Is it the vape or me? Newbie question

[NikkiJD]

So I've smoked for years and I'm brand new to vaping with a view to getting off the smokes. I just got my brand new vape yesterday.

I'm using an EGO AiO ECO, after seeing a review that it was a pretty good set up for a newbie. It's not a complicated system (no air control or anything to play with or adjust), pretty much a fill and go system. So I put a few drops of eliquid into the atomiser head, as the instructions advised, filled the tank and happily started vaping. Everything seemed as I expected. Next couple of times I reached for it.. still as expected.

Few hours after the first use (feeling like a pro now) I took a drag (is that still the term when vaping not smoking?) and it seemed like I was sucking on the bottle of ejuice instead of the vape! Bleurgh! This was not just taste, this was a syrupy sensation on my tongue instead of vapour. There's nothing to really play around with on the vape, so I played around with how I was using it... holding the fire button for longer or shorter periods before putting it to my mouth, adjusting the angle I'm holding it at when vaping, etc. The problem seemed to go away and I figured maybe it's a "breaking it in" sort of issue, because it's brand new.

Got up this morning and I'm back to this heavy, syrupy hit. I'm still running on what I filled the tank with yesterday, and haven't topped it up. Any advice? Is this normal? How can I avoid it?

 

[Baditude]

Sounds like your coil is "flooded". It's a pretty common occurance with newbies. The trick is to learn how to avoid flooding. My standard lecture:

"Flooding" is a common occurrence in e-cigarettes. The definition of flooding is getting juice into the air passage of the tank. This can include any point between the mouth piece and the very bottom part that connects to the battery. Each tank has holes in that air passage, where the wicks passthrough. This is required for the device to work properly. Unfortunately, this opens up the possibility for flooding. The trick with flooding, is knowing how to avoid it. I’ll explain a little more, but a few common causes for flooding a tank include: improper filling, over filling, pulling too hard when hitting the device, and the temperature can even play a role and/or damage.

Before I get into the explanation, let me explain how an e-cig works a little more in depth. Nearly every tank has a wick that is used to absorb the juice in the tank. This wick cuts through the air passage. Each wick has a piece of wire that wraps around it in a coil. When you activate the button on the battery, you send electricity through the wire. As the wire heats up, it vaporizes the juice that is in the wick.

("Dry" or "burnt" hits are also a common occurrence in e-cigarettes. This happens when an inadequate quantity of e-liquid reaches the coil. This can occur from using an e-liquid which is too thick for a coil, intake holes for the e-liquid being inadequate, or using a bad wick or coil. Doing "primer puffs", which is taking a puff or two without the power on, may eliminate this phenomenon.)


Causes of Flooding
Improper Filling: When filling your tank, you have to be careful not to get juice into the center tube (air chamber) of the tank. This center tube is the air passage. When you take a draw, air comes from the bottom of the tank, through the air passage and into your mouth. If you get juice into this passage way, your tank is flooded.

Over Filling: If you over fill a tank (specifically a top coil like the ones that come with the starter kits and gift boxes), the wicks can become over saturated and just like a rain cloud, they will leak into the air passage. Once this happens, you have a flooded tank. Always leave a small space of air when filling your tank.

Pulling Too Hard: Possibly the most common cause of flooding. As I mentioned the wicks absorb the juice in the tank. As you pull or puff on the device, you cause a vacuum effect that pulls juice into the wicks. If you pull too hard, you can pull in more juice then the coil can vaporize. If this happens, the unvaporized juice leaks into the air passage and you have a flooded tank. Learn to take a more gentle draw as you vape.

Temperature: E-Juice is a viscous liquid. Which means that as it warms up, it will thin out. And in the opposite form, it will thicken when it gets cold. When it thins, it is more difficult for the wicks to hold back the thin juice. This usually causes the wicks to over saturate and, you guessed it, it will leak into the air passage and you have a flooded tank.

Damage: There are o-rings and gaskets used that can wear out with usage. If certain ones fail or get lost, leaking will occur, in turn flooding the air passage and causing you to have a flooded tank. Other than accidentally losing something, damage can occur when its carried in a purse or a pocket or by over tightening the tank to the battery. Over tightening is a very common cause of leaking due to the damage it creates. A tiny crack in the glass tank can disrupt the inner pressure of the tank and cause flooding, too.

 

[Storm52]

Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your decision to quit cigarettes. Sounds like your coil is flooding. Ego or pen style devices suffer from lack of sufficient power to fire a coil on a continuous basis. The longer you use it between charges, the power the battery is able to deliver declines.

 

[Storm52]

Bad replied while I was typing and provided a far better job.

 

[NikkiJD]

Thank you so much. That is very helpful. I think I was possibly pulling too hard and causing flooding as you described. Particularly since it's a problem that was intermittent yesterday, and since reading your reply and watching the video you linked, it's better again today. I never really thought vaping would be so different from smoking.

I'm not sure that I will stick with the AiO ECO for long (just doesn't quite feel right to me, though it might grow on me). Are there models that you would recommend that are particularly good for avoiding flooding?

 

[Baditude]

I'm not sure that I will stick with the AiO ECO for long (just doesn't quite feel right to me, though it might grow on me). Are there models that you would recommend that are particularly good for avoiding flooding?

If I'm not mistaken, your AiO is a "fixed" voltage mod. It doesn't have the ability to adjust the power to the coil like a variable voltage or variable wattage mod can. With variable power, you would be able to adjust your vapor output "on the fly". This is a very desireable feature.

As an anology, compare it with an oven or stove top burner. You probably would not consider cooking all of your food at one temperature setting if your burner couldn't be adjusted for different temperatures. The same goes for your vape. For instance, early in the day I prefer a weaker or cooler vape so I set my wattage to 20 watts. Later in the day I might prefer a stronger or warmer vape so I set my wattage to 30 watts. The ability to adjust my vaping experience on the fly greatly improves my enjoyment.

I also believe your AiO uses a non-removeable internal battery. All batteries have a 250 -300 charge life cycle, and when that life cycle has been reached, the batteries have trouble holding a charge and the entire mod will become basically useless. If you use a mod which uses removeable external batteries, you simply buy more batteries (about $5 - 8 each) and can continue to use the same mod. This is more economical in the long run.

As I mentioned earlier, flooding is usually the result of poor techique or user error. There are certainly different tanks available for different "styles" of vaping.

If I recall correctly, the tank on your AiO doesn't have air adjustment. Most removeable tanks have an air adjustment to allow you to adjust the air intake to your preference.

MTL (mouth-to-lung) tanks have a tighter draw and are usually preferred by beginner vapers. DTL (direct-to-lung) tanks have a looser draw and can provide more vapor. Sub-ohm coil tanks use larger coils and lower resistance coils and provide more vapor. One is not better than the other, it just depends upon the way you vape or your personal preferences. Our preferences can change as time goes on, so many vapers will change from a MTL to a DTL style, or prefer a sub-ohm tank from a standard ohm tank. Some folks prefer low wattage vaping (less than 20 watts). Others prefer vaping at much higher wattage.

Good Starter Setups for a Beginner Vaper
Advancing Up the Vaping Ladder
Proper Terminology: Is it a carto, a tank, or what? A Guide to Juice Delivery Devices

 

[NikkiJD]

You're absolutely right, the AiO has nothing that's adjustable or replaceable. Which kinda makes it the ideal start up, because it's truly what we called in the tech world "plug and play". However, it's also the reason I don't think I will stick with it for very long. It feels very restrictive. I'm sure eventually I'll want to play around and find the ideal experience for me. Also, the tank is really tiny. Not that big a deal for me personally, since I had cut way back on my smoking before switching to vaping, and I work from home, so I'm not out and about for extended periods where stopping to refill would be a pain, but it's "fussy" for filling. It was super cheap as a starter though (starter kit with 30ml of juice cost me less than 2 packs of smokes - bargain!) so I'm okay with the idea that I'll replace it at some point.

Thanks for the links. There really is so much to learn, and it can be completely baffling to the beginner.

 

[billthetroll]

Congrats on coming over to vaping.once you straighten all this out and get it down pat in a day or two you'll be ok.my first mod was a smok x cube mini with a rda.I only use rda's so I don't have to worry about flooding and stuff like that.but things like what happened to you happens to us all at first so it's no big deal.everyone here has been through it and alo t of friendly people on here so ask whatever and some one will hit you back.

 

[stols001]

Yes I would probably work on using your setup correctly and whatnot, in the meantime you can research a new and more robust setup if you want, and keep your first one as a backup.

I think there may be a few "notorious flooder" tanks but I am thinking more of RTAs. But really it's just a THING it can happen with any setup from time to time. I'm not saying don't get something different, maybe you want to but take your time, and once you learn how to fix flooding it's not a HUGE issue. Etc.

You should probably begin the process by figuring out what you like and dislike about your setup whether you want more vapor or you are happy with the draw and etc.

So best of luck and welcome.

Anna

 

[Grimwald]

My cures for flooded coils.

!. Roll up a piece of paper towel (long like a straw) and push it into the air tube (take off the mouthpiece if possible). This will sop up the excess. Sometimes part of the excess liquid is simple condensation.

2. Vape upside down until it clears. Yes this will get liquid in your mouth but it will burn off the excess while not allowing more liquid into the coil.

3. After filling, screw the top on just enough to not leak and then turn it upside down to finish screwing it down. This will keep the air pressure from forcing too much liquid into the coil. (doesn't seem like your problem is right after filling tho').

 

[BrotherBob]

There really is so much to learn, and it can be completely baffling to the beginner.

Welcome and glad you joined.
Lots of good advice to read:
Beginners, Listen – Words of Wisdom From 10 Master Vapers | Vape-Resource.com
Since vaping is totally scalable, the choice you have can be overwhelming. The main thing to remember is, part of vaping is all about you the vaper, being in control and the freedom to fix/tailor any aspect of vaping you feel you need to improve upon. If you run into a problem, I would not be surprised that there may be more than one way to help correct it. All you have to do is *research it and if you can't find a solution, just post and ask.
*For general questions, might want to try the search function in upper right hand corner of this post. Google and You Tube are also great informational sources.

 

[medleypat]

I agree with Anna don`t get in a big hurry to replace what you have. Learning how things work and tricks to fix things will come in handy as your advance in your vape juorney also getting to know your device will give you ideas on what to get next what you like and don't like

 

[Coyote628]

Thank you so much. That is very helpful. I think I was possibly pulling too hard and causing flooding as you described. Particularly since it's a problem that was intermittent yesterday, and since reading your reply and watching the video you linked, it's better again today. I never really thought vaping would be so different from smoking.

I'm not sure that I will stick with the AiO ECO for long (just doesn't quite feel right to me, though it might grow on me). Are there models that you would recommend that are particularly good for avoiding flooding?

Vaping resembles smoking only because you inhale the vapor and it contains nicotine. Aside from these two things, vaping is nothing like smoking. I think that once you figure out all the intricacies and particulars of your device, you will gain a better understanding of how it all works and apply things you learn along the way to orher more advanced devices. Into the rabbit hole with ya, lol. If you're serious about quitting cigs, you will find vaping to be an awesome replacement. You may or may not remain addicted to nicotine but if you're ready to stop smoking tobacco, hold your ground and vape every time the urge to smoke strikes you. Soon enough, cigs will smell and taste so bad, you'll wonder why you ever liked them in the first place. Flooding your coils can be a major annoyance but can be overcome. Dont worry, vape happy.