My method to clean the heating coil of any atomizer.

[Sun Vaporer]

I have experimented with burning it off with a variable voltage 0-12 v dc power supply that I have and all I managed to do was turn it a grey colour and bake it on even harder.

Pete--that is exactly what I got as well--nothing but a grey and more hardened build up--so burning off for me just does not work for me---Sun

[surbitonPete]

Pete--that is exactly what I got as well--nothing but a grey and more hardened build up--so burning off for me just does not work for me---Sun

When people report that this or that idea has worked I get all excited .....but the black gunk on MY atomizers defies everything sun......lol. .......but at least you cheer me up when you tell me it's the same for you.......It would be horrible to be the only one.....lol.

[rlorange]

Mine was not too encrusted and was still getting hot and making vapour which may have helped. Once glowing red hot could watch the crust start to glow also and then burn away. After several cycles of heating the black crust was now a grey-white ash. This would not blow away but washed away after 20min in Boiling water with 50% vinegar.

I think you have to use catch them early for this method to work as well as I have found, I didn't realise that long before atomizers are obviously dying crust is building up, mine was after three weeks and was only just starting to make less/inconsistent vapour.

I opted for the 5volts to be on the safe side and a power pack is best because a battery pack is not well catered for the sort of current drain that the heating coil has. Unless that is you used a beefy battery.

I will be using my method every three weeks and will report how well it does over time and repeated cycles.

[kinabaloo]

You might in fact find as rlorange said, and i have noted before, that in fact the deposit is weakened when turned grey and will wash in a vinegar bath (no need to boil but hot ok) or by simply starting to vape on it again.

[rlorange]

That's exactly what I found Kinabaloo, my ash washed out with 50/50 vinegar and water.

I am going to try caustic soda when it needs another clean. Before everyone freaks out with such a strong chemical remember that Caustic soda in water is very strong but 'clean' alkaline solution of ions meaning that it will rinse off very well as there are no oil residues or surfactants AND more importantly you can 100% neutralise any traces remaining from a thorough rinse using harmless white vinegar, this will react to produce another harmless salt, sodium acetate which will dissolve away.

The worry is glues and insulation and the paint but not the metal (acids attack metal not alkali). Not to worry if it strips the paint as a shiny stainless steal atomizer will look better!

[exogenesis]

I've tried hot strong caustic & found it gives a hard draw after,
I'm fairly sure it leaves lots of mineral deposits in the metal mesh,
pehaps washing out with distilled/deionised (rather than tap) water would prevent that?

[kinabaloo]

Thinking about this, the color change indicates that something has happened. It could in theory be a hardening but evidence suggests a weakening. Strong heating could burn off any carbon as CO2 leavng the rest; this can be seen by passing a high current through a graphite pencil lead. It explains the color change nicely. But the same color change is seen with acids, where the likely action would be on inorganic minerals and not on carbon - strange. But some oxides are black and would account for both cases, so that is my suggestion to what the acids and heating atomiser to red-hot remove - some kind of oxide.

[iam0z]

folks PLEASE as i have been following this for quite some time i keep asking myself the same thing why haven't they tried to identify what they are trying to dissolve and go forward from there? Is it carbon if not what else could it be? .............. I am a machinist and i can identify certain metals from each other by the color their sparks make when you use a grinder on them and seems to me i also remember a chemistry teacher telling me in high school chemicals can be identified by the color the flame turns when the substance is immersed in a flame ya know? like sulfur will turn the flame yellow and so on. So identify what you want to disolve and then find a safe chemical that reacts with it if at all possible ok? then we go from there

[iam0z]

now i wouldn't mind helping you folks with this but i have two atomizers and they work and they better at least a year cause that's the warranty on them. when they give up on me they'll go back for replacement if the warranty is not expired. oh and they only cost 6 dollars a piece not to bad a deal eh? even though i have been reading alot and i have ordered spares and they are on their way

[surbitonPete]

I know what the black gunk is on the coils.......it's going to be the new radiation sheilding for then next mars probe.