Kayfun lite with built-in metallic taste

[Jerry J]

I am sure that I am doing something wrong as most folks love this thing. I'm about to chuck this thing in the river despite the $110 I spent on it.

BUT, I've rebuilt my KFL at least several dozen times and it ALWAYS gives this horrible metallic taste. Not burnt but very distinct metallic taste. Even when I dry burn the coil/wick setup just after the build I notice the metallic smell. I've tried this KFL on a Nemesis and a Poldiac with AW 18650 and 18490 fully charged batteries.

Details:
0.9 ohms, 28awg A1 Kanthal, Ekowool 2mm or 3mm, wick well away from the channels.

 

[maxd]

may be different type for rebuild ?

what exactly do you do now?

 

[Pensilac]

From what I've read on here, a lot of them come with a lot of machine oil on them and need to be cleaned quite a bit before use. I rinsed mine under very hot water for 15-20 minutes and cleaned with q-tips and some paper towels before using mine and have not had that issue though. Have read of some people needing to boil theirs, save for the clear tank and o-rings, or wash with soap multiple times to get the taste out.

 

[Thrasher]

why would you keep the wick away from the channels, it has to lay across or touch them to absorb juice properly. the way it is designed the juice doesnt really come up inside too far past the channels so most likey your getting some nice dry hits at .9 ohms...........

burning ekowool....... mmm tasty.


the original build

 

[tricci]

Hmmm...I have a Kayfun 3.1es, use it everyday and no metallic taste. I never had great success with ekowool, it always tasted off to me. Have you tried a 1 to 1.4 ohm micro coil with a cotton wick. Imo, that's how a Kayfun truly shines.

 

[cghildreth]

Pics of setup please. Sounds like a hotspot/wicking issue. Have you tried a micro coil with rolled cotton ball wick? Super easy to setup on a kayfun with flawless results. I tend to use the first setup shown in this video:

Chimney Micro Coil Build In A Kayfun Lite - YouTube

 

[kabonk]

My Russian had a ton of machine oil deep in it I had to completely dissemble it and gave it 4 baths in dawn and hot water from my coffee maker and then followed that up with a a soak in isopropyl alcohol

 

[Spazmelda]

I recently had a similar issue and was advised on here to wash it really really well. Take it all apart, take all the screws out. I did that, washed it in my ultrasonic jewelry cleaner with Dawn and rinsed it well, and the taste disappeared. Not sure if you've done that, but if not, I'd give it a try.

 

[Paul.K]

+1 to keeping the wick on the channels. Also try cotton. You'd be surprised how well it works on the KF's. One last thing is if you just got the KF the first cleaning is very important as some come shipped with machining oil in it. Very hot water bath followed by warm soapy water wash with a toothbrush is recommended.

 

[Rule62]

+1 on the cleaning out before use. Also, it should be mentioned: When some of us early builders on this forum started fooling with these things, myself included, we were giving out some information which has later been found to actually be not the best. Subsequently, some newer users who came along after us, and may have only read the first couple pages of the Kayfun threads, may have adopted our early advice as gospel, even though later on this advice was found not to be good.
We were mostly under the impression that the wicks, whether cotton, ekowool, silica, or whatever, had to be shoved up against the inner wall of the shelf, and kept well away from the juice channels. The fear was that if the wick material was over the juice slots, they would plug. It just isn't true.
The wicking material needs to be over the slots, in order to sop up the juice as the user draws. Otherwise, the juice will just go back down into the tank when the user stops drawing.

 

[Jerry J]

+1 on the cleaning out before use. Also, it should be mentioned: When some of us early builders on this forum started fooling with these things, myself included, we were giving out some information which has later been found to actually be not the best. Subsequently, some newer users who came along after us, and may have only read the first couple pages of the Kayfun threads, may have adopted our early advice as gospel, even though later on this advice was found not to be good.
We were mostly under the impression that the wicks, whether cotton, ekowool, silica, or whatever, had to be shoved up against the inner wall of the shelf, and kept well away from the juice channels. The fear was that if the wick material was over the juice slots, they would plug. It just isn't true.
The wicking material needs to be over the slots, in order to sop up the juice as the user draws. Otherwise, the juice will just go back down into the tank when the user stops drawing.

Gotta love a bird owner!

I've had this KFL for several months now....just kept getting frustrated with the off taste. I was one of those that was pushing the wick away from the channels. In fact with the build that I tried this morning I pushed away from the channels.

To back up, I did wash and scrub this thing out multiple times right from the very beginning. The coil is about a 1 to 1.5mm directly above the air supply hole on the deck. I think that the coil is a 3/4 wrap on a 3/16ths drill bit.

I would try cotton but I was thinking that if I was having so much trouble with the Eko then cotton would be worse.

I'm going to sterilize it again and give it a shot with the wick on the channels.

Thank you all for the help and suggestions.

 

[Portertown]

Gotta love a bird owner!

I've had this KFL for several months now....just kept getting frustrated with the off taste. I was one of those that was pushing the wick away from the channels. In fact with the build that I tried this morning I pushed away from the channels.

To back up, I did wash and scrub this thing out multiple times right from the very beginning. The coil is about a 1 to 1.5mm directly above the air supply hole on the deck. I think that the coil is a 3/4 wrap on a 3/16ths drill bit.

I would try cotton but I was thinking that if I was having so much trouble with the Eko then cotton would be worse.

I'm going to sterilize it again and give it a shot with the wick on the channels.

Thank you all for the help and suggestions.

When you cleaned the Kayfun, did you remove the center positive pin from the bottom 510 connector? This pin/screw is hollow and holds the positive post block. I have found on two of my units that there was an oily(almost like grease) glob in the air chamber that this pin goes through and in the pin itself.

 

[Jerry J]

Well, well! We have success! Thank you all for all of your help. It has been VERY APPRECIATED to say the least.

Now the rundown...
- Completely torn down (even the "center positive post"...thank you for that suggestion Portertown)
- Washed in boiling soapy water 2x.
- Rinsed in boiling water 2x
- Rebuilt wick with boiled cotton
- Cotton wick "laying across the juice channels"
Now it works and tastes like one of the most popular hybrid gennies should. I'm happy!

Oh, and I have a confession to make...I didn't rebuild my coil. I left it during the sanitizing operation and dry burned it before putting the cotton wick in.

But now for some reason when I add juice through the juice port on the bottom I get juice leaking from the airhole. What a mess! Fortunately I make my own juice. I'm certain that I am doing something wrong here. Or is this sacrificial juice to the vape gods ?

 

[Spazmelda]

Hm, the sacrifice should have already been covered with all the $ you paid for it. Lol. I don't think it should be leaking out of there, but I'm not experienced enough to know how to fix it. Is everything screwed together tight? Are you tilting it toward the air hole when you fill it? That's all I got...

 

[Paul.K]

Juice leaking from the airhole is probably from the juice you soaked the wicks in before you assembled everything. If not then could be juice leaking from top chimney not screwed all the way down or top o-ring above the chimney not set. If you notice leaking or flooding you will know that this is the cause. Glad you got it tasting better now.

 

[Jerry J]

Hm, the sacrifice should have already been covered with all the $ you paid for it. Lol. I don't think it should be leaking out of there, but I'm not experienced enough to know how to fix it. Is everything screwed together tight? Are you tilting it toward the air hole when you fill it? That's all I got...

I'll make certain that I tilt the airhole up when I re-fill next time. Good suggestion! Yes everything is nice and snug.

 

[Jerry J]

Juice leaking from the airhole is probably from the juice you soaked the wicks in before you assembled everything. If not then could be juice leaking from top chimney not screwed all the way down or top o-ring above the chimney not set. If you notice leaking or flooding you will know that this is the cause. Glad you got it tasting better now.

Yes, I juiced it like crazy when I first put it back together. That makes sense to have that flowing out the airhole. It all did stop after a awhile. I just wanted to make sure that I had enough juice on the cotton when I started it up. I guess I got a bit carried away.

Sorry for the off topic, but....Hey I notice that you have an Origen. I L-O-V-E my Origen! What an incredible dripper!

 

[Paul.K]

Yes I love my Origen rda. Side by side I like it better than the other rda's I've tried. At home it's all I use and love it. It does go through juice like crazy tho!!!!