No (or bad) flavor recently - ideas?

[hilly2k2]

Hey all,

I'd already posted this in the Vamo forum (since that's what I currently rock), but thought to have a wider variety of input, it might be a good idea to drop it in here as well. I'm hoping that from the fine minds up in here that I may be able to figure out what's going on.

Have had my Vamo V2 for about 5 months now (give or take), and up until recently, I was just loving it. Great vapor production, good (enough) battery life, and great flavor with all my tanks (PT 1, PT II, Evods & the occasional old T2 or Mini Vivi Nova). But recently - let's say in the past month or so - nothing is tasting or working light I had gotten used to. It's a tossup between burnt flavor or no flavor (or at the very least, not the flavor I'm expecting.

To clear the air: I always ensure the Vamo is in N02 mode, so it's not that. I've been through about 3 different 5-packs of new coils (been using 2.5s) on the PTs and the Evods, and have even tried some low-rent rebuilding with cotton.

The juices I know and love (Boba's Bounty, Vaperite VR4, N101, etc.) all used to give me the flavors they're known for, but now, they all taste dead and the same. No yummy graham in the Boba's, none of the caramel sweetness in the VR4, and the N101 fights like a champ, but even it is severely muted these days.

I don't know what's going on here. I did switch down from 18mg to 12mg nic around when this all started, but I wouldn't think the level of nicotine would impact flavor to such a large degree - would it? And like I've said, I've switched out heads so often it's like my job.

Which makes me wonder if something could be amiss with the Vamo itself. The ohm reader reads correctly, not getting any of the 9.9 errors or anything, and - as far as I can tell - the N02 mode is working right (I think - the N01 mode does give me the nastiness it always did. I'd switched into it purposely to see if somehow maybe the Vamo was swapping them).

I'm sort of at my wits end here. I've ordered a Davide BDC glassomizer, and plan on getting an iClear 30s, but if that doesn't fix the problem, I'm leaning toward an SVD to see if it's the mod itself.

All that said (and I know it's been long), anyone out there have any ideas why this would be happening?

 

[mattiem]

I don't know what's going on here. I did switch down from 18mg to 12mg nic around when this all started, but I wouldn't think the level of nicotine would impact flavor to such a large degree - would it? And like I've said, I've switched out heads so often it's like my job.

Sounds like you answered you own question. To prove/disprove this, maybe you could pick up some 18mg of your favs and check it out.

 

[Enoch777]

Fell into much the same situation a while back when all I had were BCCs to vape on. After determining it was not the juice, but the setup, I switched to RDA w/ micro coil & organic cotton wicking. Haven't had an issue with taste since, except once when I let a bottle steep past its premium.

It's more involved, but well worth the time spent learning. You'll save plenty of $$$ not buying pre-made heads and coils. I spend around 8 cents per coil and they last weeks.

Protank heads are pretty simple to rebuild, check it out or think about picking up a decent RDA or RBA. Kayfun Lite would be a great choice if you have the money to spare on it.

Then again you could just be experiencing vapor's tongue! It happens on great occasion. Try drinking more water and rotating to flavors you haven't used recently.

Hope you get it figured out!

 

[hilly2k2]

Fell into much the same situation a while back when all I had were BCCs to vape on. After determining it was not the juice, but the setup, I switched to RDA w/ micro coil & organic cotton wicking. Haven't had an issue with taste since, except once when I let a bottle steep past its premium.

It's more involved, but well worth the time spent learning. You'll save plenty of $$$ not buying pre-made heads and coils. I spend around 8 cents per coil and they last weeks.

Protank heads are pretty simple to rebuild, check it out or think about picking up a decent RDA or RBA. Kayfun Lite would be a great choice if you have the money to spare on it.

I honestly wouldn't even know where to begin. Plus, I barely have time to hit the can as it is these days....what sort of investment (time/effort, not money) are we talking about here?

 

[Enoch777]

To drip? Not much.

You could get a HH.357, which are well known to produce great flavor. These are pre-built, but still very good.

Or look into RDAs like IGO-L as well as some 28GA or 30GA Kanthal from eBay. Just search kanthal and look for TemCo, you can also order it directly from them on their site. You'll also need some organic cotton balls for wicking. For Ohm checker you can just use your Vamo.

And of course there are RBA rebuildable tank systems like RSST, Kayfun, Youde AGT, AC9, etc... these are probably the most difficult to build and get vaping well with perhaps the Kayfun as the exception, though it does have a lot of parts it's quite simple to build on, put together, etc

Learning curve is hard to determine, likely it's different for everyone. I've spent many hours wrapping coils, tweaking the build, etc. It can be very simple or it can be frustrating depending what device you have. The majority of what I do these days is pull the wick out, dry burn, and throw a new wick in. I do this once a day to maintain a nice clean flavor. Every week or two I will wrap a new micro coil or sometimes fiddle with trying something new.

If you want to try dripping I suggest getting the cisco spec HH.357 and giving it a shot. You won't have to re-build, they typically last around a month or more, and you could easily determine if it's your setup or indeed your mod/battery that's the issue with taste.

In my case, rebuilding and dripping is what helped me to switch to vaping and stay. The lack of flavor from other setups led me to them and I'd probably never go back to trying anything else besides RBAs. I know for sure this is the case for a lot of us.

We want great flavor, decent clouds, and a perfect TH. It's just vastly cheaper and easier to achieve with rebuilding than it is to keep buying more pre-built coils that aren't cutting it...

 

[Crash Moses]

Could be vapor's tongue too...make sure you're drinking plenty of water. I've never had it last more than a week and normally it's only a couple of days. There are many theories as to what causes it...could be a combination of a number of things.

Also, as my taste buds have recovered from my years of smoking my vaping preferences have changed as well. Juice I used to love I can't stand (and vice versa).

 

[hilly2k2]

Not sure about the vaper's tongue possibility, but hell - it can't hurt to drink more water anyhow.

And, BTW - mattiem: tried some older 18mg juice, and I don't think the nic level is the culprit here.

This is all really frustrating. Hopefully the Davide Aspire BDC will set things back to right.

 

[CreepyLady]

I suspect vapers tongue. How long has this been happening?

Hydrate, Electrolytes, Listerine and really acidic drinks like lemonade or mountain dew kick it STAT for me. Hydrate and electrolytes regularly and if I start to lose taste I grab whichever I can - lemonade, even lemon/lime gatorade works, a dew or if I am home - toothbrush, tongue scrape and listerine - good as new. Some people do experience it for much longer - days, weeks, months etc.

Its kind of like all of the same flavors just dull and exasperate the taste buds and olfactory senses - dehydration contributes to severity.

 

[hilly2k2]

I suspect vapers tongue. How long has this been happening?

About a month or so. First I thought I'd gotten a bad batch of juice (from a vendor that I've regularly been more than satisfied with), but then it replicated over several different flavors - including some that are normally very rich on the flavor front.

Drinking lots of water - don't have any lemon/lime/dew.....and have been brushing/rinsing more than usual.

I do have wine, though...lots of wine. Which can be sort of acidic (not to me, but that's what I've been told). But I drink a great deal of wine every day (not like it's a problem or anything....), and so if that would have helped, I'd - uh - imagine it would have helped. Let me see what happens with massive hydration and the kicked up oral hygienic routine.

 

[CreepyLady]

About a month or so. First I thought I'd gotten a bad batch of juice (from a vendor that I've regularly been more than satisfied with), but then it replicated over several different flavors - including some that are normally very rich on the flavor front.

Drinking lots of water - don't have any lemon/lime/dew.....and have been brushing/rinsing more than usual.

I do have wine, though...lots of wine. Which can be sort of acidic (not to me, but that's what I've been told). But I drink a great deal of wine every day (not like it's a problem or anything....), and so if that would have helped, I'd - uh - imagine it would have helped. Let me see what happens with massive hydration and the kicked up oral hygienic routine.

Well what the devil. I would think wine acidic enough to do the trick. Some people do get bouts well into a month or so.

Do you have any BAM flavors? I have a few that I dont vape super often (like Napalm - I got it to toss in a drop of cinnamon here n there and I dripped it one day LIKE A ..... and I think my hair stood on end). If you do - bust out one of those or ANY old flavor that you havent visited in a while and see if you can taste that.

Otherwise my answer is - You're broken

 

[Jonathan Tittle]

All we can do is make suggestions, but have you tried vaping directly after eating? I ask because after I've not had a vape for about 20-30 while eating, I can pick mine up, vape a bit and boom, throat hit and flavor are back where they need to be. I eat a ton of spicy foods and notice that brings my taste buds alive full throttle, but I know not everyone is into habaneros and even spicier foods, so that may not work best for you - any real food (i.e. not ice cream, donuts etc - I'm talking steak or some meat, seasoned). Salty food also helps as salt retains water in your body (not always a good thing, so don't overdo it).

Chain Vaping can also dull your taste buds out faster because they become more saturated with the flavor your inhaling. PG/VG draw water from your body the more you vape, so staying hydrated is extremely important, not just to cure the missing flavor experience, but to keep you from becoming physically dehydrated. If your body aches, you start getting headaches or if you just feel stiff and you haven't been doing heavy lifting or working out, that's a good sign you need to drink more fluids.

 

[Jay-dub]

I can't believe I seem to be the only person beaming over the new iClear30S. It's sort of a carto style clearo if that makes sense. Works damn good for a stock item. If you're not looking to build and wick your own this is prolly your best bet. If anyone here has used one and can point to another stock item that somehow works better I'd want to be the first to know.

 

[hilly2k2]

Oh, I'm broken, alright. ;-)

But that's another story entirely.

I did bust out some old JG Blend & Vecchio from Ahlusion. Never did like those, but they are very strongly flavored (and higher nic level) - and I can taste those. Still don't like em, but there is flavor there. So maybe it isn't the tongue.

Maybe it is the nic level drop after all. That would suck. My plan has always been to eventually get down to zero nic.

And I'm getting me an iClear 30s ASAP. Been meaning to anyway.

 

[CreepyLady]

Hmm weird, I noticed a loss of throat hit - but not flavor. I am now rotating through 0,3,6 down from 24mg in July. Bobas even still has TH. Well Im stumped.

Sticking with my original verdict - Broken. LOL.

 

[hilly2k2]

You must be reading my mail.

 

[hilly2k2]

Hmm weird, I noticed a loss of throat hit - but not flavor. I am now rotating through 0,3,6 down from 24mg in July. Bobas even still has TH. Well Im stumped.

Sticking with my original verdict - Broken. LOL.

What are you vaping on/with?

 

[Jonathan Tittle]

I can't believe I seem to be the only person beaming over the new iClear30S. It's sort of a carto style clearo if that makes sense. Works damn good for a stock item. If you're not looking to build and wick your own this is prolly your best bet. If anyone here has used one and can point to another stock item that somehow works better I'd want to be the first to know.

Never used the new 30S, but I was never a fan of the 30 in the first place. That said, I don't like silica, so I pulled the silica from the coils when I tried one and never really saw what all the fuss was about.

If I couldn't rebuild my own, I don't know if I'd be vaping at all because I was disappointed when I got into all things that used silica. Now that I am rebuilding, the RSST and Kayfun 3.1 Clone are tops in my book. I use cotton with both and couldn't be happier. I honestly feel that despite the rather small platform to build, the Kayfun 3.1 clone is tops in my book (the one by EHPro). It's build solid hits like a champ 100% of the time without burning up the cotton. Stays saturated without gurgle or leaking and just works. It is a rebuildable where the 30S is not, but that's just my experience.

 

[hilly2k2]

Just to close this out....after trying to fix my "vapor's tongue," and also realizing that the issues I was experiencing with the Vamo seemed to not be a problem when I switched back to a Vision Spinner (although it was hardly as satisfying a vape as when all was well with the Vamo), I went ahead and ordered an Innokin SVD.

Voila.

Taste is back, tanks performing as they were meant to, and I'm a happy camper once again.

Seems undeniable that it was the Vamo that had wigged out, not everything else (or my tongue). Something fritzed in the board, perhaps? I don't know what happened exactly, but right about the 5 month mark in owning it, it stopped performing like it once had.

Just in case anyone was experiencing similar issues.