Hmmm... discolored Kanger stock OCC head; anyone seen this before?

[ddirtyvapes]

So yeah, this is a first. I can barely explain just what it looks like which is why I'm attaching a photo, but two sides of my OCC have become rather discolored. It's making me a little nervous but fortunately this head is about due for replacement. I have a couple of guesses as to what's causing it, but I'm not sure.

It's a little strange to me that it's only on two sides, and not at all on the sides of the head where the wicking holes are drilled out. The wick is a bit gunky and dark (again, almost time to replace) but I've checked the insulators and everything else I can check on the head and nothing else is obviously different than it should be. I also checked all of my other OCC heads both in and out of packaging and none look like this.

I've been using DIY Pineapple juice in the tank for a while and I know TFA Pineapple especially can be hard on rubber but this isn't rubber so IDK. Very weird.

Any thoughts on this frankly unsettling issue would be super appreciated.

 

[stevegmu]

Looks like metal around an electronic weld. Probably just the start of rust, however. Kanger stuff has a tendency to rust...

 

[Cloudmann]

Nope... That's the acidity in the pineapple juice eating the nickel plating off of the coil housing... you can see the brass underneath. Nothing to worry about if it's taken this long to happen and the coil is due for replacement anyhow.

 

[ddirtyvapes]

Nope... That's the acidity in the pineapple juice eating the nickel plating off of the coil housing... you can see the brass underneath. Nothing to worry about if it's taken this long to happen and the coil is due for replacement anyhow.

This was my first thought, too. I wasn't totally comfortable that this was the problem without double checking as I've put many mLs of other Pineapple-heavy (or otherwise high acidity) juices through OCCs without issue but this is the first time I've used a single-flavor Pineapple juice (+ Ethyl Maltol) for an extended period of time. I tossed the coil after taking the photo and have installed a new one with a less destructive juice. Thanks!

That said, if anyone else feels like this isn't the problem, be my guest. I think it's likely that's all it is, but as always I'm all ears.

 

[David Wolf]

This was my first thought, too. I wasn't totally comfortable that this was the problem without double checking as I've put many mLs of other Pineapple-heavy (or otherwise high acidity) juices through OCCs without issue but this is the first time I've used a single-flavor Pineapple juice (+ Ethyl Maltol) for an extended period of time. I tossed the coil after taking the photo and have installed a new one with a less destructive juice. Thanks!

That said, if anyone else feels like this isn't the problem, be my guest. I think it's likely that's all it is, but as always I'm all ears.

If nickel was being etched off, then you would be vaping it... that would worry me if that were the case. But I don't think that is the case, it looks like heat discoloration to me. If it were nickel being eaten away by the acidic juice, it would be on all sides, not just those two. The reason why only those two sides appear discolored could be explained by the fact that the sides with the wick holes are cooled more by the juice as it enters those sides. My theory, and I'm sticking with it until proven wrong. haha

 

[ddirtyvapes]

If nickel was being etched off, then you would be vaping it... that would worry me if that were the case. But I don't think that is the case, it looks like heat discoloration to me. If it were nickel being eaten away by the acidic juice, it would be on all sides, not just those two. The reason why only those two sides appear discolored could be explained by the fact that the sides with the wick holes are cooled more by the juice as it enters those sides. My theory, and I'm sticking with it until proven wrong. haha

So then I guess the question is, how do you explain heat damage without the wicking material seeming too burnt up, all the insulating material *appearing* OK, etc.? I also really don't push the wattage toooooo much with the OCCs; this was a .5 ohm and I usually use it around 22W. I'm not at all saying you're incorrect. You may very well be right! I'm just playing devil's advocate

As far as I can tell, this basically popped up this morning and I don't remember seeing it last night. That doesn't mean it wasn't there, I just can't remember it jumping out at me and it was quite obvious this morning. I did fall asleep with my e-cig last night so maybe it fired a few times, making any heat damage worse? But that still doesn't explain why it still seemed to taste OK.

In any case, I was also quite worried about inhaling any metal particles that came off the head which is exactly why I tossed it ASAP!

 

[David Wolf]

So then I guess the question is, how do you explain heat damage without the wicking material seeming too burnt up, all the insulating material *appearing* OK, etc.? I also really don't push the wattage toooooo much with the OCCs; this was a .5 ohm and I usually use it around 22W. I'm not at all saying you're incorrect. You may very well be right! I'm just playing devil's advocate

As far as I can tell, this basically popped up this morning and I don't remember seeing it last night. That doesn't mean it wasn't there, I just can't remember it jumping out at me and it was quite obvious this morning. I did fall asleep with my e-cig last night so maybe it fired a few times, making any heat damage worse? But that still doesn't explain why it still seemed to taste OK.

In any case, I was also quite worried about inhaling any metal particles that came off the head which is exactly why I tossed it ASAP!

Well then you're a smart man for playing devil's advocate, I was merely telling you what it looked like to me from the picture, and gave a theory for heat induced discoloration. I would put the likely hood of me being right at i dunno, 30%? haha. I like that theory a lot better than the acidic juice favoring eating up only two sides of your coil though, those picky eaters . You saw it up close, so you are likely the best judge, did it look like metal plating being eaten away, or darkened like a torch thingie

 

[ddirtyvapes]

You saw it up close, so you are likely the best judge, did it look like metal plating being eaten away, or darkened like a torch thingie

I hear what you're saying and it does make sense that if it was the acid, it should have been eating away at more of the coil. Not to mention, as I said above, I enjoy a lot of higher-acidity juices and have never had this problem before. It wasn't even an overly old head, just old enough that I wouldn't really think twice about replacing it even without the issue. I think I put it in about a week ago?

Honestly, it didn't really look like either of those things to me. It sort of appeared in between heat damage and metal being eaten away. Granted, I'd be the first to admit that I might not be able to pick out either of those things by sight with high accuracy but I'm also not stoopid. It just didn't look super obviously like heat or acid damage. I probably should have held on to the coil for a bit longer... don't really feel like fishing it out of the trash... but I was just happy to get it out of the tank.

There's a chance that there was a tiny bit of discoloration on the sides with the wicking holes too, but if there was it was nothing like the two solid sides so your comments about selective acid-induced corrosion and how unlikely that would be still make sense.

I'm starting to think there was something a little bit wrong with the head in some way or another. I haven't had too many OCC duds really and even though it vaped fine, I was overdue for one with a problem...

 

[David Wolf]

I hear what you're saying and it does make sense that if it was the acid, it should have been eating away at more of the coil. Not to mention, as I said above, I enjoy a lot of higher-acidity juices and have never had this problem before. It wasn't even an overly old head, just old enough that I wouldn't really think twice about replacing it even without the issue. I think I put it in about a week ago?

Honestly, it didn't really look like either of those things to me. It sort of appeared in between heat damage and metal being eaten away. Granted, I'd be the first to admit that I might not be able to pick out either of those things by sight with high accuracy but I'm also not stoopid. It just didn't look super obviously like heat or acid damage. I probably should have held on to the coil for a bit longer... don't really feel like fishing it out of the trash... but I was just happy to get it out of the tank.

There's a chance that there was a tiny bit of discoloration on the sides with the wicking holes too, but if there was it was nothing like the two solid sides so your comments about selective acid-induced corrosion and how unlikely that would be still make sense.

I'm starting to think there was something a little bit wrong with the head in some way or another. I haven't had too many OCC duds really and even though it vaped fine, I was overdue for one with a problem...

Well without a thorough forensic examination, who knows, could be a combination of heat and chemical interaction. At least you know now, and can pay attention to your coils in the future. Definitely smart to replace that one, so yep, not stoopid haha