UD Goblin Mini v3

[nersha]

With regards to leaking, I've tried shutting down juice flow, keeping AFC open and not filling quite as much with juice, but still get severe leaking (even before I open the juice flow at all) until the juice level drops to about level with the top of the "deck chamber" - just below where the narrower top part of the chimney is. (Leaking then appears to stop at that point.) Should I only be filling to that level? (I'm not sure if that is even 2ml capacity at that point.) Could I have a loose connection between those two pieces? (I'm not even sure if that is two pieces or just one, but if that is two pieces that might be were the issue is.) How would I check for correcting that? Anyone else had a problem like that.

As to this tank's fit on an iStick Pico, how tightly you can screw the tank down partly depends on where you will want your AFC set. If you want it at or near wide open, you should be able to screw down the tank all the way. But if you want to dial down the AFC some, you will run into issues with that dial not clearing the Pico's battery cap - unless you loosen the tank a bit. If the Pico's battery cap was less thick it would probably not be an issue for some of us, but the cap does need the knurling it has to help get it on and off. I'm wondering if there are any aftermarket iStick Pico battery caps that are thinner (slightly smaller diameter) in construction? There might be. I'll have to search around a bit and see.

UPDATE: I searched for spare iStick Pico battery top caps, but found nothing - not even on eLeaf's website or on FT. No aftermarket top caps found either, of course. I tried refilling the tank to just the very top of the "deck chamber" (no idea what that part is actually called), but still ended up with about the same amount of leakage as before, until the leaking slowed down or stopped (about 2mm or so below the top of that "deck chamber"). So the amount of leakage appears to always be about the same, regardless of how much (or how little) I fill the tank. No idea what is going on there. I guess I'll break out my black GM V3 and see if it has a similar issue? The leaking juice ends up coming out of the AFC dial ports near the bottom of the tank.

Signed up to respond to this.. You're not the only one having the leaking when refilling issue. See here on reddit.com (this wasn't posted by me but exactly matches my experience): /r/electronic_cigarette/comments/5846h6/goblin_mini_v3_leaking_issues_video/

It looks like there's a problem with the juice control not fully closing. I personally have been able to vape a whole tank of 70vg liquid with the juice control closed. No dry hits. When I open the top cap to refill, with the juice control closed, I see bubbles going upwards and liquid coming out of the air flow, once the top cap is back on the leaking stops.

I'm trying to get a refund from my retailer because this is clearly a fault that affects some of the tanks, I've re-wicked around 20 times, rebuilt and changed all the seals yet the issue persists.

 

[billybc96]

Signed up to respond to this.. You're not the only one having the leaking when refilling issue. See here on reddit.com (this wasn't posted by me but exactly matches my experience): /r/electronic_cigarette/comments/5846h6/goblin_mini_v3_leaking_issues_video/

It looks like there's a problem with the juice control not fully closing. I personally have been able to vape a whole tank of 70vg liquid with the juice control closed. No dry hits. When I open the top cap to refill, with the juice control closed, I see bubbles going upwards and liquid coming out of the air flow, once the top cap is back on the leaking stops.

I'm trying to get a refund from my retailer because this is clearly a fault that affects some of the tanks, I've re-wicked around 20 times, rebuilt and changed all the seals yet the issue persists.

Hmmm...yeah, very similar issue to the problem I've been having. My SS GM V3 may be a right-off then. I'll have to try my black one. Serial number on the SS one is ZH 1 2223XX, and ZH 1 2255XX for the black one.

 

[skyboxer1968]

Just got mine in the mail from sweet vapes. Like others have said, gotta take the battery cap off to put the tank on.
I put in 2 uglyish 3mm spaced coils then trimmed/thinned the wicks enough to stuff down the juice holes. I don't plan to take the tank off every time I want to tweak, wick, or rebuild. I'll just unscrew the glass and build with it on the mod. I did not mess with that anti spitback doohickey.
No leaking so far but I just built the thing so time will tell. The airflow is much more restricted than I expected. I was thinking airflow like the bellus, but it's a very tasty vape and I'm pleased so far. 8 wraps of 26g 316L running at what the pic says is 490 degrees and 60 watts. 0.27 ohms.

 

[billybc96]

So I broke out my black GM V3, swapped the dual-coil deck out for the single one. I coiled it with a 30g spaced SS 316L, 2.5mm ID, 11 wrap, rayon wicked build that (once installed) read as a 1.72 ohm resistance coil. I closed the juice flow dial with the AFC wide open, spun the top cap off, took my time filling her up (just below the top of the glass), closed her up, opened the juice flow all the way, then shut the AFC to about 1/4 open and started vaping. No leaks during this entire process! The AFC openings near the bottom of the tank are bone dry! Yahoo! At least one of my Goblin Mini V3s appears to work without leaking. Thank god. Too bad about my SS one leaking so much though. That sucked.

Vaping the SS 316L single 1.7 ohm spaced coil at around 7-8 watts for now. I'm honestly not sure I'm liking the flavor I'm getting off the SS wire, but I wanted to try it out. I'm just using it in wattage mode right now. I should try using TC mode to see how I like that. I'm not even sure that will work, but I'll try it. I threw the coil on the deck rather quickly, as I just wanted to see if the tank would leak or not when refilling it. I'll have to tear her down later and check to see how the wick is looking.

I did try running the SS 316L 1.72 ohm coil in TC mode, but after reading the iStick Pico manual I see that it looks like I can't run any coil over 1.5 ohms in TC mode. Too bad. I'll have to try a new, lower ohm build and see how it works. I refilled the tank again in the meantime. Still no leaks, but you have to keep an eye on the juice flow control dial. It can shift to partway open while you are trying to refill the tank if you are not careful. I'm still not wild about how fiddly this tank can be, but I'm thrilled to finally have a working one that doesn't leak on me!

 

[Ed_C]

How are you liking the Serpent Mini so far? I had considered getting one or two to tryout, but I already have some Merlin and Kayfun Mini V3s on the way, so did not want to go overboard on ordering tanks. My main interest is in loose MTL style vaping. Sub ohm direct lung hits have never been my thing, though I've given in it a shot a few times in the past. The Kayfun Mini V3s will probably be better suited for MTL use, but I also wanted a shorter tank as well - just because I like to keep my vaping setups pretty small and light overall.

Well this is my first RTA, so mine is hardly an expert opinion, but so far I'm liking it. Built my first coil and after a couple of tries at wicking, I'm getting good vapor and no leaking. It really look good on the Pico.

 

[MadVLN]

@billybc96 , i've been filling mine up really full. pretty much till juice touches the fill holes. where exactly is your leaking occuring? is it out the air holes, or where the glass meets the tank? when reassembling mine the first time, i didn't notice, but an oring fell out that goes between the deck and bottom of glass and i reassembled it and filled it and got leaking from the glass. i immediately noticed that there was an oring on my counter that shouldnt be there. i took the tank section off, without having to dump the juice, put the oring in its spot, and no problems since. i've filled mine 3 times now full with not a drop leaked.

 

[MadVLN]

So I broke out my black GM V3, swapped the dual-coil deck out for the single one. I coiled it with a 30g spaced SS 316L, 2.5mm ID, 11 wrap, rayon wicked build that (once installed) read as a 1.72 ohm resistance coil. I closed the juice flow dial with the AFC wide open, spun the top cap off, took my time filling her up (just below the top of the glass), closed her up, opened the juice flow all the way, then shut the AFC to about 1/4 open and started vaping. No leaks during this entire process! The AFC openings near the bottom of the tank are bone dry! Yahoo! At least one of my Goblin Mini V3s appears to work without leaking. Thank god. Too bad about my SS one leaking so much though. That sucked.

Vaping the SS 316L single 1.7 ohm spaced coil at around 7-8 watts for now. I'm honestly not sure I'm liking the flavor I'm getting off the SS wire, but I wanted to try it out. I'm just using it in wattage mode right now. I should try using TC mode to see how I like that. I'm not even sure that will work, but I'll try it. I threw the coil on the deck rather quickly, as I just wanted to see if the tank would leak or not when refilling it. I'll have to tear her down later and check to see how the wick is looking.

I did try running the SS 316L 1.72 ohm coil in TC mode, but after reading the iStick Pico manual I see that it looks like I can't run any coil over 1.5 ohms in TC mode. Too bad. I'll have to try a new, lower ohm build and see how it works. I refilled the tank again in the meantime. Still no leaks, but you have to keep an eye on the juice flow control dial. It can shift to partway open while you are trying to refill the tank if you are not careful. I'm still not wild about how fiddly this tank can be, but I'm thrilled to finally have a working one that doesn't leak on me!

i love SS316L for flavor builds. i use a 24ga 8 wrap in my NarDA and origin 16 in my mech squonkers and get great flavor and a nice warm vapor. they are around .3ohm.

i use the same wire in TC on my DNA75 with my split atty clone and it's great. the next time i rebuild my Gob mini v3, i'll probably throw a SS build in there.

 

[billybc96]

Darn, now my second GM V3 (the black one) wants to leak some when refilling it! *sigh* At least it does not appear as bad a leak as with my first tank. Apparently, when these tanks are assembled, the base and the juice flow control ring are somehow press fit together? You'd think if they were press fit properly you'd be good to go, but maybe that press fitting can be just a bit wonky enough that the two pieces will fall out of sync with each other as you use the device over time? I really have no idea. UD needs to get their act together with these.

The vape I've gotten off of these RTAs has been pretty good, and working on the velocity style deck has been pretty breezy, but nearly everything else about these tanks has turned out to be something of a pain in the behind. I will keep playing with the two Goblin Mini V3s I have for now, because they are all I have until some other RTAs I have ordered come in. Once that happens, depending on how those other RTAs turn out, I think I will be done fiddling with these GM V3s for good. I may give the Serpent Mini a try too. It's a pretty simple RTA.

 

[MadVLN]

man, i vaped mine all weekend. probably filled 5 times. still not a drop has leaked. i didn't even use a ton of wick. basically, just enough to stuff in the holes and touch the deck. im still using single coil deck.

 

[hittman]

I've been using the single coil deck too and really like it.

 

[stvn77]

it came today



amazing... just amazing. much better than merlin. no a single drop leak, no a single dry hit... excelent flavor!!!!
i using single deck... 3mmID 26 kanthal 1.06 ohm@ 17 watts

edit***
with the extension tube the vape is cooler with the same built

 

[stvn77]

i talk too fast... it seeps in the morning

 

[MadVLN]

filled again today. not a single drop or seep. i usually shut my juiceflow off when i'm done using it tho.

 

[hittman]

I got my extension from FT today. I'm not sure yet if I like it or not. It kinda takes away from the appeal of having a mini tank but will be nice not having to refill as often I think.

 

[nersha]

Has anyone with leaky tanks managed to fix them yet? Mine has sadly been sat out of action because of it for the last few weeks.

 

[stvn77]

Has anyone with leaky tanks managed to fix them yet? Mine has sadly been sat out of action because of it for the last few weeks.

i had better luck with dual coil deck... just some condensation on afc

 

[nersha]

i had better luck with dual coil deck... just some condensation on afc

Thanks I'll try this, I wanted it for single coil but I suppose dual coil is better than nothing.

 

[billybc96]

Has anyone with leaky tanks managed to fix them yet? Mine has sadly been sat out of action because of it for the last few weeks.

No luck with my single deck builds, so both of mine are just sitting as well. For now I have two Serpent Mini RTAs I've been working with. No real leak issues with those, even without a juice flow control. Just shut the AFC off and you are good to go for top filling, and my drip tips fit the Serpent Mini RTAs better than they did on my MG V3s.

I have an extra airflow restrictor I put in those Serpent Mini tanks (meant for another RDA, bought separately) that helps me get the type of MTL draw I prefer. I don't like the build deck as much as the single coil Goblin Mini V3 deck (which is excellent), but I can work with the Serpent Mini's deck, and get no leaks, so I have no complaints.

The Serpent Mini RTAs are just less fiddly overall for me to work with during regular operation. I only wish the Serpent Mini had a velocity style build deck. If my Goblin Mini V3s didn't leak I would probably still use them now, but as I get used to working with building on the Serpent Minis I am not so sure how long that would last.

I also have some Merlin and Kayfun Mini V3 RTAs coming in, so I will see which I prefer in the long run. I'm really trying hard to switch over to using rebuildable tanks instead of factory coils. The process has been more difficult than I had originally hoped. I still use my factory coil clearomizer tanks half the time, just because they are so easy to deal with while I am out and about.

 

[hittman]

I guess I've been lucky. I've had my goblin for a couple weeks now and have had zero leaking issues.

 

[marshbunny]

I guess I've been lucky. I've had my goblin for a couple weeks now and have had zero leaking issues.

Same here. I do get maybe one drop when I refill. I got mine from GearBest and ordered the extension tanks from VaporDNA. I build single coil around 1.4 and use the Scottish roll method of wicking, it works wonderfully.