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I just soak them in rubbing alcohol for an hour, rinse in hot tap water, blow them out, and let them stand up to dry, with the battery connection at the top. Worked just fine.
I used to use vodka to clean my attys, but I ran out.
I used to use vodka to clean my attys, but I ran out.
Well the burn taste /smell kept peaking it's head around the corner every once in a while, so I decided to go for bust. [Moderators, forgive/chastise if this is considered double-posting -- I blog-commented this as well on my blog]:
So turns out I was needlessly afraid of the dry burn.
I just:
....no residual burn nor vinegar taste. Worked very well. No waiting for it to dry at all.
So turns out I was needlessly afraid of the dry burn.
I just:
- microwave boiled 1/2 a cup of drinking water (Kroger's "Purified water"...yeah, probably has some minerals in it, but didn't have any vodka nor distilled water)
- added 1/2 cup of room temperature distilled white vinegar to cool it a bit
- bathed and blew out, bathed and blew out, repeatedly about 5 times
- nuked some more drinking water and repeated a 'rinse' cycle 5 times then....
- dry burned repeatedly, 4 seconds on, 4 seconds off (blowing in the tank chamber)...until there was no more smoke no more smell, and as Sassy said (per Scottbee) until the heater glowed after a 1 second press.
- dropped the atty in the drinking water bottle with the remaining room temp water and shook it for about a minute
- blew out the remaining final rinse water *blowing in each end* (why not...) until no more water blew out
- Q tip dried each end
- stuck on a tank and dry pulled (without pressing the button nor inhaling, just quick, sharp mouth-pulls) hard on it about 7 times for good luck, and what better way to prime it?
- back on the USB PT battery connected...
- fired it up
....no residual burn nor vinegar taste. Worked very well. No waiting for it to dry at all.
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Just a quick follow up -- performed the same procedure above on 2 new attys (same "ego-T" label, different suppliers).
One of the new attys, I tested the "out of the box, blow out the manufacturers primer, prime with juice, and start vaping -- tainted taste on banana juice I used to prime (I used banana juice as it was fairly neutral, and light). Apparently some of the manufacturers are priming/shipping with like 555 juice or something similar (tasted like 555 to me).
The other new atty, out of the box, and cleaned first (see above) before using. Full dry burn on it, seeing the glow down in the core of the spike and around the edges of the spike plate until there was no steam, nor smoke). Pure banana juice flavor first vape.
One of the new attys, I tested the "out of the box, blow out the manufacturers primer, prime with juice, and start vaping -- tainted taste on banana juice I used to prime (I used banana juice as it was fairly neutral, and light). Apparently some of the manufacturers are priming/shipping with like 555 juice or something similar (tasted like 555 to me).
The other new atty, out of the box, and cleaned first (see above) before using. Full dry burn on it, seeing the glow down in the core of the spike and around the edges of the spike plate until there was no steam, nor smoke). Pure banana juice flavor first vape.
I didnt go thru nearly that many steps to clean my atty. I just did as Scottbee said and rinsed it under hot water until I was sure that it was cleaned out sufficiently, then did the dry burn thing. Worked great! I also just pushed the wick down just the slightest bit and WOW!!! My vanilla tastes better than ever!
Wasn't as complicated as it's spelled out -- just pretty much documenting for my own sake (and other OCD like me 
)...just didn't wanna leave the trace elements in the hot tap water, and vinegar, well just went the extra step - others had mentioned it here and it's just so useful.
)...just didn't wanna leave the trace elements in the hot tap water, and vinegar, well just went the extra step - others had mentioned it here and it's just so useful.
Yeah I understand OCD, however I'm not too hep about inhaling anything vinegar or IPA for that matter which is why I will Likely not use IPA again to clean my atty's. I didnt like what it did to my atty, it completely dried it out and made it very difficult to wick again even after dripping down the needle.
As I see it (now), most of this stuff will come off with water, what is left will be burned off during the dry burn. And honestly, I'd rather vape some minerals left from water than vinegar or IPA... just my opinion of course!
As I see it (now), most of this stuff will come off with water, what is left will be burned off during the dry burn. And honestly, I'd rather vape some minerals left from water than vinegar or IPA... just my opinion of course!
I can see isopropyl alcohol being a good cleaning agent, but I wonder if it's necessary. Since the coil is not exposed in any atty I have, I'm never sure I fully cleaned it. Whether I use hot water (which I do) or alcohol, I'm not able to view the coil so I don't know if I was successful.
I'd like to see an atomizer design with a threaded cover that lets you unscrew the outer cover and view the coil. An enticing feature of this design would be that only the threaded adapter containing the bowl and bridge would be dunked. The cover could be set aside and the parts cleaned. Drying would be quick and you couldbe sure that you aren't vaping residual gunk that is crusted on the coil.
This would increase costs since the cone cover would have to be thick enough for internal threading forming. I'm sure the original design of the atomizer was intended to be a throwaway. When your vape sucks, you just toss it and start a new atty.
I'd like to see an atomizer design with a threaded cover that lets you unscrew the outer cover and view the coil. An enticing feature of this design would be that only the threaded adapter containing the bowl and bridge would be dunked. The cover could be set aside and the parts cleaned. Drying would be quick and you couldbe sure that you aren't vaping residual gunk that is crusted on the coil.
This would increase costs since the cone cover would have to be thick enough for internal threading forming. I'm sure the original design of the atomizer was intended to be a throwaway. When your vape sucks, you just toss it and start a new atty.
I'm trying to look at it like... even if I went thru 2 attys a month, I'm still saving a pocketful of money compared to smoking cigarettes @ $240+ per month...
I grabbed a gallon of distilled water at the store today, much cheaper than Everclear, and I'll try the boiling water in a couple days. Once a week should be enough right? I do have IPA on hand if need be too. My juices are mostly if not all PG. This works the same for mega eGo and other atties? (So many methods/atty types and videos out there...) and I do want to keep them working well as long as possible!
I'm curious as to what is the most effective procedure of cleaning, with the least amount of wait time for drying. I don't want any chemical taste so I don't really wanna use IPA or vinegar, and I'm 19 so I can't buy PGA. I'm guessing distilled water is my best bet, but what is the best method with shortest wait time?
Awesome. I'm going to rinse my atty tonight and dry it overnight so it'll be good to go in the morning. How effective is just running it under hot tap water? Will it get rid of flavors? I've been smoking on Flue Cured Tobacco from VaporNine, and I'd like to switch to my Wikiki Watermelon that's from Volcano, but actually be able to taste the watermelon with no tobacco flavor.
I like my way of doing it.
1) I take a 20oz soda bottle, bore a hole in the cap to a size slightly larger than the top of the atty. I bored from the top, to leave a little bit of the "cap seal" intact, it helps seal around the atomizer.
2) Slide the cap onto the top of the atomizer
3) Fill bottle with ~180 degree (f) water (Distilled if you prefer)
4) Tighten cap on the bottle
5) Invert and squeeze HARD.
This forces water through the atomizer, and when you've squeezed out about 1/2 of the bottle, let go and let the bottle expand, drawing air in through the atomizer, I find this helps dislodge all the gunk that is inside. Then, squeeze out the rest of the bottle.
I then blow out the atty, and repeat the process 2-3 times, blowing it out between each session.
After the final time, I blow it out for about a minute, then let it naturally dry for 24 hours before use.
Prime and vape!
No leftover flavors (I've even gotten rid of menthol this way), clean vape, just like brand new. It improves airflow as well.
See pictures for more detail I attempted to make a video, but realized I'm horrid on camera. Maybe I'll get up the nerve to do it again next time I have to clean an atty
1) I take a 20oz soda bottle, bore a hole in the cap to a size slightly larger than the top of the atty. I bored from the top, to leave a little bit of the "cap seal" intact, it helps seal around the atomizer.
2) Slide the cap onto the top of the atomizer
3) Fill bottle with ~180 degree (f) water (Distilled if you prefer)
4) Tighten cap on the bottle
5) Invert and squeeze HARD.
This forces water through the atomizer, and when you've squeezed out about 1/2 of the bottle, let go and let the bottle expand, drawing air in through the atomizer, I find this helps dislodge all the gunk that is inside. Then, squeeze out the rest of the bottle.
I then blow out the atty, and repeat the process 2-3 times, blowing it out between each session.
After the final time, I blow it out for about a minute, then let it naturally dry for 24 hours before use.
Prime and vape!
No leftover flavors (I've even gotten rid of menthol this way), clean vape, just like brand new. It improves airflow as well.
See pictures for more detail
I attempted to make a video, but realized I'm horrid on camera. Maybe I'll get up the nerve to do it again next time I have to clean an atty
so I haven't cleaned my attys in roughly 3 weeks and I don't notice any off tastes or diminished vapor or anything. Do some of you really find it's necessary to clean them weekly? Should I clean them anyway, regardless of my not noticing anything wrong?
Also, I see that some people have pretty extensive cleaning methods that seem to be time consuming. I don't see the point, though maybe one day I will given that I'm still a newb to the vaping scene, but I've tried a few methods not worth mentioning, but the one I liked best was quick and easy. I simply microwaved a cup of distilled water to a boil and let the atty soak for about 15 minutes then blew it out and did a couple of dry burns not longer than 4 seconds with 10 seconds between blowing lightly into the atty to cool the coil. I was vaping again in a half an hour after cleaning my 2 attys.
Also, I see that some people have pretty extensive cleaning methods that seem to be time consuming. I don't see the point, though maybe one day I will given that I'm still a newb to the vaping scene, but I've tried a few methods not worth mentioning, but the one I liked best was quick and easy. I simply microwaved a cup of distilled water to a boil and let the atty soak for about 15 minutes then blew it out and did a couple of dry burns not longer than 4 seconds with 10 seconds between blowing lightly into the atty to cool the coil. I was vaping again in a half an hour after cleaning my 2 attys.
It really depends on your juice. Some flavors linger, and require cleaning to remove. With the eGo-T, dark juices can clog the atty, making for a very hard draw, or even impossible.
I clean mine weekly just for preventative reasons, mostly because a few of my juices aren't clear. I also occasionally use menthol and cinnamon flavored juices that require an EXTENSIVE cleaning (10-15 minutes of my bottle method) to get rid of the flavor.
If you're not noticing a harder draw, no flavor or vapor issues, and you're using clear, or close to clear juices, then I'd say keep going until you notice issues. But, that being said, all juices leave behind *some* residue, and the longer you wait, the harder it will be to clean it later.
I personally don't ever dry burn my atties, I had issues with that when I first started, burnt wicks = burnt flavor that will never go away, and can only be covered by the strongest flavors. I have three atties, one in use, one standby, and one spare still in packaging. So, even with a 24 hour dry period, I never have any problems. Most of the time, the atties end up sitting (drying) for 5-6 days anyway, as that's when I usually swap them.
is anyone else having problems using the alcohol soak method with it removing the color plating? Both of mine I've cleaned so far (one from cignot, one from fsusa) are now stainless steel after a 91% soak. I thought the first was from leaving it too long (30 min) but the second one soaked for 2 minutes and I noticed the color starting to float away.
I just spent an hour with my dremel and a wire wool tip scrubbing my batteries to stainless; the color difference was driving me nuts.
My mom wanted stainless, so I traded her batts and atties, but I'd like to prevent this in the future. Thinking I'll do the rinse under tap cleaning, but I notice the button cover going on/off is scratching the color off my atties.
I get the feeling it's from the heat on the atties.
I just spent an hour with my dremel and a wire wool tip scrubbing my batteries to stainless; the color difference was driving me nuts.
My mom wanted stainless, so I traded her batts and atties, but I'd like to prevent this in the future. Thinking I'll do the rinse under tap cleaning, but I notice the button cover going on/off is scratching the color off my atties.
I get the feeling it's from the heat on the atties.
After using a darker juice recently I gave it a rinse under hot fast running water, blew it out, short dry burned it a few times and done. It took a little time to prime back to normal vapor production but not long.
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