Noob to SS mesh having a terrible time with flavor

[rcpcdude]

Just got a couple of the new AGA-T2's in and trying to get them to work. I've watched hours of videos on youtube and read pages and pages of threads and I can't seem to get the muted or bad taste out. I really want them to work and am trying to not give up. Instead of hijacking somebody else's thread I figured I would start a new one for my wall of text.

Here is what I've tried with the materials I have to work with:

1st attempt 500 mesh 1.5"x3" tightly rolled solid oxidized/quenched 3 times, juice burned 3 times. I always pre-torch my wire so all examples here will be the same. Rolled 32 onto a 3/32 bit which fits in the hole nicely. Wrapped a tight 4/5 wrap in the s curve and gave a little kink in each end per recommendation. Came up with 2.0 ohm which is about where I like to vape. Wick fit nearly perfect in the coil but I kept getting the pesky top wire hotspot but after some time poking it was looking pretty good with the center heating up first and the top maybe being slightly glowing more. Fill it up with 50/50 Ecto Cooler which is a strong citrus juice and it immediately starts wicking like a champ. Thinking I hit it dead on first try I give it a vape and think... man, this is supposed to be good? Muted dull flavor, TONS of vapor and a bit metallic. Back to the drawing board

2nd try. The freebie 400 mesh measured out at 1.75x1.75 rolled around a thin paper clip leaving the center tube. This time I tried just oxidizing before I rolled and then oxidizing when rolled no juice burn. Wrapped the 32ga on the wick then installed, then removed the paper clip and bent the wick/coil as close to the center post as I could. I'll admit it took a while on this one to get no hotspots but after a while it looked quite good. Filled it up with a different juice this time. Dull still but better. got real metallic after a while because i think a hotspot came back so ditched.

3rd try I figured since wrapping it on the coil first worked better I would try that with my first wick. Gave it some more oxidization and tried to wrap more loosely. Less hotspot issues wick still working like a champ, dumped the old tank just incase but used juice #1 again. Nope dull metallic bleh

Now here's where I started to get frustrated. Using the 2 wicks I had and the 2 tanks of juice I had filled I started trying different ways to wrap coil inlcuding using 34ga that I have as well. I tried the normal put wick in hole and just wrap it on it, then I tried doubling back over the top coil. After about 5+ additional failed attempts with the wicks I had already made I had to put it down before it got thrown against the wall.

Day 2 more reading, more videos, watching some of the old ones over again lol

I determined that my wick may be too big because it seems to rub against the wall too much when entering the top cap and I thought it may be shorting there. so onto wick #3. This time I decided to use 1.5x1.5 500 around a paperclip oxidize and juice burn, wrapped around 3/32 bit again but this time with twisted 34 to drop the ohms since i dont have 30. Added a washer to the center post which does fix the top wire hotspot issues for sure. Slid wick in fit almost perfect, give it a fire and nearly no adjustment needed to look good. Tried a different 50/50 juice this time. Worked ok, a bit dull but didn't taste metallic really, my best yet. Seemed to vapor lock the tank though, only let me fill about halfway before juice started coming out of both the wick hole and fill hole. Starting to get metallic again and still dull. Wondering if this one is either not wicking good or is still vapor locked. So I fire it a bit sideways with the cap off and it looks good, holding it upsidedown juice was actually coming out around the outside of the wick and bubbling lol

Also tried re-wrapping my original 500 solid wick again but with the same twisted 34 and a washer, again seemed to work really good for lack of hotspots and fidgeting needed to start. Still no so good on flavor.

I want to love these genesis style atomizers, every single time I'm getting plumes of vapor and can feel the nic more like people say, but lets just say it's a love/hate relationship right now lol. Slept on it and figured its time to ask for help since I'm not really frustrated, just running out of ideas. Only additional thing I can think of is pulling one apart giving it a good scrub down again and maybe a everclear bath and maybe boiling the mesh first before rolling, but I figured oxidizing the crap outta it would get rid of any residues. Everything I read says metallic taste = hotspot but I swear the 3rd wick I did yesterday was as perfect as it could get. I also keep hearing break-in period for mesh but I just don't believe it. Too many reviews out there with people that put in fresh mesh/coil that say how good the flavor is seconds after filling the tank. Not bleh this tastes like a combination of wet dog and chewing on a wire.

HELP!!!

 

[rcpcdude]

Sorry forgot pictures and the fact that I'm using it atop a Provari for the "what device are you using" question



holding it horizontal and firing for about 5 seconds is that first picture btw, as you can see no hot spots

 

[Thrasher]

i dont care what someone in a video says a wick just has to break in they really do develop over time. for the juice coming out you just have to tilt it when filling but the first tank or two should be about half anyways.

will it vape like the first pic when stood up like in the second? if not it is a wicking issue and you may need thinner juice. i use a 70/30 so i cant really help there.

since you are oxidizing them heavily this will effect the flavor for a while. that juice looks pretty dark especially if its fresh remember your now running vapor through burnt juice and wire.
beyond that i dont know, there is just the possibility that a genesis isnt your cup of tea regarding flavor. everyones tastes are different.

the juice i vape tasted like milkduds in a nova(and i hated it), now it tastes a bit like smoke with just a hint of caramel(like it was described to me). many people make the assumption that a geni makes the flavor stronger and it doesnt it makes it cleaner and smoother. and takes sometime to get used to certain juices when they arent overpowering anymore.

 

[rcpcdude]

Yeah that juice comes that way but it is raspberry. The 2nd juice I used and it was a clear apple and didn't turn brown or odd colors or anything for the time I tried it. Yes it produces good vapor standing up but will start to glow so tilting it produces better results keeping the wick wet.

I am not new to rebuildables, just to ss mesh. My cotton wick in my Igo-L, phoenix, and A7 are absolutely amazing flavor every single time and truly do bring out the better flavor from the same juice so I agree with what you say about different flavor from the same juice. I guess I was expecting more of a flavor like that from the mesh. I suppose I could try a small piece of mesh in one of my dripper rebuildables and see how that goes

 

[Thrasher]

its weird but for lack of a good description. when i tried the mesh for the first time i thought the flavor was a lot lighter then i expected, i came from using clearos, so i thought it would be this explosion of flavor the way everyone describes it, but it wasnt, i tasted hints of this and that but no mind boggling dense rich flavor like i thought i should.

tried it for a couple days and said ok weekends over i will go back to the clearos for work till i figure out what i did wrong. the next day on the way to work i screwed my clearo on in the car and said hmm this isnt working that sux. screw on another one for now. that one had no real taste either for some reason.
ok take out my emergency nova. and spent all day at work trying to figure out what happened to the heads and why they seemed so flavorless. plenty of vapor check, just zero flavor for some reason, went home and fired up the geni and thats when it hit me its not as overpowering but it is stronger then i thought.
i use silica based atty's also and the taste is not stronger but slightly different in them. sometimes it really is getting used to certain juices being more subtle in the geni. and as said before if we all tasted the same way we would all be using the same device.

 

[Rule62]

When you see people in videos holding their device horizontal, with juice in the tank, and firing the coil, producing smoke, they aren't doing it for the purpose of checking for hot spots. They are doing it to help season the wick and coil. You won't see hot spots in a coil, when you fire it wet, unless something major is wrong, or the voltage is set way too high. In order to get a perfect set up, all coils need to glow EQUALLY, when fired dry. When checking hot spots, it does no good to dry fire a coil at 3.0 volts, and call it good, if you're eventually going to be vaping at 4 volts. What you don't see at 3 volts, may show up as you increase voltage. If you're going to vape at, lets say, 4 volts; your coil needs to dry fire, hot spot free, at 4 volts. However, when checking the coil at your vaping voltage, you can only fire it quickly. If you hold the button long, you'll pop the coil. Just a quick on and off. When you get your coil to this point, then and only then, are you ready to fill the tank. Then you can wet fire it a couple times, to start seasoning the coil.
And I agree with Thrasher. All set ups have a break in period. There's no point in evaluating a flavor until you've vaped it for a bit.

 

[KillTheNoise]

Although I've only rolled a few wicks, this is the method that worked for me.

 

[rcpcdude]

I think I finally figured it out. Taking my time to make sure the coil was perfect and the wick was extra oxidized and the wick fit just perfectly with just enough slack to slide the coil a bit if pulled on it FINALLY works! Thanks for the help. I took probably way too much time doing this one, cranked it up to 15 watts on my vamo to make sure no hot spots way more than I would ever run it at and this was my result.

 

[JuniorNA]

Very nice. I'm in the same boat as you. Just starting out and so far I love it


Connected via T-A-Talk

 

[eHuman]

The pressure at which your coils "grab" the wick is one of the greatest factors in producing a good/bad set up. It just takes practice.
Too much pressure and a good wick will short.
Not enough and you will get hot spots in your coils.
Uniform contact pressure of the coil material over it's entire length (spiraling along the wick) is of more importance than coil spacing IMHO.

As rcpcdude said, you want your wick to slide in easy but stay where you put it and you don't want "gaps of air" at any spot between your wick/coil.

 

[lightbud404]

The pressure at which your coils "grab" the wick is one of the greatest factors in producing a good/bad set up. It just takes practice.
Too much pressure and a good wick will short.
Not enough and you will get hot spots in your coils.
Uniform contact pressure of the coil material over it's entire length (spiraling along the wick) is of more importance than coil spacing IMHO.

As rcpcdude said, you want your wick to slide in easy but stay where you put it and you don't want "gaps of air" at any spot between your wick/coil.

^ what he said

 

[vapdivrr]

i does seem that your getting closer, you really do need to take more time working out those HS before adding juice, but i think you know that now, the only thing i would add is using more of the 500 mesh, i think 1.5 is not long enough. i would at least double it ,if not even more. with the aga-t, i am using about 100mm, and wicking awesome. but the taste issue is so picky, one tiny HS and bad taste.

 

[Tonizzle15]

hi rcpc dude, i want to know how did you get it to work? because i have been trying for days to get the flavor that everyone is saying. I too have the same muted bland taste as you did, But the vapor is amazing, But just the flavor... i just did another set up and i just cant get it to work is there anything that you did? This is my first RBA, I hope something will help this bland flavor...Anything to help is much appreciated!

update: I'm using 32 gauge kanthal A1 coil with a 400 SS mesh.

I think I finally figured it out. Taking my time to make sure the coil was perfect and the wick was extra oxidized and the wick fit just perfectly with just enough slack to slide the coil a bit if pulled on it FINALLY works! Thanks for the help. I took probably way too much time doing this one, cranked it up to 15 watts on my vamo to make sure no hot spots way more than I would ever run it at and this was my result.

View attachment 175252

 

[pdib]

Yeah, what eHuman said, and, hey, in your earlier pic I see air gap at right of bottom coil. Also you said coils would start to glow with juice present and device vertical. This is a pretty sure sign of loose coil. I'm glad you got it worked out! Best way to learn is doing it yo'self. Mostly, I just added my bit in case anyone else seeks same info.

when I wrap a coil, I'm picking at it and moving it to equalize tension all the way through. Getting rid of tight spots (shorts) and loose spots (which would become "wet glow" coils).

BTW, last pic, beautiful! Nice even tension in your wraps.