Cart material!

[surbitonPete]

I have had very little luck with atomizers since I started vaping.........I start off with a couple of great vapour days with a brand new atomizer and then it gradually produces less and less vapour causing me to spend all my time messing about trying to just to get a good cloud.... ensuring batteries are fully charged, the amount of liquid is just right, not too little and not too much... all that kind of thing.

Well I have been studying all my dead atomizers... and whilst there 'is' some build up of a carbon like material..(which thanks to teraphon Coca-cola seems to be able to clean off)... they also have a very large build up of a shiny black gunk, which I am now certain is the melted cart material......(try setting fire to a small peice of cart material that is soaked in liquid, it burns away and ends up looking exactly the same as what builds up on the coil...burnt plastic! ).

Anyway I think the cart material is made of some kind of polyester and the reason that some of it manages to get on the heater coil is that it doesn't just wick ...it is also sucked down onto the metal mesh bridge by a vacuum action as well.......now I am thinking it might be far better for the life of the atomizer (and perhaps for health reasons) to replace the cart material with something natural like lambs wool or sea sponge.

Perhaps if anyone already does use a nutural fibre they might let us know if they have been getting a longer atomizer life? I am thinking those who 'only' ever drip on the atomizer might also have better atomizer life as well.

[kinabaloo]

I have an idea - combine dripping and carts

Redesign a new cart that will work interchangeably with the existing ones and require no change in the atomiser. Basically, no wick in cartridge; cartridge is filled with liquid only and there is a small (tiny) hole that allows one drop out when when needed (user choice) ... and this now is the tricky part ...... perhaps by the end of the cart being pressable - it moves in slightly, enough to let out one drip onto the atomiser (the user will hold it up the right way when doing this). Something like that. Refilling would require use of a syringe to get the liquid through the tiny hole (too small for liquid to fall through). There is merit in this I think ut needs a bit more thought. Anyone ? I remember someone else suggested a twisting action like a glue stick, though that was with a wick. Something simple to allow one drop to be pushed through the hole ...

ps : perhaps a very simple valve mechanism would be better than just a small hole.

pps : perhaps a squuezable (or Part squeezable) cartridge is the key. The hold could be made as a nozzle to fire a mist rather than a drip, giving more instantly usable fluid to the atomiser coil.

[CandyGirl]

random thought, Pete.

i know this is a shot in the dark but i was watching a video review last week, ritalee i think. anyway i noticed when she removed her cart she twisted it. i remember thinking OMG i would never do that. (i've got a little OCD goin' on)
i always place any cart back exactly the way i removed it.
my thinking is the fibers would get caught and wrapped around the atomizer.
i only want the cart fiber to rest on atomiser so i never twist.
i'm also afraid it would pull the wool out of the cart when i pulled it apart.
i just checked my atomizers with a penlight and eye crutches and i see nothing like you described. just a shiny wet atomizer. no charred or burned material.
like i said it may have absolutely no bearing on the problem Pete,
but thought i'd let you know, just in case.

[kinabaloo]

candygirl, you are right, twisting can get the fibres knotted on the metal stuff.

on the new cart design - basically it is a small dropper (or dropper with nozzle) with air path around it. Perhaps if the hole is the right size, simply holding the vaporizer upside down and giving it a gentle but sharp tap would release one drop. That would be quite easy to prototype but results may vary according to liquid viscosity.

[CandyGirl]

i'd like to see something like that kinabaloo.

viscosity varies across so many different liquids, plus the addition of VG and ambient temperature differences and users variations in the way they draw on the mouthpiece. etc.
too complex a mod for me to try.

[kinabaloo]

I just fill up carts and to be honest it's not too bad. But do sometimes get a few minutes where the liquid is not getting to the atomiser now and then so it's worth thinking about, especially if it avoids the possibility of burned polyester.

[kinabaloo]

I thought I'd think about in the bath - and before i could even get in, noticed one of those liquid soap dispensers. Press on the top button thing and a fixed amount of liuid comes out of the spout. What we need is a mini version of that ! It's basically a hand pump with simple valve and spring return. If not familar with those, think scent spray bottle - same thing plus bozzle to create a mist.

[jamie]

....i noticed when she removed her cart she twisted it. i remember thinking OMG i would never do that. (i've got a little OCD goin' on)
i always place any cart back exactly the way i removed it.
my thinking is the fibers would get caught and wrapped around the atomizer.
i only want the cart fiber to rest on atomiser so i never twist.
i'm also afraid it would pull the wool out of the cart when i pulled it apart.
i just checked my atomizers with a penlight and eye crutches and i see nothing like you described. just a shiny wet atomizer. no charred or burned material.

Fibers drop into the atomizer twisting or no, with certain manufacturer carts worse (even much worse) than others. I'm not clear on exactly what you used but it's almost impossible to see most of them without a UV light.

In my experience most of the fibers don't get underneath the wick.

[KoS]

I am constantly trimming my cart material. I always see strands and such. Could only imagine what I would see with a UV. Might have to try the sea sponge idea. Also mabey the steele mesh I read about on another thread. Qthers we not having much luck but I remember using some stele wool you get at a hardware store. It comes in doble ot and tripple ott and mabey even finer than that. Used it to clean windows for a construction clean up job ( no scratches if it was kept wet)