Why Does My Puff Bar Taste Burnt? Causes and How to Fix Them

What is a Puff Bar?

A Puff Bar is a disposable vape that comes in different flavors. Thanks to their disposable nature, Puff Bars avoided being made illegal like flavored cartridges and pre-filled e-cigarettes. That has made Puff Bars an incredibly popular means of vaping.

Vaping involves heating ‘vape juice’ at high temperatures until it is vaporized and then inhaling the vapor. This usually requires the use of a puff bar or a vape pen. A puff bar is a vaping device that comes pre-charged and prefilled with e-liquid or vape juice. Although they are designed for easy use, many cannabis users have complained that sometimes, their puff bar tastes burnt. So what causes this burnt taste and how do can you fix it?

Why Does My Puff Bar Taste Burnt

If you have been vaping on a regular basis, especially using a puff bar, you have probably experienced this. You take a few drags from the puff bar and suddenly, you notice this strong, acrid taste. When you take another drag the taste is even stronger and you start wondering, what’s going on? Why does my puff bar taste burnt?

To understand what causes this burnt taste, we first have to talk about how puff bars work. Small and portable, a puff bar looks like a USB flash drive and contains a cartridge filled with e-liquid, an atomizer to heat and vaporize the e-liquid, a small 280mAh battery to power the atomizer, and a mouthpiece to inhale the vapor. The atomizer, which comprises a coil (to generate the heat) and a wicking system primarily composed of cotton, is usually the cause of the burnt smell. 

Usually, the wicking system soaks up the e-liquid while the coil generates enough heat to vaporize and directs it to the vape juice-filled cotton. If the wicking system is sufficiently soaked in e-liquid, the puff bar will produce a nice tasting vapor (depending on the flavor you choose). However, if for some reason the cotton wick isn’t sufficiently soaked, the e-coil will heat up the cotton coils instead and the vapor you inhale will taste burnt and unpleasant. 

What Causes a Puff Bar to Taste Burnt?

We now know that a wicking and heating system that isn’t working at a 100% capacity and inevitably burns the coils will make a puff bar taste burnt. However, a variety of reasons can be to blame for a puff bar that isn’t working efficiently. For you to alleviate the issue and enjoy your puff bar the way it was meant to be enjoyed, you will have to find out exactly why the puff bar tastes burnt. So exactly why does my puff bar taste burnt?

Chain Vaping

If you were to fire an automatic gun safely, you would have to do so in bursts, rather than one stream of continuous fire like they do in the movies. Shooting in bursts prevents the gun barrel from overheating and keeps it working efficiently. Similarly, using a puff bar continuously without a break has its own risks, such as the aforementioned burnt taste. 

When you vape with a friend or two, the puff bar is constantly passed around without break. The cotton wick system has limited time to soak up enough vape liquid which causes it to dry up and produce that burnt taste. 

Using high VG e-liquid

Although vapers have several types of vaping liquids at their disposal, different puff bars and vape pens will hold different types of e-liquid. High VG e-liquids have more vegetable glycerine in their formulations and they have to be used with certain puff bars. Some will vaporize high VG e-liquid quite easily while others may not be able to properly soak up the e-liquid in preparation for heating, leading to dry puffs and the dreaded burnt taste.

Using Higher Voltage

Like baking or cooking, you need just the right temperature for the right amount of time to ensure the cotton wick burns and vaporizes the vape juice soaked within properly. When you vape at a higher wattage than what is recommended, not only will the e-liquid burn off too quickly, but you may also burn and even melt the cotton wicks. To avoid this, make sure you remain within the recommended voltage ranges.

Priming the Coils Poorly

The system of coils within the puff bar is responsible for heating and vaporizing the vape juice so any mistakes you make here will ultimately affect how the vape tastes. Although some puff bars are disposable and cannot be refilled, a lot of them can and they usually require a new atomizer coil after around a week or two of use. If you don’t pre-saturate the cotton wicking after installing the new coil, it will overheat and burn. 

How Do I Fix it When My Puff Bar Tastes Burnt?

Once you’ve found out why your puff bar tastes burnt, you can now find a solution. If the burnt taste was a result of chain vaping, you should give the puff bar a couple of breaks during the session. To prevent the wicking system from overheating and burning, put the puff bar down for a minute or two before you draw on it. This will ensure the wicking system soaks up enough e-liquid to burn properly and produce nice-tasting vapor. 

You can also let an unfinished puff bar sit for a while, around a day, as you use another one. This will give it enough time to soak up any vape juice left in the tank that would have otherwise been thrown away.

If the burnt taste is due to using the incorrect e-liquid, employing more care while stocking vape juice will help a great deal. To ensure you’re using the right vape juice for your puff bar or vape pen, check the dimensions of the holes on wick channels. If they are small, you would be better off with low-VG juice. If they are larger, on the other hand, high-VG juice will work. 

Finally, make sure you prime the coils before you start using the puff bar. This simply means pre-saturating the wicking material in the e-liquid before you start vaping to ensure they have enough moisture for the coils to heat and vaporize. You can do this by tilting the puff bar upside down to ensure the cotton wicks soak as much e-liquid as possible.

Why is My Puff Bar Blinking Though?

Using the required voltage, the correct vape juice, and priming your puff bar properly will keep that burnt taste at bay. After doing all this and vaping for a few days, you may notice that your puff bar is blinking. That just means that the bar’s battery is running out, so don’t worry. All you have to do is procure another disposable puff bar or charge your vape pen. 

Unlike smoking flower, vaping is a little complicated and requires some maintenance. Once you know the inner workings of your puff bar and can take proper care of each and every component, you’ll never experience dry puffs or a burnt taste again. Happy vaping!

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