A burnt or harsh-tasting draw when vaping Elux Legend Nic Salt almost always has a specific, fixable cause, and the fix depends entirely on which of two problems you're actually dealing with. Elux Legend Nic Salt is a 50/50 VG/PG e-liquid built for refillable, low wattage MTL pod kits rather than a sealed device of its own, so the causes and fixes below apply to how the e-liquid interacts with the coil in whichever refillable kit you're using it in.
Dry Hit Or Burnt Coil: The Distinction That Decides Everything
Before anything else, work out which of these two you're dealing with, since they need completely different fixes. A dry hit is temporary, the coil's wick is momentarily under-saturated with Elux Legend Nic Salt, producing a harsh, scratchy taste that clears up once the wick catches back up. A genuinely burnt coil means the cotton wick has been permanently scorched, and the harsh taste won't go away no matter how long you leave it or how much e-liquid is left in the tank. Everything below either helps you avoid a dry hit turning into a burnt coil, or tells you when you're already past that point and the coil needs replacing.
A Fresh Coil Tastes Burnt Straight Away
This is almost always a priming issue rather than a faulty coil. A new coil's wick needs a short window to fully saturate with e-liquid before it can handle a full draw, and drawing on it immediately can catch it before that's happened.
After fitting a new coil, fill the tank with Elux Nic Salt and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before your first draw, giving the wick time to saturate properly. This alone resolves the large majority of new-coil burnt taste complaints.
It's Fine For A While, Then Suddenly Harsh Mid-Session
This is usually chain vaping, drawing repeatedly in quick succession, or holding a single draw too long. Either way, the wick can't resaturate the coil fast enough to keep up, and the result is the same harsh, scorched taste as an unprimed coil. Keeping draws to roughly 2 to 4 seconds, and leaving a short gap between draws rather than vaping continuously, gives the wick time to keep pace.
Many pod kits include a built-in cutoff timer, commonly around 8 to 10 seconds, that stops the coil firing if a draw is held that long. That cutoff is a safety limit, not a target, treating it as the maximum length of a normal draw is one of the more common ways people end up with a scorched wick without realising why.
How You Store The Device Between Sessions Matters More Than It Seems
Storing a pod kit filled with Elux Legend Nic Salt on its side or upside down, rather than upright, can let e-liquid pool away from the wick inside the coil.
When you next draw on it, the coil can fire against a patch of wick that's gone drier than it should be, even though there's still plenty of liquid in the tank overall. Keeping the device upright between sessions, the same way you'd store most rechargeable electronics, avoids this entirely.
A Burnt Coil Can't Be Fixed, Only Replaced
If the taste is genuinely burnt rather than a temporary dry hit, there's no way to reverse it. The cotton wick has scorched, and once that's happened the harsh taste is there permanently regardless of how much e-liquid remains.
The fix is replacing the coil, not the device or the tank, the battery unit and tank stay exactly as they were, only the coil itself needs swapping. This is one advantage a refillable kit has over a prefilled pod kit, where the whole sealed pod gets replaced rather than just the coil inside it.
Weak Or Thin Flavour Without Any Burnt Taste Is A Different Problem
If the issue is flavour dropping off rather than a harsh or scorched taste, the cause is usually one of three things, and they're worth ruling out in order.
First, a coil naturally thins out in flavour as it nears the end of its life, flavour fading while vapour production often stays the same or even increases slightly, this is expected and simply means it's time for a new coil. Second, on devices without a fixed-voltage chip, a low battery can reduce how hot the coil gets, weakening flavour even from a perfectly good coil, worth testing on a full charge before assuming the coil itself is at fault.
Third, and easy to overlook, repeatedly vaping the same flavour can lead to a genuine sensory fatigue effect often called vaper's tongue, where your own sense of taste temporarily dulls to a flavour you've had a lot of, rather than anything being wrong with the coil or device at all. Switching to a different Elux Legend Nic Salt flavour for a session or two, and staying hydrated, is usually enough to reset it.
If your pod kit has a digital display showing battery level or a puff or usage counter, checking it directly takes the guesswork out of the first two causes above. On simpler devices with only indicator lights, ruling out battery level means charging fully and testing again rather than checking a readout directly.
The Habits That Prevent Most Of This
Most burnt-taste complaints trace back to one of three habits: not letting a new coil prime before the first draw, chain vaping or holding draws too long, and storing the device on its side.
None of the three take any real effort to avoid once you know about them, which is really the point of separating dry hits from genuinely burnt coils in the first place, most of what feels like a faulty coil or a bad batch of e-liquid is actually a habit that's easy to change before it becomes a coil that needs replacing at all.
Refillable tanks and pods are capped at 2ml capacity under the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) (gov.uk/guidance/e-cigarettes-regulations-for-consumer-products), the same limit that applies to any device tank sold in the UK. Replacing a burnt coil is a normal, expected part of using a refillable kit, it doesn't involve opening or modifying the tank itself, just swapping the coil component the way it's designed to be swapped.
FAQ
How do I know if it's a dry hit or a burnt coil?
A dry hit is temporary and clears up once the wick resaturates, usually within a draw or two of leaving it alone. A burnt coil is permanent, the harsh taste doesn't go away no matter how long you wait, and the only fix is replacing the coil.
Why does a new coil taste burnt straight away with Elux Legend Nic Salt?
Almost always a priming issue rather than anything to do with the e-liquid itself. Fill the tank and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes after fitting a new coil, before your first draw, to let the wick saturate properly.
Can I fix a burnt coil, or do I need to replace it?
Once a coil is genuinely burnt, it can't be fixed. The wick is permanently scorched. Replace the coil, the tank and battery unit don't need replacing.
Why does Elux Legend Nic Salt taste weak instead of burnt?
Usually one of three things: the coil naturally nearing the end of its life, a low battery reducing coil heat, or vaper's tongue, a temporary dulling of your own sense of taste from repeated use of the same flavour rather than a fault with the e-liquid or device.
Does how I store my pod kit affect the taste of Elux Legend Nic Salt?
Yes. Storing it on its side or upside down can let e-liquid pool away from the wick. Keeping it upright between sessions helps avoid this.
Comparing Elux Legend Nic Salt to Elf Bar Elfliq? See our full Elux vs Elfliq comparison.
This guide is intended for adults aged 18 and over and is provided for general information only. Current TPD details can be confirmed at gov.uk.
