The “Cola” Method Taken to Another Level That Works - e-cigarette-forum.com • The place for electronic cigarette reviews, news and chat

Sun Vaporer · 03-29-2009, 06:38 AM

***This was an experiment--read disclaimer at bottom of post people***

Terrapon first suggested the use of Colas for cleaning our atomizers and he hit the head right on the nail to get things started. Colas have since been reported as working for some and not for others. In a search to expound Terrapon’s hard work, many ideas and thoughts were thrown around. The perfect cleaning solution would be one that only required placing the atomizer in that safely dissolved the residue. Kinalooboo had made further suggestions along these lines.

Last week Stone posted that while in the business of refrigeration, there was a cleaning solution that they run through Ice Makers to clean the lines and the coils and suggested that this be investigated. As it turns out, the solvent he was referring to, phosphoric acid, is the same thing that is in Colas only much stronger and contained no sugar. While colas have a 2.5% concentrate of Phosphoric acid, this compound which is FDA food grade approved has a 75% concentrate.
This is the solvent and its write up:

Taking Terrapon’s original ideal and using the following product I dismantled a RN4072 atomizer that went cold months ago. The coil had a very heavy residue build up. I placed the solvent in a glass jar and placed the atomizer in it. After 2 hours, I took it out and inspected it only to find that at least 60% of the residual was gone from the coil and there was no residual in the solvent that I could see. I then placed it back in for another 2 hours only to find that the coil itself was now visible and over 75% of the residual was gone. Again I placed it back in and left it to the 7 hour mark to find upon inspection that 90% of the residual was gone. I then left it in overnight for a total of 14 hours to find that almost all the residual was gone. I could now see why the atomizer failed in the first place. The residual built up underneath and around the coil to to point that the residual actually lifted the coil up and forced the coil to break loose from the contact point on the left side. I could not see this before the residual was dissolved by the solvent.

Today, I took 5 "whimpy" atomizers that were from months ago and placed them in the solvent for 10 hours. I then took them out, rinsed them throughly. I then re-primed them and all 5 atomizers worked like new. I further took one of the 5 apart to inspect and it the coil was clean and all contacts were solid. I can state that this solution does in fact take Terrapon’s original idea of the use of phosphoric acid in a much more concentrated formula not only works, but needs no heating. It was interesting to note that there is no deposits in the solution at all–hence the solution dissolved the residual.

I would note that this solvent does have, like other solvents many safety disclaimers when using it. I would further note that I was willing to try it as it is used in the industry to clean out ice makers and hence I conclude must rinse clean off otherwise it would taint the ice. This is the first very viable and hassle free solvent I have used that actually worked for me.
It clarifies that Terrapon’s original idea was in fact leading us on the right road. I wish to thank all members who have attempted to try different approaches to make these atomizers not "consumable’ parts. I also thank Stone for the idea of this product and Kinalooboo for all of his thoughts and advise with regards to this effort. Remember that this is not the intended purpose of this product by any means and I only am reporting what worked for me. There is an inherent risk to using any solvent. —Sun

See Nu-Calgon: Products: Ice Machine Filtration

DISCLAIMER: This was an experiment and I choose to use it as suggested by Stone: Remember, that these are chemicals and it is not the indented purpose of the product. So do not use if you do not want to take any risks. I am not advocating its use and only reporting my findings as Stone reccomended this product and I thought I would give it a go, I used it because I think that it rinses clean and leaves no residual and the logic being that if you are going to run it though an ice maker and then conume the ice after is is rinsed out, then it should not be leaving a residue. But that is me and my logic (a desperate soul looking for an way to save my may be soon banned atomizers from demise. we are not telling anyone else they should use it. It is dangerous and not advised and anyone that does not heed to warnings does so at their own risk. Again people, these are experiments!!.
*New thread started upon request

kinabaloo · 03-29-2009, 06:49 AM

I hope suppliers pick up on this and make it easily available so we can buy it in small quantities when we order our juices or flavorings.

StoneE4 · 03-29-2009, 06:52 AM

From the thread; Cold Pen-Style Atomizers. Broken wiring? NOPE!...

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinabaloo

I suspect this may not be easy for all of us to get and probably comes only in large sizes.

Nu-Calgon sells their Liquid Ice Machine Cleaner in 8 oz and 4 liter bottles.

As to availability, the best place to find this stuff would be at either a HVAC/R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration) supply store or possibly even an appliance parts store. You'll just have to check those types of places in your area. I don't know if it's available online anywhere. But, Nu-Calgon has a "Where to Buy" page on their site.

Misty · 03-29-2009, 06:55 AM

Amazing find, Sun!....gonna be a busy week trying to find the solvent

Really appreciate all the careful thinking and innovative ideas that has come about when great minds get together !.. ..

StoneE4 · 03-29-2009, 07:06 AM

Sun, I take it there was no visible damage to the coil, mesh, fiber/wick (whatever you call it) or the wiring, from the Liquid Ice Machine Cleaner itself?

Sun Vaporer · 03-29-2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoneE4

From the thread; Cold Pen-Style Atomizers. Broken wiring? NOPE!...

Nu-Calgon sells their Liquid Ice Machine Cleaner in 8 oz and 4 liter bottles.

As to availability, the best place to find this stuff would be at either a HVAC/R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration) supply store or possibly even an appliance parts store. You'll just have to check those types of places in your area. I don't know if it's available online anywhere. But, Nu-Calgon has a "Where to Buy" page on their site.

Stone--so many ideas, and so much work on this troubling problem--and you pop up out of the blue and hit a home run--Everybody has indeed given great efforts to this issue and I thank them all--Thanks my friends!!!!---Sun

Terraphon · 03-29-2009, 07:11 AM

Very good deal, Sun. If this is the holy grail everyone's been looking for then we're all going to be happy as clams.

Thanks for grabbing on to this and running with it. I'm glad that people were willing and able to grab ahold of my own research and work and take it to another level.

Consequently, the atomizer you sent that I told you was cold with a broken solder was afflicted by the same symptom you described, above...there was so much buildup on it that it had pushed it up from the bottom which broke the contact...

I wonder how much "testing" (read : USE) some of these atomizers get before they're shipped from the factory / supplier............No finger pointing here but it seems that it would take a while to build up that much residue.

I gave all of my 401 atomizers another cola bath today and they're all rocking 100%. I'm certainly interested in trying this new method if the situation presents itself.

HUGE thanks to everyone that put in time and effort on this issue, as well as to those whose comments and anecdotal information helped us to achieve results.

Vape on, people...Cheaper than ever before

radiokaos · 03-29-2009, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kinabaloo

I hope suppliers pick up on this and make it easily available so we can buy it in small quantities when we order our juices or flavorings.

If I was a supplier I would be afraid one of my customers my accidental use this stuff to vape and kill them self.

Terraphon · 03-29-2009, 07:25 AM

Yeah, this isn't something that should be supplied to people...not by juice vendors, anyway.

This is still advanced technique stuff. Not for novice users and not for those who aren't willing to put themselves at risk. Bottom line is that we don't know what this stuff (or anything we put in our atomizers, including RC cola) will do to us once it's boiled up and pumped in to our lungs.

ALL of these techniques are "use at your own risk".

Sun Vaporer · 03-29-2009, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoneE4

Sun, I take it there was no visible damage to the coil, mesh, fiber/wick (whatever you call it) or the wiring, from the Liquid Ice Machine Cleaner itself?

Stone--there is no damage at all --this is the read on it from the manufacture:

Liquid Ice Machine Cleaner is a 75% phosphoric acid of the highest food-grade quality. It is fast acting yet very safe to use and it does not give off any harsh fumes. Because of its 75% phosphoric acid content, it is the most concentrated ice machine cleaner in the market. It has a specific gravity of 1.63 and weighs 13.6 lbs. per gallon. Usage rate is 8 fluid ounces with three gallons of water.
Nickel-Safe Ice Machine Cleaner is a specially formulated citric/phosphoric food-grade product for removing scale deposits from ice makers having nickel-plated or tin-plated evaporators. It is acceptable for use in machines made by Manitowoc and other manufacturers using nickel. In fact, it was the industry’s first nickel-safe product, introduced in collaboration with Manitowoc .

So that is all I needed to read--nice Idea Stone!!!-Thanks for letting me be the ginny pig LOL!!--Use at your own risk-Sun

03-29-2009, 06:38 AM	#1
Sun Vaporer Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 6,741	The “Cola” Method Taken to Another Level That Works ***This was an experiment--read disclaimer at bottom of post people* Terrapon first suggested the use of Colas for cleaning our atomizers and he hit the head right on the nail to get things started. Colas have since been reported as working for some and not for others. In a search to expound Terrapon’s hard work, many ideas and thoughts were thrown around. The perfect cleaning solution would be one that only required placing the atomizer in that safely dissolved the residue. Kinalooboo had made further suggestions along these lines. Last week Stone posted that while in the business of refrigeration, there was a cleaning solution that they run through Ice Makers to clean the lines and the coils and suggested that this be investigated. As it turns out, the solvent he was referring to, phosphoric acid, is the same thing that is in Colas only much stronger and contained no sugar. While colas have a 2.5% concentrate of Phosphoric acid, this compound which is FDA food grade approved has a 75% concentrate. This is the solvent and its write up: Taking Terrapon’s original ideal and using the following product I dismantled a RN4072 atomizer that went cold months ago. The coil had a very heavy residue build up. I placed the solvent in a glass jar and placed the atomizer in it. After 2 hours, I took it out and inspected it only to find that at least 60% of the residual was gone from the coil and there was no residual in the solvent that I could see. I then placed it back in for another 2 hours only to find that the coil itself was now visible and over 75% of the residual was gone. Again I placed it back in and left it to the 7 hour mark to find upon inspection that 90% of the residual was gone. I then left it in overnight for a total of 14 hours to find that almost all the residual was gone. I could now see why the atomizer failed in the first place. The residual built up underneath and around the coil to to point that the residual actually lifted the coil up and forced the coil to break loose from the contact point on the left side. I could not see this before the residual was dissolved by the solvent. Today, I took 5 "whimpy" atomizers that were from months ago and placed them in the solvent for 10 hours. I then took them out, rinsed them throughly. I then re-primed them and all 5 atomizers worked like new. I further took one of the 5 apart to inspect and it the coil was clean and all contacts were solid. I can state that this solution does in fact take Terrapon’s original idea of the use of phosphoric acid in a much more concentrated formula not only works, but needs no heating. It was interesting to note that there is no deposits in the solution at all–hence the solution dissolved the residual. I would note that this solvent does have, like other solvents many safety disclaimers when using it. I would further note that I was willing to try it as it is used in the industry to clean out ice makers and hence I conclude must rinse clean off otherwise it would taint the ice. This is the first very viable and hassle free solvent I have used that actually worked for me. It clarifies that Terrapon’s original idea was in fact leading us on the right road. I wish to thank all members who have attempted to try different approaches to make these atomizers not "consumable’ parts. I also thank Stone for the idea of this product and Kinalooboo for all of his thoughts and advise with regards to this effort. Remember that this is not the intended purpose of this product by any means and I only am reporting what worked for me. There is an inherent risk to using any solvent. —Sun See Nu-Calgon: Products: Ice Machine Filtration DISCLAIMER*: This was an experiment and I choose to use it as suggested by Stone: Remember, that these are chemicals and it is not the indented purpose of the product. So do not use if you do not want to take any risks. I am not advocating its use and only reporting my findings as Stone reccomended this product and I thought I would give it a go, I used it because I think that it rinses clean and leaves no residual and the logic being that if you are going to run it though an ice maker and then conume the ice after is is rinsed out, then it should not be leaving a residue. But that is me and my logic (a desperate soul looking for an way to save my may be soon banned atomizers from demise. we are not telling anyone else they should use it. It is dangerous and not advised and anyone that does not heed to warnings does so at their own risk. Again people, these are experiments!!. New thread started upon request Last edited by Sun Vaporer; 04-03-2009 at 09:37 PM. Reason: ADD INFO

03-29-2009, 07:06 AM	#5
StoneE4 Full Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chicago Posts: 66	Sun, I take it there was no visible damage to the coil, mesh, fiber/wick (whatever you call it) or the wiring, from the Liquid Ice Machine Cleaner itself? Last edited by StoneE4; 03-29-2009 at 07:16 AM. Reason: Clarity

03-29-2009, 07:11 AM	#7
Terraphon Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA Posts: 1,989 Tweet this post!	Very good deal, Sun. If this is the holy grail everyone's been looking for then we're all going to be happy as clams. Thanks for grabbing on to this and running with it. I'm glad that people were willing and able to grab ahold of my own research and work and take it to another level. Consequently, the atomizer you sent that I told you was cold with a broken solder was afflicted by the same symptom you described, above...there was so much buildup on it that it had pushed it up from the bottom which broke the contact... I wonder how much "testing" (read : USE) some of these atomizers get before they're shipped from the factory / supplier............No finger pointing here but it seems that it would take a while to build up that much residue. I gave all of my 401 atomizers another cola bath today and they're all rocking 100%. I'm certainly interested in trying this new method if the situation presents itself. HUGE thanks to everyone that put in time and effort on this issue, as well as to those whose comments and anecdotal information helped us to achieve results. Vape on, people...Cheaper than ever before __________________ My Twitter...Thing... Follow me!

03-29-2009, 07:25 AM	#9
Terraphon Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA Posts: 1,989 Tweet this post!	Yeah, this isn't something that should be supplied to people...not by juice vendors, anyway. This is still advanced technique stuff. Not for novice users and not for those who aren't willing to put themselves at risk. Bottom line is that we don't know what this stuff (or anything we put in our atomizers, including RC cola) will do to us once it's boiled up and pumped in to our lungs. ALL of these techniques are "use at your own risk". __________________ My Twitter...Thing... Follow me!

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03-29-2009, 06:49 AM	#2
kinabaloo ECF Veteran Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: london uk / beijing china Posts: 3,304	I hope suppliers pick up on this and make it easily available so we can buy it in small quantities when we order our juices or flavorings.

03-29-2009, 06:55 AM	#4
Misty Moderator Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 1,838	Amazing find, Sun!....gonna be a busy week trying to find the solvent Really appreciate all the careful thinking and innovative ideas that has come about when great minds get together !.. ..