Maintenance that works

[DC2]

I'm going with Kent C here, as it sounds like you have non-sealed M401 batteries.

[nycityjeff]

Atomizer Maintenance:
-Do NOT let your atomizer go dry. Do not drain them overnight. Do not forget to wet your atomizer after a vape session. Just don't. If you try to vape on a dry atomizer, the atomizer can fail. Keep it wet.
-If vapor production has dropped off significantly and all troubleshooting has failed, boil your atomizer. Blow the liquid out of your atomizer by placing your mouth on the battery end. Place your atomizer in water and slowly bring it to a boil while stirring. After ~1 min at a heavy boil, remove your atomizer from the water... without burning yourself. Let your atomizer cool, then blow the water out in the same manner as before. Make sure your atomizer is clear of water, internally and externally, then prime it with several drops of e-liquid.
This has brought my atomizers back to life several times. It works great for removing impurities within the atomizer.


Battery Maintenance:
-Follow the user manual that came with your kit. I know, I know... most men (including myself) don't read those things. Some of you may be shocked to hear that a user manual exists. It does. The user manual will typically include the specifics for charging your battery, as they are all different.
-Clean the contacts on the battery and atomizer! I use a Q-tip to clean both at least once a day... they get nasty.

DUDE! Thanks to these two tips...and believe me I had tried EVERYTHING...coke bath, alcohol, vinegar...I just brought THREE dead, and I mean COLD DEAD DSE910 atomizers back to life...and back to life in a major way...they are all vaping like BEASTS now...I had one atty left working and was beginning to panic, as the four new ones I ordered are not due to arrive for at least several days...and I am a chain vaper...cant really do that with just one atty...after all..what if that one dies ( I REFUSE to go back to analogs)....I cannot thank you enough...the boiling method really works...I am indebted to you !!!!!

[Eric in AK]

I've been using the same 510 batteries and atomizers since I started vaping 3 weeks ago. All seem to work great, and the heating element (if that's what it's called) on each one looks just as clean as the new atomizers I bought as replacements.

I've done no cleaning, blowing out, boiling, alcohol, draining - partly because I'm lazy but also partly to see if these things would fail quickly without all the drudgery of maintenance.

I think the key for me has been that I rotate through the three PVs I have, never using any one of them for more than 2 consecutive hits. For some reason I get the feeling that the "chain vapers" are keeping their coils (you'd think I'd know what those things are called by now) hot and not letting them cool between uses, and it might be that some people are vaping past the 5-second time, trying to get major vapor. I just do a nice slow vape and when the vapor volume seems to be dropping off I either top off the cartridge or switch batteries.

As soon as I have my first atomizers fail I'll try the boiling method and see if it renews it, but if I get 3 weeks to a month out of each one I'll probably be pretty happy, since I thought they would fail long before now after reading all the stories on the forum.

So, bottom line for me is: go easy on the vaping on each of my 510's and don't ask any single one of them to carry too much of the load.

[SirRealism]

Thanks kent, I think you're probably right. I'm going to try to keep the battery I have working by threading a tissue into the hole to dry it and then sealing it with candlewax or something. Hopefully it won't need replaced.

I've been looking at the atomizer advice on this thread, and I've been kind of surprised. From what I'd heard I thought an atty was supposed to last for about a year if you took good care of it, not a month or two.

[Kent C]

Thanks kent, I think you're probably right. I'm going to try to keep the battery I have working by threading a tissue into the hole to dry it and then sealing it with candlewax or something. Hopefully it won't need replaced.

I've been looking at the atomizer advice on this thread, and I've been kind of surprised. From what I'd heard I thought an atty was supposed to last for about a year if you took good care of it, not a month or two.

Sounds like a plan with the batt. There are reports of people burning out attys on the first day and one that went 2 years. People that clean them have lost them after cleaning and some (mine) have last now 5 months. Some don't clean and some of them buy new attys every month, some have gone months without cleaning. What you have to watch out for imo, is all the various methods of cleaning. Some were used ONLY to revive and were 'drastic measures', not intended for 'regular cleaning'. I use 151 vodka because it is for human consumption and dries fast but still dissolves the crud. But I no longer expressly recommend it. I can tell what my results have been and people can choose for themselves.

The faqs on atty cleaning have all the caveats but frankly there shouldn't be a listing of all methods that we've seen used here - some are truly disastrous, some leave film of stuff people shouldn't be ingesting/inhaling. People should seek them out for themselves, imo, try various methods or better not clean until there's a problem - then do the least invasive first.

[wdave]

I was fiddling with my RN4081 atty that had problems right out of the box to slow down the vapor through the atty. I had this lame idea to block the air slots with Elmers glue. Then I was too impatient to let the glue dry completely and I clogged that atty with glue.

In a last ditch effort to save the atty, I boiled it for five minutes. Glue gone.

Dave

[ThePuck]

Man, why does everyone have all these problems with attys. I've had the same 3 (901) attys I've had for 4 1/2 months. 901's burn a bit cooler than a 501 or others but I've seen where people have had problems but I have not.

The rules I follow...
1. Make sure they stay wet when vaping. If your cart gets dry, switch or refill right away.
2. Blow them out from the back end at least once a week. Juice tends to thicken up and stay inside the atty over a small period of time. Just hold the cart end over a paper towl and blow through the battery end. You will get dark liquid out most of the time. Do this 5 or 6 times and move the atty to a different spot on the paper towel each time until you get nothing. Then drop 2 drops of juice on the atty afterward.
3. Do not use them hot. If you're vaping a lot in a row, put your finger on the atty after each draw. If it is getting warmer than warm, set it down for a minute or wait until it is cool. It doesn't take long to cool down, just a minute or so but don't use it when it's very warm or stop for a minute until the atty is cool again.

That's really all I do and my 901 attys are still going strong. They are DSE901 SLB Attys, just for reference.

[heavymetalhero]

I'm pretty sure the M401 batteries shorted out via the switch, because it was stated that the battery stayed activated, and if the liquid had come in through the battery threads, I think it would have shorted the entire circuit instead of just the switch. Could be wrong though. But regardless, be careful about liquid near the switch.

As far as atomizers, I feel the same way as ThePuck. I use 510 attys, SR and LR, for at least 3 months before they actually start performing too hot, and the juice loses flavor. Then I got a VV Infinity Pro, and I can use them at a lower voltage. The attys I use for non tobacco flavors never really need cleaning, but once in awhile I will soak them in something and they come out clean and performing well. The atomizers I use for tobacco flavors, mainly extract tobaccos, get gunky build up that doesn't come off with alcohol or water. And if I vape it too hot, it will burn and taste like burnt-cigarette/ashtray. Recently I discovered that a brief cola bath (as long as the cola has phosphoric acid) will remove this incredibly hard-to-remove build-up.

Every single time I try a dry burn, it burns the gunk on the coil, but then the atomizer tastes like burnt atomizer, and I can't get this smell out, except by using a cola bath in this case also. I can't understand why ppl like to dry burn. Maybe this happens to me because I leave the wick in the atomizer? But the wick is kind of necessary for successful vaping, even when dripping.

[Warren D. Lockaby]

thanks Kent. good to know, i no longer will wait for fear of battery memory lol. edited.
thanks pete, wasn't aware of that one! edited... lol same idea but different reasoning.

Dry burns are known to kill atomizers simply because the fine heating element can't take it. Not recommended at all. I wish I could remember who posted it... he gave instructions on a worst case scenario dry burn, but noted not to unless you were willing to risk the coil snapping.

I'm not sure but seems like I saw that on the IkenVape Site warning against the dry burn procedure. Anyway it made sense the way it was explained, at least as to the way that particular atty was made.

[Warren D. Lockaby]

Semi-right? That depends on how you're getting it to the point of bone dry.
Do not vape it to that point. When the heating element is in use, it needs to be moist.

The information from another member made me aware that the atomizer is resistant to oxidation. So based on that... you could store it dry. I'm weird though, so I won't. Better to be safe than sorry.

To my way of thinking, resistant, maybe; impervious, no. After they're manufactured they are given a "primer lube" of (maybe depending on the manufacturer) PG/VG before packed & shipped. This implies to me it's a good idea to keep them wet even if they're not in use. Of course I'm just guessing here and could very well be wrong, but if nothing else, it's cheap insurance.