Squonk mod, choosing the box, the BF pin and the dripper
Anyone who has run an RDA knows its one chore, dripping liquid back onto the cotton again and again. A squonk mod removes that chore by hiding a soft bottle under the atomiser. The catch is that every part has to be built for the job, because a bottom feeder paired with a solid pin or the wrong dripper mostly leaks. Here is what has to match before you buy, and why safety matters more here than elsewhere.
How a squonk mod works
A squonk mod, also called a bottom feeder or BF mod, carries a soft e-liquid bottle connected to the 510 connector by a short tube. Squeezing the bottle through the window in the chassis pushes liquid up to the deck of the dripper, where it soaks the cotton.
Everything depends on one condition. The 510 connector on the mod and the pin on the dripper must both be hollow through the centre, or the liquid has no path to climb.
The UK context adds one detail. Refillable tanks and pods are capped at 2 ml here, but a dripper has no tank, and the reserve lives in the bottle inside the mod. British retailer listings quote 7 ml bottles for single cell mods such as the Pulse V2 and 10 ml for the dual cell Topside Dual.
The four parts of a bottom feeder setup
A bottom feeder setup brings together four parts, the mod, the bottle, the BF pin and the dripper. One wrong link is enough to block the feed or send liquid over the edge of the deck.
The mod and its hollow connector
The 510 post on the mod is drilled through the centre and continues into a tube that dips into the bottle. That detail, far more than the side window, is what separates a squonk box from an ordinary one. The thread itself is standard 510, so any dripper with a hollow pin screws straight on.
The bottle, matched to one model
On recent mods such as the Vandy Vape Pulse V2 and the Dovpo Topside Dual, the bottle is soft silicone. Its shape and neck are designed for one chassis, and replacement bottles are sold under the name of the mod they fit.
Filling differs from one model to the next. The Pulse V2 fills from the bottom, by unscrewing the cap underneath the mod, while the Topside Dual fills from the top without taking the bottle out. Nicotine e-liquid in the UK is capped at 20 mg/ml and sold in bottles of 10 ml at most, so even the largest of these bottles is filled from a single retail bottle.
The BF pin on the dripper
On the atomiser side, the 510 pin has to be hollow as well. Several drippers ship with a BF pin alongside their standard one, to be fitted in its place for squonking, the Hellvape Dead Rabbit Mini RDA among them.
Regulated or mechanical squonk mod, safety comes first
The gap between the two families has nothing to do with output and everything to do with what happens when a build goes wrong.
A regulated mod has a chipset that reads the coil, controls output and cuts power in the event of a short or a resistance that is too low. The Pulse V2 adds a circuit board protected against liquid, a real plus on a device that carries e-liquid inside its own chassis.
A mechanical mod has no circuit at all. Current goes straight from the cell to the coil with no automatic cut off, and it falls to the user to calculate the build with Ohm’s law and stay inside the discharge limit of the cell. A mistake then shows up as a cell running hot, not as a warning on a screen.
Our position is clear. A mechanical squonker has no place in the hands of someone new to bottom feeding. Regulated mods cover the same ground with protections that forgive a poorly built coil, and our guide to reading an electronic box spec sheet explains how to read them.
Single or dual cell, what the extra bulk buys you
In a squonk box, the bottle takes the space a dual cell mod gives to its second cell. Choosing between single and dual cell therefore means trading liquid reserve against output and size in the hand.
The Pulse V2 runs on one 18650, 20700 or 21700 cell and reaches 95 W in a body of 82.3 x 54.7 x 28.4 mm. With two 18650 cells and 200 W, the Topside Dual measures 88.5 x 54 x 42 mm, which makes it 13.6 mm thicker, close to 48% more.
The Wotofo Profile Squonk sums up the trade on its own. In squonk mode it runs on a single 18650 with its 7 ml bottle, from 5 to 80 W. Take the bottle out to fit a second 18650 and the same mod becomes a conventional dual cell device of 5 to 200 W, with no bottom feeding.
For direct lung vaping below 80 W, a single cell is enough and keeps the device pocketable. To see what a dual cell mod looks like without a bottle, our Centaurus box mod guide makes a useful comparison.
Three squonk mod benchmarks
The figures below come from the manufacturer for the Profile Squonk and from matching retailer listings for the other two. None of the three ships with cells.
| Mod | Cells | Output | Bottle | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandy Vape Pulse V2 | 1 x 18650, 20700 or 21700 | 5 to 95 W | 7 ml, bottom fill | 82.3 x 54.7 x 28.4 mm |
| Wotofo Profile Squonk | 1 x 18650 in squonk mode | 5 to 80 W | 7 ml | 93.85 x 44.4 x 30 mm |
| Dovpo Topside Dual | 2 x 18650 | 5 to 200 W | 10 ml, top fill | 88.5 x 54 x 42 mm |
Short, slim and flexible on cell format, the Pulse V2 is the most versatile of the three. The Profile Squonk suits anyone who wants to keep the dual cell option open, while the Topside Dual is for those who accept the thickness in exchange for output and the largest bottle.
Which dripper to pair with a squonk mod
Before buying, check three things on the dripper.
- A hollow BF pin, supplied in the box or sold separately.
- A diameter that does not overhang the top of the mod.
- A deck deep enough to hold the excess when you squeeze a little too hard.
The Dead Rabbit Mini RDA shows what a dripper designed for this looks like. It measures 20 mm across and takes a single coil on a postless deck, with its BF pin supplied.
The BF pin has a downside, though. Fitted on an ordinary mod, a hollow pin lets liquid from the deck drain down into the connector of the mod. Keep the solid pin for a standard box and save the BF pin for squonking.
The mistakes that make a bottom feeder leak
Three assembly mistakes lie behind many leaks on a squonk setup.
The first is leaving the solid pin in place. No liquid climbs, however hard you squeeze, which is why the pin is worth checking before the first fill.
Squeezing too hard comes next. Liquid floods the deck and escapes through the airflow holes. Squeeze briefly, then let go, and the bottle springs back and draws in part of the liquid left in the tube.
Then there is the badly seated bottle. If it is not firmly fixed on its neck, liquid escapes into the chassis. Screw it fully home after each refill and wipe away any trace of liquid straight away.
FAQ
These questions come up from people moving from an ordinary box mod to bottom feeding, and product pages rarely answer them.
Can you fit a tank on a squonk mod?
Yes. The connector is still standard 510, so a tank or any other atomiser screws on as usual. Its solid pin closes off the tube, and the bottle simply plays no part while that atomiser is fitted.
How should the cotton sit on a BF dripper?
The wicks need to reach the floor of the deck, close to the central hole where the liquid arrives, without covering it. Too short and they stay dry however much you squeeze. Packed over the hole, they slow the liquid down.
How do you clean a squonk bottle?
Take it out of the mod, rinse it in warm water and let it dry completely before refitting it. A dry cotton bud is enough to wipe the 510 connector and the window, with the mod switched off and the cell removed.
How does a regulated squonk box charge?
The Pulse V2 charges over USB Type-C and the Topside Dual over USB at 5 V/2 A, with the cells inside. An external charger suited to the cell format remains an option, and a practical way to check each cell and retire it at the first damaged wrap.
Do you need to squeeze before every puff?
No. A short squeeze soaks the cotton for several puffs, depending on output and build. Taste is the best guide, a flavour that starts to fade tells you it is time to squeeze again, well before any burnt note.
Squonk mod, the order of choices for a setup that stays dry
The right order of decisions comes down to three steps. Pick a regulated mod first, then the cell format for the output you really need, and only then the dripper, provided it comes with a BF pin or accepts one.
The bottle and the way it fills then separate mods that look alike on paper, and the same compatibility logic runs through our Vaporesso box mod comparison. A well matched squonk mod gives you the flavour of a dripper without the dripping, and checking compatibility first pays off with every piece of hardware we cover on this site.
Editorial content for adult readers only. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, and vaping products are not for sale to anyone under 18 in the UK. This article is not a buying recommendation.
