Leaking Issues! - Pharaoh Mini

[Mitz]

Absolutely 100% my tank does NOT rotate from the base below the knurling. Just like Jai's. Granted, it seems others do. The OP's didn't either. A lot of defective units it seems. But I am very glad you posted. As I said, I like to be proven wrong and I will now be returning mine for a refund.

 

[Zemwood]

It is extremely stiff to start with, I think DJSLB said his loosened up after 2 or 3 weeks, as mine did. It’s also much, much easier when it’s warm. Lubing mine definitely makes it glide easier. Put a bit of juice round the AFC and eagle that back and forth to work it in, maybe warm it a bit in your hands.

If the tolerances weren’t so tight it’d leak I reckon.

I’ve got my own issues with it at the moment with the wicking constantly being too tight after a couple of days use, but not wicking fast enough if I use less cotton - that’s driving me nuts!

 

[Mitz]

It is extremely stiff to start with, I think DJSLB said his loosened up after 2 or 3 weeks, as mine did. It’s also much, much easier when it’s warm. Lubing mine definitely makes it glide easier. Put a bit of juice round the AFC and eagle that back and forth to work it in, maybe warm it a bit in your hands.

If the tolerances weren’t so tight it’d leak I reckon.

I’ve got my own issues with it at the moment with the wicking constantly being too tight after a couple of days use, but not wicking fast enough if I use less cotton - that’s driving me nuts!

Ok, humble pie time. No way in a billion years that I could move that with my hands. Absolutely no way on earth. I would need to be on steroids for a year first doing daily hand strengthening exercises. And even then I doubt I would be able to move it. But knowing that it really is meant to turn and no longer worried about breaking the tank I secured the base underneath the knurling in an adjustable wrench - in itself not an easy thing to achieve. I then inserted a thin but long metal rod thru the base via the airflow vents and I then turned the metal rod. That is without a doubt the most insanely tight connection I've ever come across on any vape related product. There's just no way that could be turned without using tools. I now don't really understand why Jai was unable to open his using robo-grips.

But I take it all back. My apologies to Rip and DigiFlavor for doubting you. And my apologies to anybody else who said theirs turned and I doubted them. It does indeed turn. With a lot of effort and the help of some tools.

Thanks for posting @Zemwood. As for the wicking I find with all rta's the shorter the cotton used the better. What has worked best for me is a 3mm ID coil with the cotton nice and snug thru the coil. I cut the cotton so that it extends out about a mm from the outside rim of the juice port. I then fluff the cotton but when I fluff it, I fluff it upwards. I then trim the underside of the cotton slightly as the underside of the cotton has less distance to travel to the wick port than the top side of the cotton. So I trim the underside of the cotton by about 1 1/2 mm. Then tuck it in. Trimming the underside also helps it not be too tight when it's tucked in. I don't get any leaks or dry hits doing it this way.

 

[Zemwood]

Ok, humble pie time. No way in a billion years that I could move that with my hands. Absolutely no way on earth. I would need to be on steroids for a year first doing daily hand strengthening exercises. And even then I doubt I would be able to move it. But knowing that it really is meant to turn and no longer worried about breaking the tank I secured the base underneath the knurling in an adjustable wrench - in itself not an easy thing to achieve. I then inserted a thin but long metal rod thru the base via the airflow vents and I then turned the metal rod. That is without a doubt the most insanely tight connection I've ever come across on any vape related product. There's just no way that could be turned without using tools. I now don't really understand why Jai was unable to open his using robo-grips.

But I take it all back. My apologies to Rip and DigiFlavor for doubting you. And my apologies to anybody else who said theirs turned and I doubted them. It does indeed turn. With a lot of effort and the help of some tools.

Thanks for posting @Zemwood. As for the wicking I find with all rta's the shorter the cotton used the better. What has worked best for me is a 3mm ID coil with the cotton nice and snug thru the coil. I cut the cotton so that it extends out about a mm from the outside rim of the juice port. I then fluff the cotton but when I fluff it, I fluff it upwards. I then trim the underside of the cotton slightly as the underside of the cotton has less distance to travel to the wick port than the top side of the cotton. So I trim the underside of the cotton by about 1 1/2 mm. Then tuck it in. Trimming the underside also helps it not be too tight when it's tucked in. I don't get any leaks or dry hits doing it this way.

I think half the problem with what Jai was doing was a) he was trying too hard, too much pressure on the jaws of the grips distorting the tank and making a tight connection even tighter, and b) did it without liquid in the tank - no liquid, no lube. I couldn’t turn mine by hand when it was dry when it was new. It softens up no end when loaded.

I also wonder if over tightening the top section on to the bottom causes issues. I tighten mine down till it just runs out of thread and no more, because I think too tight would also clamp down on the part underneath that rotates.

I’ll try the wick as suggested. I did trim the bottom, but only a little, maybe time to get a bit more radical. Also ‘fluffing up’ sounds good - presumably reduces the cotton density a bit at the juice hole. I’ve only been doing this 6 months and I’m still not sure quite what ‘loose’ and ‘tight’ feel like.

Do you mean trim the cotton 1mm over the edge of the deck? Or past the juice port?

 

[Mitz]

I think half the problem with what Jai was doing was a) he was trying too hard, too much pressure on the jaws of the grips distorting the tank and making a tight connection even tighter, and b) did it without liquid in the tank - no liquid, no lube. I couldn’t turn mine by hand when it was dry when it was new. It softens up no end when loaded.

I also wonder if over tightening the top section on to the bottom causes issues. I tighten mine down till it just runs out of thread and no more, because I think too tight would also clamp down on the part underneath that rotates.

I’ll try the wick as suggested. I did trim the bottom, but only a little, maybe time to get a bit more radical. Also ‘fluffing up’ sounds good - presumably reduces the cotton density a bit at the juice hole. I’ve only been doing this 6 months and I’m still not sure quite what ‘loose’ and ‘tight’ feel like.

Do you mean trim the cotton 1mm over the edge of the deck? Or past the juice port?

Yeah, think he might have gripped the knurling as well.

Mine had been put away but seeing as I've already dug it out I figured I'd re-wick it to show you how I do it.

So when you feed the cotton thru the coil you should feel a little bit of resistance as you pull it thru. It shouldn't be really loose and super easy to pull thru. You want the cotton to be nice and snug inside the coil.

Click on images to enlarge.

I cut it so the ends extend just past the wick port.




I then fluff the coton upwards and trim the bottom about even with the rim of the wick slot. Fluffing it up upwards makes it easier to access the bottom bit to cut and also introduces spaces between the cotton fibres so it's less likely to expand in a solid block and choke off the wicking.



Then tuck it in and prime. You can see that cutting the cotton short like this means the wick port is plugged with cotton but the entire port isn't full of cotton. We want the port to be full of juice not cotton.

 

[Zemwood]

Yeah, think he might have gripped the knurling as well.

Mine had been put away but seeing as I've already dug it out I figured I'd re-wick it to show you how I do it.

So when you feed the cotton thru the coil you should feel a little bit of resistance as you pull it thru. It shouldn't be really loose and super easy to pull thru. You want the cotton to be nice and snug inside the coil.

Click on images to enlarge.

I cut it so the ends extend just past the wick port.

View attachment 152829


I then fluff the coton upwards and trim the bottom about even with the rim of the wick slot. Fluffing it up upwards makes it easier to access the bottom bit to cut and also introduces spaces between the cotton fibres so it's less likely to expand in a solid block and choke off the wicking.

View attachment 152830

Then tuck it in and prime. You can see that cutting the cotton short like this means the wick port is plugged with cotton but the entire port isn't full of cotton. We want the port to be full of juice not cotton.

View attachment 152831

Thanks, that makes it clearer. Wow, that’s a lot less cotton than I’ve been using! I’ve been cutting it by pulling it down the outside and cutting off level with just below the wicking port, which makes it about twice as long from the coil as you have, meaning...

“...so it's less likely to expand in a solid block and choke off the wicking.”

Which I think is exactly the problem I’ve been having. It’s fine for a day or so (a couple of tankful really), then the vape goes off, very thin and much cooler, so I think that must be the wick choking as it expands in the port. I’d never thought of leaving the port essential clear for juice, which is in effect more like the Kayfun v5 with juice feeding from the bottom of the wick. Nice! I’m surprised though that it isn’t prone to leaking through the airflow.

I’m certainly prone to wicking too tight through the coil, a hangover from the first RTA I built, the full size Pharaoh, which I wicked too loose the first time, and all I got was explosive pops & crackles and a full tank of juice on the mod the next morning.

Thanks, I’ll give this a go when I get back tomorrow.

 

[tassaro]

Are you sure youve got the lock screw at the top tightened down correctly? Mine does adjust JFC exactly as you describe it should, ie I only turn the tank clockwise to open or close the JFC and the entire upper section rotates without tightening up, always clockwise and its pretty smooth too. I did make sure I lubed the threads with some juice before putting the top on.

I think Riptrippers suggested putting the upper tank together first without adding the top lock screw, screwing the top onto the bottom, and only then adding the lock screw, supposedly to avoid cracking the tank. Also, keep a hold of the knurled ring above the AFC on the bottom section when screwing the top section on to make sure it tightens correctly. My main bet though would be lubing it - it gets pretty stiff without it.

Can't thank you enough mate for showing me how the AFC works properly. I had been unscrewing the base by half a turn causing occasional leaks through the bottom seams that drove me crazy. I love the pharaoh mini so much for the clouds and great flavour.

 

[tassaro]

It is extremely stiff to start with, I think DJSLB said his loosened up after 2 or 3 weeks, as mine did. It’s also much, much easier when it’s warm. Lubing mine definitely makes it glide easier. Put a bit of juice round the AFC and eagle that back and forth to work it in, maybe warm it a bit in your hands.

If the tolerances weren’t so tight it’d leak I reckon.

I’ve got my own issues with it at the moment with the wicking constantly being too tight after a couple of days use, but not wicking fast enough if I use less cotton - that’s driving me nuts!

Besides fluffing the tails out making them quite thin I tuck them gently inside the channels halfway through leaving a gap at the bottom. Amazingly I never get leaking even with 50% PG and it keeps up wicking amazingly fast. After a few days I start getting dry hits if serial vaping, must be due to cotton packing in and getting denser, so I rewick. Hope that helps.

 

[SuperSmithens]

Random thread revival but strangely enough this rta was on my mind anyway and was going to fish the thread out. So after @Mitz had his issues and the whole time mine worked fine recently mine decided to devolve into the juice flow not working/ was mad stiff. Also it had been a great tank for me but went back to it after a long hiatus and Couldn’t for the life of me stop it dry hitting it’s a strange old tank. I do wonder if I it’s just not as good as I chose to remember though as after using the Kylin Mini the Pharaoh doesn’t come close.

 

[Zemwood]

Besides fluffing the tails out making them quite thin I tuck them gently inside the channels halfway through leaving a gap at the bottom. Amazingly I never get leaking even with 50% PG and it keeps up wicking amazingly fast. After a few days I start getting dry hits if serial vaping, must be due to cotton packing in and getting denser, so I rewick. Hope that helps.

I had exactly the same same issues with the cotton tightening in the wells after a few days AND the cotton in the coils breaking down in the middle of the coil. @Mitz version of wicking seems to have really nailed it for me and the current wick is still good and wicking like a champ after 3 weeks with 70 percent VG, and no signs of tightening. Fingers crossed. Odd thing with this RTA is that I had no problems the first few times I used it.

The Juice Control is seriously counterintuitive on this, glad you sorted it!