Emergency vaping help, please!

[Cornelius]

(Please don't respond unless you do care about reading each word carefully and noting which devices and techniques I am using, I am sincerely sorry for stating this, but I simply am not looking for someone to say "Dial down the voltage." or "Don't vape too fast." That type of feedback gets very frustrating when you do your best to explain your techniques and devices properly.)

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Hey guys, I've been desperately trying to vape for the past 4 years, and despite being an advanced, mature, professional-minded vaper with the proper education on technology, physics, and other various forces of nature that otherwise may give a "newbie" various issues in the beginning, I have alternatively, all while performing every single tip and trick in the book, had some of the worse luck, and some of the strangest stories, that I have ever seen in the face of vaping. To this day, I still smoke cigarettes because, since my vape, quite frankly, always tastes like a burnt sock or like nothing at all, or there's a major defect with the device.

To start my explaination, my main issue is that on my abundant series of Clearomizers (CE4's and CE5's), any type of juice I put in them gets a foul, burnt taste after just a few hits - and I do let these things sit and wick, all while rolling and turning them, quite a few minutues after I take each puff! It lead to me buy even two more CE5's, and yet the surprising thing was that in one of my new ones, either it came with a much higher resistence coil (the other ones I had where anywhere from 1.8 - 2.5; it's hard to remember which ones are which because they don't say, but absolutely none of them tasted decent - I know some of them were indeed 2.5's though) or a coil that was partially shorted.

Either way, this one specific unique coil rarely gives me a burnt taste (it's the only one I ever take puff on now) - however, the vape is simply so little and soft and tasteless that it's almost too much in that direction as well. I put it on my Spinner (I usually test everything first on a simple 650 non-VV Ego) and cranked it up, and it started performing more like one of the old heads, making those hot popping and sizzling noises, but also gave me a burnt taste pretty much right off the bat - I couldn't find a sweet spot for it! (The retailer is trying to contact the factory/main distributor for me and see if they ever put 2.8's, 3.0's, or 3.2's in the package.)

My other stories consist of going through 7 2.5ohm Protank II heads as they all tasted immediately burnt on the lowest setting on my Spinner (two other people, a vaping shop employee and fellow vaper, both experienced this phenomenon using every tip in the book - dripping on the wick, allowing to soak, primer puffs, all that stuff), multiple "cig-alike" kits literally shutting off and refusing to charge after 6 days, and again, going through about 10 CE4's and CE5's. I've also had the craziest shipping stories and items that come in broken in such bizarre ways.

Now, the one single thing I don't have the will to do is simply rebuilding coils - I'm very interested in it, however, each and every method requires a step that I feel is unsafe or too expensive for me. Ohm checkers, torches, ect ect.... I simply can't take those types of risks inside my household. I need a device that actually works like vaping is supposed to (granted, I'm sampled tons of CE4's and CE5's on shop juice samples, and I can't say I really like how any of them have worked...) I also use juice that should not be extremely problematic - anywhere from crystal clear, watery White Ice juice, to juice that's darker but still has at least %20 VG (I even have a higher PG and higher VG, I've tested pretty much everything but %100 VG with %20 Distilled Water).

Does anyone have any advice for what device I could use for my juice? Novas? Smoktechs? Any device that actually has a dedicated range of resistance coils for those who don't like a burnt vape? (No tobacco juices for me!) And for those who have wicking problems on the simplest of gear, truly what combination of PG/VG/and Distilled Water works best? If you have any advice for me, it is extremely appreciated - I'm in an emergency need of vaping!

[Jeffb]

I had the same experience with the CE clearos. I highly recommend you try out a EVOD on your Spinner. I use it all day at work and never get a burnt taste. I usually use a 70/30 mix in my EVOD. I do realize that the EVOD uses the same coils as what you put in your KPT, however I can only comment on my experience which has yielded great results.

http://www.theveteranvaper.com/evod-mt-bcc-metal-bottom-coil-changeable/

ps.... Don't vape too fast

[Rixter]

Sounds like you've done everything that you are willing or able to do. Based on the hardware you listed above, I don't know of a single thing you might try differently. I currently own 15 PVs and even more delivery devices (RBAs, cartomizers, clearomizers, glassomizers, atomizers, etc.) and the only time I ever get a burnt taste is when a carto runs dry and burns the poly-fill. Juicers with a silica or rolled stainless steel wick may burn my throat when dry, but never give me a burnt taste. I use an 80PG/20VG blend that is thin enough to keep wicking no matter how much power I put to the coil (some of my RBAs are running at 15+ watts on a single coil with zero burnt taste).

@jeffb - I started to recommend the EVOD, but he's having the same deal with the KPT2.

PS - did you try dialing down the voltage? lol

Edited October 18, 2013 by Rixter

[bcartervol98]

I know you do not want a typical response, so I will abstain from guessing. I just know you have more problems in one post than I have in 6 months tobacco free in 2 days. I mean the first thing to do, in my opinion, is toss the CE4s as they are truly a "beginner see if you like vaping" clearo in my opinion.

Based on your post I have no idea. I have used T3S, T2, Davide Minis, and now mostly KPT 2s and 1.8 ohm coils between 6.5-7watts ( 3.7-4v) and have never had anything taste burned from the get go. I did have a funny taste in my first KPT but since learned it was the coating they are shipped with, as a careful sanitizing and cleaning is recommended with any new tank before the first use.

Also suppliers, and most B&Ms I know of, sell a lot of knockoff stuff. I recommend getting any future hardware from The Veteran Vaper, Sweet-Vapes, or Discount Vapers and you will know you are getting true brand name stuff.

Not sure I was any help, but wanted to throw my response in.

[Cornelius]

It's the strangest thing. Like, to me, "vaping too fast" would be taking like 6 puffs in the span of a minute. I take one per minute, if that. I constantly will turn my Cleao upside down, fill it to the brim, all of that stuff. My Spinner even clocks in at 3.1 Volts instead of 3.3 at the lowest setting, so I have no clue what's going on.

Basically, I'd describe the taste that I usually get as a "mix" between the vapor taste and a sour-cotton taste, when it seems that my coils heat up too much. Rarely is it a perfect taste, rarely is it a pure burnt-metal-wick taste, but those two happen as well.

The only things I know of is that it could be a possibility that my coils, being medium resistance, are heating up the juice just to a point it cakes on the coils (maybe a high resistance simply vaporizes the juice instantly on contact and doesn't leave residue?) or that I may be tasting the factory residue (it shouldn't last a whole tank though...)

For me, one thing that worked with the CE4's was to make sure to do 4 primer puffs, and that actually gave me a pretty decent vape, but on the CE5's, they have say a %25 decrease in suction, which renders primer puffs pretty useless. I sampled a Vivi Nova tank yesterday and the suction was extraordinary - it had no airflow whatsoever really. I seemed to get a decent taste out of the cinimon juice I sampled (I don't like cinamon juices though, I get very little taste from them, so I'm not sure if it was the juice or tank...) but if primer puffs seem to help me get a soaked wick, would the Vivi Nova be a good suggestion?

It's just the craziest thing. I don't have a huge preference between a soft, velvety hit, and a warmer, full hit, but on any device that instantly makes a sizzling or popping noise, my extremely sensitive taste buds taste a mix between the juice and a really wicky, somewhat sour, almost smokey taste. A bit like a bad gas station vape.

[bcartervol98]

Personally I will never again use a top wicking device. Already gave all them I have away including 2 Vivi Novas. Every top wicking device I have ever used did not function even a fraction as well as the bottom coil units. As far as tanks go, I do not think you can do any better than the KPT 2 if you like a tighter draw and the Davide Mini if you like a looser draw. Cannot recommend the full size Davide because I never owned one but those that do seem to like them a lot.

Also could be your liquids. Are they all from the same supplier or have you bought a variety?

I mean crappy liquids are going to taste crappy in any tank on top of any battery. Out of the dozens of flavors I have tried over the last 6 months, there are only 5-6 I truly like and only 4 at this point that I can vape every day all day. Maybe try different liquids that are different PG-VG ratios.

[Cornelius]

Well, it could be that my PT2 has some sort of fault, but the airway on my PT2 is like sucking through a straw. There's no sort of suction whatsoever - the complete opposite of the Vivi Nova I sampled.

And yeah, I have a range of juices. MOV, GoodeJuice, local-shop-bought, I even have some from a vendor that even makes their own extracts, ect ect. I have a Chocolate Mint that I absolutely adored on my CE4 when I did 4 primer puffs before each hit, but it started tasting like a sour sock or fish scale after a day, and trying it on CE5's just burnt it up. I have a Captain's Rum that was excellent on the vendor's sample CE4, but now doesn't have hardly any taste on my CE5's. And then a White Ice that was again excellent on sample CE4, but usually has a sour aftertaste on my own CE5's. Overall, the big pattern is that I seem to have better luck and a better taste with CE4's.

Could this be some sort of factory primer doing this?

[DAYVAPE]

You most certainly need to graduate to the 'bottom coil clearos' and forget the rest. You will then just need to find the right juice consistency to use with them so they wick properly. I really think that is going to be as simple as that! I have recently purchased the 'Aspire BDC'... It's a bottom dual coil design... and they work really well. Good luck... and don't give up trying to find what works for you.

[bcartervol98]

If you bought the CE4s from a shop there is no telling what is in them to be honest. So many people make copies of copies of Vision products like these. I personally think the KPT2 has a tighter draw than any other BCC clearo or tank I have used, almost too tight for me but the more I use it the more I like it. I just know almost everyone that vapes goes through the same progression. We start with CE4s and what is cheapest to see if we like it, then realize that they last about a week and are impossible to clean and change flavors in, then move on to a Top coil product with a changeable wick, but soon realize once the liquid level drops below the top of the coils you get dry hits a lot, then move on to plastic BCCs like the EVOD and the MT3S or T3S, then on to Glass like the Davides and KPTs.

Hindsight being 20-20 I could have saved even more if I had done what I was advised to do, just get Spinners or a VW APV and some glass BCCs. I cannot even stand the thought of having to use a top coil anymore, but if I did, it would be the Kanger T2 also known as the Ego CC longwick clearomizer. The Veteran Vaper has them at a good price (About $5) and the coils there are about $2.

I go through a lot of coils, because the BCC coils are only about $1 so when one tastes burned I clean it and put it aside in case of a supplly shortage or hard times and pop in a new one. I probably average a new coil every 4 tankfulls of liquid on most flavors. Some more, some less, but I would say that is about the average.

[Cornelius]

That's what's strange about my Protank II - my CE4 had a tighter draw. And on the Protank II, I went through 7 heads; each tasted horribly burnt after just a few test puffs - I dripped on the wick and let it sit forever too. The only thing I'm having any bit of luck with is my odd CE5 coil that me and my vendor suspect of being a very high resistance coil (2.8-3.2) that the factory accidentally put in the package (they said that usually the heads are 1.8-2.5) and the vapor production is quite decent and it hasn't burnt yet, just no flavor really (cranking it up on the Spinner doesn't really help the flavor... it could be bad juice mix though.) The coil is extremely less powerful than my other CE5 heads - you can just automatically tell.

Any tips on wether a really high resistance coil or low resistance coil ends up burning the least I'm not having any luck at all with 1.8-2.5 coils, I believe 2.8-3.2 may just be my sweet spot for flavor. But they're so rare!

Edited October 18, 2013 by Cornelius

[karbee2]

I bought my Mother in law a Tumbler tank from Mapvapes. It runs $10. It is a bottom coil and works great. I had to find something for her that was cheap, worked well, had very little upkeep and tasted great. She loved this. I had started her on Evods, and t3 but this had a better taste and gave her more clouds. If I hadn't found this she was ready to go back to analogs. Hope this helps

[Jeffb]

Dear OP,

Since you've been vaping over the last 4 years, what other batts, attys cartos have you tried? Has anything worked well for you?

[Cornelius]

Nope, nothing has worked for me - I've been a cigarette guy the whole time, attempting to vape once every few months.

Someone did recommend me the Tumbler before, so that is something I'm considering, and I'm seeing great reviews on the Aspire Viva Nova BCC which is said to wick extremely well (and is 3.0+ohms with the dual coil, which is exactly the safe range I like playing with on a Spinner.) Any reviews on the Nova?

Edited October 18, 2013 by Cornelius

[Jeffb]

I use a Vision Vivi Nova but I have not tried the Aspire Vivi Nova BDC. Here is PBusardos review.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCsiVa3e2Cc

[Jeffb]

I may give this a try. Pete seemed to love it.

http://shop.nhaler.com/Vivi-Nova-Tanks_c156.htm

[DAYVAPE]

They work like a champ.... yep.

[joe2003]

I may give this a try. Pete seemed to love it.

http://shop.nhaler.com/Vivi-Nova-Tanks_c156.htm

Pete Hahaha

[Jeffb]

Ooops Phil

[Cornelius]

Well, I plunged down and bought the BCC. At this point, my spending is getting way overblown, which is really hurting me with this, but I also ordered an air-flow controller, which (as I've been telling my local vape shop for months) I believe my real problem with any device has been lack of proper suction. Simple properties of physics dictate that these wicks just don't "soak up" liquid very well on their own - they're like sponges, not tubes or paper; you put one end of a big sponge in water, it's not going to make the other end wet. They absorb water that they're specifically immersed in, but they don't transfer it very quickly, and wicks seem to behave the same way. You may think the space of a centimeter or two should be easy for a wick to transfer, but I've dripped on wicks and sat there and watched them; you can drip a ton on one section, and two centimeters away from it, it'll take forever to travel, minutes.

Too much suction in a tank causes flooding, but like with the way the new BCC seems to be designed (not sure, I still have to take a look), the reality is that a device should be designed where for every puff a vaper takes, at least a tiny bit of liquid pours onto the wick in a way other than there being a tight hole with a wick in it. The simple tight-hole-with-a-wick-in-it might work if there were two seperate, tiny tubes inserted into each end of the wick, like two tiny straws inside the wick, stopping right before the coils, where the liquid is pretty much sucked in right to the point of the coils. (Physically, though, this would probably be impossible for manufacturers to manufacture.)

Alternatively, if you do have a wick-in-hole device, a good amount of suction simply needs to be used for there to be some good effect. About %50 suction, more or less. That's why the CE4's worked better for me, I believe; they had more suction, just by a bit, and still not enough.

At least, that's my theory. I'll be able to test it soon! Btw, I bought an air-controller for the CE4 type tanks, is there any reason it also wouldn't work on a tank? I couldn't find the tank version in stock.

Edited October 19, 2013 by Cornelius

[Bebop]

Maybe vaping isn't for you. It's possible you just have an aversion to it. I wish I could be helpful to you but your post is boggling. I dont know anyone who has experienced the complexity you seem to be going thru over this. Sure, the rare bad coil or defective tank pops up but nothing lke you're experiencing.

I would start with known quality gear and then take it to a shop where someone knowledgeable can help you.

This gear is not that complex.

[Cornelius]

Well, I'm hoping the air flow control device really helps the juice suction for me, and that the combined 3.0+ohms of the Aspire BCC helps preserve flavor. I had a CE4 that was working really well (no burnt or sour flavors at all) the first day I had it, and it made me realize that vaping still is for me - I prefer it so much over cigarettes. It's simply that out of all the devices I've tried, I get a very sour, dry hit if I vape it more than twice in 5 minutes, and for people who vape really light flavors like I do (no tobaccos or extreme fruits - things like light mint), they have reported a persistant sour, dry taste as well. Someone else in my exact situation had an amazing experience with the air flow device, and by all terms of physics it should improve my situation, but I have to wait until it comes in - I didn't actually know they existed until I saw Phil's review, and I consider myself a pretty knowledgable guy when it comes to all the makes and models.

Now, the CE5's have a little bit looser draw than the CE4's, and I hate the CE5's so far (except with my odd 3.0ohm+ head that seems to really preserve that crystal clear flavor I love). I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to vapor amount or throat hit, but I can't have a slightly dry wick giving my vapes a sour flavor. They really do that, and most people simply don't notice because they're not picky or they simply use extremely heavy or smokey flavors. I like the velvety vapes, so I really notice if something's sour instead of sweet. My Chocolate Mint ended up tasting like a fish scale, believe it or not, when it wasn't wicking good enough. Wicking really changes the flavor!

It also doesn't help that I can taste certain things that most of the population can't. There's a certain small percentage of people out there that can taste extreme bitterness in certain chemicals and foods that most people never notice. I happen to be very sadly in that small percentage. It prevents me from eating a lot of foods as well; for instance, coconut actually burns my tongue because I taste so much of an acid-like taste in it, and I'm not even allergic to it. Same with the pesiticides on certain fruits, especially what they put on fast-food lettuce to preserve it. It literally will taste like a poison to my taste buds. I'm a half-pack a day smoker and I still taste these things! I even taste the chemicals in most cigarettes - there's only a few cigarettes out there, like American Spirits, that I do not taste as many chemicals in. Regular Marlboro Reds taste like rat poison to me.

If you dry burn a wick and inhale the smoke, you'll know the exact taste I'm talking about, and you'll still probably taste it in your juice from that moment on if your vaping flavor isn't perfect. And when I taste that stuff, it simply makes me want to put the device down - it doesn't even have to be a strong taste of it, but it's something that really downs these flavors and makes them sour, if the wick isn't wicking %100 of what it truly needs to.

Edited October 19, 2013 by Cornelius

[Bebop]

All indications point to juice. If you can find a juice that satisfies your demanding palate then you are home free

Although, i cant imagine why you are stuck on ce 4 and ce5's. Thats baffling to me.

You are a candidate for dripping in my opinion (puurest form of delivery) or a mod with a dripping chamber.. otherwise bag the ce4's and 5's and at least step up to a T2 or T3s

But your main issue to solve first is eliquid. Until you get that you're dead in the water according to your own testimony.

[Cornelius]

Well, for some reason, I like the CE4's, but I hate the CE5's. The CE5's just seem to make things taste nasty. The CE4 that came with my new little starter (that I bought for simple testing) was absolutely marvelous the first day I had it - my Chocolate Mint taste awesome. The next day it tasted like a burnt fish scale. The CE5's did that right away, didn't even give me a good single day to wallow in some form of flavor purity.

And I've tried two dripping atty's - to be honest, they didn't really improve the flavor for me, and they burnt up extremely quick. I believe it may be a resistance issue - my vendor described it best; a lot of people who vape actually want a smokey layer to their juice. I don't unless it's practically an NET.

[Bebop]

Well there are definitely good and bad dripping attys too.

If you like the ce4 then you will def like the T2 over that. Then find your juice. And based on your sensitivities to flavors i wouldn't bother with cheap juice and find gourmet juices. Tbey are out there but you'll have to pay. Or start DIY.

[Cornelius]

Well, like where I live, there's an amazingly cool guy who runs a local home-based shop called Clarksville Vapors, and he does home delivery, and he brought all his juices over - he had some cheap ones and some more-or-less gourmet ones; the latter were made by a company that makes their own extracts too. Surprisingly enough, I loved one of the cheap ones and one of the gourmet ones on his CE4 samples. Bought the two and am getting no flavor from them on my CE5 that has the "safe tasting" high resistance head that came in the CE5 boxes, but am getting a fairly burnt taste with the replacement heads that he had the exact numbers to show they were lower resistance. The two flavors are White Ice (the cheap one, and it's made from flavor crystals, which is really an experience) and the more expensive one was Captain's Rum, which, on his CE4 set-up, tasted just like how a bag of fruity pipe tobacco smells. It was excellent on his CE4's. Sadly, he only had CE5's to sell, so I ended up buying a couple of those, and have had no luck with them at all.

I also have the Chocolate Mint from another local vender that was cheap as all get-out (on clearance), but I LOVED it on my CE4, and have hated it on the CE5's. It's just something about the CE4's that give me a better vape, and yet as luck would have it, nowhere locally seems to have them except in kits. But again, I think it's a wicking thing - on the CE4's, they somehow give me a bit more suction, which allows me to pull in a little pressure before I vape. People are complaining about the same thing with the Aspires; the people who don't buy the air flow adjuster are either getting not enough wicking with thick juice, or too much with thin juice. Phil made a later video showing where an air flow adjuster is really something that amps up any vape, that it saved his experience with one of the Aspires, and others on Youtube are practically dancing about the adjusters. They're selling out online like crazy ever since the discovery, every single shop is now sold out and I was lucky to find one.

If the Aspire+adjuster doesn't work, it's either to T2's or Tumblers. But so far, the only negative about the Aspires anyone has reported is that sometimes the wicks come in tasting funky, and that boiling water helps clean them. Hopefully I won't even have that issue; many don't seem to. I just know that so far, if I get a low resistance head, it tastes burnt quick. If I get a high resistance head, it never tastes burnt, but never tastes like anything much. The Aspires are 3.0ohms+ (two 1.8ohm coils, which when the power is split between two coils, the resistance is virtually doubled as whole), which is a safe zone for me and my taste buds, but it also has two coils, which automatically means more vapor and flavor even at a lower voltage. And the physics behind the system make a lot clearer sense to me than many. So I'm excited!

Edited October 19, 2013 by Cornelius