Why does my vape taste burnt?
Why does my vape taste burnt?
If your atomizer tastes burnt, there can be several reasons why. Here, we’ll look at a few possible causes and break them down by atomizer type. One thing applies no matter what you’re using, even if it sounds obvious: is there e-liquid in the tank? If there is, we can move on to the other causes. Sooner or later, changing the coil or the cotton is unavoidable, but if you keep the following points in mind, these unpleasant surprises should stay rare.
Replaceable-coil tanks
With these, there’s basically only one real fix: replace the coil. Still, you’ll want to know why it’s “done”, especially if the coil hasn’t been in use for very long.
Possible cause 1:
The cotton has simply become “used up” through normal wear and tear. Of course, the cotton isn’t consumed in the traditional sense, but it doesn’t last forever either. Why does this happen? One possible explanation is that over time the cotton loses volume and starts to collapse. As a result, it no longer makes proper contact with the coil, and the wicking no longer works as it should. This can lead to hot spots and dry hits, which then cause that burnt taste. The older the coil is, the more likely this is to happen.
Possible cause 2:
Insufficient wicking is another possible cause of dry hits and that unpleasant burnt taste. There are a few things worth checking here. Every coil has wicking ports. Depending on your vaping style (MTL/DL), these vary in size. With DL vaping, they are larger because higher wattages use and vaporise more e-liquid, so more liquid needs to reach the coil. With MTL vaping, the openings are smaller due to the lower consumption. But even DL coils can have wicking problems.
For one thing, the e-liquid may be too thick, which means it won’t wick properly (DL/MTL). This happens especially often in winter, when wicking can slow down. The reason is the lower temperature: VG (glycerine) reacts to temperature, and the colder it gets, the thicker it becomes. Tip: Carry the atomizer close to your body or keep it protected from the cold in a backpack or bag. With an MTL atomizer, the first step would be to try a different e-liquid ratio (instead of 70/30 VG/PG, try 50/50 VG/PG).
Another possibility is that your wattage is set too high, meaning more e-liquid is vaporised than can wick in. Normally, the wattage range you can use the coil at is printed on the coil itself. If you stay within that recommended range, you shouldn’t run into wicking problems.
Rebuildable atomizers
This is where things get a little trickier, because there can be more possible reasons.
Cotton-related causes:
You may have used too little or too much cotton. If there’s too little cotton, it won’t sit properly against the coil and hot spots can form (the coil starts glowing). Too little cotton often also leads to leaking. If too much cotton is used, the e-liquid flow can be restricted. The cotton can no longer absorb the e-liquid, or only does so too slowly, which leads to dry cotton that then simply burns or scorches when heated. In this case, replace the cotton and use a little more or a little less.
Wattage setting
You may also be running too much wattage. Unlike replaceable-coil tanks, rebuildables don’t come with fixed wattage recommendations you can follow. This takes a bit of practice and experience. The best approach is to work your way up slowly and increase the wattage step by step until it suits your preferences. The lower the resistance of the build, the more wattage you can use. As a rough guide, this is how I do it: I run 0.5 ohm at around 25–35 watts, depending on the wire used, a little more or less. Simple round-wire coils need less wattage, while coils with more wire benefit from higher wattage (the more material needs to be heated, the more power the coil requires). Another point is dry burning when installing the coil. If a new build tastes burnt right from the start, it’s possible you simply forgot to dry-burn it. Before threading the cotton, the coil should glow evenly from the inside out.
The coil itself can be used several times. Depending on how long it has already been in use, it may need to be replaced.
