iClear 30 Review - Second Experiment

[Lolli]

Congrats GN, sounds like you passed a milestone! Hope the good vapes start lasting longer each time.
Try not to get too hung up on the details, enjoy it for what it is

 

[GoodNews!]

I know I just wish I could vape tonight! This iClear 30 head is now not giving me a result I can vape! You'd really think that I'd have least had like 5 days out of this head, it was vaping pretty darn good.

Almost equal to the VG in the Fluxo. Actually, the VG in Fluxo was an entirely different type of good vape (velvety, clean, big clouds) where in the iClear, the vape was thicker, a little more flavorful, and richer, and I enjoyed them both.

But little Fluxo is still vaping days later, and iClear 30 head has went down the drain! Actually, I was getting really used to the iClear 30's personality, and right now I'm a little like... "Okay, forget that Fluxo, I like this thicker flavor better!"

*mods feel free to move this thread, I did forget that that tanks didn't include all tanks - I was thinking for a second that clearos only meant, like, CE4's, but I should have known already because I've posted various reviews before...*

Just meh, I hate not having a good vape that keeps me off the cigs. The iClear was doing it so, so well. I picked a great juice, the head was working so well, and now it's just, blegh... if I vape it low power, the gunk prevents the flavor from coming through at all, and not much vapor, and if I turn it up, all I taste is that hashy, dry gunk, or whatever in the hell it is.

Tried virtually every trick under the sun one can imagine, I even went in there and prodded at the coils, made em nice and neat, and only marginal improvement if any...

 

[TheJakeBailey]

Tried virtually every trick under the sun one can imagine, I even went in there and prodded at the coils, made em nice and neat, and only marginal improvement if any...

How about cleaning it? That might be a noob suggestion, but I didn't see you mention having done that. Rinse, dry burn, soak, rinse, vape. Particularly easy on a top coil.

 

[GoodNews!]

I just don't dry burn on non-pre-torched wire, it can really leave some nasty, machine-oil like mess on the silica from what I've found - even worse than the gunk sort of imposing itself on it, the wire oil can taste so bitter and nasty .

It can even do this if you've already vaped the coil for awhile, because the coil never gets hot enough with liquid on it to burn off some of that oil... when it finally does, it's imprinted on the silica and its blehghghghghghgh nasty.

But I've pretty much found that unless a coil is pretty much covered in juice and wicking as well as an iClear 30 or Flux seems to, that I taste this "oil" being burnt of like crazy, and when mixed with flavorings or crud, the synthetic oil taste and the organic crud taste mixes together to form what I famously recognize as "singed sock."

Cuts out pre-wound devices entirely for me. Also explains why I enjoyed Cisco coils, because they pretorch them, and use wire that doesn't contain aluminum, which I'm possibly allergic to anyway (which can be why I cough so much on pre-wound coils...)

But thank goodness Cisco has pre-torched, aluminum-free, pre-wound RDA coils. They're about the only company in existence who is as picky as I am, I'm beginning to think Mr. Cisco himself may have formed Cisco out of being a supertaster like me! Their research into the field of chemistry is unparrelled in the field (I've been communicating with them over the past several days, and they're the only people so far who agree with me!)

Time to narrow down the issues and simply vape!

 

[TheJakeBailey]

I just don't dry burn on non-pre-torched wire, it can really leave some nasty, machine-oil like mess on the silica from what I've found - even worse than the gunk sort of imposing itself on it, the wire oil can taste so bitter and nasty .

Then you answered your own question. If you wont clean it, it will gunk up and become unusable. Simple as that. Unless you want to completely rebuild it every time...

 

[GoodNews!]

Well, it's not that the organic gunk from PG/VG/Flavorings are what causes a bad taste after dry burning (I'd dry burn if that was the case), its that dry burning a non-pre-torched Kanthal wire can still leave a lot of mechanical oil residue on the silica from the Kanthal (this oil doesn't always burn off with the first few vapes, and can persist days into the vape if your wick has been ultra-wet, not allowing it to burn off quickly), and I seem to be able to taste that machine-like oil after dry burning like it's something insane, even after soaking it in vodka. Gunk from PG/VG/Flavorings is entirely different though, it has a "ashy" taste that I don't mind at all.

If it was just the "organic" gunk being a factor, I'd continue to dry burn without a doubt. But it never seems to be. It seems that, for me, dry burning imposes a lot of Kanthal oil onto the silica, and nothing seems to break it up after that. The answer for me truly seems to be pre-torched wire. Solves that factor entirely. Leaves me with only organic gunk composites to worry about, which is easier and tastier to deal with!

 

[Lolli]

"and I seem to be able to taste that machine-like oil after dry burning like it's something insane, even after soaking it in vodka"

GN, I honestly don't think "machine-like oil" would withstand soaking in vodka. Maybe soak and let air dry? Is it possible to get new wicks? Maybe you just enjoyed it so much you chain vaped the coil to death... and that's ok! Just clean it or replace it.

Do what needs done, at least temporarily, to try and stay off cigs

If you can just go a week or so without any cigs, I bet your taste will improve

 

[Asbestos4004]

As a supertaster...these clearos simply aren't a good idea. Even pre torched wire is a bad idea. Even Cisco is a bad idea. If you can truly taste all of these impurities, the ONLY solution for you is rebuilding. Are you so naive to think even Cisco can't have a bad day? It's surely less likely than a bad day at the CE4 factory in China, but it certainly isn't impossible. Then there's the guy who pre torches the wire for you...who's to say he didn't forget to wash his hands after dropping a huge deuce after a night of Mexican food and Dos Equis and then go torch your wire? He has to handle it after torching it, right? That, my friend, is taking VOOPING to the next level! We don't want you vaping the boys Jimmy sent to the pond, now do we? Of course not. You can torch your own wire using a lighter you use for your cigarettes....the only difference? Your using it for something positive this time. Just heat it until it glows and you're done. Wrap a coil like they do on the videos...follow along with them...you don't have to admit you followed along with them, but you should follow along with them. Throw that bad boy in your RDA and it'll be the end of an era for you.