hello fellow vapers, my setup is an aspire nautilus mini, using 1.8ohm BVC coil at 3.7-3.8 volts. my battery is an aspire carbon fibre variable voltage 1600mAh. (will be upgrading to the eleaf istick 30w) i have been doing DIY for about 5 months now and i have learned a lot from ECF. i use TFA/TPA flavors, wiard labs nicotine, PG/VG. i like to run a high VG. 20/80 PG/VG.. so here is what my mixture consists of. 10ml bottle. 6% strawberry TFA/TPA, 100mg/ml 100% VG nicotine at 15mg. ((i am very aware of the dangers in using 100mg/ml nicotine and am very safe when handling)) PG/VG 20/80 i also add 1-2 drops of everclear PGA 151 proof per 10ml to thin my mixture (i know i dont like to use drops but if i use even 1% of PGA i will smell/taste it. so i have found it better to use drops in this case) i also need to get some distilled water to throw in the mix and continue to test that. i was using a higher % of flavor around 14% no added sweeteners and was getting coil gunk. the coil would turn black and start performing very poorly around 4-5 days so i dropped my percentages down to what you see above so it was nice and simple to rule out any additives that could be causing my coil gunk and the coil gunk still persists so now im confused...im using very little flavor with no added sweeteners and am still getting black coils. could it be the PGA? but i dont see how from being so little in the mixture and plus PGA doesnt have sugar or very little sugar. i have also heard people will add PGA to keep their coils clean. i havent heard of PG/VG or nicotine causing coil gunk. so with all of that being said what is your thoughts on why my coils are getting gunked up? all opinions and advice are welcomed i thank you very much!
coil gunk but using no sweetener and very little flavor
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VG is naturally sweet in itself. It's more of a coil gunker than PG. Some flavors have a sweetness to them also. If I were to guess I would say it's from the high VG.
Pump up the power a bit and it should stay cleaner. You're only at what then...8 watts? (3.8 X 3.8 / 1.8)
High Vg juice will kill coils much faster then a 50/50 or lower mix. 50/50 I used to be able to run two weeks or better on a coil depending on flavor. Max vg I was lucky if a coil ran me a week. I even mixed two batches of the same juice, one at max vg and one 50/50 and got the same results. Higher vg juice is simply rougher on coils.
The only coils that do not gunk up as much would be running Unflavored. A coil may last anywhere from 1-2 months. Any flavor added would be adding to the mix of coil gunk. I honestly can not tell you if my unflavored gets gunked up or not as I don't open them to see.... maybe next time just in case. My unflavored mix is 70 pg/ 30 vg 24 mg. Could be the VG.
Still too thick perhaps. Skip the PGA and try a 75 PG 25 VG ratio. This should wick very well, even if the VG is not semi aqueous. Flavoring will create gunk as well. Basically, anything you add to you standard Nic Base increases the amount of TDS (total dissolved solids) in the liquid. Dissolved solids create gunk. My overall impression though with these pre-built tank coils is that they need thin liquid to perform properly. Little to no flavor and weak toots are (to me) indicative of poor wicking.
I have great luck with nautilus head life using clear non sweet 50/50 at 4.8v ~ 5.4v.
I'd think at that low power you'd get rapid coil gunking & a wet sputtery low vapor production vape.
I'd think at that low power you'd get rapid coil gunking & a wet sputtery low vapor production vape.
ok i knew VG was naturally sweet but it never crossed my mind of it destroying a coil. i will have to make up a few batches of what yall recommended and see how it goes. but if i were to use 50/50 or higher in PG wont that greatly diminish the vapor production as well as making it harsh? i remember making a 50/50 a while back and that was the highest in PG i have gone and i wasnt happy with how little and misty the vapor was. but i also dont remember if i cranked up the volts or not. is there a trick to having a 50/50 blend or higher in PG while still getting great vapor production? i know the nautilus mini maybe mini but i have seen it produce a great amount of vapor haha. correct me if im wrong but to have a great amount of vapor you would think that you needed higher VG than PG? thank you all for your help i really appreciate it!!
at least 2 weeks which is how long it would last when i would buy vendor juice...the store told me the ratio was 20/80. so i would make a batch and compare the viscosity of my batch and vendor batch. my batch looked like glue when the vendors looked like 50/50 or even higher in PG. so than i would make a 50/50 batch and the viscosity looked quite similar. but i didnt even get close to the amount of vapor out of my batch compared to the vendors batch. which led me into thinning VG. in hopes of getting that vapor production back. i could get the viscosity of the vendors with thinning but of course vapor production would diminish with more of what you added to thin
High pg won't give you clouds, but neither will thinning your vg, or having too thick a liquid which doesn't wick at all.
Instead, try a 75/25 or 80/20 high pg ratio with around 10% flavoring. See how it does ya.
Pg will give more "throat hit" which to some is experienced as a harshness. Try lowering the nic a bit if that is he case. In order to make this experiment worth your time, do 10-20ml at a time and document and label everything.
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Instead, try a 75/25 or 80/20 high pg ratio with around 10% flavoring. See how it does ya.
Pg will give more "throat hit" which to some is experienced as a harshness. Try lowering the nic a bit if that is he case. In order to make this experiment worth your time, do 10-20ml at a time and document and label everything.
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thank you all so much for all of your help you all have been awesome!! right now im vaping 50/50 with 5% strawberry at 15mg nic and it is just so pleasant. with a new coil of course. i barely have to hit it to get a nice vape. and my coils should last longer than a couple days and that is gonna be great. i told my fiance im gonna make another batch with a higher pg ratio and she gave me a look and told me its not broken so dont fix it haha! ill just have to make a little batch on the side to test for me. i cant help it im a mad scientist and i need to mix! lol!! thank you all so much again for all of your help i couldnt be more grateful. also i do have a similar question...for people who are cloud chasing and of course have the tank and mod and coil to do so do they use a 50/50 blend or higher in pg and use a lot of watts to get that huge cloud? and im sure a small amount of nicotine if any at all. what is there pg/vg ratio and blends or what is yours? thank you again for all of your help!
I think OP's situation has been more or less resolved, but I will add this: Unflavored (straight VG) will gunk up coils given enough time/how much you vape in that time.
Not sure what it is that does it exactly, but it still happens, with or without nicotine added.
Not sure what it is that does it exactly, but it still happens, with or without nicotine added.
I mix mine 70/30 with no wicking problems and 2-3 weeks on a stock coil on the TFV4 and the Subtank Mini of course I am subohming coil resistances from .13 to .5 at 30 to 80 watts. Higher wattages will keep your coils from gunking up but with your coils being 1.8 ohm your best bet is to lower the VG and amp up your wattage a bit. On my RDA I get a lot longer coil life and just have to re-wick
I have to agree with higher wattage keeping coils from getting gunked up. My liquid is 30/70 pg/vg and my wick is on the second week. I do add a little flavoring to my juice as well. I'm using a kfl+ with a 1.9 coil and 2.5mm id with cotton bacon at 14 watts and I chain vape all day long. Flavor is great and coil cleaning/ wick replacement is minimal maintenance at this point. ymmv, good luck.
I have used the same setup and it is my experience that the coil life even 50/50 is about right. 4-5 days. I have the same issue with my RBA. Constantly cleaning coils every time I re-wick.
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