Liquid turned black and now coil wick seems burnt at tips (at least)

[ohaya]

Hi,

I have been using a PBC V2 tank, which uses pre-built coils that you just screw into the bottom piece.

Last night, I noticed that the liquid I was using (Vanilla Gorilla, I think) had turned completely black.

I did some googling and then took the original coil out, and then found some videos about cleaning that, where you pull the rubber cap and the stem off and remove the top flavor wick and then do a dry burn.

However, when I did all that, the original top flavor wick was completely unravelled and fell apart, so I had to abandon that coil and put a new one in.

I put some different liquid into the tank (French Vanilla) and only used that for awhile, and pulled the coil out of the tank, and noted that the ends of the wick are black.

I haven't taken the new coil apart, but was wondering if this is "normal"?

Or am I doing something wrong? FYI, I was using the PBC V2 on a Bagua 14500 with an Efest 14500 battery.

I'm wondering if maybe that setup is too "hot" and burning the wicks?

FYI, both the original and the new coils were 2.4 ohm ones.

Thanks, and sorry for the longish post.

Jim

 

[retired1]

You can't "burn" silica wicks. But some juices will gunk up the coil and darken your wicks pretty good.

Generally, as long as the flavor and vapor production is good, there's no need to change out the coil unless you're switching up juices on a regular basis.

 

[Kingsley1065]

Same issues here with some of my vanillas, mainly Madagascar Vanilla from Mt Baker - thankfully it was discontinued. I was also blowing thru coils at a rate of one per day.

Started using 1.8 ohm coils in my PT mini, a lighter vanilla, and the problem has greatly diminished. I assume and have read that sweet, darker juices tend to do this

 

[ohaya]

You can't "burn" silica wicks. But some juices will gunk up the coil and darken your wicks pretty good.

Generally, as long as the flavor and vapor production is good, there's no need to change out the coil unless you're switching up juices on a regular basis.

Hi,

I do switch juices, since I've still not found one I really like yet. Should I be doing something like rinsing out the coil and the tips of the wicks that are sticking out of the sides of the coil?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[Agamer]

What can happen with sweeter juice is a caramelization of the sweetener which darkens your liquid. When this happens the caramelization will leech out of the wick and back into the juice. If you change or clean the coil head without dumping and cleaning the tank the problem will be stalled instead of fixed. So when you change or clean a head based on this problem you need to dump and clean the tank as well.

 

[Dogeggs]

The wicks in those things DO burn, they go brown, then black, then start to disintegrate into your juice making it go brown and goopy. I would try a different system, the protank 2 minis are good ,and you can rebuild them fairly easily with a cotton wick.

 

[Caridwen]

Vanilla & sweetners typically discolor and can gunk up coils.

 

[ohaya]

The wicks in those things DO burn, they go brown, then black, then start to disintegrate into your juice making it go brown and goopy. I would try a different system, the protank 2 minis are good ,and you can rebuild them fairly easily with a cotton wick.

I kept the coil that I took apart last night (minus the top wick, which fell apart).

Where can I get the wick material to replace the wick? Also, what would I be looking for (dimensions, material, etc.)?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[retired1]

The wicks in those things DO burn, they go brown, then black, then start to disintegrate into your juice making it go brown and goopy. I would try a different system, the protank 2 minis are good ,and you can rebuild them fairly easily with a cotton wick.

The only way a silica wick is going to burn is if the coil temperature gets hotter than the rated temperature of the wick itself (which is generally over 1200 degrees F). Your typical coil doesn't even come close to that temperature. The discoloration comes from the juice and the caramelizing of the juice. The discoloring of your juice comes from the coil, not the wick.

I kept the coil that I took apart last night (minus the top wick, which fell apart).

Where can I get the wick material to replace the wick? Also, what would I be looking for (dimensions, material, etc.)?

You can clean the coil be soaking it in Vodka or Everclear and then do a "dry burn" to get the gunk off the coil. You should be able to extend the life of your coils quite a bit by doing this. Taking it apart really isn't necessary.

 

[KODIAK (TM)]

I only vape Coffee/Cafe flavoring. My juice starts out a medium brown then turns completely black within 2 days. Still vapes fine though.

I completely disassemble and rinse out the Vivi Nova every 3 days. Just tap water. I never touch the wicks and just try to let the running tap water clean them. A quick dry with a hair dryer and I'm good to go again. This is about as much work as I'm going to put into these things.

 

[ohaya]

Hi,

I was doing some googling and ran across this:

q tip cotton as wick? - Rebuildable Atomizers - Vapor Talk E Cig Forum

I have some Q-tips ( !! ) and that dead coil so... maybe will try it.

Meantime, I've ordered some silica wick in various diameters...

Jim

 

[cbrite]

I only vape Coffee/Cafe flavoring. My juice starts out a medium brown then turns completely black within 2 days. Still vapes fine though.

I completely disassemble and rinse out the Vivi Nova every 3 days. Just tap water. I never touch the wicks and just try to let the running tap water clean them. A quick dry with a hair dryer and I'm good to go again. This is about as much work as I'm going to put into these things.

I never thought of using a hair dryer. Another great suggestion to put to use. Thanks!

 

[kflowers3]

Using the hairdryer is a good idea.

 

[dudzio1222]

I've got same problem - it was coffee flavour liquid. It has natural flavor. After few clouds it becomes as black as tar - EVEN when i add some other liquid.

 

[ohaya]

Hi,

I've been using a new 2.5 ohm coil (same vendor, madvapes, bought at the same time) with the same liquid (French Vanilla) today, with a different mod (a cheap 510 one from Tmart), rather than the Bagua 14500 (and Efest 14500), and been checking the wicks once in awhile, and so far, the liquid is not changing color and the wicks look pretty clean, so I'm thinking that maybe the Bagua providing too much current?