Funny Taste After Cleaning Rda Coil

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FinchX Super Member Verified Member ECF Veteran

So after making the step to sub-ohm vaping using the Subtank and the Atlantis tank, I decided to finally try a tank I had to build on myself. I first tried years ago when you had to use like a SS mesh rolled into a wick and just never got them to a point I felt it was worth it, hadn't tried since.
Anyway, I decided why not, got a few supplies and bought a Plume Veil RDA (I believe it's the v1.5) clone from Tobeco..

So I got it in, I used a jewelry coil jig (one of the like $4 ones) built a coil using 24g kanthal. I'd read all about machine oil and other things so I washed out the RDA and even washed the kanthal before making my coils with it. At first I built a 0.7ohm micro coil. I'm using organic Japanese cotton. Before wicking I made sure my coil was heating evenly and made adjustments with some needle nose pliers as needed. So I get it wicked, I saturate my cotton, making sure the cotton inside the actual coil is saturated as well. I fired it at 22 watts and it produced vapor beautifully, though not as much as I expected honestly. Regardless, when I put the top and tip on and tried pulling on it, I did NOT get a dry/burning cotton taste, but the flavor was absolutely terrible. The liquid's flavor was EXTREMELY muted, and it had another taste to it that was just terrible. I checked my wick and there was no burning or even dark singe discoloration on the cotton where it makes contact with the coil.

I followed the same procedure again exactly, using the same 24g kanthal and Japanese organic cotton. But this time I built a dual micro coil on the plume. I just thought I might as well try again. It came in at 0.3ohm... I wicked it, saturated the cotton completely, test fired it, and then put the top and tip on and tried another pull, same muted flavor of the liquid along with something else that just tastes horrible.

A couple of days later my Vaporshark rDNA 40 came in. So I pulled that build off the Plume and did a single macro coil using 30g nickel ni200. It rated at 0.23ohm. I set my Vaporshark to 30watts and 400degrees. Test fired it, worked fine. Top and tip on, took a pull, and it tasted just as wretched as my builds with kanthal. So I took off the top and did a few more test fires, and to my surprise (maybe I'm not grasping the way the DNA40 works) but after about 4-5 test burns, it started to burn my cotton just enough to discolor it around the area of the coil.

Does anyone have ANY thoughts or ideas as to why my RDA is producing a muted liquid flavor accompanied by something else that is just wretched tasting? Or why my nickel build on a DNA40 set to 400 degrees still burned my cotton after only 4-5 hits?? I'm determined to figure this out seeing what people have said about the flavor of RDAs and the vapor production of them when my flavor is bad and my vapor production isn't anything to brag about either. For comparison, both the Subtank with a 0.5ihm OCC and the Atlantis with a 0.5ohm both are producing more vapor AND with infinitely better flavor.

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cant think of anything, i used <1.0 coils all day every day and never get what youre explaining. only thing i can think of is maybe its the RDA.
have you try wash the deck thoroughly? remove all screws and give it a hot water dip, the might be oil residue inside the screw poles
other than wretched as a flavor identifier can you use a few more descriptive terms.... grape Koolaid is wretched to me...
how much wick are you stuffing into your coils? sounds like its too tight in the coils choking off the flow
I agree you have not gotten all the machine oil out. Remove the screws & soak it in alcohol for 30 minutes to an hour. Rinse rinse rinse.
Pics of your build please....
The coil position will play a part, they should be as close as possible (without causing a short) to the airholes.
As others have said, too much cotton will also adversely affect the quality of the vape (or too little cotton for that matter).
crxess Grumpy Ole Man Verified Member ECF Veteran

Machine oil..............
I use an ultrasonic cleaner with an orange cleaner solution. 20 minutes minimum.
Only did the Oily Mixed e-liquid once and NEVER want to experience that again.
Ryedan ECF Guru Verified Member ECF Veteran

Yes. I modeled your build in the Steam Engine coil building calculator. That link will take you to the numbers at 22 watts. Note the Heat Flux of 139 mW/mm² (milli watts / square mm). I like my vape at around 400 mW/mm². You're not putting enough power to the coil surface area, or you have too much coil surface area for the power applied, depending on how you look at it
Change the heat flux wattage to 60 and it goes up to 378. Or leave the watts at 22 and change the coil to 27 gauge and the heat flux changes to 394. With appropriate air flow for each setup, each of these will be a cool vape with a lot more flavor and vapor production and no burnt juice.

The coil heat up time with the 24 gauge wire and 22 watts is also way longer than I like to vape at.
Define 'wretched tasting' a bit better. When you cleaned the atty, did you use dish soap to lift any oil that may have been on the parts? If it's a burnt juice flavor, my guess would be too much cotton in the coil.
v1k1ng1001 Ultra Member Verified Member ECF Veteran

When I first started with RDAs, I made four major mistakes.
The first was not cleaning the machining oil thoroughly. You have to really get after it or it'll be intolerable.

The second was not wicking it properly. The idea is to stuff a good bunch in to soak up and hold the juice while keeping it diffuse enough so that the juice can actually wick.

Third was failing to saturate the wick. If you have it wicked properly, you should just dump the juice on it right up to the point of leaking, let it absorb and then dump some more before you take your first hit.

Lastly, you have to place the coils right next to the airflow so that coil can breathe maximally while you're firing it.
Verb Ultra Member Verified Member ECF Veteran

Between coiling and wicking wash your hands throughly with soap and water. Dry your fingers completely with a clean towel before touching the wicking material.
The first time I used a dripper it tasted - terrible - to me, downright nasty. I was inhaling mouth-to-lung and was used to low airflow RTAs like the Kayfun. Once I tried direct lung inhales, taking advantage of the dripper's airflow capabilities, the flavor was astounding. Lower ohm builds require increased airflow to cool the coils and protect the juice from scorching, this definitely effects flavor. The way I inhale depends on what gear/build I'm using. Kayfun and Lemo at 1 - 1.5 ohm = mouth-to-lung, Orchid and Magma at 0.4 - 0.6 ohm = direct lung.
Always clean a new item very well. I just use a soft toothbrush an very hot water. Since the water is so hot, I use a pair of need-nosed pliers to hold the item under the hot water. Then I soak it in vinegar and do the hot rinse.
Good luck!
FinchX Super Member Verified Member ECF Veteran

I'll try cleaning the deck again... I don't have any pictures but I know for a fact my cotton was too tight the first build, so I used less from then on. Still enough to expand inside the coil but not enough to be packed inside of it. I've also been purposely adjusting them to be directly next to my airflow after watching numerous videos. I'm fairly certain I'm not using too much cotton when I compare to coil building tutorials as well.
Would it just needing to be cleaned more thoroughly also explain the flavor of the liquid seeming as though it's muted or muffled??

And I'm sorry for not using a more descriptive term for the horrible flavor, my reasoning for not doing so is because I really have nothing to compare it too. I've never gotten anything like it before and can't think of any more precise adjective or comparison. To be honest I thought it might have something to do with the cotton, but I paid a bit too much for it, if I'm honest, simply because of the product reviews claiming it was excellent cotton. I can only really assume I didn't get the deck washed thoroughly and this flavor I can't describe is the machine oil still hiding in areas I didn't get clean enough. The only reason I say that is because it's my first tank where that is a factor and it's my first time experiencing this flavor.

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if the flavor is muted or muffled, could just be that the setup is just drawing in too much air vs vapor. widebore drip tip and huge chamber is biggest contributor to muted flavor i think, youre tastebuds also get 'used' to the flavor after vaping it for a while and gunk builds up on the coils over some time, so that mutes flavor as well. I'm not sure of the disgusting taste but it could possibly be the machine oil like others said, but I have never washed my RDA's fully (I probably should start doing it to be safe anyways) and never gotten a disgusting flavor, might just be lucky or they pre wash it before selling stuff. Another thing is that it could possibly be the wire you are using, maybe try a different brand of Kanthal A1 from diff seller if you still have these issues.
Also as you stated that if you paid too much for your cotton (japanese cotton), I'd like to suggest searching japanese cotton on amazon or some big site like that, rather than ordering the pieces individually or in small quantities like 3-5 packs, they always cost a buttload when you buy them like that specifically from ecig places for some reason. You can get Cotton Labo 200 piece japanese organic cotton on amazon for about $8, might take a month for delivery as it ships from overseas (japan) but it a heck of a lot cheaper, and still is organic japanese cotton.
danny4x4 Super Member Verified Member ECF Veteran

Try using an interdental toothbrush to clean the insides of ALL the holes, screwholes, airholes, and whatever holes. I had machine oil in one of my clones. No amount of washing, scrubbing, or ultrasonic cleaner could get rid of the oil..... Until I cleaned the screwholes. A pipe cleaner would work too, if it fits into the hole.
As stated by many machine oil sounds like at least the base culprit. I have found that the problem is much more common with clone RDAs, authentic vendors tend to take the time to thoroughly clean their atties before them package them but not always. As mentioned you have to clean the entire atty including screws and O-rings and even then the machine oil flavor can persist.
Assuming you can get the RDA clean I always suggest the following initial set up: make sure your coils are as close to the outside of the deck as possible, make sure they are lined up in the middle of the airflow holes, use correct amount of wick (don't choke it in the coil but make sure you fill the space adequately), and work on your draw. Believe it or not adjusting where the vapor hits your mouth or tongue makes a huge difference in taste (if you don't believe me try vaping once in your normal fashion and then try it again making sure you point the drip tip at the tip of your tongue when you draw).

Lastly, you may just prefer vaping mouth to lung with devices like Kayfuns or small chamber single coil RDAs.
ruet Super Member Verified Member ECF Veteran

This! I can immediately taste when I've forgotten to wash my hands or overworked a wick/coil. Assuming your atty is machine oil free; try this:
1) Wash and thoroughly dry your hands.
2) Remove your wick.
3) Dry-burn your coil(s) until all you see is Kanthal again.
4) Wash and thoroughly dry your hands again.
5) Re-wick.
6) Prime your coil more than you believe you should before that first firing.

After that, as others have already said, make sure your airflow is as close to your coil(s) as possible. For me anyway, that's the biggest determiner of both vapor and flavor density. Good luck!
ultra sonic cleaner + Simple Green
FinchX Super Member Verified Member ECF Veteran

It turned out to be the machine oil like so many suggested. I soaked in alcohol (was all I had of the above mentioned) for about 45 minutes and then thoroughly scrubbed each piece with a toothbrush, dipping it in the alcohol while scrubbing. And voilà no more wretched flavor. I have my coil placement good, but still working on the proper amount of cotton. I'm not using too much, but it seems I'm not getting quite enough because I'm having to saturate the cotton after every hit, sometimes two tops.
Now I just need to work on my nickel coils. The first one I made seemed to be good, but I still had the machine oil problem and it still burned my cotton (I was under the assumption setting a DNA40 device to 400 degrees was supposed to prevent that??) I'm not sure as I knew I needed to just get a good micro coil build before moving on lol.

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