juice gets darker after a while in my stardust clearomizer

[ad356]

the juice actually changes color in my startdust, why is that my wife has the same experience.

 

[PoliticallyIncorrect]

Normal. Juices of color always deepen with age.

 

[AlmightyGod]

It's flow back from the wick.
Caramelized juice...
Clean it with hot water, and then Everclear after every 2-3 or 4 fills.

 

[Foggy]

See this post:

The point is I don't think there are any further reactions, or I hope not anyway, but color turning is not something to worry about. Color turning with the creation of foul taste/smell, however, is of concern, as this means your flavor has decomposed, that is reacted to fall apart into smaller compounds that stink...fruit esters will do this after a while, as in months. Bad tastes or smells mean toss them...they will not get better, and you cannot mask the bad smell/taste.

We cannot stop nic from forming oxides with O2, and it takes only trace amounts to color a juice. The oxides are harmless, but can form strong friendships with other compounds present, and this will can their color. Much like a couple that marries will not become conjoined people, but the relationship can make for some colorful interactions!

It's a normal chemical reaction with exposure to oxygen.

 

[Centurion]

I have a clearomizer I was just using yesterday. Used it for the two days prior too. It's one of the shorter wick variety because I couldn't get the low resistance version with the longer wicks when I ordered. If you rest it on its side or swirl it around between vapes, it wicks quite well and quickly it seems. But after the liquid's dropped to about half I do notice this darkening and most notably, a taste change where it's not pleasant. I typically dump it out, rinse with some distilled water (cuz I don't have vodka at the moment), and then on refilling it it tastes fine. I think its residue from the atomizer. It tastes sorta burnt and metallic and just not good. The capacity is only 1.6mL and this happens over the course of maybe 4-6 hours of steady vaping so I don't think it's oxidization that's causing it.

 

[VidaOptimista]

So glad you posted this, because I'm having the same issue with my Stardust. The taste is still good, but I was disconcerted by the dark color. It also seems more syrupy in consistency. My thought was to clean it out, but now I'm not so sure because if the juice inside is still good, all I need to do is top it off.

Heather

 

[erikm101]

I have the exact same issue. On another thread I was told the syrupy consistency ws because I am vamping a PG/VG mix. According to the responder, I am seeing the thinner PG burn off first, leaving the thicker VG and that is what looks like syrup.

Can anyone confirm, or is the clearomizer doing something weird to the juice. I have been considering switching to pure PG juice, but haven't yet.

 

[Stubby]

The darkening of the color happens with all of the clears with the wick that hangs down into the bottom of the tube. I use visions and if I don't clean it on a regular basis a very dark liquid starts showing up.

In a video review by StealJan she mentions that the wick has a hard time pulling up the heavier elements in the liquid. Don't know if that is correct but it could be as the VG is heavier and likely doesn't wick as well as the PG, or as mentioned above it's a back flow of some caramelized liquid. What ever is causing it, it is not harmful and appears to be normal for all of the clearos that use a long wick.

 

[denali_41]

that happens in my Ce2's also ..i notice the liquid also gets a little thicker after about half way through the tank..i imagine it is from the heat of the air flow tube because my stone tank doesn't change the liquid in any way

 

[frequentj]

I liked SteelJan's explanation. That would explain why it becomes a dark sludge. I usually just dump it out periodically. Seems like there's not much flavor in that part anyway.

 

[chewie]

I suspect that much of the juice at some point comes in contact very near the coil, where the heat is so hot, that the food elements in the juice caramelize, the way foods do on a grill or hot pan. That's why I top off frequently, and swirl the juice around to mix the caramelized juice with the fresh juice, so the burnt flavors are watered (freshened) down to the point I can't taste them. The caramelized juice still has nicotine, (alkaloids if you vape WTA), and some of the elements that contribute to the vapor production and overall flavor. Sure if it's allowed to accumulate at the bottom and just build up, it will become a nasty sludge that needs to be dumped out. It's a hassle to top off frequently, but the juice I get is expensive since it contains WTAs. (They really work to keep me from having any analogue cravings at all, period.)

The result of caramelization to the coil is a buildup of carbon, which causes the muted flavor people begin to notice. That's where dry burning comes in, and helps to burn off the buildup of carbon on the coil. Now I just have to look on YouTube for the video where they get the cap off the steel tube, so I can watch the coil while dry burning. I've gotten good at it on the Vision Extreme (aka Deux, aka Giant) 3.5ml clearomizer. I haven't popped one yet, I hear the Stardusts are a little more difficult to dry burn without popping coils.

Will go look for some YouTube videos since I have some CE4s that really need cleaning. Got so many TV shows on the DVR to catch up on, I hate going back and forth to the TV and YouTube, but that's how I get it done.

 

[Stubby]

This is the video where SteelJan shows the darkening of the liquid in Ce2s'. It happens with all top coil clears. Doesn't happen with bottom coil clears as the video shows.

GotVapes Phoenix Bottom-Coil Clearomizer Review - YouTube

She shows the comparison at about 6:50

 

[Gramurai]

My liquids darken and get thicker in my CE2s, because the thicker juice doesnt wick. I typically dont let them below the .6-.8 range for personal flavor reasons, i just keep topping them off. When it really starts to get syrupy, i dump it all in a concoction ive been steeping, the "mystery meat" - who knows what thats going to be like... :3

 

[mattkohl71]

Would cutting some of the longer wicks help this out? I think they're a bit too long as it is... Maybe like half length? Seems like it wouldn't effect wicking that much and maybe even improve it?