The Kayfun conspiracy

[dailywalker]

Great thread.

I have the same problem. I taste the cotton and rayon. Its been very frustrating lately to get a good vape.
I do have one kayfun built with the Japanese cotton and it was OK. Its on my work setup today.
The flavor seemed to be muted a bit. They are new builds so I will give it awhile to settle down.
I have been favoring menthol flavors lately.
I like the rayon it lasts longer but it does change flavors sometimes.
I think it is going to have to be a personal taste for wicking material of choice.

No luck for me today I burnt my tongue on a cup of hot tea.

I thought the thread was going to something completely different though. Consipracy LOL

 

[qqqq]

Thank you for posting this! I have a Kayfun Lite clone on the way from Fasttech, and the last coil builds I made were on Protank coils, oh, maybe a year ago. I had no idea of the scope of the differences various wicking materials could make, so I'm now looking forward to trying not only many different coil setups, but many different wicking materials as well!

 

[crxess]

Super tasters and those used to one device Notice things different and often thin something is wrong. After testing the same e-liquid on 1/2 dozen types of tanks I can confirm they all effect flavors slightly to wildly differently.

Didn't read the whole thread, but have to ask. Who claims the Nautilus Coils are ceramic? I build Ithaka's and Killer 705 units, both with ceramic CUPS both still use wick and wire. On those my preference is to stay with Silica for longevity.

Nautilus coil Dissected:

 

[tchavei]

Never had a nautilus but isn't that pic from a version 1? I heard something about a new version head that has ceramic inside?

 

[fullyBoricua]

crxess, please take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWrm4tkB5iQ at 12:50

About my taste buds quality other members have mention, I will say this:
- I smoked for a total of 23 years (with a 8 month break), most of that time 2 packs a day or more
- I can't taste s--t
- About 30% of eliquid I purchased taste like perfume or soap... I know taste is subjective, but I don't think these brands are in the business of selling fragrances or dish cleaner material. So clearly it is my taste that is completely flipper over

And just as an example:
- Alpha / Mr. Miyagi: Like vaping cologne
- Pocono / Raspberry Iced Tea: Just "unvapeable" for me... like putting a Dove on my mouth
- Halo / Malibu: Which I love, if you read the flavor description it says "frozen Pina Colada twisted inside of a light menthol wrapper" but it taste like a "soft wine" to me

The only flavor I can unmistakably get is pure menthol (who can't!)... everything else is an unknown adventure for me (and an endless wasting of money)

 

[tchavei]

Tell me about it... Tried blueberry the other day and almost threw up cleaned the tank for like 3 hours and still could taste that stuff on the o-rings arg.... That's why I only vape menthol now

 

[jgarmoc]

I wash all rda clones multiple times, alcohol, dish soap, and stainless steel cleaner. This works for me, and gets rid of the machine oil and bad taste. Place the coil close to the air hole and wick gently with organic cotton and you should be good to go.

 

[K_Tech]

For me, the "taste" reminds me of the smell of my mother ironing linens, but I only get it when my wick starts running dry.

 

[fullyBoricua]

Tony... I feel you... I have the same problem with "banana bread" flavors... Once you try one of those flavors, you need to throw your coil away or keep vaping the same thing.
It just WON'T GO AWAY!!!

 

[crxess]

crxess, please take a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWrm4tkB5iQ at 12:50

About my taste buds quality other members have mention, I will say this:
- I smoked for a total of 23 years (with a 8 month break), most of that time 2 packs a day or more
- I can't taste s--t
- About 30% of eliquid I purchased taste like perfume or soap... I know taste is subjective, but I don't think these brands are in the business of selling fragrances or dish cleaner material. So clearly it is my taste that is completely flipper over

And just as an example:
- Alpha / Mr. Miyagi: Like vaping cologne
- Pocono / Raspberry Iced Tea: Just "unvapeable" for me... like putting a Dove on my mouth
- Halo / Malibu: Which I love, if you read the flavor description it says "frozen Pina Colada twisted inside of a light menthol wrapper" but it taste like a "soft wine" to me

The only flavor I can unmistakably get is pure menthol (who can't!)... everything else is an unknown adventure for me (and an endless wasting of money)

Gotcha - not quite the same as the ceramic cup designs. More like ceramic wool. I have a feeling that is why the Screen is on top. to prevent break away wicking from coming up the tube.

 

[demik]

the way the cermaic cloth breaks causes much worry for me...

i would suggest like many others have already -- japanese cotton. just got some LABO cotton from amazon and it's supposedly as chemical free and "pure" as KGD

 

[fullyBoricua]

Gotcha - not quite the same as the ceramic cup designs. More like ceramic wool. I have a feeling that is why the Screen is on top. to prevent break away wicking from coming up the tube.

I think that too... however, I don't have much hope that those BIG holes in the mesh are going to stop any ceramic particles at all

I still take the risk... after 23 years of cancer sticks it can't get much worse, can it?

 

[jgarmoc]

I have similar experiences with any clone rdas. I think most of the gross taste comes from machine oil. I wash it several times with alchohol, dish soap, and stainless steel cleaner. That works for me. Also, with kayfuns, place the coil very close to tge air hole.this helps with any hotspots, or hot legs.

 

[fullyBoricua]

Rayon arrived today!!!

As many commented, no detectable flavor at all... day vs night compared to cotton. I'm still waiting for the Koh Gen Do (ships from Japan, so I guess it'll be a while) but I already found my new love and she likes to be called "Cellucotton".

As a matter of fact, this is so good that "Fuzzy Peach" got upgraded from "unvapeable" (hey, I wasn't gonna try a good juice on my first Rayon wick!) to "I can tolerate it"

Just posting for the sake of completion (yes, I also have a light OCD touch)

 

[sahsah]

Hi! Greetings from the Caribbean! New vaper here, been cancer stick free since 7/31/2014

I just wanted to share my experience with the Kayfun from a "noob" prespective, in hopes it will save someone else all the trouble I have been trough.

Getting in the vape game is somewhat overwhelming at first, with so many options, new terms, and the ton of hardware available… however I keep finding that "Kayfun" thing mentioned in many videos and threads, and how great it is… just think about it, near RDA quality with a tank… can’t beat that!

I decided to give it a go and purchased online a EHPRO Kayfun Lite Plus v2 clone, while waiting for it I kept using my Kanger T3s and Aspire CE5s. I also have a couple of "cartos" meant for flavor testing since I subscribed to Zamplebox, DripClub and Craft Vapery… I’m a noob and I’m flavor chasing

So the kayfun arrived and I tough that will be the beginning of a wonderful journey. Nothing far from the truth.

I watched a TON of videos on how to set it up and I was feeling pretty confident… started with a 28g kanthal 1.5 ohm build, some organic cotton, filled it up with Halo Malibu (my fav juice at the moment) and tried my first vape… just PARADISE! GREAT FLAVOR! GREAT VAPOR PRODUCTION! I tried a carto with the same juice, then the T3 and then the CE5… the difference was overwhelming and I couldn’t be happier

Then, 2 days later, the nightmare begun… I got vape mail! My new Aspire Nautilus Mini was in front of me… I quickly filled her up with Malibu, took a puff, and wow, what a great vape… not a second later I was reaching for my kayfun (loaded with the same liquid) to compare then side by side… and then it hit me like a truck… the Kayfun had a very subtle different taste than the Nautilus Mini, I couldn’t figure it out what it was, but there was something there

Washed the kayfun and re-coiled. Washed the Nautilus Mini and put a new coil in and filled both with VapeTrik AWOL (my second fav juice)… SAME RESULT there was an unidentified taste in the kayfun. Played a little with the wattage… more cotton, less cotton, wick against the walls, wick on the channels, more airflow, less airflow, coil higher from the airhole, then lower, etc., etc., same result… Recoiled the Kayfun at 1.2ohm and 0.9 ohms, same old same.

From that moment on, a long journey begun… I read many threads about kayfun problems and how to deal with them and tried many different approaches. I had a feeling that this subtle mystery taste came from the Kayfun itself, I can’t describe the taste since I had never “feel” it before in my life. I had nothing to compare it to… In short I tried:
- Boiled the Kayfun for 20 minutes
- Leaving it in alcohol overnight
- Look for grease in the hollow center pin

None of this worked, whatever that taste was, It wasn't coming from the Kayfun… so, next suspect on the list was the coil… so I grabbed some 26g GPLAT and recoiled… same taste again

Next suspect… the cotton (I was using an organic from Walgreens), so I buy some new cotton from a near CVS store (another brand)… SAME RESULT.
I took both cotton brands and boiled them in separated pots, using distilled water (or at least it says "distilled sodium free" on the Costco box), let it dry overnight and tried again… SAME TASTE!!!

I was really lost and I didn't know where else to look… then, watching a PBusrado review (about cotton vs rayon vs hem vs ... cotton) I heard the magic words from Phil "I CAN TASTE THE COTTON"… wait... what? Cotton has a "taste"??? So I quickly switched to 3mm silica and recoiled… BINGO! The mystery taste was gone, now to be replaced with a “new” mystery taste (that was obviously coming from the silica).

So the culprit all along was the cotton… COTTON HAS A TASTE and despite the ton of info I read and the many videos I watched, THAT WAS NEVER MENTIONED.

It’s important to point out that this "taste" (both with cotton and silica) is not strong, as a matter of fact is very subtle. If I take a 5 minutes break from vaping and pick up the kayfun again I CAN’T FEEL IT… only when compared side by side with the Mini I was able to notice it… After a comparison I still can feel it for a couple of minutes and then I assume my taste buds gradually adjust until to point I can no longer feel it. Of course if I pick up the Mini again a new cycle of feeling the taste on the kayfun will begin.

The reason why the Nautilus Mini does not have this taste is because it’s using a ceramic wick (not cotton, not silica).

In short, I was loving my Kayfun because it clearly outperformed cartos and tanks, both in flavor and vapor production. And I can understand why everyone loves it.

I can also say, if you love your Kayfun try a Mini "side by side"… maybe you are in for a new favorite if you don’t mind buying coils and you are ok using ceramic wicks.

Hope this helps someone.

Few things I noticed:
-Your build on the "kayfun" is 1.5 ohms. The sweet spot on a kayfun for most I've spoken to as well as on my kayfuns is around a .7-.9 ohm build with cotton.
-cotton has a taste only for the first maybe ten minutes of vaping, max. If you pre boil your cotton then it won't have this taste, or if you buy untreated, un bleached cotton like koh gen do, it won't have any taste in the beginning.
-lastly, you're using a clone, all of my experiences with kayfun clones provided significantly poor performance in ever category when compared to my authentic kayfuns or even my Russians, so until you try vaping on an authentic kayfun I don't think it's fair to just dismiss kayfuns altogether and warn others to do the same.

 

[sahsah]

Interesting. What I thought you were going to say was you tried them side by side and the kayfuns flavor blew away the minis. That has been my experience with the kayfun. Side by side most any tank with a pre wound coil it always wins hands down in my expirence. I've not noticed a flavor with my cotton but some people are more sensitive than others. You might try unbleached organic cotton. It's a very clean vape.I guess everyone is different . In my expirence my kayfun has the best flavor production with the exception of the taifun. Perhaps it depends on the type of cotton used ?? I buy my cotton in rolls it's sterile and wrapped. I've never noticed a taste but it's like surgical grade cotton. Not cotton balls. I wonder if there is a difference? I've never tasted the regular cotton balls. I also use organic unbleached cotton. Same thing, no flavor. Maybe I'm not very sensitive to it or.maybe it's the type of cotton??

My thoughts exactly, couldn't agree more. I think this comes down to user error or the fact that he's using a clone. I've had kayfun clones before that had some funky taste mixed in even after washing thoroughly several times, which is why I gave up on the clones and just stick with my authentics. I still haven't found a device that gives off as pure and consistent a flavor as a kayfun lite plus v2, even my RDA's while providing more of everything, the detail and subtlety is lost in translation with all the intensity happening in a low ohm rda build. Kayfun is just the ultimate flavor chaser's rebuildable, not to mention if you learn how to build it properly it can even be quite the little cloud checker =] fanboy #1 reporting for duty lol
Keep on vaping all you cloud-chasing cowboys (and cowgirls) =]

 

[ClintS]

Rayon arrived today!!!

... As a matter of fact, this is so good that "Fuzzy Peach" got upgraded from "unvapeable" (hey, I wasn't gonna try a good juice on my first Rayon wick!) to "I can tolerate it"

Just posting for the sake of completion (yes, I also have a light OCD touch)

The only issue I have with the rayon was the nicotine needed to reduced (which now seems be necessary for me no matter the wick) and the taste of some my previous best juices were not so good anymore. So I switched back to Koh Gen Do.

And my Nautilus's with BVCs are used just as much if not more than the Kayfuns.