Dead atomizer?

[GiveMeUrCookies]

how can you tell when it's officially dead? this is my first atomizer, so i'm not totally sure.

i think mine may be dead, or maybe it just needs to be cleaned and can be revived? hrm. anyone want to fill me on how to tell when it's completely dead?

it doesn't give anymore smoke, but i can still hear the whistling noise, and it still heats up.. so it can't be completely dead. -- or atleast i don't think so

[windblown]

Originally Posted by GiveMeUrCookies

how can you tell when it's officially dead? this is my first atomizer, so i'm not totally sure.

Hi Cookie, and welcome to the forum! You are right that as long as the atomizer is still heating, it is not officially dead. It may need a good cleaning, or it might just be having a bad hair day.

Luv your avatar!

[CaSHMeRe]

Definitely try a good and thorough cleaning. Let is drip for a good 8-10 hours, and start fresh with a new battery and new cartridge in the morning and see how it does.

sometimes mine get too much liquid and stop working until drained.

atomizers have a mind of their own ... good luck

[Mr.Darcy]

Cookie-blow it out from the battery end-a few hard blows into a tissue.

next,drip a few drops of eliquid directly onto the atomiser.

put on the dummy mouthpiece with no cartridge that came with the ecig,and see if you get vapour.

if you do,put a cartridge back in and smoke as normal.

[GiveMeUrCookies]

Originally Posted by Mr.Darcy

Cookie-blow it out from the battery end-a few hard blows into a tissue.

next,drip a few drops of eliquid directly onto the atomiser.

put on the dummy mouthpiece with no cartridge that came with the ecig,and see if you get vapour.

if you do,put a cartridge back in and smoke as normal.

Trying now!

[GiveMeUrCookies]

Nope, nothing. the atomizer got pretty warm when i blew out from the battery, and a bit of liquid dripped out. but it's still not working

[jhl01]

Hi there,

From my limited experience (4 dead atomisers - 1 having its last rites as we speak!), the best way to test it is to put on a fresh battery and some liquid on the atomiser (cartridge or drip).

Then suck like hell.

If the atomiser is dead, the metal casing will feel cold to the touch.

This is because any unheated air cools the outer casing. If the outer casing starts to warm, then the atomiser is 'Still Alive' and may need cleaning.

Hope it ain't bust.

ATB,

Jerry

[katink]

Take a tissue; and turn a corner of it into a longish piece. Now unscrew your atomizer from the battery, and put in that tissue until it rests against the atomizer-bridge inside the atomizer. Don't turn it around in there, you don't want to leave pieces of tissue behind; but do try to really touch the atomizer mesh bridge with it.
NOW, with the tissue still in, blow through the atomizer from the battery-end (without the battery attached!). Blow hard and a number of times. If you have too much tissue in to be able to do that, make the piece of tissue thinner so you can blow past it, more or less.

When you are done with blowing it through in this way (you should not hear any 'moisture-sounds' anymore before stopping; if neccessary swap tissue inbetween for a new piece) - then take out the tissue, put a few drops of liquid straight on the atomizer, screw on the battery, put on the dummy mouthpiece, and start smoking.
When some good smoke is coming out, you can put in the cartridge again... but if it then immediately 'chokes'into little or nothing again, then take the cartridge out again and just smoke with the dummy until the smoke gets clearly less... and thén put in the cartridge again.

Hope this helps you out (remember: blow through WITHOUT battery attached!)

[jamie]

Originally Posted by katink

....put in that tissue until it rests against the atomizer-bridge inside the atomizer....NOW, with the tissue still in, blow through the atomizer from the battery-end (without the battery attached!).

That's very interesting Katink! I had thought we were supposed to be cleaning out a little collection area under the steel wool bridge. This sounds like a technique to clear out the bridge itself.

Not sure if I misunderstand the atomizers or if it's just hair-splitting to see it as a difference. I'd like to hear more comments on this from you or anyone. Mostly I feel that just about anyone on the board understands this better than I do!

Thank you katink and everyone. It is so helpful to keep finding new ideas like this. I don't like to clutter threads by leaving lots of one-line "thank you" posts but seriously, I was a heavy duty cigarette smoker (who laughs reading what most of you describe as "heavy smoking") and now I'm not and it's so much because of all your assistance with this new-fangled gadgetry. Clavit just wrote a great post about ultra-sonic cleaning.... You're all just awesome.

[katink]

If you still have good enough lungs, this will largely clear out the ceramic pot and surroundings too; not only from blowing it out along with the air, but also because you more or less let the liquid in there take the reverse route from how it came in (now instead of coming in through the mesh bridge and spreading from there, you 'push it back' through the steel mesh toward the absorbing tissue...)

I hope it helps out a bit