iStick Pico + Melo III Questions/Problems

[Glytch]

I got a this mod about a week ago (my first decent mod, was on Twisp for 2 years) and I have a few questions that maybe someone can answer.

General Info

- I do chain vape at times
- I never let the juice run down to below the juice intakes but I do notice quite large air bubbles escaping at times
- I did the required research and prime my coils properly. I didn't get dry hits on any of the coils the first time I vaped and none while I was using them for the said number of days
- I use around 10ml of juice per day

I've used 3 coils in 10 days

One eLeaf 0.3 ohm coil (OCC Kanthal) - This was the first coil I put in the mod. The flavour was legendary (I was using Weiner Vape Roll Over 30/70 PG/VG). I got loads of vapour and loads of flavour. I ran the coil at between 30 - 40w and was during direct to lung hits of about 2.5 to 3.5 seconds. After 3 or 4 days I started getting a horrible metallic taste on the coil. Changed it out for a new 0.5 ohm. Someone suggested that these coils probably don't do well with lung hits longer than 3 seconds.

Two eLeaf 0.5 ohm coils (OCC Kanthal) - Less flavour and vapour. The metallic taste was less but still continued with both coils (even when new). Lung hits at around 40w for 3 - 4 seconds. First coil lasted around 4 days. On the second coil and trying short MTL at 35w but not that enjoyable. These 0.5 ohm coils also make the tank very hot when chain vaping which the 0.3 ohm coil didn't.

Metallic Taste and Hissing

I've been using DIY juices at 20/80 PG/VG and the metallic taste is still there as it is with the weiner vape roll over. I've tried the plastic drip tip from my Twisp and with no drip tip and while the metallic taste lessens I get spit back with the Twisp drip tip so I don't use it. Also with the 0.5ohm coils when I release the button after vaping I can hear the coil hiss for another 1 - 1.5 seconds which I don't think is normal. I know the ramp-up and ramp-down on higher resistance coils is longer but surely this can't be good.

Vapour's Tounge

The Weiner Vape Roll Over and my DIY juices are all strawberry based flavours so I have nothing to compare it to really. I taste more when I vape while drinking beer or coffee or right after having eaten some tasty food. Could I have vapour's tongue?

Suggestions Please

I want a coil that will let me do direct lung hits for 3 - 5 seconds with a reasonable amount of tasty vapour and last at least a week. I'm not averse to building my own coils but all the calculations I do with 26g kanthal come out at 2 wraps for below 0.5 ohms. 24g is apparently cumbersome to work with even on the ECR head as they need to pass past the rubber grommet at the bottom of the coil housing. Do I need such a low resistance coil? I rebuilt one of the coils using existing wire and rewicked with cotton. I did a spaced parallel build with 6 or 7 wraps which got me 0.9ohms but it didn't taste overly good.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated (unless it involves buying a RDA/RDTA, which I can't afford at the moment). I really want this device to perform like it did the first few days I had it.

 

[ddk1979]

with the way technology is going i think in the not too distant future we will begin to see vw/vv mods that are filled with temp sensors airflow sensors etc and capable of data logging.. ie recording all parameters during your vape session that you can then analyze.. post on the net.. etc...

and do my SARS income tax return as well ...

.

 

[Silver]

very informative and detailed post... frikkin awesome @Glytch...how about a pic or two in future posts ??...you mentioned something i hadnt seen when i pulled my stock coil to bits... that indeed two of the juice feed ports are redundant... hmm.. i too think this is why it cant keep juice flow up to the 0.3 ohm coil.. no dry hitting on the 0.5 ohm coil so far at 30w limiting draws to 5 seconds or so ... juice is pg65/vg35.... will be getting a rebuildable head for it soon and some nichrome wire etc.... cant wait to try the cCell ceramic coils.0.19ohm( if i am not mistaken) from vaperesso will be picking some up tomorrow apparently they give awesome flavor and last very long... i did however get myself a second hand rda yesterday for a bargain... was nervous did my first build last night... 20 ga.. or 0.78mm, kanthal a1. only wire i had.. did a dual coil build , 6 wraps, 2.4mm coil inner diameter.. came in at 0.14ohms.. at midnight i discovered i had no wicking material so also used dove cotton wool.. lol... thats why i was asking about wicking material... well i burned the coils clean 3 or 4 times.. wicked it with dove cotton wool.. dripped Voodoo Juice jack the ripper on it... started out at 35w then to 50w then flat out on the pico at 75w vape was still cold and smooth clouds were ridiculous as was the flavor... off topic i know jus sharing my 1st buildView attachment 62580 View attachment 62581 View attachment 62582

Great first coil @AlexL !
Wow, 20 ga - thats like coathanger wire - lol

 

[AlexL]

Great first coil @AlexL !
Wow, 20 ga - thats like coathanger wire - lol

thank you @Silver... coathanger wire..yeah all of the sudden 75w isnt enough lol.. was a bit tricky to work with ... the first three coils went in the scrap bin... will be experimenting more soon.. those clapton coils seem to be all rage at the moment...will hav to have a look...the 200w realeaux and coil building supplies arrive tomorrow ... any ideas on a good tank for flavor? Rebuildable tank style..... thx...

 

[Silver]

thank you @Silver... coathanger wire..yeah all of the sudden 75w isnt enough lol.. was a bit tricky to work with ... the first three coils went in the scrap bin... will be experimenting more soon.. those clapton coils seem to be all rage at the moment...will hav to have a look...the 200w realeaux and coil building supplies arrive tomorrow ... any ideas on a good tank for flavor? Rebuildable tank style..... thx...

Lol, you asking me about 200W and flavour tanks! Hehe
I think some of the other guys will advise you much better on that

I am happy with my subtank mini at 15W with my 18mg juice - i tend to put more power in my juice not the coils

Just on that build on the pico with 20ga wire - i think if you try 26g you will find its much better handled by the 75W limit. Havent tried it myself on the Pico but i imagine it will be much better from a ramp up perspective.

 

[AlexL]

Lol, you asking me about 200W and flavour tanks! Hehe
I think some of the other guys will advise you much better on that

I am happy with my subtank mini at 15W with my 18mg juice - i tend to put more power in my juice not the coils

Just on that build on the pico with 20ga wire - i think if you try 26g you will find its much better handled by the 75W limit. Havent tried it myself on the Pico but i imagine it will be much better from a ramp up perspective.

okay @Silver...... i guess bigger is not better... i mainly want the rx200 cos the pico at 30w doing about 5ml of juice just makes a day on a battery i figure the rx will do 2 days at least between charges.... yeah you are spot on about the ramp up perspective with the 20 ga build on the pico...it is really sluggish boils the e juice a while before the clouds arrived... according to my coil build calculator these coils should max at 234w....overkill... it was a kind of Mcgyver build at midnight.. dove cotton wool included... was maybe bit exited about my rda and doing a build... but it worked and nothing has blow up... .... yet.....

 

[AlexL]

that is blown up.......

 

[Silver]

okay @Silver...... i guess bigger is not better... i mainly want the rx200 cos the pico at 30w doing about 5ml of juice just makes a day on a battery i figure the rx will do 2 days at least between charges.... yeah you are spot on about the ramp up perspective with the 20 ga build on the pico...it is really sluggish boils the e juice a while before the clouds arrived... according to my coil build calculator these coils should max at 234w....overkill... it was a kind of Mcgyver build at midnight.. dove cotton wool included... was maybe bit exited about my rda and doing a build... but it worked and nothing has blow up... .... yet.....

At least you got it going and thats what counts!

Strange thing for me is that my RX200 triple battery doesnt last a heck of a lot longer than my two battery mods. One would expect it to but it doesnt. Will obviously last a lot longer than the single battery Pico

 

[Glytch]

@Glytch.. i have only heard good things about those avo's..... back on the subject of the melo coils.. i am going to teardown a new standard 0.3coil and drill those 2 redundant holes out and reassemble and see how long it goes for.... will post findings...

Would be interested to see. Those two holes have metal walls behind them. You'll need to remove those or the coil won't sit flush with those holes and leak up the side of that wall.

nothing has blow up... .... yet.....

That's not a great metric for success

 

[AlexL]

hello @Glytch... i havent looked on the net at the videos on the stock melo3 coil rebuilds... here is what i noted.. when i pulled my coil apart it had a parallel, 5 wrap, so 10 individual coils... approximately 5mm inner diameter on the wraps 0.38mm kanthal wire in it... today i saw the reply and noted that u said it took a long time to get the cotton out from behind those feed holes... and some thing about leaking out the holes between the walls if i drill it. .... so i pulled it completely apart.. bet i can get that cotton wool in there in 2 seconds now .... jus need do push the tube with the slots in it out of the main body it requires some force and be carefull around those threads.... here is a pic of my dismantled coil... the wrap of cotton that sits behind the juice feed holes and where i have marked the spot where i intend to drill open up the redundant feed hole...

 

[AlexL]

i see also that the coils from the Triton, the Atlantis the Melo2 aswell as the vaperesso cCell coils all apparently fit the Melo3......

 

[Glytch]

@AlexL You are a legend! Didn't know that part could come out. I will have to try that. You reckon that inner coil was as much as 5mm?

 

[Glytch]

How on earth did you get that other part out?

 

[AlexL]

How on earth did you get that other part out?

a legend... thanks for the kind words mate @Glytch ... i have been called worse... .. yeah i rekon the coil diameter was 4 to 5mm judging by the hole in the top mesh screen.. see pic 1...ok to push the inner sleeve out i found a washer with a 11mm hole in it.. the coils threads fit through the hole but the flange where the o ring that seals the coil base /tank from the airflow chamber doesn't pic 2...then by pushing a 9mm punch or back of a 9mm drill bit in fron the top of the coil chamber whilst counter holding the washer and coil body will drive out the inner sleeve and cotton strip...pic 3

 

[Glytch]

Thanks! I'll have to try that. How did the rest of the build go?

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[Imtiaaz]

Such a cool informative thread, love it.

 

[OneShotStott]

I'm following this thread with great interest to be honest....I also noticed a horrible difference going from the 0.3 to the 0.5 coil, much, much less flavour, cloud and I am going through juice at a stupid pace!

Definitely going back to 0.3 coils at the end of the month - does anyone here recommend another brand/type of coil that will work with this Melo tank?

Not sure if i am perhaps a simpleton but i am battling to properly reassemble this Melo tank, no matter how many times i line up the parts, the bottom two sections just screw together skew, allowing a small amount of juice to leak out, has anyone else had this issue yet or am i somehow just being an idiot here?

 

[Andre]

I'm following this thread with great interest to be honest....I also noticed a horrible difference going from the 0.3 to the 0.5 coil, much, much less flavour, cloud and I am going through juice at a stupid pace!

Definitely going back to 0.3 coils at the end of the month - does anyone here recommend another brand/type of coil that will work with this Melo tank?

Not sure if i am perhaps a simpleton but i am battling to properly reassemble this Melo tank, no matter how many times i line up the parts, the bottom two sections just screw together skew, allowing a small amount of juice to leak out, has anyone else had this issue yet or am i somehow just being an idiot here?

Seems people have the most success with the black ring 0.6 ohm cCell coil units (available here), but even with those some report wicking problems. Seems to work best in the 2 ml Melo Mini 3.
I use the ECR (rebuildable head), but it is not good for low resistance. Good to go from 0.8 ohms and up.
Sounds to me as if you have a cross threading problem there.

 

[OneShotStott]

Seems people have the most success with the black ring 0.6 ohm cCell coil units (available here), but even with those some report wicking problems. Seems to work best in the 2 ml Melo Mini 3.
I use the ECR (rebuildable head), but it is not good for low resistance. Good to go from 0.8 ohms and up.
Sounds to me as if you have a cross threading problem there.

Is there any way to fix this cross threading issue at all or is it stripped and ruined now?

 

[Andre]

Is there any way to fix this cross threading issue at all or is it stripped and ruined now?

I have no idea. Calling @blujeenz for help.

 

[blujeenz]

I have no idea. Calling @blujeenz for help.

The only way to fix cross threading is to run the correct tap through to fix the threads.
The coils and plated brass items and dont take well to repair, best to chuck and start again.

SS should clean up reasonbly well but will always catch at the original damage point, ie needs extra care in future.
The main problem is that taps dont exist for tank threads due to them being cut on a lathe, finding the correct pitch thread file to dress the damaged threads is going to be a mission on its own.

Its kinda hard to diagnose if its stripped or not, me being in Cape Town , sometimes the start point of the thread gets a little damaged and it catches on the 2nd thread instead.
A tank should always screw together smoothly and if you need to change to gorilla mode, you've already got problems.

 

[OneShotStott]

The only way to fix cross threading is to run the correct tap through to fix the threads.
The coils and plated brass items and dont take well to repair, best to chuck and start again.

SS should clean up reasonbly well but will always catch at the original damage point, ie needs extra care in future.
The main problem is that taps dont exist for tank threads due to them being cut on a lathe, finding the correct pitch thread file to dress the damaged threads is going to be a mission on its own.

Errrm, well that really sucks, especially considering I only bought this three weeks ago and the guy in Vaperite put the coil in for me in the first place....

Thanks so much for the response though.

 

[BATMAN]

I know that I am about a year and a half late for this thread,but I thought I would post something here.

I have just given my old Melo 3 tank to someone who has just started their first day of vaping in the attempt of getting away from hookah/hubbly.

So I purchased a new 0.30 ohm coil and fitted and primed it like I always did back in the day and within moments i continuously got burnt hits at 40w.
The coils recommended resistance is between 30-80W so this baffled me.

Upon investigation and searching endlessly on the net,I came across this thread.
I used a torch and managed to see that while the outer parts of the cotton got juice,it was too compact/dense for juice to travel to the cotton which was actually in contact with the coil (as suggested by somebody else earlier in this thread).
I primed the coil to soften the juice and used my ceramic tweezers to 'remove' small bits of cotton from the entry holes on the coil (repeated this about 4 times) until juice managed to travel to the center of the coil.
Now,even at 55Watts,There is not even a trace of a burnt hit.

I know this may not matter right now,but incase somebody else loses sleep over this in the future-there it is.

 

[GerritVisagie]

Cool.
Thanx for sharing.
Somewhere there's someone who will need to see this.


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