Gross "damp" taste for a few dozen puffs after rewicking

[Ionori]

I'm having a bit of trouble with rewicking my rebuildable atomizer heads, they always get a gross "damp" taste for a few dozen puffs, but eventually it goes away.

So far I've tried 2 different types of cotton (some cotton balls bought at a local vape shop and square sheets of organic cotton bought online) and I've tried different procedures for cleaning my hands before getting to work (thorough wash with soap and drying the hands with paper towels, thorough wash with soap followed by rubbing alcohol and finally drying off with cotton rounds) as well as 2 types of rebuildable atomizer heads (CLR, ECR).

What's the source of that taste and how do I get rid of it?

EDIT: Apparently the unpleasant flavor is just a feature of fresh cotton wicks, the solution is to make sure you aren't packing in too much cotton, and to saturate and pulse fire the wick a few times before assembling the tank.

 

[djsvapour]

Rubbing alcohol? Paper towels? What have you been reading?

Most good quality organic cotton has a a short break-in period. If it's only a few puffs down the line, you are doing a good job.

The only other thought is that if this is going on longer than a few; maybe a little less cotton might help.

Cotton wick is weird stuff. The first 'soaking' is crucial to get it going. It reaches a point however when too wet is too bad. Maybe it's a little under-primed when you start then as you set up a pattern of 'pulling' the juice it's hitting the right amount of wet-ness to really work well. Joyetech CLR should be a good design (I have some) as you can really get the cotton nicely wet as you assemble the atomizer head. I prime these in position actually. Good learners choice.

 

[Ionori]

Rubbing alcohol? Paper towels? What have you been reading?

Most good quality organic cotton has a a short break-in period. If it's only a few puffs down the line, you are doing a good job.

The only other thought is that if this is going on longer than a few; maybe a little less cotton might help.

Cotton wick is weird stuff. The first 'soaking' is crucial to get it going. It reaches a point however when too wet is too bad. Maybe it's a little under-primed when you start then as you set up a pattern of 'pulling' the juice it's hitting the right amount of wet-ness to really work well. Joyetech CLR should be a good design (I have some) as you can really get the cotton nicely wet as you assemble the atomizer head. I prime these in position actually. Good learners choice.

I was under the impression that clean hands are of paramount importance when handling your cotton when rewicking, is that not true, or is there a problem with my procedures?

So the unpleasant taste is just an inherent property of fresh cotton wicks? It takes several dozens of puffs for my wicks to lose the unpleasant taste, and I suppose I am packing in quite a bit of cotton into the coils.

If you know of a great guide on the subject, I would appreciate it.

 

[djsvapour]

I was under the impression that clean hands are of paramount importance when handling your cotton when rewicking, is that not true, or is there a problem with my procedures?

I'm not so sure. I'm always messing around with atomizers (mostly RDAs) and pull things apart and put them back together and wick something up in 90 seconds. I don't think I've ever had a problem not re-washing my hands. They are generally clean, I admit.

 

[thetrucker]

I'm having a bit of trouble with rewicking my rebuildable atomizer heads, they always get a gross "damp" taste for a few dozen puffs, but eventually it goes away.

So far I've tried 2 different types of cotton (some cotton balls bought at a local vape shop and square sheets of organic cotton bought online) and I've tried different procedures for cleaning my hands before getting to work (thorough wash with soap and drying the hands with paper towels, thorough wash with soap followed by rubbing alcohol and finally drying off with cotton rounds) as well as 2 types of rebuildable atomizer heads (CLR, ECR).

What's the source of that taste and how do I get rid of it?

Sometimes I have the same problem......try to remember to wash my hands before rolling my cotton balls and sometimes it lingers for a few puffs and sometimes it

does not..........depending on where the planets are............lol.......

 

[classwife]

To me cotton takes a little while to get to flavor...

 

[Cool_Breeze]

To me cotton takes a little while to get to flavor...

...as does Rayon.

 

[Ionori]

To me cotton takes a little while to get to flavor...

So you don't have any unpleasant taste with new cotton wicks that goes away after a while? To be specific, I'm talking about wicks you've installed on rebuildable atomizers, not new non-rebuildable atomizer heads with cotton wicks.

 

[Txaggiesaunt]

So you don't have any unpleasant taste with new cotton wicks that goes away after a while? To be specific, I'm talking about wicks you've installed on rebuildable atomizers, not new non-rebuildable atomizer heads with cotton wicks.

Yes you do have an unpleasant taste with cotton wicks, but only for a bit. Then once it has soaked up the juice the cotton taste goes away. Perfectly normal. I just vape lightly thru it without taking full big hits.

 

[Txaggiesaunt]

Yes you do have an unpleasant taste with cotton wicks, but only for a bit. Then once it has soaked up the juice the cotton taste goes away. Perfectly normal. I just vape lightly thru it without taking full big hits.

And yes I'm talking about cotton wicks you put in yourself. Prebuilt will also have a slight funky taste at first.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I, too, am sensitive to the odd tastes of some cottons. What I have ended up doing and it does help me, is I saturate the cotton and coil with my juice and do a few pulse fires(my last step before putting the whole tank back together) I let it 'smoke' for a few seconds. Just make sure you don't pulse too long as to dry out the coil or wicks. The odd taste is gone when I put my tank back together and fill with juice.

Hope this helps you also.

 

[Imfallen_Angel]

While cleans hands are just good living and such, the cotton yo use can make a huge difference.

I'd never use Cotton balls as they've been bleached and even if cleaned (some people boil the crap out of them and use them after drying), I just wouldn't feel "right" doing so, as an important thing about wicking is having your fibers aligned.

Using proper cotton (either Japanese organic or Cotton Bacon), it's all about how you've wicked it, and it is normal to taste the cotton for a few moments.... I tend to find that it takes about 4-5 puffs for me for it to "balance out" and the taste to be gone.

Possibly, you've got too much and cooking it and/or if you don't prime it properly at first which can make the cottony taste linger for longer.

 

[leftyandsparky]

You might just be a person that like rayon! Give it a try, never hurts to try something new.

 

[Txaggiesaunt]

Organic cotton balls in the beauty section of CVS, WalMart, or WalGreens will work just fine if you don't have cotton bacon or Japanese cotton. Never use cotton balls from the pharmacy area as they have been bleached or sanitized and will therefore have a funkier taste.

 

[classwife]

So you don't have any unpleasant taste with new cotton wicks that goes away after a while? To be specific, I'm talking about wicks you've installed on rebuildable atomizers, not new non-rebuildable atomizer heads with cotton wicks.

Unpleasant...but tolerable (sort of) and yes, it goes away after a while.
Yes, wicks I have installed, I rebuild.
It's just the nature of it...it's cotton
As leftyandsparky said, you might prefer rayon - but it also takes some time to get up to flavor...just not as long.

 

[Ionori]

Thanks for all your replies, I'm going to try wicking and pulse firing fresh cotton a few times before putting the atomizer back together. It's a relief to know that the taste isn't caused by some contaminant, the idea that I was smoking some gross garbage was more disturbing than the temporary unpleasant flavor. I'll make a mental note of rayon for when my sheet cotton starts to run out.

If anybody has more advice regarding the subject, I would appreciate it.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Let us know whether or not it helps.

Are the ECR and CLR the only ones you have tried? Do you have other types of rta tanks?

 

[Eskie]

After reading this I feel like such a slob. I never think to wash my hands off when I rewick.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

After reading this I feel like such a slob. I never think to wash my hands off when I rewick.

eewww... you just nevah know where those hands have been either.....oh....wait......eewww...nm.

lol

 

[Ionori]

Let us know whether or not it helps.

Are the ECR and CLR the only ones you have tried? Do you have other types of rta tanks?

I've just finished my first attempt and the gross taste is almost completely gone after 5 cycles of saturation and firing, I'm so happy! Though I did totally flood the airholes on my eGo ONE Mega base, which is something I had not managed to do since I've stopped using CL heads about 9 months ago, so I'll try to use less juice the next time around.

Yes, I've not used other types of rebuildable heads, but I did order an eLeaf Lyche atomizer with an RBA head included for a ridiculously low price on Aliexpress just now (about 7 USD); though the RBA head on it is reported to be quite small and uncomfortable to build for being only 13mm large, but that should be trivial for somebody who had been rebuilding CLR atomizers with their ~4mm inner diameter for nearly a year.

After reading this I feel like such a slob. I never think to wash my hands off when I rewick.

Yeah, I probably went a little too far with my protocols by falsely attributing the taste to contamination. A quick cold water wash with some soap and drying my hands on a towel proved sufficient to produce pure taste now that I know to saturate and fire the wick a few times before using it.