iStick Pico + Melo III Questions/Problems

[Glytch]

I got a this mod about a week ago (my first decent mod, was on Twisp for 2 years) and I have a few questions that maybe someone can answer.

General Info

- I do chain vape at times
- I never let the juice run down to below the juice intakes but I do notice quite large air bubbles escaping at times
- I did the required research and prime my coils properly. I didn't get dry hits on any of the coils the first time I vaped and none while I was using them for the said number of days
- I use around 10ml of juice per day

I've used 3 coils in 10 days

One eLeaf 0.3 ohm coil (OCC Kanthal) - This was the first coil I put in the mod. The flavour was legendary (I was using Weiner Vape Roll Over 30/70 PG/VG). I got loads of vapour and loads of flavour. I ran the coil at between 30 - 40w and was during direct to lung hits of about 2.5 to 3.5 seconds. After 3 or 4 days I started getting a horrible metallic taste on the coil. Changed it out for a new 0.5 ohm. Someone suggested that these coils probably don't do well with lung hits longer than 3 seconds.

Two eLeaf 0.5 ohm coils (OCC Kanthal) - Less flavour and vapour. The metallic taste was less but still continued with both coils (even when new). Lung hits at around 40w for 3 - 4 seconds. First coil lasted around 4 days. On the second coil and trying short MTL at 35w but not that enjoyable. These 0.5 ohm coils also make the tank very hot when chain vaping which the 0.3 ohm coil didn't.

Metallic Taste and Hissing

I've been using DIY juices at 20/80 PG/VG and the metallic taste is still there as it is with the weiner vape roll over. I've tried the plastic drip tip from my Twisp and with no drip tip and while the metallic taste lessens I get spit back with the Twisp drip tip so I don't use it. Also with the 0.5ohm coils when I release the button after vaping I can hear the coil hiss for another 1 - 1.5 seconds which I don't think is normal. I know the ramp-up and ramp-down on higher resistance coils is longer but surely this can't be good.

Vapour's Tounge

The Weiner Vape Roll Over and my DIY juices are all strawberry based flavours so I have nothing to compare it to really. I taste more when I vape while drinking beer or coffee or right after having eaten some tasty food. Could I have vapour's tongue?

Suggestions Please

I want a coil that will let me do direct lung hits for 3 - 5 seconds with a reasonable amount of tasty vapour and last at least a week. I'm not averse to building my own coils but all the calculations I do with 26g kanthal come out at 2 wraps for below 0.5 ohms. 24g is apparently cumbersome to work with even on the ECR head as they need to pass past the rubber grommet at the bottom of the coil housing. Do I need such a low resistance coil? I rebuilt one of the coils using existing wire and rewicked with cotton. I did a spaced parallel build with 6 or 7 wraps which got me 0.9ohms but it didn't taste overly good.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated (unless it involves buying a RDA/RDTA, which I can't afford at the moment). I really want this device to perform like it did the first few days I had it.

 

[Feliks Karp]

Sup buddy...I find that so weird though, I have been vaping mine at 40watts, stock 0.3 coils, according to the mod ohm's reading at 0.26, and I've been thrashing this thing, chain vaping, long draws etc and not one issue, with taste, draw, dry hits etc. and this is the 2nd 0.3 ohm coil I popped in here and still no an issues.

Baffles the mind lol @Glytch

Don't take offense to this, but this kind of illustrates my quip about what constitutes a "dry-hit", what is "chain-vaping" to you? I see this a lot when people say I have x problem with y device (coil/mod etc) there will be people who say "I never have this problem", but are the variables the same? Like to me personally with my setup, I'm running dual coils at 0.18 ohm at 145 watts, I would consider 5 sec long drags to be massive, I would consider chain vaping to be successive hits with a few minutes in between.

Again, no offense meant, nothing personal against you, I'd just like to see more numbers when people share experiences, think it would help everyone more.

 

[AlexL]

Hello guys my thoughts... maybe there are different batches of coils out there i maybee the manufacturer used different cotton to wick the coils or a different method of inserting the wick... i definitely think the wicking material was too tightly jammed in the coil assembly i pulled apart to be able to let the juice flow freely to the coil...

 

[Glytch]

Don't take offense to this, but this kind of illustrates my quip about what constitutes a "dry-hit", what is "chain-vaping" to you? I see this a lot when people say I have x problem with y device (coil/mod etc) there will be people who say "I never have this problem", but are the variables the same? Like to me personally with my setup, I'm running dual coils at 0.18 ohm at 145 watts, I would consider 5 sec long drags to be massive, I would consider chain vaping to be successive hits with a few minutes in between.

Again, no offense meant, nothing personal against you, I'd just like to see more numbers when people share experiences, think it would help everyone more.

No offence taken at all. You are absolutely right. It's difficult to compare experiences without some empirical basis. It'd be cool if mods had logging software that you could download and share with other vapers. Telling you average hit, air flow control position, type of coil, amount of liquid used. I hope as the technology matures one will be able to see these stats from devices.

 

[Imtiaaz]

You might consider adding the Avocado's to your list of possibilities. I replaced the Melo III and Melo III Mini tanks on my Pico's with Avocado 22's, and run Avocado 24's on my Minikin's and Sig213. The Avo's have unseated all my other tanks (including the Serpent Mini I never liked, the ceramic coil tanks, etc), and are my go to's on all of the TC mods that I am still running now days.

So @Spydro will you be replacing all those avo's with the new version coming out?

 

[Glytch]

You might consider adding the Avocado's to your list of possibilities. I replaced the Melo III and Melo III Mini tanks on my Pico's with Avocado 22's, and run Avocado 24's on my Minikin's and Sig213. The Avo's have unseated all my other tanks (including the Serpent Mini I never liked, the ceramic coil tanks, etc), and are my go to's on all of the TC mods that I am still running now days.

Thanks! I did some research and I reckon I want a RTA over a RDTA. I don't like the idea of having to keep the wick wet. Also having a bigger tank that doesn't need filling so often would suit my needs better.

I'm not buying anytime soon so I'll keep an open mind and keep on doing my research.

 

[Imtiaaz]

Don't take offense to this, but this kind of illustrates my quip about what constitutes a "dry-hit", what is "chain-vaping" to you? I see this a lot when people say I have x problem with y device (coil/mod etc) there will be people who say "I never have this problem", but are the variables the same? Like to me personally with my setup, I'm running dual coils at 0.18 ohm at 145 watts, I would consider 5 sec long drags to be massive, I would consider chain vaping to be successive hits with a few minutes in between.

Again, no offense meant, nothing personal against you, I'd just like to see more numbers when people share experiences, think it would help everyone more.

My point was, without getting into technicalities, that I've been doing what he has been doing and not had any issues, and that I would actually really like to know why that is @Feliks Karp . We have the same setup and used the same coils, what other statistics need I present? obviously the juice we vape is not the same and wattage's vary but I know what wattage he said he vaped at and I mentioned what I was vaping at.

So a part from just saying I thrash this thing, I should rather say, I pull for this long and this is how I chain vape etc etc. Thrashed it, no issues. case and point.

No offense taken from my side, didn't want to tell him the same thing he has heard over and over again, hence kept it short and TO THE POINT.

 

[Feliks Karp]

My point was, without getting into technicalities, that I've been doing what he has been doing and not had any issues, and that I would actually really like to know why that is @Feliks Karp . We have the same setup and used the same coils, what other statistics need I present? obviously the juice we vape is not the same and wattage's vary but I know what wattage he said he vaped at and I mentioned what I was vaping at.

So a part from just saying I thrash this thing, I should rather say, I pull for this long and this is how I chain vape etc etc. Thrashed it, no issues. case and point.

No offense taken from my side, didn't want to tell him the same thing he has heard over and over again, hence kept it short and TO THE POINT.

Well without getting in to technicalities you can't find a reason why two identical set-ups produce two different results, unfortunately wattage is not the only denominator in vaping production, and how long you press the fire button as well as how many times you use up the liquid that's in the wick (including how slowly the wick takes to sufficiently take up more liquid) is going to effect your vaping experience. Thrashing has absolutely no numerical value behind it, so a part from saying that you thrash this thing, you literally could have described your experience in a multitude of more detail that would have been of more value to yourself and the op.

 

[KimVapeDashian]

Well without getting in to technicalities you can't find a reason why two identical set-ups produce two different results, unfortunately wattage is not the only denominator in vaping production, and how long you press the fire button as well as how many times you use up the liquid that's in the wick (including how slowly the wick takes to sufficiently take up more liquid) is going to effect your vaping experience. Thrashing has absolutely no numerical value behind it, so a part from saying that you thrash this thing, you literally could have described your experience in a multitude of more detail that would have been of more value to yourself and the op.

Everyone knows that thrashing = 39.75W on a pico @Feliks Karp.

 

[AlexL]

with the way technology is going i think in the not too distant future we will begin to see vw/vv mods that are filled with temp sensors airflow sensors etc and capable of data logging.. ie recording all parameters during your vape session that you can then analyze.. post on the net.. etc...

 

[AlexL]

only then could one compare apples to apples...

 

[Imtiaaz]

Well without getting in to technicalities you can't find a reason why two identical set-ups produce two different results, unfortunately wattage is not the only denominator in vaping production, and how long you press the fire button as well as how many times you use up the liquid that's in the wick (including how slowly the wick takes to sufficiently take up more liquid) is going to effect your vaping experience. Thrashing has absolutely no numerical value behind it, so a part from saying that you thrash this thing, you literally could have described your experience in a multitude of more detail that would have been of more value to yourself and the op.

Why thank you @Feliks Karp , nextime I will be more detailed in my explinations.

 

[Spydro]

So @Spydro will you be replacing all those avo's with the new version coming out?

Defiantly not, my original Avo's are here to stay. Now that they are being superseded I may even buy more of them for future endeavors while I can still get them. And that with the advantage of their prices going down as vendors try to sell off their stocks of them with a new model coming out. I have all of mine (22's & 24's) dialed in as perfect as perfect gets for all my liquids. They are no fuss/no muss massive flavor machines that are so good for my uses that they shelved all my other tanks. I've found my own very simple to do build and wicking niche with the originals that never leak, never air lock, never give a dry hit... but they do use up joose like it is going out of style. My DIY makes that a non issue though.

I have not decided yet whether I will try one of the new bottom air 24's. But I don't see the new so called improvements as being anything I need for my uses. Just fluff I have no need to fiddle with for my uses, and that may also be more prone to leaking by default of their design. I also don't like the dome cap either as well as I do the originals. The new model may be somewhat easier for those with less experience though, maybe more forgiving on wicking, etc.

Bottom line... I am way more than happy with the originals that are stellar flavor machines with no gear issues at all that I have to deal with (except refilling them and only very rarely re-wicking them... very rarely because I always dedicate gear to the joose I run in it).

 

[RichJB]

Thanks! I did some research and I reckon I want a RTA over a RDTA. I don't like the idea of having to keep the wick wet.

Be aware of the difference between RDA and RDTA. RDA is a dripper where you need to add small amounts of juice at a time because it has no tank as such. The bottom of the deck acts as a sort of mini-reservoir for juice.

RDTA is not a dripper/RDA, it's a tank just like an RTA. The manufacturers add the "D" in to imply that the tank gives a dripper-quality vape. But that is just marketing. The Avo that Spydro recommends, along with other "RDTA" devices like the iJoy Limitless Plus or Smok RDTA, function just like the Griffin and other tanks you're considering. You prime the wicks when you install the coil. After that, it's just a case of filling the tank. There is no requirement to drip juice onto the coil/wick after the initial installation.

 

[Glytch]

Be aware of the difference between RDA and RDTA. RDA is a dripper where you need to add small amounts of juice at a time because it has no tank as such. The bottom of the deck acts as a sort of mini-reservoir for juice.

RDTA is not a dripper/RDA, it's a tank just like an RTA. The manufacturers add the "D" in to imply that the tank gives a dripper-quality vape. But that is just marketing. The Avo that Spydro recommends, along with other "RDTA" devices like the iJoy Limitless Plus or Smok RDTA, function just like the Griffin and other tanks you're considering. You prime the wicks when you install the coil. After that, it's just a case of filling the tank. There is no requirement to drip juice onto the coil/wick after the initial installation.

Yeah got all that. Tanks on the RTA's just look bigger. Looked at the general design of the RDTA's and the wick above the liquid just seems like the design will be more effort than a RTA.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Glytch]

For those that are interested I seem to have mostly gotten rid of the metallic taste.

• Washed my tank thoroughly and sterilised with steri tabs. First 30 minutes the metallic taste was gone only to return as before. Definitely something in the tank was imparting the taste.
• I started building my own coils in the past few days and I got hold of some NiChrome wire and the metallic taste lessened drastically. It seems Kanthal might not agree with my tastebuds.

Not sure if this is at all possible but this is the only thing that seems to have made a difference.

#weird

 

[Andre]

For those that are interested I seem to have mostly gotten rid of the metallic taste.

• Washed my tank thoroughly and sterilised with steri tabs. First 30 minutes the metallic taste was gone only to return as before. Definitely something in the tank was imparting the taste.
• I started building my own coils in the past few days and I got hold of some NiChrome wire and the metallic taste lessened drastically. It seems Kanthal might not agree with my tastebuds.

Not sure if this is at all possible but this is the only thing that seems to have made a difference.

#weird

Whatever the reason, glad you got sorted. Easy to build the ECR head once you have done the first coil, not so?

 

[Neal]

For those that are interested I seem to have mostly gotten rid of the metallic taste.

• Washed my tank thoroughly and sterilised with steri tabs. First 30 minutes the metallic taste was gone only to return as before. Definitely something in the tank was imparting the taste.
• I started building my own coils in the past few days and I got hold of some NiChrome wire and the metallic taste lessened drastically. It seems Kanthal might not agree with my tastebuds.

Not sure if this is at all possible but this is the only thing that seems to have made a difference.

#weird

Mate,
Glad you seem to be getting sorted. Just a suggestion but perhaps try a different brand of Kanthal, I recall getting similar problems which cleared up after switching to a different make of wire. Not sure it will help but worth a shot. Good luck.

 

[Glytch]

Whatever the reason, glad you got sorted. Easy to build the ECR head once you have done the first coil, not so?

It's taking some practice but it is a lot of fun. Actually don't have an ECR. Just rebuilding stock coils which is a little trickier.

 

[Glytch]

Mate,
Glad you seem to be getting sorted. Just a suggestion but perhaps try a different brand of Kanthal, I recall getting similar problems which cleared up after switching to a different make of wire. Not sure it will help but worth a shot. Good luck.

Thanks. I'll try this.

 

[Silver]

@Glytch - i agree with @Neal above
Try different brands of Kanthal
I have also seen some reports of certain brands imparting different tastes

For the record i am using Vapowire from Vape Cartel and no problems on my side

 

[AlexL]

For those that are interested I seem to have mostly gotten rid of the metallic taste.

• Washed my tank thoroughly and sterilised with steri tabs. First 30 minutes the metallic taste was gone only to return as before. Definitely something in the tank was imparting the taste.
• I started building my own coils in the past few days and I got hold of some NiChrome wire and the metallic taste lessened drastically. It seems Kanthal might not agree with my tastebuds.

Not sure if this is at all possible but this is the only thing that seems to have made a difference.

#weird

thanks @Glytch.. yeah i have been following this thread with great interest thank you and the other vapers for posting your progress and on fixing your melo3..... i zapped my 0.3 coil and also got a bad metallic taste.. stripped it all down cleaned in soapy water then vinegar and hot water... assembled with the 0.5 coil.. no metallic taste just not as much flavor and vapour as the 0.3 coil.... i also looked at rebuilding the stock coils... looks a bit fiddly, what wick material are you using? and from what i have been told by the guys at Vape Cartel top quality nichrome is the way to go for unbeatable flavour...

 

[Glytch]

thanks @Glytch.. yeah i have been following this thread with great interest thank you and the other vapers for posting your progress and on fixing your melo3..... i zapped my 0.3 coil and also got a bad metallic taste.. stripped it all down cleaned in soapy water then vinegar and hot water... assembled with the 0.5 coil.. no metallic taste just not as much flavor and vapour as the 0.3 coil.... i also looked at rebuilding the stock coils... looks a bit fiddly, what wick material are you using? and from what i have been told by the guys at Vape Cartel top quality nichrome is the way to go for unbeatable flavour...

Hey @AlexL, glad I'm not alone here! I'm actually just using Dove Pure Cotton which I bought from Clicks. I've only rebuilt stock coils and it is a little fiddly but after a few tries I'm getting better. I can make a vapeable coil now from an old stock coil.

I initially used the wire from the old coil after dry burning it with a torch (I actually used a bunsen burner). I built my first few as horizontal spaced coils with a 2.5mm ID. Got about 0.9 ohms and the coil worked well up to around 17.5 watts. Chain vaping was not possible though as the 2.5mm juice holes and the small coil size meant the wicking wasn't quick enough. The horizontal coils are fairly easy to build though.

I then made a vertical parallel coil with some NiChrome wire and wicked it with the same cotton wool. This was way trickier and my first 2 or 3 leaked big time. In fact my mod was basically a straw for hot ejuice. I then managed to wick it without it leaking but the draw is a bit tight. Turned out at a respectable 0.48 ohms and it's going nicely now at 30 - 35w. That was last night and I'm still vaping happily on it today but will rebuild when I get home later. I'm sure I can do better.

Basically I watched about 10 - 15 different youtube videos on "eLeaf EC Coil Rebuild" and tried some of the techniques and made a few adjustments of my own for the tools and materials I had at my disposal. I re-watched some of the really good ones a few times. Note: the aspire coils are similar so I watched some of those as well.

By far the most taxing part of rebuilding stock coils is removing the cotton that covers the two "redundant" juice holes, cutting it and replacing it (most videos show this step). This took almost half the time on the two coils I rebuilt. Now that I have those holes covered I leave those two pieces of cotton in there when I rebuild.

All in all it was a fun learning experience as I'd never rebuilt a coil before.

Hope this helps.

 

[AlexL]

Hey @AlexL, glad I'm not alone here! I'm actually just using Dove Pure Cotton which I bought from Clicks. I've only rebuilt stock coils and it is a little fiddly but after a few tries I'm getting better. I can make a vapeable coil now from an old stock coil.

I initially used the wire from the old coil after dry burning it with a torch (I actually used a bunsen burner). I built my first few as horizontal spaced coils with a 2.5mm ID. Got about 0.9 ohms and the coil worked well up to around 17.5 watts. Chain vaping was not possible though as the 2.5mm juice holes and the small coil size meant the wicking wasn't quick enough. The horizontal coils are fairly easy to build though.

I then made a vertical parallel coil with some NiChrome wire and wicked it with the same cotton wool. This was way trickier and my first 2 or 3 leaked big time. In fact my mod was basically a straw for hot ejuice. I then managed to wick it without it leaking but the draw is a bit tight. Turned out at a respectable 0.48 ohms and it's going nicely now at 30 - 35w. That was last night and I'm still vaping happily on it today but will rebuild when I get home later. I'm sure I can do better.

Basically I watched about 10 - 15 different youtube videos on "eLeaf EC Coil Rebuild" and tried some of the techniques and made a few adjustments of my own for the tools and materials I had at my disposal. I re-watched some of the really good ones a few times. Note: the aspire coils are similar so I watched some of those as well.

By far the most taxing part of rebuilding stock coils is removing the cotton that covers the two "redundant" juice holes, cutting it and replacing it (most videos show this step). This took almost half the time on the two coils I rebuilt. Now that I have those holes covered I leave those two pieces of cotton in there when I rebuild.

All in all it was a fun learning experience as I'd never rebuilt a coil before.

Hope this helps.

very informative and detailed post... frikkin awesome @Glytch...how about a pic or two in future posts ??...you mentioned something i hadnt seen when i pulled my stock coil to bits... that indeed two of the juice feed ports are redundant... hmm.. i too think this is why it cant keep juice flow up to the 0.3 ohm coil.. no dry hitting on the 0.5 ohm coil so far at 30w limiting draws to 5 seconds or so ... juice is pg65/vg35.... will be getting a rebuildable head for it soon and some nichrome wire etc.... cant wait to try the cCell ceramic coils.0.19ohm( if i am not mistaken) from vaperesso will be picking some up tomorrow apparently they give awesome flavor and last very long... i did however get myself a second hand rda yesterday for a bargain... was nervous did my first build last night... 20 ga.. or 0.78mm, kanthal a1. only wire i had.. did a dual coil build , 6 wraps, 2.4mm coil inner diameter.. came in at 0.14ohms.. at midnight i discovered i had no wicking material so also used dove cotton wool.. lol... thats why i was asking about wicking material... well i burned the coils clean 3 or 4 times.. wicked it with dove cotton wool.. dripped Voodoo Juice jack the ripper on it... started out at 35w then to 50w then flat out on the pico at 75w vape was still cold and smooth clouds were ridiculous as was the flavor... off topic i know jus sharing my 1st build

 

[Glytch]

Nice! I'm hoping to get a Avo22, Griffin, Serpent Mini or Gemini RTA at some point this year.

 

[AlexL]

@Glytch.. i have only heard good things about those avo's..... back on the subject of the melo coils.. i am going to teardown a new standard 0.3coil and drill those 2 redundant holes out and reassemble and see how long it goes for.... will post findings...