KFL+ build/vape not yet how I want it

[skitz0]

Hey guys,

I love my Mini Nautilus and always fancied getting into rebuildables, so naturally the next step up for me was a Kayfun. Got myself an original Kayfun Lite+ V2 and got cracking doing a few builds on it. Got a bit fed up with it not vaping the way I liked so it's been in the cupboard for a few weeks but I recently got it out to try again as I haven't heard a bad thing about this tank.

What I wasn't liking was I was finding it having too much flavour, didn't like the drip tip, wasn't keen on how hard/fast I had to drag it for vapour production, and how warm the vape was - it was also not quite as dense as the Nautilus. I like a slow, easy drag and nice cool, dense vapour. The below is a cross post from another forum but it seems more active over here so I'll probably get more replies.

Ok so I got the Kayfun out again tonight. First I sat with it next to my usual Nautilus Mini so I could get a good comparison, put a Nautilus drip tip in the KFL, and spent a few minutes really getting the airflow exactly how I like it. I would guesstimate from being screwed totally shut I loosened the screw 3-4 turns out, maybe 1/3 - 1/2 open on the airflow from the feel of it.

Next I threw together my usual quick microcoil coming in at 1.7~1.8 ohms and wicked it in my usual manner. I did lift it higher off the airhole though to give that a try. I usually lift it around 1-2mm, this was more like 3mm.

Wicked it up, let it sit for a few minutes with a couple of primer pulls and started the side by side comparison vape.

Having the airflow perfectly dialled in and using the kind of drip tip I like and am used to really helped the experience.

Vape wise I found the KFL really flavoursome, as I always have done. Almost to the point of too flavoursome, as if the vape droplets are too big or something. I also find the vape warmer and less dense than the Nautilus. I usually vape the Nautilus BVC coils 1.8ohm between around 8.5w and 10.5w, a couple of juices I go up to 12.5watts but the one I was testing was my usual 9 watts. I found dialling down the watts to 6.5-7w on the KFL sorted out the overpowering flavour and brought the vape cool enough for me. But with those issues sorted the vapour dropped right off.

I found I had to ramp up to 12.5w on the Kayfun to get a similar vapour production, but I'm having to drag a lot faster to cool the vape down, stop it gurgling and produce that vapour. Which actually helps the flavour and temperature get almost where I like it. But what I don't like so much is having to drag that hard and fast. I like to pull slowly and with little effort, which is the way I vape on the Nautilus.

Overall a fairly productive night, I found I could get a pretty comparable vape from the Kayfun, but I don't know if I like the style of vaping I am currently having to do to get it. I still find the vapour a little cooler and denser still on the Nautilus.

Which just leaves me thinking "why not just stick with the Nautilus instead of trying to make the Kayfun vape like a Nautilus?". I guess what I want is the ability to rebuild and rewick. Maybe I should learn how to rebuild the Nautilus BVC coils? It looks a lot more fiddly than building on the Kayfun though. Maybe it is worth trying a vertical chimney style coil in the Kayfun too, see if that helps? I think the first thing I am going to do tomorrow is move the microcoil back down to 1-2mm above the air hole and see how that affects the vape.

So, am I missing the point if I am trying to make the KFL vape like my Nautilus? Should I concentrate my efforts on perfecting my Kayfun build, or learning to rebuild the Aspire BVC coils?

 

[ned]

vape from only the kayfun for a week or two. in that time you will get used to it and will forget how the nautilus vaped.

 

[skitz0]

Hmmmm, I'm pretty much getting there with this. I've spent a couple of hours playing with some of the variables tonight just for the sake of perseverence really.

Started by adjusting my draw and found I could get a pretty similar vape in amount, temperature and density from the Kayfun, but I really had to drag hard to get the air flowing quickly enough. Dragging harder than I was last night.

So I decided to unscrew the airflow screw until it was level with the base to see if that allowed me to be a bit more relaxed with my draw for the same effect. Which was exactly what happened, along with a little whistle and some gurgling. So I whipped the screw all the way outta the thing and that helped, although it didn't totally eliminate either.

Still a bit of a warmth to the vape though so I found myself dropping the wattage to between 8.0 - 8.5.

I am now getting much more vapour now than the Nautilus, and it is still the kind of cool and dense vape I like. I'm still having to drag a little harder on the Kayfun, but not much more now the screw is out. I think the drip tip really helps as the last time I was vaping this with the screw wide open I still had the thinner bore of the original Kayfun drip tip.

Once I empty this tank of my tester juice (some juice from the back of the cupboard that I liked, but wasn't crazy about) I'm going to fill it with my usual evening juice and see how the flavour compares to a Nautilus.

At the moment I'm feeling like the Kayfun will become my main evening atty and the Nautilus will be my atty for out and about and at work during the day.

 

[Ment]

Hmmmm, I'm pretty much getting there with this. I've spent a couple of hours playing with some of the variables tonight just for the sake of perseverence really.

Started by adjusting my draw and found I could get a pretty similar vape in amount, temperature and density from the Kayfun, but I really had to drag hard to get the air flowing quickly enough. Dragging harder than I was last night.

So I decided to unscrew the airflow screw until it was level with the base to see if that allowed me to be a bit more relaxed with my draw for the same effect. Which was exactly what happened, along with a little whistle and some gurgling. So I whipped the screw all the way outta the thing and that helped, although it didn't totally eliminate either.

Still a bit of a warmth to the vape though so I found myself dropping the wattage to between 8.0 - 8.5.

I am now getting much more vapour now than the Nautilus, and it is still the kind of cool and dense vape I like. I'm still having to drag a little harder on the Kayfun, but not much more now the screw is out. I think the drip tip really helps as the last time I was vaping this with the screw wide open I still had the thinner bore of the original Kayfun drip tip.

Once I empty this tank of my tester juice (some juice from the back of the cupboard that I liked, but wasn't crazy about) I'm going to fill it with my usual evening juice and see how the flavour compares to a Nautilus.

At the moment I'm feeling like the Kayfun will become my main evening atty and the Nautilus will be my atty for out and about and at work during the day.

Firstly, remove the airflow screw completely for more airflow, and if your mod's 510 has ridges around it, you won't be able to get the tank off if the screw drops a fraction.

Then, try a bigger coil. Although this could just be personal preference, I've found the KFL performs best with a coil around 2.5mm. If you're using one of the premium cottons, don't be afraid to over-wick it. Just pull the tails away from the juice channels after you've soaked them.

As you've tried this already, raise the coil as high as you can without it touching the chimney.

Just a few options, there are many more but you're obviously keen and interested, so just keep experimenting. It will be a sad day when you're totally happy, you'll have nothing to aim for.

 

[Rob]

Have to agree with pretty much everything Ment said. I'd suggest that you use more cotton, judging by what you are showing in the pics, you could easily increase the amount of wick you are using.
The diameter of the coil is where the secret lies with the Kayfun. Larger pays dividends. Recently, I have been using spaced coils again and prefer what that gives. I build my coils using .28 or ,30 Kanthal, on a 2.5 rod at approx 1.2ohms and vape at 10 to 12 Watts, this gives me a cool vape with flavour galore.

Don't forget, the Kayfun is a completely different beast compared to the other device and different approaches will work well for you.

 

[skitz0]

Cheers guys.

Raising the height of my coil from my usual 2mm off the air hole to around 3mm worked a bit. I'm going to try a bit higher and see how that affects it. I'm also going to try using a little more wick as I seem to be getting a couple of dry hits if I chain vape.

I'm finding the Kayfun really sensetive to exactly how you vape on it. Like, you have to draw on it in a very specific way to get the best out of it. Or maybe that's just due to me not perfecting the build yet. I find the Nautilus much more forgiving with your vaping style.

Unfortunately I only have a choice of 2mm or 3mm builds as those are the sizes of the kuro coil builders I have. Maybe I should invest in a 2.5mm coil builder as that seems to be the most popular size. Do you think I would have better results from a 3mm coil?

Had a bad couple of days vaping on the Kayfun so I've still been using mostly Nautilus' to vape to save me getting fed up with it all.

 

[Rob]

You can get a very decent vape from a Kayfun with a 2mm coil.
Are you squeezing your coil together, or are you using a spaced coil? Personally, I prefer the spaced coils in Kayfuns as that tends to give me a more intense flavour, might be worth an experiment? Don't get too hung up on what we might recommend, I have built far smaller coils for the Kayfun and still had tremendous results, so it really is a case of trying different things and seeing which serves you best.

The main thing is that you are enjoying what you are doing Matey.

 

[skitz0]

You can get a very decent vape from a Kayfun with a 2mm coil.
Are you squeezing your coil together, or are you using a spaced coil? Personally, I prefer the spaced coils in Kayfuns as that tends to give me a more intense flavour, might be worth an experiment? Don't get too hung up on what we might recommend, I have built far smaller coils for the Kayfun and still had tremendous results, so it really is a case of trying different things and seeing which serves you best.

The main thing is that you are enjoying what you are doing Matey.

Hi Rob,

Just replied to your PM and asked what builds you use - didn't realise it was you up there who mentioned exactly what detail of builds you use! haha.

Ok so going off yours and Ment 's advice I have a few things to be trying. Including, but not limited to:

- more wicking material
- move the coil even higher
- try a spaced coil
- try a 2.5mm and 3mm coil
- try a lower resistance coil

So still plenty of variables left to play with. I'm going to set aside a couple of hours at weekend to sit and have a play. As mentioned in PM, I have an original and 3 clones, so I could even set up 4 different builds next to each other and use the same juice to see what subtle differences each build makes.

Thanks for the ideas above guys. I'll get busy this weekend and report back on how I get on.

Cheers,

sKiTz

 

[skitz0]

Ment Rob

Hey guys,

So I've spent some time this afternoon trying a different kind of build. Using pretty much all the advice you guys gave I decided to go for a spaced coil, aim for 1.2-1.3ohms (5 wraps of my 30 gauge kanthal on my 2.0mm coil maker), lift the coil even higher - around 4-5mm above the air hole, and more wick.

I did a build like this in my strawberry custard tank, my original KFL, and wow what a difference! The vape is much more how I want it. Between around 8.5-11 watts seems to work best for me. Plenty of cool, dense, flavourful vapour. Which is achieved without having to suck as if you're drinking a McDonalds milkshake. Nice and relaxed. The flavour is exactly where I want it to be as well, like the right notes are coming out of the juice - the warmer vape I was getting before made the juice taste slightly different.

So yeah, this is much more in the ballpark that I want it to be. I feel like I can make minor tweaks from here and get the vape exactly how I want it. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply. This is much more like the Kayfun everybody talks about now.

I did do a setup exactly the same in one of my clones which I use for vanilla straight away after trying this setup. I'm pretty sure I've used too much wick though as, after the first couple of drags I was getting a burnt taste, which now won't go away. So I think I've used too much cotton, got a dry hit and burnt it and now need to re-wick.

I really need to invest in a Kayfill tool to make messing with builds easier. But much happier with this vape now. I think try a 2.5mm coil next, then work on perfecting my wick and I'll be all set.

Cheers guys!

sKiTz

 

[keepitgoin]

I have a Kayfunalikelite+ and I find above 1.4 oHm - 1.9oHm is where I enjoy the Vape best, I wind 3mm internal coils too, and have disposed of the airflow screw altogether (I lost it really) but the best thing I got for it was a Top Fill Cap from fast tech, cheap enough to throw in your Basket!!
I've also got a Lemo Drop, a MUCH airier Vape than the kayfun, slightly different wicking but a fine Tank!
Messing about with stuff is at least half the fun of Vaping for me and I guess thats what you are finding too!
Great write up's by the way, do some more and you'll be getting stuff for review!