Leaking rebuildable tanks (Griffin / Aromizer / ... )

[Echdarees]

hi there,

With the new regulations that are now put into effect in Europe (and more precisely in Belgium), it's getting harder to get vaping gear into the country (stories of FT orders getting blocked eg). So : I've created a small stock of subtanks and rebuildables...

But : I still stick with my Maganus, with my TFV4 and with my fixed coils. And I have a major issue when I rebuild my Griffin or my Aromamizer (eg)...

This major issue is the leaking of my tank(s) : even though I think I do this properly, the contents of my tank just "pour" out after a while. Eg : I built the Griffin yesterday with an easy 9 wrap 24 kanthal dual build, wicked it, pushed the ends of the cotton into the 4 holes, primed it with some juice, filled the tank with some juice and started vaping it after letting it rest for 5 minutes. This went well (vaped for 5 minutes), put the tank aside and noticed after another 5 minutes that it was leaking all over...

Perhaps it's a newbie problem but does anyone have some suggestions or recommendations? It will most likely have to do with the amount of cotton I use?

thanks so much,
/d

 

[Mattp169]

leaks usually occur from a problem with o-rings or the wicking.
where is the juice leaking from? afc? the glass?

my griffin ha sleaked a hair from time to time but never like you described except once when i used to little wicking. it was a hair to short on on side

 

[Echdarees]

hi there Matt,

Thanks a lot for your reply! Appreciated!
Don't think it'll be the o-rings (the Griffin is brandnew and wasn't used before) so the leaking itself : this is coming from the ventilation holes. I know I'm not supposed to do this (pressure and counterpressure and all that) but when I blow into the drip tip with some force, you see the juice guzzling out of that venthole.

So... Yours did too? Even the tiniest amount is always a shame but I would prefer that over a mod (and hands) that's covered with that juice. Like in my case

/d

 

[Mattp169]

well coming out the afc hole is a good sign its a wicking issue

i dont have a camera handy to post my deck, but there are TONS of youtube videos on wicking this thing,

I use what i guess is called the scottish roll method which is basically stuffing as much cotton as possible in. and the ends should just barely be visible below the wick retaining ring. When mine leaked, i had one tail on each wick just a hair too short. they were barely reaching the wick retaining ring

getting the hang of how much wick and how long or short to make it is about the most difficult thing with rta building imho.

fortunately cotton is DIRT cheap, so replacing your wicking a few times to get the hang of it is inexpensive and so worth it. I have a maganus. I love that thing. but after getting a fused clapton on my griffin and getting the wicking right...theres no comparison. The griffin is much better and cheaper to maintain the coils

 

[nightshard]

Regarding the aromamizer (I assume V1) the cotton placement has to be done just right.
If it's not, it will leak over time especially if it is placed on it's side.
The trick is to spread the cotton all over the bottom of the deck but without stuffing it tightly.

Another way around it is to use the AFC ring and close the airflow completely when not in use, since if no air can come in no liquid will pass from the tank to the deck either.

 

[Echdarees]

@Mattp169 : Thanks again for your reply! I did look at those videos (always helpful instead of wasting time trying "wrong" builds) but seems I still have some things to learn. Will give that Scottish roll method a go (just watched the one made by RiPTrippers) and will also try to keep the end just below the wick retaining ring. And yeah : seems it is and I have 3 big boxes of Ken Do cotton pads so I shouldn't run dry anytime soon ;-) So yeah, with you there (that the Maganus is awesome) but if you state that the griffin with a proper build & wicking is better than that Maganus, I'll be retrying my builds until I get it perfect

@nightshard : my thanks also! I could be wrong but it's the V2? I think? But anyway : I also notice that it's again a matter of having that cotton just right so the message is understood : practice my wicking some more Brilliant tip also : didn't think of closing down the airholes when I'm not using my tank(s) - I thought that it didn't matter (thinking that the saturated wicks/cotton ends were acting as barriers)

 

[roxynoodle]

Hi, watch several youtube reviews on these RTAs and study the wicking. Once you get it down, your leaking problems should end In the meantime, should the Griffin leak, close the jfc to stop it. Then you won't lose all your juice while you rewick it. With the Aromamizer, turn it upside down to stop it while you rewick.

Good luck! You can do it!

 

[Echdarees]

Hi again!

Well... It works... It even works splendidly now What some good advice, some finetuning, some practice and a realization of an error can't do

@roxynoodle : thanks for the tips - I watched 2 youtubes before my 1st attempt and both of these didn't open the O-ring. To be honest : I didn't know or realize that this ring could be unscrewed. So when people were talking about that O-ring, I thought it was something else. So noticed my error after watching some more videos and yeah, after that : applied the Scottish roll method, fluffed out the cotton, applied the O-ring, cut the excess cotton, wet the cotton, gently finished the details (so the endings were "straight" and uniform) and there you had it : one brilliant Griffin which is now blasting those clouds without any leakage whatsoever (had it in my backpack this morning and it's still as dry as... well.. a dry tank )

So thanks again - I'll give the Aromamizer another try this weekend
/dimi