4 Questions About Atty

[MrSmith99]

I've been vaping for over a year. I have a 510, an Ego, and my beloved Rio Grande mod which I have used so much I have discolored the black anodized paint job job with my anxious gripping hand.

However, my atty's just don't seem to work good very long. I use standard attys (2 ohm?). They are always fantastic when new. Big rolls of vapor just pour out of them. Then within about a week they drop to about half their usefulness. Then, a week or so later they barely work at all. I do have some in my 510 and Ego for over a month , but they aren't nearly as good as a new atty. I would consider these long running attys to be at about 1/4 their usefulness as when new. They are no where near having "big rolls of vapor".

I tried cleaning them in Everclear and an ultrasonic cleaner. This helps some of them. But even the ones that work better after cleaning are no where near as good as a new atty. I have also tried a series of 4-5 second dry burns which also helps some of them. But again, it doesn't make them like new.

It's funny that my longest lasting atty is one I've had from the start. I had de-bridged it and used it for dripping. I don't use it very much anymore but when I do it works great, even after several cleanings.

ATTY QUESTIONS:
1. So, are my attys just getting that dirty? So dirty that Everclear, ultrasonic cleaners, and dry burns don't help?
2. Do you think it is the bridge causing all the issues or the heating element?
3. Or, is it possible I am burning up my attys by taking vapes that are too long? Is it OK to take a 3-4 second vape consistently and not burn up an atty?
4. Are there special long lasting attys I can buy?

Any other advice?

 

[washvap]

1. Atties aren't made to last forever but, it really depends on how well that you've maintained them. I usually clean my atty after one's bottle's worth in my REO's. Which can be either 3-6 ml. I usually put them in a container and clean all of them when I reach 9. This helps them from getting too dirty.

If you go for a week without cleaning them then this can cause problems. Such as decreasing the life of the atomizer. What I would suggest is a few more dry burns and rinses then usual. Since some of the gunk is on there pretty good now. It's hard to tell if the dry burns will have any serious effects on reviving them at this point. Only thing that you can do is to try the dry burns and rinses to see if that helps.

One way to know when the atty is ready after dry burns. Is when you press the button. The coil should easily turn orange the whole way through. I've seen some where some of the coils have shorted and only 1-2 coils are still working. Best to toss them at this point since it's not going to perform properly.

2. The bridge has nothing to do with it IMO The coil does decrease in power and effectiveness the longer that you use it. Especially when you don't clean it since that causes build-up. The only thing that the bridge does is to hold some of the liquid that's being put into the atomizer. So, you don't have to drip/squonk as often.

3. It's always good to let your atty rest after you take 5 hits. A 3-4 second vape is normal for most vapers. So, that won't effect the atomizer too much. The reason why I suggest you take a break after x amount of hits. Is because it's the same as you dry burning your atomizer. This will put strain on the coil and possibly pop it if the user continues to hit it.

Then why is it suggested that you dry burn it? Well, the only answer for that is prolong the time that you can use it at it's "optimal" level. Doesn't mean that it's going to last longer but, most likely means that it won't last as long. Although, most of my atomizers last 3 months or longer before it decreases in performance. So, I'm assuming that I'm doing something right.

4. Unfortunately, there isn't any special long lasting atties. Even with high grade atomizers. They might last you a few days, weeks, months, and if your insanely lucky. Then it will last a year.

Hope that helps.

 

[throatkick]

May be of interest:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html

 

[KeithB]

You don't mention what kinds of juices you are using. It's generally thought that darker colored juices will dirty a coil faster than clear juices. Also, VG juices are though to clog an atty faster than juices that are high in PG.

There are plenty of ways to kill an atty faster that you should avoid. Don't dry-burn an atty to much (the HighPing thread linked above is a good one and stresses not getting the coil too hot). Don't keep flooding your attys either; this will stress them too much.

I haven't found that magic atty yet either, but I have had better luck with Ikenvape attys. I still don't get the months of use out of them that some people do but that may be to operator error. I do get better performance and longer life out of them than other attys I've tried.