Atomizer issue

[BonnyC]

Posting this here as it's probably a newbie question. I've been dripping while at home lately just because the vaping experience is so much better that way vs cart or carto. Every few days I take my atomizers and do a soak with alcohol going by a video I was directed to through this site and it's worked great. Soak for 5-10 min, then keep dipping them in and holding them up til the liquid comes out in a stream through the threaded end, blow it out and let it dry.

So last night on an atty that's due for a cleaning (which I'm about to do) was working fine but I went to drip and noticed a semi thick thread coming from under the bridge. Is this the wick? I say semi thick because it's too thick to be a fiber from a cart. Well, it was dark brown and waxy looking in color. I got a tooth pick and kind of tried to tuck it back in and the atty is working fine. I'm just wondering what that is and if it means my atty's broke now, though it vapes fine.

Thanks in advance!

 

[zombienerd]

Depending on which PV model you use, it could be the coil wick, or the bridge wick. If you're using a 510, it's probably the bridge wick, it just sorta hangs out between the coil and the steel mesh bridge. A lot of drippers just remove them, but YMMV.

If it's a 4081 or similar, it could be the coil wick (They don't use a bridge wick), and you could damage the coil if you try to remove it.

Either way, if it looks out of place, you're not going to hurt anything by tucking it back in with a toothpick!

 

[BonnyC]

Hah thanks! Yeah, its a 510 for my Joye eGo and 510 (got a kit for one of each). I just haven't noticed such a thing on my other atty's so I wasn't sure if I'd managed to screw something up.

 

[BonnyC]

Okay so after cleaning it out, the stuff came loose again. It actually came OUT this time. It appears to be wicking from under the bridge, one side of it (it seems to be present on both sides of the bridge on my other atty's).

Since I'd just cleaned it, it was pristine white but the tips were scorched. Perhaps I had overheated my atty at some point?

So I hear about people de-bridging atty's for dripping. Does that involve taking this stuff out? If so, I might just de-bridge it for when I'm dripping. After doing proper research on how to do that, of course!

 

[JamesGang]

I pull these out with tweezers.

No harm done to any of my atomizers.

I don't suspect there would be any harm by leaving them there.

 

[zombienerd]

De-bridging is when you remove the bridge wick (which you just did), and then clipping out the steel mesh bridge, to allow the juice to drip directly onto the coil.

I've never done this myself, but there are a few how-to's floating around the forum.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

De-bridging is when you remove the bridge wick (which you just did), and then clipping out the steel mesh bridge, to allow the juice to drip directly onto the coil.

I've never done this myself, but there are a few how-to's floating around the forum.

Close, but not exactly correct. Dewicking means only the wick (those waxy threads the OP saw) is removed. The bridge is left intact. Debridging means removing the bridge and as a matter of course, the wick is also removed because it's rendered useless in the process. There are many videos on YouTube that walk through both processes. I've tried both, but I don't bother with it anymore because I just don't think it's worth it. I'll only pull out the wick if it starts coming out on its own for some reason. If you're only dripping and using cartos, then this isn't a problem.

 

[JamesGang]

Here's a great YouTube vid that explains atomizer anatomy.

YouTube - How to remove your Wick (Mod)

 

[Hrtbrkr1965]

Personally I would only debridge it if you have some back up atties that way if the process goes bad your not sitting there going oh crap what did I do LOL

 

[JonB]

Which video? I just got mine a week ago and need to clean...seems to be a lot of different methods and opinions out there.