Tfv8 Baby beast -- Issues with dry hits, vapour lock, wicking..

[Obsolete_Dude]

Guys/ Ladies -- This is driving me nuts now.. I have been having dry hits issues with the baby beast since I got it about 2 weeks ago. I have used/spent the pre-made coils as well as separate coils which I ordered..

Following is what I have done/tried

-- Primed the hell out of the coils (and let it stand for hours and more)
-- Using a coolfire Mod running at 40-65 W max
-- 70-30 liquid (Dinner lady)
-- Have tried replacing the o-rings
-- Have tried replacing the top seal/gasket
-- Have tried poking pin holes in the coils, to no avail
-- Coils wasted/tested: Q2, X4, T8
-- Refilling while airflow open/closed/semi
-- Don't let the liquid run too low

I notice:

-- The hits taste flavourless and dry more than burnt.. I flip the top cap open and its fine for 2-3 hits.
-- Occasional bubbles in the tank after hits (Sometimes big balloons)
-- Liquid lines sticking to the top of the tank (prob. its normal)
-- Droplets of liquid on the top of the gasket after I take a few drags.. (That maybe because of the occasional spitting)

Is the tank doomed? Are all my coils doomed? Am I?

 

[stols001]

Well, I can reassure you you're not doomed. It sounds like you've tried a lot of fixes for this though, and it sounds like the problem remains. I am not a smok guru, so I might suggest taking this in to a B&M if you have a knowledgeable one near you to help you trouble shoot. It's odd this is happening with prefab and built in coils. You could try lowering your VG, but that shouldn't be necessary. How is your airflow doing, is it clogged, possibly? That's one thing I can think of that might be contributing to dry hits, but again, I am no expert.

Good luck, and hopefully a smok user with a lot of knowledge will be along to help. Worst case if it's still under warranty, you could get a replacement, but that may not be needed, but I do hope you get it resolved.

Best of luck!

Anna

 

[MrStik]

When I was running the baby beast, I would only get situations of dry unflavorful hits like you described when the coil is getting bad and the cotton is no longer able to wick. When you open the top fill cap, it pulls juice into the coil, which would give you a couple extra good hits.

You should be getting bubbles coming into the tank, and they should be coming from the wicking slots.

Seems like the coils are just not wicking or not wicking fast enough.

 

[Obsolete_Dude]

Thanks Anna and MrStik..

It's true that the coils are not wicking quick enuff. I just can fathom the reason why. Forgot to add, the problem starts with coils once they are about a day old. I've read these things can take about a week of heavy vaping.. I doubt I am killing them so early.. And regarding the airflow, I can't see any visible obstructions..

 

[stols001]

Um, if wattage is really high and juice has a lot of gunking factors (sweet, dark, NETs etc.) that can happen, but it really doesn't seem to be the case, here, unless you are using something super dark and sweet, so that doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. You could've gotten a pack of bad coils, I've heard the 8 coils can be hard to manage, but you've also tried other coils. I am simply left with the thought that your tank isn't doing what it should, and there seems to be no real reason why. With good priming, those coils should last more, but you are saying they degrade over time so something is making them do it? It could be flavoring I guess. What juices are you using in it? I'd still think maybe reducing VG a bit MIGHT help, but I am left scratching my head slightly.

This sounds really frustrating, I wish I had an answer for you.

Anna

 

[Obsolete_Dude]

I've run out of hair already : ).. I have used 2 juices till now with this tank.. 60-40 Beard no.32 and 70-30 Lemon tart from Dinner lady..
It's true it performs a bit better with 60-40 (to an extent that flavourless hits start after 8-9 hits)..
The only thing I can think of is - As you said -- Bad luck with pre-made and new coils (all were duds)..
The only option left is to buy a new pack of T6 and put those to the sword.. But apprehensive that if even those give up in a day then I'll have to conclude I have a junk (new) tank ..

 

[Wraith504]

is this 8 or 9 hits chain vaping?

 

[Wraith504]

I see no reason you should have many wicking issues with that many coils and those ratio juices. Remember that all the airflow in these high performance sub tanks/coils are going to naturally result in less flavor but more vapor. maybe turn down the wattage and close down the airflow a bit. You are gonna have a problem with any topper keeping up if you are vaping high wattage 9 rips chain vaping.

 

[Obsolete_Dude]

Chain vaping 9 hits -- Sort of yes and no... -- These are 9 straight hits over half a minute but the wattage is not too high (I chain vape at 40-45W)..
The major issue is when I run out of flavour (hits are dry and if I continue after 2-3 hits it almost tastes burnt).. And all this is in-spite of having holes in the wicks..

 

[stols001]

If you are going to chain vape (at whatever wattage) might I suggest inhaling for a few seconds after you stop hitting the fire button? That will wick more juice into your coils, perhaps avoiding dry hits. I used to do this routinely as I used max VG on tiny coils (Nautilus coils) and now I've added 10% distilled water, so it's not so necessary.

But, I did find it helped me at max VG to keep things wicking evenly into the tank. It is true that DL setups are less flavorful with more clouds, so perhaps when chain vaping at least, make sure you are doing all you can to keep wicking consistent in your tank.

Best of luck,

Anna

 

[Obsolete_Dude]

Thx.. I'll give this a shot..

 

[Wraith504]

Id suggest slowing down. I think the wick is having problems keeping up with your lungs

 

[MrStik]

Yeah, you do need to give the coil time to wick more juice.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Go back to the Q2 coils and slow down. I don't care what Smok puts on the coil heads as a recommended range--there's no way one of them can keep up with 8-10 hits in a 30 second span at 50+ Watts.

The only thing those multiple coil heads do is encourage you to crank up the wattage. That just drinks your juice, drains your batteries and shortens the useful life of the coil head.

$11.35 Authentic SMOK V8 Baby Replacement Q2 Coil Head (5-Pack) 5-pack - 0.4ohm (40-80W/BEST:55-65W) at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

Even the Q2 heads are about $3 a pop. Between 40 and 45 Watts, they're very good performers and produce a nice cloud and good vapor. If you want to get more than the Q2's can produce, you're better off investing in the RBA head.

I have two Baby Beasts and even with the RBA installed, they're sitting on the bench because I have higher capacity tanks that produce as well or better at lower wattages. I thought about getting the Big Baby, but I only own two devices (three soon) that support 23+mm tanks, and those are already paired with better performers.

 

[OlderNDirt]

I had a couple thoughts, but then got to.....

Chain vaping 9 hits -- Sort of yes and no... -- These are 9 straight hits over half a minute but the wattage is not too high (I chain vape at 40-45W)..
The major issue is when I run out of flavour (hits are dry and if I continue after 2-3 hits it almost tastes burnt).. And all this is in-spite of having holes in the wicks..

By my calculations, that would be 9 three second draws with lees then a half second between them, not much different then a 30 second draw without mod cut off. I can't even imagine why, but would suggest either slowing down or put your juice in a 1200 watt fog machine.

Perhaps somebody that vapes anywhere close to that will stop by with suggestions for gear that will perform at that level. Good luck!

 

[vapdivrr]

Chain vaping 9 hits -- Sort of yes and no... -- These are 9 straight hits over half a minute but the wattage is not too high (I chain vape at 40-45W)..
The major issue is when I run out of flavour (hits are dry and if I continue after 2-3 hits it almost tastes burnt).. And all this is in-spite of having holes in the wicks..

9 dl hits in 30 seconds? I think that's alot at that wattage imo....

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. Relentless]

Tfv12 is what you need to keep up with you.

 

[Wraith504]

or an old beat up diesel truck to suck on the tail pipe.

 

[Obsolete_Dude]

Lol Thx Peeps.. So all this makes me think that its me the workman who is at fault rather than the tools..
Now this leaves me with 2 Qs:
-- Low wattage (Around min recommended for a coil) which will need long drags (3-4s) for satisfaction or
-- Hig-Mid wattage and short drags (1-2 s)
Whis is the better way to go? And,
-- What is the usual gap you guys have b/w hits? 10-15 s?

 

[stols001]

I'm not sure which is the better way for you. You'll have to experiment and see what you prefer, and what works best for your coils.

Good luck,

Anna