Penelope flooding issues

[dokebilee]

Hey everyone,

I've been using the dual coil setup (Bishopheals) on my penelope and have been experiencing some flooding issues on a consistent basis. After making a new dual coil, it will start to flood after 2-3 days of usage, and it doesn't matter if the juice control is slightly open or wide open. I'm going to take a guess and say that the immense heat generated from the dual coils is causing some pressure in the chambers.

I've tried different variety of juices, from thick to thin, and it will flood regardless. Also note that the dual coil is on a dual wick. I've also shortened the length of the wicks that go along the channels to see if that was the issue but it wasn't. Every time it would flood I would just close the juice control and blow out the excess juice, then vape again for a bit, then open the juice control very slightly, and finally I would vape away until it would eventually flood again.

Anyone have any solution to this problem of mine?

EDIT : I forgot to mention that I close the top cap very slowly to avoid any flooding from the beginning.

 

[bacc.vap]

I don't use DC's so if that has anything to do with it i can't say. The only time I get flooding is after a refill, but I've been able to eliminate that pretty much using a certain refilling protocol, which i'll list in case it pertains.

My Penny refill Method
1. Close mouthpiece all the way.
2. Screw off top cap, making sure to keep mouthpice closed, because it will screw open when turning the cap.
3. Fill with juice, not all the way to the top, just to the point I can see juice has reached the level of the stop. This air gap helps alot, at least I thnk it does.
4. Install cap ( slowly is best, but I have found sometimes not necessary)
5. Start vaping with mouthpiece closed until you can tell you need more juice, then vape as usual.

 

[dokebilee]

Thanks for the information. I almost never get any flooding after a fresh refill. My problem persists after 2-3 days of vaping and it usually occurs when the Penelope gets really hot from the dual coils.

 

[thedrpepperdude]

What I do for dual coils is twist neg wires and cut at bottom of channel, don't put under ring. Use 3 mm wick and cut one strand, cut wicks just above oring. Make sure rebuildable part is screwed on really tight.
I would also suggest on next rebuild you disassemble and inspect ceramic for cracks closely. Hope this helps its all I can think of right now.
tdpd

 

[dokebilee]

What I do for dual coils is twist neg wires and cut at bottom of channel, don't put under ring. Use 3 mm wick and cut one strand, cut wicks just above oring. Make sure rebuildable part is screwed on really tight.
I would also suggest on next rebuild you disassemble and inspect ceramic for cracks closely. Hope this helps its all I can think of right now.
tdpd

Yep, I checked everything each time I rebuilt my Penelope and nothing is damaged. I have a o-ring at the bottom of the center post and another o-ring (kind of loose) on the center post that touches the bottom of the housing. No cracks in the ceramic, although it is a bit stained from regular usage. Everything is tightened and secured. I also make sure to lube all of the o-rings with Vaseline.

Wicks are cut either at the bottom of the channels or a little before the channels end, nothing past the o-ring. I also cut the silver wire on the metal channel just a bit before the end, and this is fine since I never get a spike in ohms. The dual coil build is nice and snug in the slot at the top.

I'm pretty sure this is due to the heat generated by the dual coils. I've rarely had flooding with a single coil on a dual wick setup, and so the culprit has to be the heat causing pressure.

 

[Vinnyngo69]

By reading this, I can't see anything to add for you to check. Looks like you are doing all the right things.

Paging Bishopheals, please come to the front desk....... LOL........

Yep, I checked everything each time I rebuilt my Penelope and nothing is damaged. I have a o-ring at the bottom of the center post and another o-ring (kind of loose) on the center post that touches the bottom of the housing. No cracks in the ceramic, although it is a bit stained from regular usage. Everything is tightened and secured. I also make sure to lube all of the o-rings with Vaseline.

Wicks are cut either at the bottom of the channels or a little before the channels end, nothing past the o-ring. I also cut the silver wire on the metal channel just a bit before the end, and this is fine since I never get a spike in ohms. The dual coil build is nice and snug in the slot at the top.

I'm pretty sure this is due to the heat generated by the dual coils. I've rarely had flooding with a single coil on a dual wick setup, and so the culprit has to be the heat causing pressure.

 

[justinred]

Do you experience gurgling before it starts flooding? When you say flooding does it leak juice out of the centerpin hole or pass the bottom oring? You need to leave wick a little longer, cut just before the oring and not right at the end of the channel, it will help rewick juice trapped at the base.

 

[dokebilee]

Do you experience gurgling before it starts flooding? When you say flooding does it leak juice out of the centerpin hole or pass the bottom oring? You need to leave wick a little longer, cut just before the oring and not right at the end of the channel, it will help rewick juice trapped at the base.

Yep, I experience the gurgling that you talk about and at times it will leak juice into the airflow control tank. This makes sense since that is the only route it can go when pressure builds up.

Which o-ring are you talking about? The bottom of the center pin, or the one at the top near the housing/ceramic?

 

[justinred]

Which o-ring are you talking about? The bottom of the center pin, or the one at the top near the housing/ceramic?

Bottom of the center pin. If leak to the collector tank is through the center pin hole, it means it is flooding in the ceramic. If leak to the collector tank is not through the center pin hole, it means it is flooding at the base. Leaving a bit more wick past the channels will help fix the base flooding as excess juice is fed back to the wick.

 

[dokebilee]

Bottom of the center pin. If leak to the collector tank is through the center pin hole, it means it is flooding in the ceramic. If leak to the collector tank is not through the center pin hole, it means it is flooding at the base. Leaving a bit more wick past the channels will help fix the base flooding as excess juice is fed back to the wick.

I believe it is leaking through the center pin, i'll have to double check on this. And I'll try making the wick longer as you suggested next time I switch out my coil.

 

[Vinnyngo69]

Justinered: My Penelope wick only at the coil, no wick going down the channels nor to the base and.... I never have leaks.

I think, if you have leaks at the bottom, that means you have not screwed the whole rebuildable part real tight to the base. If you do then the fat o-ring will stop any leaks at the base.

 

[justinred]

Justinered: My Penelope wick only at the coil, no wick going down the channels nor to the base and.... I never have leaks.

Hi. I have read one other who does that but I cannot imagine how that would be possible or what advantage it would offer. I am certainly interested in trying that out. Please share instructions on how that can be done or a pic would be best. Thanks!

 

[Vinnyngo69]

Hi Justinred,

Please read this thread created by MrKrinkle to do more research. We call it MrKrinkle's method.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/gg/261773-ody-using-nextel-xc-116-without-moding-ceramic.html

Basically, Imeo uses pressure method to feed juice in Ody, Penelope and also Ithaka so you don't really need long wick down the channels to get the juice up, but the pressure created in the atty will feed the juice up to the coil. That means you use a lot less wick.

Try it out mate, you won't be disappointed.

Vinny

 

[Vinnyngo69]

By the way, I don't use Nextel. I just use normal 3mm Silica and it works great.

 

[dokebilee]

Justinered: My Penelope wick only at the coil, no wick going down the channels nor to the base and.... I never have leaks.

I think, if you have leaks at the bottom, that means you have not screwed the whole rebuildable part real tight to the base. If you do then the fat o-ring will stop any leaks at the base.

I doubled checked today and it is leaking through the center pin, which is what it should be doing during flooding. I used to get these gurgles/flooding when I used a single wick setup with a single coil, and it mostly stopped when I converted to dual wicks. It is now back since I started using dual coils. Maybe I should try triple wicking?... food for thought.

 

[thedrpepperdude]

You mentioned two o-rings, one at bottom and other where it touches housing. Mine has a plastic piece where it touches housing, not an o-ring at this spot. Mabee this has something to do with issue?

 

[dokebilee]

You mentioned two o-rings, one at bottom and other where it touches housing. Mine has a plastic piece where it touches housing, not an o-ring at this spot. Mabee this has something to do with issue?

Yea, it is a o-ring but it's just flat and plastic-like.

 

[thedrpepperdude]

Is that the one that is kinda loose? If so, can you tighten it? Do you also have o-ring inside of ceramic, under center nut?

 

[thedrpepperdude]

Also, does positive wire(s) come undone or break when you unscrew rebuildable part?

 

[dokebilee]

Also, does positive wire(s) come undone or break when you unscrew rebuildable part?

Yep, it's the one that is kinda loose and it sits outside of the housing at the bottom. I don't know what you mean by tightening the o-ring but I'm guessing you are referring to the centerpost squashing against the loose o-ring when screw into the housing unit with the nut inside. There is no o-ring inside the ceramic or under the nut. The positive wire doesn't come undone or break when I unscrew it but the nut holding it in place will open up a little bit, which I tighten after unscrewing the rebuildable part.