R91 wicking issues. Am I doomed to a life of cartos? Help please.

[Thepinfamily]

I'm a carto user. Have been since the start. I like them a lot. They work well and are extremely reliable. That being said I like new toys also. I've tried a couple RDA and didn't care much them or dripping. Then I see the kayfun lite. Looks great and everyone loves it so I gotta get me one of those. I get a Russian 91%. Watch every kayfun/Russian build video out there, multiple times. Then I start building.
First let me say I know how to build things. I work for a huge company as the lead maintenance tech. I fix every type of heavy equipment, power tool, gas/electric engines, forklifts, 3 pahse production equipment, both new and vintage, etc, etc, etc. I also do vintage restorations as a hobby. Mostly pinball and slot machines. I know my way around tools, electric and overall engineering. BUT........


I can't get this +}*%^*+&$@&?!&@:&&9@: €¥#*^*\¥€<|+£{€ SON OF A $&@/, to wick. I build a perfect 1.8ohm 28g micro on a 5/64 drill bit with a cotton wick. I have 1-2mm(tried both) space between the wick and air hole. I've used lots of cotton and little wispy strands of cotton and everything in between. I've tightened the air flow. I use 70%pg juice.

BUT IT STILL WON'T WICK!!

When I start off its wet and works great. I like the vape a lot. Then after 5-6 pulls it starts to dry out. I cover the air hole with my finger and give some primer pulls, see bubbles, and I'm vaping again. But it still won't wick on its own.

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG.
Am I doomed to a life of cartos? Please say it ain't so. I'm smarter than my atomizer. I think. I can't let this thing beat me. I fix far more complicated problems than this multiple times a day. Why does this elude me?

I don't have any pics ATM but ill take some today and post them(when I tear it back down).

I tried to read the loooong thread on the r91 & KFL but who has time to do that? I do not.

I would like to hear some suggestions on my wicking problem or what you did to fix yours. Please help me break my carto crutch. Thank you, you giant brain that is ECF.

 

[donnah]

I had problems getting my kayfun lite to wick in the beginning also. I was under the impression that the wick tails has to be kept away from the juice inlets. But when I started putting my wick tails directly ON the juice inlets, my wicking issues stopped. I use micro coils and cotton and recently figured out if the amount of cotton going through the wick isn't dense enough, it doesn't wick on it's own either. If my cotton slides through the coil easily, without much resistance, I'm going to get dry hits after the initial priming liquid has vaporized off.

Post #2627 on the kayfun lite thread really helped open my eyes on how it all works. Good luck and post your results.

 

[scrutineer]

I don't have an R91 but a KFL+, but I believe the same priciples apply. Donnah is right on with the ^ above answer. The first and only time I had a problem with dry hits was right after the second tank refill on my first build (1.2 ohm, 6 wrap 30ga, cotton wick, if I remember correctly). I traced it back to overfilling. The KFL needs a fair bit of airspace above the juice level to create the proper pressure imbalance, and I see no reason why the R91 would be any different. I now refill though the bottom fill port only, at a 45 degree angle, and stop when I can just see the air pocket about to disappear in the clear tank section.

YMMV, of course, but its another thing to check off in getting it to work properly.

 

[toddrhodes]

I was just about to come in here and ask "What am I doing wrong?" My Aspire dual coil atty tanks are every bit as good as my cotton/micro Russians. I don't think I'm getting my wicks into the channels properly, just like OP I read that you shouldn't "block" those channels. Evidently you have to stuff a ton of cotton in there to effectively block the channels... The more you know, looks like I'll be rewicking both tonight

 

[Thepinfamily]

Thanks for the tips every one. I guess ill have to play with my cotton amounts. I am careful about not over filling the tank so that not it. I have been hoing with the " less is more" wicking guide line. Maybe im need a little more. Im going to rebuild tonight so ill take some pics.

Thanks for the thread donna. Going to read it now.

 

[Thepinfamily]

I just read the post you suggested. It makes sense. Im going to keep that in mind when wicking tonight.

The first build on my R91 actually wicked fairly well and it had quite a bit of cotton in it. The only reason I rebuilt it was to get lower ohms. I was at 3.2ohms. Guess I have some work to do........after I get done with all my other sunday projects

 

[peterforpats]

i think you are doomed to a life with cartos and should immediately send that awful, vile r91 to someone(say me, for instance) to rid yourself from the demon clutches of the device. you need a vaping exorcism. PM me for the address to start you on a better life without the satanic r91.....

 

[toddrhodes]

Thanks for the tips every one. I guess ill have to play with my cotton amounts. I am careful about not over filling the tank so that not it. I have been hoing with the " less is more" wicking guide line. Maybe im need a little more. Im going to rebuild tonight so ill take some pics.

Thanks for the thread donna. Going to read it now.

I too have found that "more is better" with cotton. I have not used any other type of wick, to be honest. With that said, the only thing I don't like about a full, almost "tight" cotton wick is when you go to rewick, you can deform your coil pretty easily if you're not careful. I tend to snip one end off the wick to make it easier to get the rest off. Dry burning might help too to get some of the "char" by the coil to loosen up, but I haven't tried it that way.

How much wick do you guy leave on either side of the coil? I've been leaving about 1 cm on each side but I think I should start leaving a little more there?

 

[donnah]

I too have found that "more is better" with cotton. I have not used any other type of wick, to be honest. With that said, the only thing I don't like about a full, almost "tight" cotton wick is when you go to rewick, you can deform your coil pretty easily if you're not careful. I tend to snip one end off the wick to make it easier to get the rest off. Dry burning might help too to get some of the "char" by the coil to loosen up, but I haven't tried it that way.

How much wick do you guy leave on either side of the coil? I've been leaving about 1 cm on each side but I think I should start leaving a little more there?

I've heard "less is more" over and over but that just doesn't work for me in this instance. If my cotton doesn't have resistance going through the coil.. if the cotton inside the coil is too thin and wispy..I'll get dry and burnt hits for sure. My tails are about a cm and a half and I've also had good luck if I take a couple tiny pieces and place them down there also.. but if the cotton going through the coil isn't dense enough, no matter how good your wick tails are placed.. it's not going to feed well enough. At least that has been my experience and I've had mine for 3 months and have rewicked it at least a hundred times.

I'm not saying this is the gospel and the correct way it should be done.. I'm just saying that this is what I've found works for me.

 

[savagemann]

I've heard "less is more" over and over but that just doesn't work for me in this instance. If my cotton doesn't have resistance going through the coil.. if the cotton inside the coil is too thin and wispy..I'll get dry and burnt hits for sure. My tails are about a cm and a half and I've also had good luck if I take a couple tiny pieces and place them down there also.. but if the cotton going through the coil isn't dense enough, no matter how good your wick tails are placed.. it's not going to feed well enough. At least that has been my experience and I've had mine for 3 months and have rewicked it at least a hundred times.

I'm not saying this is the gospel and the correct way it should be done.. I'm just saying that this is what I've found works for me.

I have found the same with the Russian Donnah.
Usually I am a less is more kinda guy, but that doesn't work for me in the r91 either.
When i first set mine up, I had followed pbusardos video. Everything worked great.
Next time I rewicked, I set it up with less, and didn't put the wick ends near the juice channels.
Had wicked dry hits. Same juice too. In fact, the 3rd time I went to rewick it, the wick had burnt in half inside of the coil Ewwww.
So the last time around, I went back to the way I did it the first time.
Longer wick, little more cotton, ends gently bent towards and blocking the juice channels, and through 2 tanks full, it has been wicking like a champ.

 

[Thepinfamily]

More is more. Just as I suspected. Everyone here seems to agree. I'm excited about my next build now. Thanks again. Ill post pics.

 

[t8kiteasy]

I do not use cotton in my R91,I use 3mm silica,I do use more wick,not less.I have a single piece of 3mm with the ends looped down thru the channel and back up to the top of the screw.It is basically an S wick.I then have a single piece of 3mm as a flavor wick that is just looped around the inside of the vaporization chamber.Starting from one screw post all the way back around to the same post.This flavor wick just rests around the top of the coil.The chimney screws down with no problem.The flavor,vapor,and TH all get a boost from the flavor wick.Flavor has more of a crispness to it.Vapor is more dense and thick,and TH gives more of a punch to the back of the throat,along with a serious thump in the chest.I was just messing around with getting a new build for my R91 when I thought about the way the Evod is wicked.I am running the coil at .5 and a 1.0 are the two coils I use with this wicking.If you feel like trying it give me some feedback on how you like it.

 

[MaxPower]

I do not use cotton in my R91,I use 3mm silica,I do use more wick,not less.I have a single piece of 3mm with the ends looped down thru the channel and back up to the top of the screw.It is basically an S wick.I then have a single piece of 3mm as a flavor wick that is just looped around the inside of the vaporization chamber.Starting from one screw post all the way back around to the same post.This flavor wick just rests around the top of the coil.The chimney screws down with no problem.The flavor,vapor,and TH all get a boost from the flavor wick.Flavor has more of a crispness to it.Vapor is more dense and thick,and TH gives more of a punch to the back of the throat,along with a serious thump in the chest.I was just messing around with getting a new build for my R91 when I thought about the way the Evod is wicked.I am running the coil at .5 and a 1.0 are the two coils I use with this wicking.If you feel like trying it give me some feedback on how you like it.

This sounds like it is pretty much the Navy Nest method , which I use and have had great success with. Navy Nest method just uses 1 piece of silica instead of 2. These will work with cotton as well.

 

[t8kiteasy]

Yea I know what the navy nest is,this build is different though.The actual coil is just a simple S wick.With the ends cut to the tops of each post.Then,a simple single flavor wick is laid around the top of the coil.

 

[Krizzell]

I use the Navy Nest with two wicks and cut the bottom one short never had a wicking problem.