strange taste vaping at high temps.

I own an Arizer Solo.

When I'm set anywhere between 3-5 the taste is enjoyable.. natural.

Sometimes setting 6 (205 c./401 f.), and almost always 7 (210 c./410 f.) brings with it a completely different taste. A strange, bitter, almost synthetic taste.


Is this drastic change in flavor normal as you vape at higher temps?

Every herb has its unique taste on low temp and on high temp. Low temps are generaly smoother, sweeter, natural as you say.
High temp yields heavy toasty tasting vapors, with most of the enjoyable aromas burnt out.

With a Cloud the taste dependency on temp is very pronounced. With less precise vapes there is always a hot spot if you want some solid hits therefore you get mixed high temp and low temp taste and the temperature setting changes the ratio (shifts the gradient).

With a Cloud it is easy to get large ammount of pure low temp or pure high temp vapor and taste this big difference.

Also if a vaporizer has potential for any off-gassing, it would happen more likely on higher temps and long times of being powered on.

Or it could be just the herb, some nasty chemicals on i, badly harvested or something.
Clean your unit and try to use it empty so you know its not off-gassing (shouldn't be).
Then you could try a different strain. Or don't vape it on high temp if it doesn't like it.

But yes, very high temp vapors can taste horrible. I vaped a small bowl on very high temp in Cloud and it tasted totaly different than on low temp and I would say horrible. Slightly dark brown ABV from that hight temp hit. Lower temps discolor the herb very slowly and not to that much extent but can still vape the thc off quite fast.

NO worries mate! The same goes for me usually depending on how much you leave the stem in the heater without inhaling. That makes things worst. It is just concentrated taste! A large amount of cannabinoids al together. It's like mixing a lot of spices and herbs in a food. It usually ends up with a complex taste in which you can't recognize any of the ingredients.

Interesting theories. Not sure I totally agree, its a herb we're heating, shouldn't have synthetic tastes at any temp IMO. High temps will certainly suck the flavour fast but then it should just be an ABV taste or (next) combustion.

knowmad,
when you talk about the flavor, how exactly do you vape it? do you use the low temp on a fresh green bowl until lightly brown, never raising the temp? And then the same with the higher temp, never lowering it?

or, do you first use low temp, THEN high temp with the SAME bowl? this is usually what creates the bad taste..

vape it with high temp from the START for a try and then report about the taste. for example, any log vape, with variable voltage can do that well (UD and HI!)

it may make a big difference depending which method you base your "strange taste".

Is your product properly flushed? It seems to be more noticeable for me at higher temperatures. At lower temperatures, the terpenes vape off first (being both low-temp chemicals as well as being volatile), so if you go from low to high, you might be vaping the terps first (covering the taste of unflushed bud) and then when you push it up you taste it more.

I always had terrible flavor on any solo I've ever tried above 4 on the temp dial. Much worse flavor than any other vape on high temps in fact.

High temp vaporization with herbs should taste like some almost burnt fats and waxes if you are using clean material. It can be disgusting, especially without water conditioning and with high heat vapes.

Edit : The worse end taste is when you start at low, extract all the good taste, and end up high heat, it smells like a failed popcorn party. When I start straight at middle heat the first couple puffs are a good compromise between taste and density and the last ones at high heat still have some terps mixed. It's cool to have all theses different experiences

I get the worst taste on highest temps on Cloud. It is not bad like dirty, of course. The Cloud is the only vape I have that can high-temp or low-temp everything. I can toast everything on highest temp, no other vape I have can deliver so much high-temp vapor without burning or any tasty low-temp vapor mixed in.

On the opposite side, The Cloud is also the only vape that can give me huge and efficient low temp hits, which are actually the tastiest hits of any vape I have. So dense I can feel the aroma rolling over my taste buds.

So the Cloud can deliver the extreme of both worlds to me: The worst taste and the best taste possible (given its 100% vapor). The dial is the key.

I would like to chime in and just say when people say a vaporizer tastes disgusting or horrible its sort of subjective . I have never tasted a vape that tastes as bad as a pipe after a hit or two .

You know when you take your herb past a certain point or temperature its not going to taste like it smells but its always better then burning it in my honest opinion .

When I read that people take it up to the popcorn taste then dump the load I always think they have gotta be nuts as there's a lot more goodness left to vape . Then again I'm not a rich man nor do I want to save my AVB for any purpose (living in a non mmj state why keep AVB around when if caught with it its the same as fresh in the laws eyes and weightwise could be the difference between fines and prison .) .

The Taste will always degrade when you bump up the power and take your herbs to a nice dark brown . When your herbs are almost spent on high heat often its the heat alone(with the stem and screen) that gives you that "off" taste .

IMO vapes shouldn't have a "taste" when it is just the vape itself being heated. If I heat my cera for example when it is clean, it tastes like nothing. The same with my underdog and my cloud as well. If your vape tastes like something when it is clean and empty...I'd be looking into what is producing the tastes.

Once used darkroom all the vapes I own take on some residual Taste whether its just a ss screen or some residue left in the stem or chamber . Most of us aren't ocd enough to boil our vape parts or use an ultrasonic cleaner after a few uses. A little AVB or honey or a spot of left over ISO can change the taste a lot for some users taste .

The OP stated it tasted Great until bumping up the highest temp .

Most people I've meet that vape (not that many I'll admit) thought when they first started Vaping that their bud was spent as soon as that fresh herb taste was gone . I've Watched people dump greenish decarbed herb that's hardly been touched because they have read posts here on FC and elsewhere leading them to believe once the taste changes it's spent .

But If it were a new unused vape and tasted like crap I wouldn't use it .

I didn't mean it had to be 100% clean every time, I just meant that while a vape is clean, you shouldn't be tasting anything if the bowl/chamber is empty.

If you can taste something in a NEW vape, something is definitely off IMO.


If you crank a brand new solo up to 6 or 7 does it taste like anything? Before it was EVER used? The answer should be no, and I don't have a brand new solo to test with. Every vape fresh out of the box should taste like NOTHING imo.

Of course abv and residue etc will all change the flavor, but that is not what I was talking about.

Sorry . I do agree drawing on a new empty vape I don't wanna taste anything but air .

I think a lot of NEW vapes do have an odor which goes away with some more usage..

I have the Blaze oil vaporizer and I haven't had any issues in terms of taste or odor...and it gives a pretty thick vapor. For this to be a pen unit and its pretty new, it pulls hard but, unlike most, doesn't have a bad vape taste at all. Its kind of velvety/smooth like, hard to explain but its not bad. I vape like everyday with it and I only have had to charge it once a week too. Maybe it depends on the unit because, I haven't had any issues with the Blaze.