Analysis of the Black Gunk on Atomizer Coils

[Happy Jack]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

Thanks for the research for all our benefit!!!

[Idahojo]

Yes we most certainly appreciate it. Thank you. BTW I recently tried a strong mixture of Citric Acid and water on a poorly performing atomizer and it seemed to improve the performance greatly. I let it soak 24 hours and then rinsed like crazy. I don't know if it affected the stuff around the coil or just the mesh area but I definitely saw a difference.

[kinabaloo]

Pete - i very much doubt that adding calcium would help! Since these deposits are basically the dry deposits of the juice, and possibly also from the PG/VG, the solution would be reducing the dry deposits in juice formulations as much as possible.

There might be something that could be added to the juice that would react with the deposits or some part thereof on formation and release them as harmless gasses, but that is not even something to contemplate without knowing more exactly the compounds present; and a long-shot even then.

[kinabaloo]

Idahojo - yes, citric acid / lemon juice perhaps my first choice for a routine type clean over cola or vinegar - it has the strongest acid effect, is inorganic, least likely to leave its own reaction deposit, and leaves no taste.

Dry deposits on the metal wicking will cause, eventually, a harder draw (air flow) as well as reduced juice delivery to the coil so this is an importany aspect to cleaning also. And these deposits do not receive the high temperatures that deposits on the coil receive, so are far less likely to decompose and harden structurally by cross-reaction or structural realignment.

[surbitonPete]

Ok ......so I have pondered a little more on the idea of an additive to the juice which might be able to stop the carbon from 'sticking' and forming into hardened lumps.....and have made up a strong saline solution by adding salt crystals to water...and now I am vaping a little bit of juice mixed with saline solution.......I cannot 'taste' the salt...I didn't really expect it to vaporize. I believe it should stay behind in the gunk. (I think salt is actually supposed to be quite healthy to inhale anyway).......well only time will tell if this (probably daft) idea has any merit.

[kinabaloo]

Pete - and when you need to clean, just plonk in some warm water, whereupon the salt dissolves and the rest falls off with it. Hmm, understand the idea, but ...

Salt water is corrosive to steel (the metal wadding and tube) and even if it works to help with removing the deposit from the coil, it does so by making the coil get vape-reducing deposits twice as fast.

But crazy ideas help us think outside the box. So rock-on Pete! Feel a little sorry for that atomizer though

[schnauzer4me]

WOW, I DID NOT UNDERSTAND ONE WORD OF YOUR POST
I did not do to well in my science classes in High school, but I was vaping all that other stuff back in the 70's
I am going to let you do your magic and then I am sure, you will post, exactly what to buy, to clean these little things In the meantime, I buying a bunch of atomizers
So, by the way, are you a college professor? or a nuclear scientist??

crackin up - EXACTLY what i was thinking........

your guys are totally the bomb. i dont usually know what the heck you mean with the details but i can get the bottom line-. thank you - i love reading all the research & results. (the 70's put a hurtin on my brain cells too but didn't kill 'em all off)

[surbitonPete]

Pete - and when you need to clean, just plonk in some warm water, whereupon the salt dissolves and the rest falls off with it. Hmm, understand the idea, but ...

Salt water is corrosive to steel (the metal wadding and tube) and even if it works to help with removing the deposit from the coil, it does so by making the coil get vape-reducing deposits twice as fast.

But crazy ideas help us think outside the box. So rock-on Pete! Feel a little sorry for that atomizer though

ahh ....but.........my theory is that there is far too much 'oil' in the liquid for the corrosion part to be a problem....fingers crossed......lol.

[kinabaloo]

Nothing sticks to ceramic (i guess we've all seen the photos of gunky coil sitting in a pristine ceramic pot.

So a ceramic heater element would be ideal in new-era attys.

[exogenesis]

surbitonPete

not sure it proves anything about removability, it's just 'whats there' really,
also it not the most appropriate analysis method - dissolving it in a lab & wet
chemical analysis, or gasifying it & GC/MS would be better.
Adding calcium :
could make it easier to acid remove, or then maybe it might make it physically tougher,
possibly would affect the vaping 'performance' if you added too much?
It's a good idea though, adding stuff to make it clean easier, rather than just dealing with it afterwards.
Tell us how the 'salty e-liquid' goes...



cosican
my current suggestion is: try one of the existing cleaning methods
(e.g. different acids in various strengths or H2O2),
& see if it works for you. Or better still clean as regularly as you can to avoid the build-up.
(btw I write software, but sometimes I have to 'test' the new code on these machines )



kinabaloo - text block alert!
Yes, that lower amount of calcium surprised me too,
guess there's not much tap water used in liquid production.
Suspect that some of the chlorine possibly comes from acids used
during nicotine extraction from tobacco ?
Not sure about the silicon, it might even be an additive given there's so much of it.
XPS analysis can't detect hydrogen atoms (directly) cos of their simple electron shell structure.
Observing it physically forming with a x10 lens, it looks like bubbling burning toffee,
then it hardens to a hard brittle crust as it oxidises - building up layers.
Glad you noticed the ??? peak, I think its also tin as well
(which would only double the amount of tin present),
but I'm going to ask someone about that on Tuesday, cos I'm not sure,
if it's a bit too far from the known tin-compound positions.
The technique shouldn't create any chemical states, it just sees whats there,
but what's there in it's 'burnt' state is not necessarily what the liquid was originally.
Actually vaping is a cross between burning and evaporation so some of the original is probably there too.



Actually the best solution to all this is to get a piezo vapourizer/atomizer working,
maybe with a thinner e-liquid - no heating.
Contemplating getting some (or ripping out of humidifiers)
& joining in with the modding fraternity.

Thanks all for encouragment, wish I has a GC/MS