ZAP.. still not blown away..

[GrimmTech]

Ive put my ZAtty-Pro away for a while after a few failed attempts. Ive decided to give it another go. Ive watched many videos, and done a lot of reading.

Last time I couldnt get away from the metallic taste. This coil seems not to have it. My flavor seems very muted and vapor production isnt that great either. My Smok single coil carto in an IBTanked tank completely blows it away in both flavor and vapor production as well as throat hit. I set it up with about 4 wraps and its reading a steady 1.8 ohms after prodding around a bit. The coil heats to glowing from the center wraps slightly at first and then the whole thing has a nice even glow. Im vaping at around 4v. The atty is getting warm. Im not sure how normal this is.

Any suggestions or tips/help would be much appreciated. Im not going to give up this time. I paid too much $ not to get a great vaping experience. On another note, I only know 2 other vapers, both of which have no experience with anything rebuildable, so I'm on my own here.


Thanks in advance for your time.
Grimm

 

[GrimmTech]

Btw Im using 40/60 PG/VG Double RY4 I made with supplies from Wizard Labs. 24mg. I used the 400x400 pre made wick and the supplied wire which I believe was 32g if I remember correctly.

 

[genoxy]

I've got a ZAP also and find the vapor production and flavour I've been getting is fantastic...

From your posts it sounds like your set up is fine, since you have rewicked it yourself and used all the supplied parts like I did when I last rebuilt it there doesn't appear to be any issues there.

Do you vape it at a horizontal angle to make sure juice is always flowing from the wick to the coils?

I also think your juice might be took thick with VG as I'm using 70PG/30VG juice and it easily makes it to the coils every time, in fact I can do a full 10 second burn with only the very top and bottom coil glowing red, all the others just produce vapour and a lot of it!

Considering the cost of a ZAP its a shame to leave it on the shelf and can give you a lot of vaping pleasure if used correctly.

Have you seen ZEN's video on youtube explaining the set up and how to use it right? Highly recommended.

 

[Rule62]

Without seeing a picture of your set up, it's tough to tell; although 4.0 volts is a bit low for a 1.8 ohm set up.

 

[JollyRogers]

I dont think its the PG/VG ratio, as I vape a lot of 100% VG... Agree with rule62, need a pic and the pic should be of it firing and one of it not. Nice and close. Also, I don't think you mention it, but since it is on the Provari, what is the resistance of the coil?

Typically, people wrap them to tight or to loose. To tight restricts juice flow, to loose and the coils glow hot, don't produce good vapor, and give a metallic taste. Obviously, you cannot have hot spots either. Gotta get it right. Once you get it, you will know. I have been vaping Gens for 3 years, and over the last year usually use the Petar K method because I find it simple.

And BTW, usually use my setup 2-3 months before recoiling or re-wicking...

 

[GrimmTech]

I have watched Zen's video. I cranked up the voltage and seems better at around 4.3.. much higher and I get a very metallic taste.. dry hit? heres a pic, howfully thats what you wanted



after posting this pic I pulled off that tiny stainless string at the top of the wick.

I do vape it horizontal.. If I tip it up with the top cap off to about 2 o'clock it takes about 10 seconds for a drip to form on the wick.

 

[Rule62]

The one thing I don't like about the ZAP is the height of the center post. It's so tall that getting a nice wrap, with the coils close together, is difficult. The 'stock' Zen set up with the supplied wicks is 6 wraps with 32ga. This meters out usually to about 2.0 - 2.1 ohms. Your 4 wrap set up has the individual coils pretty far apart. You might be better off by trying 6 wraps, which will increase the resistance a bit, but you'll get more heat on the wick. I think you'll see an improvement.

 

[varivapr]

If you are still getting a metalic taste then you still have a problem with the setup for sure. Most likely a small hotspot. It may not show up completely at the voltage you are usng but you can taste it. Try firing for a long period of time while watching the coil very closely. The liquid should be bubbling and vaporizing from every wrap on the coil. If it looks like or 1 or 2 of the wraps are vaporizing then thats your culprit. Also if you turn the Voltage up even higher than you would normally vape at and fire you may see the hotspot better. When even I used a proZAP I always kept tweaking until the coil would fire at max setting allowed with no hotspots. Even if the setting was higher than what I would vape at. That will produce a more stable durable setup that will withstand more bumping and jarring and hotspots will less likely pop up later on. A setup that "appears good" at 4.3v may show a hotspot at 4.7v. But the inverse is not true. If its fires good at 4.7v then you are most def good at 4.3v

 

[martydmb]

I agree with the hotspot but... clear out the tank, dry burn till coils glow, and turn your ZAP slowly and look at each coil really close. I bet you have one or more coils with a small gap of not touching the wick. Your explaination sounds exactly like the prob I had.

 

[genoxy]

After seeing the picture it does appear your wraps are too far apart and could be contributing to the burnt taste as each coil will burn off the juice and glow red sooner than if they were closer together.

Should also go for a 4/5 wrap I reckon

 

[GrimmTech]

sounds Like I need to get a little lower wire too.. that would allow more wraps and keep my resitance lower

 

[genoxy]

sounds Like I need to get a little lower wire too.. that would allow more wraps and keep my resitance lower

Let us know how you go!

 

[Rymarski]

Get yourself some 30 gauge wire and do a three wrap using the drill bit method. Roll a piece of 500 ss mesh 40x40 mm and oxidize it properly. All my ZAPs run this setup on the provari for a resistance of about 1.1-1.2 ohm's and I am getting outstanding flavor and vapor. Thicker liquids will need a little more tilting, but I have found this setup to be ideal.

 

[Rymarski]

One more thing to note is that the pre rolled wicks that come with the ZAPs have to little mesh rolled. Take apart one of those pre-made/pre-oxidized pieces and you will see how little mesh is used.

Buy yourself some 500 ss mesh and use this from here on out. I use very thick liquid, usually 100% VG. By having a decent amount of mesh, but not to much, you should not have any wicking problems. Also make sure to have a nice center hole running through the wick like a straw. I noticed that when I use to much mesh (tried 80x80mm once) there was a large heat sink effect and the ZAP would get very hot. With 40 x 40mm of mesh my ZAP stays nice and cool for long vape sessions.

You should get outstanding flavor and vapor production with this setup. I run the provari around 3.8 to 4.2 volts with this setup and you should have no problems. The ZAP is an outstanding atty and very user friendly. For consistency and easy setup I highly recommend them.

Check this thread out for the reason why I find 500 ss mesh to be great for wicking pretty much anything:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/330407-500-ss-mesh.html

 

[evgeny131]

also, try a fatter solid wick, i had this problem recently with a new did and a 0.5 ohm setup...heres a pictures of it fixed, however, using ribbon kanthal dramatically makes life easier...

 

[Idaholandho]

Should be a 3 wrap with .32 kanthal, 4/5 wrap with .32 or 4/5 with 28. My sweet spot on Zens or mechanicals is at 1.2 ohms. A 1.8 ohm set up should produce nice flavor and plenty of vapor for you.
I personally do not use insulators and roll 3.25 x 1.5 ss wicks. I do not recommend this to a newcomer to Genesis style users. I would suggest to unroll a supplied wick and roll it over another and use with the insulator in it. Eventually work your way into oxydizing and rolling your own mesh with insulator. It will come with time. Torch your kanthal quickly to reduce spring in it and will also break it in quickly. Set those pre-mades on fire with a lighter and burn the PG they are stored in before use.
Do not add juice until your coiled and the coils glow evenly. The coils should glow from the middle out. If your hotspot is on the pos post to the wick, your wick could be too far away from the post. Wrap the wick top as close to the post without touching it. There should be no bright glow right from either of the allen nuts to coil. In other words the wire that just goes under the nut should not be "hot", should darken about there on the ends.
If your heating up from the negative post out, then again, you may be too loose from the post to the wick.
Nice and easy wraps pulse the power and carefully watch the coils. If they look good add juice to the top of the wick and fire again. The coil will get a nice build up of juice and after a bit the taste will come throughIf the juice smells good and not burnt, load it up and vape it like you stole it.
I wish you good luck.
Be Well.

 

[Tanks]

I have watched Zen's video. I cranked up the voltage and seems better at around 4.3.. much higher and I get a very metallic taste.. dry hit? heres a pic, howfully thats what you wanted

View attachment 215997

after posting this pic I pulled off that tiny stainless string at the top of the wick.

I do vape it horizontal.. If I tip it up with the top cap off to about 2 o'clock it takes about 10 seconds for a drip to form on the wick.

I think you're getting dry hits because it's not set up properly (it's OK, Genesis style RBAs and Hybrids have a steep learning curve and it will take you multiple attempts to make a wick and coil that work properly). Take some pictures like the last one but this time take pics of it firing so we can see the vapor production.

Start from scratch - oxidize a new wick and wrap a new coil and try it again. That's how I figured it out. The first night I had my iHybrid I made 3 wicks and coils and they all ssucked but he next day I made a 0.7ohm coil and it has been AMAZING ever since. It was such an amazing vape that I bought a Z-Atty-U and I'm going to buy the "the works" Zenesis 2 release day package (comes with entire Z2 line: 18350, 18490 and 18650 batter tubes, 1x Zen Genesis atty, 1x Zen hybrid carto tank, 1x 510 connection, 1x switch and a bunch of Stainless Steel and Kanthal)

The one thing I don't like about the ZAP is the height of the center post. It's so tall that getting a nice wrap, with the coils close together, is difficult. The 'stock' Zen set up with the supplied wicks is 6 wraps with 32ga. This meters out usually to about 2.0 - 2.1 ohms. Your 4 wrap set up has the individual coils pretty far apart. You might be better off by trying 6 wraps, which will increase the resistance a bit, but you'll get more heat on the wick. I think you'll see an improvement.

I disagree - if anything he should try to lower the resistance and get as close to 1.5ohms as possible, i.e., he should try to get the lowest resistance possible without the ProVari showing error codes.

As stated above, you want to have the lowest resistance possible - since you're using a ProVari you're somewhat limited compared to using a mechanical mod but something like 1.5 ohms @ 4.3-4.5 volts should work great as long as the wick and coil are set up properly.

 

[Jeremy Evans]

Get yourself some 30 gauge and then you can make a couple more wraps and you'll be in heaven

 

[Tanks]

sounds Like I need to get a little lower wire too.. that would allow more wraps and keep my resitance lower

You don't NEED to get thinner wire; just do less wraps.. I have 28 gauge Kanthal on my iHybrid but my coil is only 0.7-0.8 ohms

 

[Jeremy Evans]

You don't NEED to get thinner wire; just do less wraps.. I have 28 gauge Kanthal on my iHybrid but my coil is only 0.7-0.8 ohms

The height on the Pos post makes it to where just removing wraps wont work, the resistance will be too low to fire, we are talking about a Provari setup, not a straight mech. I do agree to not go with thinner wire, if anything thicker so you can make more wraps and hit same resistance.

Another trick you can do is tighten the neg first and have the wire facing away from the wick and then pull the wire around the allen screws side towards the top and then start your coil, it helps to remove that little bit of space and your coil will be more compacted also.