Kayfun Lite Plus weird smell

[Bauk]

Got my kayfun Lite Plus yesterday. My friend was with me for help and instructions since he has KF 3.1 for a while and is making excellent setups.

We tried two different Kanthals, two different silica wick 2 and 3 mm and every time it has weird smell when lit up. Smells like some kind of machine oil or God knows what. We cleaned it good before making setups of course then we cleaned it again and again. That smell stays... It is not metallic taste, it is not short circuit, it is just that strong weird smell that covers up almost all flavor of any liquid we put in. Any ideas please?

Thanks and best regards!

 

[State O' Flux]

The only things I can think of are, when you cleaned it, did you separate the positive screw from the block and remove the insulator... and have you tried silica from a different lot, or cotton?

 

[Impulso]

I had a wierd taste on my kfl+ for the first half tank, but i was also using unboiled crappy cotton, which could have contributed. Ever since that time, and moving to organic boiled cotton, its been nothing but sheer bliss. Use it for a day and see whether that goes away.

 

[Bauk]

The only things I can think of are, when you cleaned it, did you separate the positive screw from the block and remove the insulator... and have you tried silica from a different lot, or cotton?

I am sure we didn't remove insulator. Is that the plastic thing under the positive screw? We remove that completely for use? And yes we tried 2 diff lots of silica, he tried ecowool too, diff kanthals etc...


Impulso, I can't use it because it is unusable, it is that ugly, it is like machine oil...

State O Flux, we just checked, my friends kayfun 3.1 still has insulator on it after month of using and it works perfectly.

 

[State O' Flux]

I am sure we didn't remove insulator. Is that the plastic thing under the positive screw? We remove that completely for use? And yes we tried 2 diff lots of silica, he tried ecowool too, diff kanthals etc...

State O Flux, we just checked, my friends kayfun 3.1 still has insulator on it after month of using and it works perfectly.

No... not remove it for use, rather, remove it for a complete cleaning and reinstall it. I had a KFL that had a bit of oily grit under the insulator - so that was the basis of the suggestion.

Did you torch the silica and ekowool prior to use to burn off any impurities?

 

[Bauk]

No... not remove it for use, rather, remove it for a complete cleaning and reinstall it. I had a KFL that had a bit of oily grit under the insulator - so that was the basis of the suggestion.

Did you torch the silica and ekowool prior to use to burn off any impurities?

Ah ok that explains it, no we didn't remove it for cleaning and yes we did torch silica before use. Some people in retail store suggested boiling in hot water with plastic parts removed first. We'll see

Thanks for responses guys

 

[Vicshalls]

I got a different clone and it had that same taste. I put it in a soap and water mix. I used dawn and it cut all that machine oil. Grant it I have another taste now and about ready to give up.

 

[retired1]

Didn't see it mentioned here, but one should also anneal the kanthal before using as well.

 

[that odd guy]

Wash everything in baby dish soap to get rid of any oils in the machining process and the baby soap doesn't leave any residues. Torch your kanthal and wick until it glows, or boil your cotton if you're using cotton. Wash your hands before assembly since oils on your hands can transmit unwanted flavors to your build.

 

[Impulso]

I also find that the coils have this nasty taste if you are not torching them, or at least heating the element/kanthal for a while before you put any kind of wicks in. I don't know whether different kanthals have different tastes associated with them?

I'm sure you are already doing that, but i didn't the first time even before my kfl+ and man, that had a nasty smell and taste to it.