Reasons why your juice tastes burnt and how to prevent it
It’s morning and you’ve just poured yourself a warm cup of coffee. You’re ready to take a good fulfilling pull out of your ecig when all of a sudden you taste something awful and start coughing straight away. A dry hit is definitely not a great start for the day, but here are the main reasons why your juice tastes burnt and what to do to prevent it.
What is a dry hit?
Dry hits occur when the cotton or wicking material inside the coil doesn’t get fully saturated with e-liquid. This means that when you press the fire button on your device you’re not inhaling vapor but rather burnt cotton smoke. It’s a super harsh, cough inducing sensation and it’s full of nasty particles we should avoid.
Priming makes perfect
If it’s a new coil we’re talking about then you probably skipped priming it. Priming means pre-soaking the cotton inside an atomizer head with a few drops of e-liquid before mounting it inside the tank. This helps start off the absorption process and it will greatly increase the lifespan of the coil.
Besides priming there are also a couple of things you may want to do. First is taking a few dummy puffs without actually firing the device. This helps e-liquid get sucked into the coil and speeds up the whole process. Second is to start off at a lower wattage if your device allows it or take smaller draws if you have a vape pen or something similar. Last but not least, as all user manuals state, do allow 5 - 10 minutes for the e-liquid to get absorbed before using that new coil.
An old coil could be the culprit
Coils today are a lot more powerful and have longer lifespans then their predecessors a few years back, but they cannot last forever. Usually a coil can last anywhere between a couple of days to a couple of weeks. However, as you vape particles will start to deposit on the cotton until it eventually becomes sticky and all gunked up. This will prevent new liquid from reaching the wicking material as it dries down and you’re looking at a classic dry hit scenario.
Just swap the coil for a new one and you’ll be vaping without problems for the next couple of weeks. Just remember to prime it first.
High VG e-liquids have their downsides
Sure they give off a lot of vapor and such smooth flavor but they aren’t intended for every tank. High VG e-liquids are a lot thicker than standard 60/40 VPG and they tend to wick harder. If you keep on burning coils fast regardless if you follow all the instructions then we recommend switching your e-juice. Some coil heads have very small openings and they simply cannot cope with the viscous high VG concentrations. This tends to get even worse in colder temperatures.
Temperature control will do the trick
Probably the main reason we have temperature control today is to prevent dry hits. This features allows certain high powered mods to accurately determine the temperature of the coil and stop if from going over a certain value. This way it will prevent dry cotton from burning and it will ensure we never have to deal with that awful taste ever again.
Just make sure your mod supports the feature and you’re using the appropriate coils for the job. Usually temperature control is only compatible with Nickel, Titanium and Stainless Steel heads.
Avoid chain vaping
Chain vaping might be fun but it puts a lot of strain on your mod and atomizers. Some coils can’t keep up with the rate at which the e-liquid is absorbed and vaporized so dry cotton gets exposed to the heat. If you fell your device is struggling just leave it some time between puffs. We recommend at least 10 seconds or getting an RDA.
No more burnt taste
If you closely follow all these steps, chances are you won’t get that many dry hits in the future. Vaping is all about clouds and the nicotine buzz so now that you know the basics, get ready to enjoy that full flavor in no time.