What went wrong?

[BigKev77]

I'll be honest, I tried to run before I walked. I have been using the old MVP 2.0 for the past year with a little igo w with single 1.8 ohm coil. Yeah it wasn't great but it was some cheap vaping. I "upgraded" to an istick 50w and the extra power is nice. 20w with my usual build was a big improvement in flavor. See, barely walking.

Today I thought I would play around and built a twisted dual coil build at .7 ohms. So I made my twisted wire, wrapped my coils, and got them all installed and firing properly. Man, it looked sweet. So at 45w I got ready for an amazing first sub ohm dual coil vape. Something wasn't good so I hit it again. Still not right. Hit it again and it was REALLY bitter awful almost chemical taste. I swear I can still taste it. What the heck happened???

2 strands 30ga twisted.
7 wraps on 7/64 bit
Those where each 1.4ohms so .7 ohms dual.
Juice mafia 50/50 vg/pg with 6mg nic. flue cured flavor
wick was boiled cotton ball. Might be the culprit?

Now I can't explain the awfulness of the taste so that will probably make it tough for you good folks to figure out where I screwed up. I wonder if the cotton could have caused the taste since it isn't the good organic Japanese stuff. I do have good cotton pads and 26ga kanthal coming.

I would also appreciate suggested single and dual coil simple build for my igo-w RDA with this istick 50w. Flavor is more important than clouds. Thanks!

 

[OBDave]

Did you torch or dry burn the coils before wicking your build?

 

[BigKev77]

You bet. They were glowing very even, no hot spots, glowed inside to out and all that jazz. They looked great and I was all proud of myself right up until I vaped it.

 

[R3alJim Shady]

Is your wick too tight in the coil? The wick should give very slight resistance when passing through it.


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[Mike H.]

Just because you build a lower ohm coil doesnt mean you cant use too much power for it...is 45 watts really where you need to be power wise...most .5 ohm coils like below 25 watts...i know you have more wire to heat up but play with power as well..possible you are just burning your wick up.

It only takes 1 watt to make a difference between flavor or muted flavor or even burning your wick up.

 

[BigKev77]

I pulled the coils right after but I just fished them out of the bin to check for burns. The cotton still looks like new the coil doesn't even look like it has been fired. I was sure to keep the wick loose. I have had that tight wick issue before. I wish I could describe the taste. Almost like heavy grease or machine oil smells but in flavor. It was really bitter not a burn taste and no burning throat just awful bitter taste. I'm at a loss. Could it have been bleach in the cotton maybe?

I just built 1ohm dual coil with the 30 gauge and it is fine vaping at 20 watts or so.

Thanks for taking the time with my ignorance.

 

[Haadkoe]

If the wick is too loose the juice can scorch instead of the cotton and it gives you a taste a lot like you're describing.

Cotton too tight, and it tastes like you're smoking cotton balls.

Also, if you happen to vape it dry the cotton inside the coil can start to burn and the ember will consume the cotton inside the coil unless you redrip with a quickness. Once that happens you're left with two tails sticking out of the coil, with nothing inside, and the flavor can go all scorched juicy tasting.

Edit: Just reread your last post. If this happens to be a new atomizer it may be full of machine oil residue, which could very well explain the gross taste you're experiencing. If you're still using the Atty you've had all along, then its probably not the case but figured I'd throw it out there.

Also, could be that the juice you're using just tastes like shit at higher wattages. Lol

 

[OBDave]

@Headkoe brings up some good points - is this a new atty? If so, how did you clean it? Then, your juice may just not like high power...it happens with some.

Also, have you used this batch of cotton with success on any other attys/builds? That would rule out the cotton...

 

[Robert B]

Like @Haadkoe said, if you got a new rda, machine oil is most likely your problem.

Also, keep an eye on that iStick 50. There has been tons of reports of those things auto-firing, and a few cases of homes catching on fire.
google "istick 50 auto-fire" or "istick 50 exploding"

 

[BigKev77]

I am leaning towards it being the juice was just too hot, but honestly I have no idea. This is the same rda and cotton I have had from the beginning and when I took the cotton out of the coils it was clean with no burns. I took a couple wraps out of one of the coils and am using it now at 1ohm at 28w with pretty good success. I have a lot more to learn about these coils and what is going to give me the best flavor.

Robert B, Yeah since I got this istick I have been reading about all the horror stories. I regret buying it for that and the fire button plain sucks. Unfortunately my old MVP crapped out and this is all I have to vape so I will be keeping it for now. I will be looking at the new MVP Pro. My MVP 2.0 was a great device that lasted nearly a year and was solid as can be until it started shutting off the last couple of weeks.

 

[OBDave]

You're still vaping on the Igo-W? Have you drilled out the air holes? I was thinking at the back of my mind lack of air to that hot of a build might have been a problem, but when you mentioned the machine oil I started thinking you had gotten a new RDA...

 

[BigKev77]

Still using the igo-w, lol It's my only atty. I'm an economically challenged vaper. I have the holes drilled to 5/64 and plug with a toothpick with single coil. I think that is close to 2mm.

 

[OBDave]

That may still be a bit tight, but should work enough to get you by at 0.7...I guess the world may never know what's up with the mystery turd coil.

 

[BigKev77]

That may still be a bit tight, but should work enough to get you by at 0.7...I guess the world may never know what's up with the mystery turd coil.

There are just some things we weren't meant to know. Luckily my 26ga kanthal and muji cotton came in today so that should be an improvement.

 

[ConcreteBob]

Here's another consideration. The more power you put to the coils, the more vapor you get. Obviously. And the increased surface area of twisted wire increases flavor. You said you are using a 50/50 juice. You may want to go with a higher vg content. The 50/50 is really better for vape pens and the like.
While it's entirely possible that rda still had machine oil if it was new, the Pg content can be disappointing as you get higher in power. If I try anything less than 70% vg in my drippers, it feels like I'm vaping clorox.

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

Heres another thought. Where is your coil in relationship to your airflow hole? I place my coils directly in line with the airflow, whether its slightly above and back from the hole, or a millimeter or two away from it and right in the middle. You should be able to see your coil through your air hole. You need the air to keep your coils cool to get a good vape, especially with a twisted coil.

The wicking comment was right on the money also. Youll know if your wick was too loose or too tight when its wet and you try to pull it out. If it comes right out and its black where the coils touched, its too loose. If its tight to get out and black where the coils touched, its too tight.
Wicking takes practice, but isnt too hard to master.

Lastly, I have had pretty 'meh' experiences with twisted coils. If you need to lower your ohms, try a parallel build and see if that works better. Ive always found, that if I wanted a thicker gauge, to just get a thicker gauge. Twisted 26 has never worked as well as 22 or 24 in my opinion.

 

[ConcreteBob]

Then there's twisted 20 gauge...
Seriously though, don't try that one.

 

[Pauly Walnuts]

Then there's twisted 20 gauge...
Seriously though, don't try that one.

Oh shit, dont you tempt me. My parallel 18650 box is lookin lonely.