Pro Tank woes

[Apex Kodiak]

sup guys and girls... im a bit irritated.
I have a sigelei zmax v3, and a pro tank.
the pro tank just got a new coil wrapped by me, 1.5mm silica doubled over, 6 wraps of 30g kanthal, showing 1.3 ohms on my zmax, no shorts, no jumpy ohms and no hot spots. the problem im having, and I've been having even before I re wrapped, is the performance is just flat out lacking and inconsistent. When I first got it, I filled it with some fake bobas bounty, and vaped, blowing great clouds of tasty vapor. that lasted a few days before I had to dry burn the coil. after the burn, it performed good. but now im just getting nowhere near the same performance. after i change heads its the same story. i get a harsh hit or two, then some good hits an then its touch and go from there. im using a high vg mango menthol juice I got locally, and im getting lame flavor, and lame vapor. its always the same. I get decent performance at the start of a tank. maybe im getting dry hits? I've removed the flavor wicks before, and all I got was gurgling and leaking. but with this new doubled over wick I have no leaks so far, and I feel like the coil is properly set up. I was really looking forward to wrapping low ohm coils on this and using it on my v3 clone I have coming in, but by the looks of it I feel like im gonna be sticking to my rda till I get this sorted out. i thought all my troubles would be solved when i built this new coil, as it seems perfect.

im at 10w running a efest imr 18650. maybe im to hot? i feel like the vapor production is lacking at anything less.
would i have better luck trying to run it using voltage instead of power?
would a different wick be better? i would think that the large silica would be sufficient.
i don't normally ask for help....but.....help?

 

[StarDose]

I replaced the flavor wicks with cotton and seems to help and 10w if its not wicking properly would be an issue. I generally go 8-9w with my protank... as for the issue of inconsistency I noticed the same thing and am not sure why it starts to vape like that since it worked great out of the box. The cotton was a recent fix and seems to help allot but still not perfect..

 

[Apex Kodiak]

so im not the only one. did you just lay the cotton across the top? and as far as the power goes, im at 8.5 and im getting weak hits. the latest power chart that i got shows 1.3 ohms to be 3.3 volts. almost no vapor. now im getting dry hits and leaking. this thing is getting washed out, and put back in the projects box when i get home if i cant get this worked out.

 

[Apex Kodiak]

anymore or anyone else with some input? i really want to like this but its too much fiddling. and i like to fiddle so that's really saying something about the situation.

 

[xtwosm0kesx]

Keep the main silica wick for drying burning.

Replace the silica flavor wicks with a single tiny cotton one, i prefer using ones made from cottonballs.

Flip the white silicone upside down (cupped side up) on the stem.

Also think theres no need to run a coil that low in a PT, wrap a micro-coil to around 1.5-1.8 and give that a try.

 

[StarDose]

Ya I have a bag of organic cotton balls and use just enough cotton to stop the liquid from running thru which is allot less cotton than you would think. Micro coil is my next attempt on my pt, haven't had much luck recoiling heads for some reason usually get a hot leg or something. I tend to stick with my rdas at home and vivi nova minis when I'm out.

 

[fabricator4]

im at 10w running a efest imr 18650. maybe im to hot? i feel like the vapor production is lacking at anything less.

10W is a bit much for any BCC, in my opinion. Best flavour is around 6.5 watts. They just don't need that much heat. It's a matter of balancing the flavour and vapour production. If you want to run such high wattage and low ohm coils, you really need to be doing that on an RBA or an RDA. Micro coils and cotton wicks seem to be all the rage at the moment.

would i have better luck trying to run it using voltage instead of power?

Why? if you set 10W on a 1.3 ohm coil, or set 3.6 volts on a 1.3 ohm coil the result is the same - 10 watts. Setting volts or setting watts won't give you a different result, it's just a different way of doing the same thing.

would a different wick be better? i would think that the large silica would be sufficient.
i don't normally ask for help....but.....help?

I really don't think it's a wicking problem. Bottom coil devices will run OK at higher power for the first few hits. As soon as they get up to running temperature though, 6.5 watts is it in my experience. Ideal wicking is just enough so it doesn't flood. I don't need to turn the rubber cup upside down or anything; tried it, and it made zero difference.

I'm pretty sure that a lot of people that complain the Protanks and other BCC devices dry hit when they chain vape are really just running them too hot. As soon as it starts to really produce vapour, 6.5 watts is the sweet spot in my experience. They continue to produce clouds of vapour, and the flavour stays good. Kanger even put a volts/resistance chart in the packet with the protank. If you look at the recommendations on that chart you will see they come out to between 6 and 6.5 watts.

You'll need to chuck that coil/wick you've got and start again, since it's probably had the clacker burnt out of it. I find 2.2 ohms useful for BCC devices because they also work well on an unregulated mechanicals as well.

BTW, I don't consider 1.5mm silica "large" even if you do have it doubled over.
I use one really fluffy 3mm wick with the 2.2 ohm coil on it, and add a 2.5mm flavour wick before I close it up.

 

[mgmixology]

well heres my add in, Firstly at the price of wick and coil, and what seems to be the quality and consistency i get with my rebuilds. I Generally dont ever Clean or dryburn my builds, i get a good week, maybe 2 weeks. Thats plenty for what i believe cost me 20 cents or so. Ive never had good success with cleaning and dry burning. It doesnt appeal to me, the time it takes to clean, dryburn/dry I could have a FRESH new coil AND wick ready to vape flawlessly
I use ekowool 3mm threaded
Using a ribbon wire (flat) forgot AWG... and i get 1.6 ohms everytime.

 

[StarDose]

I don't think I could ever vape a protank at 6.5w that's way too low, I used to chain vape at 9-9.5w on it for a couple months before this issue came about. I guess some like a cooler vape but I prefer warmer like a top coil so I crank my bottom coils up to match the warmth.

 

[fabricator4]

I don't think I could ever vape a protank at 6.5w that's way too low, I used to chain vape at 9-9.5w on it for a couple months before this issue came about. I guess some like a cooler vape but I prefer warmer like a top coil so I crank my bottom coils up to match the warmth.

But a BCC *is* a cooler vape. It's just the nature of the beast - the heat stays in the bottom. When you turn them up the flavour goes, though you can certainly run them higher for a short amount of time. Eventually it catches up when they get really hot. Once they are up to temperature the vapour production is fine at 6.5 watts, and you don't get any burning.

 

[articus]

Original heads using 26g, like 10 wraps I think and 2mm silica.
I use to rebuild mine with: torched 26G and XC-116 around 10-12 wraps.

 

[Apex Kodiak]

dude im getting no vapor at 6.5 watts. ill try a micro coil with some cotton tonight. Its gonna take me a while to fit more than 6 wraps in there...all I have and all I have been using is 30g........ im thinking stardose is having the same issue as me.. and I think both of us will agree that the vapor is nonexsistant at 6.5 watts, even when everything is warm. and i def wont be using this style of tank again if i need to pre heat it and turn the power down after a few hits. that is not convenient in the least. ill try again with a new (untouched) head when I get home, but I don't see it happening for me. I understand that bcc are cooler, I get that, and im not looking to get a sauna in my mouth. but I am chasing the vapor like it stole my bike.

 

[StarDose]

Better flavor and vapor around 9w even when its heated up allot, I might have messed up the bottom part of the pt somehow. I've seen replacements for the bottom piece so it might be an issue with them.

 

[retic1959]

I vape 100%vg in my protank at 7-8 watts no problem with vapor or flavor and I tend to chain vape . The only thing I do is rinse the coil with hot water followed by a dry burn every 3-4 days and replace the flavor wicks with 2.5mm silica every dry burn . I'm getting 2 weeks out of my coils on average .

 

[Apex Kodiak]

I vape 100%vg in my protank at 7-8 watts no problem with vapor or flavor and I tend to chain vape . The only thing I do is rinse the coil with hot water followed by a dry burn every 3-4 days and replace the flavor wicks with 2.5mm silica every dry burn . I'm getting 2 weeks out of my coils on average .

Do you leave the rubber cap on there?

 

[mgmixology]

But a BCC *is* a cooler vape. It's just the nature of the beast - the heat stays in the bottom. When you turn them up the flavour goes, though you can certainly run them higher for a short amount of time. Eventually it catches up when they get really hot. Once they are up to temperature the vapour production is fine at 6.5 watts, and you don't get any burning.

All I see is you trying to justify how you like to vape....gotta remember everyone does there own thing man...not hoppin on ya just saying you keep saying the same thing xD

*edit - I dont get a change in flavor between 6-10.5W on 1.6 ohm.
Not all devices put out what they are showing either, its usually lower..

 

[fabricator4]

All I see is you trying to justify how you like to vape....gotta remember everyone does there own thing man...not hoppin on ya just saying you keep saying the same thing xD

Likewise. I see people trying to run these like an RBA and having problems. When pointed out that even the manufacturer recommends something different, the response is that it produces *NO* vapour. That doesn't add up. All I know is that I've been there where people are having the same problems and I would have given up on devices like the Protank if they hadn't been so promising to begin with. The real game changer was to come to terms with how different a Protank is to any top coil or RBA.

*edit - I dont get a change in flavor between 6-10.5W on 1.6 ohm.
Not all devices put out what they are showing either, its usually lower..

I can tell the difference between 6.5 and 7 watts, which is why I guess I'm so horrified.

 

[sawtoothscream]

Im happier with my rebuilds and the protank. I wrap a 1.7 ohm coil with 32ga kanthal then wick it with cotton puff balls. let it sit for awhile so its all soaked in and im getting great performance at 4.2-4.7v. Im using mine with bobas bounty and its wicking great

 

[InTheShade]

Some good points already made, but I do think it's a wicking problem.

First, make sure your coil isn't too tight and pinching the wick so no juice can get in there.

Then you might want to try 1 X 1.5 wick and wrap your coil around it. Then take and unravel a strand or two from some 1.5 wick and lay them on top of the coil as a flavor wick.

Try one, see if you get gurgling first, if so, add another.

Finally, you could just try adding a couple of drops of grain alcohol (like vodka) or distilled water into your tank to thin the juice a little.

 

[boomhower1820]

I had no luck with the Protank. Inconsistent and just generally poor performance. I got a Protank 2 and have had much better success. Still have a few harsh/dry hits, especially when full, but overall not a bad experience. The mini PT2 is where it's at.