HELP! Constant Burnt Flavor and Low Vapor Production

[karz25]

I am getting very frustrated.

i recently upgraded from a generic variable voltage to the Sentinel m16 clone from hcigar. on both of these devices i used the igo w3 rda. on my old device i would build a micro coil. wick it, and vape just fine. Plenty of vapor/ good flavor. But with the same set up on the m16 its a whole different story.
Im building the exact same way i was before. Same wire, same wick, same juice. But every time i rebuild it i get a burnt flavor within the first hit, and very little vapor. nothing has changed but the mod. im using 28ga kanthal, and 2mm sillica wick. im wrapping the wire around a 2mm screwdriver and getting about .8 ohms.
When i first rebuild it, its horrible. drip between every hit, and burnt taste and little vapor. over the course of a couple days it gets slightly better. But never good. ive done my research and cant figure it out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[NORCALEX]

Do you know if your setup is vaping at the same wattage when using the sentinel instead of your VV battery? Could just be running a lot hotter and not wicking fast enough. Also, have you tried using cotton instead of silica for wicking? Most people I know prefer cotton and silica gives off a different taste and doesn't wick near as asll we cotton in my opinion.

 

[docspears]

I'm with norcalex. It sounds like your getting a better connection with the new mod. Also, if your switching to from a vv to a mech, all mech's put out 3.7 volts regularly, unless you have a kick in the device (chip to control wattage). 3.7v is a little high for a .8 ohm coil, when wicking with silica. I would definitely try using the cotton instead of silica. Silica, IMO, doesn't hold up to heat as well as cotton, and doesn't wick nearly as fast.

 

[happydave]

Silica, IMO, doesn't hold up to heat as well as cotton, and doesn't wick nearly as fast.

Amorphous Silica (the stuff we use for wick) can handle temperatures of 1000°C or more
some proprietary forms of Amorphous Silica can handle temps over 1600°C or more.
Kanthal (common heating coil wire) starts to glow at just over 400°C, and we all agree that vaping on a rig with the coils glowing is too hot.
prolonged temperatures of 150°C or more will decompose cotton.
150°C does pretty much nothing to Amorphous silica, besides cause it to contact a tiny bit. yes it will contract, not expand. Amorphous silica has a negative coefficient of thermal expansion.

"silica, IMO, doesn't hold up to heat as well as cotton"
Silica Wick will handle temperatures far greater than cotton.

"and doesn't wick nearly as fast"
this is correct, it has something do it with the organic compounds in the cotton interacting with the organic compounds in the wick.
cotton works really well for wicking up blood and other organic liquids. this is why they use it for wounds / surgery.
i asked the question, "why does cotton wick better than silica" to a PHD chemist a while back, i don't remember all of what was said but that is the just of it.

 

[dice57]

you have wicking issues. Wick is either to dense through coils, too loose or the juice channels are clogged. Keep messing with it till all is Vape Good. Least that's how I went about finding the right wick densities for different fibers. Just part of the learning curve. Other possible culprit is a bad coil wrap or two, hot spots.

 

[DoMortas]

One of my co-workers was having the exact same problem with his sentinel clone, he switched over to the ekowool braided cotton wicks and it stopped. So agreed with the above posters, sounds like a connection is better and wicking problem.

 

[edyle]

I am getting very frustrated.

i recently upgraded from a generic variable voltage to the Sentinel m16 clone from Hcigar. on both of these devices i used the igo w3 rda. on my old device i would build a micro coil. wick it, and vape just fine. Plenty of vapor/ good flavor. But with the same set up on the m16 its a whole different story.
Im building the exact same way i was before. Same wire, same wick, same juice. But every time i rebuild it i get a burnt flavor within the first hit, and very little vapor. nothing has changed but the mod. im using 28ga kanthal, and 2mm sillica wick. im wrapping the wire around a 2mm screwdriver and getting about .8 ohms.
When i first rebuild it, its horrible. drip between every hit, and burnt taste and little vapor. over the course of a couple days it gets slightly better. But never good. ive done my research and cant figure it out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You are vaping at higher power now.
On the 'generic variable voltage' battery you were using before, the power output was limited by the electronics.
By 'generic variable voltage' I assume you mean like an ego twist type battery; I'm guessing you might have gotton maybe up to 8 or 10 watts from that. Or maybe it was more like 6 to 8 watts.

Now with an 18650 battery with no electronics in between and maybe a 5 amp limit, you could be vaping at 20 watts.

 

[phanto]

I am getting very frustrated.

i recently upgraded from a generic variable voltage to the Sentinel m16 clone from Hcigar. on both of these devices i used the igo w3 rda. on my old device i would build a micro coil. wick it, and vape just fine. Plenty of vapor/ good flavor. But with the same set up on the m16 its a whole different story.
Im building the exact same way i was before. Same wire, same wick, same juice. But every time i rebuild it i get a burnt flavor within the first hit, and very little vapor. nothing has changed but the mod. im using 28ga kanthal, and 2mm sillica wick. im wrapping the wire around a 2mm screwdriver and getting about .8 ohms.
When i first rebuild it, its horrible. drip between every hit, and burnt taste and little vapor. over the course of a couple days it gets slightly better. But never good. ive done my research and cant figure it out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Seems unlikely to be anything to do with the device. Do you still have the original one? If so try it again, then .... Having said that, what can go wrong with a dripping atty? There is a youtube review of your Sentinal device at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9qQXbXFqXc#t=656 and that guy sees a potential airflow problem with some atomizers because of the flat top and lack of air holes on the outer ring - maybe that is your problem. Good luck

 

[Manxsi]

I had a similar problem with a FT M16 and silica wick on a Russian clone. I started wicking with cotton and after a few failures it now vapes like a champ. I don't know the chemical head stuff but its cotton that works for me..

 

[Bunnykiller]

hmmm okayy... from a vv to a mech and at .8 ohms... Im amazed the vv even worked with a .8 ohm coil
you are getting lots more power to your coil and toasting the juice. consider going up on your ohms ( 1.8+), try cotton or double/triple fold the 2mm silica ( you need more wick dia.)