Tips on rebuilding (KFL+)

[GermZx]

I've been building coils on my Halo Triton with a decent amount of success, and recently got a Protank 2 mini, and a KFL+. The Protank 2 mini vapes amazingly, although I haven't rebuilt it yet.

My issue is with the KFL+. I have built coils ranging from 1.3 to 2 ohms, using 32g kanthal mostly, as well as 30g. I have tried parallel, twisted, spaced wraps, and mini coils. I use cotton wicking. I have followed guides, adjusted my Zmax V3 up and down, etc, but often it seems hit or miss on if a particular coil will work or not without giving me a funky burnt taste.

I properly saturate the cotton, test fire, resaturate, then assemble everything. I can't tell if there is some break in time before a coil will work well, or if my cotton is too loose or tight (I have tried different amounts), or if there is something I'm missing.

I'll try building more tonight and post what happens, but I can't seem to get a coil to work without an incredible amount of fussing. I can build stuff that works, but doesn't produce nearly any vapor, or if it does, the flavor is muted.

All the coils are even, glowing from in to out, properly drawing ejuice from the wick wells. Any tips?

 

[Bronze]

Here's what works for me (and many others).

30ga Kanthal, 10 wraps around a 5/64" drill bit. Make the coils glow and crimp with tweezers (but do not touch the coil while the fire button is depressed. repeat two or three times until coil wraps are tight (no gaps). Take a strip of cotton ball and lace through the coil. Here's what is important on the cotton. Have the grain run the length (not the width). Here is the most common mistake people make...they use too much cotton. You don't want to stuff it in the coil. You want to have it be able slide back and forth inside the coil with very light resistance. If when pulling the cotton through it bunches up then you have too much. Err on the side of using too little than too much. Next, cut the wick so it is no wider than the deck width, perhaps slightly shorter. Wet the wick with juice, press against the deck walls and form a "curl" so the bend sits atop the feed channels. Put it back together making sure all segments are snug. Fill making sure you leave a little air inside the tank (vitally important). Vape away.

 

[Miata GT]

What Bronze said, except that I wrap mine to 2phms using 32gauge Kanthal wire. One of my KFL+s doesn't like to be filled all the way up! the rest are OK with it. When I fill this one all the way up I get that burny taste every so often. It could be this one has subpar juice channels and doesn't flow well until there is an air pocket in the top.

 

[Ryedan]

IMO if the issue is burnt hits, watch out that you're leaving the top of the juice channels unobstructed with wick. I mean no part of the wick should touch the top of those channels. I plaster the cotton to the side of the vertical deck walls under the coil. I cut off anything I think may move and touch a channel when I screw the chimney on.

 

[Bronze]

What Bronze said, except that I wrap mine to 2phms using 32gauge Kanthal wire. One of my KFL+s doesn't like to be filled all the way up! the rest are OK with it. When I fill this one all the way up I get that burny taste every so often. It could be this one has subpar juice channels and doesn't flow well until there is an air pocket in the top.

32 ga is very thin and harder to make a microcoil from. In fact, I can't do it. And many people cannot do it from 32ga. If you can make a quality microcoil from 32 ga, you are VERY graceful and have a VERY marketable skill.

 

[Bronze]

IMO if the issue is burnt hits, watch out that you're leaving the top of the juice channels unobstructed with wick. I mean no part of the wick should touch the top of those channels. I plaster the cotton to the side of the vertical deck walls under the coil. I cut off anything I think may move and touch a channel when I screw the chimney on.

It can touch the channel (it's advisable) but it can't block the channel. In other words, you don't want to stuff the wick into the channel.

 

[Rat2chat2]

I just did mine the first time last night (since ecf was down I had nothing to do). I used 28 gauge Kanthal with 8 wraps and it came out ot 1.3Ω. I am using cotton and was told the first few hits would taste strange. It did but went away and has been vaping beautifully all day. Still not in the same league as the way the reo makes the juice taste but not bad. Good luck to you and have fun. That's what is all about.

 

[Blackboar]

My perfect set up with the KFL+ is a vertical coil using 28ga kanthal. 7 wraps with a 5/64 bit gives me 1.7ohms, which has been my sweetspot when using the Provari at 4.0 volts. The coil is mounted about 1mm above the airhole, centered with the airhole. Wicked with cotton that surrounds the coil, NOT threaded through it. I take the end and cut it so that the wick touches the bottom of the deck where the juice channel is at. I can put the chimney back on without the wick touching the sides.

I think doing that improves the airflow and produces slightly better flavor than the traditional horizontal micro coil.

I almost never get a dry hit. When I do feel like the wick is not as saturated as I like, I simply take a hit without pushing the fire button, and that pulls juice into my wick. The only time I had to do this was due to user error, where I wicked a little too heavy with the cotton.

An easier method to get a good wick with a regular horizontal coil is to screw the bottom part of the chimney after you've threaded the wick through, then trim the wick to be flush with the top of the bottom chimney. Then using a small screwdriver or drill bit, gently push the wick down into the deck. This ensures you have the right amount if wick and it's not obstructing the juice channels. This is how I wicked my KFL+ when I first got it and was learning how to wick and coil it properly.

 

[Ryedan]

It can touch the channel (it's advisable) but it can't block the channel. In other words, you don't want to stuff the wick into the channel.

I hear ya Bronze, but it's tricky to set up just touching but not blocking. It will work if it's not touching. If it's blocking it will choke. That's why if someone is having a problem I go with staying clear of the channels.

I went through this learning experience with my Kayfun and it worked for me. Everyone's mileage will vary though, just like with anything in vaping

 

[GermZx]

I just did mine the first time last night (since ecf was down I had nothing to do). I used 28 gauge Kanthal with 8 wraps and it came out ot 1.3Ω. I am using cotton and was told the first few hits would taste strange. It did but went away and has been vaping beautifully all day. Still not in the same league as the way the reo makes the juice taste but not bad. Good luck to you and have fun. That's what is all about.

This sounds most like my issue. I can build and mount the coils in whatever orientation I want, but I get this weird flavor for the first 10 minutes of vape/testing it out. Then I might undo a wrap if it's not producing what I want, or just rebuild it.

Maybe I am not waiting long enough...Like I said I fully saturate the wick once everything is built, but immediately get a weird flavor. I'm wondering if there is just some inherent "it's going to taste bad" when using a new coil or cotton wick that you just have to power through.

I'll try all of your suggestions out, I'm just about to finish a tank off. I'm hoping I can get a nice pure flavor out of this new RY4 I got!


Also, my juice channels are pretty deep, so I doubt I'm starving for liquid in the chamber. I'll post a pick of the deck here in a bit after a new build.

 

[Ryedan]

I almost never get a dry hit. When I do feel like the wick is not as saturated as I like, I simply take a hit without pushing the fire button, and that pulls juice into my wick. The only time I had to do this was due to user error, where I wicked a little too heavy with the cotton.

I've found a more aggressive way to get juice to the wick is to unscrew the outer tube a quarter turn and back on again. When you unscrew it, you'll pull a bit of air into the tank which goes to the top. When you screw it back on you force juice through the channels.

 

[GermZx]

Well the coil I just made is a twisted 32g, 1.9 ohm with something like 8 or 9 wraps around a 2mm screwdriver. Cotton wicked a bit more loose than I have previously and I'm running it at around 12 watts.

It's producing a pretty big amount of vapor. Since this is a new liquid, I can't really tell if the flavor is muted, or if it is just on the subtle side. That being said I can still detect the vanilla easily. I literally just tried dripping some coconut on it and that one was delicious as always.

I guess my issue was the cotton being too tight. Hopefully I can consistently replicate it even with different coil types. Thanks for the tips guys!

 

[TheJakeBailey]

You could honestly cut your wick quit a bit shorter even now. It looks fine in the pic, but if you lay it on its side, bump it, knock it over, etc, I could see that much tail nudging over and totally blocking the channel.

My other suggestion was to check to make sure the channels were machined properly where they meet, but yours look great! I had to Dremel out a few of mine!

 

[stumpfreeman]

I always have a little break in time on my Kayfuns. If I get a wonky hit, I just put my thumb over the air hole and give it a small priming pull and it's back to normal. I usually have to do this a few times with the first tank on a new coil and then it works great for a couple of weeks.

 

[k2zs]

View attachment 336947

Well the coil I just made is a twisted 32g, 1.9 ohm with something like 8 or 9 wraps around a 2mm screwdriver. Cotton wicked a bit more loose than I have previously and I'm running it at around 12 watts.

It's producing a pretty big amount of vapor. Since this is a new liquid, I can't really tell if the flavor is muted, or if it is just on the subtle side. That being said I can still detect the vanilla easily. I literally just tried dripping some coconut on it and that one was delicious as always.

I guess my issue was the cotton being too tight. Hopefully I can consistently replicate it even with different coil types. Thanks for the tips guys!

It may also have a lot to do with the juice and power settings. I recently got a KFL and the first juice I ran through it and liked (a LOT) was Nicoticket Frenilla. I ran a full 15ml bottle through that build at 12.5 watts and it was stellar.

When that was gone, I put in some MBV Moo Juice and couldn't even get close to 12 watts. That juice only tasted good if I was below 8.5 watts and anything else tasted like burnt juice (not burnt cotton).

Right now I'm vaping SB Mothers Milk and same thing, can't go over 9 watts. If you have another tank you can test the juice in, see if it isn't the juice causing the burnt flavor and not the KFL...

 

[Fir3b1rd]

I build mine with dual coils - 1ohm using 10 wraps of 28g on each.
I run the coils parallel to each other and perpendicular to the posts. Sitting them fairly high in the chimney and with a small space to nut see the airhole in between the coils.
I wick with cotton and use fairly thin strips of it at that. The cotton will expand as it sits in the juice./ wetting the coils and cotton before assembling the tank.
Also I cover the airhole taking a few primer puffs before firing.
The pics are not the current set up it's the first dual cool i put in the kfl in the pic 1 coil is bigger than the other -oops

 

[boomhower1820]

After fighting with mine I finally found the trick to mine to get it to wick properly. Cut the cotton fairly short. Wet it with juice so it's moldable. Then mold it down to the deck where it's right at the juice channel. Since I've done that it's been 100% vaping heaven. Can't comment on the coils, I'm lazy and just buy mine off ebay for pretty cheap. For what they cost it's not worth the time and aggravation for me to do it myself.

 

[Fir3b1rd]

After fighting with mine I finally found the trick to mine to get it to wick properly. Cut the cotton fairly short. Wet it with juice so it's moldable. Then mold it down to the deck where it's right at the juice channel. Since I've done that it's been 100% vaping heaven. Can't comment on the coils, I'm lazy and just buy mine off ebay for pretty cheap. For what they cost it's not worth the time and aggravation for me to do it myself.

I thought the same thing with the coils and was staying pretty ...... off doing it- little trick I finally figured out after destroying 25ft of 28g kanthal- I cut a wire hanger into 2 inch pieces and coil around that. I take about 6 inches of kanthal and start about inch and a half down wrapping as tight as I can them mount the coil and dry burn it when I release the fire button I use my needle nose to pull the coil together. I don't torch it or anything first I keep it springy . Just keep dry burning then pull it together a few times till it makes a nice tight coil.
As for the wicking- I use cotton- very little cotton and point the cotton up put on chimney and tr. push it down till it touched te deck- I leave the channels free from obstruction