Horrible headache/sore throat from one hit...

[deadpenguins]

I recently switched to RDAs and have been using a magma with single coil, 30g kanthal at 2.2 ohm 3.7V. I vape exclusively at 3mg nic. I cannot seem to figure out why, but I am almost instantly getting a massive headache and wake up with a phlegmy, burning sore throat. I have tried cleaning the rda multiple times, switching to organic japanese cotton, rebuilding, and max VG. Rebuilding seems to work for a few hits, and then instant headache again. If I use my old set up (a large mah battery with nano tanks) I can vape for hours with no problem, but one hit from this magma gives me an incredibly painful throbbing on the top of my head. I'm also getting this crazy throat irritation, like almost a chemical burn, but that takes a few hits to set in. This has been weeks of me troubleshooting with no permanent success . I'm almost at the point of just buying a new rda to see if that's the problem, because I don't know what else to do. Does anyone have any ideas? Also, could someone recommend a good, cheap, noob friendly RDA that's comparable to the magma for me to try? Thanks guys!

EDIT: I've been hearing good things about the vertex v2, and I can get it for 11 bucks at angelcigs. Do you guys recommend this RDA?

 

[AndriaD]

You said you cleaned it multiple times... did you by any chance ever boil it? Sometimes if there is machine oil, soap and water won't quite get it; I had that problem with one of my kayfuns, but boiling finally fixed it.

The thing about the chemical burn reminds me of what I experienced when I used 90% PG (though I can use 85% just fine!), but you said you're using max VG, which leads me to ponder perhaps a VG allergy? Having never experienced it before is no indication that it's not an allergy; you have to be sensitized to a substance in order for allergy to occur. It's hard to imagine that cotton could cause this, but I suppose that's possible; what was the vape like? Fine, or burnt-tasting, anything odd? Have you tried different juices, to see if any one is worse than others?

Andria

 

[thatyellowjeepguy]

That sounds terrible...I agree with the boiling method though completely!

 

[deadpenguins]

The taste is not necessarily bad, but TBH I get much more flavor out of my tanks than I do with the magma. I wouldn't say it tastes burnt, but just more airy (I've tried all the air hole configurations, none get the results from the tanks). I have tried many juices of varying vg/pg (50/50, 70/30, max vg) that I know to work great on the other setup, and they all cause the headache. I'm almost certain this is something build/mod related. Strangely enough, taking off the drip tip seems to possibly have reduced the irritation. Hard to tell cause I already have the headache from vaping it before, lol. I have not tried boiling the RDA. I've only used hot faucet water and a toothbrush. I am going to try boiling it now and see what my results are. Good suggestion, I hope it works!

 

[AndriaD]

Yeah, it just might be some stubborn machine oil, if you're not getting good flavor with a magma. With my kayfun, the taste just kept being anywhere from not-right to plumb-disgusting; after boiling for 15 minutes, then rinsing VERY thoroughly... the taste was just fine, just what I'd expect it to be.

This may be a long shot, but there have occasionally been times that I just could not get good flavor from a coil, no matter what I did to it. When I'd finally get fed up with it and just replace the coil... it was like magic, instantly the thing would behave and vape just like it oughta. *shrug* Sometimes it seems like you just have to hold your mouth right or something. Spin around and holler abracadabra!

Andria

 

[deadpenguins]

YOU ARE MY ....ING HERO! Boiling, soaking in dish soap, rinsing, and boiling again (I had to make this one count LOL) is giving me a much fresher tasting vape. I still have my headache from before, but I'm not getting the slight headache surge I was getting from each hit, so I have a strong feeling that when I vape this after my headache is gone, I should be good to go! You have no idea how happy you made me. I can finally vape again! Weirdly enough, it didn't feel as good when I put the drip tip back on, so I just ordered a new carbon fiber one and I'm tossing this one out. THANK YOU ANDRIA!!!!

 

[edyle]

so.......... machine oil and the metal drip tip.

 

[AndriaD]

YOU ARE MY ....ING HERO! Boiling, soaking in dish soap, rinsing, and boiling again (I had to make this one count LOL) is giving me a much fresher tasting vape. I still have my headache from before, but I'm not getting the slight headache surge I was getting from each hit, so I have a strong feeling that when I vape this after my headache is gone, I should be good to go! You have no idea how happy you made me. I can finally vape again! Weirdly enough, it didn't feel as good when I put the drip tip back on, so I just ordered a new carbon fiber one and I'm tossing this one out. THANK YOU ANDRIA!!!!

I felt exactly like that, the first night I had something other than a cigalike -- an iTaste vv3 and a T3S... and after I refilled it, it WOULD NOT fire... some lovely helpful person informed me that I needed to make sure the coil was really tightened into the base -- instant fix!


Andria

 

[Signmaker]

6 watts is pretty low to run a Magma. Before you go nuts buying another atty, I'd build another coil and try it as a dual. It would help that airy/low flavor problem for sure.

Another problem might be machine oil on your A1 wire. When you build/clean, do you run them under water when hot? I've gotten batches of wire that were lousy with a thin cat of oil on them.

 

[duc916]

TBH I get much more flavor out of my tanks than I do with the magma.

This is normal. Flavor is indirectly proportional to chamber volume.
"Flavor chasing RDA's" are an oxymoron, like "jumbo shrimp". My RDA's are strictly for sampling, or burning off juices that aren't worthy of a tank load. Some people convince themselves that RDA's taste better, most likely because their wicking skills suck.

 

[AndriaD]

This is normal. Flavor is indirectly proportional to chamber volume.
"Flavor chasing RDA's" are an oxymoron, like "jumbo shrimp". My RDA's are strictly for sampling, or burning off juices that aren't worthy of a tank load. Some people convince themselves that RDA's taste better, most likely because their wicking skills suck.

Not at all. The magma and kayfun, if coiled the same, produce pretty much an identical vape; the magma may feel hotter on the lips, because there's no chimney to keep your mouth at a distance from the coil. But the *quality* is very, very similar.

Andria

 

[edyle]

Not at all. The magma and kayfun, if coiled the same, produce pretty much an identical vape; the magma may feel hotter on the lips, because there's no chimney to keep your mouth at a distance from the coil. But the *quality* is very, very similar.

Andria

My 30mm magma tastes a lot different from my 22mm magma with the same coil.

 

[AndriaD]

My 30mm magma tastes a lot different from my 22mm magma with the same coil.

Not surprising, since the chamber is so much larger, but the 22mm magma's dome-shaped chamber produces a vape that's VERY VERY similar to what I get from my kayfuns.

Andria

 

[duc916]

Not at all. The magma and kayfun, if coiled the same, produce pretty much an identical vape; the magma may feel hotter on the lips, because there's no chimney to keep your mouth at a distance from the coil. But the *quality* is very, very similar.

Andria

But you're mouth to lung, right?
I'd suspect everything tastes the same on an MTL vape. You guys use air holes that aren't visible to the naked eye.

 

[deadpenguins]

6 watts is pretty low to run a Magma. Before you go nuts buying another atty, I'd build another coil and try it as a dual. It would help that airy/low flavor problem for sure.

Another problem might be machine oil on your A1 wire. When you build/clean, do you run them under water when hot? I've gotten batches of wire that were lousy with a thin cat of oil on them.

If I increase my V/W, I tend to get an even more watery/airy vape, with very little flavor. This RDA is already vaping my juice at an alarmingly faster rate than my tanks did, and even this much vapor at 3mg is a lot for me, so I have no plans on building anything that will produce more.

 

[Ryedan]

This is normal. Flavor is indirectly proportional to chamber volume.
"Flavor chasing RDA's" are an oxymoron, like "jumbo shrimp". My RDA's are strictly for sampling, or burning off juices that aren't worthy of a tank load. Some people convince themselves that RDA's taste better, most likely because their wicking skills suck.

Ahh, no. My favorite rda, the Cyclone from Vicious Ant, has a chamber diameter of a bit less than 13mm and with small air holes and dual coils is a flavor beast. With a second cap with bigger air holes it runs at 45 watts and does a very respectable all around vape.

What really surprises me is the amount of flavor I can get from a Mutation X. It's not a Kayfun, but if set up right the flavor is surprisingly good from something I thought would be only good for cloud chasing.

 

[Ryedan]

But you're mouth to lung, right?
I'd suspect everything tastes the same on an MTL vape. You guys use air holes that aren't visible to the naked eye.

No again. There is a significant difference in the vape experience between different MTL hardware and setups. I get the feeling you have little experience with this stuff

 

[duc916]

I spent enough time with Kayfuns to know I belonged in the realm of lung hits. So yeah, little experience with MTL vapes unless I include the two years I spent wasting money on Protanks.

 

[deadpenguins]

Wahhhh.. Headache isn't gone like I thought it was. I even tried boiling again and starting a new build from scratch, 2.2 ohm single again.. Tried a new juice that just came in, vapor production and flavor is solid, but getting a headache after a few huts. I ordered a vertex v2 rda for 10 bucks , I just need to rule out if this is something inherent to this rda or if my brain just hates rdas in general. If I still have a problem in switching to a higher end tank than my crappy $2 nanos

 

[AndriaD]

At this point then, I'd suggest going back to what you used before the magma, and see if the problem persists, because it really might be an allergy to PG or VG or something in the flavors. Start eliminating things one at a time. If going back to your old atty doesn't fix your problem, eliminate something else. If it does fix the problem, then you might try another RDA and see what happens.

Andria