Another Ithaka noob here, need assistance.

[muvoksi]

So i vaped about a year or so with CE4 and at some point moved up to kanger evod. Loved it. I've always recoiled and rewicked my clearos, so im not a total noob at coiling and wicking. Best accomplishment would be having ribbon kanthal on a kanger evod. Vapes like a .... and nice warm taste too.

Then i saw a friend with a Steam Turbine(clone) and tried it a couple of times. Seemes awesome, i might get myself a rba. So i got myself a nemesis clone, works like a charm. Upgraded springs to magnets. Then i got myself a ithaka clone, as it was claimed one of the best with clouds as broad as the ones Zeus himself walks. So i have in my hands a Nemesis clone, with Efest IMR 18650 battery and magnets instead of springs. A Ithaka clone (claimed to be as good as the original) with 2.2ohm Nichrome NR-R-NR wire. The liquid im using is 12mg nic Liqua American Blend. /70PG/30VG) And the result is...

Something truly horrible.

When i coil the beast, i try em out before adding any liquid. The coils fire up pretty slow compared to ce4 and kanger. So i drip a little and they appear to vape a little. Then i put the thing back together. Airflow seems nice and everythings great. But the taste and the vapour suck. The taste is something pretty britter, maybe a little metallic. Extremely harsh on the throat hit. Vapour is pretty thin, makes my breath gasp. Almost vomited trying it couple times in a row. I also cleaned nemesis and ithaka in a warm water with dishwashing soap. I also tried giving it 6, 5 and 4 coils. The results are pretty much the same. Tried both dual and single wick, no change.

Where am i going with this?

Help me E-cig-wan, you're my only hope.

 

[bacc.vap]

How do you have the liquid feed set up? Basic feeding fully open? Mouthpiece screwed out how many turns?

 

[muvoksi]

I tried it couple different ways. The feeding holes on one wicks, the feeding hole on both wicks. I tried unscrewing the mouthpiece a little so it would get a little more liquid. Still a dire throat hit from hades himself. If i unscrew the mouthpiece too much, the coils get soaked and i get even less vapour. Im PRETTY confident its not liquid feeding, could still be wrong.

 

[milescadre]

I'd say make sure EVERYTHING in that tank gets a good wash and the silica wicks (if theyre silica) get torched. machine oils left behind can make it taste awful and has happened to me many times.

I got a ithaka clone as ell and it does perform very well, but its alot more than I want to mess with and probably will go up for sale in the near future.

 

[bacc.vap]

Yeah, may be best to start over with clean equipment. I'd clean with alcohol. I never let soap touch anything that I'm going to use for vaping, don't like the idea of soap residue in my liquid.

 

[muvoksi]

Would acetone do any good, i dont have anything else right now? Not cleaning the tank part or the rubber parts ofc

 

[KurrptSenate]

Acetone works pretty well for getting rid of machine oils. Just make sure you use some dish soap afterwards so you get rid of the acetone.

 

[milescadre]

Would acetone do any good, i dont have anything else right now? Not cleaning the tank part or the rubber parts ofc

I wouldnt use it. Only Isypropyl (yea yea dont make fun of my horrendous spelling) alcohol, preferably 91%.

Frankly I just plop all the pieces in a small sealed container of 91% isy and give it a shake/swirl let it sit. hour later, do the same, let it sit overnight, then pull em all out in the morning to air dry. the isy doesnt rust the metals and dries with no residue.

I'm not sure if acetone would leave a residue, or worst, the metal "soaks" it in. so frankly if I wouldnt want to touch it I wouldnt clean my tank with it.

 

[muvoksi]

So could it really be the machine oil still, or something like that preventing current getting through? Since i get pretty weak vapour aswell.

 

[bacc.vap]

The machine oil will give a nasty taste and take up space the juice is supposed to be using. It won't stop electrical flow, just interfere with vapor and flavor.
If you don't have alcohol to clean with, just do your best with hot water. Don't use anything else that may leave a residue. Also clean off your ready wires, they could be contaminated also, it would probably suffice to torch them if you can. Might help to torch the wicks also. I never do, but all wicks are'nt created equall.

Like what was suggested clean your gear and start over. I am only familiar with the Ithaka so that's what I'll be refering to, fyi.
Once clean try a one coil build first to test, then if you still got problems we could work from there. Can you upload pics?

 

[muvoksi]

Soz, was waiting for a response and in the meantime i went and washed whole damn thing with dishsoap and a toothbursh. So funny thing happened. Got couple really good puffs and then it gurgled up instantly

 

[MoDmAnDaN]

Ok, as I have 2 authentic Ithakas and 6 clones, I might be able to help you.

First you said your running at 2.2ohms? What is your mod your firing this on? If a non VV device 2.2 is a bit high IMO. I shoot for 1.0 or .9 ohm single coil, rarely do I find the need for dual coils. You're also running your coils in parallel, not recommended on a Ithaka style atty. Look up Bishopheels on youtube. You'll learn a ton from his vids. Run your coils in an X, that way the air flow is directly under the wick. You'll notice a huge improvement!!! This shot will give you an idea what I mean.

This is not one of my builds as I run a piece of wick between them to prevent shorts when I do run duals.

If your gurgling, that is one of two things. I can't tell from this picture, but the basic feed control (little knurled ring you insert coil housing into) should be closed. So that the two slits that allow juice to the coils are on the threads, not the wick. Use the mouth piece to control flow. I have used the basic feed a couple of times and always flooded on me.



A picture of the basic feed. This picture shows the slits on the wick, I turn mine so that they're not on the wicks at all.

Use only 3mm wick, IMO 2mm is not enough to fill the channels. Some folks have used 2mm successfully, Not me.

A shot of how I build mine currently. I'm using ribbon, but round Kanthal is just fine instead.

I can't take credit for any of these pictures, they're taken from Google.

I hope this helps.

 

[muvoksi]

Okay, so i copied your setup with my 2.2ohm nichrome nr-r-nr wires, and it seems to work. Thanks a lot for the info.

As you mentionet, 2.2ohms might be too much? As in if i'd get 1.2 or 1.8ohm wires, i might get warmer and plentier vape?

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

Assuming your new rig has been properly cleaned, I can think of two issues. First is the heat may be burning the juice. From your description, though, a 2.2 ohm coil and a mechanical, shouldn't do that, and I think you're under 6.5 watts, so unlikely.

I had this experience with mine: I hate nichrome. Tastes disgusting to me. I can only vape Kanthal. I use NR 30 gauge and 30 ga Kanthal and then NR 30 ga on my coils. This solved the disgusting taste issues for me. I also use cotton wick in my Ithaka. This setup is a world of difference flavor wise to me. So, reduce your ohms to 1.5 ohms or less. I use the Just GG and try and stay right between 1.0 and 1.2 ohms. Also, reduce the nic in your juice. If you were using 12 mg/ml, try 6 mg/ml. I vape cartos (occasionally these days) at 12 mg, but cannot vape RTA at more than 6 mg. Just too much TH and nic. The better devices just vaporize the juice too well for me to go any higher, and how can I now go lower and still get nic? Anyway, works for me. Good luck. My two cents. YMMV. Best to you!

 

[muvoksi]

I've heard some discussion on nichromes taste. Any idea if i can somehow tie ribbon to a nr wire? Or maybe buy premade nr r nr ribbons somewhere? I grew fond of ribbon after using some in my kanger. It might do miracles in ithaka. The picture modmandal posted seem heavenly.

 

[bacc.vap]

Okay, so i copied your setup with my 2.2ohm nichrome nr-r-nr wires, and it seems to work. Thanks a lot for the info.

As you mentionet, 2.2ohms might be too much? As in if i'd get 1.2 or 1.8ohm wires, i might get warmer and plentier vape?

If your using the 2.2 ohm ready wires for a dual coil, you're running at 1.1 ohm already. I'm not positive that's what you're doing ,but thought I'd mention it just in case.

EDIT: Well, you said you're doing that, so I guess I am positive you are.

 

[MoDmAnDaN]

I've heard some discussion on nichromes taste. Any idea if i can somehow tie ribbon to a nr wire? Or maybe buy premade nr r nr ribbons somewhere? I grew fond of ribbon after using some in my kanger. It might do miracles in ithaka. The picture modmandal posted seem heavenly.

I've personally never tried twisting ribbon to non-resistanse nickel. I use a wire zapper for that since I have so many tanks that need nr-r-nr. I don't think it would be to difficult with practice. Keep the twists small!

Sent from my Note II using Tapatalk.

 

[muvoksi]

If your using the 2.2 ohm ready wires for a dual coil, you're running at 1.1 ohm already.

I was using dual coil, and tought it would add up to 1.1 ohm. But i wasnt using a premade, since i tried the premade ones and wasnt impressed. ATM its one coil, dual wicks and it seems to work somewhat. Im guessing that now i have to get myself some kanthal nr r nr wire, little lowere ohms and less nic juices.