Pro Tank 2 and flaky coil performance

[ENAUD]

I got the Pro tank 2 and liked it so much I got a second one. Was using the new T3S heads in it 1.8 ohm and all was well. Then started using the Pro tank 1.8 ohm heads and initially all was good, then after a little while the flavor would get scorchy tasting, vapor production would fall off, and the vape would just taste burnt. This would happen with my LavaTube at voltages around 3.5-3.6( I had to keep increasing the voltage to get any reasonable amount of vapor ), the same phenomena would happen on the Inferno batteries as well...after tossing about 8 of them in a weeks time I was getting a little peaved, so I took the chimney off the coil, took out the flavor wicks, and dry burned it to get a good look at the coils. Hmmm, two wraps, a big gap, and two wraps...took some tweezers and adjusted the coils to a more even spacing, assembled it with the flavor wicks, and whamo, hits like a champ at 3.2 volts! No more burnt taste, and even gives a great vape on the Inferno battery.
I am a little peaved that something like this needs to be tweeked on to perform properly out of the box though...

 

[stevegmu]

What ratio of PG/VG e-liquid are you using?

 

[ENAUD]

70\30 and aprox 80\20

 

[stevegmu]

Interesting. I also use e-juice high in PG, but don't have these issues. I keep my tanks at least 3/4 full. Heard something about pressure being a factor.

 

[The Urb]

I usually vape with a 2.5 ohm head. I have been having the same problems, when I took the head apart one of the wicks was wrapped 6 times. After reading and looking at the other heads 5 is the ideal number for 2.5 ohms. And this is why I am going to start re-wicking the heads myself. Mass production is not always the most accurate.

 

[ENAUD]

I've got 8 bad heads saved in a bag, I guess after reading around a bit, my best bet is to learn how to rebuild these things, my coil on my igo is going on three weeks now. I am tired of just throwing money away...

 

[cowboy6591]

Wile waiting for the 1st of the Month to Plow my bank account of long saved trust fund for a Reo Grand and RM2 setup, I got impatient and ordered a Pro-Tank II and a Aurora BFT [Bottom Feed Tank] for 510 MODS [with no squonk bottles] The bottle is built into the unit as an all in one solution to squonking on a regular battery MOD. VV or Mechanical. I must say the Protank II blows away the Aurora in performance, as good as a review Phil gave it on a Video review.

The Protank had more smoke and flavor with an airier draw then the Aurora's tight draw which is where the problem area is. You need air to support the Juice/Heat mix or performance is TOAST. I like the Protank's draw, I don't turn Blue trying to smoke this thing and the clouds? well there respectable though not a contest winner. The flavor is a big plus [IMHO] and the 2.2 ohm resistance out of the box was a little high but understanding the tiny space to work with maybe it doesn't need 40 acres of land to do it's job. My Genny tanks are the cloud producers but are way to much work to keep them running well.

Protank gets a passing grade but as is most of these gadgets I have not found my "WOW" factor "This is it!!" vaporisor yet. I am hoping the Reogrand with a reomizer bottom fed dripper will do it.

Oh ya, big plus here, you can lay either of these tanks on it's side and so far no leaks.
Con?= To small a space to work with , Rebuilding is far better left to Japanese girls with tiny fingers.

As for the cons with the BFT Aurora? You don't have to be of the worlds oldest proffesion to get through sucking down a whole tank with this units tight draw but it helps. The air vent holes are teenie beyond belief. I am thinking of a hardware hack here.

CON2-Aurora; And careful here I don't see any sources for a spare tank state side. [USA]. And you need an EGO[base] to 510[batt] adapter too.

 

[exotyck]

my pro tank 2 spits when there's not enough airflow.. not sure if you have a similar problem.

 

[ENAUD]

my pro tank 2 spits when there's not enough airflow.. not sure if you have a similar problem.

I think part of the problem is too much air flow, causing less wicking action. This morning I wrapped some thread around the air holes, draw was tightened up, and vapor production increased( on my inferno battery). I may order a couple of the new bases with the smaller air holes.

 

[ENAUD]

A little update. I am now three for three on reconditioning the coils in these heads. Every one of the scorched tasting heads has so far shown in dry burning them that the coils were heating up unevenly. Hot spots and cold spots on the wraps. By adjusting the coil spacing to a more even state until a dry burn resulted in a nice even glow across the coil, and then topping the coil with fresh flavor wick, they are producing great flavored big plumes of vapor. Time will tell if this fix will prolong the life of these things, but coil #1 is going strong after two days of heavy vaping.

 

[zipflint]

I feel the same about the ProTank2. My issues are that, when more than 1/2 full, I have to do dry pulls. And then when it's nearly empty it floods, but not terribly.

And this is using my own coils. I usually shoot for about 1.5-1.8 Ohm, using 1.5mm ekowool and 30 gauge kanthal.

I thought I had found a ProTank2 replacement in the Smok Aro, but it gets way more leaky when under 1/2 full. I put a leftover flavor wick in there and it's doing the same thing. I guess I could try a little piece of ekowool in place of the silica flavor wick.....
I've got a feeling that's going to choke the juice flow though, and I don't have any ekowool smaller than 1.5mm.

 

[ENAUD]

I got so frustrated with this thing that I finally decided to build my own coils. I have had maybe 2-3 heads out of each box of 5 heads that gave off flavors like burnt oil or rubber after just a short while, or right off the bat. This was with 1.5, 1.8,and 2.2ohm, heads on my Inferno batteries and using juice with 20-30% VG. I am not impressed with Kanger's new heads
3mm silica wick with no flavor wicks and 5 and 6 wraps of 32ga kanthol seem to be performing admirably. My vape tastes like it should with the rebuilt coils. I can find no fault with the Pro Tank II with home built coils. I was really hoping for out of the box performance though.

Update: after a tank or two my heads started tasting scorched as well so today I spent some time analyzing why this is...then it dawned on me. The wick ends are touching the sides of the recess in the base where they sit. The juice is actually blocked off from the capillary action of the ends of the silica! A little trimming with some nail clippers to allow the juice to be able to reach the ends of the wicks seems to have helped a lot. The vapor produced seems to be thicker and actually has a bit more throat hit. Time will tell, of course, but from now on my wicks will be trimmed on any new heads that I put in, as well as the spares that I have cleaned and dry burned.

 

[SAG]

Thanks for the update Enaud. Lately I've had this issue with my PT coils too. I don't rebuild though. I'll try to trim the wicks and see if it makes a difference here too.

 

[zipflint]

Yeah that's interesting stuff. I'll have to inspect the wicks on my PT2 heads as well.

 

[Jonathan Tittle]

ENAUD if you get a chance, grab some cotton balls and rewick. I have my cotton wicks right up against the base and on some, wrapped around it and I never have issues with burning or dry hits. When I used the default heads and replaced silica (1.5, 2 and 3mm) I always received burnt flavor. Since moving to cotton, I've not looked back.

All you need to do is unroll the cotton ball and form it into a wick-like structure. I do this by twisting it tightly and then twist it through the coils. If the coils move, realign them and then trim the cotton wick. It should be snug, but not so tight that when you pull the cotton it feels like you're going to pull the coils out. Not too loose either, meaning you shouldn't be able to just push the cotton out.

 

[ENAUD]

Tactical, thanks for the cotton tip! I actually just started using cotton in my Igo-L and love it. I would imagine that the cotton should last a while being as it is submerged, avoiding any dry hit/burning issues.
How about keeping the juice from seeping past and creating gurgles...the main reason I switched to the ProTankII was because of the gurgles I get at low tank status on my Tabac BCC's...

 

[Jonathan Tittle]

I've had zero leaking or gurgling since I moved to cotton. Works like a charm 100% of the time so far.

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[zipflint]

Is it just me, or do you have to torch the living $(%+ out of the coil, while keeping it compressed with needle nose pliers or a tweezer? I find the process MUCH more difficult using smaller gauge wire, like 30 or 32. I've got some 28 gauge that is much easier to work with but that stuff is too fat to fit in the Kanger heads.

 

[Jonathan Tittle]

Is it just me, or do you have to torch the living $(%+ out of the coil, while keeping it compressed with needle nose pliers or a tweezer? I find the process MUCH more difficult using smaller gauge wire, like 30 or 32. I've got some 28 gauge that is much easier to work with but that stuff is too fat to fit in the Kanger heads.

That's pretty accurate . You have to keep it compressed while torching. If you're using a lighter it'll take a bit longer than with an actual butane torch.

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[zipflint]

Oh I'm using a butane torch alright. It's one of those cheap ones from fasttech, but it's functional. The whole micro coil process requires more patience than it might seem. The process is simple enough, but taking your time and doing it right will shave points off the hassle-o-meter.

That's pretty accurate . You have to keep it compressed while torching. If you're using a lighter it'll take a bit longer than with an actual butane torch.

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