510 Atty Cleaning

[Bobnoxious]

Alright. After about a month of VG vaping, mostly, today I decided I should clean one atomizer. This is because I noticed reduced performance on both my atomizers at the same time. It's probably me. But, I'm a loose canon, so here we go....

I have the test atty soaking in 100 proof vodka. Stuck it in a short glass, 1 fingers worth, and happen to be swirling it around using a bar straw that I was going to use for the straw mod. So, now I have an atomizer drink. Nearly took a sip.

It's been in there awhile, maybe an hour. What do I do, blow it out? Rinse with water? Vape the vodka? (which would be a new low for me)

[Doubledot]

I use Pure Grain Alcohol (PGA) ~150 proof. I soak my attys sometimes for a few days. I let it dry but sometimes when I am in a hurry, I just blow it out and start using it. There has been a thread about over 3-4 mos ago regarding soaking in Crest Pro Health mouthwash. I did use the method for a while but got lazy and just stuck to PGA.

You might also consider a three 5-8 second dry burn (depending how bad the performance of your atty and assuming that you have a mod that has no time limitation) after the first soaking and then re-soaking back in the PGA. The second soak will remove any foul taste after the dry burn.

Enjoy! It has been a blast for me.

[Bobnoxious]

I use Pure Grain Alcohol (PGA) ~150 proof. I soak my attys sometimes for a few days. I let it dry but sometimes when I am in a hurry, I just blow it out and start using it. There has been a thread about over 3-4 mos ago regarding soaking in Crest Pro Health mouthwash. I did use the method for a while but got lazy and just stuck to PGA.

You might also consider a three 5-8 second dry burn (depending how bad the performance of your atty and assuming that you have a mod that has no time limitation) after the first soaking and then re-soaking back in the PGA. The second soak will remove any foul taste after the dry burn.

Enjoy! It has been a blast for me.

Nah, it wasn't real bad. I wasn't getting much TH out of it either. Maybe, I should try blowing the vodka out, a short dry burn (based on your post), and a re-soak, blow-out. No dry-burn. Just a guess. I have time, I can mess around, just don't want to kill it.

[bjc]

Not being someone familiar with these things, but with an SO who has access, I just tried an autoclave today.

Turns out they're used for sterilization and not cleaning.

It did pull out lots of ooky brown stuff from it, but it still tastes terrible.

If you're worried about germs, it's probably a good choice. If you're worried about cleaning, don't bother.

[Wonderboy]

I have been vaping for a couple of weeks and found the taste really starting to fail. I was getting a burnt chemical taste that tasted like really bad cotton mouth. The taste was fail. I have been using RY4, tobbaco and some Cynacide e-liquid. I cleaned my atomizers for the first time tonight.

I simply ran the attys under really hot water for a couple of minutes and then blew them out with a can of compressed air then let them dry for about an hour.

I also cleaned my regular carts(Pyramid Teabag Mod) in the same way.

Flavor has returned and I am once again satisfied.

>>Lesson learned - Don't mix too many flavors on the same atty(s) and keep the whole e-cig as clean as possible for the best taste\vape. Clean it all when the taste starts to fail. Now this may sound obvious but remember I have only been vaping for a couple of weeks. Please excuse the noobness.

[Bobnoxious]

Well. After closer inspection, I'm seeing what appears to be bits of a pyramid tea bag. I don't really think so tho, since the bags are intact, and it's bigger than the threads of a tea bag. But it's definitely a synthetic thread of some sort, since I can fray the end. I pulled it out of the atomizer.

I saw this same thing from my friends 510 atomizer, he was digging these out with a plastic cocktail sword. I didn't really look too hard at them yesterday, we assumed they were by-products of using english toffee flavoring.

Should I be pulling these threads out?

[OMB]

The threads are a wicking that helps draw your liquid from your cart to the coil. You really shouldn't remove it, as the wicking ability is decreased. Some here remove the wick and drip liquid right onto the bridge.
Lesson learned. I almost pulled the wick (made of fiberglass fibers) out when I did my first cleaning....then I read about not doing that.
If the atty doesn't work well after removing the wicking threads, try using that atty for dripping.

[Bobnoxious]

Doh!

Alright. Thanks. I only pulled 1 thread out of mine, my friend pulled a bunch. lol

[Data4]

Not being someone familiar with these things, but with an SO who has access, I just tried an autoclave today.

Turns out they're used for sterilization and not cleaning.

Well, now THAT's interesting. LOL! I guess it depends on the autoclave, but the ones where I work are for pressure-curing carbon-fiber and fiberglass composites. I can't imagine what they'd do to an atomizer, though it'd be kind of silly since our autoclaves are 30' in diameter and 90' long.

[Kurt]

Removing the atty wicks is a crap shoot, depending on if the wick threads go around the coil. Some do, and removing the wicks can rupture the coil...dead batt. I had one that I removed the wicks from that vaped like a freight train for 20 minutes, then died cold dead.

I pulled the wicks out of 3 of mine back in the beginning obsessive phase of vaping, and over-maintenance. Killed them all. So if you do successfully remove the wick and the atty still fires up, it is a drip-only atty, as OMB said.