I think I'm screwing up my 808's somehow.

[6CA7]

Hoping someone here might have some suggestions for me. All my 808's (batteries) have gradually started to taste really burnt and gross, with the oldest ones being the worst and the newer ones not far behind. This includes long. short, manual, automatic and even the new kr808dm1. The reason I think it is the batteries themselves is that I've tried to eliminate every possible factor one at a time and it just seems like this is the only thing left.

With brand new carts and liquid last week my newer batteries worked great and the old ones still tasted bad, especially the 808dm1, which was the first kit I bought. After a week nothing is feeling right on the newer batteries either. I feel like I've tried everything I can think of, including:

- testing every combination of cart, liquid and battery that I have, new and old

- cleaning the batteries as well as possible

- re-positioning the center pin like Drew from nhaler shows in one of his videos

- filling carts with different methods

- using specific carts with specific liquids and not mixing them up

What the heck is going on?! Did I mess up my batteries somehow? I'm open to any suggestions anyone has - I haven't really seen anyone else ever complain about something similar to this on the forums. When I first got my 808dm1 kit I can remember not wanting to go to sleep at night so I could stay up and vape for 5 more minutes, I loved it so much! Now I can barely vape for 2 minutes before I have to put it down in disgust, with a slightly irritated throat on top of that. I was up to 3 packs a day this past summer and I'm now at 7 days without a cigarette. I gotta get this figured out.

Also, sorry for the long post

 

[Shilo]

How long have you had/used the batteries and from what suppliers? The reason I ask is some of them have 90 day warranties. If you've had them 6 months or more they've probably gone bad or maybe the charger is not compataible for some of them?

 

[6CA7]

Thanks for the reply. They're all less than 90 days old, from nhaler. They definitely still charge fine and hold their charge for the same amount of time they always have, just taste bad. So weird.

Something I thought of last night was maybe I'm slowly developing an allergy or something. That could explain why it seems like the gross burnt taste won't go away no matter what carts, bats and liquid I'm using.

Anyone else have any thoughts on that or the bad taste in general?

 

[Princessdee]

I'm thinking it can't possibly be the batteries. All they do is power the atomization of the cartos.

If you're re-using (refilling) cartos, once that burnt taste is in there, there's nothing you can do but throw it out. Cleaning won't help.
If you're not and you're only using pre-filled or filling your own blanks, perhaps you're letting them get too dry before re-filling, resulting in the burnt taste.

Take a brand new carto, fill it up and let it set 15-20 minutes. In the meantime brush your teeth and tongue and hold and swish some gentle mouthwash. Clean out your nose with a neti pot with a teaspoon of mouthwash added to the water.

Top off the carto.

Try that.

Add a few drops to the carto every hour or so to make it slushy.

Don't forget to check back in and let us know if that helped or if you need more help.

 

[FantWriter]

I agree in all ways with Princessdee except for:

Clean out your nose with a neti pot with a teaspoon of mouthwash added to the water.

Don't ever use a neti pot! My doctor prescribed it.
The first time I used it, I got a migraine soon afterwards. I didn't attribute it to the np because I get them even when I'm not trying something new.
The second time, I also got a migraine soon afterwards, which was slightly unusual because I don't usually get them two days in a row.
The third time was also my last -- I got a migraine within exactly the same time frame after using it.

I understand some people have used them for years with no adverse effects at all, but in my book they're akin to pulling out your thumbnails.

 

[windwalker]

I'm sort of in line with Princessdee,
...there is a good chance you are getting your first dose of "I don't smoke anymore now things are starting to taste funny" . . .

Most people say, that once they give up analogs, they regain their sense of smell and taste pretty quickly, but then they realize that they had never even noticed they'd lost them!

The second aspect, as Princessdee also touched on in 'slushyness' - - - you really do want to make sure and use fresh, 'well wetted' cartos... They just perform so much better...

Now, here's the bit I'll add from personal experience:

1. Peach and Watermelon are excellent flavors during this phase. Something about the tartness takes away the oddness of the burning taste...

2. ECHO-E carto's from nhaler are really clean. They use a special coil composition and coil shield to prevent any burnt or metallic taste. I'd step up from the 808's to something with a little more punch to it. Grab an EGO or a RIVA and try the ECHO-E carts out on it. Very clean, and much more vapor.

3. Madvapes is now carrying a very lovely Dual Coil low resistance Tank for $11.95 from Smok Tech. It's a very very clean little add-on, and if you smoked three packs a day, there's a good chance you are going to want to step up to a low resistance tank sooner than later.

I found, for me, the key to staying off analogs was 'TONS OF VAPOR' - I was going through 5-6 of those tiny little 808 cartos per day until I stepped up to Low Resistence tanks... More vapor, more juice...

Good luck and Congrats on Making it through the first 7 days! You're already over the hard part, now we've just got to get you dialed in with the right combination that works for you... In no time, you'll find it 'better' than smoking!

 

[Princessdee]

I agree in all ways with Princessdee except for:



Don't ever use a neti pot! My doctor prescribed it.
The first time I used it, I got a migraine soon afterwards. I didn't attribute it to the np because I get them even when I'm not trying something new.
The second time, I also got a migraine soon afterwards, which was slightly unusual because I don't usually get them two days in a row.
The third time was also my last -- I got a migraine within exactly the same time frame after using it.

I understand some people have used them for years with no adverse effects at all, but in my book they're akin to pulling out your thumbnails.

OMG! I'm so sorry.
In a situation like this, I'd recommend just using a q-tip wetted with mouthwash to clean the "taste" out of yor nose.

I'm glad you narrowed it down and figured it out. Migranes are Hell on earth.

 

[Princessdee]

I'm sort of in line with Princessdee,
...there is a good chance you are getting your first dose of "I don't smoke anymore now things are starting to taste funny" . . .

Most people say, that once they give up analogs, they regain their sense of smell and taste pretty quickly, but then they realize that they had never even noticed they'd lost them!

The second aspect, as Princessdee also touched on in 'slushyness' - - - you really do want to make sure and use fresh, 'well wetted' cartos... They just perform so much better...

Now, here's the bit I'll add from personal experience:

1. Peach and Watermelon are excellent flavors during this phase. Something about the tartness takes away the oddness of the burning taste...

2. ECHO-E carto's from nhaler are really clean. They use a special coil composition and coil shield to prevent any burnt or metallic taste. I'd step up from the 808's to something with a little more punch to it. Grab an EGO or a RIVA and try the ECHO-E carts out on it. Very clean, and much more vapor.

3. Madvapes is now carrying a very lovely Dual Coil low resistance Tank for $11.95 from Smok Tech. It's a very very clean little add-on, and if you smoked three packs a day, there's a good chance you are going to want to step up to a low resistance tank sooner than later.

I found, for me, the key to staying off analogs was 'TONS OF VAPOR' - I was going through 5-6 of those tiny little 808 cartos per day until I stepped up to Low Resistence tanks... More vapor, more juice...

Good luck and Congrats on Making it through the first 7 days! You're already over the hard part, now we've just got to get you dialed in with the right combination that works for you... In no time, you'll find it 'better' than smoking!

Hubby used Red hot gum flavor to get thru these days and still, over 2 years later, it's his all day vape.

I agree with it all except that I don't like the hard draw of a DC carto. Now, Hubby loves them. I don't. It's a to each his own kinda thing in our house.

 

[6CA7]

Cool, thanks again guys. Here's a couple things I was thinking:

First, I don't think I explained the 'burnt taste' too well. It's a burnt taste but almost more of a throat thing, like the back of my throat is feeling really dry and gross and kind of irritated.

-It is very possible that I'm letting the carts get too dry before I refill them (I'm filling blanks myself). I'm definitely going to start paying more attention to this.

-As far as what windwalker said about re-gaining sense of taste and smell, I wonder if my throat is actually becoming a little more sensitive since it isn't getting bombarded with cigarettes all day anymore. I'm not totally sure yet, but it seems like the lower nic level liquids with less throat hit aren't irritating me as much.

-I don't really want to get into anything bigger or more complicated than 808's for the moment (although I have no doubt that I eventually will). The KR808-DM1 has really long battery life and holds 2 mil of liquid, makes tons of vapor, etc. These were working great for me when I got them and I only got the smaller 808's for when I'm out in public and I don't feel like calling attention to myself. Plus, if I'm not using the 808's correctly - the simplest e-cig around, then I should probably figure out what I'm doing wrong with those before I move up anything else!

I should be getting some new carts and new liquid tomorrow, so I'll start another round of tests to see if I can figure out what the heck is going on. I'll definitely start with what princessdee recommended first. Anyone have any other ideas or 'tests' they think might be worth trying out?

 

[keyzygirl]

You could be just detoxing and sometimes that gives you headaches and a sore throat,like a cold.It will pass if thats what it is.My suggestion is to make sure you keep your cartos wet and just keep trying.We all go through rough spots and days where nothing tastes right.DRINK More Water!!Its very important to keep yourself hydrated.

 

[windwalker]

First, I don't think I explained the 'burnt taste' too well. It's a burnt taste but almost more of a throat thing, like the back of my throat is feeling really dry and gross and kind of irritated.

Okay, that is a whole other story! Most likely you've got the classic 'Vapers Itch' that happens to most of us, and it's really easy to sort out...

What it is: 1. Polypropylene Glycol is a humectorant (Humectant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) which have a few somewhat odd properties. When placed on dry skin (face, hands, etc.) coupled to moisture, they hold moisture in and hydrate the skin. But without the requisite "added moisture" they can have the opposite effect and dry the skin out... In the throat, especially when you are just getting used to them, they can actually have both effects at the same time... Weird right? But what happens is, they can dry out some spots (like patches) and moisturize others depending on all sorts of subtle little things and statises I don't really understand...

But in essence, YOU NEED TO SUPER HYDRATE!!! Especially for the first few weeks.

Now, the second aspect to the 'Vapers Itch' is the fact that nicotine, in and of itself is a mild skin irritant. So, especially at first, the throat and lungs can become a little irritated by having the nicotine absorbed without the comfort of tar to ease the absorption.

So add the two together: Irritated Dry patches coupled with a Skin Irritant and you've got: "the back of my throat is feeling really dry and gross and kind of irritated" AKA. "The Vapers' Itch"

Now, as this polypropylene glycol is excreted , it has a tendency to be really dehydrating, so you need to SUPER HYDRATE until you get used to it.

But, what I discovered, is that the imbalances in the throat can be rapidly solved with a little Gatorade. I mix like 10 ounces of water with 2 ounces of Fruit Punch Gatorade and drink that all day long. The engineered Gatorade to restore balance to the electrolytes, it is actually more hydrating then water because of this - but something about those extra electrolytes seems to break up the 'patchy dryness' in a mater of seconds.

Not the full strength gatorade mind you, for me it's way too sweet... But when I mix it and dilute it way down, it cures the 'Vapers Itch' in my throat in a matter of seconds... WAY BETTER than water does...

Give it a try, a two dollar bottle of gatorade lasts half a week and makes all the difference in the world for me!

I mean literally, the irritation is often just superficial moisture imbalances and can be sorted out in a matter of seconds with the right electrolytes... I just happend to find that Gatorade works fast, cheap and easy!

 

[windwalker]

Also, I gotta echo what Keyzy is saying about the detox, most everyone gets some weird nonsense the first few weeks to a month as the body starts to dump all that tar out of the lungs and aldehydes out of the cells!

 

[JD1]

Sounds to me like wicking problems. That's one of the biggest problems the pv has to overcome imo, and the reason we have all the mods to show for it. From the early cart mods (blue foam, tea bag), to the tank systems, they're all trying to accomplish the same thing--feed juice to the coil to keep it moist but not flooded.

Some problems: Not all cartos are created equal from the factory. They can be packed too tight or too loose, or suffer other assembly line problems. If you get a bad one, there's not much you can do.

Most of them are going to meed specs tho, and for some great suggestion on using cartos successfully, look up some posts from dormouse.

Other solutions. We all try different things. I use attys and top coils, but I can still get a dry vape sometimes especially if I vape the topcoil too fast without turning it upside down and back up between vapes. It actually hurts the back of my throat when I do get a bad puff.

One thing you might want to try is a tank. Madvapes has one at a decent price, and here is a thread on how to make one. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...756-homemade-syringe-tank-mod-looks-easy.html

Hope this helps and happy vaping!

 

[calico21]

I find "pg only" juices very irritating to my throat if none of the above works and you are using 100% pg try adding a % of vg next juice order and see if that helps. (note-I am not allergic to it because i can use it at 80/20) just is much smoother.