Can an atty dry out during long term storing?

[blindsoup]

Hello Vets...I was wondering what the best way to long term store an atty is. I just pulled a few out that i bought a few months ago. All the primer fluid had dried up on them. All three of the atty's produce very weak vapor. In the past for me, a brand new atty would work awesome right from the get go. I guess my questions are:

1. What is the best way to store atty's?
2. If a brand new atty dries up over time, does that ruin the atty for good?

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays...

 

[Kurt]

Happy Holidays to you too, blindsoup!
I've not had this experience, and I open up attys bought more than a year ago, with no issues. If they were sealed in plastic, a few months should not have let all the PG primer out. As far as I know, long-term storage is just don't open the plastic wrapper, and leave them alone. Perhaps these never had PG primer at all, and were not good attys. I even have attys I have used, cleaned, dried out, and stored dry for months, and they fire right up when I finally get to them.

Then again, mine are all 510 attys, so other types might have more corrosion-susceptible components.

Things I would try if this happened to my 510 attys:

1. Test resistance. If it is much higher than I am expecting (hard to say for yours without knowing the type), then go to 2.

2. Dry burn the atty for several 5 sec bursts, and look for strong glow from the coil. Let cool, and remeasure resistance. If no better then, last ditch, go to 3.

3. Clean the atty in a hot polydent solution for 12 hours, rinse relatively aggressively with hot water, dry it thoroughly inside and out with a paper towel, then let sit out to further dry for a day or so. Then dry burn again, check resistance.

If the resistance is much higher than I am expecting (~2.5 for a 510), then the atty has either gone bad somehow, or it was never right to begin with, with or without primer. Might be good to save for a future high-volt PV, as it might be great with it. Oh, wait, I see you are well armed with HV PVs!!

If the resistance is good, and the glow is good (should be if resistance is good), then it is a wicking problem, and not getting juice from the cart. Try dripping a few drops on the bridge. If resistance is good it should vape.

If you don't have a good digital multimeter, consider getting one. You can get a great Sperry for about $40. Given your impressive artillery, it is a must-have. Also given that your mods generally are fitted for 510 attys, and 5V is your highest voltage, anything above 3.8 ohms may be still weak for you.

good luck!