Smok V8 Baby-T6 coil problems

[jwill27]

Disclaimer:  Certified products are preferred to knock-offs.  Check your Authentication on ALL Smok coil purchases...especially if the price seems like a steal compared to what you see locally.

My Hardware:  Smok Alien 220w with Big Baby Beast tank, running at 80w of pure bliss.

As I posted about in my other post, I bought some Smok V8 Baby-T6 six-element coils through eBay.  I got a crazy deal, so I figured that they are probably not authentic.  The first two worked fine, but with all coils, you get a limited life on them.  I found more than a dozen posts on how to "fix" some of the issues you see with these, and thought I might share some more findings I have with them.  I am not an expert, and certainly still retain my N00B status on vaping...

In the other post, I posted my results with diluting MaxVG liquid with distilled water for these coils.  This worked like a CHAMP, but I needed to swap my coil finally (yeah, I REALLY like to chain-vape).  I noticed a few odd things about the coil I put in.  I noticed that when the tank was fully installed, I could still turn the top, and could see the coil itself spinning inside the tank.  I thought it was odd, but only noted it in passing.  After priming nicely and getting several good hits from it, I started noticing that the coil wasn't producing the normal number of bubbles of air in the tank.  For the newbies, those bubbles are caused by the liquid refilling the cotton inside the coils (wicking), which allows the vapor to work.  I kid you not, the next hit after noting the lack of bubbles, was BURNT, and I choked for a good minute or two.  Seeing that I was having a wicking problem, I tried some of the methods I had seen on the YouTube videos:

• lowered wattage to 50W and primed 2-3 times before each hit.  This meant I got 4-5 hits without burnt, after letting sit for 30-40 mins.  Verdict:  Partially worked, but not for a chain-vaper like myself. 
• using a pin to make a hole in the side of the cotton to allow more liquid to enter the inner cotton.  This actually did nothing at all, and I noted that the pin wouldn't penetrate very far (very important to note). Verdict: Didn't work for me, but for a very important reason.
• dripping some liquid directly into the stack.  This will literally ONLY work if you have multiple elements in your coil because the idea is to drip the liquid into the inner cotton directly.  This worked, but it meant I had to keep my refill bottle next to me at all times, but I would only get a couple hits from 6 drops before it was burnt tasting again.  Verdict:  Works, but not efficient or sustainable.

Fix

Ok, here is where the lightbulb came on for me.  Anyone who knows vaping and troubleshooting is probably WAY ahead of me right now, but I was feeling a bit slow without my pick-me-ups.  I put in 6 drops to the coil through the stack, pulled on it a few times to create pressure, and took a couple regular hits.  Once that was complete, turn the top (where you open to refill it) clockwise slowly until you see bubbles start to come out of the vents on the sides of the coil.  Once you see this, turn it just a little more (talking 1/16in).  Take a couple hits to confirm bubbles are still going out.  If you notice that the taste is lacking a little, turn it another 1/16in clockwise because it means you weren't fully lined up on the inlets for the inner coil.

Obviously, this wasn't an issue with the coils that came with my Big Baby Beast, and really points to buying directly from the Manufacturer or a reputable dealer.  It also means that if you buy cheap, then you are asking to use your brain a bit to work through any quality issues you will see.

 

Happy Vaping!!