- Status
Hey guys just an update on my progress with the mini pipe atomisers.
I tried a cleaning method with some cleaning solution we sell for the i-inhale mixed with boiling water which seemed to improve performance somewhat.
Now to give you a background: my mini pipe atomiser (the first one I had and still going), was still performing okay, but performance had dropped off slightly after 1 month so nevertheless for the sake of science, I sat it in boiling water and cleaning solution a few times and then flushed it out with tap water. Then dried it, dry smoked it and it had definitely improved.
I then sanded it to stainless steel and tried it in 'The Hydrant' mod I made which has a manual switch. Anyhow, the performance was much better than when in the mini pipe bowl.
This lead me to thinking that perhaps it is the mini pipe's 5 second cutoff that is the problem ie. not all the liquid vapourises and some is left due to the cutoff and this build up gradually causes the atomiser to under perform. But then reading that Pete has tried his in his Black and Decker mod, I'm not so sure? Pete did you use a brand new mini pipe atomiser in your mod and did the atomiser still underperform after a few days?
So anyway, I have requested that the manufacturers change the cut off as I still believe this could be a possible factor. TBH i wouldn't have requested this if I hadn't read this post as my one atomiser - like I said - is going on over a month and still performing fine.
It is a bit of a mystery to me at the moment as it is with everyone else, but I have notified the manufacturers on several occasions so hopefully they will be making improvements imminently.
Compared with the other staple devices I have owned/tested, the mini pipe atomiser rates better or equal - the only atomiser I've had that performs better and more consistently has been the Dura. The Dura however is very thirsty in comparison and requires nurturing with liquid to get the best results. The first dura atomiser I had was knocking on a month producing exactly the same vapour as the day I first got in, but unfortunately died a very sudden death after running 8 Volts through it in a mod experiment.... doooh!
Maybe I just get lucky with atomisers...
Hey Tim.....using the mini pipe atomizers on my mod has been helping them to last a bit longer....but it's only really because as the performance drops I can compensate by drawing for as long as I want and make them hotter (it actually restores them a bit so they work a little bit better if I put it back on the pipe)....so I do think you are right that an unlimited cuttoff on the pipe would at least be a help. I forgot all about that cleaner you said you have so I shall order some in a minute.....I also need some more atomizers I only have one new one left now!
......
Last edited:
Hi Edo -
We always do our best to improve products as we are also searching for perfection all the time and that is why your feedback is of the utmost importance. Without striving towards improvements, we will not progress in the right direction with this new technology.
The improvements we are currently working on and can't guarantee, but will attempt to work out with the manufacturers are the following:
1/ longer cutoff
2/ better battery life
3/ improved lid
4/ improved atomisers
5/ improved switch
If you can think of anything I have missed, please post here or email me so I can forward to the manufacturers.
The mini pipe is still no doubt a great device, but with some or all of these improvements, we will definitely be getting closer to perfection.
Kind Regards,
Tim
Great to hear someone is at least attempting to help make a good product a great product all 5 of your suggestions are valid.
What I would really like to see after that (pipe dreams) is the MIDI-Pipe
- similar basic idea - but with bowl big enough to take a more regular battery (pipe or S/D = longer lasting, better power)
- Switch moved from bowl assy to removable collar (between bowl and atomiser) with manual and auto switch options (and spares).
- Same (but improved) atomiser fitting
re: lucky with atomisers?
Not saying how one person vapes compared to another is better or worse. But it might have an impact on how 'all' these devices work or fail.
I am murder on atomisers, but I think it is because of the way I vape (and smoked) I was (still am) a pipesmoker and will puff on them almost absent-mindedly, rather than like I am smoking a cigarette.
Now while this worked on a real pipe, it is probably not ideal on an e-pipe.
I can't help it, or seem to stop it, and think the design of the mouthpiece might have something to do with that (it is more like a pipe than a cig, and so I smoke it like one without thinking).
This results in bypassing any cutoff (as you are constantly taking many small puffs rather than long draws) and very HOT atomisers, which if allowed to get dry fries them quicker than a quails egg on a hot skillet.
Also because of the way you draw - as in shallow puffs rather than long hard draws (which would just result in a tobbaco burn on your tongue in a real pipe) might affect how liquid wicks on and off the atomiser resulting in more build up, despite the heat of the atomiser.
just my 2c
silk...I have vaped both ways with the minipipe...like a pipe (taking many short puffs) and like a cigarette (longer single drags). Even when I varied my smoking habits, it didn't make much of difference regarding the life of the atomizer.
I tend to smoke my minipipe just like my analog pipe - lots of shortish puffs, and it does sometimes get quite hot. But so far I'm lucky with the atomizers I guess - I can just detect the original one is beginning to fade a little, compared to the new ones (from eastmall,) but is still quite smokeable after 17 days solid use (despite experimenting with a variety of juices and home-made brews.) I've cleaned it fairly regularly with boiling water, alcohol and regular blowing out with compressed air, and I'm now trying to alternate it with one of the new ones, just so it gets a chance to rest. I'm also going to get some of that Phosphoric Acid-based cleaning solution, as soon as I can find a UK supplier (anyone know where we can get that on this side of the pond?)
As has been noted, battery life is a bit of a critical factor, and I can see I'm going to have to get another charger (I see smokejuice.co.uk sell them,) just so I can build up a reserve of charged batteries (I've got 5 batteries now, but still only the original charger.) I'm probably going through 4 or 5 changes a day, but I don't wait till the one I'm using flashes - I change it pretty much as soon as a fresh one's ready, so they're probably not being more than half discharged in use (I did notice vapour production drops noticeably after a battery has been in for a couple of hours.)
Anyway, that's my experience so far FWIW - my second impression is pretty nearly as good as my first! I'm sorry to hear about other people's less enjoyable experiences of atomizer lifespans etc. - I guess some batches are better than others, and I seem to have got lucky.
As has been noted, battery life is a bit of a critical factor, and I can see I'm going to have to get another charger (I see smokejuice.co.uk sell them,) just so I can build up a reserve of charged batteries (I've got 5 batteries now, but still only the original charger.) I'm probably going through 4 or 5 changes a day, but I don't wait till the one I'm using flashes - I change it pretty much as soon as a fresh one's ready, so they're probably not being more than half discharged in use (I did notice vapour production drops noticeably after a battery has been in for a couple of hours.)
Anyway, that's my experience so far FWIW - my second impression is pretty nearly as good as my first!
I'm sorry to hear about other people's less enjoyable experiences of atomizer lifespans etc. - I guess some batches are better than others, and I seem to have got lucky.Nick...please let me know how long your eastmall atomizers last...those are the ones that I had the most trouble with.
This is my experience with rotating atomizers.... when you rotate your atomizer your just delaying the inevitable. Lets say without rotating your atomizers they last 5 days on average before dying off. If you rotate 3 ats then by day 15-16 all 3 of your atomizers will kick the bucket. I tried rotating the minipipe ats and cleaning etc....nothing helped. Way too many experienced vaporers have been having trouble with atomizers lately specially the minipipe atomizers and the rn4072.
Let me tell you about another experience of mine....I have had my 401 for 2 1/2 months .....vaped exclusively for almost two months...I vape very heavy...I am still on my first atomizer. I don't clean or rotate or nothing with my 401 atomizer.
Again I am very interested regarding your experience and the eastmall atomizers....if you can... in a couple of weeks..... post how they are performing. My experience was that the original atomizers lasted 7-10 days being vaped very heavily...while the eastmall ats last about 2-3 days vaped moderately.
Thanks.
This is my experience with rotating atomizers.... when you rotate your atomizer your just delaying the inevitable. Lets say without rotating your atomizers they last 5 days on average before dying off. If you rotate 3 ats then by day 15-16 all 3 of your atomizers will kick the bucket. I tried rotating the minipipe ats and cleaning etc....nothing helped. Way too many experienced vaporers have been having trouble with atomizers lately specially the minipipe atomizers and the rn4072.
Let me tell you about another experience of mine....I have had my 401 for 2 1/2 months .....vaped exclusively for almost two months...I vape very heavy...I am still on my first atomizer. I don't clean or rotate or nothing with my 401 atomizer.
Again I am very interested regarding your experience and the eastmall atomizers....if you can... in a couple of weeks..... post how they are performing. My experience was that the original atomizers lasted 7-10 days being vaped very heavily...while the eastmall ats last about 2-3 days vaped moderately.
Thanks.
Yes, the 401 atomisers are amazingly robust - I've also had mine for over two months and all (3) are still going strong. I've even had one go through the washing machine and still work like new. Very impressive. Maybe the vapour on one of them (the oldest) is a little less than the others but other than that, excellent lifespan.
I have the Evo and the atomisers are very reliable. The best I've had are original Intellicig ones (DSE 103 type) which, when plugged into a USB passthrough and battery, just keep going. I still use some from Oct 08!
I'll definitely report back on that - in fact I'll switch exclusively to the Eastmall one I've broken in for awhile, and carry on giving it the hard time I was giving my original (oily homebrews and all,) and see how it compares.
If it's only good for 2-3 days moderate use, it probably ought to be dead by now (it's been that long, and I'm a rather immoderate user
Anyone tried the ones from smokejuice.co.uk or that Dutch site (forgotten the URL)? I don't know where they're coming in from, so maybe they're different? I have no idea how many companies are actually making them, and whether it's a problem with one company, or with only some batches, but the user reports do seem very variable.
I'll probably get a white pipe kit in a week or two, so I'll see how they compare too.
Nick...thanks regarding the switch to using the eastmalls exclusively. Remember when you made the switch and how many ats your rotating....this way you can get an accurate avg of how long they last.
There is no doubt in my mind that the units and ats are different depending who you buy from. I bought my first unit from smilin (vapoe4life). The unit was awesome because you could control the vape by how tight you tightened the atomizer to the battery. I got my second unit a nd spare ats from Eastmall. Now the Eastmall atomizers were working fine with my first unit. But they wouldn't work with the Eastmall switch. In order to make them vape with the Eastmall unit i had to cut notches on the Eastmall atomizers. The notches would create airflow...without them there was absolutely no airflow. And if I tried to loosen the ato a little bit the connection to the battery would be lost. Confusing isn't it?lol
There is no doubt in my mind that the units and ats are different depending who you buy from. I bought my first unit from smilin (vapoe4life). The unit was awesome because you could control the vape by how tight you tightened the atomizer to the battery. I got my second unit a nd spare ats from Eastmall. Now the Eastmall atomizers were working fine with my first unit. But they wouldn't work with the Eastmall switch. In order to make them vape with the Eastmall unit i had to cut notches on the Eastmall atomizers. The notches would create airflow...without them there was absolutely no airflow. And if I tried to loosen the ato a little bit the connection to the battery would be lost. Confusing isn't it?lol
Is this (PartySmoker) the Dutch site you meant ? AFAIK they were the first to sell the Mini Pipe after it was thought up and developed by Knutselpeter (in conjunction with PS ? Not sure about this...).
Also, AFAIK there is only one company (so far ?) that manufactures the Mini Pipe.
Cheers,
Silver
Will do - I'll keep a diary. I'm getting through 3-4ml/day, so I should be able to calculate the amount of vaping that each one gets, if I don't switch them around more often than twice daily.
I've also tried an ecig 803 atomizer from The Electronic Cigarette Company (UK) Ltd. - SHOP - ACCESSORIES > ATOMIZER yesterday - I bought it some time ago, but only managed to get the mouthpiece off yesterday (so stiff I thought it was glued in!)
It wasn't making contact with the connectors on the bowl, so I wedged a couple of links cut from a fine jewellery chain (slightly too wide to pass through the hole,) into the concavity around the hole, carefully screwed the 2 parts together, and it makes a perfect electrical connection. And more importantly, it runs MUCH longer on a charge of the battery! Now I can get good vapour all the way to the LED flashing to say it needs recharging. It also makes at least as much vapour as the original unit did when it was new.
Visually the element appears thinner (~2:1 rectangular,) and appears more raised in the centre (into an arch,) than on the minipipe atomizers, which are flatter and squarer - almost 4:3 rectangular (this is even more pronounced on the eastmall replacements than on the original,) and the minipipe carts fit fine, and clearly make good contact between the wadding and the element.
I'm guessing it runs a bit hotter (and so can cope better with the voltage dropping off once the battery is part-drained,) but it's not giving a burnt flavour and the heat might slow down any gunging up, so I have high hopes for lifespan (though it's too soon to have any indication.) They only come in white paper effect, but I'm sure I can spray them black if they turn out to be a better choice (I've ordered another 3 to be getting along with anyway.) Still got that one in, but I'll give the eastmall one some abuse in work tonight (I always chainvape in work
)An alternative to the chainlink bodge would be to file down the overhanging rim from the battery-end of the atomizer, so it can screw another half turn or so and make the connection. Or I guess a small solder blob on the central brass core would do too (taking care not to solder up the hole of course
)I notice some physical differences between the original and eastmall atomizers that mean they're clearly at least from batches made on different equipment/assembly lines, or using slightly different components:
- on the battery-end of the original atomizer, the circular plate with the 4 holes in it displays very slight radiating machining marks where it's been polished or scoured, as if they've been polished out almost completely, but on the eastmall replacements there are deep radiating grooves from the brass centre to the rim that are strikingly visible.
- the original unit has an insulating washer under the brass centre which protrudes beyond the diameter of the brass center (pale tan, or possibly green plastic/fibre/paper. The insulators are not visible on the eastmall units, and are presumably no wider than the brass core.
- one of the 3 eastmall atomizers has a serial number stamped into the brass core = "KR0903" (the other 2 do not.)
- the finish is slightly different - the Eastmall units have a slightly coarser (or at least matter,) powder finish.
That's the one! They do the brown wood-finish minipipes too. Might have to get one of those - nice as they are, and would also mix & match well with the black atomizers.
Nick....I replied to you but it must of gone somewhere in cyberspace. Any way again...thanks for your mini experiment...I am looking forward to your review.
Just a couple of suggestions.....you can always use a dermel to sand down the band of your ato to make it fit the pipe better and to make the connection. Also you can always scrape the white off of your ato... you'll get a nice silver atomizer out of it.
Just a couple of suggestions.....you can always use a dermel to sand down the band of your ato to make it fit the pipe better and to make the connection. Also you can always scrape the white off of your ato... you'll get a nice silver atomizer out of it.
The lady pipe as portrayed by someone parked on this form is not what it is said to be, it does have a cutoff, battery life sucks, and atomizer life sucks, i own a bunch of epipesncigs, i just received a 701 cigar and WOW holy SMOKE, this thing rocks. only been smokin it for 2 hours, but smokes like hell right away, if battery life is poor, who cares, deals extreme sells 3.7 volt 2500mah batteries that will blow this battery away, cheap 2, dont know how battery life is yet, but its supposed to be good, heres my fav's in order from first to worst---1. the 701 cigar 2. 601 epipe just cause the batterylife rocks3. the lady pipe(if only it was all it was advertised as, kinda ...... about that, I wont be parking my money there no mo, no more dietsmokes 4 me) 4.901
5. 801- this would be higher on the list if i didnt feel like i was suckin a golf ball through a garden hose to get a hit, maybe its just the brand smokey treats, exellent customer service by the way.. 6, rn 4072 and last place goes to the m401, its like sucking air.
5. 801- this would be higher on the list if i didnt feel like i was suckin a golf ball through a garden hose to get a hit, maybe its just the brand smokey treats, exellent customer service by the way.. 6, rn 4072 and last place goes to the m401, its like sucking air.
I got it here e-Cigar DSE701 - Eastmall International Co.,Ltd
its also where i get my juice, try it u wont smoke anything else, its awesome, i went to batteries plus today and tried to get different batteries for it(not that it needs em, but figured why not) they do not carry anything like it, so if anyone knows where to get a 3.6/7 volt 2500mah battery that will fit this dse701 let me know(AAA size) i want a battery that lasts 24 hours and i'll be happay as a clam
the battery it comes with is a 360mah 3.6 volt and after the first charge it lasted about 5 1/2 hours and i puff on it constantly, so i was pleased.This is the closest to a cigarette i have tried.
I started vaping more than a year ago, and my first e-cig was a good old 901 from Steve over at PureSmoker.com (<--they are AMAZING by the way!!).
I had a very negative experience, and went back to smoking analogs with even greater force than I had before I moved over to the e-cig.
After a long time researching the boards, asking questions, wasting time, I finally committed myself to e-cigs again.
Now, it's only been 48 hours that I've been vaping on this little guy, but I MUST say, it's totally exceeding all the expectations I had.
The first piece I bought was the RS-888 (as I believe it is referred to). I'm using some old/left over Johnson's Creek liquids till my new stuff comes in from Pure Smoker (True Menthol & RY4). I'm still waiting on my 801 and the USB pass-through from PS, but in the meantime, I have to talk about this mini-pipe.
This little device is AMAZING. The batteries last FAR better than the old 901's did, the atomizer doesn't heat up nearly as much, but produces FAR more vape/smoke than I'd ever gotten out of my 901. The draw is easy enough, the pipe is reliable, the throat hit is there, and the volume of the vapor is perfect too.
I recommend this pipe to everybody (so far)!!
I had a very negative experience, and went back to smoking analogs with even greater force than I had before I moved over to the e-cig.
After a long time researching the boards, asking questions, wasting time, I finally committed myself to e-cigs again.
Now, it's only been 48 hours that I've been vaping on this little guy, but I MUST say, it's totally exceeding all the expectations I had.
The first piece I bought was the RS-888 (as I believe it is referred to). I'm using some old/left over Johnson's Creek liquids till my new stuff comes in from Pure Smoker (True Menthol & RY4). I'm still waiting on my 801 and the USB pass-through from PS, but in the meantime, I have to talk about this mini-pipe.
This little device is AMAZING. The batteries last FAR better than the old 901's did, the atomizer doesn't heat up nearly as much, but produces FAR more vape/smoke than I'd ever gotten out of my 901. The draw is easy enough, the pipe is reliable, the throat hit is there, and the volume of the vapor is perfect too.
I recommend this pipe to everybody (so far
)!!
That's true, though my dremel (cheap clone, not "real" dremel,) is broken, so I'd probably use a hand file
And I'd rather a black finish than silver, so I'll dig out the old aerosol of hammerite I know is lurking somewhere in the garage when I get round to it.
So far the Eastmall atomizer is still going strong (I've had it in almost non-stop since Monday night, and a few days before that - so probably nearing a week's use so far,) - it started giving unsatisfactory vapour levels on Tuesday night, but a good blow & wash through with boiling water, and replacing the (slightly blackened) cart wadding with teabag material has restored it to excellent performance.
I'm still vaping a pretty gunky mixture (50:50 TW cigar and a caramel-coloured hazelnut liqueur essence,) which ought to be a good test of its robustness.
I try to give all mine (the ones in regular use anyway,) a good clean every other day or so. If I can reliably get a fortnight's use out of them, they're cost-effective (but obviously longer would be nicer
)I did have a bit of an accident with the white atomizer - it was running fine, but as part of my regular maintenance regime I blew it through with the aerosol compressed air, and performance dropped off massively (but not totally.) I think it may have been physically damaged by the force of the air, and I'm going back to blowing through by mouth instead. Anyone else ever had this happen with compressed air?
I'm still trying to decide on that one - a lot of people claim theirs do, but the LED doesn't cut off on mine anyway, and I don't seem to be able to take a long enough draw to notice the atomizer cutting out after x seconds (but that's possibly because my mouth is already full of vapour.) Possibly there are variations on the basic model (there are sure as hell variations on the spare parts!)
But lots of small puffs definitely seems to be the way to get the most out of it.
I think these may be linked - see my comments on the white 803 atomizer above. This has certainly improved effective battery life inasmuch as it enables vapour production all the way until the battery actually needs recharging. But it always pays to have a few spares - I can still get through 2 or 3 in an 8-hour shift at work (mind you, working nights in a quiet petrol station, there isn't much else to do than chainvape from 11-7
) I may not need to change the battery as often as I do with the regular atomizers too - I just change it when a new one's charged because I can. But they certainly do drop off vapour production long before the battery's fully run down.
The 701 cigar looks good - it was on my radar before, and it's definitely going to be a model I'll be getting sometime soon (but I want a SD first though, so just waiting for them to come back into stock.)
- Status
