Liquid darkening

[Frankieboy]

Hi,

Put gold coloured liquid in clearomiser couple of days ago. Clearomiser is getting old and only performing at 60%. Liquid has turned a little bit darker which is odd.

Could this be an indication that I need to do a clean/dry burn? Or new clearomiser?

Thank you.

 

[rotku]

Hey Frankie. the color change is two fold. Part one is caramelization, it gets heated inside the tube of the clearomizer. Part two is separation. The wicks draw up the lighter elements of the liquid first. These are both "theories" but I did notice the darkening factor back when I used clearomizers. I get it to a much lessor degree with carto-tanks. All you should need to do is rinse in warm water, refill, and start vaping. I always felt like all the 'dry-burn' hoopla was not worth the effort.

 

[Barbchris]

A vendor told me the darkening is called heat-steeping or something like that. The heat of the coil steeps (ages) the juice as it sits in the tank. With custards, this can cause a bitter taste, also some vanillas. Some juices simply gunk up coils, accounting for the performance problem. Just replace the coil & do your best to clean the coil. My favorite way is to rinse in very hot running water, the hottest u can handle. Then, put a cup of water in the microwave to boil & plop the coil into that boiling-hot water to soak overnight. I do the rinse part again & then let dry. I very rarely just have to throw the coil out.

 

[Frankieboy]

Ah thank you.

This doesn't seem to be a clearomiser where you can take the wick and coil out, it's one of these:

https://www.vividvapours.com/index.php/e-liquid-electronic-cigarette-shop/accessories/vivid-clearomiser.html

The bottom doesn't twist off.

I cleaned it out with water, and now the coil doesn't seem to be firing at all, it gave a few last gasps and that was it. I reckon it's gone.

These are pretty budget cigs as I have only just started, but the juice tastes really nice, I must say. I reckon the liquid is probably good from these guys, and the batteries seem ok, if a bit weak. The clearmoisers though all seem to come as one unit and you can't take them apart.

I was wondering. What if I upgraded to something like this?

http://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/aspire-bdc-clearomiser.html

Will it fit on the Vivid battery I already have? Is it any good?

 

[Nishi]

Yes, the ones you have, the CE4s are the disposable ones that don't work for long. The bottom coils which can be replaced are better.
Also, you need to blow out water from the center air hole of the clearomizer after washing and also eliquid if you get it in there by mistake while filling up.

 

[Frankieboy]

Ah thnk you Nishi. I'm in that curve of learning what a 'CE4' or 'CE5' is at the moment, but I think I'm slowly getting the hang of it. It's a matter of learning the lingo currently, but yes I did notice that it says CE4 on the site, and the link I posted says 'One step up from a CE5' so I figured mine are disposable, and actually effectively a false economy. However, they have taught me that I like vaping, and that's the important thing I guess. They show you the potential of it. But no, these CE4's are lasting about 4 days for me on moderate to semi-heavy vaping which is no good. My vaping rate is about 10ml every 3 or 4 days, which I guess isn't too bad. I notice there's a novelty factor when people first start on these and they cane it a bit

Do you have any recommendations of clearomiser?

 

[SchmidtyKy]

If you enjoy the hit you get from the CE4's you are currently using, I would recommend getting a couple of IClear16's. They hit a lot better in my opinion, are shaped the same, and you can twist off the bottom and just replace the coil when it burns out. I like these because like the CE4, they are a top coil clearo, which gives you a warmer vape.

I like the warmer vape with certain liquids, like RY4/tobacco/caramel/coffee types. So my IClear 16's are used just for those juices.

If you want to try something a little different, I also love my IClear30, which is also a top coil, but I am an avid user of the ProTank and ProTank Mini's. They are bottom coil clearo's, so the vape may be a little cooler, but they hit very nicely, and are easy to use and maintain.

You will find many ECF members who also love the protank. Then you will find some that detest it. It may be worth the $10-$12 investment to get a mini and see if you like it. I love mine.

 

[Frankieboy]

Schmidt - thanks for that info. Could you clarify which one you're talking about - Is it the clear coloured iclear16 on the top right or the coloured 16d's on the top left? Or does it not matter?

1.1 - 2ml Capacity - Clearomizers/Tanks

Edit - actually, I'm guessing the top right, as the top left seems to be a bottom coil jobbie? Aha - I'm getting the hang of this now I think...

And yeah this particular flavour is pretty carmael-y, that's a good description. I might get a berry one as well for a contrast.

 

[chopdoc]

Actually you can rebuild those clearomizers. YouTube has a video on it and its not hard.

 

[Thundernoggin]

I like the Kanger Protanks. Single coils are easy to rebuild, duals are a bit more of a pain, and the new upgraded dual coils work well enough that I stopped rebuilding them anyway. I didn't care for the Innokin clearos at all, they wound up being a leaky mess, and I prefer a minimal amount of wick for high VG.

 

[Mazinny]

I like the Kanger Protanks. Single coils are easy to rebuild, duals are a bit more of a pain, and the new upgraded dual coils work well enough that I stopped rebuilding them anyway. I didn't care for the Innokin clearos at all, they wound up being a leaky mess, and I prefer a minimal amount of wick for high VG.

When you say Innokin clearo's can you be more specific ? I rebuild pt's like you, but when i used iClear 16's or 30s's i never had a single leak. Perhaps you are talking about the bottom coil Innokins ? I get better taste rebuilding with cotton and it's cheaper in the long run, but for a beginner, or even intermediate vaper with no inclination to re-build i always recommend top-coil Innokin clearo's, which imo have the most reliable and consistent coils in the market.Haven't tried the newer Kanger coils, but the ones from 2013 were absolutely shocking in quality.

 

[GostDog]

Could be dirty coil... or liquid aging...

dirty coil: just look it up... check if you see dirt or accumulation. (hopefully you can see that with your model im not familiar with)
You might want to try the vodka bath and drying overnight thing to fix the issue... but when this happen it color the liquid and also CHANGE the taste... like a burnt taste... you did not mention anything about the taste right?


Liquid aging: just go watch this great explanatory video to get the big picture... its not a bad thing in my own opignion...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgKfKctOMQI

 

[Thundernoggin]

When you say Innokin clearo's can you be more specific ? I rebuild pt's like you, but when i used iClear 16's or 30s's i never had a single leak. Perhaps you are talking about the bottom coil Innokins ? I get better taste rebuilding with cotton and it's cheaper in the long run, but for a beginner, or even intermediate vaper with no inclination to re-build i always recommend top-coil Innokin clearo's, which imo have the most reliable and consistent coils in the market.Haven't tried the newer Kanger coils, but the ones from 2013 were absolutely shocking in quality.

I've tried most of them and the only one that was decent was the X.1. All of the 16s I got with my MVPs leaked. Few different models of the 30 leaked and those weren't bottom coil. I got tired of wiping up juice and pitched a bunch of them. I rebuild all my single coil Kangers with cotton and I agree with you about the taste. I've been impressed with their upgraded duals. I didn't have many problems with the singles, I always pitched the flavor wicks and rewicked with cotton before using them though, and then rebuilt them when they died. But I didn't start vaping until this year.

 

[Mazinny]

I've tried most of them and the only one that was decent was the X.1. All of the 16s I got with my MVPs leaked. Few different models of the 30 leaked and those weren't bottom coil. I got tired of wiping up juice and pitched a bunch of them. I rebuild all my single coil Kangers with cotton and I agree with you about the taste. I've been impressed with their upgraded duals. I didn't have many problems with the singles, I always pitched the flavor wicks and rewicked with cotton before using them though, and then rebuilt them when they died. But I didn't start vaping until this year.

You know, i am no longer surprised when two people have such different results with the same device. So many variables involved ( viscosity of juice, air flow, power applied, vaping style, poor quality control at manufacturers etc... ). What i do know for sure is that i never had leaking issues with Innokin top coils, with my style of vaping at 8-9 watts with the 16's and 10 to 12 watts with the 30s's.

 

[Thundernoggin]

You know, i am no longer surprised when two people have such different results with the same device. So many variables involved ( viscosity of juice, air flow, power applied, vaping style, poor quality control at manufacturers etc... ). What i do know for sure is that i never had leaking issues with Innokin top coils, with my style of vaping at 8-9 watts with the 16's and 10 to 12 watts with the 30s's.

At first I thought I was just going crazy or doing something wrong. I'd get on ECF and think what the heck, lots of people are using them, I must be doing something wrong. 4 brand new 16s turned my counter into a juice slick without ever getting to vape them and they came out of an authentic and verified Innokin box. So I chalked it up to being an idiot. Then I started trying the 30 models with similar results and just threw in the towel. Weirder still I vape max and 100% VG.

 

[SchmidtyKy]

Schmidt - thanks for that info. Could you clarify which one you're talking about - Is it the clear coloured iclear16 on the top right or the coloured 16d's on the top left? Or does it not matter?

1.1 - 2ml Capacity - Clearomizers/Tanks

Edit - actually, I'm guessing the top right, as the top left seems to be a bottom coil jobbie? Aha - I'm getting the hang of this now I think...

And yeah this particular flavour is pretty carmael-y, that's a good description. I might get a berry one as well for a contrast.

Sorry, I just saw this. I was talking about the IClear 16. NOT the 16d. Here is the one you want on the website you posted: Innokin iClear 16 Dual Coil Clearomizer - 1.1 - 2ml Capacity - Clearomizers/Tanks

 

[SchmidtyKy]

Schmidt - thanks for that info. Could you clarify which one you're talking about - Is it the clear coloured iclear16 on the top right or the coloured 16d's on the top left? Or does it not matter?

It's neither. It's the one right below the top left.