Is this normal?

[Mr Moustache]

I think I put this in the right place, but here it goes.

So I finally got my very first mech mod and built a .88 coil. I have done my research, I am using a 4nine, AW IMR 20 AMP Battery, TOBH atty, kanthal and cotton wick. I dripped on the cotton and did fired it to see if everything was working right and it is. But this build up started almost immediately. I'm sorry if this is a total noob question and I could find anything in my search. But here is a pic.

I took the best pic I could with what I have. It's more of a stain, a brown stain. Is this normal? Is it just the juice I am using? Any help is appreciated.


Sorry, the iPad likes to flip pics, but you can still see what I mean.

 

[pyang]

Picture isn't too clear, but if it's a tobacco/dessert flavored juice, my answer would be yes. No matter how I wick my coils and adjust the wattage, wicks always turn slightly brown (caramelize) on the outer ends of coils.

You can verify if its juice by rinsing out your wick under a tap.

 

[Cool-breeze]

Also if the cotton was not soaked it could have burnt the cotton slightly. And I agree that tobacco and dessert vapes tend to create that gunk super quick

 

[Mr Moustache]

Sweet, I was hoping it was just something simple like that. Once again, sorry for the horrid pic... But yes it is a butterscotch juice from NC Vape Shop. Very sweet stuff. Thanks for answering even though it was a noobish question.

BTW, this 4nine is AWESOME!!

 

[pyang]

Np, happy vaping!

 

[UncleChuck]

It's a bit hard to tell from the pics, but it sounds like you are experiencing clean wicks, with just a small isolated area that starts getting gunky or discolored much faster than normal wick darkening?

When I've had this happen it's usually due to a single loose wrap, a warped section of the coil, a loose spot in the cotton, or a slight hot spot. All of these will cause an isolated area of the coil to dry out and start burning juice, while the rest of the coil will stay saturated and vape normally, so you get uneven darkening of the juice.

It seems most common right at the edge of the coil, where the wick leaves the coil, if it's bent too much, or if too little cotton is used it leaves a gap where the wire isn't touching the wick, so it dries out when firing and burns the juice. When juice returns to the area after you stop firing, it washes away some of the burnt gunk and stains the wick. Warping the coil when compressing does the same thing because it pops a wrap out of place so it doesn't make good contact with the wick.

You can also identify hot spots if you notice a few wraps on the coil start blackening quickly while the other wraps stay gray longer. Again this causes a small area where the juice burns and then stains the wick. After removing the wick and doing a dry burn you can take a pick or small pin and slightly 'pluck" the coil to spread the wraps apart and re-seat the wraps to get rid of the slight short.

Hope this helps!