Replacement wicks for Phoenix have double silica ropes per coil (pic)

[juicefreak]

Got these replacements along with my phoenix clone today and i'm vaping on the preinstalled wick and there is little air flow. The posts and the wick are pretty much straight across with so much wick in there, and the air hole is tiny. even lined up it's a mad throat hit.


i have some 32G kanthal, SS 400 coming, but meanwhile should i pull one of the silica wicks out of these coils before installing? I'm thinking there is no room for air to flow. I tried pulling the coil up, but the wicks are so thick it just fills the space between posts.

appreciate any help. I have another phoenix clone on it's way, so i'm hoping i can mix/match the covers for better air flow, otherwise i'll have to drill out the hole larger. Do i actually need a diamond tip bit to do it? my husband doesn't have one.

if i can't widen the holes, i assume only using one silica wick per coil will help with air flow?

thank you

 

[spraintz]

wow, that's a bunch of wick!!!

I either use 2 1mm silica wicks or 1 3mm wick on my Phoenix shouldn't matter too much as long as the coil isn't "choking" the wick once saturated. Those seem like that would be a tight coil once those wicks had juice in em,

 

[juicefreak]

that's what i thought spraintz! i don't know what the mm of these are, but they look like CE2 wicks. Here's a couple more pics. I don't want to mess with the coil in there too much, because it looks kinda bent in areas, rather than a good coil roll. even looks like the coil wire was doubled up or bent somehow before going to the posts.

when i replace the coil i want to attach 1 wire under the screw, but as you can see the screws don't go all the way down into the posts, so i don't know how i can do that without stripping the posts.

i did take a small screw driver and ream out the air hole a bit and washed the tank top. had some black gunk in there. seemed to help a little, but still harsh.

thank you for your advice! I absolutely love this thing regardless of the initial setup flaws. I'm sick of everything else that's out there and to have a dripper that holds as much juice as a carto without the headaches = love it!!

 

[juicefreak]

ps - and no leaks out the battery hole!! i'm sick to death of cartos that pour straight through the battery hole. this is something i've always wanted but couldn't afford or couldn't make myself.

 

[tobarger]

View attachment 136988

This coil looks like crap
There is daylight between the wick and the coil
There should be hot spots all over the place
You can't vape that

 

[Razloz]

I got my Phoenix clone from Eric at DV and I had the same issue with a tight draw so I took my dremel to it and doubled the size of the air hole. It's perfect for my vaping style but the wife says it's way too airy (she likes the resistance while vaping). Been talking with Eric and he said he's passed it on to the manufacturer and should be getting a shipment in with an increased air hole for a easier draw. We'll have to see when/if those changes go through though. Until then I'd recommend increasing the hole a bit (I doubled mine) to lessen the throat hit. As for the wick you have in there, I agree with the previous posts, there's likely tons of hot spots (where the coil lights up from no juice). With silica I go for about 6mm of wick since I chain vape at 5 volts and 2.8 ohms. Been using cotton again though since it wicks so much better. The best way to put your wick/coil assembly in is to have the loose ends bend over the coil that goes into the posts so there's no exposed wire that's not in contact with the wick. Not sure if you can see it in this pic, it's kinda hard to explain how to do it. You want to have it so the wire is on the bottom and the wick on top when you put it in the post, then go through the middle and go through the other post the opposite way so that the wire is on the bottom on that side too. If that makes any sense.

 

[juicefreak]

View attachment 136988

This coil looks like crap
There is daylight between the wick and the coil
There should be hot spots all over the place
You can't vape that

Oh yeah it was total crap!! fortunately it only lasted a couple hours and popped! i replaced it with a one wick coil that i made myself. first coil i ever made so it wasn't the prettiest and took me awhile to see what i was doing, but it vapes great! I LOVE this thing!! It's everything i wanted in an atomizer and i'm looking forward to experimenting for the perfect vape.

 

[juicefreak]

thank you Razloz. i'm not quite sure what you mean about the wick going around the wire to the posts, but i think you mean, just cover up that area with stray wicks? hard to tell from your pic. I'm like your wife and like a tight draw, so i'm going to leave the hole alone for now. just reaming it a little with a small screw driver helped. it was a tiny hole to begin with.

another thing i realized besides the air hole is it's easy to flood the coil with too much juice and that will cause little vapor. with the wick stuffed all around the coil there isn't much room for air flow. I'm going to try putting the wick on the side of the posts and also a vertical wick when i get my mesh, so see which way works best. That's what i love about this thing = so many options.

thank you guys for all your help!

I got my Phoenix clone from Eric at DV and I had the same issue with a tight draw so I took my dremel to it and doubled the size of the air hole. It's perfect for my vaping style but the wife says it's way too airy (she likes the resistance while vaping). Been talking with Eric and he said he's passed it on to the manufacturer and should be getting a shipment in with an increased air hole for a easier draw. We'll have to see when/if those changes go through though. Until then I'd recommend increasing the hole a bit (I doubled mine) to lessen the throat hit. As for the wick you have in there, I agree with the previous posts, there's likely tons of hot spots (where the coil lights up from no juice). With silica I go for about 6mm of wick since I chain vape at 5 volts and 2.8 ohms. Been using cotton again though since it wicks so much better. The best way to put your wick/coil assembly in is to have the loose ends bend over the coil that goes into the posts so there's no exposed wire that's not in contact with the wick. Not sure if you can see it in this pic, it's kinda hard to explain how to do it. You want to have it so the wire is on the bottom and the wick on top when you put it in the post, then go through the middle and go through the other post the opposite way so that the wire is on the bottom on that side too. If that makes any sense.
View attachment 137133 View attachment 137134

 

[juicefreak]

oh wow razloz, i just noticed your enlarged air hole! that's pretty big. as long as it vapes good for you, just get your wife another one.

i just got my second one in the mail and the air flow is much better, so some of it must have to do with wick location too. it hits very nice!

 

[unloaded]

I use a single 3mm wick about half as long as the packaged ones you show. I have the wick in a "U" shape with the legs pointing up. Seems to give better flavor and vapor, just make sure one isn't covering the air hole. A new wick/coil tastes off to me, I saturate wick and vape for a bit, then remover cover and dry wick by squeezing it with a paper towel. With most of juice removed I dry burn it until coil glows and the coil area turns white again. Now it's ready for some serious vaping. You should be able to try it on one of those coils you have.

 

[Razloz]

LOL Yea this air hole is huge but I'm loving it, reminds me of the Smoktech DC Mega Cartos I got way back when I first started vaping. I got a vertical coil/wick setup going now and can honestly say this is the best way to do it (for me at least). One issue I was having with the phoenix clone is that juice was pooling on the sides and not getting down into the cup or on the wick so it would eventually leak. Now I have my cotton wick coming up and just about touching the bottom of my drip tip, with just enough down in the cup to soak up any liquid that makes it's way down there. This way when I drip it goes directly on the wick. Can actually drip into the drip tip now instead of removing it. The main thing you wanna do when you get your wick/coil assembly in there is to just make sure that there's no part of the wire that's not getting wet. Because if it's not wet it'll heat up faster than the rest of the coil and will snap pretty quick, will also taste funny. Here's a good tutorial for setting up a vertical coil. I don't do it exactly like that but gives you a good idea of how to go about it. I just wrap mine and fit it in, then adjust it so there's no hot spots.

oh wow razloz, i just noticed your enlarged air hole! that's pretty big. as long as it vapes good for you, just get your wife another one.

i just got my second one in the mail and the air flow is much better, so some of it must have to do with wick location too. it hits very nice!

 

[juicefreak]

thanks razloz! i will give that a try next time. I followed the tutorial as best i could in the cramped space, using a SS mesh vertical wick. I have no clue what the ohms are, etc, but it hits very nice. Going vertical has given me tons of air flow, which i suspected was the problem with the standard coil in there. It was like sitting in a sponge of juice before.

I took a piece of the silicia rope that i took out from my previous wick and stuffed in in the side of the well to soak up the juice and feed it to the vertical wick. Think i need to do the same on the other side of the well, because it drips out the air hole if i lay it down.

Was going to do the vertical mesh/silica wick, but i wanted it STIFF so i could center it right. The wires look funky, but no short and it fires up nice. We'll see how long it lasts. I did find if i leave the screws in the posts loose, i don't have to beat myself up trying to get the screws and center the wick at the same time! I know i'll get better at it, but at least i know i can do it I am thrilled!

here's a pic and video:

 

[juicefreak]

wire broke to the coil, so i'll have to fix it tomorrow. glad i have a 2nd phx ready to go

 

[tobarger]

It lasted 11 minutes???

 

[Razloz]

Looks like you're getting the hang of it, keep at it and you'll be making em perfect every time!
Try to make it so that the wire's aren't touching though so that the current flows all the way through.
Depending on how close the wraps are to each other affects how quick it heats up as well.

Again sorry for the quality, my iPod's camera sucks. Tried getting some better lighting in there but it's still pretty blurry.

2.8 ohms on my 4.8 volt home-brew APV, loving it!

 

[Razloz]

Oh just watched your video too and it confirmed what I was thinking. If you noticed how the wires leading to the wick were glowing red hot, that's what you want to avoid. I'm pretty sure that's where it snapped too right? If you tilt it ever so slightly so the juice gets on those parts you shouldn't have any problems. If you're using SS mesh though be wary of shorts if you make contact with the posts.

 

[PEneoark]

I am very neat with the coils I make for my Phoenix and my ZAU. I have yet to pop one. I think the pre made ones are just too tight to wick properly.

 

[juicefreak]

Razloz, that's the hard part = keeping the coil in the middle. I think the wire broke because i broke off in my hands before i ever fired up the coil, so i had just a short piece left on that side of the coil to feed through the hole. it breaks very easy! if i can find it, i have several feet of nicochrome, so i'll give that a go too.

Looks like you're getting the hang of it, keep at it and you'll be making em perfect every time!
Try to make it so that the wire's aren't touching though so that the current flows all the way through.
Depending on how close the wraps are to each other affects how quick it heats up as well.
View attachment 137786
Again sorry for the quality, my iPod's camera sucks. Tried getting some better lighting in there but it's still pretty blurry.

2.8 ohms on my 4.8 volt home-brew APV, loving it!

 

[juicefreak]

yes it did snap at the post. the coil itself is in tact. On the first coil i made the wires going to the posts glow red too. Dripping juice on them will stop that? I don't want to have to mess with soldering non-conductive wire. I tried to build CE2's and gave up when i realized i couldn't solder lol.

Nice good vapor while i had it on that mess though! i'll use the same mesh <> burn it a few more times on the gas stove and run another coil. Everything is easy, except attaching it to the posts and not touching metal, etc.

Oh just watched your video too and it confirmed what I was thinking. If you noticed how the wires leading to the wick were glowing red hot, that's what you want to avoid. I'm pretty sure that's where it snapped too right? If you tilt it ever so slightly so the juice gets on those parts you shouldn't have any problems. If you're using SS mesh though be wary of shorts if you make contact with the posts.

 

[juicefreak]

2.8 is the perfect vape for me too!! 3 and up is too cool for me and LR's are too hot. As long as my batteries don't pop them, i'm happy. that's the beauty of the phoenix, i can just make another one )