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Would like to get better at building. I am inconsistent.

Soundsystem00

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Hello! I recently got my wotofo recurve going with my pulse squonk. I really love it. I got some alien clapton coils.

It seems like I can't keep getting the same good flavor. I am a "flavor chaser", a term I recently discovered. Because I am always chasing that sweet spot. I can't seem to get that same dose every time, and I think it has something to do with my wicking..

I got some really good flavor out of a wick I made last week, and I remember that I used less cotton. But I have to constantly squonk it, or it gets dry. But if I use too much cotton, I get the dreaded Mute Hit and I HATE THAT..

I just got some new juice and rewicked and I noticed that I am not getting my full potential and it is annoying. Here is a picture of my build. I am sure there is plenty wrong with it, haha. The first problem is that I do not have proper tools. I am resourceful and feel like I should not have to have all the fancy works.

But I just use scissors most of the time, even to comb the cotton. Combing the cotton is another problem that I usually have.

56cMTkBP


Here it is. I am starting to think that maybe something is wrong with the coil. Maybe it has separated and isn't burning fully, or something else. Because I have redone the cotton several times. The flavor is probably a 6 out of 10 and my last juice was 8 1/2 out of 10 on full potential. But it still could be my wicking.. May be too thin or too thick.


ALSO, this may need another post but I got a wotofo profile and hated it! It was so packed with cotton that i couldn't even squonk. The flavor was 4 out of 10, muted as hell. And I got some burned hits immediately.. I watched a tutorial and used all of the mesh coils and cotton that came with it. It looked to be a perfect build. I was watching a review where a guy said that alien clapton flavor blows mesh away. But I also heard that mesh is great. The mod recommended 50 watts but the video said 30.. I saw where a guy was goig 65+ and I noticed that the flavor was best the higher I went, but still barely at a 5.

What are you guy's top recomendation for me to get better at getting this gear working? I really see huge potential and its amazing to have more control of my falvor because I have had enough of sub ohm tanks, even the best of the best like fireluke and falcon has frustrated me and my high flavor expecations.

Sorry for the long post and to those of you that take the time to read all of this : THANK YOU!!

-matt
 

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5150sick

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Do you have any more coils?

if so you could try replacing it.
 

5150sick

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Also, When you change cotton do you dry burn your coils?

It is also good to take a small straight screwdriver to strum the outside of the coil while dry burning.

Plus the inside the coil can get massive buildup.

This can throw the flavor off.

I have heard of people using small pipe cleaners on the inside of the coil.

Next time you take the wick out try to clean the coil up as good as possible.

When dry burning be sure not to overheat it but just get it to where it barely starts turning red
 

Soundsystem00

Member For 1 Year
Well, I sometimes light up the coil and dip it in water to clean it.. I think what also might happen: when I change the cotton out, maybe it pulls the coils apart a little. I noticed the middle coils light up but the side part doesn't.. not as much.

I just ordered some tools. I caved. Haha!
 

KingPin!

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Just to check did you dry burn the coil to check for hot spots before wicking it?

The Recurve requires constant re-squonking, it drains back into the bottle after you Squonk a little, with RDAs like this though, you need to get in the habit of topping up slightly after each pull to keep the wicks nicely saturated

Also worth noting is don’t over stuff the wells with cotton, when you Squonk it’s best not to stuff it like you were dripping so the tails can soak up juice more efficiently.

are you using a sweet juice? If you are using high wattage and chain vape it can make the sugar in it taste burnt, aim to have a build that suits your wattage needs

Could try a triple core clapton, the Recurve likes large surface area coils most and you’ll get that high wattage from it ...although this is dependant in how tight you like that draw? And how warm you like the vape?
 

Roman_RO

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I'm just starting out building also. I have a pulse x RDA I wanna use as a dripper for my drag 2 from time to time. My first build using Nichrome 80 28g, I built dual setup, I twisted 2 pieces with 5 wraps and it ohmed out to be .30. Iv not tested it yet. What would be a good setup on my pulse x RDA to use on my drag 2 if I wanted to. I have several tanks.
 

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
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I'm just starting out building also. I have a pulse x RDA I wanna use as a dripper for my drag 2 from time to time. My first build using Nichrome 80 28g, I built dual setup, I twisted 2 pieces with 5 wraps and it ohmed out to be .30. Iv not tested it yet. What would be a good setup on my pulse x RDA to use on my drag 2 if I wanted to. I have several tanks.

What sort of wattage, restriction are you going for?
 

Soundsystem00

Member For 1 Year
Man. I have some good juice. Circus Cookie. But I can't taste it! I have built so many different builds.. Muted flavor.. I even put some in my falcon tank and tasted a mute flavor. I seriously don't understand why my world is falling apart.. My ReCurve was running so good and now it is shit!
 

Soundsystem00

Member For 1 Year
Okay now I have the mesh tank running. And it is the same thing. Mute. I wonder if something else is wrong?

Is vaper tongue a real thing?
 

pulsevape

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Member For 4 Years
Hello! I recently got my wotofo recurve going with my pulse squonk. I really love it. I got some alien clapton coils.

It seems like I can't keep getting the same good flavor. I am a "flavor chaser", a term I recently discovered. Because I am always chasing that sweet spot. I can't seem to get that same dose every time, and I think it has something to do with my wicking..

I got some really good flavor out of a wick I made last week, and I remember that I used less cotton. But I have to constantly squonk it, or it gets dry. But if I use too much cotton, I get the dreaded Mute Hit and I HATE THAT..

I just got some new juice and rewicked and I noticed that I am not getting my full potential and it is annoying. Here is a picture of my build. I am sure there is plenty wrong with it, haha. The first problem is that I do not have proper tools. I am resourceful and feel like I should not have to have all the fancy works.

But I just use scissors most of the time, even to comb the cotton. Combing the cotton is another problem that I usually have.

56cMTkBP


Here it is. I am starting to think that maybe something is wrong with the coil. Maybe it has separated and isn't burning fully, or something else. Because I have redone the cotton several times. The flavor is probably a 6 out of 10 and my last juice was 8 1/2 out of 10 on full potential. But it still could be my wicking.. May be too thin or too thick.


ALSO, this may need another post but I got a wotofo profile and hated it! It was so packed with cotton that i couldn't even squonk. The flavor was 4 out of 10, muted as hell. And I got some burned hits immediately.. I watched a tutorial and used all of the mesh coils and cotton that came with it. It looked to be a perfect build. I was watching a review where a guy said that alien clapton flavor blows mesh away. But I also heard that mesh is great. The mod recommended 50 watts but the video said 30.. I saw where a guy was goig 65+ and I noticed that the flavor was best the higher I went, but still barely at a 5.

What are you guy's top recomendation for me to get better at getting this gear working? I really see huge potential and its amazing to have more control of my falvor because I have had enough of sub ohm tanks, even the best of the best like fireluke and falcon has frustrated me and my high flavor expecations.

Sorry for the long post and to those of you that take the time to read all of this : THANK YOU!!

-matt
did you hear mesh coils were great for flavor....or did you hear mesh wicks were great for flavor.
 

JuicyLucy

My name is Lucy and I am a squonkaholic
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yes it is a real thing...

There is such thing as vapers tongue also - when you juice starts to taste muted no matter what

Many people have their own favorite cures, some like to smell coffee to clear the pallet

I like to eat a little salsa or drink strong lemonade. I consume both regularly and rarely experience vapers tongue
 

nadalama

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When you're after flavor, there is such a thing as "too hot" and "too much air," at least in my opinion. However, if you aren't getting flavor no matter what kind of atty you try, you probably need to vape some menthol, or lemon, or cinnamon, something that will clear your palate. Or do like Lucy suggested and drink some lemonade.

My flavor setups come in about 0.4 ohms, 35-40 watts, nichrome, airflow at half to three-quarters open, depending on the RDA. Juice at 35/65 pg/vg, generally NOT max VG. I switch between flavors all the time, almost never vape the same flavor for more than a couple of hours.
 

Soundsystem00

Member For 1 Year
When you're after flavor, there is such a thing as "too hot" and "too much air," at least in my opinion. However, if you aren't getting flavor no matter what kind of atty you try, you probably need to vape some menthol, or lemon, or cinnamon, something that will clear your palate. Or do like Lucy suggested and drink some lemonade.

My flavor setups come in about 0.4 ohms, 35-40 watts, nichrome, airflow at half to three-quarters open, depending on the RDA. Juice at 35/65 pg/vg, generally NOT max VG. I switch between flavors all the time, almost never vape the same flavor for more than a couple of hours.

Yeah that’s good advice. I’ve recently discovered I need to be at 0.4 and I’ve been getting some weird read outs. But I also think it has to do with cotton. I either put too much or not enough. And I don’t have ceramic tweezers yet but have some coming.

I don’t fluff the cotton good but I try to do my best. I was getting awesome flavor before but then one day I lost that and can’t get it back. That makes me think something else may be wrong altogether.
 

nadalama

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Yeah that’s good advice. I’ve recently discovered I need to be at 0.4 and I’ve been getting some weird read outs. But I also think it has to do with cotton. I either put too much or not enough. And I don’t have ceramic tweezers yet but have some coming.

I don’t fluff the cotton good but I try to do my best. I was getting awesome flavor before but then one day I lost that and can’t get it back. That makes me think something else may be wrong altogether.

Can you elaborate? What do you mean when you say "weird read outs?"
 

gbalkam

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Well, I sometimes light up the coil and dip it in water to clean it.. I think what also might happen: when I change the cotton out, maybe it pulls the coils apart a little. I noticed the middle coils light up but the side part doesn't.. not as much.

I just ordered some tools. I caved. Haha!
Don't use water.. an overnight soak in 40% or higher alcohol and a quick rinse will work wonders.
 

MyMagicMist

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This is normal and what you want it to do :)

I second that. You want middles to glow a low orange-ish red, pulsed. Don't hold fast to firing. Don't try to get white hot coils.

practice makes the master.

Another axiom to agree with here. It has taken me a long time to get to know a rough idea of what gets what for me. Say 5 wraps of 28 awg kanthal gets me 0.30 ohms. If that isn't spot on its close enough that I'm not too horribly concerned. By no means though am I a master, I'm just some ever practicing padawan.

Also worth noting is don’t over stuff the wells with cotton, when you Squonk it’s best not to stuff it like you were dripping so the tails can soak up juice more efficiently.

Aim to leave yourself about half a mm hole in the top part of the coil, like a tube going through it. The cotton under the half mm space. it's like a chimney through the coil for air.

top
O See how I strike through the O here? Look at your coil end to end like that, your cotton/wick can fill up all but the top half mm of the coil inner diameter. it might be more or less than a half mm. That's one of those subjective bits we all have to "hone" ourselves. the point being to let air go easily through the coil like a flue.
 
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JBT81

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I second that. You want middles to glow a low orange-ish red, pulsed. Don't hold fast to firing. Don't try to get white hot coils.



Another axiom to agree with here. It has taken me a long time to get to know a rough idea of what gets what for me. Say 5 wraps of 28 awg kanthal gets me 0.30 ohms. If that isn't spot on its close enough that I'm not too horribly concerned. By no means though am I a master, I'm just some ever practicing padawan.



Aim to leave yourself about half a mm hole in the top part of the coil, like a tube going through it. The cotton under the half mm space. it's like a chimney through the coil for air.

top
O See how I strike through the O here? Look at your coil end to end like that, your cotton/wick can fill up all but the top half mm of the coil inner diameter. it might be more or less than a half mm. That's one of those subjective bits we all have to "hone" ourselves. the point being to let air go easily through the coil like a flue.

does the last method actually help with flavor in your experience? i thought one wanted as much cotton to touch the coil as possible in order to atomize as much liquid with one rip as possible to boost flavor...

EDIT: i have found that when putting as much cotton through coils as possible (within reason, i want liquid to be able to circulate into the coil) and using the coils in an atomizer and then later, pulling out the cotton the inside of my coils will look brand spanking new, no gunk built up from sweeteners heating up etc...

this seems to imply that more cotton makes your flavor better due to longer inner coil lifetime... somehow. meanwhile the outside of the coil exposed to air and not in contact with liquid laden wick is all shot to hell with dark build up! implying that any part of the coil not touching liquid laden wick gets screwed up and may produce unappetizing flavors when heated.

maybe there is something important here that i misunderstood, but maybe not! anyone who has info on this subject is more than welcome to chime in here ;)
 
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MyMagicMist

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does the last method actually help with flavor in your experience?

It does for me, in my experience.

this seems to imply that more cotton makes your flavor better due to longer inner coil lifetime... somehow. meanwhile the outside of the coil exposed to air and not in contact with liquid laden wick is all shot to hell with dark build up! implying that any part of the coil not touching liquid laden wick gets screwed up and may produce unappetizing flavors when heated.

And this is where if you're not careful and realize that no one set in stone way exists, you can wind up with holy wars. You raise a good point here though. It might be as you suggest too, that soaked wick over the coil helps keep from nasty flavor. Then, it might also be true peanut butter is the answer. :) :p ;)

There are so many variables to doing this you won't ever run out of them to apply as an excuse, justification. It might be the way your air flow control handles going through a coil, or through the wick. Possibly it's related to the chaos butterfly half a world away from you, the butterfly flapped its wings making your vape taste flavorful. I might roll a 16 and get a better juice ratio attribute, knocking your vape back to boring old flavor yuck and mine into orbit.

And then, ...

You'll find the absolute best spot and way to do it for you, wake up the next day and it's gone & you need to start again.

And then, ...


No need taking it too serious. It's all a joke anyway, none of us get out alive. :)
 

Wb80

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When you're after flavor, there is such a thing as "too hot" and "too much air," at least in my opinion. However, if you aren't getting flavor no matter what kind of atty you try, you probably need to vape some menthol, or lemon, or cinnamon, something that will clear your palate. Or do like Lucy suggested and drink some lemonade.

My flavor setups come in about 0.4 ohms, 35-40 watts, nichrome, airflow at half to three-quarters open, depending on the RDA. Juice at 35/65 pg/vg, generally NOT max VG. I switch between flavors all the time, almost never vape the same flavor for more than a couple of hours.
I use a blueberry mint juice to clean up my flavor pallet after my taste buds go mute. But i always keep a mint or menthol in my daily rotation.
 

nadalama

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I use a blueberry mint juice to clean up my flavor pallet after my taste buds go mute. But i always keep a mint or menthol in my daily rotation.

I'm a cinnamon fiend, myself. Have about five mixes going that contain it. My son says I put cinnamon in everything I mix. Not, but for some strange reason he just has that in his head.
 

JBT81

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It does for me, in my experience.



And this is where if you're not careful and realize that no one set in stone way exists, you can wind up with holy wars. You raise a good point here though. It might be as you suggest too, that soaked wick over the coil helps keep from nasty flavor. Then, it might also be true peanut butter is the answer. :) :p ;)

There are so many variables to doing this you won't ever run out of them to apply as an excuse, justification. It might be the way your air flow control handles going through a coil, or through the wick. Possibly it's related to the chaos butterfly half a world away from you, the butterfly flapped its wings making your vape taste flavorful. I might roll a 16 and get a better juice ratio attribute, knocking your vape back to boring old flavor yuck and mine into orbit.

And then, ...

You'll find the absolute best spot and way to do it for you, wake up the next day and it's gone & you need to start again.

And then, ...


No need taking it too serious. It's all a joke anyway, none of us get out alive. :)

lol yeah it's best not to take things too seriously, i agree.

what i want is to do my best to contribute to the thread, possibly give someone some useful advice. certainly, we all have our ways to get what we want (i would bet that a good vape experience is something we all want here).

i am glad that your method of wicking works well for you
 

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