Rebuilt coils still tasting funny...

[Scottmeier360]

Okay, so we've talked about this before to no avail before my thread got jacked...but here's the issue. I rebuilt a bunch of coils before that performed great, and we've used most of them up, so it's time to build more coils. Ok, so these are the things we've been over. I'm getting a funny taste out of them, not a chemical but not a burnt taste...more like a gym sock. Anyway here we go, all parts are soaked in rubbing alcohol to clean, wick included. Wire is torched prior to winding as well. So i've tried different wire and wick, cotton and silica, and am getting the exact same taste. So it's probably not the wick. I've tried wire from 3 places and verified it IS A1 for sure...i'm getting no burned spots anywhere, not on the coil or wick, and not on the rubber grommet in the bottom...need more tips? LOL i appologize in advance, this has been driving me nuts...if it's not the wire, not the wick, and nothings burnt and everything's clean, then what is it?! hahaha any and all advice will be appreciated...see you all in the morning!

 

[Leal]

I got a funky taste from rebuilt silica wicks. After searching the forums I concluded it was from oil and lotion on my hands. Now my process is to wash hands thoroughly with dish soap prior to building coils. I torch the silica, wrap the coil and torch again lightly before installing.

No more funky taste.

 

[NICnurse]

I am glad the OP asked this....because I am having the same problem. It is an unexplainable taste....not burned, not dry, just weird. Almost a little metallic, but not really. Really unexplainable. Gym sock is quite fitting! I washed and dried the silica, torched the Kanthal, always wash my hands prior to wrapping.....the taste alone is the ONLY reason I have not had RBA success. My wraps are good, they all Ohm between 1.9 and 2.3, no hot spots. The taste is so off that I can only vape it for a few minutes before I run back to my carto and tank.

I will try torching the silica. See if that makes a difference. Anxious to see what others have to say.

 

[Scottmeier360]

I tried that too...tastes like a gym sock with torched silica lol...i really hope we can figure this out, i too wash my hands before i touch the stuff

 

[genghishahn]

So, I'm not sure if this is gonna help, but have you tried soaking your o-rings in alcohol too? I contaminated one of my RDAs with hot dog eliquid and could not for the life of me get the aftertaste to go away, even after breaking everything down and giving it all a thorough cleaning: wick removed, run under hot water, dry burned, all other parts washed with dish soap. I started smelling all the parts to see where the funk was. Turns out that the juice had gotten into the o-rings (on the RDA and my drip tip). I let them sit in rubbing alcohol for about 30 minutes, rinsed, and let them air dry. Hot dog funk gone!

 

[State O' Flux]

The only thing you've not tried, at least not listed, would be bamboo wick. I've got some 3mm bamboo on order just to try it. Have you tried boiling the cotton or silica? I've not tried it, but I've read where some go as far as to boil-rinse... repeat.

 

[steved5600]

What are you rebuilding coils for? Does it have a plastic tank? If it is for something like a Vivi or Protank what does a new head taste like?
RBA or RDA?

 

[bsidb]

I know that taste, I think it happens when my coils are a bit to tight, as much as just one, when I wrap correctly, no taste, the first puff I can tell if its right or if whats up, if it tasts off, sometimes an adjustment will help( with needle) or Ill have to puff through it without inhaling till it clears( area of wick has receded or burnt back),I must burn silica and multi-boil cotton, same thing if its too loose, that rarely is what happens for me

 

[Scottmeier360]

The coils are Kanger coils, for pro tank and evod...and i have not tried bamboo wick at all, but if ya switch from silica (glass) to cotton (organic) and the flavor doesnt change it's not the wick...I'm building coils because we have a crapload of those around here, the wife primarily runs evods...i have a couple but between the two of us we probably have a dozen evods, and some pro tanks and 2 puritanks...my main vapes are all carto's tho...either way this problem is very dis-heartening...i have boiled the wick once..and it didnt help

 

[AttyPops]

OK, go the other route.

Quit cleaning everything (except do wash your hands). Clean the RBA. Wrap new silica with new wire, install, wet, vape.

How about now?

P.S. Maybe don't use "gym socks" juice... OK, try it with plain PG.

 

[Scottmeier360]

thats how i used to do it, i started over cleaning everything when this funky taste came about, so far the washing of my hands and all the individual parts hasnt made a difference one way or the other

 

[AttyPops]

Stumped as you are. If it's not the juice, IDK.

 

[crxess]

I have only ever gotten 2 really Nasty taste

1) e-liquids mixed wrong that react into Baby Powder - GROSS! will also instantly contaminate a atomizer/carto and not come out.

1) contaminants in/on the actual device. Had a nice RY-4 that tasted like Turkey Grease left in the hot sun for several days. Almost tossed my cookies.
Required dumping the e-liquid, replacing coil and wick and scalding the device.(Boiled/alcohol rinse/hot water rinse and thorough wipe down)

 

[AttyPops]

It's that Grand River water. Try distilled.

 

[Signal30]

Ive noticed once the vape after a rebuild tastes like charred tires, I have to dump the juice because it became contaminated.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

If you are absolutely sure that you are doing the rebuilding according to proper protocol and all materials are clean and sanitary, then it must be the liquid, or how the liquid is reacting to the materials once it's in the tank. There's no other cause.

Try a brand new flavor of juice. Maybe the batch you're using has been contaminated with something that doesn't play well with the materials inside of your delivery system. Maybe a substance in the juice has oxidized or spoiled, and the new compound doesn't taste or vape the same as when it was fresh.

 

[Alter]

I read that alcohol breaks down the o-rings, it makes then soft and mushy so I have not used alcohol to clean anything but the glass and chrome. As for the funky taste, it might be not torching the silica enough, I get mine red hot several times with a propane torch(butane leaves a taste behind, propane doesn't). Could be you got a knockoff silica like you can get knockoff ekowool. Back to if you trust the vendor to sell you the proper stuff.
Look at your wraps, see if the ends are higher than the rest, that happens when you put the bottom plugs back into the head it pushes the 2 ends up a bit, just enough. The metallic taste is from wire not contacting the wick enough or touching each other. Funky gym sock taste comes from the silica that either isn't clean enough or just crappy wick. I've never had to let wick, boil, soak or dry and haven't had problems.
Another method I saw on youtube is that once the new coil is in the head you dryburn till it glows, blowing on it at the same time then smell it. If it smells off then do it again and again until the smell is gone. I believe this method would pop the coil but when your in dire straits you have to give anything a try.

 

[crxess]

Could be you got a knockoff silica like you can get knockoff ekowool.

Wouldn't knock-off silica still be silica?

Even with ekowool my only concern in a knockoff would be breakage/splintering

 

[Scottmeier360]

This is actually my favorite flavor of juice, and i've been using it to try and fingure this out, at the same time the wife runs it in a Evod, and i'm running it in a Puritank and a cartomizer, so it's not the juice....i've been torching with butane, let me try propane and see if that makes a difference, i'll get back to you shortly.

 

[UncleChuck]

I would bet there is a hot leg somewhere down inside your coil head. I've had a similar taste with some coils I was building for my sister's clearos. A few had an awful funky taste, but after fiddling around with the wire (pulling it tighter, and pushing the negative leg into the side of the "chassis' to reduce the distance before the wire connects) this problem was fixed.

On one of the heads I could actually see a hot leg poking out from underneath the wick and coil. The other heads I couldn't actually see any hot legs, but they had the same flavor issue as the one that had a visible hot leg. And after some prodding they too were fixed.

Oddly enough there was no charring of the little grommet as I would have expected with a hot leg. Although if I were to fire those heads for a long period of time, instead of short bursts, I'm sure it would have burned the grommet.