Cleaning

[Palantir1120]

Ok I have been through the forums over the past few days and have read a few different posts regarding cleaning. I have two tank setups and like to alternate between several flavors. What is the best way to clean the tank so the flavors don't get mixed? Also is cleaning the head an option? Other than replacing the wick and coil is there any way to prolong the life of the unit?

 

[wonner]

I simply use warm water to flush everything, including the head, and let dry.

Never had a carryover problem, but I only use a small variety of juices.

 

[Txaggiesaunt]

Clean the tank and heads in distilled vodka. That's all I use. Good luck & VAPE ON

 

[Wingsfan0310]

Rinse mine in hot water, then throw them in a small tub of vodka for about 30 minutes then another small tub of distilled water to rinse. Sometime I take off the flavor wicks of my Protank II heads and dry-burn the gunk off the coils if I'm feeling adventurous lol

 

[DavidOck]

Hi Palantir, and welcome to ECF.

You don't say what kind of topper you're using, but in general, taking it apart and rinsing all parts under running hot water is all I do.

I'll inspect the coil, and dry burn if needed. How often it's needed depends on a lot of variables like juice viscosity, sweetness, vaping power... and usually isn't needed more than every couple fills for dark, thick and sweet juices, maybe every fourth fill for light ones.

But a thorough rinse will usually get rid of any left-over flavor. And going from a light flavor to a strong one, probably won't notice, anyway You don't have to let them dry overnight. Just be aware that if they're not fully dry, the first few vapes after filling will be muted, as you boil off the rest of the water.

 

[Palantir1120]

Topper? Not sure what you are referring to there. If only there were a glossary of terms so I could understand some of this stuff better.

 

[Wingsfan0310]

Welcome to ECF! By topper, I believe he meant what type of Clearamizer, atty, etc you are using - IE Protank, Evod, ... to vape your e-juice. So he could give more specific cleaning tips.

 

[rikkan]

It's probably not practical for most people, but as i've got access to it I'm using de-ionized water and caustic, followed by peracetic acid. It cleans everything up, and not a trace of flavor left.... a pox on these fancy ultrasonic baths!

 

[Nightshard]

No distilled or hot water, no vodka.
Just plain tap water.
I wash it a bit then close it with some water in it and shake, then i dry burn.
Works just fine.

 

[Rakan]

I've found that cheap vodka will clean ANY atty....just soak it or put a few drops of vodka in the atty,cap it with your fingers then shake it and blow out all the excess vodka. Repeat it like two or
Three times and it should be just about cleaned out...this is just a quick fix if u wanna get rid of a flavor in the atty. Soaking will yield much better results if u can wait a day without yer atty.

 

[Mrs C]

I use cotton in pt heads. I rinse head and tank under hot water , blow and/or shake out the extra water, refill and vape thru the plain water steam to new juice. If that doesn't fix the problem then I either

A. pop in a re worked coil and put the old one in the rework bag.
B. remove spent cotton, dry burn, rinse hot water, blow head dry, insert new cotton

 

[Natlancaster]

I need to try the cotton thing. Protank coils.

 

[Mark Anthony]

Yep... I always take apart the ProTank and wash it and dry and dry burn my coils. It's easy to do and extends the life of them. I just wait until I have about a dozen or so and spend about a half hour and dry burn them all in one sitting.

 

[Coldrake]

Topper? Not sure what you are referring to there. If only there were a glossary of terms so I could understand some of this stuff better.

Ah, but there is!
Forum Glossary - ECF InfoZone
E-Cig Glossary. Definitions, abbreviations, and meanings. | eCigology
Glossary of Electronic Cigarette Terms | My Vapor Life
These aren't comprehensive, (which is why I included 3 links), as new words and phrases seem to pop up regularly, but these should get you going.

 

[Recon Number 54]

There are nearly as many cleaning methods as there are vapers. Some boil their cartos/heads, other's plunge them, some folks rinse with water, or vodka, or everclear. All in an effort to extend the useful life of their hardware.

Personally, I've tried a lot of the different methods (with varying degrees of success) and have settled on rinsing my tanks, tips and caps (which tend to be the non-absorptive parts) and when a carto or clearo head (now using the iClear 30S which is almost like a carto) I will swap in a new one (to keep vaping) and drop the used carto or clearo head into a tall glass of water to soak. I will swap out that water (with hot tap water) daily, and just let them soak. When I have a half dozen or more that have been soaking and water-swapping for a while, I may toss them into a pot for a final boil (just to loosen anything that didn't break up from sitting in the universal solvent), drain them, shake them out, and stand them next to the exhaust port of my laptop for a couple of days. The warm and dry air from the laptop (especially after a good thermometer shake to get out the water) seems to dry them gently and effectively. Then, they go back into rotation and are tossed if they don't perform.

Replacement cartos and clearo heads are a couple of bucks each and while I "could" simply toss them, I like the idea of having a no-fuss and low-effort method to squeeze some extra use out of them.

 

[LoudMike]

I'm another in the vodka camp. Works a treat for me.

 

[chukstir]

Explain the dry burning please

 

[Dakota Jim]

Easiest method - multiple tanks/clearos for different flavors and to use while freshly washed tank is drying (ie: I have 8 assorted protanks, 12+ Evods, multiple vivi nova's, several iClear 16s, assorted knockoff RBA drippers) remember - backups for your backups

Next easiest method - extra atomizer heads to use when switching flavors while previous one is drying after being rinsed under hot running tap water

May need to use the vodka to clear a menthol or strong mint or cinnamon flavor from tank and head (I have put freshly used heads back into the "condom" along with a little VG or PG (plain vg is available at Walmart) to keep the wick and coil from drying out if I know I am going to use that same flavor again in the near future

Dry burning is firing/pulsing the atomizer without any eliquid supplied to it (have atty mounted to base but not the tank itself) until it burns dry (thus the term dry burning) - this can only be done with silica wick (and/or stainless steel mesh or cable - but I don't think you are into RBAs yet) do NOT dry burn cotton wicks or cartomizers as this will ruin them

 

[DavidOck]

Welcome to ECF! By topper, I believe he meant what type of Clearamizer, atty, etc you are using - IE Protank, Evod, ... to vape your e-juice. So he could give more specific cleaning tips.

Right-o! I got tired of writing something like "carto, clearo, dripper, or whatever you use on top of your battery...", and just sort of glommed onto topper as a generic for any of the different ways we use.

 

[Mrs C]

Explain the dry burning please

If you use cotton you can't dry burn the wick. Only the coil.

Dry burning is firing your coil to burn off the built up gunk. You want to fire your coils in short bursts untill you see the whole coil wire glowing red. Blow off the ash and repeat until it all the gunk is gone. Your wire will be dark but won't look like it's covered in a crispy residue. After you finish rinse it to remove any residual ash.

Check youtube for vids about dry burning you particular item.