Russian 91% not wicking well???

[Phone Guy]

Recently picked up a Russian 91%, I'm not educated in Russians so I'll describe it.

It has a double o-ring drip tip, not a screw in kind (ala kayfun 3.1)
It does have an adjustable 510 screw, but its short... making me think it might be a v2 but doesn't have the spring loaded 510 screw, I had to put a couple of orings on it to make the 510 screw come out far enough to make contact with my mod.
It has a tiny fill screw on the bottom and its beveled, but no oring. Tried an oring on there, but I couldn't make it fit flush after that, came close, but don't want to scratch the tops of my mods.
and last, the chimney and bell are polished chrome like.

OK, all that may be standard fare, as I said I'm not familiar with Russian 91%'s

I built this thing the same way I do my Kayfuns, but this thing is not wicking the same as my kayfuns. I'm getting dry hits from time to time and have to cover the air hole or take a few primer pulls.

The draw is fairly tight (and loud) compared to my kayfun. even with the AFC screw extended out flush with the base. I tried removing completely, didn't seem to make a difference in the draw anyway.

SO: Is this common stuff for russians? am I over criticizing it? any clue which version this is?

THANKS A LOT.
Phone Guy

 

[Tamer El-Meehy]

If as I understand the Russian is the same as the KFL then you need to be careful with the 510 screw since it holds the +ve post in place, and unscrewing it might cause the post to be unscrewed as well. If the Russian has been in use for some time, you might want to check the O rings if any of them needs to be changed. If any of the O rings is not air tight it will mess up the air pressure and cause dry hits. Finally of course you know the golden rule with cotton wicking: less is more, especially with liquids with a high VG content.

 

[EuroChris]

SO: Is this common stuff for russians? am I over criticizing it? any clue which version this is?

THANKS A LOT.
Phone Guy

It's the v2. A lot of shops swap out the springloaded center pin because it doesn't work right. I am not a fan of them either, but I have a springloaded pin on my mod, so I screw the pin out pretty far and press it hard against the mod when I screw it on. That works for me.

I used one of the small o-rings that came in the box for the fill screw. It sits flush here.

As for dry hits, it works the same as the Kayfun for me. I have cotton down to the deck without blocking the juice channels. Then again, I use it at 10-12W, so that might be why I haven't had any dry hits.

It has its advantages and disadvantages over the Kayfun Lite+ v2, I think. You have the AFC adjustment on the side. The center pin is adjustable. You can adjust it on the Kayfun as well by sanding the insulator, but that makes it permanent. I wish it was available in the same finish as the Kayfun, though.

 

[folkphys]

Did you poke around inside any of the airways? Maybe blockages. Also, the R91 should have a much smoother and slightly more open draw than your average KF, so something is wrong.

Chimney o-ring in place?

Juice channels too shallow?

If you can remove the round center pin isolator, check where it sits on the center pin and that it is not covering the two air holes. If the shop swapped centerpins the isolators may not be the same dimensions.

 

[Phone Guy]

I replaced the orings, all 3 of them, and that seems to have fixed it.... they all felt like they were sealing, but obviously not.

THANKS!!!

 

[Tamer El-Meehy]

To prolong the life of the o rings, make sure to smear them with ejuice before you screw your kayfun parts on. In specific you need to do this with one on the base, the one on the top cap and the one where the chimney goes. I believe you keep the 3 parts that make up the body screwed together the whole time. At least that's what I do.

 

[Phone Guy]

I only just got the Russian, it vapes great, I prefer my kayfun but I think that because I'm a creature of habit. I'm a little surprised the rings were causing an air leak, that just shows you it's not always something complicated... Thanks for the advice.