atty cleaning overkill...ok someone had to say it

[tarazarr]

Ok people....I'm sorry if I offend anyone with this post, I'm calling no one out, but there is so much bad information going around that someone has to address it...

If your the Obsessive Compulsive type that has developed a 37 point cleaning process for your atty. That's fine, some of us "get it".... Your an Obsessive Compulsive... it's ok.. but it really worries the worry warts and the other obsessive compulsives who will fret all day over having 90% pure rubbing alcohol over 92%, you've got to get it under control... No offense.

There are 2 main reasons people are killing their Atty's......
1. They are doing way to much to them during these 37 point cleaning station processes. If you simply placed them in a small dish with common white vinegar for about 20 minutes and then gently rinsed them in warm water every few days they would be fine... vinegar works 100x better than alcohol at breaking up any type of water soluable gunk build-up, which is exactly the type of gunky build-up an atty might get if neglected for a week or more.
Also, no need to let these things dry out for 24 hours...that's what's killing them.. they are "designed" to work in a wet atmosphere, that's why they come shipped with lube in them, simply and gently rinse these atty's in warm water, gently blow out the excess water, screw it on a battery and vape away!!! Your e-juice is made with water in it...it's an ingrediant of PG and VG...

Dry burning is really not a great idea.... the tiny little metal coil that heats up becomes brittle when heated up dry.....brittle breaks....

The juice when you vape.... and the water left over water after rinsing it out, keeps the little coil from overheating...Again..It's designed to work in a wet enviroment..

They will only last so long....just like a light bulb...same design principle...

If you atty's average life span is only a few days or one week, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, your probably overheating it by either holding the button too long, vaping it dry, dry burning it and making it brittle or maybe even blowing to hard in the end of it when your cleaning it.... and if your doing all of these things....you are trying your best to kill it yourself.....they are delicate....they aren't designed for such rigorous cleaning processes....

 

[jude8753]

I totally agree.

 

[DaMulta]

YouTube - Cleaning a Low Resistance 510 Atomizer

 

[IMWylde]

+1

I have had three 510 attys since I started and only lost one, and that was right after i cleaned and dried it with a syringe and hot water.

 

[nubee]

Well said.

I started on the cleaning kick a long while back and have over time realized that it wasn't really helping other than making the draw a bit easier - some juices get "heavy" over time in there it seems.

So I'm off my denture cleaning, mouthwash rinse, hot water microwave boil, blow drying ways and simply blowing them out over night, allowing them to drain whilst I sleep and loading them up to go in the morning.

And the bottom line, about the exact same MTBF as I've had since the day I started vaping.

PS - Buy in bulk

 

[debb]

I agree ...Tried alcohol once ...paint chipped off one of my attys...maybe it wasn't the alcohol....but I use vinegar now.....Vinegar is great for a lot of household needs....

 

[uba egar320]

I tried cleaning a few times. Now I just toss an atty that gives me any ....

 

[Tilden]

As someone new to all of this should I be cleaning the atty after I switch to a different juice? Or just drip it in on top of the old stuff. I'm using an ego with a drip tip.

Thank you

 

[Buster]

Pretty much every atty that has died on me has happened soon after messing with them. A good blow out and water rinse once in a while seems to be the way to go.

 

[tarazarr]

As someone new to all of this should I be cleaning the atty after I switch to a different juice? Or just drip it in on top of the old stuff. I'm using an ego with a drip tip.

Thank you

GENTLY rinse it with warm water if you like, and GENTLY blow out the excess water... do not dry it out...do not obsess... so simple....an Obsessive Compulsive can't do it....LOL

when I change fluids I just enjoy the mixxed flavor.....doesn't take long the new flavor to take over...

 

[DiscoStu]

i just store all my unused attys in a jewelry cleaner filled with vodka. One starts to taste funky, i drop it in and grab another out of it, no problems at all. I blow out the excess vodka, drop a few drops in and im happily vaping away in about 30 secs. I DO change the vodka out every two weeks...............

 

[Sue1971]

Great post...Thank you for posting. So far since I've had my no.7 (saving up for a better unit) for 20 days of use I've only washed out with water once. Seems to be still going strong.

 

[tarazarr]

Is that an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner?

I have to admit, when I started I read the various posts detailing the 37 step processes to cleaning your atomizer, I even watched the youtube video (which should have been my first clue I was not only watching an Obsessive Compulsive, but was becoming one myself as well)..

Then I had to stop myself and truly ask..."What are you accomplishing here?" answer.... Nothing

Alcohol, 151, rubbing, pure grain, Iso..even vodka is doing nothing special...except killing a few germs... ultrasonic jewelry cleaner? Nothing...
If you want to break down water soluable gunk that's burnt onto an atomizer, Vinegar is your go to guy... put a shower head that's clogged up in vinegar for about an hour and watch it preform like new... Got a metal coffee pot that's completely stained brown? run a mixture of vinegar and water thru the coffemaker a few times and watch the funk coming out of the coffeemaker and then watch the black cooked on stains in the pot disappear....

I've seen some pictures of some really nasty looking atomizers here...Alcohol wouldn't begin to touch them, Vinegar on the other hand will dissolve that gunk in minutes..

Why do people atomizers taste burnt? Duh....they dry burned them and the wick will eventually begin to burn as well...now everything is being soaked up by a burnt wick..

Sometimes you have to be able to laugh at yourself...that's what I did, then I came back down to earth and I hate to see people tearing their gear up....

 

[Mr.Self_Destruct]

Seasoned attys work much better than clean attys. I never clezn attys unless performance drops or to get bad flavors out. I learned a long time ago that some people enjoy ridiculously long rituals. Everyone thinks the way they do it is the right way.

I've only cleaned with 90% isopropyl alcohol because that's what I had. At that time the "experts" were saying never to use alcohol. I've heard coke, diet coke, certain mouthwashes, denture cleaners, vinegar, vodka and grain alcohol.

I say use whatever you want, attys are a consumable anyway.

I like to clean an atty and have it back in use within 10 mins.

 

[cozzicon]

Ok people....I'm sorry if I offend anyone with this post, I'm calling no one out, but there is so much bad information going around that someone has to address it...

If your the Obsessive Compulsive type that has developed a 37 point cleaning process for your atty. That's fine, some of us "get it".... Your an Obsessive Compulsive... it's ok.. but it really worries the worry warts and the other obsessive compulsives who will fret all day over having 90% pure rubbing alcohol over 92%, you've got to get it under control... No offense.

There are 2 main reasons people are killing their Atty's......
1. They are doing way to much to them during these 37 point cleaning station processes. If you simply placed them in a small dish with common white vinegar for about 20 minutes and then gently rinsed them in warm water every few days they would be fine... vinegar works 100x better than alcohol at breaking up any type of water soluable gunk build-up, which is exactly the type of gunky build-up an atty might get if neglected for a week or more.
Also, no need to let these things dry out for 24 hours...that's what's killing them.. they are "designed" to work in a wet atmosphere, that's why they come shipped with lube in them, simply and gently rinse these atty's in warm water, gently blow out the excess water, screw it on a battery and vape away!!! Your e-juice is made with water in it...it's an ingrediant of PG and VG...

Dry burning is really not a great idea.... the tiny little metal coil that heats up becomes brittle when heated up dry.....brittle breaks....

The juice when you vape.... and the water left over water after rinsing it out, keeps the little coil from overheating...Again..It's designed to work in a wet enviroment..

They will only last so long....just like a light bulb...same design principle...

If you atty's average life span is only a few days or one week, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, your probably overheating it by either holding the button too long, vaping it dry, dry burning it and making it brittle or maybe even blowing to hard in the end of it when your cleaning it.... and if your doing all of these things....you are trying your best to kill it yourself.....they are delicate....they aren't designed for such rigorous cleaning processes....

I'd have to agree and disagree...

A 37 point regimen (does that actually exist?) is way overkill.

Common wisdom would state that vinegar would be a good medium for removing gunk from an atomizer. It may work, but I would object to what vinegar leaves behind after drying- even with a tap water rinse.

Also, minerals from tap water can and do adhere to the wick as the tap water dries, making the wicking material brittle and hard to re-wet with juice.

I cannot comment on dry burning- but it certainly seems counter intuitive.

The method that I published in my video series is designed to remove gunk, before a buildup can occur. It takes no more than 5 minutes, and can be done a few times a week. Isopropyl alcohol leaves nothign behind. It is alcohol and distilled water. I recommend better than 70% content.

The main complaints about this method have been:

1. Paint removal- which I submit is a defect on the atomizer since I cannot duplicate this with any atomizer I have.

2. Not drying fast enough (it's plainly stated in the instructions to dry, in an airflow, for 24 hours.)

Vinegar does not work better at dealing with water solubles. It works best on dried gunk that can be acted upon by an acid. It's PH is 2.40 - 3.40. Sadly, PG and VG have a PH of 7, and don't react with anything. So the most common buildup on the atomizer is only being leeched by the vinegar. Vinegar will however get rid of the mineral remnants left by tap water. But most people rinse with vinegar FIRST- and then rinse that out with water.

What about nicotine? Well it is an alkaloid- so vinegar will remove it. But there isn't enough there to build up really.

Flavorings... maybe. Depend on the ingredients.

The point being that vinegar is more or less as useful as alcohol. The difference is that in my method you are removing most gunk before it solidifies.

You could use the same method with distilled water. However that can take a long time to dry and can electrically short the atty.

Which brings us back to isopropyl alcohol. I leeches wet stuff, can dislodge dry stuff, dries fast, it's cheap, it's acidic (like vinegar) doesn't damage the atomizer, and leaves no deposits behind.

The key to being able to keep the atty clean and functional is to limit gunk buildup and/or heat death.

These are the specific reasons I recommend it. And many people have had success with it.

 

[Bahnzo]

If you want to break down water soluable gunk that's burnt onto an atomizer, Vinegar is your go to guy...

So....the whole point of your rant is to basically promote your way of cleaning an atty? Got it.

Personally, I don't like vinegar. I realize it works well, but the taste it leaves does not. You have to rinse it with water afterwards which ruins the point of using vinegar.

Rubbing Alcohol works perfectly for me. A 5 min soak everyday maintains it and keeps it gunk free and it drys quickly and completely without the need to flush it with water.

 

[tarazarr]

No offense but cizzicon actually makes my point extremely well...

 

[Sue1971]

After using my e-cig today...I've noticed a few times not alot of vapor output...After taking my atty out (on a no.7) and just giving a gentle blow to clear out the liquid...Seems to run alot better. Now I've only rinsed my atty one time under hot water for a couple of min. in the 20 days that I've used it...seems to run great like the day I've gotten it...The directions that I've gotten with my e-cig only says to take a air to the atty. So I suppose with everyone having their own methods of cleaning...I'm wondering what truely is the proper method of extending the life of an atty...

 

[DaveP]

I haven't had a single Joye atomizer fail in the 4 months I've been vaping. My Ego has a 510 Mega atomizer (same as standard, but with a larger cart) and it has been vaping daily since the middle of May.

I clean it by running it under hot water at the sink and then I blow the water out of it, let it sit on a towel for a few minutes, large end down (so the bowl empties) and vape again. A few puffs and it's back in business.

I can see how an alcohol cleaning could help remove gunk, but an atty that will do a quick dry burn with an even orange glow is probably not gunked up. I'm very careful about how long I dry burn. I wear glasses (after seeing the recent video of a pop shooting juice in the eye, it's a good idea) and only burn it to see the quality of the glow, just a few seconds.

 

[Bahnzo]

No offense but cizzicon actually makes my point extremely well...

Errr..no offense, but your point seems to be "Everyone's wrong, and I'm right, do it my way".

There's no right way to clean an atty, what someone thinks works for them, might not work for another. Your post is no different, except it's borderline trolling.