Smoant Battlestar RBA Tank - Does Anyone Use This Tank?

[PJReid]

I bought this a few months ago, installed coils and wicked and all of the juice leaked out. I cleaned it and put it back in the box to play with another day. I gave my Battlestar mod to my son and thought he might like the matching tank, so I installed newly made coils, wicked it, filled with juice and the exact same thing happened. #SMH

So, what am I doing wrong? I have no trouble with any other RTA so am clueless as to what the problem could be.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Letitia]

I bought this a few months ago, installed coils and wicked and all of the juice leaked out. I cleaned it and put it back in the box to play with another day. I gave my Battlestar mod to my son and thought he might like the matching tank, so I installed newly made coils, wicked it, filled with juice and the exact same thing happened. #SMH

So, what am I doing wrong? I have no trouble with any other RBA so am clueless as to what the problem could be.

Thanks for any advice.

Do you mean rta? If so @Coastal Cowboy is currently using one and seems to be enjoying it.

 

[PJReid]

Do you mean rta? If so @Coastal Cowboy is currently using one and seems to be enjoying it.

Yes, I did mean RTA. Frustration took over. Hopefully, @Coastal Cowboy will give me his secrets. There is always the chance I got a defective tank. I have never had that happen before. Sure, I have had leaks but nothing like this. IDK

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

I got it right on the third try. I used 3mm ID coils, 26ga SS316L, 10 wraps each. It needs a 3mm coil because the juice slots are about that. As long as the wick tails extend all the way to the bottom of the tank, they hold my 80/20 juice like a champ.

I still get some weeping when the vacuum lock is broken during refill, but that's it.

It's due for a rewick this week. I'll take a few shots tomorrow-ish showing what I did and post'em.

 

[PJReid]

I got it right on the third try. I used 3mm ID coils, 26ga SS316L, 10 wraps each. It needs a 3mm coil because the juice slots are about that. As long as the wick tails extend all the way to the bottom of the tank, they hold my 80/20 juice like a champ.

I still get some weeping when the vacuum lock is broken during refill, but that's it.

It's due for a rewick this week. I'll take a few shots tomorrow-ish showing what I did and post'em.

Thank you! I did make 3mm coils but only did 7 wraps with Clapton wire -
TRIPLE CORE PARALLEL FUSED CLAPTON 316L SS - (30GX3 / 38G)
The distance between the slots is pretty wide. The juice I made for my son is 70/30, so that is even thicker than yours. I am baffled so appreciate the tips. If I can't make it work for my son, I will throw in the towel on it since I have no-fail backups but I just thought it would look great on the Battlestar mod that I gave him.

 

[Letitia]

Thank you! I did make 3mm coils but only did 7 wraps with Clapton wire -
TRIPLE CORE PARALLEL FUSED CLAPTON 316L SS - (30GX3 / 38G)
The distance between the slots is pretty wide. The juice I made for my son is 70/30, so that is even thicker than yours. I am baffled so appreciate the tips. If I can't make it work for my son, I will throw in the towel on it since I have no-fail backups but I just thought it would look great on the Battlestar mod that I gave him.

80/20 is thicker than 70/30 Pam. Unless your juice is 70pg/30vg which i doubt. Higher vg is thicker.

 

[PJReid]

80/20 is thicker than 70/30 Pam. Unless your juice is 70pg/30vg which i doubt. Higher vg is thicker.

LOL - I knew that too. I think this is one of those days when everything I say (or type) is backward. Yes, thinner, so maybe thicker juice would help but I don't think that would completely solve the problem of the entire tank of liquid leaking out. *confused* and it might be getting worse.

 

[Letitia]

Have you counted your orings? Maybe you missed one when putting back together. Daniel DJlsb vapes has a good review for Battlestar rta and always breaks them down. Might skim thru it.

 

[PJReid]

Have you counted your orings? Maybe you missed one when putting back together. Daniel DJlsb vapes has a good review for Battlestar rta and always breaks them down. Might skim thru it.

I am almost positive I am not missing an oring but was planning on double checking just in case. I had one fall off a Nano and didn't even notice. I picked it up and couldn't figure out what it went with but finally figured it out. Those orings can be pretty pesky. LOL

 

[PJReid]

All of the orings are there - thankfully. I am giving it a soak while it is all in pieces. Maybe there was a bad seal or something. I will put it all back together and try once more tomorrow. I think I will make some coils just like @Coastal Cowboy uses, and Daniel DJlsb vapes uses too. Wish me luck because this will probably be the last try on this one for me. After that, it goes in the classifieds if I am not successful. Andrew has one of my Engine Nanos on the Battlestar now (the rose gold looks great with the Battlestar) and doesn't really seem to want to give it up. I can totally relate to that since I love that tank too, and I do have an extra rose gold.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

@PJReid, here are some picks of my wicks!

This is what I started with. Didn't need to re-wick but I was flavor switching so...

Here's how I cut the wicks. They go just to the bottom of the tank. I don't thin the tails at all. I want all of that cotton picking up and holding the juice.

Getting them good and soaked helps keep'em where I put'em.

And this is all put together, before filling. If I can't see the ends of the wick tails in the reservoir below the deck, then I'm gonna have leaking issues. Such is life with a Genesis-style tank.

I hope that helps you. You and @Letitia both were so empathetic when I was mopin' and grumblin' about not being able to build one-handed. So if I can help, I will.

I do love this tank and the Battlestar mod.

 

[PJReid]

Thank you SO much, @Coastal Cowboy. I know this will help me. I cannot even tell you have grateful I am for the time you took to show such detailed photos. I washed the tank last night so need to put the orings back in and try again. I will keep your wonderful photos open as I work on the wicking. I made coils last night that should work well. We shall see. The adventure continues.

 

[PJReid]

I think the coils I made are a bit too large. When I screw the top on, I can feel that the coils are touching the sides of the metal cover. I have some 316L 26 gauge wire coming tomorrow and that might work better. Also, I made the coils at 3.5mm as was suggested in the video but I will make the new ones 3mm. If I have time tomorrow, I will do this thing. If not, it will be next week because I am going to NYC with my oldest for the weekend. Super excited about that. More on this adventure later.

 

[PJReid]

@Coastal Cowboy - I wanted to let you know that I finally got around to making coils exactly like the ones you use (the wire was late arriving.) I installed them and wicked using your wonderful photos. I filled up the tank and tried it with a spare mod and so far, NO LEAKING!!! Yay! My son isn't home right now but the tank he is using needs a new wick, so I am going to switch out the tanks once he gets home and we shall see how it goes. He is a newbie at this and loves the OBS Engine Nano I fixed up for him to use on the Battlestar, so I don't know how this one is going to work for him. I know he will love the tank but he is spoiled by the very low maintenance Nano tank. I will report back once he tries it out.

Thank you SO much for all of your help. I do believe I've got it now. That said, I want my son to learn to take care of his tank himself because I am not on coil and wick duty 24/7.

 

[PJReid]

Okay, son got home and I switched out the tanks. He whined and complained, hit it and fell in love. As long as it doesn't leak on him, this is going to be his favorite tank. He is going to have to learn to make coils and wick it though.

One last time, @Coastal Cowboy, thank you so much! I would have done this earlier but I was away last weekend and this past week was chaotic with my sick daughter here. I decided tonight to just do it and I am so glad I did!

 

[Letitia]

Well done Pam. Perseverance paid off. You could get your son a vape butler for Christmas.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Okay, son got home and I switched out the tanks. He whined and complained, hit it and fell in love. As long as it doesn't leak on him, this is going to be his favorite tank. He is going to have to learn to make coils and wick it though.

One last time, @Coastal Cowboy, thank you so much! I would have done this earlier but I was away last weekend and this past week was chaotic with my sick daughter here. I decided tonight to just do it and I am so glad I did!

Tip o' the hat to ya. Well done!