A further note on storage from the perspective of an engineer with experience of electrolytic corrosion in metals and alloys in harsh environment service.
The heating element in an ecig is nichrome wire, as found in your toaster. It needs to get hot, and in an ecig to do so while exposed to liquids of uncertain constitution, without degrading. It needs to be resistant to corrosion at very high temperatures in a liquid environment - which is a tough call.
If you look at the
Galvanic Series you can see that nichrome is a very noble alloy, that is to say it is almost inert for many purposes, meaning it is highly corrosion resistant. Nichrome wire is similar to cupronickel in that it is almost as inert as titanium - and in practice, as against theory, performs better than stainless steels.
Nevertheless we should try and store it in as dry and oxygen-depleted atmosphere as possible - ie with no liquid, as if there is any water content in the liquid, it may lead to electrolytic corrosion (a type of corrosion due to small electrical currents flowing through the liquid) or oxidation (corrosion due to oxygen reaction with the metals). We can ignore oxidation as nichrome is so inert (and in any case it forms an oxide shield if left undisturbed) but it might pay to try and eliminate electrolytic corrosion if you are talking about storing an atty for many years. And of course, don't leave a battery connected...
Therefore here are the theoretical optimum storage options in order of preference. Theory is just that - it is often hard or impossible to achieve in practice, and perhaps not even necessary.
Method 1
Clean all liquids out of the atty by using the preferred method for nichrome which is acid-bath cleaning. This involves dilute hydrochloric acid for the metal itself, but since there are other materials present in an atomizer, dilute acetic acid (vinegar) or citric acid (lemon juice) look like a better idea. Apply for 10 seconds, rinse very well, blow out any liquid, dry out over gentle heat. Alternatively, use whatever cleaning method you prefer, such as alcohol, denture cleaner or hydrogen peroxide. A short immersion seems a good idea as there are various other materials in an atty, not just the tough alloy. If you know how to do a dry burn safely then use that, before and after the liquid clean.
Using a vacuum food sealing machine in a warm dry room, seal the warm dry attys in a vacuum-packed plastic wrap. Repeat for a double-pack seal. The food sealer machines can be bought for about $50 and up (Walmart have one at $25, though most are about $100), and don't forget to buy some spare plastic sheet refill. [I have one I use for expedition food supplies packaging, it's extremely useful if you need it. Not much demand for one in downtown Croydon though
]
Method 2
Clean and dry the attys as before. In a very warm and dry room, leave out overnight the attys, several ziplock bags and a dessicant pack as found in new camera packaging. Next day package up the attys like this: place the attys and hygroscopic pack (the dessicant) in a ziplock bag and carefully expel all the air by part-sealing it and rolling the air out using a cushion or other soft but firm pressure pad. Seal the pack, place it inside another and do the same. Seal the pack, and repeat.
You need at least three packs to have it covered, as these plastic bags are porous - you can test this easily by putting some liquid curry inside one. Clean the outside of the bag scrupulously well. Now sniff the bag - you can smell the curry. The bag is porous at a molecular level, which means water vapor can easily get in, if the larger molecules of curry aroma can get out. And water vapor loves to get in everywhere by osmosis (seeping through a barrier), that's what it does best.
Method 3
Don't clean the attys, leave the primer fluid in there, and pack however you like, as above preferably.
OK - method #1 is obviously the best as it removes any corrosion potential. Unfortunately it's pie in the sky for most people, unless you know someone with a food sealer or can shell out a few bucks. This method is good for about 500 years or so.
Method #2 is pretty good and should work for most people most of the time. It's good enough.
Method #3 will also work and is proven to do so - it's just not the best in theory; but nichrome is tough stuff anyway.
Pack your attys, batteries and carts all completely separate.
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