Problem with iStick Pico 75W

[John Maitre]

Hi everyone.
I'm new here and new in the vaping community.
I have a very annoying problem to which I cannot find an answer.
Soo I managed in 3-4 days to burn a coil, the standard 0.3ohm coil from atomizer Melo3 mini.
It's just burned in the middle, the cotton is black,and gives a very burn taste.
I changed it with the other one, same material , I think is khantal, 0.5ohm... 5days later, the same problem.
I have to mention that I properly put the e-juice and waited so that the cotton was all wet.
I only ocasionally went over 50w, usually I keep it at 37w, and used it in wattage mode.
Today, I change the coil with one Ti 0.5ohm.
Put the istick in TC Ti mode, first drawn, completely burn taste. and Temp protection showing on screen very often.
Is there a possibility that my iStick is broken somehow?
Or am I doing something very wrong and I can't figure it out ?
I have the friend with the same setup and used the first 0.3ohm coil for 2months.

 

[SteveS45]

Welcome @John Maitre and I hope you enjoy you stay~!

On my Pico with the Melo III Mini I never fired it over 25W and run it regularly at 22.5W. Just because a tank/coil has an operating range that is high does not mean it is required. I run most of my coils at a lower wattage except for the TC Coils which do get pushed to the limits and then some.

 

[SnapDragon NY]

Hi and welcome- sorry you are having these problems! I think that you are not priming the coils correctly! Put eliquid dots on the outside cotton juice holes and a little on the cotton on the inside of the coil! Let the coil sit in the juice tank for at least 20 minutes- sometimes using a pin into the outside of the cotton helps aid loosing and the juice to soak better.
Then take some dry hit drags, do not turn on the power, to get juice deeper into the coil! Next start out low temps like 10w and work your way slowly upping the watts, break in the coil slowly! I usually vape in the 25w- 30w range- go up or down in watts till you like the flavor- too high tastes burnt, too low no vapor!
I do not use Ni or Ti coils! I stick with the Kanthal in watt mode.

 

[John Maitre]

Hi and thanks for the quick responses.
For @SteveS45 , unde 30w seemed too "slow" for me, I'm kind of cloud-enthusiast for now.
But the coils stated that can be operated from 10 to 80 and from 30 to 100w, so I didn't think that it will be a problem.
@SnapDragon NY , I did all the things you've mentioned, I knew it from a previous basic e-cig, all of it, the primming, the dry hits..

And I did that thing too with changing the wattage to find the perfect flavor.

And the burnt taste didn't arrive from the beggining , soo I don't know if it's a problem of primming the coil.
It arrived gradually.
And for the Ti coil, pure mistery, I can't even vape for 2seconds, it's alll burnt taste.
And if I set it under 180 degrees Celcius, it just shows Temp Protection.

 

[Smoke_too_much]

Yes it is possible your mod is not working right but first you should ensure the problem isn't something else. At almost any power setting, even low ones, if you fire it too long or don't have sufficient juice or airflow it is going to burn.

There are a few reasons for insufficient juice such as inadequate initial priming, improper wicking, too thick a juice for the coil design, too little time between draws, to name a few.

Airflow is primarily related to atty design but you can adjust it too low, draw insufficiently, wick it improperly, to name a few.

It is always possible that with sufficient use it simply was time to change the coil.

 

[SteveS45]

I am offering you my personal experience and going past 25W it starts to taste burnt to me and still delivers massive clouds.

 

[sofarsogood]

it's possible you are using the coils in the the wrong power modes. kanthal wire can be used only in watts mode. Nickle and titanium only in temp control mode. stainless can be used in both modes.

If the wick burns it's always because there was not enough liquid on the coil to prevent it from over heating.

 

[SteveS45]

Also I have noticed the the Pico Kit with the Melo III Mini tends to vapor lock and loosening the top cap allows the e-Liquid to wick or saturate the coil. Not fond of having to loosen the top every 3 hits but I an still using the 1st coil in my Pico Kit.

 

[SteveS45]

Even a saturated coil will burn when fired at too high a wattage. May not burn the cotton right away but burn e-Liquid right on the coil. It happens to me when I switch from a Nautilus X to a Mini and have it at 15 Watts and forgot to turn down the power.

 

[John Maitre]

@Smoke_too_much from all your possible problems I identified that it's possible that I fire too long, or hape smoke when was low juice, but it was above the 2 holes at the bottom of the thank from where I suppose the coil it's getting the juice.
So I can assume I can be more careful about long fires and juice levels for the next Kanthal coils I'll buy.
@sofarsogood the default coils from the Melo3mini tank were Kanthal I guess and I only used them in Wattage mode.
The new one is Ti coil, and I only tried to use it in Temperature Ti mode.
@SteveS45 can you elaborate what "tends to vapor lock and loosening the top cap allows the e-Liquid to wick or saturate the coil" means.
I'm not a native english speaker and I have difficulties in translating vapor lock.
I think I understood that loosening the top cap can help for the wick in the coil to fill better with liquid.
Thanks you all for the quick and good responses.

 

[SteveS45]

@John Maitre if you notice when taking a few pulls on the Melo III Mini the vape starts to weaken and if you loosen the top allowing air into the tank you see bubbles come out of the coil which is the e-Liquid going into the coil.

 

[John Maitre]

@SteveS45 understood.
I'll try that too.
Thanks.
Meanwhile, I tried taking another few pulls on the Ti coil...and it's horrible.
I'll go on monday and buy a new simple Kanthal coil I think

 

[John Maitre]

Do you know any way to lower the wattage in TC mode?
It's says 75w , and the Ti coil it's supposed to go at 60w max.
But I can't find a way to lower the wattage in TC mode.

 

[SteveS45]

Here is a link to the user manuals for the eLeaf products. I have never used my Pico in TC mode so I can't answer your question.

eleafworld.com - eleaf,ismoka,istick,ijust,lemo,melo,help,lemo2

 

[Eskie]

Remember coil life also depends on the juice used. If you are suing a sweet commercial juice it will gunk the coils up at no time. Vaped on the high side of power, and gunking even faster. It is possible to have a coil last weeks with an unflavored juice, and mere days with a sweet heavily flavored juice.

Also, just because a coil has a "recommended" power range doesn't make it true. Manufacturers regularly inflate those numbers as "high watt" coils sell better. The correct power level is the one that gives you the most pleasing vape, not a number chosen just from the ratings.

 

[John Maitre]

@Eskie yeah , I understood the power level thing. That's why I kept it at 37watts, which was right around the "middle" of the manufacturers watt-range. I only did 3-4 pulls at 60w for bigger clouds.
I'm new and don't know how liquid,wattage and all this stuff influence the coils life and taste.
And the guy at the store looks like he's selling carots, doesn't know to much about electronic mods.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[SteveS45]

Trust me when I say the Pcio kit works fine at 22.5W because yesterday vaping my Green Apple Dew Berry DIY at the park a guy standing 25 to 35 feet away said my vape smelled wonderful because the cloud wafted right towards him. I have found that too much power for a coil will actually produce less vapor and you need to find the sweet spot on every coil, tank or build.

 

[John Maitre]

Question: when a "coil" gets burned, what actually gets burned?
I put a flashlight thru my coil, and it seems like the actual coil, the wire, is all black.
I can't seem to see that the wick is black.

 

[SteveS45]

One or the other or both. I have successfully cleaned a coil that I accidentally fired at too high a wattage but once the cotton burns it is toast. Unless you can change the cotton that is.

 

[SteveS45]

Bear in mind the coil I have successfully cleaned were just a minor amount of burned e-Liquid on the coil itself and not a gunked up clogged mess.