Phoenix Atomizer Questions!

[anavidfan]

I also got the clone of the Phoenix. I saw another thread on this on another thread, but I see this post is much more active and there seem to some users that are more experienced on its little quirks and have some great tips and tricks.

I think I did a bad thing. I had it working okay. Im still getting used to it. I wanted to try another flavor and thought I should sort of burn out what was left in there so I could change flavor without mixing it too much. Before I did this the coils were pretty much like new. After doing this the coils look dark and Im getting a burned taste. The wick looks fine. Is it useless now till I make new wicks or is there any way of cleaning the coil with out ruining it more or is it just shot. Is there any way to revive it?

Since I started using it I do have slight sore throat, might be because before this atty, I never experienced a throat hit ?

Im using this on a Saber Touch 3.7 volt. Im using my generic DIY juice ; 50/50 ratio at 12mg nic. Its an slight orange and clove flavor.
I am expecting another one this week, I thought Id get another one just in case I messed up the first one, which seems to be what I might have done.

BTW any particular place to buy the wick 3mm cotton? and coils, I believe I have to buy resistance nichrome and non- resistance silver.

Thanks

 

[Zurd]

You forgot to say what type of wick you're using, SS, fiber glass, silica or cotton.

Make sure the coil aren't touching the plastic white post, it do gives a burn taste, else if I were you I'd just go ahead and make a new coil.

Drink water while vaping ! Every ecig will give you a sore throat, but with the Phoenix since there's a huge throat hit with it and very warm vapor, it's kind of concentrated and it will give you an even more sore throat.

I think you mean to buy either nichrome wire or khantal wire, I never heard the term resistance and non-resistance before.

 

[Levitas]

I think you mean to buy either nichrome wire or khantal wire, I never heard the term resistance and non-resistance before.

Kanthal or nichrome are resistance wires. Then, you can purchase non-resistance wires to use as the leads i.e. silver.


Now, I've a question. Perhaps it just takes practice, but, I made my first coil using 100% cotton gauze and 32awg kanthal wire. It... was... terrible.

Don't get me wrong. The coil looked okay, and the wick was wicking great (by sight). But, I kept getting an E1 on the ProVari, indicating a short. I slap it on an eGo and it fires. I fiddle with it, and I finally get it to fire on the ProVari. I check the resistance... 1.2ohm

Fine, whatever, I'll set the voltage to 3.3v and try it anyways. I slap the casing on and ... E1 error! Grrrr.

I had 3-4 wraps. Spaced decently the same, not too far from one another (I think). I'd post a pic, but, I already dismantled it to see what the hell I did wrong.

I'm going in to try again, but, I am wondering if anyone has any tips as to what I am doing wrong and what I can do to get it right. No need for a full explanation on how to wrap a coil. Just tips and tricks, please. Thanks!

 

[Levitas]

Ok, around two.... better, still not great. I got the coil to fire with no E1 errors, yay!

However, it's still rated at 1.2ohms. I need it to be higher. How can I accomplish this?

P.S. 4 wraps. Do they need to be closer together, or something? It's hard to accomplish this.

 

[Zurd]

Kanthal or nichrome are resistance wires. Then, you can purchase non-resistance wires to use as the leads i.e. silver.

I don't get it, "to use as the leads" ? Can you elaborate please

I don't own a provari but heard it times and times again, this device is very sensitive, gives E1 and E2 error while other PV can fire it, it still do means there's a problem with the coil. Wish I can help better but I just made about 6 coils in 2 days and finally I got one working good and I still have no idea why this one is working and not the other ones ! I did a 4/4 wrap and I'm at a consistent 1.7 ohms for the past 24 hours.

 

[Levitas]

I don't get it, "to use as the leads" ? Can you elaborate please

Leads, as in, a non-resistance path to use for 'hooking' up the wire.

It may not be necessary to use leads for the phoenix. However, with a device like the Vivi Nova, the wire comes through a rubber piece and if you're using all resistance wire, people have made comments about how the rubber piece is browning, or blackening, thus indicating that it's getting somewhat burnt. If you used non-resistance wire as the leads that come through the base of the Nova, you wouldn't have the problem of burning the rubber piece.

I don't really know how else to explain it, I hope that helps.

 

[Levitas]

Man, I could really use a beer right now...

I FINALLY get a good amount of coils, 6, wrapped nice and close, with no errors. It measures 1.5ohms, so, awesome.

I burned the freakin' cotton Even though I dripped a couple of drops on it before testing the ohms, it still burned, as it wasn't wet enough. GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

So, I'm getting better. But, do to a non-needed mistake, I have to start over... again.

Round 4, here we go.

 

[Levitas]

Okay! I finally did it! Got a nice 5 1/2 coil. No errors. No burning. Rated @ 1.4ohms.

I've found yet another problem, unfortunately. The gauze itself tastes nasty.

Do I really need to boil sterile cotton gauze before use? What am I missing here? I've got some all cotton, un-dyed, unbleached cloth that I can try. Though, I know I should boil that first.

Any suggestions as to why this still tastes off?

 

[Zurd]

Congrats on your coil ! Just like me you have no idea why it didn't worked before eh?

I tried some cotton 2 days ago, didn't like it either, I could taste the cotton, but I didn't boil it. I will try it again in about a month though.

 

[Levitas]

Congrats on your coil ! Just like me you have no idea why it didn't worked before eh?

I tried some cotton 2 days ago, didn't like it either, I could taste the cotton, but I didn't boil it. I will try it again in about a month though.

I tried the cloth after 15 minutes of boiling, changing the water at 5 minute intervals. It tasted the same as the gauze. So, I'm thinking perhaps it's the wire?

I boiled some gauze as well. I am currently making coil #7 with some boiled gauze and some wire in which I ran a lighter under about 7-10 times. Let's see how this goes...

 

[Levitas]

Okay, this is depressing. Not to mention discouraging. 7 coils and not a one is useable.

Still has that taste. Must be from the cotton

So either I am just terrible at this, or, someone is doing something different than I am to make it work better. I've heard ranting and raving at how awesome cotton wicks are, and how much better they make the juice taste. What am I doing wrong? Or, do I just disagree with everyone and think they're all crazy for enjoying the taste of cotton? Sheesh!

That last coil I made rated 2.1ohms, absolutely perfect for where I like to vape.

Could it be that I really just prefer the taste of a standard atomizer over all else? I've tried the Nova with the silica, tried cotton wicks to no avail.

I'm putting it up for the night, and could really use some input here. Why does it taste like utter crap? What am I doing incorrect? Someone help, please.

 

[Zurd]

Maybe it takes some time of vaping on it to get the full taste. However, in my experience, if it taste bad the first few minutes, it's still gonna taste bad after a few hours. I'll be able to experiment with cotton wick as soon as next week as I just ordered this : Cotton Wicking material 3mm

 

[LucentShadow]

...
I'm putting it up for the night, and could really use some input here. Why does it taste like utter crap? What am I doing incorrect? Someone help, please.

I don't know why it would taste like utter crap, other than the possibility that there is something in the cotton that you may not know about, that doesn't boil out easily. It's difficult to know what's in any cotton product, or what treatment it received since it's conception. The best cotton product that I tried was cotton balls, but it's a bit difficult to get consistent wicks on every build with bits of cotton balls.

That said, I'm not fond of the cotton taste, but I didn't find it to be terribly off-putting, either. I switched to using Aunt Lydia's size 10 bamboo crochet thread in natural color from Michael's craft store, and like it much better. I like about eight strands of it, and it does taste woody, but I like that [insert manly grunt here.]

In my experience, either taste will lessen a bit as the wick is used, and as the liquid flavoring comes through better. It may take 1ml or so before you get the normal flavor that you can expect from then on.

Glad to hear you got the coil made well. I think that most of us using organic fiber wicks end up with bigger diameter wicks than normal, so less wraps are needed to get a higher resistance in that case. Make sure that you slip a big paperclip or needle alongside the wick while you wrap it. Not only does that make it easier to wrap, but gives it some slack in the coil area so that you don't choke it too much.

 

[Hydrophoid]

I am not sure about cotton gauze, it may be sterile but it also may have lots of bleaching and what not. They are not created for taste, they are created to not cause infection in the body, as an example, Iodine is also safe to be inside the body, but it tastes gross. That being said a natural cotton, many people have said unbleached is great, that you boil may be what you are looking for. I am using the stock silica wick on this atty and it is wonderful (maybe the people I ordered it from put a decent coil wrap in it cause lots of people don't have this experience).

You should experiment with other wicking materials. For me it is part of why I got my Phx.

As for non resistance wire, you don't need it on the Phx, it is used on the vivi tank because it has a tendency to have hot legs connecting back to the screw posts.

Some people said kanthil wire will give a metal taste for the first few uses, and the taste lasts different time frames by user. This may be the taste you have but not sure. Hot legs leading to your coil will also cause a metal taste (I know from experience on this one).

Good luck and have fun, with rebuildables, you will find a combination you love if you stick with it long enough.

 

[SilentEcho13]

Try wrapping the cotton in SS mesh before applying the coil, no cotton taste!

 

[Cuando]

When you say awful taste, is it just the taste, Levitas, or does it also vape a bit harsh?

I'm asking because, using the stock coil on my Bulldog (Pheonix Clone), it tasted terrible and was DRY as heck for a long while. I finally put it aside figuring I'd have to spend some time tinkering with it. That said, once it DID sit for about an hour, I picked it up and took a toot just out of curiosity. It's hitting fantastic now. I think the wick needs to fully saturate for these to work optimally. I also used an o-ring to help make sure I lined up the airhole to draw air across the length of the coil, it's been working great since.

 

[Hydrophoid]

Just thought I would update you all on my Phoenix, I am on my 3rd wrap, still using silica wick. This thing has become my favorite way to vape, it outperforms all stardust v3 by far (no burned taste, I didn't even know I was tasting that burnt taste lol, I have a vivi rebuildable tank (ok I got 2, one is brand new in the box still). The one I use has a SS mesh coil, but it tastes completely horrid compared to the PHX. Maybe I need to do more research on the SS process, or maybe that tank is just junk (I broke an ego twist trying to get the tank pulled up from its base, then I broke the base of the tank trying to do the same thing, fixed the tank, it tastes the same as before).

My experience with that tank and SS mesh has made me reconsider using SS in my PHX. I have some cotton guaze I am going to check out as I have some health concerns from using the silicon wick. I may try a hybrid cotton/SS in the future. But I dont have much time to tinker with school in full swing.

Does anyone else notice a real metaly taste when using straight SS mesh on any of their riggs?

Thanks for all the help with this setup guys.

 

[Zurd]

I used SS mesh for 6 months on a Genesis Maxi, Line and a DID, no metallic taste, maybe you just didn't burn it enough (propane torch + lighter). However I'm on silica/cotton wick in a Phoenix now as I much prefer their taste and warmth vapor compared to a SS mesh.

May I ask what thread you read that silica might not be good for health?

 

[tobarger]

Heres the big thread that has been making the rounds
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/284030-wick-materials-safe-vs-dangerous.html

328 pages
But seems like only 325

 

[Zurd]

Heres the big thread that has been making the rounds
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/284030-wick-materials-safe-vs-dangerous.html

328 pages
But seems like only 325

Oh yes, I know about that thread, just too big for me, wish there was a recap of it somewhere. Since they're still selling silica I tought this thread was just FUD but just to make sure I think I'm going to stick with cotton.