Tootle Puffers, Redux (The Sequel)

[LJFinFLA]

Hi everyone!! I'm 29 days off of analogs! Thrilled to be here with you ALL!

I think I must be a Tootle Poofer! My happy vape place is 1.5 ohms, 14-20watts (actually, have yet to use 20 watts, but I think that'd be my high end right now).

I'm vaping very happily on my Endura T-18s with prism tanks, my (really old) Vamo V2 with Nautilus tank.

I have tried the sub ohm thing but it makes me feel asthmatic and wheezy and I don't like wide open really airy draws. I have an eVic mini vtc and tried the titanium coil & Ti TC mode but wasn't impressed (maybe I set it too low - there was not much vapor).

To be honest, I really don't like the form factor of box mods. I much prefer a tube style - I just got a Provari P3 + 2 Nautilus tanks off of eBay for $75! I'm excited to try it!

I like my Endura T18 batteries with my Nautilus mini, too - looks so pretty!

Is anyone here like me? Am I in the right place? Not sure what a tootle poofer is, really, but I imagined it to be something like: older-school, lower power devices at super-ohm resistance (as opposed to sub-ohm). Is that right?

What's a squonker?

Do you think I should give up my Nauti tanks in case Vapocoloypse happens, learn to rebuild them, or get into Kayfun single coil building?

Anyone tried the Apollo Vtube V4 (goes to 50W - which seems more than I'll ever need at this point). What about the latest lavatubes or Vamos? I guess I'm trying to decide what to buy other than Provaris in my favorite form factor.

Well - I was a bit all over the place in this post - but mainly wanted to say HELLO to everyone and stand up and be counted amongst the Tootle Poofers!

HELLO! Nice to meet you all!

Hi and Welcome hejira,

The best way to describe sqounking to you would be reverse dripping. When you use an RDA you drip juice onto your coil & wick. When you squonk you squeeze a juice bottle which sends juice up to the coil & wick from underneath.

 

[Andygev35]

I've mentioned on here a time or two that I'm a die-hard mouth-to-lung vaper. My favorite tanks for flavor have always been kayfun/russian style tanks. After enjoying a couple of FT Russian 91% and several KFv4 clones, I decided to give an authentic a go so I purchased an KFL+v2. I was very pleased with the workmanship compared to the clones, flavor was as good if not slightly better, but the whistling and hissing of the draw of this thing was MADDENING!! I was very disappointed. I had actually shelved this thing for months when I came to the determination that, by God, I spent hard-earned money on this and was determined to make it work!!

I disassembled the KFL as far as possible, smoothed, filed, sanded every corner, hole, nook and cranny. I then proceeded to reassemble it, held my breath... took a toot... and VOILA!! The Pied Piper had returned!!

I must've sat in my chair for hours mulling over what to try next. I had done extensive research online and found solutions ranging from drilling out the intake hole to stuffing the hole with kanthal, strands of silica in the airflow adustment hole, wrapping the airflow adjustment screw with teflon tape, etc... etc... etc... I'm not willing to try any solutions that are irreversible, so drilling is a no-go for me. Most of the other solutions were marginally successful in stopping the whistling. The silica in the airflow adjustment hole nearly silenced the entire works and I thought I was onto something!! That is until I filled the tank and started vaping away. About 10 min later, what was a virtually silent KFL sounded something akin to a snoring chipmunk!! :hankey: Evidently condensation saturated the silica and turned it into a phlegm flap. NEXT...

I was about at my wit's end, so I figured I'd let it go for now and see if a solution would somehow present itself when I least expected it. I proceeded to take a long hot shower to refresh myself and try to wash some frustration off of me. Afterwards, while drying out the insides of my ears with a Q-Tip I had an epiphany. I WAS HOLDING THE SOLUTION IN MY HAND!!

Grabbing a handful of Q-Tips, a razor knife, my wire cutters, and my hopes, I went back to my desk. After a little trial and error, here's what I came up with:

I clipped the cotton ends off with my wire cutters, then cut off about 1/3 of the tube that remained (lengthwise). Keep in mind that, obviously, this only works with plastic Q-Tips and not the compressed cellulose ones.

I then rolled what was left of the little plastic tube back and forth between my thumb and finger until I had formed a smaller tube. I removed the AFC screw from the base of the KFL, and carefully inserted newly created smaller plastic tube into the air intake. It was a tight fit, which I wanted. I then carefully trimmed the excess tube flush with the surface of the body of the atomizer. At this point, I could have either left out the AFC screw entirely, since the tube was covering the AFC hole, but I reinstalled it, if for no other reason than to NOT lose the little bugger...

Then the moment of truth...

EUREKA!!! SILENCE!!!

OMG, my KFL+v2 is now as silent as primer puffs on a Nautilus. No more whistle and NO MORE HISSING!!

Yes, this is how I spent a Saturday... Yes, evidently I have no life... ***sigh** Hopefully someone someday may find this info useful to them...

Note: Using this method will cause you to lose airflow control, but the draw is perfect for me. If you follow this same method with the AFC screw all the way in, the plastic tube will stop at the screw, allowing you to keep your AFC...

 

[DavidOck]

You found us!

I think I must be a Tootle Poofer! My happy vape place is 1.5 ohms, 14-20watts (actually, have yet to use 20 watts, but I think that'd be my high end right now).

Well, come might find that a tad high, but we're not that picky!

To be honest, I really don't like the form factor of box mods. I much prefer a tube style - I just got a Provari P3 + 2 Nautilus tanks off of eBay for $75! I'm excited to try it!

In luck, then, since, as the high power boxes seem to be the darling of the day, the older lower power tubes are being heavily discounted. Good time to stock up on those.

Do you think I should give up my Nauti tanks in case Vapocoloypse happens, learn to rebuild them, or get into Kayfun single coil building?

Personally, I think a supply of true rebuildables, like the KFs, is a good way to go. Not sure how easy the Nauti heads are to rebuild, but a KF (or similar) gives lots more room and is easier. So picking up one or more of them might be a good idea. Fluid Vapes has them on sale for, uh, $6.99

 

[hejira]

You found us!



Well, come might find that a tad high, but we're not that picky!



In luck, then, since, as the high power boxes seem to be the darling of the day, the older lower power tubes are being heavily discounted. Good time to stock up on those.



Personally, I think a supply of true rebuildables, like the KFs, is a good way to go. Not sure how easy the Nauti heads are to rebuild, but a KF (or similar) gives lots more room and is easier. So picking up one or more of them might be a good idea. Fluid Vapes has them on sale for, uh, $6.99 View attachment 521605

I guess it is a good time for cheap tube mods, eh?! Good point!

I think you're right about the Kayfuns - I am looking through the LONG-A** list of clones on Fasttech - there's so many!

Seems like a smart approach would be to go for one with good reviews on the sites (or a rec here) at first? Perhaps because I have been heavily dependent on reviews in device selection before, it feels like I'm going out on a limb just picking one and ordering it?

I guess with some experience using one picking another out may feel less daunting - plus, I have to admit, I like the "pretty" ones like this one:

$12.35 Kayfun Lite Pawns Styled RTA Rebuildable Tank Atomizer - 3ml / stainless steel + glass / 22mm diameter at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

Thanks for your input - and thanks for all the welcomes and hellos back!!!

Hope everyone's having a great day!

 

[Belhade]

I've mentioned on here a time or two that I'm a die-hard mouth-to-lung vaper. My favorite tanks for flavor have always been kayfun/russian style tanks. After enjoying a couple of FT Russian 91% and several KFv4 clones, I decided to give an authentic a go so I purchased an KFL+v2. I was very pleased with the workmanship compared to the clones, flavor was as good if not slightly better, but the whistling and hissing of the draw of this thing was MADDENING!! I was very disappointed. I had actually shelved this thing for months when I came to the determination that, by God, I spent hard-earned money on this and was determined to make it work!!

I disassembled the KFL as far as possible, smoothed, filed, sanded every corner, hole, nook and cranny. I then proceeded to reassemble it, held my breath... took a toot... and VOILA!! The Pied Piper had returned!!

I must've sat in my chair for hours mulling over what to try next. I had done extensive research online and found solutions ranging from drilling out the intake hole to stuffing the hole with kanthal, strands of silica in the airflow adustment hole, wrapping the airflow adjustment screw with teflon tape, etc... etc... etc... I'm not willing to try any solutions that are irreversible, so drilling is a no-go for me. Most of the other solutions were marginally successful in stopping the whistling. The silica in the airflow adjustment hole nearly silenced the entire works and I thought I was onto something!! That is until I filled the tank and started vaping away. About 10 min later, what was a virtually silent KFL sounded something akin to a snoring chipmunk!! :hankey: Evidently condensation saturated the silica and turned it into a phlegm flap. NEXT...

I was about at my wit's end, so I figured I'd let it go for now and see if a solution would somehow present itself when I least expected it. I proceeded to take a long hot shower to refresh myself and try to wash some frustration off of me. Afterwards, while drying out the insides of my ears with a Q-Tip I had an epiphany. I WAS HOLDING THE SOLUTION IN MY HAND!!

Grabbing a handful of Q-Tips, a razor knife, my wire cutters, and my hopes, I went back to my desk. After a little trial and error, here's what I came up with:

I clipped the cotton ends off with my wire cutters, then cut off about 1/3 of the tube that remained (lengthwise). Keep in mind that, obviously, this only works with plastic Q-Tips and not the compressed cellulose ones.

I then rolled what was left of the little plastic tube back and forth between my thumb and finger until I had formed a smaller tube. I removed the AFC screw from the base of the KFL, and carefully inserted newly created smaller plastic tube into the air intake. It was a tight fit, which I wanted. I then carefully trimmed the excess tube flush with the surface of the body of the atomizer. At this point, I could have either left out the AFC screw entirely, since the tube was covering the AFC hole, but I reinstalled it, if for no other reason than to NOT lose the little bugger...

Then the moment of truth...

EUREKA!!! SILENCE!!!

OMG, my KFL+v2 is now as silent as primer puffs on a Nautilus. No more whistle and NO MORE HISSING!!

Yes, this is how I spent a Saturday... Yes, evidently I have no life... ***sigh** Hopefully someone someday may find this info useful to them...

Note: Using this method will cause you to lose airflow control, but the draw is perfect for me. If you follow this same method with the AFC screw all the way in, the plastic tube will stop at the screw, allowing you to keep your AFC...

Wow, this may actually solve my problem! I lost a grub screw to one airflow hole in my mini Buddha, to tighten up the draw I shoved a few toothpick slivers in. It works, but the wood soaks up and appears to weep juice. Which is just indicative of a small leaking issue (I think it's due to the coil being directly over one of the air holes) but still...toothpicks.

 

[Vapez]

Alright, I have some questions for all of you.

What's the best wicking method for higher VG juices?

I've rebuilt some coils at 1.4ohms without problems with 30gauge kanthal. Super smooth vape, never a snap crackle pop.

Then I had ordered 10x rba bases (future proofing!) And wicked all of them. They were all already wired. They were authentics.

The issue is... About 8/10 of them have had a really annoying sound. When first hitting it, it comes a huuuge pop/mini explosion, followed with crackles during the hit. And this is for every hit, even after longer vaping sessions. What makes this happen?

Vapez


Vapez

 

[hejira]

I've mentioned on here a time or two that I'm a die-hard mouth-to-lung vaper. My favorite tanks for flavor have always been kayfun/russian style tanks. After enjoying a couple of FT Russian 91% and several KFv4 clones, I decided to give an authentic a go so I purchased an KFL+v2. I was very pleased with the workmanship compared to the clones, flavor was as good if not slightly better, but the whistling and hissing of the draw of this thing was MADDENING!! I was very disappointed. I had actually shelved this thing for months when I came to the determination that, by God, I spent hard-earned money on this and was determined to make it work!!

I disassembled the KFL as far as possible, smoothed, filed, sanded every corner, hole, nook and cranny. I then proceeded to reassemble it, held my breath... took a toot... and VOILA!! The Pied Piper had returned!!

I must've sat in my chair for hours mulling over what to try next. I had done extensive research online and found solutions ranging from drilling out the intake hole to stuffing the hole with kanthal, strands of silica in the airflow adustment hole, wrapping the airflow adjustment screw with teflon tape, etc... etc... etc... I'm not willing to try any solutions that are irreversible, so drilling is a no-go for me. Most of the other solutions were marginally successful in stopping the whistling. The silica in the airflow adjustment hole nearly silenced the entire works and I thought I was onto something!! That is until I filled the tank and started vaping away. About 10 min later, what was a virtually silent KFL sounded something akin to a snoring chipmunk!! :hankey: Evidently condensation saturated the silica and turned it into a phlegm flap. NEXT...

I was about at my wit's end, so I figured I'd let it go for now and see if a solution would somehow present itself when I least expected it. I proceeded to take a long hot shower to refresh myself and try to wash some frustration off of me. Afterwards, while drying out the insides of my ears with a Q-Tip I had an epiphany. I WAS HOLDING THE SOLUTION IN MY HAND!!

Grabbing a handful of Q-Tips, a razor knife, my wire cutters, and my hopes, I went back to my desk. After a little trial and error, here's what I came up with:

I clipped the cotton ends off with my wire cutters, then cut off about 1/3 of the tube that remained (lengthwise). Keep in mind that, obviously, this only works with plastic Q-Tips and not the compressed cellulose ones.

I then rolled what was left of the little plastic tube back and forth between my thumb and finger until I had formed a smaller tube. I removed the AFC screw from the base of the KFL, and carefully inserted newly created smaller plastic tube into the air intake. It was a tight fit, which I wanted. I then carefully trimmed the excess tube flush with the surface of the body of the atomizer. At this point, I could have either left out the AFC screw entirely, since the tube was covering the AFC hole, but I reinstalled it, if for no other reason than to NOT lose the little bugger...

Then the moment of truth...

EUREKA!!! SILENCE!!!

OMG, my KFL+v2 is now as silent as primer puffs on a Nautilus. No more whistle and NO MORE HISSING!!

Yes, this is how I spent a Saturday... Yes, evidently I have no life... ***sigh** Hopefully someone someday may find this info useful to them...

Note: Using this method will cause you to lose airflow control, but the draw is perfect for me. If you follow this same method with the AFC screw all the way in, the plastic tube will stop at the screw, allowing you to keep your AFC...

What a perfectly funny & understandable story!!

What a good writer you are. I am sure it's very helpful, too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Alright, I have some questions for all of you.

What's the best wicking method for higher VG juices?

I've rebuilt some coils at 1.4ohms without problems with 30gauge kanthal. Super smooth vape, never a snap crackle pop.

Then I had ordered 10x rba bases (future proofing!) And wicked all of them. They were all already wired. They were authentics.

The issue is... About 8/10 of them have had a really annoying sound. When first hitting it, it comes a huuuge pop/mini explosion, followed with crackles during the hit. And this is for every hit, even after longer vaping sessions. What makes this happen?

Vapez


Vapez

STM bases right? If so they tend to come with about a 26 ga .5-.6 ohm coil in them. I did not like them and recoiled em all with 28 ga 1.2 or close coils 2.4 mm diameter.
I am vaping them at about 15 watts and no issues. Sometimes I get a pop when I first fire them off if they have been sitting a while.

 

[Vapez]

STM bases right? If so they tend to come with about a 26 ga .5-.6 ohm coil in them. I did not like them and recoiled em all with 28 ga 1.2 or close coils 2.4 mm diameter.

Yes. But I do tend to like lower ohms more now, and those that didn't have this problem worked flawlessy. I bought some other wire as well so going to rebuild them all and see if the issue persist.

Vapez

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Yes. But I do tend to like lower ohms more now, and those that didn't have this problem worked flawlessy. I bought some other wire as well so going to rebuild them all and see if the issue persist.

Vapez

The coils should be the same so the issue likely lies in slight wicking differences.

 

[Vapez]

The coils should be the same so the issue likely lies in slight wicking differences.

I have wicked them all the excact same way. The weird thing is that the coils I winded myself has no issues.

Vapez

 

[Robert Cromwell]

Wicking is as much or more of an art than coil building.

 

[Robert Cromwell]

I have wicked them all the excact same way. The weird thing is that the coils I winded myself has no issues.

Vapez

The prewound coils may be nichrome. which I have never used but may act differently.

 

[Vapez]

The prewound coils may be nichrome. which I have never used but may act differently.

That may be it.

Vapez

 

[Belhade]

I always thought thicker juice needed thinner wicking.

 

[LJFinFLA]

I always thought thicker juice needed thinner wicking.

I don't really have an answer for that. I've used juice as thick as max vg and didn't do anything different with my wicking. Depending on what atty your using you might have to adjust the juice flow or the sometimes I cut back on the air adjustment so it creates more vacuum.

 

[LJFinFLA]

So we had some excitement on Saturday. Tornado! This hit just 3 miles from our house. It was a crazy time with the weather radio blasting alerts as well as my cell phone. Thank God no one was killed but the last I heard about 15 homes were wiped out and over 250 homes had significant damage. Luckily our home had no damage!

 

[MikeyConti]

So we had some excitement on Saturday. Tornado! This hit just 3 miles from our house. It was a crazy time with the weather radio blasting alerts as well as my cell phone. Thank God no one was killed but the last I heard about 15 homes were wiped out and over 250 homes had significant damage. Luckily our home had no damage!

Glad you didn't get caught in it bro!!
BTW I hate when my phone starts doing Weather Alerts!!!! It does not stop!!!

 

[LJFinFLA]

Glad you didn't get caught in it bro!!
BTW I hate when my phone starts doing Weather Alerts!!!! It does not stop!!!

Thanks Mikey
True but it's better than not knowing! The weather box squawks even more!!

 

[juskiddin]

So we had some excitement on Saturday. Tornado! This hit just 3 miles from our house. It was a crazy time with the weather radio blasting alerts as well as my cell phone. Thank God no one was killed but the last I heard about 15 homes were wiped out and over 250 homes had significant damage. Luckily our home had no damage!

Oh good Lord! Frightening. Hope you're okay.