Has anyone got one of these, and if so, what is the secret to wicking the $%@! Thing???
Can’t seem to stop it from leaking though the airflow. Very annoying when a whole tank full ends up on the bench. Just lucky it wasn’t on a mod at the time…
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I don’t have one but from what I’ve seen of the well configuratrion, you have to dam the wicking holes and not stuff the wicks into the hole. You would risk leaving gaps for that juice to bypass the wick and flood your deck otherwise. I would think you’d need a bit of wick materiel so I’m thinking a 2.5mm - 3mm coil with some fat fluffy wick tails.
Again, I don’t have one, but I would gently push the wick gently towards the coil and let the wick ends fall into the wells. Don’t know if that makes sense.
Good luck!
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Thanks @Lostmarbles.
I first tried with their supplied coil which was a 2.5mm ID and only about 6 wraps. Had the wick as tight as possible (seriously tight) through the coil and the wells were stuffed.
Then tried last night with a 3.0mm 11 wraps (26Ga SS316L) and even more wicking and still leaks.
I guess experimentation will be the go before I get frustrated and throw it in a drawer forever… lol
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I tried but didn’t like it practically. Yes, 3mm ID coils and fluffy cotton works sometimes but couldn’t get consistent flavour profile. Sleeping in the drawer nowadays like yours :).
Flavour is really good actually, especially with tobaccos but only if you wick it right and I believe nobody sure about the this “right”.
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That sucks, man. I hope someone can figure it out. Leaking is so freakin’ frustrating. It’s an interesting design for sure, but interest wanes when it’s in the vape-junk drawer. I did a quick " Hellvape MD leaking" search and found this. You probably tried it already.
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I have the MD and don’t remember leaking problems but I wasn’t impressed with the flavor. I felt that the dome was too big for an MTL vape. My next step was to try a bigger more complex coil to see if it would fill up that large chamber with vapor, lol. I watched Vaping with Vic’s review. He seemed to like it and he’s a tobacco/mtl vaper and DL vaper with other juices. He seems to have a well rounded knowledge of both worlds but I haven’t made it work for me yet.
@lanc13 Have you seen the new Augvape Intake MTL by Mike Vapes? I think I’d like to try that one. Not to mention it’s top air so no leaking.
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There’s a shitload of YouTube vids for the Hellvape MD. Is it safe to assume you watched those and still came up empty?
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Yep, tried exactly the way they show. Starts off ok for about 10 puffs, starts gurgling after that then dumps the juice out of the airhoĺe. I may have to take it apart again and check everything. Easy enough to do, the tank is empty… 
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I have never leaked this way. (i use Clapton 2.5mm/ mtl-disk big hole/ Cotton Bacon)
I cotton moderately to tightly and I do not fluff the cotton at all at the edges. I put plenty of cotton in the holes so that they cover the liquid intake holes well, without of course “stuffing” it.
I consider it an important detail to make sure that the cotton leaves as perpendicularly as possible from the holes and to make a more closed angle when it turns towards the resistance (photo) so that it does not rest at all on the deck, because when it swells from the liquid and rests on deck, carries liquid which ends up in the airflow.
Note that the closer the resistance is to the air hole, the more likely it is that the cotton will rest on the deck. It may help to raise the resistance a little higher to get the cotton a little further away.
This is my possible explanation for some of the leaks mentioned, without implying that this happens in any case.
Photo of the deck:
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Far out. Thanks for the heads up @muth.
I have a single and a double coil Intake and they are two of my favorite tanks. Also several Augvape Merlins by Roxy.
Good stuff from them. I wasn’t planning on more tanks (I have a bunch of other makes I ended up never using), but I trust Mike and Augvape for a good product.
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This is how it is currently set up. Using the 3 hole on the MTL plate, 3.0 mm coil. Still gurgles and there is a definite juice transfer/condensation on the inside of the bell. Grrrrr!
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At first i thought i had gargle too. But my resistance was making ‘‘pops’’ that seemed like gargle from liquid. It was very annoying.
I spaced(minimum spaces) my resistance and what i thought was gargle, stopped and the draw now is very smooth. Your resistance doesn’t have a lot of room for spacing, but at least give a try to see if it improves.
You can also try using a resistance with less wraps and smaller diameter.
I found that i enjoy my md with 2.5mm 0.7Ω clapton at 24w.
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I own a Merlin too and I like it. I should take that out of retirement and put it back to work. What are some of the other tanks you’re not using? You can always look to trade with someone who may have more of what you like.
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You should. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Maybe not the daily driver, but as a good option for a switchover.
I have several Merlins set up in the eight tank/box combos I keep out with different flavors. I think I like the Intake just a tad better, but appreciate the Merlin for its juice flow control (in spite of the load dumping surprises when I neglect to close it for refilling. 
That’s a self-correcting problem in a way, because the price for forgetting to close it when filling is strong reinforcement to avoid doing it again.).
The Intake gets the edge for not having condensate buildup in the bottom leaking through the airflow openings.
To me, the Intake with JFC would be the perfecto combo. Mebbe there’s some technical reason it can’t have both, but it sure would be nice. JFC gives that little bit of fine tuning that forgives a lot of wick finickiness.
The other tanks I’m not using I really wouldn’t wish on anyone else. I mean, I really didn’t like them, or I’d probably use them from time to time. I wouldn’t wish them on someone I didn’t know.
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I was interested, but now you have all my attention. What is it?
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I am the same @quadraginta. Why wish what I don’t like onto someone else.
I own a Merlin too and don’t like it…
Just not my cuppa tea for some reason.
Also don’t particularly like the SXK Doggy style and the Ares 2. Others I didn’t like I have moved on one way or another.
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I’d have to dig them out to get the make and models. More trouble than it’s worth.
Various issues, usually stupid ones. Build decks ridiculously tiny. Or designed so it’s almost impossible to keep wick fibers out of threads. One was virtually impossible to fill, if you could even find the fill hole. Etc., etc…
There’s too much decent, good, and excellent stuff out there to subject someone to stupid. Even someone I don’t know. Mebbe especially someone I don’t know.
Not sure I’d even wish them on someone I did know and didn’t like.
Not worth the postage.
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The juice well hole is way to big… They should shrink a little bit.
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I agree @Koko.maul. it is way too big. I understand they were trying to be different but to me, it doesn’t work.
Oh, welcome to ELR too, hope you find lots of information and enjoy the place.
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