Help! DIY consistent fail. What am I doing wrong?

[d0g0]

TL;DR No matter what I do, my juice tastes "burnt" after 1 day.

I don't like flavors. So a while back I started "trying" to mix my own juice.
I ordered 100mg/ml nic salt juice, PG, and VG from NudeNicotine.

I was using a Vaporesso Renova Zero pod system.

I started with

• 10 ml of the 100mg nic salt base
• 10 ml VG
• 10 ml PG

Mixed in this:

I shook it up, let the bubbles settle, and then vaped.

All was good for maybe half a day or a day, but soon enough my hits would taste like burnt cotton/burnt coil. And the clear liquid would start to turn brown.

So I tried the non-ceramic "mesh" coils for the Zero. Same result.

Then I tried experimenting with almost every possible recipe from 80:20 to 20:80 PG:VG. Same result.

I tried adding distilled water in various quantities. Same result.

I burnt through dozens of pods in the process.

Exasperated, I bought some pre-made juice from local shop. (Cucumber, as it's the only flavor I can stand. Not sure what ratio; it doesn't say. But feels like 50:50.)

For whatever reason, with this stuff my pods lasted for a few days!

I thought maybe it was my ingredients, so I ordered new ones from PerfectVape:

Same result.

Finally, I switched (3 days ago) to an Innokin Sceptre. (Thanks to member of this forum for the recommendation, it's a nice device.)

But Same bloody result!

Tried both 1.2Ω and 0.5Ω coils that came with it. Same result!

WHAT IN GOD'S NAME AM I DOING WRONG??? HELP!!! SOS!!

Thanks for listening.

 

[mcduffy]

How much of your DIY juice are you going through before the coil goes bad? How much of the Cucumber juice did you go through over those few days?

 

[Superuser187]

This doesn't make sence and I am sure we are missing something here.....hmmm
Every variable has being changed...the ingredients the VG PG percentages and even the device....and still same dry hits???
Maybe u didn't prime the new coils good with your diy juice before u vape it but u did prime the coil only with the store bought juice???
Just saying...I can't think of something...
Maybe you are tooo excited tasting your own made juice and chainvape the hell out of it?

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

You may have demons in your home who don't want you mixing your own juice.

That's all I got.

 

[charlie1465]

Vaping to higher wattage for the coil???

 

[d0g0]

How much of your DIY juice are you going through before the coil goes bad? How much of the Cucumber juice did you go through over those few days?

The nasty taste would start after about half a Zero pod, which is 2ml.

With the cuke juice, I refilled about 4 or 5 times before it went bad.

 

[d0g0]

Maybe u didn't prime the new coils good with your diy juice before u vape it but u did prime the coil only with the store bought juice???
Maybe you are tooo excited tasting your own made juice and chainvape the hell out of it?

Ha. I definitely let my juice soak for ½ hr or more a few times to make sure.

You may have demons in your home who don't want you mixing your own juice.

That's what I'm starting to believe.

Vaping to higher wattage for the coil???

Sorry I don't even know what that means ...

 

[charlie1465]

Sorry I don't even know what that means .

If your coils say 0.5 ohms and you're vaping it at 75 watts you're going to scorch the cotton very quickly and then it'll taste yuk. Always good advice us to start low and gently increase your wattage until the vape tastes and feels good for you

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

If your coils say 0.5 ohms and you're vaping it at 75 watts you're going to scorch the cotton very quickly and then it'll taste yuk. Always good advice us to start low and gently increase your wattage until the vape tastes and feels good for you

The renovo zero pod system does not output 75 watts. Only 3 fixed (user selected) wattage outputs:

• Green=High (12.5W)
• Blue=Medium (10.5W)
• Red=Low (9W).

It adjusts it's output voltage according to the resistance of the coil in order to achieve one of the 3 wattage outputs above - no more, no less. The Renovo Zero is a 650mah battery so at 75W it would have to be charged so frequently that it would be impractical to even use it. You would only be able to take about 20-30 puffs on it before draining the battery, maybe even less.

Besides, the only way the Renovo Zero could achieve 75W on a 0.5 ohm coil is if it had a boost, which it does not. It only has a buck (step-down). So on a 0.5 ohm coil, and the pod set to 12.5W, it would step down it's voltage to 2.5 volts in order to achieve 12.5W output.

 

[charlie1465]

The renovo zero pod system does not output 75 watts. Only 3 fixed (user selected) wattage outputs:

• Green=High (12.5W)
• Blue=Medium (10.5W)
• Red=Low (9W).

It adjusts it's output voltage according to the resistance of the coil in order to achieve one of the 3 wattage outputs above - no more, no less. The Renovo Zero is a 650mah battery so at 75W it would have to be charged so frequently that it would be impractical to even use it. You would only be able to take about 20-30 puffs on it before draining the battery, maybe even less.

Besides, the only way the Renovo Zero could achieve 75W on a 0.5 ohm coil is if it had a boost, which it does not. It only has a buck (step-down). So on a 0.5 ohm coil, and the pod set to 12.5W, it would step down it's voltage to 2.5 volts in order to achieve 12.5W output.

As you can see I'm not a pod person....but my point still remains I bet he's burning the coil/cotton....or the coils/pods are just crap/bad batch

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

or the coils/pods are just crap/bad batch

That's my guess.

 

[d0g0]

That's my guess.

That's what I thought ... since I bought a "case" of pods for the Zero. And others have echoed that the Zero pods have bad QC.

Which is why I bought the Sceptre this weekend. And super bummed that it's doing the same thing.
I just popped in a new coil, added some water ... fingers crossed.

(And I'm running it at the "low" voltage setting.)

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

That's what I thought ... since I bought a "case" of pods for the Zero. And others have echoed that the Zero pods have bad QC.

Which is why I bought the Sceptre this weekend. And super bummed that it's doing the same thing.

Oh yes, I forgot you are getting the same problem on a completely different system.

Then I tried experimenting with almost every possible recipe from 80:20 to 20:80 PG:VG. Same result.

And being that you tried as thin as 80PG juice, my original diagnosis stands...
demons !

 

[PapawBrett]

I don't vape pods, and I don't vape high voltage...
Most of the higher voltage e-liquids I saw advertised by vendors were 3% nicotine (3mg/ml), not 30%.
Many DIY liquids (which I do) require more than ten minutes to steep. More like a week.
Vaping DIY e-liquids will require routine maintenance, don't know that a Pod system works well there.
Finally, Focusing on one flavor, and only one flavor, is a difficult task. Try several different flavors, find something you can enjoy while you continue to search for your "unicorn" flavor.
Just my opinions, worth what you paid for them.

 

[bnrkwest]

Make sure your coil is well juiced, could be you are drawing too hard on coil and drying it out causing burning. Is the cucumber 50/50 VG/PG?

 

[mcduffy]

Maybe there's a difference between the DIY salt nic and the salt nic that is used in commercial juice. Could you try DIY with freebase?

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

IMO water will just thin it more and cause it to burn easier. Maybe just mix up a new batch but this time use only nic and vg. Do not add anything else and make sure the coil is completely saturated before vaping even if you have to put a couple of drops directly onto the coil itself.
Also, if you are vaping hit after hit in rapid pulls you are not allowing the coil to pull enough ejuice to be fully saturated. Take a long draw, then pause for a few seconds giving the juice time to re-saturated the coil. And if this is what you are doing you will never be satisfied with a pod device. You would need something much stronger to give you the kind of vape you are looking for.

 

[d0g0]

IMO water will just thin it more and cause it to burn easier. Maybe just mix up a new batch but this time use only nic and vg. Do not add anything else and make sure the coil is completely saturated before vaping even if you have to put a couple of drops directly onto the coil itself.

OK, I will try that! I thought VG, being thicker, would lead to less "flow" ... but you're making me think that thicker could lead to better saturation...

Make sure your coil is well juiced, could be you are drawing too hard on coil and drying it out causing burning. Is the cucumber 50/50 VG/PG?

I drip directly on the coil, and then let it soak for a bit ... I don't think I draw very hard. Not sure what the cuke was, but tastes like 50/50. Doesn't say on the label.

Maybe there's a difference between the DIY salt nic and the salt nic that is used in commercial juice. Could you try DIY with freebase?

What is "freebase"?

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

OK, I will try that! I thought VG, being thicker, would lead to less "flow" ... but you're making me think that thicker could lead to better saturation...


I drip directly on the coil, and then let it soak for a bit ... I don't think I draw very hard. Not sure what the cuke was, but tastes like 50/50. Doesn't say on the label.


What is "freebase"?

Kind of.....not really less flow but not as easy to dry out, if that makes sense.

Freebase nic is the 'other' nic....not salts. lol

 

[Hawise]

I don't vape pods, and I don't vape high voltage...
Most of the higher voltage e-liquids I saw advertised by vendors were 3% nicotine (3mg/ml), not 30%.

Just to clarify, pure nic is 1000 mg/ml, meaning that 3% is 30 mg/ml, not 3 mg/ml. 30 mg/ml (or the 33 mg/ml the OP is using) is high, but it's not too unusual for pods.

@d0g0, I noticed that the cucumber juice is actually stronger - it says 50 mg, which presumably means 50 mg/ml or 5%. That might result in you vaping more when you're using your DIY juice at 33 mg/ml. Have you tried 50 mg/ml with the DIY?

I drip directly on the coil, and then let it soak for a bit ... I don't think I draw very hard. Not sure what the cuke was, but tastes like 50/50. Doesn't say on the label.

I'd suggest letting the filled pod sit for 10 - 15 minutes before you vape anyway. It can take time for the juice to work its way through the wick, especially with a new coil.