What the hell is up with Kanger's "flavor wicks"?

[vjdossey]

i took the extra wicks out of my T3S and FLOOODED... literally all of my juice drained out the bottom. it was horrible! i am having the WORST luck with the bottom coil clearo's... i keep going back to my long wick CE4's and CE5's. i am so frustrated by the bcc.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Start the Kanger Bcc's at your lowest voltage possible, especially if you made the mistake - oops, "informed decision" - and headed straight for the 1.8 ohm coils. Don't be surprised if you can get your cloud thing working at an embarrassing 3.2 volts with a 1.8 ohm coil. I won't tell the "experts" on you. However, if you want to be an "expert" at vaping, rip the thing apart and modify the design before you even try it.

I guess I'm one of the "know it alls" who recommend lower ohm coils in Kanger BCC's that are paired with regulated Ego batteries. The higher ohm coils can be frustrating with those batteries, especially if the nominal 2.5 ohm coil actually comes in at 2.8 (one of mine does). It's hard for that little battery to drive that tank satisfactorily.

When I switched to coils with nominal resistances of 1.8 to 2.2 ohms, performance improved dramatically. I had a warmer, fuller flavor and a satisfying sizzle from the coil. No burnt flavors or dry hits. Rebuilding coils to a target resistance of 2.0 ohms also did great.

YMMV.

 

[State Of Zen]

A few things you can do:
Remove Flavor wicks - not the best idea - get the liquid hot and it thins and you have leaking.
Add a few drops of grain alcohol - Thins mix
Add a few drops of Distilled water - Thins mix
Reduce final VG blend - Thins mix

Getting the picture?
Thinner flows better.
Thinner absorbs better.
Thinner wicks more flavor
Thinner vaporizes easier
Thinner Gunks up less

Make it thinner, be a winner.......j/k
Just learn what is happening and make the needed adjustments.

Okay so this question is TOTALLY gonna show my n00bness, but could you dilute it down with bottled water? If so, how many drops would be appropriate for lets say a 3ml capacity tank? Thanks for not laughing so hard at this possibly silly, but serious question. lol

 

[fundoodman]

Yea it most likely has to do with your juice. If your juice is a thinner say 80/20 mix then you should probably keep both flavor wicks on, if your juice is a 50/50 mix or 100% VG it's probably safe to take one if not both flavor wicks off. Run a few tests and you'll find out pretty fast. Good luck!

 

[Rickajho]

I guess I'm one of the "know it alls" who recommend lower ohm coils in Kanger BCC's that are paired with regulated Ego batteries. The higher ohm coils can be frustrating with those batteries, especially if the nominal 2.5 ohm coil actually comes in at 2.8 (one of mine does). It's hard for that little battery to drive that tank satisfactorily.

When I switched to coils with nominal resistances of 1.8 to 2.2 ohms, performance improved dramatically. I had a warmer, fuller flavor and a satisfying sizzle from the coil. No burnt flavors or dry hits. Rebuilding coils to a target resistance of 2.0 ohms also did great.

YMMV.

Not you my friend. I'm talking about the people who make the ASSumption that there is something defective if they can't run a Kanger 1.8 ohm coil at 4.4 volts, just because they bought an APV that can run at 4.4 volts, and they read a chart somewhere that said that is just supposed to work. Because "the chart" says so.

 

[State Of Zen]

Okay so this question is TOTALLY gonna show my n00bness, but could you dilute it down with bottled water? If so, how many drops would be appropriate for lets say a 3ml capacity tank? Thanks for not laughing so hard at this possibly silly, but serious question. lol

Also, forgot to ask. Does slightly "thinning" juice significantly reduce flavor?

 

[Cookster]

Okay so this question is TOTALLY gonna show my n00bness, but could you dilute it down with bottled water? If so, how many drops would be appropriate for lets say a 3ml capacity tank? Thanks for not laughing so hard at this possibly silly, but serious question. lol

Absolutely, you can dilute it down, but use distilled water.

 

[JessicaS]

I have only added water once and didn't notice any significant loss of flavor. It is hard for me to say how many drops to add, since I just "played around with it" and experimented. There is some good content over in the DIY threads that may help you out.

 

[Rickajho]

Okay so this question is TOTALLY gonna show my n00bness, but could you dilute it down with bottled water? If so, how many drops would be appropriate for lets say a 3ml capacity tank? Thanks for not laughing so hard at this possibly silly, but serious question. lol

You can. But it's really easy to get into trouble trying to thin a VG liquid with water. One drop too many and you end up with an unvapable watery mess. (Steam is no fun as a vape.) Using 100 VG - the thick gloppy stuff - and I still find there is no reason to remove any of the top wicks. Or thin it for that matter. If you want to try it the general guide is 1 drop per ml. If you are doing it right in the clearo I'd suggest 1 drop and try it. Repeat if you need to or want to. Better to do it in the clearo than risk trashing an entire bottle of liquid.

The thickness of the liquid actually has very little to do with gunking up coils. It's the flavorings and sweeteners that is the far bigger source of the problem. You can take a particular flavor and no matter what the PV/VG ratio it's gonna gunk up a coil in a matter of hours. I've run TVR Cuban 100 VG for up to 9 days in a Kanger coil before it needed cleaning. But TVR Chocolate Fudge Brownie? 48 hours tops and the coil is a mucked up mess.

 

[peterforpats]

never had a problem with any bcc with 100% vg or anything in between- you must let the tank sit for awhile and give it time to saturate. take a short slow drag without applying power. the main problem is people don't actually know how to vape as opposed to smoking a cigarette. like great bbq slow and steady is better than fast and powerful. if that's how you vape you are using the wrong device and should switch to something like a rda or rba. if your cheeks or lips pucker you're trying to hard and the clearos aren't designed for that- or massive chain vaping, either.....

 

[Talonius]

My understanding for the flavor wicks is to prevent flooding and leaking. I may be wrong though.

I believe this to be true also I've tried them without them and had leaks

 

[Vwls]

So I was playing with my Davide (same as a Protank basically) to try and get better wicking with a 50/50 dark coffee juice. (Kept getting a burnt taste after a few hits). Took out a flavor wick - that helped for a few minutes but ended up back at the burnt place soon after.

Then I replaced the second wick, or top wick with rolled cotton - made it nice and fat so there'd be no leaking. (Note - if new, or after a wash, I've discovered I have to prime both wicks with a few drop of juice before screwing back onto the tank. I get burnt wick taste no matter what if I don't do this. Must be the viscosity of my juice.)

This system, if I turn the voltage down to about 3.6, prevents a burning taste and there is no leakage. However, the flavor is so muted, it makes me feel the whole exercise is a waste of time. My plan is to dump the bottom coil tanks for anything but on-the-go clear menthol juices, and go to RDAs and RBAs for more "interesting" juices. Anyway, that's my next adventure.

I'd also really like to try a tank system that utilizes a 306 atomizer (Caravela makes one that's supposed to be amazing, but obv getting a hold of one is like catching a unicorn). I wonder if that would be the ultimate way to vape thicker darker juices.

Question - if you thin your juice with vodka, does it change the flavor or strength of flavor?

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Not you my friend. I'm talking about the people who make the ASSumption that there is something defective if they can't run a Kanger 1.8 ohm coil at 4.4 volts, just because they bought an APV that can run at 4.4 volts, and they read a chart somewhere that said that is just supposed to work. Because "the chart" says so.

Ahh. Gotcha.

Well, the chart is just guidance. It's not a hard and fast rule because there are so many other variables in play, from the blend and viscosity of the liquid to the user's technique to the difference between the nominal and actual resistance of the coil.

 

[xxThr4sh3rxx]

I use 50% pg/vg in both my EVOD and my Protank, however I haven't had any problems to date with dry hits. On the contrary I started using protank attys in my evod tanks as well (works amazing btw) as I was so pleased with their performance. Are you letting your tank chill for a minute after filling as to saturate and "prime" the wicks? Where do you buy your protank attys? It's possible they could be very cheap attys with no quality control...

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

Absolutely, you can dilute it down, but use distilled water.

Distilled water is recommended because there's no way of controlling how the ions in your tap or bottled water will interact with the alkaloids in the liquid. My tap water has nothing in it and comes in at a solid pH of 7.0.

There's nothing wrong with experimenting with a few drops of tapwater in a few ml of liquid. It might be fine. It might taste like Monkey .....

Which, is actually a pretty good Roar Vapors flavor.

 

[State Of Zen]

Distilled water is recommended because there's no way of controlling how the ions in your tap or bottled water will interact with the alkaloids in the liquid. My tap water has nothing in it and comes in at a solid pH of 7.0.

There's nothing wrong with experimenting with a few drops of tapwater in a few ml of liquid. It might be fine. It might taste like Monkey .....

Which, is actually a pretty good Roar Vapors flavor.

Okay, got some distilled water while grocery shopping. If it turns out I don't need it, no loss, I'll just drink it. lol

 

[crxess]

I am always amazed at the people that say -
This thing just doesn't work, I'm going to get (xxxxxxxxxxxxx) Really?

I have purchased a ton of gear over the past year. Several things just didn't work right for me on the first go round. That did NOT mean they worked wrong or were bad. What it did mean was I had no clue why and needed to figure it out.

Aside from ......Flavor Wick, flavor wick, flavor wick, I wonder how many people Draw on their tank like a cigarette or how many never take more than a 2-3 second draw?

Everything you use and everything you do effects your vape experience.
It has to be obvious to most that if thousands have posted on how great something is in Daily use, there must be some truth in it.

Time to stop asking - Why doesn't this piece of crap work and ask - what am I doing wrong?

Evod - get a dry hit, don't panic
Take a few primer pulls then take a long SLOW draw with power on.
If the long slow draw taste better, you may be taking short inhales and causing the internal pressure to Pull liquid away from the wick. i.e.Slowing the wicking process.
If After priming, the inhale still taste Dry you may have no flow and need to adjust wick material.

Did you know wetting a wick(water) speeds wicking on a new/first fill? It does.

Another concern is Coil placement. A Poorly installed coil, even if wicking, can give off nasty burnt tasting hits.
If you can pull a flavor wick, you can inspect a coil.
Coil should be centered over air opening
Wraps should be equally spaced and each making contact with wick.
Coils gaped from wicks put off Harsh hot hits(Dry)
Coils to tight Choke wicks (Dry)
Unequal coil spacing can cause Hot spots

These are facts that fit any device using a Coil and Wick

 

[D. Waterhouse]

Try the Smoktech ARO Pyrex Glass BCC. It's been 100% plug and play for me, 80/20 to max VG from MBV without a hitch. Fill it and vape it till you get a dry hit, look at the tank and it's dead empty.

 

[Susaz]

I'm still fairly new to vaping.

I'm lucky in that I'm quite satisfied with the first mod and toppers I bought, (Tesla, Evod, Protank II), and use em all daily, so I don't feel like I've wasted any money on something that ended up in the drawer, unused.

Anyway, I've always felt like the Evod and Protank II worked well enough, but the flavors seemed a bit muted and if I turned up the wattage over 10 on a ~2.8 ohm head, I'd get the ol "burny taste", despite what I'd read about how variable wattage was supposed to work. I'd also have to wait a few sec between hits, even on lower wattage, to avoid that.

So, I finally decided to take an Evod head apart and take off the "extra" wicks that Kanger stacks on top of the wick that actually has the coil wrapped around it.

I put it back together, filled it up with some Nicoticket, (my favorite brand), juice, (Or3o, to start with), and took a vape. Man, what a difference! The flavor's better, I can dial the wattage up as much as I want, and chain vape away, with no "cool down", without it tasting burnt. I've got the Tesla set on 13 W right now, and am getting the best vaping experience I've had since I started.

So.. what the hell is the point of Kanger's "flavor wicks"? They seem to degrade performance in every way. Just a design flaw.. or perhaps a misunderstanding as to how we {MODERATED} vape?

What do y'all think?

Depends on the viscosity of the eliquid. If it's over 50% all wicks should be removed. But, when you use a new head I suggest you wet it before use. Helps prime and avoid burnt taste. Also, instead of removing all wicks (that'll lead to leaking) I suggest you remove a little with a pair of tweezers. That will enable you to tailor your vape to the most saturated without leaking and gurgling. If it gurgles, add a little more silica.

 

[crxess]

Try the Smoktech ARO Pyrex Glass BCC. It's been 100% plug and play for me, 80/20 to max VG from MBV without a hitch. Fill it and vape it till you get a dry hit, look at the tank and it's dead empty.

And yet someone just posted yesterday having Dry hit issues with their ARO. Like I said, any device can give anyone a problem and Some people seem to get anything to work. You don't ditch A hoping B will fix the issues. That is just asking to be taken again. You learn and adapt. Then you can use any gear you like.