Atomizer for testing flavor - problem with mine and what to choose

[Wow1420]

see this is part of what i don't get.... if most liquids are happy at 7W and most common recommendations you find are are 6+W somewhere in the 6-7.5W range ... why is the 2.4ohm a standard coil for a 3.7V ego... when that is an end result of 5.7W.

Some of us are happy at 5 or 5.5 watts. It seems like the type of juice comes into play, like fruity flavors do better at lower watts.

If you figure out what ohms/watts you like with clearos, try the same with your atomizer and adjust to taste from that starting point.

 

[Wow1420]

I held off trying an rba for a while because I didn't feel ready to fuss with wire and wick, but now that I've jumped into the rba pool, the water is fine. With 510 or 306 atomizers, I'd drip 3 drops, get a flooded puff or two, get 3 or 4 good drags, then go to burnt right away. The sweet spot is so short, it was very annoying. RBAs can hold 8 or 10 drops (maybe more depending on the type) so you get a good vape for longer. As soon as it goes a little dry I drip more, I can totally avoid the burning issue.

Re-coiling is a little fiddly, my first one took an hour, but second and third tries were much easier. Now I'd rather re-coil/re-wick than do a lot of cleaning, soaking and dry burning.

 

[D4rk50ul]

Get an HH357 if you want a killer atty with tons of flavor.

 

[fabricator4]

Ouch ... can i say ouch...

You can indeed. Let's all say it together.

there is no wiggle between the metal and plastic, when i try it feels like a sturdy 1 piece. But then they have not leaked. not once. and they last me about 3 weeks of continual use. I ordered more and am just praying that the next batch will be the same quality.

and while i'll try to disassemble the one that is now dying once it's dead... my car works as a car nicely.

It sounds similar to the ones I use, they're very sturdy. This is why I hit on the idea of holding it with my dead cigalike - it gives you some purchase. I then hold it close to my body and pull really hard, maybe a slight angle - not enough to damage the tube. They go back together fine and as far as I can tell, are just as sturdy as before I pulled them apart. The centre post screws off for access to the coil. I then wash the coil, dry, dry burn, then boil. Comes up like new, even the coffee capuccino ones that looked like a ball of black hard crud with two wires sticking out after only 2ml. DIY is just essential for some liquids I'm finding...

 

[nahoku]

why would you pull it using a battery? why not just use a pair of pliers to hold it?

There's not much to grab onto with a plier. You don't want to grab the threads. Either use a battery, or buy a 510 ego adapter. I sometimes have to clamp the ego adapter threads in a vice to remove some tubes. Like I said, some are easy, some are tough. YMMV.

I actually just bought 10 more of these (2 boxes). Some CE3's have already been discontinued and once these are gone, you won't be able to readily get such an outstanding option for so cheap. By the way, these can be rebuilt.

 

[fabricator4]

I actually just bought 10 more of these (2 boxes). Some CE3's have already been discontinued and once these are gone, you won't be able to readily get such an outstanding option for so cheap. By the way, these can be rebuilt.

I hadn't intended to go beyond cleaning with these since they are so cheap and a dry burn followed by a boil restores them so well. You've definitely got me thinking now though. Do you push out the center pin the same as you do for the Vivi Nova heads? It seems like it should be pretty simple if this is the case.

 

[nahoku]

Do you push out the center pin the same as you do for the Vivi Nova heads? It seems like it should be pretty simple if this is the case.

If you have these and can look at it, the white gasket actually covers a seam between the top and bottom halves of the metal pieces. The top piece has the same criss-cross etching as the bottom and is press fit into the bottom. If you remove the gasket, you'll see how it's put together. All you have to do is slip a side cutter plier, or similar, between the seam and start prying. Everything will come apart quite readily. The rebuild is probably very similar to a Vivi from what I've seen. I don't actually own a Vivi.

View attachment 201529

Left to right ... bottom, pin, gasket, upper piece, ceramic (rubber gasket shown at top)

Rebuilding requirements... eye's of Superman!

 

[fabricator4]

Left to right ... bottom, pin, gasket, upper piece, ceramic (rubber gasket shown at top)

Rebuilding requirements... eye's of Superman!

Mine have a black gasket instead of white, and I don't recall the ceramic but it might be in there somewhere when I pull one apart (not currently broken, so I'm not going to fix the car either)

Eyes of Superman I used to have - I was very short sighted so could take my glasses off and focus down to about three inches. Built in macro eyes! Now my near sight is going too dammit. I really miss my Superman eyes and could definitely have used the facility coming into this DIY hobby. Not too bad though, my close focus without glasses is currently about 6 inches.

 

[nahoku]

Your's will probably have a ceramic piece somewhere. As for the eyes... mine are also getting bad, but luckily I have one of those expensive lab scopes for doing small stuff like this. Haven't attempted rebuilding any of these yet, but I might on the one pictured when I'm not too lazy.

I see the trend of all these simple CE2 and CE3's disappearing. Many places are currently out of stock or don't even carry them. Rebuilding might be the only option in the not too distant future.

 

[nev99]

I held off trying an RBA for a while because I didn't feel ready to fuss with wire and wick, but now that I've jumped into the RBA pool, the water is fine. With 510 or 306 atomizers, I'd drip 3 drops, get a flooded puff or two, get 3 or 4 good drags, then go to burnt right away. The sweet spot is so short, it was very annoying. RBAs can hold 8 or 10 drops (maybe more depending on the type) so you get a good vape for longer. As soon as it goes a little dry I drip more, I can totally avoid the burning issue.

Re-coiling is a little fiddly, my first one took an hour, but second and third tries were much easier. Now I'd rather re-coil/re-wick than do a lot of cleaning, soaking and dry burning.

the cleanup/swapping of liquid is what makes the IGO-L, eHuman describes, so attractive. As i don't see myself becoming a dripper these wouldn't get that much use that replacing the wick would be an often thing.

the thing now is finding out what supplies are needed (besides the atomizer) wick, coil, mesh... type, size, grade, quantity and then figuring out quality/supplier/price ...

and then which of the dozens of instructions are the correct ones to follow... do you quench it (cooling the metal very rapidly, makes it brittle) - many do in the instructions then admit in comments they stopped... but they do not say what, if anything they do instead...
do you oxidize wicks -there are claim it builds up chromium and to do it different... (not quire sure i understand how)
and other such questions..

one of the reasons i was begging for idiot proof, lots of pictures/video instructions on making it
yeah i know there are some one line already ... but a) refer to above issues b) not for ss mesh and this atomizer c) not for the straight line diagonal set up he says he is using now and d) since there are many techniques and opinions and they might not all yield the same result i would like to know how he puts together the one that does give the result that might work for me.

Get an HH357 if you want a killer atty with tons of flavor.

lol, i saw the image when i googled it .. and it was like hey mine looks like that.. then i looked up to buy.. and it was - ooops not quite the same one...
can i say ouch on the price... yeah i see the reviews, they are great.. and it's supposed to last a while.. and it might be a good one to have down the road for some delicate flavor testing... and while 20$ is not extreme i'm not sure i want to shell out that kinda $ on an 510 type atomizer till i get one of the 'regular' priced ones to work decently for me

you wouldn't teach your kids to drive on a Cobra but the Taurus.

 

[fabricator4]

As for the eyes... mine are also getting bad, but luckily I have one of those expensive lab scopes for doing small stuff like this. Haven't attempted rebuilding any of these yet, but I might on the one pictured when I'm not too lazy.

Heck, I have a stereo microscope too!!! I wasn't going to own up to it here until you mentioned it though... One of my other hobbies.

My naked eyes used to be almost as good as a 2X scope; now I'm flat out seeing the drip tip in dim light. :-(

I see the trend of all these simple CE2 and CE3's disappearing. Many places are currently out of stock or don't even carry them. Rebuilding might be the only option in the not too distant future.

If true I might have to stock up a little. I'm mostly converted over to CE5's with the Vivi's on top, but they are just too handy to take extra flavours and samples, a new DIY liquid to try etc etc. At this point I'd be happy to pass up the CE5's and go with the Vivi's and a handful of these CE3's (never even knew that's what they were).

One of the biggest advantages that we haven't even mentioned yet is that they are bottom coil clearos: You can chain vape them at high power from start to finish and never get a dry hit. Makes me want to try the bottom coil Kangers but they don't look like as good a proposition for the DIY enthusiast.

Edit: I've got a possible solution for the poor eyesight in mind - one of those stereo jeweller's loupes that you wear on a headband. I used to use one for retouching photographs back when that was the only way to do it. Uncomfortable darn thing with a metal band - maybe they are better now.

 

[nev99]

It sounds similar to the ones I use, they're very sturdy. This is why I hit on the idea of holding it with my dead cigalike - it gives you some purchase. I then hold it close to my body and pull really hard, maybe a slight angle - not enough to damage the tube. They go back together fine and as far as I can tell, are just as sturdy as before I pulled them apart. The centre post screws off for access to the coil. I then wash the coil, dry, dry burn, then boil. Comes up like new, even the coffee capuccino ones that looked like a ball of black hard crud with two wires sticking out after only 2ml. DIY is just essential for some liquids I'm finding...

yeah i managed to see a few larger CE3 images.. they do seem to be made different then the Nano i use.. but i get it
plus the Nanos i have are 808 so when i was looking at it.. there is a place to grab...

but the boiling part. i've seen a few places mentioning that for cleaning..

if i can't take my nano apart and i really really don't think i can, can i still boil it? or not good idea for the plastic part?
it will be a few days before the new ones arrive so i would like to give this one a few more days of life if possible

the one i have been using for the past 3 weeks with my all day vape so it has gone through about 100ml of liquid through it (with one wash/rinse last week) is starting to get that used cart taste.

 

[nahoku]

One of the biggest advantages that we haven't even mentioned yet is that they are bottom coil clearos: You can chain vape them at high power from start to finish and never get a dry hit. Makes me want to try the bottom coil Kangers but they don't look like as good a proposition for the DIY enthusiast.

I wouldn't attempt chain vaping with these CE3's (or any of the small ones) unless you WANT dry hits! The wicks are too small to maintain constant flow. This is probably why all the newer bottom coil clearos now have a fatter bottom with more wick clearance and thicker wicks. From what I've heard, the Kanger Pro is supposed to be very good as long as you don't mind an airy draw. A guy I just met a few days ago also mentioned this, so something to consider.

Back on topic, these CE3's are excellent for DIY testing used as drippers and probably have one of the cleanest tastes because there's nothing but a very small wick and wire... the wire is even elevated. In this respect, even a HH357 can't touch it!

Edit: I've got a possible solution for the poor eyesight in mind - one of those stereo jeweller's loupes that you wear on a headband. I used to use one for retouching photographs back when that was the only way to do it. Uncomfortable darn thing with a metal band - maybe they are better now.

My lab scope is one that's used in reworking circuit boards. It has 20x with the lenses on there now.

 

[fabricator4]

but the boiling part. i've seen a few places mentioning that for cleaning..

if i can't take my nano apart and i really really don't think i can, can i still boil it? or not good idea for the plastic part?
it will be a few days before the new ones arrive so i would like to give this one a few more days of life if possible

You should be able to boil the plastic. Just be careful in case it softens it but it should be fine. If you can unscrew the centerpost it will give the boiling water access to the coil.

Unfortunately boiling only removes old juice residue, it doesn't remove the black crud that blocks up the coil. I've tried a few safe suggestions that I've found - hydrogen peroxide, dilute phosphoric acid etc. The only thing I've found that was successful was dry burning in very short bursts. This reduces the crud to ash which is completely removed with another boil. Fresh as daisy, even to point of requiring a run in period - it can taste like a completely new coil.

Dry burning is fine as long as you are careful and only wire, wick, and metal parts are involved. Most stern warnings not to dry burn are talking about in the prescence of juice or filler material, and the authors have not made this point clear. I was fooled by this until I saw a video of how to dry burn an Ego-T atty.

I hold the button down until the coil just starts to glow. You may get some smoke (real smoke in this case) which is the crud burning off. Parts of the deposit will go white (ash) or otherwise change colour. After the smoke is no longer being generated, keep dry burning in bursts until the colour of the ash stops changing. If you are doing this with the plastic tube still attached you will need to give it more cool down time between burns - the metal atomiser parts will get very hot. No, doesn't get that hot. I didn't have to remove the 'O' ring for example.

The coils that are easiest to clean are the ones that have been neatly wound. The uneven ones are always more of a problem. Here's short video demo of dry burning. Ignore the fact that this atty is not screwed but being held - I don't recommend that part:



If the coil is close to the end of it's usable life it may pop. If you glow it for too long, it may pop, and if the coil is uneven and glows hotter in one place, that may cause it to pop as well. If it's gunked up now though, you really have little to lose.