Troubleshooting my first genny build

[basc]

Hi all

I just got my first genesis type rba. Thanks to a tip I was given in another thread, I bought a Kraken and it arrived yesterday.

I did a typical build (single wick): fully oxidized 400 mesh, 5 wraps of 28 gauge for about .8 ohms. It had problems, so I tried 5 wraps of 30 gauge at 1.2 ohms, but had the exact same problem:

When first built they had hot spots up top. A few minutes of pulsing and they seemed perfect - heated up quickly from the middle outwards till nice and even



After filling the tank, not so good. If I fired for more than 2 seconds, the top wrap lit up and the taste was terrible. if I kept firing, the other wraps lit up one by one until the mesh itself was glowing



Now, I know nothing about these types of attys, but it seems to me like the coil is fine but there's a wicking problem. I think the coils are glowing from the top downwards because the wick cannot keep up (this thing eats juice up so fast you can almost watch the tank draining as you fire).

If this is what's happening, what should I be doing different with my wick? Make it fatter? Thinner? Roll it on a bigger paper clip? Roll it with no paper clip? Use a different mesh?

Or maybe I'm all wrong and there's some other problem.

Any advice?

 

[notawoman]

It'll take about a tanks worth of e liquid for it to break in. Genesis atomizers most often than not need to be tilted while vaping to keep supplying liquid to the coil area.

If it is a wicking problem some people like a very tight and densely rolled wick with no hole in the center. That will help juice wick a lot better, but some people also like a straw type wick with a hole in the center. This helps wicking but it won't pull liquid vertically like a densely rolled wick will, but when tilted it allows juice to flow very well.

There are many other options such as putting wick inside a wick or even ss rope.

 

[Thrasher]

you never said what your trying to use this on. vv? mech?

sounds like the coil is just too hot. and try making sure the atty is tilted when taking a hit to keep the wick wet.

very few genis will fire and wick well vertically on a mech until the battery dies off some. I dont know the kraken deck so guessing but I have found with some geni's it takes a couple shots to find the optimal amount of wick

looking at the pic the top of the wick looks mashed down? or is that just the angle of the shot and thats the top screw?
I dont know how you are preparing the wick but too much oxidization and all that juice burning stuff can strangle a wick as well sometimes.

now that the wick is in place try inserting the paperclip again to make sure the center is still open.
In some cases I have even cut the bottom of the wick at an angle to make sure juce is getting in easier.
the wick should always fit the wick hole but how much wick to stuff in there will take practice.

I have one geni a fat wick works great, on another its kinda thin. they can be strange beasts sometimes.

vertical wicking on a provari


Having to do the "geni tilt" on a mech

 

[basc]

It'll take about a tanks worth of e liquid for it to break in. Genesis atomizers most often than not need to be tilted while vaping to keep supplying liquid to the coil area.

If it is a wicking problem some people like a very tight and densely rolled wick with no hole in the center. That will help juice wick a lot better, but some people also like a straw type wick with a hole in the center. This helps wicking but it won't pull liquid vertically like a densely rolled wick will, but when tilted it allows juice to flow very well.

There are many other options such as putting wick inside a wick or even ss rope.

I'll try a solid, thicker wick I guess. I really think what I have in there now is falling behind way too fast.

you never said what your trying to use this on. vv? mech?

sounds like the coil is just too hot. and try making sure the atty is tilted when taking a hit to keep the wick wet.

very few genis will fire and wick well vertically on a mech until the battery dies off some. I dont know the kraken deck so guessing but I have found with some geni's it takes a couple shots to find the optimal amount of wick

I do vape it tilted with the wick on the bottom, but it doesn't help much. I doubt I'm running too hot at 1.2 ohms - I thought that might have been the problem when I was at 0.8, but even that should be fine, and going to 1.2 didn't change anything really, except maybe gave me another ~quarter second of firing time before it dried out.

I'm using this on a standard bottom-fire mech with 18490s.

I would love to know the exact builds people are using on the Kraken, but every review I've seen or read is pretty vague on build details.

 

[Thrasher]

I would love to know the exact builds people are using on the Kraken, but every review I've seen or read is pretty vague on build details.

and they usually always will be as its their preferred method and most reviewer dont give it a lot of thought.

if this is your first geni just hang in there and try a couple different setups, like I said for some atomizers it really does take a few tries to find what works the best.
the 2 pics i posted I cannot built the wicks the same way, the top wick is 45 mm wide the bottom is around 65 (before rolling of course) they just dont seem to work interchanged.

 

[Jazzi Mike]

I have just recently started being able to get SS mesh to work right. I know this is not scientific or anything, but I've been able to kind of gauge whether my genesis builds are ready to be filled up with juice when the SS mesh does not smell like burning nastiness when I fire the device.

 

[folkphys]

Too tight.

Your coil is too tight at least at the bottom and is strangling your wick, and likely your wick itself is rolled too tightly. I've found that looser rolls of mesh wick with a small hollow center will suck juice better than solid ones, especially wicks that are thoroughly oxidized. I would unwrap that thing and snip off a centimeter at time until you get it loose enough to slide in the wick hole freely and remain somewhat bendable.

Also, a tip I got from a local vaper shopkeep directed me to cut out my mesh rectangles at a diagonal to the full sheet's weave. That way all the strands in your final tubed wick are pointing somewhat vertically, or at least none of them run horizontally anyhow.

 

[JayTater]

I was having the same problems with my AGA. Personally, I found that if I only oxidize the coil area, then TIGHT roll the wick, it would pull perfectly. Wrapping my coil directly on the wick, then installing as one piece gives me the least tune up time. Only issue I ever really have is the occasional hot leg on the top.

You can also try removing your fill plug, and see if that improves your wicking. Sometimes running the first tank without the plug will help to season the setup. Just don't loose it like I did.. That would explain the stick of plumbing solder that's press fit into mine LOL

 

[WattWick]

The Kraken use a screw to fasten the coil to the center post. Depending on which way you wrap your coil around the screw, you will either tighten or loosen the topmost wrap. I choose to wrap it counterclockwise, pull it fairly tight and let the screw untighten it a little. Then a little adjusting of the wick to make sure the topmost wrap is not too tight or loose around the wick.

You could of course do the opposite. Keep top wrap a little loose and let the screw tighten it. Either way it takes a little practice to make the screw tighten or loosen the wrap just enough. It does take a little cursing to get used to setting up this kind of atty. It's no big deal once you got the hang of it, tho.

As others point out, make sure you get it right before filling the tank. Spending a few moments extra at setup saves you a lot of aggrevation, and should leave you with a setup that will last a very long time... given the occasional dry burn.

 

[basc]

Thanks for all the replies, it helped a lot. These gennys are tricky to set up, but I knew that going in. Lots of voodoo involved.

I ended up making a much fatter wick. Went with four wraps of 30 this time for 1 ohm even. Pulsed it down and it behaves the same as the earlier attempts while dry.

After filling the tank, I found I could fire this for a good 7 seconds or so before it started to go dry. It vapes incredibly well now. The flavor is coming through now as good as with my drippers, and lots more vapor. Flavors had been very muted on the earlier builds. When you get it right-ish, I think this is a pretty good atty.

if this is your first geni just hang in there and try a couple different setups, like I said for some atomizers it really does take a few tries to find what works the best.

Yep, like I said, voodoo. I'm sure the next time I rebuild will be another disaster, but at least I know it's doable.

I have just recently started being able to get SS mesh to work right. I know this is not scientific or anything, but I've been able to kind of gauge whether my genesis builds are ready to be filled up with juice when the SS mesh does not smell like burning nastiness when I fire the device.

Thing is, when your build has a serious wicking issue, it doesn't really show up until you fill the tank.

Too tight.

Your coil is too tight at least at the bottom and is strangling your wick, and likely your wick itself is rolled too tightly. I've found that looser rolls of mesh wick with a small hollow center will suck juice better than solid ones, especially wicks that are thoroughly oxidized. I would unwrap that thing and snip off a centimeter at time until you get it loose enough to slide in the wick hole freely and remain somewhat bendable.

Also, a tip I got from a local vaper shopkeep directed me to cut out my mesh rectangles at a diagonal to the full sheet's weave. That way all the strands in your final tubed wick are pointing somewhat vertically, or at least none of them run horizontally anyhow.

I actually had to add about a cm and a half. I was making them way too skinny. I'll have to try that diagonal mesh orientation next time.

I was having the same problems with my AGA. Personally, I found that if I only oxidize the coil area, then TIGHT roll the wick, it would pull perfectly. Wrapping my coil directly on the wick, then installing as one piece gives me the least tune up time. Only issue I ever really have is the occasional hot leg on the top.

You can also try removing your fill plug, and see if that improves your wicking. Sometimes running the first tank without the plug will help to season the setup. Just don't loose it like I did.. That would explain the stick of plumbing solder that's press fit into mine LOL

I think I need to oxidize the whole thing - non insulated wick holes. I would love to be able to wrap it and then install, but I think for now that would involve to much guesswork for a noob. And the kraken doesn't have a fill hole plug so no issues there.

The Kraken use a screw to fasten the coil to the center post. Depending on which way you wrap your coil around the screw, you will either tighten or loosen the topmost wrap. I choose to wrap it counterclockwise, pull it fairly tight and let the screw untighten it a little. Then a little adjusting of the wick to make sure the topmost wrap is not too tight or loose around the wick.

You could of course do the opposite. Keep top wrap a little loose and let the screw tighten it. Either way it takes a little practice to make the screw tighten or loosen the wrap just enough. It does take a little cursing to get used to setting up this kind of atty. It's no big deal once you got the hang of it, tho.

As others point out, make sure you get it right before filling the tank. Spending a few moments extra at setup saves you a lot of aggrevation, and should leave you with a setup that will last a very long time... given the occasional dry burn.

Yeah, this is also voodoo: loosening screws and retightening them can make a big difference in coil performance. And I had a hell of a time getting the pos screw tigtened down while keeping the wick right where I wanted it.

For now I'm pretty happy with this setup. When I get to the point I can build it right more or less consistently, I'll go dual wick. So glad I took the plunge, the genesis style atty is a whole different experience. Thanks again for all the help everybody

 

[Thrasher]

Don't worry after a few times with the same atty it becomes second nature. the real fun comes when you finally try something new and you cant figure out why it wont work like the other one lol

some of my attys are going nto a year now, i know exactly what to do with them - roll the wick -burn the end real quick, wrap the wire on the wick, insert, attach and pulse out the hotspots real quick, fill and vape.

as for the oxidation thing. the actual area under the coil is the only place really needing it, once it gets burned in and coated with a few tanks it does not matter where else the wick touches., as long as the coil area is oxidized theres no more shorting (or it would still short and create hotspots anyways).

but glad to hear ya got it worked out, have fun and enjoy, i really love geni's

 

[JayTater]

You can also do a "beginners" wick, and throw a couple 1mm strands of silica in the stainless before rolling it. I did that with my first couple setups.