Atty cleaning agents

[ancient puffer]

Okay, maybe a week is exaggerating. But anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. Even $5.00 a week, as opposed to what would be nearly $15 a day, ain't too shabby.

ETA: To each their own. Afterall, they *are* sold as "disposable". Who am I to argue?

 

[bushmaster]

No, you are right. No argument here.

 

[unsure]

Okay, maybe a week is exaggerating. But anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. Even $5.00 a week, as opposed to what would be nearly $15 a day, ain't too shabby.

ETA: To each their own. Afterall, they *are* sold as "disposable". Who am I to argue?

I'll admit I won't waste a lot of time trying to bring a atty back to life but an easy fix is worth a shot.

 

[VictoryNotVengence]

I've used ultrasonic, vodka, IPA (Isopropyl alcohol), hot water, denture tabs, mouthwash and vinegar.

Since I buy the bulk attys from Vaporkings, I find the best method is to toss them in the trash once a week and grab a fresh one.

See, I'm not only old, I'm lazy too

wow! 2 dollar atties! I never knew. I know where I'm going next time i need to stock up.

 

[unsure]

wow! 2 dollar atties! I never knew. I know where I'm going next time i need to stock up.

I gotta work on my math cause I don't come up with $2 attys..10 @ $42+

 

[Mvgratz]

Not sure what that means?

Means an almost empty bottle with enough to sufficiently cover the attys. It also makes it easier to dump the alcohol into a dixie cup to retrieve the attys, and pour the alcohol back into the bottle for latter use as long as its still clear... (Oh and I do occassionaly use my ultrasonic cleaner with iso on them if they are really gummed up BEFORE I steam clean'em) Sounds like lots of work, but its not really bad at all. As long as they are still very usuable as intended its worth the effort to get the most out of my $9 each to me... (I have more important things to spend my money on....like MORE REOS!)

 

[gvil]

Just out of curiosity, am I the only one who uses regular cola? I mean that crap even works for clearing old rusted up pipes so it sure does clear the atty aswell . Just pour some through the atty then fill a glass and dump it in there for a day and let it dry.

 

[Skeeter T]

these iso cleaning methods sound good but...
I put iso in a shot glass, cover with plastic wrap and rubber bands. then shake, shake, shake the atty once every few hours for a day or to. make sure its hitting the sides of the glass. then let dry and blow out with VG (i don't like the idea of exposing atties to water as that has killed some of mine in the past).

I don't know what material an atty coil is made out of. Wikipedia says: "Most heating elements use Nichrome 80/20 (80% nickel, 20% chromium) wire, ribbon, or strip. Nichrome 80/20 is an ideal material, because it has relatively high resistance and forms an adherent layer of chromium oxide when it is heated for the first time." If this is the case with attys then water should have no corrosive effect on the coil and any solvent should do the cleaning job. Denatured alcohol is 100% grain alcohol with a small amount of additives to make it smell and taste bad so people won't drink it, and it's cheap at Home Depot or Lowe's. I've used vodka a few times and each time I threw in down the drain it broke my heart. Not that I drink vodka (I'm a scotch guy), but it's just the thought of throwing away good booze. Denatured alcohol in an ultrasonic cleaner for 6 minutes (360 seconds), which is a long time, may get a little warm, but not even close to it's flash point. So i wouldn't worry about it.

Ted

 

[Bogey]

I don't know what material an atty coil is made out of. Wikipedia says: "Most heating elements use Nichrome 80/20 (80% nickel, 20% chromium) wire, ribbon, or strip. Nichrome 80/20 is an ideal material, because it has relatively high resistance and forms an adherent layer of chromium oxide when it is heated for the first time." If this is the case with attys then water should have no corrosive effect on the coil and any solvent should do the cleaning job. Denatured alcohol is 100% grain alcohol with a small amount of additives to make it smell and taste bad so people won't drink it, and it's cheap at Home Depot or Lowe's. I've used vodka a few times and each time I threw in down the drain it broke my heart. Not that I drink vodka (I'm a scotch guy), but it's just the thought of throwing away good booze. Denatured alcohol in an ultrasonic cleaner for 6 minutes (360 seconds), which is a long time, may get a little warm, but not even close to it's flash point. So i wouldn't worry about it.

Ted

Thats why you use cheap vodka. The juice makes it palatable.

 

[RIMP]

On my 510's I put enough baking soda inside the atty to cover the bridge, then I pour white vinegar in and QUICKLY put my thumb over the top. It does a lot of fizzing. I keep adding vinegar til it stops fizzing, rinse with water blow out and let dry. Come out very clean

 

[zodduska]

I use an empty spice jar filled with PGA (everclear) to clean my atties. I like to give em a good shake and soak anywhere from 20min to overnight, take them out and blow the excess alcohol out then pulsing dry burn if necessary to remove caked on burned juice from the coil. After that I put them back in the PGA and give it another good shake to clean the ash off, blow them out again and set out to dry or use immediately. Steam cleaning works pretty well too but I still like to use a PGA soak/shake to remove any leftover flavors.