# Subtank mini leaking



## argief (2/10/15)

So I have a leaking subtank mini. No surprise there... 

When I replace my coil, I usually clean the whole setup. As I'm sure is the case for most of you? 

Last night, while ritually cleaning my jig in replacement of coil, I took great care in inspecting my device to see if I my (above all the ods, as many have come before me) could figure out a solution that doesnt involve calling a plumber... 

As i unscrewed, I checked for leaks :
No leak in the bottom seal of the glass, no liquid on the seal
No leak in the coil seal, as the thread into the Base is dry. 
But... I notice a blotch of liquid in the Base of the coil (between red rubber and clear washer). Ie, my determination is that liquid seeps down the shaft of coil and into the Base. I note the design : Base where coil screws in has got a peculiar chamber: it's a deep well with vents at the top? Perhaps to keep liquid that has seeped through the coil inside? The chamber is within the venting chamber, which has the vents right at the bottom of this second "venting" chamber. 

My conclusion therefore is that kangertech was aware of liquid seeping through the coil and into the base at design time, and designed a solution to keep the liquid contained as much as possible by accumulating same in the first chamber. 

I dont believe liquid is seeping through the seal between the glass and base, confirmed in my case by the "brown" colour of leading fluid. Surely clean fluid leaking through the glass would be clear? 

Now, my hypothesis as a potentual fix:

What if one was to regularly, say with every refill, unscrew the coil, and dry up the chamber with some cotton / tissue / etc? Maybe if done regularly the potential spill into second chamber could be prevented stopping visible leakage? 

I am yet to try the above, but wanted to share my thoughts. In the design it seems that the first chamber was specifically provided for to keep liquid inside. 

Will provide an update once I have practiced for a while. 

Ps: still using commercial coils, 1.2ohm. Lots of success with the RBA is noted to stop leaking, however this is for newbies like me who are just "not ready" yet for RBA. 

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Reactions: Like 2 | Winner 1


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## Riaz (2/10/15)

Great observation @argief 

Keep us posted.

In my experience with the subtank mini, i never had any leaks with the stock coils.

I did initially with the rba, turned out i used too little wick 

Once the subtank mini is setup correctly, it is a great little tank.


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## Misterty (2/10/15)

I have had the same issue.

But I found out that my issue was when refilling I was twisting the Glass when tightening the tank. This allowed juice to get into the seals and thus caused the leaking.

Haven't had any leaking issues since.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## DougP (2/10/15)

Have posted this on another thread before..
2 things..
Firstly when you put in coil remove tank from mod..screw in coil and then screw tank back. If you screw coil in while on tank it sometimes doesn't tighten flush..
Secondly every time you fill tank and put back on tilt device side ways..put thumb over mouth piece and blow through air intake hole hard. If you put your other hand behind the other air hole you will get a little juice on it...one or two blows and it will be clear...

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## DougP (2/10/15)

Lastly. This one is the deal breaker... Never fill tank higher than at least 2mm below the silver part on the chimney..
Most people fill it to the silver part and you will get juice running down the chimney because of over fill..

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Reactions: Like 1


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## Chilli (2/10/15)

I has countless issues but since I have been using a RBA I glad to say the leaking has stopped !!

Thanks to @DougP for all the advice in the past

Reactions: Agree 1


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## BansheeZA (2/10/15)

I dont have any leaking with my mini. All i do have is some juice in the catchment area in the base after a few tanks even with me rebuilding and rewicking the version 1 horizontal occ heads. Only time i do have leaks is when the wick does not completely cover the juice holes on the occ head and there is a gap in the wick

Reactions: Useful 1


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## argief (5/10/15)

Feedback : is a b***h to dry the liquid from the inner task. Resulted to washing the base with every refill! Bleak because it still leaked after the second refill. 

Frustrated, I turned to YouTube and wicked my RBA. It was difficult getting the cotton through the 2ml coil, but succeeded on my second try! I've had about 5 refills on the RBA and no leaking! 

One last thought, to those without leaking problems on the vertical coils, what watt are you vaping at? I was vaping at between 17 and 20 watt on the 1.5ohm

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Reactions: Like 1


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## Nick (6/10/15)

@argief i have used both coils on my Subtank, 0.5 i vape at 36w the 1.5 i do not use at all now but when i was starting out it was as high i as could i think its 20-25w and i have no leaking issues, the only issue i had is when i over fill the tank.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## argief (6/10/15)

@Nick how far do you fill? I have a white one, so I fill just below the silver (unpainted) on the stem. Liquid does not touch the silver

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## Nick (6/10/15)

Hi.. same try and keep it below the silver tip...

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Reactions: Informative 1


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## argief (6/10/15)

I read somewhere on the forum that you should fill it 2mm below the silver. I always try to stick to that. 

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## Vapers Paradise (6/10/15)

Nick said:


> Hi.. same try and keep it below the silver tip...
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


Always worked for me


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## Nick (6/10/15)

I personally don't but I suppose if your being extra cautious then it's fine. .. I think if your tank is leaking filling it 2mm below the silver is not going to make a difference 

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## Vapers Paradise (6/10/15)

Nick said:


> I personally don't but I suppose if your being extra cautious then it's fine. .. I think if your tank is leaking filling it 2mm below the silver is not going to make a difference
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk


What I have notice with my clients is if they don't completely fill it they avoid the leaking 9 out of 10 times but have had some who have no issues topping it up


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## Nick (6/10/15)

Yep.. if any liquid falls down the spout while filling then it will leak out of the vents at the bottom. .. if it's not over filled and it still leaks from the Base then it's the coil seal.. if coil seal is OK and it still leaks out of the Base then the coil is not in dead straight.. if it's leaking down the sides then it's the seal around the glass that's worn..

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## Bartart (27/10/15)

My experience is that there can be some leaking when refilling if I haven't cleaned the tank properly seems to leak from the bottom of the glass very lightly but enough to make your hands sticky.
Also some leaks from the air vents if over filled.
I have also found that the thinner juices leak more than the thicker ones guess the higher viscosity prevents the juice from getting out.


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## Clouder (30/11/15)

Just to bring this leaking Subox tank thread back to life.

When I purchased my Kbox, I drove to Durban the next day(Friday) to take my Mother on holiday. When I drove back alone on Sunday, I noticed that my tank was leaking. It started to leak gradually more and more.

This was on the 1.5 Ohm OCC Coil. 

Being rather p!ssed about this, once I was back home I went to @argief who helped me to install the RBA with my own coil.

I wicked it, and ever since, I have NEVER had a leak on it again.

My observation was that the OCC coils tend to leak after a while. So when any newbies get their Kboxes, it is advisable to learn how to coil and wick the RBA coils ASAP.

Another observation I had at the Vape Meet this past Saturday, is that there is quite a few okes out there vapin', but they stick to pre-made coils. To those I want to say, its really not that difficult to build your our coils and wicks, you should really try it. Seems they are very intimidated by the whole thing. Really, check out some youtube vids and try it! you'll save yourself ALOT of money!

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 2


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## Vapers Paradise (30/11/15)

Also have noticed this but found that it happens with the supplied coil and not when purchasing a box of coils or an individual coil from a box , simply the supplied coil is shocking but replacing with a new one fixes the issue


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## n00b13 (30/11/15)

In my experience, it is less intimidating to start with the Joyetech ego one CLR, or similar and learn wicking first. Coil will last a few rewicks, and by that time, you should feel more comfortable to take the next step. First rewick came out perfectly. First attempt on subtank mini resulted in a massive leak for me and u went back to the occ. want to make a 1.odd ohm coil first as 0.5 is not for me


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## Effjh (23/12/15)

Recently had a similar experience on a Subtank nano, posted a thread: Kangertech Subox leaking fix

Might help.


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## Pixstar (23/12/15)

Never had a leak on a Subtank Mini (I have 3) but as said above, I also only use the RBA. I have used the supplied coils when I bought the tanks but also didn't experience leaking. It could be faulty coils?


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## Effjh (23/12/15)

Pixstar said:


> Never had a leak on a Subtank Mini (I have 3) but as said above, I also only use the RBA. I have used the supplied coils when I bought the tanks but also didn't experience leaking. It could be faulty coils?



Yeah in my case it was the coil. Sometimes the bottom seal on coil gets slightly lifted by the wire. It causes leaking into airflow chamber. Easy to fix though once you find the culprit.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Pixstar (23/12/15)

Effjh said:


> Yeah in my case it was the coil. Sometimes the bottom seal on coil gets slightly lifted by the wire. It causes leaking into airflow chamber. Easy to fix though once you find the culprit.


Just watched the video, nice find!

Reactions: Thanks 1


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