No smoke from Protank

[ashao]

Hey everyone,

I recently took apart my Kanger protank because the battery was shorting when I used it. I seemed to have fixed the issue by taking out the pin at the bottom of the head, and replacing a small wire that was sticking out from the rubber part. However, now I am getting no smoke from the protank. I thought maybe the battery wasn't connecting to the head, so I tried to both pull and pin from the head down a bit, and nudge the pin from the battery up, with no success. I've tried two different batteries - both of which work with cartomizers. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Huckleberried]

Though I'm still quite a rookie, my guess is the wire from your coil got displaced so it's not firing it.

 

[riseabovethestorm]

Just pointing out a discrepancy in your terminology (yes, I will be that guy and do it).

If your vaping equipment is "smoking", that wouldn't be a good thing anyway.

Now for actual technical advice:

Are you trimming the coil wire as short as physically possible? If you're contacting the base with either one of your leads, that could lead to the short.

 

[NiNi]

I think you cut the wire to your coil and it's not making a complete circuit. I think this will explain it: Nano Micro Coil build for Kanger Protank 2 - YouTube
Go to the 3:00 minute mark if you don't want to watch the whole thing. There's 2 places on the head where the ends of the coil wire make contact....hope that's what you were talking about

 

[riseabovethestorm]

^^

Both of the other posters answers seem logical, although NiNi's I think is more likely. If the wire is too short, it won't make contact with the main body of the base (which becomes your negative contact). If it's too short on the other end, it won't make contact with the metal center pin (which, I believe, becomes your positive contact). Obviously, the two ends need to touch opposite polarities to complete the circuit and heat your coil. If either wire is making contact with the threaded base, you will almost invariably short out. It may be one, the other, or a combination of both.

As far as the wire being shifted, I'm not sure that would be too much of an issue as long as the wire ends are touching the positive and negative posts without touching any other metal components, since positive is positive, negative is negative and they're isolated using the rubber grommet in the center.

Experiment. A lot.

My usual disclaimer: I ain't no expert.

 

[DaveP]

Seeing is understanding. Here's another video in which Grimm Green rebuilds a Protank head. Sometimes, multiple views covers it all.

If you have an ohm meter check the resistance between the center contact and the outer ring. It should read the same as the coil rating on the side of the head.

 

[NiNi]

OP said:

taking out the pin at the bottom of the head, and replacing a small wire that was sticking out from the rubber part

nothing about replacing the entire coil, so I'm wondering if he defeated the contact?...........<---does that make sense?

 

[ashao]

Thanks for the advice!

I haven't cut the coil at all so I would be surprised if it was cut too short. The only thing I did was remove a wick. However it is possible that it shifted... I will check out the videos and let you know.

 

[riseabovethestorm]

OP said:

nothing about replacing the entire coil, so I'm wondering if he defeated the contact?...........<---does that make sense?

Makes absolute sense. No contact, no circuit, no heat, no vapor.

 

[DaveP]

OP said:

nothing about replacing the entire coil, so I'm wondering if he defeated the contact?...........<---does that make sense?

Yep, replacing the head would do it. Now, he gets to learn how to rebuild. For the price of a 5 pack, you can buy enough wick and Kanthal 32 gauge wire to build a pile of heads. It's pretty easy to do once you have done one successfully. It's a great job to do while watching TV and YouTube is a great tutorial.

Anyone remember when you had to go and buy a book to learn how to do things?

 

[ashao]

Hey again,

I did it! I looked at those videos but found this video most useful: Kanger Protank Bottom Coil Rebuild HD Close Up - YouTube anyways, the problem was definitely lack of circuit, so I took apart the head and rebuilt it (I'm sitting in the middle of nowhere in Lebanon so buying coil / wick right now isn't an option...) I had to unwind the coil a bit so there are 2 less wraps - what will the effect of this be on the vape? And as soon as I can I'll be ordering wicks and coils, because building them is so easy! (you may detect here a sense of pride in myself )

 

[crxess]

You are now running a Lower ohm coil - How low I cannot say, nor can I comment on it being safe.
IF the head was a 2.5ohm or higher coil, you may be within safe limits for your battery.(1.5 ohm or higher)
Your charge will not last as long as lower ohms draws more current.
Until you are comfortable doing true rebuilds it may be best to always carry an extra head or two.

 

[ashao]

It was 2.5. I'm using an ego-twist and was using it on 4.8 but now 3.2 seems to work well. What could be unsafe about it? I would rather not use it if it's unsafe, but then will be stuck with cigarettes for the next few weeks.
Yes have learned my lesson and will always carry extra heads now...

 

[NiNi]

Ashao, what's the attitude there in Denmark about vaping? Do they have any vape shops down on the walking streets there in Copenhagen? I swear, when I was there in 1973, an exporter my dad did business with was sucking on some kind of filter thing every time we visited her, she had quit smoking because she ran a fabric company. I'm kinda curious as to what it was.

OT: I was also over there when the Little Mermaid in the harbor lost her head

 

[ashao]

Vaping is becoming more and more common in Denmark. I see ecigarettes in public all the time now (particularly middle aged people? I find this really interesting). There are several shops, and a basic ecigarette is now sold in my local grocery store. There is confusion as to whether or not selling eliquids with nicotine is legal, so some shops do sell it, some shops don't, and some sell it only if you ask for it specifically. It's expensive, but then again everything is in Denmark. I made the mistake of ordering from Fasttech last month and got hit with a huge customs bill, making it the same price as if I had bought it in my local shop, so I'll continue to do that

And about the little mermaid - which time? Apparently it's a favourite past time up there...

 

[NiNi]

1969, I was 8? That's like way back there, was there the 4 days before Christmas...crazy flight back and forth, stayed at the Royal Hotel....I hate marzipan......
Yep, I'm Swedish descent, 2nd generation American
I don't know why customs is so high in Scandinavia, going in or coming out. My dad paid an arm and a leg in his Scandinavian import business on everything that came from there.

 

[ashao]

You hate marzipan?! Impossible. I work at a bakery and that's all I eat when there

Import taxes are high because of a lot of reasons, most of it because it's a (semi) socialist country. Car import tax is around 125%.

 

[crxess]

It was 2.5. I'm using an ego-twist and was using it on 4.8 but now 3.2 seems to work well. What could be unsafe about it? I would rather not use it if it's unsafe, but then will be stuck with cigarettes for the next few weeks.
Yes have learned my lesson and will always carry extra heads now...

If it seems to be Vaping about the same at 3.2v as it did higher, you are probably okay. Would recommend not cranking this head any higher.
Worst case would be shorting the battery controller.
Simple to monitor. If the unit shuts down suddenly - wait a minute before restarting.
If it shuts down a few times in a row, the protect circuit is trying to save it. Recognize this and stop using the tank.

 

[ashao]

Great, thanks. I don't want to ruin the battery, more expensive to replace than just the head So far so good, but will keep an eye on it. Thanks!