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

Status
Not open for further replies.

sjohnson

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 12, 2009
524
13
Tap water, ultrasonic cleaner, dry burn. Nothing has gone "brittle" and I have atomizers that work as good or better than new, now 11 months old.

Works for me. OCD? lol! What works for me (or what works for YOU!) is all that counts. Find what works for you, and forget the rest. We're all different, use different liquids, vape differently. There is no holy grail.
 

Xanax

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Apr 28, 2010
2,211
10
East Coast
sjohnson said:
Tap water, ultrasonic cleaner, dry burn. Nothing has gone "brittle" and I have atomizers that work as good or better than new, now 11 months old.

Works for me. OCD? lol! What works for me (or what works for YOU!) is all that counts. Find what works for you, and forget the rest. We're all different, use different liquids, vape differently. There is no holy grail.
About the dry burn thing- dry burning really is NOT bad for the atomizer if you do it correctly. I've seen sooo many videos of people trying to ressurect their atomizers by doing a routine dry burn and judging by the way they do it, I mean it's no wonder their atomizer died after 2 weeks. They hold the button down for 2 minutes straight. That's terrible. The way I was taught to dry burn was like this: press the button and let go as soon as you see the coil barely start to glow... Wait for the atomizer to cool (about 5 seconds) and repeat about 5 times. That does it. Like I said I've never had an atomizer die on me yet and I have tons of atomizers. They're all between 2-4 months old. The only one I've had trouble with is the one I used to vape at 5 volts with. It still wold great, just not on 3.7v devices. Only performs well on 5v now. 5v isn't exactly healthy for attys. So, for those of you that dry burn and can't get more than 2 weeks out of an atomizer- you are probably overdoing the dry burn hardcore.
 

Bahnzo

Unregistered Supplier
ECF Veteran
Jul 21, 2010
825
77
54
Colorado
I don't do anything to my attys, not even blow them out. I just use em til they quit and screw on a new one.....they are too cheap to worry about if you ask me....

At $7 a piece, if you consider that cheap, then well done I guess. Even if I was buying a bunch of EM's from china at $3/ea I'd still try to get every bit of life out them. We waste way too much as it is.
 

Xanax

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Apr 28, 2010
2,211
10
East Coast
cozzicon said:
Why isn't it healthy?

I'd like to know.
Because atomizers aren't meant to be left dry, like the OP said. Which is the reason when they're manufactured, the manufacturer adds PG to the atomizer to keep it moist until we use them. I left mine dry like this the first time I ever washed an atty out, and it didn't perform properly for about 6 days until I broke it in again. Haven't had this problem with my 3 minute dry sessions. But then again- it could have been an isolated incident... Who knows... I just don't want to ruin an atty trying to reproduce that situation again.
 

cozzicon

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jun 19, 2010
2,564
900
Chicago IL
Because atomizers aren't meant to be left dry, like the OP said. Which is the reason when they're manufactured, the manufacturer adds PG to the atomizer to keep it moist until we use them. I left mine dry like this the first time I ever washed an atty out, and it didn't perform properly for about 6 days until I broke it in again. Haven't had this problem with my 3 minute dry sessions. But then again- it could have been an isolated incident... Who knows... I just don't want to ruin an atty trying to reproduce that situation again.

Manufacturers ship them wet in order to make firing them them up the first time easy for the consumer. Who wants to buy a new car and have to add oil before you can run it? Who wants to go through priming their new e-cig when they first get it?

There's no technical reason that the wicking, or bridge, once dry, loses it's ability to wick. However, if you use something like tap water, then let it totally dry, you will stiffen the wick and re-wetting is going to be a real pain.

But you could rinse with tap water, and not dry completely, and it will wick fine. You might vape a little tap water in that situation.

That is the reasoning behind Isopropyl Alcohol. It evaporates cleanly, will not stiffen the wick, and makes the atty clean and easy to re-wet.

That seems an advantage to me.
 

Sad Society

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 5, 2009
1,458
818
Los Angeles, CA
I just found this thread right after I bought some 91% rubbing alcohaol to clean my atty's. It was cozzicon's video that inspired me that there is still hope to keep atty's maintained.

I'm soaking it right now and doing what he said in the video. I'm just wondering...do I really have to let it sit and air dry for 24hrs? It's no big deal because I'm using another atty at the moment but I'm still wondering.

I hope this works.

Thanks for the cleaning tips cozzicon.
 

cozzicon

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jun 19, 2010
2,564
900
Chicago IL
I just found this thread right after I bought some 91% rubbing alcohaol to clean my atty's. It was cozzicon's video that inspired me that there is still hope to keep atty's maintained.

I'm soaking it right now and doing what he said in the video. I'm just wondering...do I really have to let it sit and air dry for 24hrs? It's no big deal because I'm using another atty at the moment but I'm still wondering.

I hope this works.

Thanks for the cleaning tips cozzicon.

You're welcome.

I chose 24 hours for drying because inhaling isopropyl alcohol isn't healthy and does not taste good. So 24 hours seemed a good baseline for evaporation.

Whatever method you use, or what works for you, is cool with me.
 

Lightgeoduck

Vaping Master
Supporting Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 7, 2009
5,699
180
49
jp(APO)Camp Z us
I believe the primer is there mostly to prevent rust.


That is correct... though it might help kick start your first vape experience with a new atty...(even though it is recommended to direct 3-4 drops initially anyway) besides some people tend to blow out the primer initially ..

it is a good practice to apply PG,VG,or even ejuice onto the atty after cleaning (if you do decide to clean them) and this is done primarely for "long time" storage

So that goes with new atties as well.. it's best not to blow out the primer until ready to use......


EDIT: read my follow up post.
 
Last edited:

sjohnson

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Nov 12, 2009
524
13
Rust? What's in an atomizer that will rust?

In a 510 atomizer, nickel foam won't rust. Nichrome wire won't rust. Stainless steel (atomizer body) won't rust. Copper wires won't rust. The plastic and/or lacquer insulation on the copper wires won't rust. Solder won't rust. Plastic won't rust. Silicone rubber won't rust. The brass threaded fitting and center electrode won't rust.

What is the (hygroscopic) PG and/or VG that would be present in primer protecting? And how?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread