Berserker Mini (22mm): Anti-leaking guide

[KurtVD]

I’ve been using this atomizer (I have two, a clone and an authentic one) for just about a year by now, and since the beginning it was leaking through the air holes on the bottom. For the longest time I thought it had to do with the wicking, but while this certainly can make it worse or better, it doesn’t seem to be the root cause. A lot of times it was perfectly clean until I had to refill the tank, and then it started leaking again, sometimes so bad that it would literally almost empty the tank in a couple of minutes.

Then I found a review on a site like gearbest or something, where a user wrote that if it was leaking, you had to turn it upside down, and lo and behold, that worked! Sometimes I had to do it several times (turn it upside down and then back up, draw on it a couple of times, turn it upside down...), but it ended up being dry every time.

While this is a good method, I now found something that avoids the leaking altogether: overfilling. Discovered by accident, but tested multiple times since last week and worked every time. By overfilling, I mean to fill the the tank up to the brim, and then add a few more drops, so that the juice just flows out of the filling openings. I think that the reason for why this is working is, that way, once you screw the top back on and take the first few draws, there’s no more air left in the top area of the atomizer, which creates a slight vacuum, which in turn holds the juice in.

I don’t know how popular the Berserker Mini is amongst the users here, but I hope this information is useful for at least some of you

Cheers

 

[flexy123]

Uhm..I think the Berserker Mini is very popular. I have the pre 1.5 model. I *hated* it because of the leaking, but it does indeed not leak with the "flip over trick": After filling, just slightly screw the cap on until it catches on a couple threads. Flip over and finish screwing the cap on.

 

[GOMuniEsq]

Leaking from the airholes was a common theme with every bottom airflow tank I've ever owned. There are various tricks to prevent them from leaking immediately so they'll work alright when vertical on a flat surface. But if I put one in my pocket or fell asleep with it laid down horizontally, I'd inevitably find a big wet spot. Got so sick of it that I switched to Top Airflow and would never consider going back.

 

[KurtVD]

Uhm..I think the Berserker Mini is very popular. I have the pre 1.5 model. I *hated* it because of the leaking, but it does indeed not leak with the "flip over trick": After filling, just slightly screw the cap on until it catches on a couple threads. Flip over and finish screwing the cap on.

I'm surprised that you did it with the cap screwed on 'just slightly', that's not how I did it. But I have to admit that I sometimes had to flip it over again and again and again until it finally stopped leaking, so I'll try it your way the next time. Even though 'overfilling' (the way I describe it in my OP) has made the whole flip over routine unnecessary for now, but maybe it's just temporary...lol I've spent quite some time on this atomiser, making it stop leak.
What model is yours, the pre-1.5? Mine's called Berserker Mini MTL RTA, and it's 22mm, is yours a precedent version?

Leaking from the airholes was a common theme with every bottom airflow tank I've ever owned. There are various tricks to prevent them from leaking immediately so they'll work alright when vertical on a flat surface. But if I put one in my pocket or fell asleep with it laid down horizontally, I'd inevitably find a big wet spot. Got so sick of it that I switched to Top Airflow and would never consider going back.

Well, that's true, I do avoid having it in my pocket horizontally. I actually just came back from an intercontinental flight, so before putting it in my backpack (which went in the overhead bin), I unscrewed the Berserker and wrapped in a few layers of very 'sturdy' paper tissues. No surprise, the atomiser was almost empty, and the tissues were damp from the juice on arrival. The 'problem' is, the Berserker is a great match for what I vape, it's unbelievable how much flavour it produces.

 

[Tabac man]

In my experience all the tricks fail at some point, some more than others. Take the deck off and fill from the bottom works every time for a leak free fill. Apart from filling I have never had a leak using the original mini and v1.5.

 

[flexy123]

Using the pre 1.5 - I was about to toss this and considered it THE WORST (tm) atty I ever got. But with the "flip
trick" filling I haven't had a single leak, ever. It has totally changed my opinion on this atty.

**
Also, I drilled open the inner juice holes a bit. (I had dry hits on occasion and juice just started to flow slow). So I took a 1.5mm (?) or so drill bit and just drilled out the juice holes bigger). It's really a solid atty now, I can't complain except of course the awkward flip-thing when filling.

 

[KurtVD]

So I took a 1.5mm (?) or so drill bit and just drilled out the juice holes bigger

I do have the same problem, although if I get the wicking just right and dilute the thick juices a little bit with water, it’s almost non existent - but I still don’t get the wicking perfectly right each time. But I don’t think I wanna go as far as drilling the holes put.
Btw there’s an open thread (by me) about that problem.

 

[flexy123]

As I figured out how to (awkwardly) fill it so it does at least not leak, it still basically stopped feeding juice just after a few hits. It would have been worthless anyway, so I figured I can as well "mod" it. (I drilled inside from above and made the holes larger, since you can't really reach from the sides and you also can't drill entirely "through" since the juice channel makes a 90deg angle to the outside. But it seemed to have worked, it doesn't stop feeding juice any longer. Right now vaping 60VG/40VG. Before, the atty basically didn't work at all, really.

Another minor issue was the threading and the large center 510 pin. The entire atty, unlike any other I have sat wobbly on my EVIC Vtwo. Today, I replaced the large golden center pin with one of the tiny screws from the Dvarw. (I also sanded down the large bottom insulator a bit since it was protruding more as with any other atty. Although I don't think the shortening of the bottom insulator is necessary). The small 510 screw (basically a deck screw) was enough, not it sits tight on my mod.

 

[KurtVD]

Before, the atty basically didn't work at all, really.

I have been there too, fortunately we have both found a solution Once it’s leak free and working, the flavor production makes it all worthwhile.

Another minor issue was the threading and the large center 510 pin. The entire atty, unlike any other I have sat wobbly on my EVIC Vtwo

I don’t have that problem at all, but I’ve only used it on my two Pico 75 boxes. I have another mod on order, hopefully that won’t be an issue.
The only problem I have is that it’s very hard to unscrew the top filler cap. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s been like that from the beginning, everything is made to very tight tolerances, which is a good thing, but it’s literally impossible to open it up without either a tool or a piece of rubber to grab it. Which is one more thing to think about when you go out, since you probably need to refill it, given its small tank. For that reason, I now use the clone most of the time when going out: it is a little flimsy and not 100% airtight, but at least I can fill it up easily...