Two Mini-protank 2's, one does not work

[railfan844]

I bought my first "real" tank about a month ago, the Kanger Mini Protank 2.

I decided to buy another so I can rotate them and not be bothered with the lengthy cleaning process as often.

Only problem is, the new one doesn't work. At all. When I still was getting dry hits after letting it sit for 10 minutes, I took it apart and found that the wick wasn't even the slightest bit wet. Obviously this meant that e-juice was not getting to the wick. I identified the problem - there are two threaded end pieces that screw onto either side of the metal tube, and it's the "bottom" one (the one that the atty and base attaches to) that is causing the problem. I noticed this metal end piece has a lip on the inside that is not present on my other mini protank 2 - even though they are the exact same model. From what it looks like, the lip is making a complete seal and preventing the e-juice from getting out of the tank and into the atomizer head. I circled the piece I am talking about.



Anyone else ever run across this on the mini PT 2?

 

[iota]

Sorry to hear that yours is not working. I am a total noob, but I have started out with a protankmini (it is all I have), but mine looks exactly like yours, so I think that is what it is supposed to look like. Have you tried putting in a new head?

 

[sc12]

I have several mini PT 2's and have never come across the problem you're describing. Is there an extra o-ring in there maybe?

 

[pufZeppelin]

so what you're saying is, the tank bottom (circled in red)
below the threads, there is NO PASSAGE ?

in turn it would mean when assembled, you could not fill glass tank

 

[Simply Red]

Ditto sc12. If it's a "metal lip" that is not supposed to be there, and is not present on the one that works, I would recommend sending/taking it back for a replacement. If you got it at a B&M, try it out before you leave the store.

Good luck!

 

[railfan844]

Okay, I got my camera charged and took a few pics.

The filled one (where the tank looks darker) works fine, the empty tank does not work at all. It's kinda hard to tell but there is a lip on the empty one that is not present on the filled one.

 

[pufZeppelin]

guess my question (re worded) is :

How did you fill the tank to begin with ?

- - - -

I believe what happened is,
during the manufacturing process
somehow the process of "knocking-out" the flashing
once it came out of the mold got overlooked

just take a small pocket screwdriver and 'poke' the thin left over cast aluminum out

then wash it good - it should be easy to do if my guess is correct...

 

[SleeZy]

Uhm it's hard to see on the pictures, but mine looks the same and it works just fine. I guess there's something more in that picture which i can't see.

 

[railfan844]

guess my question (re worded) is :

How did you fill the tank to begin with ?

- - - -

I believe what happened is,
during the manufacturing process
somehow the process of "knocking-out" the flashing
once it came out of the mold got overlooked

just take a small pocket screwdriver and 'poke' the thin left over cast aluminum out

then wash it good - it should be easy to do if my guess is correct...

This is an excellent theory.

To answer your question, I filled the tank the same way I always do...take the base off, unscrew the atty head, pop the stainless pole off the atty, put a drop of e-juice on the wick, replace stainless pole and rubber gromet, fill tank, screw everything together....

 

[SleeZy]

This is an excellent theory.

To answer your question, I filled the tank the same way I always do...take the base off, unscrew the atty head, pop the stainless pole off the atty, put a drop of e-juice on the wick, replace stainless pole and rubber gromet, fill tank, screw everything together....

Just drop the juice down without screwing it out? That's what i do. You will need a bottle with a needle looking cap though.
All i do is unscrew the base, tilt the tank and fill. Screw the base back and off i go.

 

[pufZeppelin]

This is an excellent theory.

To answer your question, I filled the tank the same way I always do...take the base off, unscrew the atty head, pop the stainless pole off the atty, put a drop of e-juice on the wick, replace stainless pole and rubber gromet, fill tank, screw everything together....

but if what I'm suggesting is true
how do you get juice in the tank if 'flashing' is blocking passage... ?

 

[MotherNatural]

Have you tried a different coil head? Also, you're filling is more complicated than it need be. Unscrew the bottom with the atty left on, tilt, and fill. No need for needle nose tho it would simplify it even more. I use a glass dropper or sometimes just pour from the bottle.

 

[railfan844]

Have you tried a different coil head? Also, you're filling is more complicated than it need be. Unscrew the bottom with the atty left on, tilt, and fill. No need for needle nose tho it would simplify it even more. I use a glass dropper or sometimes just pour from the bottle.

I know, I'm using cotton rebuilt coils so I like to prime the wick manually so as to avoid those ungodly cotton dry-hits.

 

[railfan844]

but if what I'm suggesting is true
how do you get juice in the tank if 'flashing' is blocking passage... ?

Upon closer inspection, it actually appears to not be flashing. I edited the photos to show what I'm talking about:

 

[pufZeppelin]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

did you get a better price on the second one ?

maybe it's not a Genuine Kanger

are ALL your coils of the same version ?

 

[railfan844]

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,

did you get a better price on the second one ?

maybe it's not a Genuine Kanger

are ALL your coils of the same version ?

No, same price, same vendor too (ebay).

The coils are all the same, it's the metal piece with the words "Kangertech" etched onto it that is causing problems. I isolated it to this because when I tried the metal end piece from my old protank on the new tank, the liquid wicked fine. Using all the parts from the new box the liquid was not even getting to the wick.

 

[pufZeppelin]

without holding it in my hand I can't come up with
any answer for ya...

good luck and keep us informed of the outcome

 

[railfan844]

without holding it in my hand I can't come up with
any answer for ya...

good luck and keep us informed of the outcome

I'm just going to return it to the vendor, then gonna contact kanger and see what they have to say about it.

 

[AFox85]

I also have this problem. I have 4 mini protank 2's, and only two are identical. One doesnt even have a removable drip tip, but comes apart completely as it should. Two of them though, I find wicking doesnt quite work the way it should and I have to do some primer pulls (which doesnt work all the time). Three of them have tighter draws on them, one very airy. The airy one seems to work best. Big QC issue if u ask me when you buy 4 of the same thing and they all are different in some way. I've heard this before, and I have this impression of Kanger now as well, they rush everything out the door too quick.

 

[railfan844]

I also have this problem. I have 4 mini protank 2's, and only two are identical. One doesnt even have a removable drip tip, but comes apart completely as it should. Two of them though, I find wicking doesnt quite work the way it should and I have to do some primer pulls (which doesnt work all the time). Three of them have tighter draws on them, one very airy. The airy one seems to work best. Big QC issue if u ask me when you buy 4 of the same thing and they all are different in some way. I've heard this before, and I have this impression of Kanger now as well, they rush everything out the door too quick.

Interesting.

The draw on my new one is fine, but it doesn't wick at all. I guess it's always a possibility that it just needs a really, really long time to sit vertically and let the e juice slowly make its way past that tiny little opening which is restricted by the "lip" I noticed. But either way it's just not worth it I guess. Gonna send that sucker back.