What's Your Perfect Protank Setup?

[Trayce]

Have had a long learning curve with the PT2. When I first got it I was using stock heads and did not get any flavor from the Kanger head, so was using the stock Aro head. Vapor was good, flavor was ok. I thought this was as good as it got.

Then started rebuilding and switched to cotton. Cotton was a big improvement, but there was another learning curve with the micro-coils. I was doing too many wraps and getting muted flavor. Finally I found that a 7-wrap micro-coil on either a 1/16th or slightly larger implement was good for vapor and flavor.

Then had gurgling and leaking sporadically. And just last night dropped a [cotton] flavor wick on top of the coil to see if that would stop it. Now flavor wicks never worked for me in the past. But I'll be darned if Nirvana didn't sit it's big fat .... right down in my lap. WOW.... no wonder they call it a flavor wick!! I never had such flavor!! AND it wasn't leaking or gurgling anymore. You think it's working good until it starts working great, then you realize what you were missing!

So I thought it would be fun to see what other people did to dial in their perfect PT2 vape!

Mine:

Kanger head (with substituted silicone tube for rubber post insulator)
30g kanthal
7 wrap micro-coil around 1/16th or slightly larger implement = 1.9 ohms
Cotton wick from organic cotton balls with one cotton flavor wick
juice = 100% VG (+ PG-based flavoring)

What's your setup?

 

[TafkanX]

I've experimented running with and without a flavor wick and I've found the experience generally better with, though I've found that with your flavor wick less tends to be more.

My current setup:

Kanger head (stock white rubber grommet)
32 gauge kanthal
6 wrap micro-coil around 16 gauge needle yielding 1.7Ω (experimenting with smaller diameter coils than usual)
Cotton wick from 100% cotton balls, small flavor wick
60/40 PG/VG liquid

Having good luck with this particular build thus far, may be my favorite to date. The way I have it wicked approximates the tighter draw of my iClear 30 instead of the airy draw typical of the stock Kanger heads and yields a pleasing, warm and moist vape. Puts out very similar clouds to my iClear as well without burning through liquid like a bat out of hell. Been in vape heaven lately.

Once I get my rebuilding kit all rounded out I'd like to start toying with DIY liquid.

 

[Trayce]

I've experimented running with and without a flavor wick and I've found the experience generally better with, though I've found that with your flavor wick less tends to be more.

My current setup:

Kanger head (stock white rubber grommet)
32 gauge kanthal
6 wrap micro-coil around 16 gauge needle yielding 1.7Ω (experimenting with smaller diameter coils than usual)
Cotton wick from 100% cotton balls, small flavor wick
60/40 PG/VG liquid

Having good luck with this particular build thus far, may be my favorite to date. The way I have it wicked approximates the tighter draw of my iClear 30 instead of the airy draw typical of the stock Kanger heads and yields a pleasing, warm and moist vape. Puts out very similar clouds to my iClear as well without burning through liquid like a bat out of hell. Been in vape heaven lately.

Once I get my rebuilding kit all rounded out I'd like to start toying with DIY liquid.

Wow, that sounds nice! Is the 16g needle smaller or larger than a 1/16th drill bit? Do you happen to know?

 

[TafkanX]

A 1/16 drill bit falls somewhere in between 14g and 16g, so the 16g is just a tad smaller in diameter than the 1/16 bit. It was kind of a pain to thread the wick into it, but not overly so.

 

[Alter]

I use the flavor wick to avoid having juices splatter up the mouthpiece and you get that juice film in my mouth.
I was using microcoils for a while in my protank heads
30 guage kanthal
9 wraps on a 1.4mm percision screwdriver..2.0 ohm
Cotton baton and then hemp fiber
1.5mm silica flavorwick
I began going through juices like crazy, over double the intake I was before so I switched back to a regular coil

32 guage kanthal
5 wraps on a 1.8mm percision screwdriver... 1.9ohm
Hemp fiber wicking
1.5mm silica flavorwick

The hemp does outlast the cotton in lifespan, I'm probably on my 5th sigelei puritank(4ml) and I'm feeling the hemp or the coil beginning to fade a bit so by the end of todays workday I'm going to change the hemp out. When before with the cotton I would change out the cotton within the first 3 or 4 tanks.

 

[Trayce]

I use the flavor wick to avoid having juices splatter up the mouthpiece and you get that juice film in my mouth.
I was using microcoils for a while in my protank heads
30 guage kanthal
9 wraps on a 1.4mm percision screwdriver..2.0 ohm
Cotton baton and then hemp fiber
1.5mm silica flavorwick
I began going through juices like crazy, over double the intake I was before so I switched back to a regular coil

32 guage kanthal
5 wraps on a 1.8mm percision screwdriver... 1.9ohm
Hemp fiber wicking
1.5mm silica flavorwick

The hemp does outlast the cotton in lifespan, I'm probably on my 5th sigelei puritank(4ml) and I'm feeling the hemp or the coil beginning to fade a bit so by the end of todays workday I'm going to change the hemp out. When before with the cotton I would change out the cotton within the first 3 or 4 tanks.

Did you notice a drop in flavor and/or vapor going back to the standard coil? What about going from cotton to hemp wicks? I read some people thought hemp did not wick as well and had its own taste. What's been your experience?

 

[Alter]

I have noticed a drop in vapor but that also comes with the drop in juice consumption using the regular coils. I can't afford to run microcoils, going through 20+ mls a day in juice for 2 of us vaping in my houseold. I live in small town BC and having to rely on internet juice vendors and Canada Post $10.00 start on shipping. I still going to use microcoils but not as my all day vape coil.
HEMP... I've was waiting for the coop to pay out and from all the reading in the thread about how to prep the fiber and how good it was. Some said to soak in peroxide and baking soda and boil it several times to get the foreign cooties out. It looks like cotton but with a light tan tinge to it and smelt organic but not a bad smell just outdoorsie.
I had 2 pots of water on the stove, had the fiber in 1 pot boiling away and when the 2nd pot got a good boil goin I transfered to the clean water and replaced the other pot with clean water and transfered back and forth into clean boiling water for about a hour, I don't know how many tranfers I did but it was lots. I then transfered the lump into a collander and let it drip for a couple hours( read that you shouldn't press the water out) but I wasn't going to wait days for it to drip dry, I slightly pressed the water out with a towel, broke the lump apart and laid the tea towel on top of my pellet stove for the night and it was bone dry in the morning.
I had super solid dried lumps of fiber and no way I could use it, I had to seperate the fibers without ripping them to shreads. Someone suggested in that thread to use a wire dog brush..I don't have one but I have a Dyson vaccuum attatchment that looks like a wire dog brush and ontop a glasstop table I brushed small pieces of hemp and it turned out quite well but had sore fingertips from the wire brush scraping.
I was very happy with the result of the brushing and ended up with about twice the volume of what I started with of nice fluffy fiber, its softer and finer than the cotton baton I was using before.
VAPE TIME...I gathered what I thought be the right amount, twisted and inserted into my coil...also reading it will expand more than cotton so I put just enough in that it was able to slide back and forth, primed with juice, put my protank back together and pulled a couple times to make sure it was all wet. Had my first vape waiting for that woody organic taste others were getting but NOTHING no off taste like you get off of cotton, just pure juice. Vape quality IMO is bout the same as cotton but it lasts longer but that could be due to using a regular coil not a microcoil, I did find microcoils gunk up faster also but I am geting extra life before I do have to swap out for fresh fiber as I said in my other post.
Generally speaking I'm happy with the performance of the hemp and have shelved my cotton along with my ekowool, silica and mesh. I still use a 1.5mm silica flavor wick cause I do have muted flavor without one.
I seem to have no problem with the hemp wicking, it can keep up with my draws just like the cotton did but on the other hand I've forgot what a dryhit was and sure as heck don't want to be reminded.

 

[Trayce]

@AlterUrEgo: WOW, that's one heckuva process you went through there with the hemp! Very interesting read! Thanks for those details. I hear you about blowing through juice - only reason I don't mind is I make my own. Otherwise it would get quite expensive indeed. I'd strongly suggest getting into DIY! Especially with two vaping in the house. I just bought 4 qts of VG for $30 from Essential Depot http://www.ebay.com/itm/120622975143?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649 and DIY flavors are cheap. For under $10 you can get several flavors. With all the other money spent on mods, batts, chargers, wire, adapters, tanks, etc... it's nice to have endless juice for pennies!

 

[Alter]

I have a serious crutch when it comes to DIY juice making. Living in Canada, with all the grey customs issues, limited suppliers and very expensive postal rates I see I can save some money but not like I should be able too. I failed chemistry in high school and I have researched DIY juice making and just the reading was confusing enough to turn me off. I will not go into the US for juice supplies just because of customs. I order oodles of packages from ebay, amazon and US companies and not going to compromise that over a few jugs of juice. Once you get redflagged at the border either with packages or inperson your going to live with the "search" threat everytime and I'm not going to. I do get almost all my vape gear through american coops but I WILL not get juice through US mail order. But I see it another way that we were spending 20 bucks a day on ciggys so what I spend on juice here in canada is a fraction of that and there are some mighty fine top shelf juice vendors here have some real tasty products.

 

[Trayce]

Bummer about customs.... didn't notice you were in Canada, sorry! Glad the standard coils are working out then, and that you're happy with your setup and juice suppliers. And yes, still saving money over cigarettes! Silver linings are good.