Are my atties going bad?

[DoomsDay]

I have had these 2 for about a month now. I have 2 eGOs and usually have both of them loaded with different flavors. My vapor production still seems to be very close to the same as when I got it but the taste of my juices has somewhat dulled a bit. I blow them out anytime I switch juice and usually run both of them under really hot water for a minute or two, every other day. Once I have all the gunk out, I blow the excess water out and do 3 or 4 dry burns for 3-5 seconds each and then load em up and start vaping again.

Now, mostly fruity flavors go into these atties, however I have tried to put tobacco flavors in them and on the first or second puff, I can taste whatever tobacco flavor is in there but after that, its like vaping water. The fruit flavors can always be tasted but as I said earlier, they dont seem to be as strong as they were. The flavors I am vaping are anywhere from 2 weeks old to a month old so I dont think they are the problem.

I busted out a new atty and dedicated it to just tobacco and I am able to taste the tobacco flavors from start to finish. If it is my atties, is it something I did for cleaning that caused this problem or is it just the nature of the beast with atties. I was kinda expecting the vapor to just be gone, as a way to tell they needed replacing. I wasn't expecting a loss of taste but vapor being good as an indication. And I dont know if it is, so thats kinda why I am asking hehe.

Thanks

 

[Godzilla]

This is a very good question, and I am also interested in a respons.

 

[FreakyStylie]

I can offer a little info. I always soak my attys in 91% isopropyl alcohol and let them dry overnight.

I still lose flavor, but only when I vape a lot. It is kind of like how you can't smell your cologne/perfume after only a short amount of time. Your nose gets "full" of the smell, but others can still smell it. Most of our taste is from smell, that's why food tastes funny when we're sick. Your nose gets "full" of the smell of the juice, and the juice seems to lose its taste.

If there is another reason for the loss of taste, it may be due to water being left in the atty after cleaning. Other reasons, IDK, that's for more experienced members.

 

[DoomsDay]

I have tried the isopropyl alcohol to. It doesn't seem to change anything. I honestly dont think its me vaping to much. I switch flavors after ever cart usually and I only go through 4-6 carts a day. 6 carts is usually a heavy vaping day for me.

This is why I opened the other atty, the same tobacco juice that had 0 flavor in my regular atties now had full flavor in my new atty. My fruity flavors still have flavor in my other atties but they dont seem to be as flavorful as they were a few weeks ago. I have seen people say they have regular atties last 3-6-9 months or more but the consensus seems to be that they last about a month. But the only real definition I have seen of an atty going bad is that it isn't producing as much vapor and that might be the case for me to. They still produce tons of vapor but the vapor appears to be a little thinner than it used to be. Still lots of it but not the big thick plumes of white vapor.

 

[grandmato5]

I think it has more to do with your taste buds than your atties. Just for the sake of curiousity the next time you clean your atty let it sit overnight before you try using it the next day and see if you feel there is a difference.
Are those two atties getting as hot when you vape as they were before?

 

[tinstar15]

It's the nature of the beast unfortunately. All the parts of an e-cig (battery, atty, cart, carto, etc) wear out. Some fast, some slow. A fresh atty with a fresh cart with fresh juice will taste better than old ones. Each of the components is built to be disposable after a reasonable period of use.

That said, most vapers are people that aren't fond of pitching something that still works, even if it only barely functions. So we search for new ways to clean, or mod, or otherwise extend the life of these parts. To date, no one has discovered the definitive method for taking an old atty or carto and make it function like new. Probably because there isn't one. Some have found methods which extend the life for a while. But at the end, these are all techniques to temporarily postpone the inevitable.

If you accept the limitations of the current technology, then you will probably just pitch the parts when they function less than adequately. If you are like most folks here though, you can always just set the parts aside and use them in experiments to find new ways to keep them running.

 

[Nomoreash]

If you've been using the attys for a month cleaning them is good to get the liquid residue etc out but your coil is probably also caked which soaking, rinsing etc won't take care of and 5 second dry burns aren't enough enough to burn it off although it should help a little. Sounds like what's happening, when the coil is caked up it won't heat the juice as much leading to what your describing a drop in flavor.

You need to do dry burns until you can see the coil heat up to orange which will probably be hard to do on a Ego battery I tried on my Riva and it almost got there before the battery needed to be charged again. You'll need a pass through to do it right and not overload your battery. There are several instructions for doing dry burns in the maintance section.

 

[Curlygirl27]

Try this method of cleaning your attys. this is what I use but start with an alchohol rinse and I repeat the whole thing twice to try and get everything outta there.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html

 

[Vapenstein]

since isopropyl alcohol is toxic when consumed, wouldn't it be better to use ethyl alcohol?

 

[WomanOfHeart]

since isopropyl alcohol is toxic when consumed, wouldn't it be better to use ethyl alcohol?

The Iso Alc soak should only be done if you're going to let the atty completely dry overnight. Iso Alc evaporates completely, so you aren't vaping it.

 

[justboringsarah]

I do this once a week with my attys,and every night I soak them in Everclear(PGA). To date I have 2,5 month old attys that are still going strong and still taste good

Try this method of cleaning your attys. this is what I use but start with an alchohol rinse and I repeat the whole thing twice to try and get everything outta there.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html

 

[RedForeman]

If you don't clean them every week or so, there is a waxy buildup from juice on the bridge and wicks that will cause them not to feed the burner very well. I also use the alcohol cleaning method.

I have two attys that I drip with and have pulled the bridges and wicks out. They are going strong after two months and they've never been cleaned.