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

[BrotherBob]

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"?

This might help you:
https://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/wiki/frequently_asked_questions
Suggest you thoroughly read:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY_eJuice/comments/86od1l/faq_friday_single_flavor_testing_part_1/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY_eJuice/comments/8dsu5d/faq_friday_single_flavor_testing_part_2/

 

[Shadav]

sorry I didn't read all of the replies...so if it was already asked/stated, forgive me

but how long are you letting the tank sit after filling it?
if it's a new coil, you should let it sit filled for at least 10 minutes before taking your first vape...longer if you can is better...that way the wick gets fully saturated and you don't get those dry hits

do you chain vape? it could just be an issue with the wick not able to keep up and so it's getting dry

what percentage of vg and pg is your finally ejuice mix?
too much vg and the juice may be to thick to wick properly
too much pg and the juice may be to thin to wick properly
one of my fav juices back in the day was unicorn blood but that juice just would not wick properly, I'd have to sit there and twirl my mod around and around to get it to wick, in hindsight I believe it was because it was too high pg level so it was thin and watery(ish)

so if the juice seems to thin, maybe add more vg
if the juice seems to thick, maybe add more pg (if you don't want to add more pg due to throat hit, you can add a few drops of distilled water to the tank)

 

[Mordacai]

@d0g0, it could well be a combination of the Salt Nic and the coils.

That's what I think.

What's your opinion on a proper mod and tank? As that may be an option that could well resolve your issue.

 

[d0g0]

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.

Yeah, I've been letting it soak for 15+ mins, and dripping into the coil directly beforehand.

do you chain vape? it could just be an issue with the wick not able to keep up and so it's getting dry

what percentage of vg and pg is your finally ejuice mix?

I've tried everything from 80/20 to 20/80 (prefer 50/50)
Tried adding only pg, and only vg, and only water. Nothing works.

@d0g0, it could well be a combination of the Salt Nic and the coils.

What's your opinion on a proper mod and tank? As that may be an option that could well resolve your issue.

I'm having this with both the Zero and the Sceptre. Not sure what you mean about combination of salt & coil.

I considered a mod, but they're all way too big and bulky. Even the sceptre is too big for me.

Yesterday I tried just juice + VG (which means 75% VG) and got dry hits within a couple of hours.

Most of my mixes have been 50/50.

So frustrating .... I'll buy some premade juice today just to test. Hard to find unflavored.
I spent over $100 on this nic salt juice, feels like cash down the drain.

Maybe somebody wants me to send them 1 liter of 100mg nic salts?

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Don't just soak your coil. Instead, do some unpowered pulls. If your pods are auto draw, this will not work with the pod attached to the battery so do the unpowered pulls on the pod without the the pod attached to the battery. This will pull juice into the coil head.

After that, there is no other solution as far as I can see. You can buy all teh juice in the world but it's apparent it's not the juice. Unless you happen to have defective coil for both pod systems, this is unexplained. Demons.

 

[mcduffy]

I still suspect it's the salt nic that's the problem. Try mixing only PG and VG without adding any nic and see how long a coil lasts with that.

 

[Shadav]

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.

as for the other juice lasting 4 or 5 refills, that is probably about normal use
typically for me a coil will only last a week before I have to clean it or change it, sometimes less if I'm using a sweet or dark colored juice.
typically the sweeter the juice or the darker colored the faster it's going to gunk up a coil.

as long as you haven't actually burnt the wick you could soak the coils in water or alcohol over night then let them dry over night and you should be able to use them again.

but as far as only getting about half a tank before a dry hit, I'd still lean towards...are you chain vaping? the pods probably can not keep up with it...

 

[d0g0]

Don't just soak your coil. Instead, do some unpowered pulls.

I'll try that, thanks.

I still suspect it's the salt nic that's the problem. Try mixing only PG and VG without adding any nic and see how long a coil lasts with that.

That's a good idea -- to eliminate at least 1 variable. Thanks.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Admittedly I never vaped salt, but how could salt nic be the problem? Is salt nic known to not wick the same as freebase at the same viscosity?

 

[Shadav]

Admittedly I never vaped salt, but how could salt nic be the problem? Is salt nic known to not wick the same as freebase at the same viscosity?

not that I've ever noticed...
the only thing in question would be if the nic is in pg or vg and when mixing is that taken into account for the juices overall vg/pg ratio...

now if we were talking about a harshness, then yeah it could be a bad batch of nic
but wicking, eh not so much...

another question could be do we know what the actual wicking material is?
though chances are if these are mass produced there'd be a lot more complaints about them...and there again we are talking about 2 different systems, so meh...I don't know

if you've tried different pg and vg levels and still the same issue....I'm still inclined to lean more towards, are you chain vaping, and the pods just can't keep up with your style of vaping.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Another thing I can think of is maybe your pulls (draws) are too week. If you draw too soft, you won't allow juice to be pulled into the coil head and then wicked.

I used to have this problem way back in the day on clearomizers. Sometimes I would pull to weak and get burnt hits after not too long, then sometimes I would pull to hard causing flooding. Took me a while to figure out what the he|| was going on. But how hard you draw does matter on a tank (a pod is just a tank with a non-510 connection).

Also, I have read a few times that some pods have a wicking problem when you fill them too much. So if you are filling full, try filling only about maybe 3/4ths of the way (or maybe a little more but leave some air in the pod).

 

[YoursTruli]

One thought is it you take a dry hit and burn the wicking material the vapor will have a burnt taste from then on. No real recovery from a burnt wick no matter how much you saturate it afterwards.

 

[d0g0]

soak the coils in water or alcohol

FWIW ... I put 3 of the "bad" Sceptre coils in an alcohol bath for a few hours, and they look like new! The wire is clean and gleamy (no black junk) and the cotton looks nearly white. Letting them dry now.

But this also makes me wonder what's going on ... I would expect a "dry" hit to result in burning of the coil.

I can see my liquid go from clear to light brown as the flavor goes bad. It's almost like the liquid is burning, not the coil. I don't get it.

Still going to try the PG/VG without nic experiment.

Thanks everyone for trying to help me figure this out!

 

[vaper1960]

I hate mysteries (that's why I like helping others with issues) Anyway... going to watch a few videos on your devices first then offer advice. While I'm doing that, can you give me some more info? What device and juice did you vape before? How long have you vaped? Did you smoke before (and how much)?
Also... NEVER vape water! Yes, some people that have major issues with PG (most don't... maybe just irritates a bit) will mix a small bit of water (5 %... 10 % max) with just VG. Many things I want to mention but need to watch the videos first. BTW, others have offered very good advice and I am also confused... I won't give up until we find the solution

 

[Opinionated]

Deleted...

I'm confused then.

 

[mcduffy]

Both bottles of salt nic in OP's pics are 50/50.

 

[Opinionated]

Both bottles of salt nic in OP's pics are 50/50.

Well that's weird...

 

[vaper1960]

I'm back. Watched several videos on the Sceptre (seems like a decent pod setup... replaceable coils is good just like my Innokin Kroma Z that I love) Comes with two coils: MTL (1.2 ohm) and RDL (0.5 ohm mesh) Has adjustable airflow (that's totally up to your tastes but not enough airflow could be an issue with the 0.5 coil) 1.2 ohm coil should be fine closed down if you like. I agree about not filling pods all the way. Not sure it matters but a little airspace can help (and also helps prevent leaking) Auto draw is nice but be aware it can (rarely) fire when you aren't aware... I don't trust it so remove the pod when not using it. I like to turn devices off when charging (also don't know if that matters... I'm kind OCD with techno stuff) Going to check out the Zero but personally don't like those type of devices. Here's a few videos on the Sceptre:

 

[vaper1960]

Not very impressed with the zero (but I do like Vaporesso) I would have blamed it but since you have a sceptre, something else is going on. I do DIY but have only used "freebase" nic (not salt) Many others here do mix using salt nic and have no issues (as long as it's good quality) Fresh nic should be clear (or almost clear) BTW, store it in a freezer (or at least a fridge) Like mentioned... just to be sure, mix some VG and PG without nic and try that (after your test, you can still add nic later) So you prime the coil (for small pods I just fill the pod and let it sit for 20 minutes... never had issues) It does help (with the pod removed) to do a few "primer puffs" (draw air) the first time before using. You do relatively short draws and pause between draws? This helps keep the coil cool (and enough airflow like I said) Don't ever hit the fire button without drawing air (had a friend try my vape and he thought it just shot out vapor by itself... goodbye new coil) Once the coil (actually the wick material) gets scorched (burnt taste) it's toast... can't be saved. Alcohol is really only helpful for something like changing flavors and won't save a coil that's toast (I assume you meant ethanol... like vodka, don't use rubbing alcohol and let it completely dry overnight) Personally, I like around 65-70 VG (35-30 PG) but if you don't have leaking issues and PG doesn't bother you nothing wrong with 50/50 (I do have a very small pod I use that in) Hope you sort this out.

 

[d0g0]

What device and juice did you vape before? How long have you vaped? Did you smoke before (and how much)?

Smoked for decades, like 10 a day. Been vaping for like 4 years. Switched to pods & nic salts about 3 yrs ago. First one was Justfog Minifit ... then a crappy SMOK that leaked ... then the Renova Zero ... finally the Sceptre. Thinking of getting a SMOK Novo 4...

NEVER vape water!

Why is that?