The Russian 91% - Melted chimney O ring.

[merddyn2002]

So... I just got "The Russian" (I say that in my best Street Fighter II Zangief voice) the other day. It's my first rebuildable and my first coil to build. Went with a micro coil. 12 loops of 28g Kanthol. Pretty high resistance, but i was going to error on the side of caution as I don't currently have an ohm meter. Coil works great, heats evenly from the inside out. Silica wicks. Couldn't get the cotton to wick well since i'm using straight VG. Overall, LOVE the quality of The Russian.

Anyway, on to the issue. I was driving along and was so impressed with the vapor and flavor this thing was chucking on my Itaste 134 at 11volts that I was chain vaping. Things got a little warm. Not HOT from the outside but certainly warm. Then I noticed it started flooding. I cleared the flood by holding it upside down and blowing. It continued to re-flood. ...?

However, i noticed that if i held it on its side so that the air hole was up it started blowing huge clouds and tasting even better. I was starting to actually kinda fill up the cab of my tahoe. I'm a hookah fiend so I have lots of practice taking large lung hits.

So I get home and pull it apart and I see that the o-ring on the chimney has slid down from it's recess and is now much larger, so large in fact that it won't go back into it's spot in the cap anymore. I had to grab the spare. It looks like it got warm and slid down the chimney and then was stretched because of the slope of the chimney.

I was so impressed with the vape that i actually continued to vape without the top o-ring, just keeping the unit on it's side with the air hole up for the rest of the night. This morning i replaced the ring and will be mindful of getting it too warm in the future.

I was able to find the size of the ring (Dash 008) and order 125 pieces on amazon.com for like $9 so i'm set for replacements.

I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this issue? Even brand new before I smoked it I noticed that the ring liked to slide down that chimney. Maybe I just had a larger ring than I should have. I also notice that as I screw on the top cap (that's usually how i fill it, dont like the fill hole in bottom) that the ring grips the top of the chimney and starts to unscrew it. that seems to be a design flaw.

I would think that a slightly modified chimney piece with a recess for the ring both in the top cap and on the top of the chimney would be a better design to keep it in place.

thoughts?

 

[Xcighippy]

So... I just got "The Russian" (I say that in my best Street Fighter II Zangief voice) the other day. It's my first rebuildable and my first coil to build. Went with a micro coil. 12 loops of 28g Kanthol. Pretty high resistance, but i was going to error on the side of caution as I don't currently have an ohm meter. Coil works great, heats evenly from the inside out. Silica wicks. Couldn't get the cotton to wick well since i'm using straight VG. Overall, LOVE the quality of The Russian.

Anyway, on to the issue. I was driving along and was so impressed with the vapor and flavor this thing was chucking on my Itaste 134 at 11volts that I was chain vaping. Things got a little warm. Not HOT from the outside but certainly warm. Then I noticed it started flooding. I cleared the flood by holding it upside down and blowing. It continued to re-flood. ...?

However, i noticed that if i held it on its side so that the air hole was up it started blowing huge clouds and tasting even better. I was starting to actually kinda fill up the cab of my tahoe. I'm a hookah fiend so I have lots of practice taking large lung hits.

So I get home and pull it apart and I see that the o-ring on the chimney has slid down from it's recess and is now much larger, so large in fact that it won't go back into it's spot in the cap anymore. I had to grab the spare. It looks like it got warm and slid down the chimney and then was stretched because of the slope of the chimney.

I was so impressed with the vape that i actually continued to vape without the top o-ring, just keeping the unit on it's side with the air hole up for the rest of the night. This morning i replaced the ring and will be mindful of getting it too warm in the future.

I was able to find the size of the ring (Dash 008) and order 125 pieces on amazon.com for like $9 so i'm set for replacements.

I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this issue? Even brand new before I smoked it I noticed that the ring liked to slide down that chimney. Maybe I just had a larger ring than I should have. I also notice that as I screw on the top cap (that's usually how i fill it, dont like the fill hole in bottom) that the ring grips the top of the chimney and starts to unscrew it. that seems to be a design flaw.

I would think that a slightly modified chimney piece with a recess for the ring both in the top cap and on the top of the chimney would be a better design to keep it in place.

thoughts?

While I haven't experienced you particular problem with the r91. I do agree there is a design flaw with the way the O ring sits in a recess and can slide down the chimney. I have wondered about this myself. I have two other Kayfun clones I believe are Ephro that have the O ring captured in the top cap so it can not move. Wish they had done that with the Russian.
I am going to see if the top cap on my clone's match the top cap on the russian and may try a swap.

 

[eda123]

Today, as a matter of fact. On my ~1 week old R91, it started leaking massively when laid on its side. I took it apart and the o ring was pulled down the chimney, and would no longer fit back in. I used the spare and no issues with that. So far...

Where is the AMZN link? I couldnt find it.

Let me know how that works out! I may buy a few from you.

 

[denno612]

FYI almost all the pieces are interchangeable between the 2, i have the 91% and the tobecco kayfun clone both work great ,but really 11 watts?... , astro mech mod,30g,7 wraps,1.7ohms 50/50 ry4 nice clouds.anyway ,good luck with the o ring problem

 

[merddyn2002]

Today, as a matter of fact. On my ~1 week old R91, it started leaking massively when laid on its side. I took it apart and the o ring was pulled down the chimney, and would no longer fit back in. I used the spare and no issues with that. So far...

Where is the AMZN link? I couldnt find it.

Let me know how that works out! I may buy a few from you.

Amazon Link is here:
008 Buna-N O-Ring, 50A Durometer, Round, Black, 3/16" ID, 5/16" OD, 1/16" Width (Pack of 125): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

As i understand it this is supposed to be the right size. The photo doesn't match the proportions but the original ring but 008 is supposed to be the right size. I'll let you know for sure if it works when it comes in. I'm happy to shoot a few your way.

 

[Portertown]

Amazon Link is here:
008 Buna-N O-Ring, 50A Durometer, Round, Black, 3/16" ID, 5/16" OD, 1/16" Width (Pack of 125): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

As i understand it this is supposed to be the right size. The photo doesn't match the proportions but the original ring but 008 is supposed to be the right size. I'll let you know for sure if it works when it comes in. I'm happy to shoot a few your way.

You can buy individual #008 orings from Fastenal. They are Nitrile, so I don't know if they are safe for use in the tank or not.

#008 3/16"ID x 5/16"OD 0.063" Cross Section Nitrile Standard O-Ring | Fastenal

 

[tdtyler]

However, i noticed that if i held it on its side so that the air hole was up it started blowing huge clouds and tasting even better. I was starting to actually kinda fill up the cab of my tahoe. I'm a hookah fiend so I have lots of practice taking large lung hits.

So I get home and pull it apart and I see that the o-ring on the chimney has slid down from it's recess and is now much larger, so large in fact that it won't go back into it's spot in the cap anymore. I had to grab the spare. It looks like it got warm and slid down the chimney and then was stretched because of the slope of the chimney.

I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this issue? Even brand new before I smoked it I noticed that the ring liked to slide down that chimney. Maybe I just had a larger ring than I should have. I also notice that as I screw on the top cap (that's usually how i fill it, dont like the fill hole in bottom) that the ring grips the top of the chimney and starts to unscrew it. that seems to be a design flaw.

Talk about perfect timing...

I'm having a similar problem. My Russian 91% "weeps" eliquid from the air intake. Also, there's a lot of vapor shooting out that hole. I've taken the device apart and have never found the O-ring above the chimney out of place. It looks fine. In fact, it's tight. Sometimes I have trouble getting the top screwed back on because the ring is tight.

I'm using 8 wrap Kanthal, 28 gauge A1, with a cotton ball wick. The coil sits directly over the air hole. I learned the hard way (burned cotton) that "less is more" when deciding how much cotton to use for the wick.

I really appreciate the Amazon link for O-rings. Thank you for that.

Any thoughts from anyone on the "weeping" issue?

 

[merddyn2002]

Talk about perfect timing...

I'm having a similar problem. My Russian 91% "weeps" eliquid from the air intake. Also, there's a lot of vapor shooting out that hole.

Any thoughts from anyone on the "weeping" issue?

I get some puffs of vapor out of the air hole as well, but nothing spectacular.

The weeping is caused by loss of the slight vacuum in the tank which causes the chamber flooding. Either the seal is broken somewhere (most likely the chimney o-ring for most folks but yours sounds like it's holding up well.) You can also lose the vacuum if you fill it incorrectly. Typically i don't use the fill screw on the bottom. I take the top off and fill that way, but if you do that you need to hold your finger over the air hole, otherwise you'll flood the chamber.

The easiest way to clear a flood is to hold your finger over the air hole, turn it upside down and blow out the juice with as much force as you can. Makes a bit of a mess but it'll clear it. If floods resume you've got a pressure leak somewhere.

 

[tdtyler]

I get some puffs of vapor out of the air hole as well, but nothing spectacular.

The weeping is caused by loss of the slight vacuum in the tank which causes the chamber flooding. Either the seal is broken somewhere (most likely the chimney o-ring for most folks but yours sounds like it's holding up well.) You can also lose the vacuum if you fill it incorrectly. Typically i don't use the fill screw on the bottom. I take the top off and fill that way, but if you do that you need to hold your finger over the air hole, otherwise you'll flood the chamber.

The easiest way to clear a flood is to hold your finger over the air hole, turn it upside down and blow out the juice with as much force as you can. Makes a bit of a mess but it'll clear it. If floods resume you've got a pressure leak somewhere.

Hey Merddyn...

All the info you presented was very helpful. I ordered the O rings from Amazon and I think they're a little small. They fall out of the top of my Russian. On my Russian there is, indeed, a recess in the top cap that holds the O ring in place. My Russian 91% came from Vapnificent. It was $92.50 and the box says Kebo made it.

Now... On to the "weeping" issue.

I think you were right on target with the vacuum leak problem. At least that's what I thought. I've disassembled my Russian, cleaned it thoroughly. I inspected all the pieces where O rings go to make sure there is no debris in the channel to stop the O ring from sealing. I tried the new top cap O ring from Amazon and it simply falls out, so I'm curious to know if yours fit. I inspected all the O rings to make sure there were no flaws and they all look great.

Right now, with the tank at least 75% full there is no weeping. The chimney chamber is wicking nicely and I'm getting great volumes of vapor. I'm avoiding chain-vaping so as not to get the chimney too hot. However, there is STILL some slight weeping out the air hole. In the past, as the tank drains from vaping, the weeping increases to where I'm wiping off excess eliquid after nearly every puff.

I KNOW it can't be the Russian. What am I doing wrong? AND... Where can I get a complete set of O rings for this thing. Vapnificent doesn't have them.

Thanks!

 

[ancientgeek]

FWIW, I put a slight bevel on the chimney top of my Russian 91% and my two KFL+ clones like the original KFL+. Might not have any bearing on your problem, but it does cause less wear and tear on that top -ring when taking off and putting on the top cap.