ECR Rebuildable Head - Wicking Advice

[Faheem777]

Hi All

Looking for advice on wicking methods for the ECR rebuildable head on my Melo 3 mini tank. Currently when I wick every now and then I get a horrible burnt hit and the tank leaks. How can this be avoided?

Any assistance will be much appreciated

 

[Glytch]

What coil do you have in the head? What does it ohm out at?

 

[Imtiaaz]

Hi All

Looking for advice on wicking methods for the ECR rebuildable head on my Melo 3 mini tank. Currently when I wick every now and then I get a horrible burnt hit and the tank leaks. How can this be avoided?

Any assistance will be much appreciated

@Glytch is definitely your man when it comes to the ECR head. You're in good hands

 

[Faheem777]

What coil do you have in the head? What does it ohm out at?

0.7ohm - Ss coil

 

[Glytch]

I never had any consistently good wicking with anything under 0.8 ohms. That head just doesn't wick fast enough for sub-ohm. Also anything under 3mm ID for the coil doesn't have enough space for enough cotton.

The technique I found worked best was to fluff the cotton on the outside of the head and make sure it is pressed flat and "squashed out" around the outside of the head itself. Too much and the chimney section will catch on it but just enough and it seems to wick better than most other techniques.

I suggest trying something at 0.9 ohms. Which with SS316L 26 gauge is quite a few wraps and a fairly tight fit. You need to make sure the coil isn't touching the inside of the housing.

Feel free to ask if you want to know anything else. It took me ages to get it right (I wicked twice a day for 10 days before I got it right consistently).

My regular build:

12 wraps
3mm ID
SS316L 26g
+-0.9 ohms
Horizontal

 

[Faheem777]

I never had any consistently good wicking with anything under 0.8 ohms. That head just doesn't wick fast enough for sub-ohm. Also anything under 3mm ID for the coil doesn't have enough space for enough cotton.

The technique I found worked best was to fluff the cotton on the outside of the head and make sure it is pressed flat and "squashed out" around the outside of the head itself. Too much and the chimney section will catch on it but just enough and it seems to wick better than most other techniques.

I suggest trying something at 0.9 ohms. Which with SS316L 26 gauge is quite a few wraps and a fairly tight fit. You need to make sure the coil isn't touching the inside of the housing.

Feel free to ask if you want to know anything else. It took me ages to get it right (I wicked twice a day for 10 days before I got it right consistently).

My regular build:

12 wraps
3mm ID
SS316L 26g
+-0.9 ohms
Horizontal

That's actually how I wick it, kind of like the 'pancake method'. But will try your coil build and see how it goes. Do you get any leaks? Coz that's my other issue. Any suggestions what's causing that? Too thin or thick wick? Too tight or too loose wick?

Fyi , I'm using cotton bacon and 3mm ID coil

 

[Glytch]

That's actually how I wick it, kind of like the 'pancake method'. But will try your coil build and see how it goes. Do you get any leaks? Coz that's my other issue. Any suggestions what's causing that? Too thin or thick wick? Too tight or too loose wick?

Fyi , I'm using cotton bacon and 3mm ID coil

Yes. Always leaked a little around the AFC ring. No badly but still enough to be annoying. It's usually due to the slight gap where the coil screws into the base. @Andre has a cool solution which prevents this. He uses two very small pieces of rolled up cotton off-cuts and wraps it around the base where it screws in and tucks the ends into the juice holes on the head. That does work but I found it a little tricky to do each time I rewicked so I just learnt to live with the slight leakage (if you can even call it that).

I found getting the right about of wicking in comes with practice. Not too loose. Not too tight. Not helpful I know

 

[Glytch]

Also I find cotton bacon very inconsistent in texture. Some thin parts and some fat parts. I know lots of vapers love it but I'm a cotton sheet person myself. Not sure it would cause leaking or dry hits.

 

[Faheem777]

Yes. Always leaked a little around the AFC ring. No badly but still enough to be annoying. It's usually due to the slight gap where the coil screws into the base. @Andre has a cool solution which prevents this. He uses two very small pieces of rolled up cotton off-cuts and wraps it around the base where it screws in and tucks the ends into the juice holes on the head. That does work but I found it a little tricky to do each time I rewicked so I just learnt to live with the slight leakage (if you can even call it that).

I found getting the right about of wicking in comes with practice. Not too loose. Not too tight. Not helpful I know

lol ok that lost me a bit, @Andre do you have a picture of your fix by any chance?

 

[Andre]

lol ok that lost me a bit, @Andre do you have a picture of your fix by any chance?

Unfortunately not, but if I have time shall do a re-wick this afternoon and take a picture or two.

 

[Faheem777]

Unfortunately not, but if I have time shall do a re-wick this afternoon and take a picture or two.

That would be amazing if you could

 

[Andre]

Here you go @Faheem777.

I have never gotten much leaking from the Melo3, but always some moisture in that groove above the air slots, which irritated me. Since I have been using the method below, nothing, nada, no moisture - as dry as.....

I use 27 g Kanthal on a 2.5 mm mandrel. About 6 wraps comes to 1.0 ohms. Wicking with Cotton Bacon V2. Agree with @Glytch, do not think the ECR is made for low sub ohm builds. I vape between 20 to 25 W on this build.

Then I take a piece of wick and roll it quite tightly to around 1mm in diameter. Like on top in the picture below. Looks bigger in the picture than what it actually is.

Next step is to push the middle of that thin piece or wick into the ECR with a little screwdriver or the like, like in the picture. Make sure it is against the side of the bottom of the ECR and do not obstruct the airflow. I sort of try to get the rising parts against the sides of the ECR - the thin wick forms a U-shape inside the head.

Position the tails of the thin piece of wick in the grooves of the ECR.

Do exactly the same on the other side of the coil with another thin piece of wick. Once you have put on the top of the ECR it will look like in the picture below - three wicking tails sticking out on each side.

Cut the tails to your preference, I do it about 0.5 mm from the sides. Flatten. Wet. And you are good to go. Hope it helps.

 

[Faheem777]

Wow, amazing post @Andre Thank you so much for taking the time to do such a detailed post, gonna give it a try tonight!

 

[Silver]

Great tutorial and photos @Andre
Thanks
Very interesting

 

[Faheem777]

Here you go @Faheem777.

I have never gotten much leaking from the Melo3, but always some moisture in that groove above the air slots, which irritated me. Since I have been using the method below, nothing, nada, no moisture - as dry as.....

I use 27 g Kanthal on a 2.5 mm mandrel. About 6 wraps comes to 1.0 ohms. Wicking with Cotton Bacon V2. Agree with @Glytch, do not think the ECR is made for low sub ohm builds. I vape between 20 to 25 W on this build.

Then I take a piece of wick and roll it quite tightly to around 1mm in diameter. Like on top in the picture below. Looks bigger in the picture than what it actually is.

Next step is to push the middle of that thin piece or wick into the ECR with a little screwdriver or the like, like in the picture. Make sure it is against the side of the bottom of the ECR and do not obstruct the airflow. I sort of try to get the rising parts against the sides of the ECR - the thin wick forms a U-shape inside the head.

Position the tails of the thin piece of wick in the grooves of the ECR.

Do exactly the same on the other side of the coil with another thin piece of wick. Once you have put on the top of the ECR it will look like in the picture below - three wicking tails sticking out on each side.

Cut the tails to your preference, I do it about 0.5 mm from the sides. Flatten. Wet. And you are good to go. Hope it helps.

Leak free since, thanks again @Andre. Maybe this can be made a sticky to help others?