Either all my attys are dead or something weird is going on

[RollTheBones]

ARG! So I have about 6 attys, all 510s (supposedly genuine Joye). The oldest is about six months old, the newer ones are only a couple of weeks.

Over the past week or so every_single_one of them just taste wrong. No matter what juice i put in they have

1) really weak resistance, I dont mean like a LR atty but its like the difference between smoking a regular cig and an ultra-ultra-ultra light. If that makes sense, like I have to exert more pressure to get anything.

2) a really foul, burnt sort of taste. Almost like the primer fluid when they are new but not quite. I have been doing the rubbing alcohol thing to clean them and even tried the warm water + dry burn

Sometimes I get a couple good hits with fresh juice but it goes away really quickly, and I end up flooding them because they taste like there is no juice at all. Dry out, rinse, repeat

Am I just looking at a bunch of attys past their prime or what? Note that I am well aqquainted with the taste bug, where everything starts to taste like dust. This is a whole different animal and its driving me bonkers. Not to mention that I am smoking more analogs now because of it.

 

[OB1J3D1]

During dry burn do you see the coil glowing? If so it probably isn't "dead". Unsure why you need to "exert more pressure".

For the taste thing, I understand that the rinsing and dry burning does "burn off" stuff collected on the coil. But, when it burns off you need to rinse off what you burned or it will taste - burned.

I assume you tried blowing it out...

 

[RollTheBones]

During dry burn do you see the coil glowing? If so it probably isn't "dead". Unsure why you need to "exert more pressure".

For the taste thing, I understand that the rinsing and dry burning does "burn off" stuff collected on the coil. But, when it burns off you need to rinse off what you burned or it will taste - burned.

I assume you tried blowing it out...

The "more pressure" thing is hard to explain. It just feels different than it used to, like the vapor is not heading out of the chamber as efficiently as it once did. Or something. No matter what juice I use, the first couple hits are ok. After that I get this really caustic, nasty metallic kind of taste. It's almost nauseating. If I had experienced that from the beginning I would have laughed and thrown it out the nearest window.

As far as the dry burn yea, all of these attys still glow when I do that.

Tried blowing right along with everything else....out of ideas here.

 

[Airbrusher]

Hi Roll,

I assume you drip. I just got my 510 a couple of days ago but in my inexperience (not saying you are...) I flooded my atty a few times. I blew it out on tissue and dunked it in alcohol then rinsed it well under the tap and let it air dry over night. It works like the first day I have it now. During cleaning I notice gunked up juice I never even saw coming out. I hope my experience gies ya help.

AB

 

[Liv2Ski]

RtB - Did you change juice or juice vendors? I know you stated you have tried different juices but, maybe you are used to a certain pg/vg ratio and that may have changed??? If you have tried your atty collection on different batts that is really all I can think of. A higher vg juice does not transmit flavor as well and you get more vapor but less TH.

What type of batts are you using? You could try to align the holes on the atty with the vent slots on the batt connector. I know sometimes if I screw a 510 on too tight its like sucking a thick milkshake through a straw.

 

[RollTheBones]

Hi Roll,

I assume you drip. I just got my 510 a couple of days ago but in my inexperience (not saying you are...)
AB

Oh yea, didnt mention that. Dripping is all I do anymore, don't bother with cartos or cartridges.

RtB - Did you change juice or juice vendors? I know you stated you have tried different juices but, maybe you are used to a certain pg/vg ratio and that may have changed??? If you have tried your atty collection on different batts that is really all I can think of. A higher vg juice does not transmit flavor as well and you get more vapor but less TH.

What type of batts are you using? You could try to align the holes on the atty with the vent slots on the batt connector. I know sometimes if I screw a 510 on too tight its like sucking a thick milkshake through a straw.

Hi,

I use FreedomSmokeUSA juices pretty much exclusively now, no major changes there. Doesnt matter which juice that I use, they all taste fine for a hit or two then go into that nasty metallic taste.


Am using eGo batteries, didnt think of trying my old 510 batts.

 

[silkakc]

If you are a dripper only, you can remove the wicks- the white plasticy threads under the bridge. I had a horrible taste with one atty and removed the wick and it fixed it. They were blackened and burned up in one spot on the wick upon inspection.

I don't know how to test the attys but you can search here for the info. It's in the atty sub forum and you use a Ohm meter.


Lori

 

[RollTheBones]

If you are a dripper only, you can remove the wicks- the white plasticy threads under the bridge. I had a horrible taste with one atty and removed the wick and it fixed it. They were blackened and burned up in one spot on the wick upon inspection.

I don't know how to test the attys but you can search here for the info. It's in the atty sub forum and you use a Ohm meter.


Lori

Ya know I have not noticed this sort of thing since I started doing the dry burn, I wonder if I burned up all my wicks?

Will look into taking the wick out, I saw a video on that and was intrigued. Now I may have a reason to pursue it

 

[upStomp]

Yup...it could absolutely be the wick. This happened to the first atty I ever had. After 2 weeks it just started tasting really nasty. Removal of the wick solved it for me, and that atty is still running (3 months later, used seldom). I also removed the bridge, so it's not the biggest vapor producer (I believe it's a 3.2 Ohm, running on an eGo and 5V PT) anymore, but it still serves in a pinch.

My understanding is that it's not really the wick that's burnt, but the concentrated flavorings and colorings that have burnt onto the wick. Prevention may be key here. In the future, try cleaning on a regular basis using any one of the recommended procedures you'll find on ECF. For me, vapor production drops without a wick, and drops even more dramatically without the bridge. You may want to keep your atty whole as long as possible.

 

[RollTheBones]

Wow good call guys, I finally got around to pulling the wick out of one of these and BINGO! Back to good taste. It was all dark and nasty looking. I ended up taking them out of the others too and it's like they have a new lease on life

Weeeeee

So far have not noticed a drop in vapor, only a drop in nasty taste