Juice Turning Dark?

[vuJim]

On my OBS Crius I noticed that, all-of-a-sudden, the juice in the tank, a premium max VG, started turning dark. Now, about the time I noticed that was about the time that tank, when I vaped with it, would occasionally issue a VERY loud *SNAP* and blast vapor out the air intakes. So I naturally associated the two.

Then, last night, my wife pointed-out that her vapes (70/30 juice in an Nautilus Mini) were tasting really bad. And she was right: It was nasty. The juice in her tank had turned quite dark. I replaced the coil (she had about two weeks of very light vaping at very low levels on it) and what remained of the juice.

Last night I loaded my Tobeco Super Tank Mini with a different max VG than I'd been vaping and notice, now, that the juice in it is no longer as crystal clear as it was. It, too, is beginning to turn dark.

So what's up with that? Is it exposure to light? Incidental heat?

When the juice in my Crius was turning dark I can't say as I noticed any difference in taste. In my wife's case: Don't know whether it was the juice or the coil.

 

[Jimi D]

It's from the heat. The flavoring compounds are probably not as heat resistant compared to others.

 

[AmandaD]

And some flavorings will burn at high temps (Halo's Belgian Cocoa comes to mind)!

 

[pulsevape]

I have no idea really about all these new fangaled McNugget tanks, and how much heat they put out, but offhand I'd say you "cooked" your juice. the chamber is generating enough heat it is changing the flavor and color of your juice....this will generally account for a sudden loss of flavor in your juice.

 

[vuJim]

Yeah, save one of 'em is a simple Kanger Protank 3 Mini, being driven at all of 11.5W by an iTaste VV4.

 

[AmandaD]

Yeah, save one of 'em is a simple Kanger Protank 3 Mini, being driven at all of 11.5W by an iTaste VV4.

I remember burning Belgian Cocoa on a teeny Halo Triton setup, that can't have been running at more than a few watts

 

[pulsevape]

And some flavorings will burn at high temps (Halo's Belgian Cocoa comes to mind)!

that shit burns if your just look at it hard.

 

[Alter]

What's happening is that your coil is getting a "cocoon" of residue around it and its taking more power to heat and vaporize your juice and not fully vaporizing it but slowly burning and adding to the cocoon thus over heating the surrounding area and caramelizing the juice making it dark. Once your juice goes dark then its time to change the coil. DON"T reuse or refill new juice onto that old burnt juice, your new juice will go dark and taste off just like with the old spent coil juice in no time. How much you don't want to but you have to pour the old crap down the drain, totally clean out the atty and restart with all new. The sweeter and darker the juice the faster it will cocoon the coil and darken the juice making it almost unvapable.

 

[snake94115]

You've either fried the wick or the coil has too much build up on it.Toss both the coil and the e-liquid in the tank.Rinse out tank and make a mental note to back down on your power next time.

 

[snake94115]

that shit burns if your just look at it hard.

I was about to say the same thing.

 

[Huff-N-Stuff]

I have ~ 1/3 a bottle of Pina Colada flavor that started out crystal clear (10/06/15) and now it has a tan or brown color to it.
Most e-juice IME, gets darker with age.

 

[vuJim]

@Alter, @snake94115: I considered your comments, but I think I'm more inclined to go with @Jimi D's and @AmandaD's explanation. While it could have been the coil or wicking in the case of my wife's Nautilus Mini and my Mini Protank 3, the coil and wicking was never burned in my Crius and the Tobeco Super Tank Mini was all of two-three days old when the juice started turning a bit dark in it. Plus I've never gotten a burned vape off the TSTM and people run it at much higher wattages than am I. So it seems unlikely to me the coil's fried, already.

 

[PuffPuffPass]

Mine do this occasionally with my ADV. The only noticeable thing I've seen, is an increased build up on the coil and the wick turning a dark brown along with the juice. Re-wicking and cleaning the coil helps, but it's only a temp fix. I eventually wind up cleaning the tank and replacing the coil.

I'm a chain vaper, so my tanks stay really warm throughout the day. And I'm sure this lends to the problem as well. And like you, I'm not getting burned vapes. But I'm getting some s*** tasting juice when it happens.

 

[Alter]

Mine do this occasionally with my ADV. The only noticeable thing I've seen, is an increased build up on the coil and the wick turning a dark brown along with the juice. Re-wicking and cleaning the coil helps, but it's only a temp fix. I eventually wind up cleaning the tank and replacing the coil.

I'm a chain vaper, so my tanks stay really warm throughout the day. And I'm sure this lends to the problem as well. And like you, I'm not getting burned vapes. But I'm getting some s*** tasting juice when it happens.

I get that all the time. I can go weeks on a coil build but its the rayon that poops out long before the coil burns out. In my subtank mini once I can see a dark ring beginning from the RBA hole I have to change the wick. My wife on the other hand vapes a cotton candy I make .75% cotton candy in a tobacco blend, she vapes till the juice starts to darken, usually a couple weeks and I give her a fresh atty.
Making my own juice and vaping a non sweet tobacco and tobacco absolute blends, after weeks of vaping the coil is still rather clean and cootie free so like in so many other posts the sweeter the juice the faster your coils die.

 

[BigCryBaby]

It happens to me, and it is normal. Especially when a coil lasts a lot longer than usual. The coil heats up the E liquid to make vapor, which at a minimum is 212 degrees Fahrenheit. The e liquid that is not so close to be vaporized, oxidizes and changes color. It can also darken by just sitting around in the bottle. Depends on the ingredients of the juice. Here is a site that explains oxidation in depth. http://vaperanks.com/why-does-my-e-liquid-change-color/

Also an old crusty coil can skunk fresh juice. An old coil is more carbon than cotton. Lastly, with the wattage way to high, to the point that it burns your lips a little, imagine what the cotton is going through.