Svoë Mesto Kayfun III ES Discussion/Questions

[9ball_AJ]

Evening Folks, looking for a bit of troubleshooting assistance. I have had my Kayfun for a few months, and I have used it more than any other of my devices in that time. It has performed flawlessly up until recently.

I went camping over the weekend, and on day 2 my Kayfun started leaking. The collector tank would fill up within a few minutes, and liquid would come out the air intake and the fill valve. At first I attributed this to the elevation change, as I was up in the mountains and had just climbed about 2k feet in elevation while driving up to our little make shift shooting range. After returning to camp, I cleaned the kayfun completely and ensured all seals were in place and not damaged. The leaking continued and I noticed much larger than normal air bubbles coming in the tank with each vape, so I put it away for the rest of the weekend, as I was losing precious fishing time , and I had brought several other PV's with me.

I just did a little more investigating and it appears that the fill valve is damaged. With the atty fully assembled, the airhole intake fully closed, my thumb over the airhole and an empty tank, I can lightly pull air through the mouth piece, and it comes in right through the fill valve. I am not sure if this is normal with an empty tank, but I am definitely getting juice leaking out the fill valve when the tank is full, and the collector tank is filling up really fast allowing juice to leak out of the air intake.

Any of you have any other ideas or suggestions?

 

[Lex0r]

The collector tank would fill up within a few minutes, and liquid would come out the air intake and the fill valve. At first I attributed this to the elevation change...I just did a little more investigating and it appears that the fill valve is damaged. With the atty fully assembled, the airhole intake fully closed, my thumb over the airhole and an empty tank, I can lightly pull air through the mouth piece, and it comes in right through the fill valve. Any of you have any other ideas or suggestions?

I bet you're on track with the elevation thing. The unit probably got pressurized and didn't depressurize naturally. My guess is that the one-way valve and possibly some insulators are damaged and the unit requires rebuilding. Unless you feel comfortable rebuilding the whole thing, I would contact SVM for a repair quote.

 

[madmanmatt]

wizard labs has some great blunt needles and supplies

 

[liveone]

Luer Lock Refilling Tips (20 and 22 both work)

Bottles (With Luer Lock Caps to apply the tips)

3.1 Full Plastic Tank from Germany

3.1 Full Plastic Tank from USA

Thanks man!

All the plastic tanks are sold out but I ordered some tips and bottles.

 

[9ball_AJ]

I bet you're on track with the elevation thing. The unit probably got pressurized and didn't depressurize naturally. My guess is that the one-way valve and possibly some insulators are damaged and the unit requires rebuilding. Unless you feel comfortable rebuilding the whole thing, I would contact SVM for a repair quote.

Thanks for your response Lex0r. I certainly hope this is not the case. I would expect to experience some leaking when changing elevations rather quickly, but I would absolutely not expect to damage the device. And if it is damaged, I wouldn't expect to have to pay for the repair as IMO the damage was caused during normal use. If the valve is really that fragile, I would hope that a user replaceable part would be available, I don't want to have to send it back to Russia, thats for sure!

 

[dwcraig1]

Thanks for your response Lex0r. I certainly hope this is not the case. I would expect to experience some leaking when changing elevations rather quickly, but I would absolutely not expect to damage the device. And if it is damaged, I wouldn't expect to have to pay for the repair as IMO the damage was caused during normal use. If the valve is really that fragile, I would hope that a user replaceable part would be available, I don't want to have to send it back to Russia, thats for sure!

From the manual:
The problem: Kayfun sloshing, flooding, liquid accumulates in the collector-tank and even flows out through the duct hole.
First you need to check if the tank is airtight. If the tank is not sealed, e-liquid will pour out of it into evaporation chamber by the principle of communicating vessels, and then it will flow into collector-tank through the air duct (2h). Check if evaporation chamber (3) is firmly screwed to the base; all o-rings are in place and intact: (2d), (4c), (5b), and especially - (5c). O-ring (5c) is the easiest one to lose during disassembly/assembly. Also make sure that the transparent ring (4b) is not cracked in case you use it.
Another place where the airtightness may be compromised is refilling valve (2l). It should let e-liquid/air to flow outside-in, but not inside-out. Test it by trying to blow in the hole (2m) - the valve should not let air to go through. If it does, try rinsing the valve with water, it is possible that dirt/mote got into it. You can use refilling bottle for rinsing the valve: fill the bottle with water, insert the nose into the valve and pump liquid through the valve back and forth. Rinse till the liquid is able to flow outside-in only. If you are sure that the valve is faulty - contact the seller/manufacturer for repair/replacement.

And the link to the manual:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5440288/SM/Kv3.1_UserManual/Kv3.1_UserManual_ENG.pdf

 

[TroyDestroy]

im a little behind in this thread but though i would share what is working amazingly great for me...

i am using nextel xc-116 (~3mm) single strand with 28g kanthal 5 wraps. i simply bend the nextel down and snip at the top of the threads, then fray out the ends. so the piece of nextel used is very short. This wicks like a monster, flavor, vapor, th is off the charts. occasionally ill break it down and rinse the wick (still attached) with hot water, pat dry with paper towel and hit it with my torch to clean the wick and coils, then a quick dry burn and its like new. I'll take a pic when i break it down next time...

 

[Kataphraktos]

Cloud9 is open right now, in case you guys need to order luer bottles, luer syringe tips for the 3.1. FYI their Ekowool price is very competitive.

 

[9ball_AJ]

RTD Vapor is a good source for luer lock bottles and plastic tapered tips as well. A bit pricey though...

Bottles

 

[TroyDestroy]

i just fill through the top like a neanderthal

 

[Dan33]

I just did a little more investigating and it appears that the fill valve is damaged. With the atty fully assembled, the airhole intake fully closed, my thumb over the airhole and an empty tank, I can lightly pull air through the mouth piece, and it comes in right through the fill valve. I am not sure if this is normal with an empty tank, but I am definitely getting juice leaking out the fill valve when the tank is full, and the collector tank is filling up really fast allowing juice to leak out of the air intake.

Any of you have any other ideas or suggestions?

1) Take Kayfun's base only or a fully assembled (but empty) tank and poke the filling hole gently several times with a fully assembled (but empty) filling bottle as if you are filling it with juice. Put it in, squeeze the bottle several times, repeat several times. Why? Because the little ball bearing in the fill hole might get slightly out of an alignment during the fill, which might cause pressurization issues. If it has gotten out of an alignment, hopefully, all that poking puts it back in its place.

2) If the above does not fix the issue, watch this video starting from 16 minutes 22 seconds. The video is in German and he is filling the mini, not the 3.1 ES, but the procedure is the same and self-explanatory, in my opinion. The idea here is to fill it from the top and see if that makes a difference.

3) Check the air control screw. It has a tendency to not stay in place. If it is open too wide, it might cause flooding when you start using Kayfun right after the fill.

4) Take a piece of masking tape or Scotch tape and tape the fill hole right after the fill. If that makes the difference, it might tell you where the problem is.

5) Take a piece of masking tape or Scotch tape and tape the connection points on the outside. If that makes a difference, it might tell you where the problem is.

The idea here is to try different things to isolate which part(s) cause a pressurization issue.

 

[Dan33]

i just fill through the top like a neanderthal

I would prefer to fill it from the top, but I have tried his method several times and it always leaked a lot of juice in the collector tank. Do not know what I am doing wrong.

 

[Dan33]

Speaking of the large clear tank. It is made of makrolon (polycarbonate), but there is no indication wether or not this is a food/medical grade or not.

Any potential issues with BPA and other stuff. From Wikipedia:

"Many polycarbonate grades are used in medical applications and comply with both ISO 10993-1 and USP Class VI standards (occasionally referred to as PC-ISO). Class VI is the most stringent of the six USP ratings. These grades can be sterilized using steam at 120 °C, gamma radiation, or by the ethylene oxide (EtO) method. However, scientific research indicates possible problems with biocompatibility. Dow Chemical strictly limits all its plastics with regard to medical applications."

 

[Dan33]

Have you guys seen The Russian? It looks like an exact clone of Kayfun, but with a better fill hole?

 

[ukeman]

trying to imagine that... snip at top of threads...? more please

im a little behind in this thread but though i would share what is working amazingly great for me...

i am using nextel xc-116 (~3mm) single strand with 28g kanthal 5 wraps. i simply bend the nextel down and snip at the top of the threads, then fray out the ends. so the piece of nextel used is very short. This wicks like a monster, flavor, vapor, th is off the charts. occasionally ill break it down and rinse the wick (still attached) with hot water, pat dry with paper towel and hit it with my torch to clean the wick and coils, then a quick dry burn and its like new. I'll take a pic when i break it down next time...

 

[synthros]

i just fill through the top like a neanderthal

Same here. I'm not smart enough to rebuild the valve myself and I would hate to think how long it would take to get there and back for a repair.

 

[CoyoteRed]

Same here. I'm not smart enough to rebuild the valve myself and I would hate to think how long it would take to get there and back for a repair.

Something I found that comes in real handy for many things in vaping is an Ultra Sonic cleaner.It is great for cleaning RBA's ,drip tips,clearomisers and you can even put fresh e-juice in one and help with the steeping process. They can be had for under $30.00 and clean better than anything else I have used.
On something like a Kayfun it will clean all cracks and crevices and probably all the valves and airways that are on the Kayfun.

This is the one I have :Amazon.com: Ultrasonic Cleaner Model D3800A: Electronics

You can also use it to clean eyeglasses and jewelry.

And Finally after 39 days since My Kayfun hit shipping it came today. First thing I did was put it in the Ultrasonic cleaner to make sure all oils or whatever left over from manufacturing were removed.Built a wick and coil and it worked first time no problems. WooHoo.

 

[Dan33]

Here is the link that works for The Russian, Kayfun's clone.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/rebuildable-atomizer-systems/434220-russian-kayfun-clone.html

 

[icucme2]

hi guys.. i want to buy a "kick" but also hear about the "crown".. i want to dial in the wattage for my KayFun.. what do u guys think is the best choice?

 

[Idaholandho]

Today's "I had some spare time" post.
I wrapped 3mm eko 4/5 wraps in a sraight wick to a pleasing 1.1 ohm. I cut each end so that they would just fit across the juice well, The chamber fit nicley over it with not having to mess with it. Filled with juice, primed. First few hits were good but, more burnt tasting hits throughout tank without constantly having to prime.

Conclusion - Don't waste your time. Looked cool but, looking cool is only half of our goal.