After awhile just about any electronic cigarette atomizer or cartomizer will start to lose flavor, taste burnt or just plain provide less satisfaction.  I’ve been using a Smok Tech rebuildable dripping atomizer (RDA) for a few weeks  and lately it has not been performing well at all.  I wasn’t getting any burnt taste, but there was very little flavor or throat hit and decreased vapor.  It was time for a new wick and coil and once I pulled it apart the cause was obvious.  The wire of the coil is now surrounded by a ball of charred residue and the wire is not even visible around the wick.

The picture above shows what has been going on with the coil during a month’s worth of use.  A lot of the buildup is likely due to a dark thick e-liquid that has gunked up atomizers and cartomizers in the past.  The exposed coil of the RDA makes it easy to see the condition, but the same thing happens in atomizers and cartomizers as well. It will be interesting to see what the new one looks like after a month of only clearer juices.