M402 Tastes awful. Am I doing something wrong here?

[Shadowdr]

also to those who clean with alcohol, will rubbing alcohol work?

Yes and no, it will clean the connectors and it might do some good inside but it has a bad aftertaste. PGA is what you need, it removes thickened juice from atty or lingering water from juice mix. It removes old flavor, does not need to be rinsed with water or dried. It does have a flavor all it's own but only until it dries which is pretty fast. I use after a cleaning burn to remove burned taste and sometimes I will drip one drop on atty and vape. It has been my only cleaner for over a month.

 

[susan28]

so is this the same Everclear you buy at the liquor store? 190 proof grain alcohol? (not that i've had any experience with that )

aside from the soaking thing, sometimes you blow into the battery, burn off the residue, drop some Everclear and continue on? do you do that in between soakings to keep it fresh? or when changning flaves between soakings?

it's slowly losing the funky taste since last night btw, haven't cleaned atty or anything, but have dripped on it.

Twink, is there anything can be done if the cart isn't wicking right, or should i just switch it out? i topped it off but i think all the smoke's coming from the dripping.

 

[Twinkie]

Twink, is there anything can be done if the cart isn't wicking right, or should i just switch it out? i topped it off but i think all the smoke's coming from the dripping.

I'd just switch it out. I've had a ton of 400 series carts that act more like a barrier to liquid than a wick.

 

[susan28]

seems to work, and the funk is continuing to fade out. gotta continue the juice search tho. gonna try some clove from Pat over at The Indoor Cigarette, hopefully that has the same throat-numbing effect that analogue cloves do, smooth out some of the harshness. Pat was real good to me with the Q&A these past couple weeks, answered every email quickly and indepth vis a vis the different models out there but he doesn't sell 401's currently and i was seduced by the combo of sexiness and batt life. like to kick him some business tho, great guy.

so are all flavours - even the fruity ones - made to taste slightly like tobacco just mixed with whatever the flavour is, or are they supposed to be only that flavour? i expected this to be like nicotine-spiked coconut pie or something, but maybe the harshness is partially intentional and i just had incorrect idea of what it was.

 

[Twinkie]

so are all flavours - even the fruity ones - made to taste slightly like tobacco just mixed with whatever the flavour is, or are they supposed to be only that flavour? i expected this to be like nicotine-spiked coconut pie or something, but maybe the harshness is partially intentional and i just had incorrect idea of what it was.

It depends a lot on what you're buying, and where you're buying it from.

When I first started, I expected cola to taste like cola, strawberry to taste like strawberry, snozzberry to taste like snozzberry...

With the exception of Johnson Creek Peach, and NuVape Melon, I haven't had a fruity flavor that tasted... well... fruity. They all seem to have the somewhat harsh "vapor" flavor with an aftertaste that resembles a candy version of what the flavor is supposed to be.

 

[susan28]

It depends a lot on what you're buying, and where you're buying it from.

When I first started, I expected cola to taste like cola, strawberry to taste like strawberry, snozzberry to taste like snozzberry...

With the exception of Johnson Creek Peach, and NuVape Melon, I haven't had a fruity flavor that tasted... well... fruity. They all seem to have the somewhat harsh "vapor" flavor with an aftertaste that resembles a candy version of what the flavor is supposed to be.

ya i'm getting that impression. imma try some of Pat's clove then start exploring the boutique juices. almost ready to take off the training wheels

you guys are super helpful, thanks so much! so are the vendors for the most part. vapefolk's good folk!

 

[framitz]

I'd just switch it out. I've had a ton of 400 series carts that act more like a barrier to liquid than a wick.

When this happens I brush the exposed filler lightly with the end of a paper clip to break the surface tension. They work fine from that point on. Doing this when topping of the cart helps too.

 

[susan28]

When this happens I brush the exposed filler lightly with the end of a paper clip to break the surface tension. They work fine from that point on. Doing this when topping of the cart helps too.

i was thinking maybe it got pushed down and got too far from the atty and was gonna try using a pin/paperclip to push it foward a lil but i'll try your trick next time.

whaddya figure causes that, running it too low? filling it too much? this happened on my first-ever attempt at filling a cart and it looked a lil pooled, maybe it caramelised or something.

 

[framitz]

i was thinking maybe it got pushed down and got too far from the atty and was gonna try using a pin/paperclip to push it foward a lil but i'll try your trick next time.

whaddya figure causes that, running it too low? filling it too much? this happened on my first-ever attempt at filling a cart and it looked a lil pooled, maybe it caramelised or something.

It seems to happen if the top surface gets too dry, the stuffing want's to repel instead of wicking. I've had it happen a few times when filling.

Filling from the bottom up with a syringe eliminates the problem. I inject slowly until there is a slight mound of juice on top of the stuffing, then I stop and remove the needle. The liquid drops to just the right level when the needle is removed (wet on top with no puddle).

 

[susan28]

sounds good. i saw some filler syringes listed somewhere, i'll have to pick one up.

 

[Shadowdr]

so is this the same Everclear you buy at the liquor store? 190 proof grain alcohol? (not that i've had any experience with that )

aside from the soaking thing, sometimes you blow into the battery, burn off the residue, drop some Everclear and continue on? do you do that in between soakings to keep it fresh? or when changning flaves between soakings?

Yes it is Everclear. I haven't really had to soak any lately, I have been doing a burn cycle on my 4081's and my 510's have just used a little, filling the atty and shaking holding the top and bottom. It still runs out the side holes but cleans well this way. I will put a few drops right on the atty bridge, replace cart and vape if smoke seems to lessen. I have a feeling that soaking in any liquid for long periods may allow the wicking to unravel or come apart.

 

[susan28]

sounds good shadow, thanks for the tip i'll pick some up (and some fruit punch as well )

 

[zero7starz]

People say you can clean an atty with pepsi, could that get the primer flavor off?

 

[Kelly79]

i'm puffing on a brand new 401 from Litecig right now (my first-ever PV experience) with Coconut juice

Who's coconut juice? I know nuvapes tastes like burned coconut.

 

[susan28]

Who's coconut juice? I know nuvapes tastes like burned coconut.

got it from LitecigUSA along with my 401. tasting better now that the atty's broken in, but not as yummy as i'd hoped. it doesn't taste burnt anymore, though. more like coconut-flavoured play-doh it's vapable but i'm gonna try other coconuts afterward. i LOVE coconut and saw a great review of a certain brand's but i can't recall the brand unfortunately, it was before i got my cig.

 

[susan28]

People say you can clean an atty with pepsi, could that get the primer flavor off?

that's what i was thinking zero7, just give it the full treatment right off and forego the icky altogether.

 

[zero7starz]

There was another thread I just read about cleaning it with peroxide. Supposedly its really effective at getting "almost anything off" but it looks pretty complicated.

Right now mine tastes fine with a cart on, but if I'm trying to just dip the atty in the liquid it still has this burnt/plastic taste to it. If I had a cup here at my desk I'd soak it in whats left of my soda (LOL)

 

[susan28]

i don't see why soaking in peroxide would be any more complicated than any other soaking method? link us if you get the chance yes?

btw thanks so much for hooking me up with Litecig for my 401, it's tasting good now that it's broken in, both the coconut and cappucino are slowly starting to taste more like they're supposed to as i vape them more. still gonna make the rounds of the various juice companies but they are getting more enjoyable as i go.

i perceive a tendency to give the burny taste when you get the atty too hot, letting it cool a lil after a few puffs helps the flavour stay fresh i think.

 

[zero7starz]

This was the thread with the actual information, which I got linked to by another thread: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...er-cleaned-simple-cheap-effective-method.html

Its not exactly soaking it in peroxide, its burning it. It does sound complicated to me..

 

[susan28]

ha i did a search on "peroxide" and came up with tons of threads but that's the one i picked i'm on page 9 so far

it doesn't sound *too* complicated, as rinsing etc are pretty standard stepsand he did say the initial burn may be redundant, the main part is what he shows in the vid (dropping the peroxide on hot burner), but tricky to do with an auto batt, and even trickier with a 401. they do suggest some ideas for doing it with an auto too, but i'll prolly just stick with soaking in Coke or grain alcohol and what i can't get with that i can't get. at least for now.

fascinating thread though, they're discussing all kindsa stuff as it progresses. really geeking out .