All Things about the Eleaf iCare & iCare Mini

[Liazard]

Have tried iCare. Loved it at first, in fact I bought a couple more + spare coils thinking it would be my long-term solution. First bad experience was with pure VG. It was literally spurting hot droplets to the back of my throat. Very nasty. So I replaced the coil and switched back to 70%VG/30%PG, which worked well for a while.

Then I noticed the online directions say to "saturate" the coil before use; while the manual says to drip two or three drops into the coil (interestingly the manual doesn't say what or where the coil is). So I tried that, which is kind of tricky because the coil is in a metal cylinder with some tiny holes, or you can drip it in the opening at the threads.

So my first question is whether people do saturate the coil and how. Also HOW MUCH to saturate it because forcing liquid into the top opening of the coil (where the threads are and you can see some cotton wick) has produced for me all kinds of problems, including massive painful spitback with even the lightest draw, gurgly/bubbling noises, and a horrible taste like burnt hair or something. In some cases all at once. This is happening now with two devices simultaneously. Now I'm thinking the things worked better BEFORE I started following the directions to saturate new coils before use.

So I've actually gone from loving the iCare to having two in use that I'm almost afraid to use. Can anyone provide guidance? Would too much liquid in the coil/wick area cause these problems? Still with 70VG/30PG.

I guess I'll try replacing the coils again but wanted to get some feedback first on whether and how to get the coil wet because I'm going through a lot of coils.

So to go back to my problems with iCare, I flushed both tanks with water and put in new coils. Dripped liquid into the coils using the recommendation above to drip then blow lightly. One device is about a month old, the other only about a week in use. 70VG/30PG thinned with about 10% distilled water. Still getting a lot of gurgling and nasty spitback from both.

In other words, I have two fairly new iCares with new coils and both are virtually unusable. Can anyone help?

 

[gt_1955]

The only difference between your system as you describe it and mine could be that I have removed the AFC ring completely, allowing maximum air flow. If that doesn't help I'm afraid I don't have anything else to suggest.

 

[r77r7r]

I only had gurgling and spitting upon initial use. I believe that I just blew everything thing out good.

 

[Liazard]

I only had gurgling and spitting upon initial use. I believe that I just blew everything thing out good.

I guess I can try that, thanks.

 

[Liazard]

Thanks for the suggestions but I'm not seeing any improvement in my iCares. Not sure what is gurgling but when I take out the tube and try to blow it out with the coil on, the gurgling seems to be coming from the tube. Take the coil off, blow/suck, and no more gurgle in the tube. But once I put it all back together, I get gurgle + unpredictable spitback. Actually the gurgle now seems to have escalated to a "crackle". Same on both devices. I also tried removing the AFC ring. That just makes the gurgle/crackle and spitback bigger.

 

[Liazard]

So I'm being told on another thread by mod people (Solving generic problems and other questions) that from the symptoms (gurgling and spitback) it sounds like the coils are flooded.

So maybe I'm putting too much liquid into the new coils before using them? Assuming this is the problem, is there any way to salvage an iCare coil that has gotten flooded? Can it be cleaned or soaked or dried out, or does it have to be tossed?

By "coil" I mean the replaceable thing called the "atomizer head" in the manual.

 

[Ben85]

If you have flooded a coil, then just take a few drags on it in an empty tank.

Having a flooded coil does not mean it is ruined.

Fwiw, i'd say this is a juice issue rather than an over saturating at the beginning issue.

 

[Liazard]

If you have flooded a coil, then just take a few drags on it in an empty tank.

Thanks! That is totally new information for me.

Fwiw, i'd say this is a juice issue rather than an over saturating at the beginning issue.

I was wondering about that. I assume you mean the VG/PG ratio?

But I have been changing to new coils as I changed liquids from 70VG/30PG to 100VG (when problems started) then back to 70/30, and I've gone thru 6 coils in the last couple of days doing that. Unless something else in the devices is gunked up with the 100%VG I don't see how it could be hanging on in the device until now.

Which is why I asked about cleaning out and sort of starting over - I'm back to the original 70VG/30PG liquid with new coils and can't figure out why the devices are not behaving the way they did originally with 70VG/30PG.

Originally they were mild and pleasant, no spit. Now they are hellaceous. Same ratio and brand of unflavored liquid.

 

[Liazard]

If you have flooded a coil, then just take a few drags on it in an empty tank.

Thanks! So you take a few drags with the tank dry. Then what? Are you trying to dry it out completely or just reduce the liquid in the coil? Should the coil/wick be rewetted again, or just the tank refilled and restart vaping normally?

 

[Plettschner]

I would just blow the coil out with your mouth and try again... remove air pipe and coil from tank, remove coil assembly from pipe, wipe off, blow it out good, blow out pipe, wipe, and reassemble.


Sent from Uranus using Tapatalk

 

[telsie]

So I'm being told on another thread by mod people (Solving generic problems and other questions) that from the symptoms (gurgling and spitback) it sounds like the coils are flooded.

So maybe I'm putting too much liquid into the new coils before using them? Assuming this is the problem, is there any way to salvage an iCare coil that has gotten flooded? Can it be cleaned or soaked or dried out, or does it have to be tossed?

By "coil" I mean the replaceable thing called the "atomizer head" in the manual.

Yeah, you're probably putting too much liquid into the coil. I put about 5 or 6 drops into a new coil, but I use a little needle-tipped bottle, so the drops are very small. If your drops are large, you probably want to put in fewer. You don't want to see liquid pooled in the coil, you just want a few drops to soak down into it and disappear (get absorbed). Once you've screwed it to the air pipe and dropped it down into the tank, it'll soak in more liquid from the tank too. Just let it sit for like 3 minutes before you vape on it and then you can be pretty sure you won't get a dry/burnt hit. I also turn the whole device upside down once too to force any air out of the coil.

As far as liquid thickness goes, I use about a 50-50 mix in mine and it works well.

Once in a while, mine gets gurgly. Here's what I do:
1) Remove the mouthpiece and twist a corner of napkin up into the air hole of the mouthpiece to clean out the condensation that builds up in there.
2) Wipe off the exposed section of the air pipe, then unscrew and remove it.
3) Wipe off the whole air pipe/coil assembly.
4) Unscrew the coil from the air pipe.
5) Twist a tiny corner of a napkin and dab it into the coil to absorb excess liquid.
6) Blow out the air pipe. You have to block off the adjustable airflow holes to do this, so either cover them with your finger or wrap a piece of napkin around them before you blow through the air pipe. Dab the bottom of the air pipe with a napkin and you can also twist a tiny corner of napkin up into the bottom of air pipe a bit to get any liquid still hanging out in there.
7) Reassemble: Put coil back on air pipe, fill tank, drop air pipe/coil into the tank and screw into place (don't over-tighten it, just snug it), replace mouthpiece. Vape! (and hopefully no gurgling).

 

[Liazard]

Yeah, you're probably putting too much liquid into the coil. I put about 5 or 6 drops into a new coil, but I use a little needle-tipped bottle, so the drops are very small. If your drops are large, you probably want to put in fewer. You don't want to see liquid pooled in the coil, you just want a few drops to soak down into it and disappear (get absorbed). Once you've screwed it to the air pipe and dropped it down into the tank, it'll soak in more liquid from the tank too. Just let it sit for like 3 minutes before you vape on it and then you can be pretty sure you won't get a dry/burnt hit. I also turn the whole device upside down once too to force any air out of the coil.

As far as liquid thickness goes, I use about a 50-50 mix in mine and it works well.

Once in a while, mine gets gurgly. Here's what I do:
1) Remove the mouthpiece and twist a corner of napkin up into the air hole of the mouthpiece to clean out the condensation that builds up in there.
2) Wipe off the exposed section of the air pipe, then unscrew and remove it.
3) Wipe off the whole air pipe/coil assembly.
4) Unscrew the coil from the air pipe.
5) Twist a tiny corner of a napkin and dab it into the coil to absorb excess liquid.
6) Blow out the air pipe. You have to block off the adjustable airflow holes to do this, so either cover them with your finger or wrap a piece of napkin around them before you blow through the air pipe. Dab the bottom of the air pipe with a napkin and you can also twist a tiny corner of napkin up into the bottom of air pipe a bit to get any liquid still hanging out in there.
7) Reassemble: Put coil back on air pipe, fill tank, drop air pipe/coil into the tank and screw into place (don't over-tighten it, just snug it), replace mouthpiece. Vape! (and hopefully no gurgling).

Thanks, that's a nice list. I still haven't solved the problem completely but I'm seeing progress since yesterday. The one thing that seemed to have the biggest effect to reduce spitting was doing several draws with the tank empty (Ben85 above). Seemed to really work to dry out the coil/wick. I'll be more careful in the future not to oversaturate the coil/wick when I install a new one. Seems like manual could be a lot more specific about where and how much liquid to use.

 

[ENAUD]

I just got on this band wagon today, snagged an icare at a B&M out of curiosity. So far so good, got the airflow wide open, it seems to produce more vapor that way for me. I can't believe how tiny this thing is! An it hits like a champ. Had some spit back at first so tilted the bottom up and took a few drags and that seemed to clear up the flooded coil.

How long are these coils holding up for you folks?

 

[telsie]

How long are these coils holding up for you folks?

I get about 5 days from a coil. They just start to taste a bit harsh/burnt around day 5 for me, so I toss the coil and put on fresh one.

 

[ENAUD]

I get about 5 days from a coil. They just start to taste a bit harsh/burnt around day 5 for me, so I toss the coil and put on fresh one.

Thanks telsie. good to know, I'm really digging this little thing, if something like this was available when I started vaping, I may have just settled on it and not gone nuts buying all kinds of things looking for something better. I think these type devices will help many Folks away from the cigs if they are allowed to remain on the market. I am really impressed with this icare from a cost and quality standpoint. It's a winner.

 

[r77r7r]

Newer SC COILShttp://sweet-vapes.com/tanks/eleaf/eleaf-coils/eleaf-sc-icare-coils.html

 

[r77r7r]

Eleaf iCare SC Coils (For High VG) $4.95 - Eleaf Coils - Eleaf - Tanks & Coils

 

[ricks]

My Wife dropped one of hers... again. It was the one I repaired. This time the tank shattered beyond repair.

I ordered her 2 more... She drops hers way too much.

 

[DC2]

Had some spit back at first so tilted the bottom up and took a few drags and that seemed to clear up the flooded coil.

Please explain "tilted the bottom up" if you don't mind.
The spitback is starting to annoy me a bit.

 

[Ben85]

Please explain "tilted the bottom up" if you don't mind.
The spitback is starting to annoy me a bit.

Do just as described. Tilt up and the juice will then drain away from coils. Can then vape the coils dryer and should sort the gurgling.