New member, old vaper, having issues with Aspire Nautilus

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diamondlvr

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The thing I notice with the nautilus Aspire which I think contributes to bad taste is the spring under the head. I can't keep it clean. I think juice drips on it. I've noticed it came become almost black at times. I've tried soaking it, doesn't help. I've tried cleaning it with a qtip but can't get all the gunk off it.

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MonoNatural

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The spring in mine got a brown crust of what I thought was rust on it... it came off with rubbing alcohol though. I have found that the secret to the Nautilus is HIGH power. I try to get my kick to about 11watts for it... anything below that, as mentioned, seems to produce tons of vapor but zero flavor. My advice is to push the power until it starts tasting burnt, then back it off just slightly until its acceptable. I think I may have also experienced changes from coil to coil. It seems very strange to me that a coil can produce so much think vapor and yet no flavor. It has really brought home the message for me that changes in power really do affect flavor significantly...

Edit: Ok now I take it back, it just worked for a few minutes for me... had just got a new pack of heads and was getting no flavor. Now I'm back to no flavor.

Edit 2: Seems like its very dependant on the choice of juice... Moon Mountain Solar Flare (12mg) seems just as good as with the little Aspire BDC clearos... but my plain tobacco flavor from my local B&M is completely tasteless in the nautilus compared to the BDC. I seem to remember that the higher resistance coil that came with the nautilus tasted better... I will have to go for the 1.8ohm next time instead of the 1.6 ones.
 
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Sandylp

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This thread is so informative. I received my Aspire Nautilus today and am using it on a Provari Mini and so far, it is working great. I realize that it seems fragile, so I'm going to order a replacement tank when they are available in case I crack it. I see that Vapor Kings had them for $6.95, but are sold out with more on the way. It came with a 1.6 head, but I put one of the 1.8 heads on it that I had ordered separately on advice from this thread. I will report back after I've used it a few more days. After using it, I'm not too interested in using any more of my other tanks.
 

MonoNatural

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I seem to be getting a wear-in period with this latest pack of heads. They are working alright now... decent flavor. Something I've noticed about the aspire clearos (BDC and Nautilus) is that juice burns and sticks to the coils, causing burnt chemical taste, seemingly at random intervals. I have had a few different heads that were giving dry hits and what I thought was burnt plastic/rubber/filler taste (and the fact that one coil has plastic insulators on the leads kindof scares me). But when I dissect the suspect coils, there is never any burnt or singed material inside. This leads me to believe its just burnt juice hanging around on the coils. If you are quite sure that it is wicking, and you are getting burnt taste, try doing a few long, hot hits on it, and it usually burns off the crust. (At your own risk) Simply firing it without sucking just adds more gunk to the coils, in my experience. The convenience from these is great, but the lack of consistency (and headaches when things eventually go wrong) is a big minus.

The flavor-tainting effect of the heads is also a bummer for me. Forget about changing juice after using any dark or strong flavor in it. (eg. Clove, "dark" tobacco, tea, caramel-type, or strong citrus) Rinsing the heads is possible, but I've found that letting it dry afterwards is essential. If you put a water-wet head in, you will just be getting foul tasting steam for the first 20 hits, and the juice does not want to mix with the water and will resist wicking till the very end. (even if you put primer drops into the head) The lengths that some people go to with boiling, alcohol, etc is just wayyy too much for me.. kindof defeats the purpose of disposable heads. I am interested in rebuilding them, though. Hopefully that can get more mileage out of a single head. That will be my next project when I have more free time.
 
Hello fellow vapors. I'm new on the forum and have been vaping since 2009. I found this thread because my nautilus has been touch and go also. I use 80/20 juice which I know is thick so I add a few drops of straight pg to thin it. I have had 1 out of 8 aspire heads work longer than 2 days and that 1 lasted 2 weeks! I've tried building a micro coil with no luck just bad taste. After reading this thread I decided to live on the wild side and remove just the top coil of the head. It is now sitting at 3.5 ohms on my provari mini, and at 4.5 volts it is AWESOME. I've been hitting it now constantly for an hour on the second air hole and I have to say this dead head came to life.
 
I had the same thing happen BUUUUT this is what I did and so far, knock on wood (arm to the top of the head knocking the top), it's worked. Go to THE smallest hole on the Nautilus, then click the gage to half it. Yep, have of the smallest hole. That's it ! But be careful, referencing your "suck golf ball from a garden hole", quote, it will leak (or mine did) if you pull for lesser of better word, slow lye and evenly. Evenly? You say? One continual pull, give it a sec then again. That is all I had to do. BAM tasty, juices, hit!!
 

ForeverDiving

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Wow! What a steam locomotive of a thread... ;-D

My vaping experience is scarce, having less than two months under the belt; however, coming from (tobacco) pipe smoking and being in the car trade do help understanding the issues. It's so that they are overwhelming. I just cannot get through my thick skull why the Rolls (well maybe just the Audi) of the atomizer tanks cannot perform as intended out of the box.

I happen to have two of them (duplicated order, when I found out they were already at my desk). The first one started like a dream, until the head gave up the ghost —sooner than it's even tolerable, not to say reasonable. The second gunked out the moment I used a NET. That in addition to the most obnoxious gurgling, flodding and cracling.

I've placed them in everything I've got: an eVic, a mechanical pipe mod, an Indulgence V4 with three voltage levels and even my original eGo C. Both are totally inconsistent; sometimes the work decently, mechanically and flavorwise, sometimes they just behave like a badly spoiled brat, gurgling, flooding, dry hits, burnt taste, the works! Curiously enough, with a fresh battery, reading 4.2V, the mechanical pipe seems to give the best results, then the Indulgence at medium setting (which would be 3.7V). The most inconsistent is the eVic, keeping me constantly adjusting the airflow and wattage all over the place to try to get the thing toe the line. Oddly enough, the eVic is brilliant powering an Aerotank, which is currently my fave.

I've tried four times to rebuild the heads to single coil perusing the Rip T. video. The first time I managed to pull out the filler and cup and it was a nightmare getting them back in. The cup split and I had to baby it into the filler and then slide the whole enchilada along with coil & wick into the housing. The contraption worked for a few minutes before burning (at 2.1 ohm). I've used cotton, silica and even some boiled cotton wick I had at hand. NADA! Either flooding, terrible gurgling or just plain dry-wicking.

I even came out with a crazy idea that involved an inner aluminum foil for the cup, along with isolated leads for the coil; it shorted one minute in and burned the foil. >:-(

Tomorrow, I'm gonna evade the missus and try my hand once more at a higher resistance build, say 2.8.

Again, I'm pretty disappointed with the tank ¿just the head? Next time I'll make my homework carefully before splurging for something.

In the meanwhile, I've ordered from the "FT" site in China an "Authentic Sigelei-20W Variable Volt/Watt APV Starter Kit " and a couple of Kayfun 3.1 clones. I shall wait -patiently- for them to arrive and see what gives.

Well, time to hit the sack. Take care guys and keep posting your findings.

Jorge, enjoying an orange peel + natural mint + sweet almond oil DIY in my beeeeutifoooolly behaving Aerotank & my eVic.
 
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ForeverDiving

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Intermediate conclusion:

I built a single coil out of 32 AWG K. A1 with 3 lines of 1.5mm silica. It came out quite high at 2.8Ω (I was aiming for 2.2~2.4Ω) but I found a parameter. It's wicking and vaping beautifully at 8.5W on my eVic, wich is straining a bit outputting 4.87V. The juice, the same that gunked the head and crusted the coils, is tasting real good through the two middle airholes (2nd & 3d). The highest that the eVic manages with this head is 8.9V which basically gives the same taste and results as 8.5, so basically I'm backing out a bit just out of consistency (my present comparison standard which all the heads and tanks manage).

Here are the crusted coils (1.6Ω head).

WIN_20140330_203206 (2).jpg

This is the eVic reading.

WIN_20140330_203446.jpg

And this is the result... :toast:

WIN_20140330_205115.jpg

No gurgling, no spitting, lotsa flavor and a medium warm vapor. There's a bit of crackling after the draw but I've learned to take it as a good sign. Later tonight I'll do another with two wraps less —this one was eight, I didn't use a form but just folded the wick over a ~20Ga needle and wrapped tight. I didn't take out the caliper to measure but it looked about 2.5mm. It fitted just nice and tight right into the center of the head sitting at the lower notch of the braided tube, which BTW came out again with the lower coil. By dead reckoning the wick is touching the filler straight on. Sorry I didn't make pics of the build but I was too hasty.

Good vapes to all!

Jorge.

Update: after a while this juice (a NEx) started to taste a bit toasty at 8.5Ω so I backed off a bit to 7.5 and it's doing great. Even more taste. I shall do the lower wattage coil as soon as I give this a few more puffs. 2.2 to 2.4Ω should be on the spot; maybe even 2.0.
 
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mykereid

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I own 2 Aspire Nautilus, one on a Provari, and one on the Provari Mini, and the only problem I've ever had was getting a little juice in my mouth. A little research reveals it is caused primarily when you use the smallest hole for long periods. A temporary switch to the largest hole clears it up, and once done you can switch back to the small hole if you choose.

In my limited experience, it's been great, and wouldn't hesitate to buy another. YMMV.
 

Centurion

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I've had the same issues with the Nautilus. My first impression was extremely positive, great taste, lots of vapor, an okay draw, but I found that on Day 2 it just wasn't hitting well. I've run through a dozen or more heads and they simply do not last. One review I read indicated the heads lasted over two weeks, which has not been my experience at all. I don't even vape high wattage, more like around 6 watts, plus or minus half a watt usually. I still burnt the hell out of these wicks on these Nautilus heads in under a day in all instances. Seems prone to flooding between sessions while not in use. Burns wicks fast and then it leaks after they're burned.

I too will stick with my aerotank.
 

ForeverDiving

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I own 2 Aspire Nautilus, one on a Provari, and one on the Provari Mini, and the only problem I've ever had was getting a little juice in my mouth. A little research reveals it is caused primarily when you use the smallest hole for long periods. A temporary switch to the largest hole clears it up, and once done you can switch back to the small hole if you choose.

In my limited experience, it's been great, and wouldn't hesitate to buy another. YMMV.

Myke, thanks for the comments.

It's indeed a very attractive product. Well thought, attractive, cutting edge (presently), sturdy but well finished. May be my noobness but for me the Nautilus has been a quirky product —not bad at all, mind you, just that it demands much more attention than other atts; not unlike maybe as driving a 911 vs a Golf (both are good but there's no comparison between the two, albeit the former requires expertise while the latter is forgiving).

It's a strange gadget, filling and fiddling with it is a pleasure but while I've been able to get some great vapes out of it, IMHO by luck sheer of the draw while choosing a juice and finding the binomial equation between air flow and power.

Curiously enough, last night I managed just that with a 2.0Ω coil that I managed to build after midnight with thick wicking (3 strands of 1.5 silica). It came out a little cool but managed big vapor with the 2nd hole at 6.5W. Anything over that and I would get dry hits unless I primed the wick every few puffs by giving it several cold puffs.

Next thing I shall do when I empty one of the tanks will be to gut a new Aerotank head (2.0Ω) and canibalize its two coils, as building such small things consistently has evaded me so far. As the leads are longer than the Nautilus ones, I should not have much trouble wiggling them in place inside the inner sleeve. Will see...

I'm still griping that something so beautiful should be so quirky but judging from women it seems to be the natural thing. I suppose that's why my "paisano" Trini Lopez sang "...if you wanna be happy... ...marry an ugly woman..."! <vbg>

Right now I'm waiting for my Kayfun clone from the oriental place but even tho this new ¿what, activity, hobby, vice? is breaking me I'm tempted to get another Aerotank. They work just right out of the box but allow fiddling if you need and are truly easy to rebuild.
Thanks for the comments.

BTW, this is the best nautilus coil cleaning brush I've made so far. A piece of cooper multi-trhead electric wire, about 2.5mm Ø (bare) stuck inside the tube of an old palm stylus and with the end 3mm of sleeve stripped off. Just for the top of the top coil tho.

Still havent figured how to get underneath to get rid of the baked gunk! =)

image21.jpg
 
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MattyRetro

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Having the same problem here as most of you are.....Bad heads. The 1.6 and 1.8 that came with it worked great. As soon as I started using the replaced heads I purchased from the same vendor, Ive gotten zero flavor. I have gone through 5 heads, and all of them have given zero flavor. Plenty of vape but no flavor at all. Gonna order some more heads and hope for some good ones..When the Nautilus is working correctly, it is pure awesome. Just too bad the the heads are junk. Makes me want to order a KayFun.
 

ForeverDiving

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Makes me want to order a KayFun.

Matt, I did it. Hopefully I won't be disappointed when/if it arrives. It's coming from Guangzou CN and although the transporter shows the package they seem to be dragging their feet about putting it on the ¿plane/ship/burro?

Meanwhile, when at the desk I grab a VV cig with a plain Aerotank.
 

JohnDaddyo

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I'm sorry about the text below. I knew my pc was about to crash so, I took a screen shot of what I had written so as not to lose it. For some reason, it Pasted so tiny.
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Jorge???
in the infamous words of The Joker..."Why SO serious"? LOL
We're all buds here! Let yer hair down!
The way you wrote, you don't seem to have any problems making coils, do you?? Man, I DO!! The come off the bit or post, etc but, that's where my joy ends. I believe, although my hands shake, I'm being very careful against shorts however, that is how things end up. I might build a coil that reads 1.6 for example but by the time I get it all together, it says .16 or, just a 1.
At 62, I'm still old/young enough to cry, literally over this.
 

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JohnDaddyo

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I am one of those with Nautilus tanks/heads also. Of course, why do I keep buying more heads???
Because, as you know, when they work, they are THE OH MY GOD tank. Assuming no body has any bias against a company. what tank is as good?
I like the idea of the copper cleaner 'brush' Tell me though is the no safe liquid cleaner that will make the coil shine again? Not Everclear?
 

db13berry

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I also bought the Nautilus and I too am having the same problems with it. The vapor production is poor at 60vg. The flavor is mild on all airflow settings. I am using the 1.6 head. Havent tried the 1.8 yet. Im aggravated with it for tonight so Ill try some more tricks tomorrow. For now Im back to using my iClear 30. Very disappointed. I had high hopes for this tank. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Maybe...

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