Here I sit all broken-hearted...tried to vape, but only...OK, on to the real reason why I went searching for a really good e-cig forum today:
I just received an order yesterday from VK with the new rubber caps (to stop cartridge leaks) for my eTank system. I fitted 6 cartridges with the rubber caps last night, I'm having wicking/liquid-feed issues with the rubber caps, and original cartridges produce good vapor just fine (great, actually). I've ruled out batteries or atomizers as the culprit, as I have 3 working atomizers (1 new) and 4 working bats (1 new manual, 3 auto, with 1 only slightly used, and 2 originals from the starter kit). No combinations I have used to this point change anything.
For further trials, I've tried drawing on it with the manual battery dormant several times to keep the atomizer probe primed with liquid between drags and still end up with a dry, hot element and nasty odor/taste (burnt dog-hair, for lack of a better description).
The rubber caps have a thin membrane which is punctured upon insertion into the atty by the tube, and I have tried trimming the membrane back to the edge of the hole as well. These rubber caps seem to seal so tightly that no air can enter into the tank and they may be developing a vacuum. Removing the cartridge and re-inserting after a few seconds to relieve any possible vacuum in the tank does not seem to help, so that theory still remains just that, at this point...a theory. But, I keep thinking, what else could it possibly be?
Contact with VK support was not much help, as I feel they have not figured this one out yet, being it is a recent addition to their product line, so I don't blame them for not knowing what to do with it. Lab testing and trial findings would be a nice piece of documentation to have access to at this point, though.
I do leave head-space in the tank when filling, although, if I did over-fill one in the past, I never had a problem with an original cartridge not feeding to the tube, just some seepage right out of the gate, which would be expected.
Even now as I type, I finally managed to get one modded cartridge to produce good vapor for a few minutes, only to realize that I now have liquid in the vapor ports of the cartridge. What did I do? Nothing but keep trying everything I mentioned above. I emptied this cartridge while enjoying the moment, wondering if it would keep working, refilled, jacked-in a fresh bat, and now, the same cartridge won't feed liquid...go figure. It seems that the happy medium between little/no leakage and good volumes of vapor is supremely elusive, at best.
I'm an analytical thinker and can troubleshoot things pretty well once I see how the basic process works (and of course, if it's important enough for me to create a certain level of determination), but even I can get tunnel vision at times, and after 15 hours or more of tinkering with ideas and trials, I'm all tapped-out. Any thoughts on what to try next? Am I overlooking some other variable, or are the rubber caps just not a viable solution to stop leakage from a tank cartridge design?
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated, as getting a fix to this problem would likely be the last problem I have with this system, and would take my vaping experience to an all-time high level of satisfaction. I guess the only way I could take it any higher from there would be to start on some serious home-grown mods...in time...I have plenty of time for that, now that I'm killing myself with tobacco anymore.
Thanks all!
EDIT: would have put this in the proper forum, but haven't posted enough to go elsewhere, just yet.
I just received an order yesterday from VK with the new rubber caps (to stop cartridge leaks) for my eTank system. I fitted 6 cartridges with the rubber caps last night, I'm having wicking/liquid-feed issues with the rubber caps, and original cartridges produce good vapor just fine (great, actually). I've ruled out batteries or atomizers as the culprit, as I have 3 working atomizers (1 new) and 4 working bats (1 new manual, 3 auto, with 1 only slightly used, and 2 originals from the starter kit). No combinations I have used to this point change anything.
For further trials, I've tried drawing on it with the manual battery dormant several times to keep the atomizer probe primed with liquid between drags and still end up with a dry, hot element and nasty odor/taste (burnt dog-hair, for lack of a better description).
The rubber caps have a thin membrane which is punctured upon insertion into the atty by the tube, and I have tried trimming the membrane back to the edge of the hole as well. These rubber caps seem to seal so tightly that no air can enter into the tank and they may be developing a vacuum. Removing the cartridge and re-inserting after a few seconds to relieve any possible vacuum in the tank does not seem to help, so that theory still remains just that, at this point...a theory. But, I keep thinking, what else could it possibly be?
Contact with VK support was not much help, as I feel they have not figured this one out yet, being it is a recent addition to their product line, so I don't blame them for not knowing what to do with it. Lab testing and trial findings would be a nice piece of documentation to have access to at this point, though.
I do leave head-space in the tank when filling, although, if I did over-fill one in the past, I never had a problem with an original cartridge not feeding to the tube, just some seepage right out of the gate, which would be expected.
Even now as I type, I finally managed to get one modded cartridge to produce good vapor for a few minutes, only to realize that I now have liquid in the vapor ports of the cartridge. What did I do? Nothing but keep trying everything I mentioned above. I emptied this cartridge while enjoying the moment, wondering if it would keep working, refilled, jacked-in a fresh bat, and now, the same cartridge won't feed liquid...go figure. It seems that the happy medium between little/no leakage and good volumes of vapor is supremely elusive, at best.
I'm an analytical thinker and can troubleshoot things pretty well once I see how the basic process works (and of course, if it's important enough for me to create a certain level of determination), but even I can get tunnel vision at times, and after 15 hours or more of tinkering with ideas and trials, I'm all tapped-out. Any thoughts on what to try next? Am I overlooking some other variable, or are the rubber caps just not a viable solution to stop leakage from a tank cartridge design?
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated, as getting a fix to this problem would likely be the last problem I have with this system, and would take my vaping experience to an all-time high level of satisfaction. I guess the only way I could take it any higher from there would be to start on some serious home-grown mods...in time...I have plenty of time for that, now that I'm killing myself with tobacco anymore.
Thanks all!
EDIT: would have put this in the proper forum, but haven't posted enough to go elsewhere, just yet.
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