New here and a few questions

[joeh353]

I've lurked on here off and on since I first started vaping back in September but finally registered today. I used to chew tobacco and since around Thanksgiving I haven't touched chew and have only vaped since. My wife on the other hand has been off and on vaping and smoking for the same amount of time. I've got a protank 2 with the aero base and 2 protank 2 minis, with 1300 ego twist batteries for them. Now for my question, I'm a heavy vaper due to being used to having constant nicotine in my system. I use 24mg e-liquids, 18 didn't seem to be enough and higher was a bit harsh. I have all 3 tanks with liquid in them and batteries on each and the base where the coil is tends to get hot and if I don't let them cool down I burn through wicks very quickly. I generally take 2-3 drags off of each one before the base gets rather warm and I let it sit while I use my other tanks. Is this normal or should I be doing something differently? Different hardware maybe? I don't think I am quite ready for mods and building my own coils just yet.

 

[edyle]

I've lurked on here off and on since I first started vaping back in September but finally registered today. I used to chew tobacco and since around Thanksgiving I haven't touched chew and have only vaped since. My wife on the other hand has been off and on vaping and smoking for the same amount of time. I've got a protank 2 with the aero base and 2 protank 2 minis, with 1300 ego twist batteries for them. Now for my question, I'm a heavy vaper due to being used to having constant nicotine in my system. I use 24mg e-liquids, 18 didn't seem to be enough and higher was a bit harsh. I have all 3 tanks with liquid in them and batteries on each and the base where the coil is tends to get hot and if I don't let them cool down I burn through wicks very quickly. I generally take 2-3 drags off of each one before the base gets rather warm and I let it sit while I use my other tanks. Is this normal or should I be doing something differently? Different hardware maybe? I don't think I am quite ready for mods and building my own coils just yet.

1: When you say burn through wicks, do you mean that the coil actually burns out?
If so then the wicks are getting dry faster than it can rewick.

2: Do you know your PG/VG ratio?
A high VG mix will be slower to wick, and the nicotine strength will feel weaker than a high PG mix.

3: One of the big pluses of getting a 'mod' and a simple CHEAP one is the Innokin itaste VV V3 passthrough battery, is you can easily measure things like ohms so you know what's going on.

 

[joeh353]

1 the coil burns up meaning the wick the coil is wrapped around become black. I've tried cleaning them but sometimes they just won't come clean. I often take out one of the flavor wicks and then use it later to get a longer life out of the coil.
2 I've tried a varity of different e-liquids with the same results. Lately I have been getting a 70PG 30VG liquid. I've also flipped the rubber piece upside down to allow better flow to the wick.
3 that is the battery my wife and I have been looking at getting. The fact that it's about the same price as the 1300's we have now and the pass through with micro USB is a major plus for us.

 

[Vicegrips]

Hello joeh353!

I lurked for a while as well! Big time grats on setting the chew down. I used to smoke cigarettes, and I'm not going back as long as I can vape!

Regarding your nic strength: use whatever works for you to keep you from going back to the tobacco. I started out with 24 and 18, but within a couple of weeks I was using 12 mg/ml juice.

Regarding the heat issue: As I understand it, the strength of the nic doesn't play a big role in the heat you feel near the coil. I'd say "warm" is normal, "burn your finger" hot is not.

Two things do come to my mind though. First, do you know the resistance (ohms) of the coils you have in your tanks (often marked on them), and the voltage setting on your batteries? The twist batteries have an adjustment on the bottom to change the voltage from 3.2 volts up to 4.8 volts, if I recall correctly. Assuming your coil is about 2.0 ohms, your battery could be delivering from about 5 watts to maybe double that, depending on the setting on the battery. If you've got it turned all the way up, I'm not surprised it's getting warm. Have you experimented with how it vapes with your preferred juice at different voltage settings? If you're unsure of the resistance of your coils, and you don't have access to a good multimeter, most vape stores have a little box designed for just this purpose. If you want to own one of these boxes yourself, they run from ten to twenty dollars from a zillion online vendors. You'll want one if you decide to try rebuilding. I own good electronic test equipment, but I bought one of the boxes for the convenience.

Second, the juice being used might be thick enough that it's taking longer to wick up to the coil than you give it between draws. You mentioned you're a heavy vaper. Juices with a higher percentage of VG (glycerin) are thicker. If you've got a thick juice, and the first couple pulls on your device give good vapor, but after that you get a "burned" taste, this might be part of the problem. Airflow adjustments on your tank may have an impact on this. Experiment!

Plenty of reasonably priced devices will work with your existing tanks, provide larger battery capacity, and maybe act as a bit of a heat sink with their large metal bodies. Unless you want to jump up to really fancy devices in the $100-$200 range, I'd say see what you like in the $50 range. You'll need batteries and a charger as well. Plenty of choices, but I'd do some research, ask on the forum, before deciding what to buy and how many.

I'm sure that more experienced vapers will be along to give their thoughts, particularly those that own tank/battery combos identical to yours.

Safe travels!

 

[joeh353]

Usually I use a 2.5 ohm coil but I have a couple of the 1.8 ohm that came with the tanks. I found that with the 2.5 ohm coils that about 3.6 volts works best for me. If I set it higher even on the first draw I get a burnt taste.

 

[edyle]

1 the coil burns up meaning the wick the coil is wrapped around become black. I've tried cleaning them but sometimes they just won't come clean. I often take out one of the flavor wicks and then use it later to get a longer life out of the coil.
2 I've tried a varity of different e-liquids with the same results. Lately I have been getting a 70PG 30VG liquid. I've also flipped the rubber piece upside down to allow better flow to the wick.
3 that is the battery my wife and I have been looking at getting. The fact that it's about the same price as the 1300's we have now and the pass through with micro USB is a major plus for us.

Ok, to clean the coil/wick you need to dryburn the coil.
Dryburning will bring the wick back whiter.

Dry burn is the only way to really clean the coil.

Use 2 pliers to pull the top spire off the top.

carefully remove the top wicks and you will see the coil underneath; be carefull not to pull on the wick that runns through the coil

fire the battery to heat the coil a few seconds at a time; you will get smoke from the burning stuff; it will stink and smell like a dry hit.

the wick might be black but as you burn stuff off, it will turn white; the wick will not burn.

eventually you will see the coil get dry and start to glow red; carefull not to let it get tooo hott or it will pop.

at this point the coil is clean, and wick should be white.


option: you can drip a couple drops of liquid on the coil now. unless you dont plan on using it soon.


take coil out and add some cotton wicks. on top

drip a few more drops of liquid on the wicks before putting back on the spire, unless you don't plan on using coil right away.

 

[edyle]

If your coils are all gunked up, the heat wont be vaporising the liquid very well;
when the gunk burns you will get dryhit kind of bad taste; and if the coil floods alot, you also end up instead of vaporising a film of liquid, you end up basically heating liquid in the tank.