. Out at work or play or somewhere else you can't take it apart and re wick? Close the air hole down to zero (no airflow at all). Don't hit the fire button. Draw on it hard. Watch for a bubble or two coming up into the tank from the juice channels. Do it again. This has worked for me okay. Doesn't fix the problem, but mitigates the issue until you can get home and fix it up.
2. Related to that. Ive noticed that my STM usually goes off the rails and starts going dry when I am out and about. If she's working at home, she continues to chug along great. The only major differences between at home and out are temp fluctuations and tank position. I've taken to keeping my rig close enough to my body to mitigate much of the temp problems, I think, which leaves tank position. Love the STM because i doesn't leak. That also means it sometimes falls down sideways in my inside jacket pocket. Why I think this matters is air. It was something I noticed on my Lemo Drop, which is has similar juice channels. I could sometimes see an air bubble just inside the juice channel. It's just sitting there right under the lip of the natal chimney part that hits the deck. I'll cold hit (that's my new gaping lingo for the day I'm using for the act of drawing on the device with no power as described earlier) , which usually clears things up. But there he is, like a bouncer at the door. The juice can't get past him. To get him out of the way, I hold the device this way and that, blow, suck and do whatever I can to get him to either go in or out. Eventually it works. I've seen other threads where people have mentioned getting airlocks that affect wicking. I don't know if this is the same thing. For me, it usually happens with the thicker juices, but even the thinner ones have had this issue on occasion.
Good luck
Thanks for that! I wonder if air blockage has been my problem all along, and not wicking...because like you said it will work fine on the rebuild and then suddenly I leave the house and it's dry and tasteless. I try to have it sitting upright as much as possible, but it does get set on it's side sometimes (usually not for a very long time), and sometimes if I'm chain vaping I might be holding it at an awkward angle. Usually if I leave it sitting on it's side for longer than a couple minutes I will let it sit upright for a few moments before using it again...I figured that one juice channel not submerged in liquid from sitting it down on its side would go dry, thus I let it sit for a moment upright before using again. My only problem is that I can't see the juice channels inside my subtank mini, so an air bubble wouldn't be very obvious.
I haven't had mine in crazy temperatures yet, but I know that will be a problem in the future. The winter here can have cold spells as low as -60F with the common winter temp being around -20F (at least during Dec/Jan/Feb). Even if I were to hop in my warm truck in the morning...just the quick exposure from walking to the truck might be enough to cause some weird temperature issues. Hard to say until I actually experience it, but just a thought.
Drinking from a bottle of beer without allowing air to pass into it means eventually you can't suck anymore beer out of the bottle.
If the air holes in the bottom of the coil unit are clogged up with gunge then the air can't get into the tank so the liquid can't flow to the wick. Before re-coiling i rinse out the coil unit and give it a good thorough clean. It's maintenance aint it !.
If the air holes in the bottom of the coil unit are clogged up with gunge then the air can't get into the tank so the liquid can't flow to the wick. Before re-coiling i rinse out the coil unit and give it a good thorough clean. It's maintenance aint it !.
Drinking from a bottle of beer without allowing air to pass into it means eventually you can't suck anymore beer out of the bottle.
If the air holes in the bottom of the coil unit are clogged up with gunge then the air can't get into the tank so the liquid can't flow to the wick. Before re-coiling i rinse out the coil unit and give it a good thorough clean. It's maintenance aint it !.
Makes sense!
I'm usually a little OCD about cleaning my STM. If I change flavors at all, or rebuild, then the entire broken down unit is soaked in hot water and dish soap for five minutes or so and then thoroughly rinsed with really hot water. I've heard some clean theirs with clear alcohol or iso-propyl as well...if I decided to let it soak for a bit in one of those solutions should I remove the o-rings and clean those separately? I've heard cleaning plastic with alcohol is no bueno?
I have hydraulic brakes on my bike. If when doing maintenance i spill some mineral oil, the hydraulic fluid, which often happens, then i'll get out the isopropyl and give the entire thing a good clean. There are parts of the hydraulic system that are rubber, the rubber bladder inside the reservior for instance, and these components need to be clean and free of any mineral oil otherwise the oil will leak through under the seals of the bladder. I'm pretty certain isopropyl alcohol has no effect on the structural integrity of rubbers or plastics. The bottle my Isopropyl alcohol is in is plastic.
If you go to the supermarket in the aisle where you'd find toothpaste look for "interdental brushes". These things are perfect for cleaning out tiny little areas such as air holes. Pretty good for cleaning between my teeth too.
<. They're not expensive and they last quite well.
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So I was sitting in my truck and dropped my mod and tank on the floor (I guess technically it kinda slid down my leg and thumped on the floor mat). I must have shaken something loose in the tank because I'm getting a lot of bubbling now and un-vaped juice popping into my mouth. It's weird though because the tank isn't popping or anything...I just take a drag and after exhaling I can feel and taste little globs of juice on my tongue.
Anyway...when I take a drag now I can feel the bubbling and I'm not getting as much vapor now....sigh...I'll have to wait until after work to take a look and see what's going on.
SIDE NOTE: My Goblin RTA and LEMO 2 arrived today!
Anyway...when I take a drag now I can feel the bubbling and I'm not getting as much vapor now....sigh...I'll have to wait until after work to take a look and see what's going on.
SIDE NOTE: My Goblin RTA and LEMO 2 arrived today!
I use Higher VG e-Liquids.
When I got my Kanger Subtank Mini (KSM), I took one look at the e-Liquids Slots in the RBA section and said... "No Way".
20 Minutes later with the edge of a Small Jewelry files, I opened up the Slots about 50% in both the Width and the Depth. With the Larger Slots, I can Back-to-Back Chain Vape if I want on 80% VG.
You might want to consider Opening up your Slots and see if it Helps.
BTW - What size Diam Coils are you building?
I have found that 3.5mm coils work better for High VG e-Liquids verses small diams.
On my STM I've found that when I build the RDA base, if I can't see the juice channels through the cotton I have issues with popping, spitback, wicking and leaking. If you can stand watching Rip, he has this video up on what he calls the pancake method. Right now I'm vaping a max VG juice through the STM....well....ok best way to explain is this....no leaks, no spitback, no pops gurgles or anything and full flavor and clouds at
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Ok, so I was in here (ECF) a few weeks ago because I wanted to know if it were possible to build on a used factory coil since it comes apart and it looked fairly easy. I came across this post: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/coil-builds/656685-how-sub-ohm-rebuild-kanger-occ.html
And found that it was not only doable but super easy! Just rebuilt two tonight (my second and third builds ever) 1st of the night came in at 1.37 Ohm using 28 g Kanthal, 3mm screwdriver and 5 wraps. I was trying to figure out how to drop the ohms while still using the 28 g. I came across the parallel coil on one of the responses and the member said they use a parallel coil wrapped 3 times and they get right at .5 Researched the parallel build method and within 15 minutes I had my 28 g Kanthal wire, Parallel coil wrapped 4 times around a 3 mm screwdriver. Ohm meter reads .61. I am also using cotton bacon v2. I love, love , love this coil. The fact that I was able to build this thing in a factory coil was such a good feeling. I now have about 10 rbas, 11 counting the actual rba that came in the tank kit. The way the coil heats is very unique. Feels like a wave when hitting. Like the coils are heating 1 after the other. It clouds great and the taste is phenomenal!' If you haven't taken a stab at it, try it. You might just be impressed at the results. I will be testing further tomorrow. Happy vaping!
And found that it was not only doable but super easy! Just rebuilt two tonight (my second and third builds ever) 1st of the night came in at 1.37 Ohm using 28 g Kanthal, 3mm screwdriver and 5 wraps. I was trying to figure out how to drop the ohms while still using the 28 g. I came across the parallel coil on one of the responses and the member said they use a parallel coil wrapped 3 times and they get right at .5 Researched the parallel build method and within 15 minutes I had my 28 g Kanthal wire, Parallel coil wrapped 4 times around a 3 mm screwdriver. Ohm meter reads .61. I am also using cotton bacon v2. I love, love , love this coil. The fact that I was able to build this thing in a factory coil was such a good feeling. I now have about 10 rbas, 11 counting the actual rba that came in the tank kit. The way the coil heats is very unique. Feels like a wave when hitting. Like the coils are heating 1 after the other. It clouds great and the taste is phenomenal!' If you haven't taken a stab at it, try it. You might just be impressed at the results. I will be testing further tomorrow. Happy vaping!
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