Leaky eRoll? Your tank may be the culprit

[telsie]

I put some new tanks on my eRolls last week and then started having nonstop leaks. I've been losing my mind trying to figure out the problem, but tonight, I think I've got it.

First, I'll list the trouble I was having so people with leaks can see if their symptoms are the same:

- hard draw
- excessive liquid around the outside of the tank (the part that fits into the atty sleeve)
- excessive liquid inside the atty sleeve
- leaking where the tank meets the top of the atty sleeve

After closely comparing these leaky tanks with past ones I've used, I finally noticed that the leaky ones had obstructed airway openings (the little open slots on the sides of the tank near the spike hole end). It looked like the plastic had been over-molded a bit during manufacturing so that those slots were nothing more than tiny slits. That would certainly explain the hard draw!

I think it also explains the excessive liquid around the tank and in the sleeve: If you pull enough air through the eRoll to activate the battery and vaporize the liquid, that vapor has to go somewhere or it condenses. There's always some condensation happening because a little vapor does get trapped inside the air chamber of the tank (that's unavoidable with a tank system that uses auto batteries). But if the those airway openings are too small, you can't pull much vapor through. The result is that the condensation builds up around the outside of the tank (and inside the sleeve) instead of getting trapped inside the air chambers of the tank like it's supposed to. Make sense?

So....

The fix (fingers crossed) seems to be as simple as taking some small implement (I used the tip of a mini pocket knife blade) to carve out the those airway openings a little so they looked more like they're supposed to (like tiny half-moon slots). I did this to all four of my leaky tanks and for like two hours now, they have not leaked. I'm also geting better airflow (easier draw) and there's less liquid on the outside of the tanks and inside the atty sleeves when I pull them out to refill. I can't be sure this is a true fix until I'm out and about for a day with an eRoll in my pocket, but even sitting here with the eRolls laying on a tissue, I had leaks before that I'm not experiencing now. So at the very least, it's a vast improvement.

 

[patkin]

I think you may be on to something there. I never even noticed those before. I never knew that tank was, apparently, made in two pieces. You do mean they are approximately where the bottom of the plastic cap would sit when on? Right? They're the only opening I can see other than the spike hole. On one I haven't gotten mixed up and know for sure leaks, on side is narrower and the other side isn't bigger which one would expect so I guess they aren't actually manufactured in two pieces and stuck together. Thanks... will keep and eye out.

 

[telsie]

I made a little image to show what I was trying to describe in my previous post. Basically, those airflow holes had a thin layer of plastic obstructing them. I didn't carve away anything from the actual shape or structure of the tank, I only carved away a thin skin of plastic that wasn't supposed to be there (and was partially blocking those holes).




Now for the update:
This mostly solved my leaking problem. I say mostly because I did eventually get a few minor leaks again (very minor compared to what they'd been) with two of the four tanks I worked on. In my quest to figure out what was wrong with these things, I'd taken them off and on a zillion times, though, so that alone may account for that minor leaking (they didn't fit very snug anymore). I ditched those two and replaced them with fresh tanks that I fixed the holes on before installing (I obviously got two bad boxes of tanks). After all that, I had no leaks all day. And I was on the go today, so they got thrown in my bag, put in my pocket — put through the paces of normal usage.

I'm sure this isn't the only reason an eRoll might leak, but it's obviously one reason. So if you've got a leak that sounds like the kind I had, check those air holes on the tank and make sure the openings are the proper semi-circle shape that they should be. You might need a magnifying glass to get a good enough look at them, but I think you'll know the problem if you see it after reading all this and/or comparing them to other tanks you have.

 

[Zealous]

I had some serious leaking type issues when I first got mine. For me the solution was to make sure to allow each tank to vent before refilling. The condensation builds up in the tank so if you turn around & refill one just after emptying it there's condensation build up in there already & you'll be adding more as you empty the tank again. Now I just carry some tanks in a case & when I change one out I leave the used ones with the caps off in the case & refill them all when I'm down to the last one. This is pretty much taken care of the problem although I do get a little condensation still every once in a while.

 

[patkin]

That's pretty much the way I do it but have deviated some to filling right after emptying. So, I'll have to watch. I, currently, put used empty tanks in a plastic container that has a tight lid. I wonder if I should just leave them uncovered to dry out or if there's a quicker way of drying for condensation... rice maybe? Thanks for the tip.

 

[chefkeith]

I've notice that while there is always condensation, sometimes it's actually juice that's been sucked into the mouthpiece. After finding juices that work well with the eRoll, it's less of an issue.