Nautilus mini burnt taste makes me want to give up

[fiddlefingers]

Having tried a starter ecig I decided that I needed something better to help me quit the dreaded cigarettes for good. Having taken the advice of a friend I bought the Kamry 30 V2 with the Aspire Nautilus Mini. At the same time I ordered some e-juice from him (strawberry flavour).

Well, in the past two weeks since I have got my new mod and tank I have smoked more cigarettes than I have before I was trying to quit and I have become a monster living in my own home. I wouldn't want to live with me.

The day that I got it I was super excited. It was primed for me and set up by my husband as he has his own and knew what he was doing. Only I wasn't getting the strawberry taste at all. I got a horrid burning, sickly, metal taste that caught in the back of my throat. I was told, that it was my technique so I sat in front of youtube videos and copied religiously the technique as shown in countless videos with no joy. Finally, my husband stole my strawberry e-juice and then complained of the same horrid flavour. We switched to a more reputable brand of e-juice which should have solved my problems. It didn't.

Now, this is where I am at today. Having put in (yet another) new coil, primed it properly and filled with a reputed e-juice I'm still having problems. The very first pull I get in the morning, after it has been sitting overnight, is bloody amazing. It's great. But. By the third or fourth pull I start to get the same awful burnt taste, the same burning in the back of my throat. I've also been stubborn enough to put it down to just getting used to vaping properly that I ended up being physically sick. I really want this to work.

I can only tolerate any juice of any flavor from any source at the lowest setting and even then it tastes horrid. I tried the nautilus mini tank on the cheap and cheerful battery and it still tasted horrid. I also tried the cheap and cheerful tank with the cheap and cheerful battery and I have no problems with that, it's just not 'enough'. I love the battery life of the kamry. Having chucked the whole thing into the bottom of my bag in temper/frustration today on the way to buy a packet of cigarettes, I found when I dug it back out later that the outside was sticky and smelt of e-juice. I've noticed a smell of the juice from the beginning but just thought it was coming from the drip tip.

Help. New tank? New battery? Both?

 

[Two_Bears]

Sounds like one of four things are happening.

1. The wick was not properly saturated with juice.

2. Too much cotton. Crammed in or around the coil till it can't wick properly.

3. Your technique is wrong and taking very long hits and the wicking can't keep up with the consumption of juice.

4. You are using too much power.

I love cotton wicks but in my Kayfun Nano; I get burned cotton if I go ober 17.5-20 watts because of the limited airflow, and can burn the wick at 12.5 watts if I take a long slow draw.

 

[MoDmAnDaN]

Well, I really, REALLY hope you find the issue, but we would like to know what setting (wattage) you have running the Nautilus at. My wife also has two of these and loves them at about 8 watts with the 1.6ohm coils. I know this sounds really low, but she gets plenty of vapor at that setting and her coils last a couple weeks. If you can give us some specifics on this, it would help tremendously. It sounds like you're running too high a power setting maybe?

The Nautilus is a great tank for mouth-to-lung hitters, but not for those who inhale direct to lung. Even at it's widest opening, is still way to tight for me. I'm glad to hear you have someone to prime it, it's not that hard, just important to do!

Don't give up on vaping! It's a wonderful way to get off the stinkies!

 

[fiddlefingers]

so if my tank is leaking, I'm getting a burnt taste by following all the youtube videos, no matter what setting I put it at I'm still doing something wrong for this tank? how? Help honestly. I need this to work. I need to know what it is that I am doing wrong here. These cigarettes need to go in the bin.

 

[drugarth]

Some questions:
What wattage are you at? what coil is in there (ni200, 1.6 or 1.8)? Did you also try a coil from a different package? (sometimes a batch of coils is bad)

 

[Topwater Elvis]

What power level are you using?
What is the PG/VG ratio of your juice?
What airflow setting are you using?

After you scorch / burn the wicking material nothing will fix it.
Remove base from tank, dump juice the burnt taste can transfer into the remaining liquid in the tank which will cause a funky burnt taste even with a new head. Remove head from base, rinse & thoroughly dry air chamber in base, properly prime a new head thoroughly by dripping drops on the screen in the head until wicking material is fully saturated. (May take 5 -10 drops)
Install head into base tight, fill tank, thread together snug, then take a few un powered primer puffs, let it sit a few minutes.
Start off at a low power level to prevent burning & allow the head to 'break in', slowly increase power taking a vape or three on each setting until you find what you like or you get a slight dry / least hint of burn taste if you do turn it down.

High VG liquids wick slower, dark or colored and especially sweet flavors tend to clog wicking material & gunk coils rapidly which leads to off, odd, funky or burnt tastes.

Leaking from the air flow hole/control = flooded head, too fast / hard inhale, too restrictive airflow setting, scorched / clogged wicking material unable to absorb liquid, changes in elevation.

 

[fiddlefingers]

I lowered it right back down to 7 watts. That is the only setting that I can get a slight flavour from

 

[MoDmAnDaN]

so if my tank is leaking, I'm getting a burnt taste by following all the youtube videos, no matter what setting I put it at I'm still doing something wrong for this tank? how? Help honestly. I need this to work. I need to know what it is that I am doing wrong here. These cigarettes need to go in the bin.

My question...where is it leaking from? If juice is coming out of the little air inlet hole at the base, then (and this sounds funny), you're "sucking" to hard and pulling juice from the tank into the coil to fast.

 

[fiddlefingers]

This is driving me nuts. It feels like I'm doing something wrong coupled with not knowing if my equipment is bad. I am determined that this isn't going to win. I just need to know what the problem is so that I can fix it.

 

[fiddlefingers]

I will ask the husband to take it and try it but honestly, I do not thing that my suck is too hard lol, quite the opposite. I need this to work one way or another.

 

[TonyB66]

Sounds like you are using too much power and your vaping style is drying out your coils fast and not allowing your wick to re-saturate.

 

[fiddlefingers]

it does feel like something like that. I'm going to have to ask the husband to steal my mod/tank to see what he thinks. I need something that fits me and I'm not sure that this is it yet.

 

[MoDmAnDaN]

Honestly, it sounds like you simply are fighting the tank, it may not be right for you. Aspire (maker of the Nautilus), also make the Triton tank and it's a really versatile tank. Air flow is adjustable to accommodate both types of vaping. and has coils that flow juice better. Just a suggestion.

Please don't give up!!

 

[Two_Bears]

Some questions:
What wattage are you at? what coil is in there (ni200, 1.6 or 1.8)? Did you also try a coil from a different package? (sometimes a batch of coils is bad)

Never thought of Nickel coils.

Nickel is on in Temperature Control but should NEVER be used in power mode.

 

[djsvapour]

I love the mini Nautilus. However, there is a small band of power (11-14 watts) that works for me using this tank. I also don't trust most of the techniques described to prime it.
I guess not everyone gets lucky...

It is *possible* that your mod simply over-powers the tank. I don't use Nautilus tanks on my Sigelei 30w, as it runs way too strong.

 

[Two_Bears]

Well, I really, REALLY hope you find the issue, but we would like to know what setting (wattage) you have running the Nautilus at. My wife also has two of these and loves them at about 8 watts with the 1.6ohm coils. I know this sounds really low, but she gets plenty of vapor at that setting and her coils last a couple weeks. If you can give us some specifics on this, it would help tremendously. It sounds like you're running too high a power setting maybe?

The Nautilus is a great tank for mouth-to-lung hitters, but not for those who inhale direct to lung. Even at it's widest opening, is still way to tight for me. I'm glad to hear you have someone to prime it, it's not that hard, just important to do!

Don't give up on vaping! It's a wonderful way to get off the stinkies!

Even at the largest setting a full quick lung hit is impossible..

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Vaping is all about personal preferences, each individual has to experiment with equipment, Pg/Vg ratios, nic mg & flavors to find what works best for them.
What works for one person or even many may not work for you.
If you rely on someone else to 'make it work' you'll always be vaping with what works for them, not with what works best for you.

The Nautilus is an excellent delivery device, all of them take a little fiddling & effort to figure out & get the best vape possible.
You might try eleaf gs air, or gs m. They're inexpensive & have a good reputation.

 

[navigator2011]

The Nautilus Mini is a great tank--it is the only tank that helped me give up the smokes. I think you should dump the juice that's in it, completely disassemble the tank (including removing the glass cylinder from the chimney), toss the coil, rinse everything under running water. Do not try to dry everything with a towel, instead just shake off the water drops and blow out the base (the part the coil screws into). Carefully investigate the glass for small line-cracks, and then check the silicone gaskets anything that could case leaking (cuts, tears, burs, and the like).

If everything looks good, screw a new coil into the base. Apply a small drop of juice to one of the juice holes on the side of the coil. Watch it to be sure the juice gets absorbed through the hole into the cotton. Continue this procedure, going from hole to hole until the juice absorption slows down. Now, get some juice on your finger and rub it onto the big silicone gasket on the base. Also, rub a tiny bit of juice along the top of the glass cylinder and then screw the glass cylinder into the chimney. The glass cylinder should be tight, but not so much to break the glass. Fill the glass cylinder with new juice and then screw on the base. When tightening the base, I like to grasp the airflow control ring and tighten until the airflow control ring starts popping from setting to setting to setting--so I use the airflow control ring as a "torque gauge."

With the tank now assembled, turn the tank upright and give it a few draws without pushing the power button. Watch for bubbles rising within the tank, and listen for any signs of wetness as you draw air through the tank. After this, let the tank sit for at least a couple of minutes. When I first fire the tank, I give short pulses of the power button while drawing air through the tank, kind of like puffing on a cigar. Once I'm convinced the tank is working correctly, I then begin vaping. As the coil breaks in, I may increase my power setting to higher levels, especially if the tank begin gurgling.

The power setting to start vaping with, of course, is up to you. I generally start with 13 watts and then go upwards from there. For me, at power levels below 10-12 watts the Nautilus gives me unsatisfactory performance.

 

[fiddlefingers]

Well, after losing all patience I handed my mod and tank to my husband to use and he liked it (preferred his own set up). He had no problems at 14 watts and loved the flavour from it and no issues whatsoever. I, however, ended up gasping for breath like I was an asthmatic which leaves us both thinking that maybe I'm allergic to pg which is bloody frustrating.

Can the nautilus mini be used with the the 100% vg juices or should I look into a different tank completely.

 

[navigator2011]

It is also worthwhile to note that when switching over from cigs to vaping, many people cough and feel their asthma gets worse. It happened to me too. But, after a couple to a few days of absolutely no smoking, those symptoms should largely subside. Perhaps, that's a factor for you, too?

EDIT: I read your OP once more, and notice that you said you have increased your smoking since starting vaping. For me, smoking even one cigarette a day made vaping very unpleasant. Further, last August I started smoking and vaping daily, after having vaped only since February. Within a week of that nonsense, I came down with bronchitis. Within just a couple of days of dropping the smokes completely, the bronchitis began to clear.

Your posts make me think continuing to smoke while beginning vaping is fouling up your vaping experience.