Smoktech Vivi Rebuildable

[jackson32503]

I picked up five of these from Health Cabin, recently.

First, I want to share some things I've learned.
1. Upon receipt, disassemble, wash in hot running water, then soak in rubbing alcohol for at least a couple of hours, and let air dry (wicks, coils, & all). This removes any manufacturing residue and promotes a clean vape.
2. Even the 'good' factory wicks/coils will require some tweaking.
3. There is a sweet spot for the coil...right above the air hole, and between the posts. This is a bit tricky as there's not much clearance. The odd placement of the wick holes doesn't help matters.
4. These are great little buggers, for the price.
5. The lack of a dedicated fillwhole is a big con, but can be overcome by bottom-filling, rather through the wick-hole.

Has anyone found a method for making these into stellar performers?

 

[Papadragon]

Had nothing but troubles with that tank tore it apart took the 510 conector deck the bottom got a long bolt for center pin soldered a bolt to the deck cut the tube down to size and turned it to a driper ! Cost. 18 cents in parts

 

[jackson32503]

It's a shame that was your experience.

After trying a few different things, I ended up wrapping four 1 mil silica wicks (cut at different lengths to fall at different points around the bottom of the tank) in a single coil built of 30 wg kanthal (reading 1.5 ohms).

I wrapped the coil a bit too tightly around the wicks (still getting the hang of building coils), nonetheless, I am getting a consistent burn with clean flavor at 4.0 volts.

I think, if I wrap the next coil a bit looser, I'll be able to get similar results with even heavier vapor.

The wick holes are placed in a manner which makes placement of the coil a bit tricky, but not impossible. Also, the posts are tricky to attach the coil ends to without spinning/pulling them...but again, not unmanagable.

I stand by my previous assessment....

They're not great, but at $7/piece (domestically) they're hard to beat, dollar-for-dollar.

 

[jackson32503]

It's a shame that was your experience.

After trying a few different things, I ended up wrapping four 1 mil silica wicks (cut at different lengths to fall at different points around the bottom of the tank) in a single coil built of 30 wg kanthal (reading 1.5 ohms).

I wrapped the coil a bit too tightly around the wicks (still getting the hang of building coils), nonetheless, I am getting a consistent burn with clean flavor at 4.0 volts.

I think, if I wrap the next coil a bit looser, I'll be able to get similar results with even heavier vapor.

The wick holes are placed in a manner which makes placement of the coil a bit tricky, but not impossible. Also, the posts are tricky to attach the coil ends to without spinning/pulling them...but again, not unmanagable.

I stand by my previous assessment....

They're not great, but at $7/piece (domestically) they're hard to beat, dollar-for-dollar.

 

[jackson32503]

Okay...so...4 bundled 1mm wicks produced clean flavor (when wet), but still gave WAY too many dryish hits when chain vaping.

I bored out the holes in the deck and installed a 3mm Ekowook wick, wrapped 8/9 times with 32wg Kanthal. DRY HITS HAVE OFFICIALLY BEEN IRRADICATED.

Due to the small clearance between the posts and the awkward layout, I did have to flatten the coil a fair bit (like linguini) and stand it up with a curve in it to run it directly over the air hole and pass between the posts without contacting either.

Current coil has tank at 3.9 ohms (too high for my liking)...so I will be hunting for some 28wg Kanthal to try in a similar configuration to lower the resistance...allowing (hopefully) for lower voltage/wattage use.

The good news is it is currently vaping like a champ around 5.2 volts.

Still a work in progress...but it's getting MUCH better.

I am finding a lot of carbonization building up (quickly) around the coil, which I am able to burn off with a torch when needed. Is this caused by the juice I'm vaping, or am I doing something wrong in my coil construction?

Thanks in advance for the help.

I'll post updates as I continue to progress.

P.S.: Sorry for the earlier duplicate posting. I'm making all my postings from my cell phone, and upon discovering it posted twice, I found I was unable to edit/delete through my browser.

 

[jackson32503]

The 3mm Ekowool wick w/ stock airhole seems to be a winner! They suck through juice like it's going out of style, but the hit is pretty darn good. Try it out...and enjoy.

I won't be adding to this, further, unless anyone else contributes.