Diminishing performance of tanks?

[Susaz]

Hi everyone!
My Zeus single has hit the 6 month mark, and for the past 2 months or so its performance has been diminishing in vapor and flavor. Not only that, but also other tanks like the SMM and Themis. I wash them thoroughly with detergent when changing coils and once a month or so I put the whole tank overnight in water and a little vinegar and scrub everything clean with paper or a rag to remove all traces of VG. All I have left is to change the coils for new ones. Have you noticed something like that? Did changing coils improve performance?
Mind you, when new I'd fog the room with many of these tanks, and my clothes would be damp and sticky with condensation.

 

[bombastinator]

Hi everyone!
My Zeus single has hit the 6 month mark, and for the past 2 months or so its performance has been diminishing in vapor and flavor. Not only that, but also other tanks like the SMM and Themis. I wash them thoroughly with detergent when changing coils and once a month or so I put the whole tank overnight in water and a little vinegar and scrub everything clean with paper or a rag to remove all traces of VG. All I have left is to change the coils for new ones. Have you noticed something like that? Did changing coils improve performance?
Mind you, when new I'd fog the room with many of these tanks, and my clothes would be damp and sticky with condensation.

I’ve never heard of RTAs reducing in performance over time, but I’ve also never heard of anyone doing such an intense and frequent cleaning of them. New coils and new wicks can improve performance, but one thing I’m not seeing is battery or mod info. IF you’re vaping on a mech with six month old batteries I would be astounded if you weren’t getting reduced performance. Mech are very sensitive to even minor battery degradation.

 

[Jebbn]

rta's are just a build deck and reservoir. Nothing can really alter too much. Maybe O rings losing the ability to seal through over cleaning or over tightening could alter the function of an rta.

 

[Susaz]

I’ve never heard of RTAs reducing in performance over time, but I’ve also never heard of anyone doing such an intense and frequent cleaning of them. New coils and new wicks can improve performance, but one thing I’m not seeing is battery or mod info. IF you’re vaping on a mech with six month old batteries I would be astounded if you weren’t getting reduced performance. Mech are very sensitive to even minor battery degradation.

My batteries get frequently rotated among mods. Only 3 batteries are really old and will need change soon. Most of them are 3 to 6 months old. In two battery mods, at 50w average they last me almost 2 days, so I don't think it's the batteries or the mods.
I'm easily offended by sticky tanks or drip tips... Much of a clean fan...

 

[Black wings]

Yes, of course.
If your vape is getting poor and you've kept it freshly wicked, wiped and your juice is consistent then absolutely your coils should be the first culprit.
No matter how well you clean them they will deteriorate over time.
The constant heat flux causes inefficiency plus if they are complex coils the materials tend to mild together offering less surface area, plus you will get some surface build up.
I've been guilty of leaving some well made coils in too long but I'd definitely recommend changing them and you'll have your old great vape back.

 

[stols001]

Um I don't think that the OP was talking about the coil. but the atomizer generally. I don't think I have experienced this, but I don't know enough about it to know if it's actually possible. 6 months seems like a very short time for something like you are talking though.

Although metal soaked for a long time in any solvent... .IDK.

Anna

 

[Black wings]

Um I don't think that the OP was talking about the coil. but the atomizer generally. I don't think I have experienced this, but I don't know enough about it to know if it's actually possible. 6 months seems like a very short time for something like you are talking though.

Although metal soaked for a long time in any solvent... .IDK.

Anna

It was a tad ambiguous.
I've seen some voltage drop through 510 build up. Often the pin gets covered in juice or even limescale from repeated cleaning. So that's possible.

 

[DeloresRose]

I wash my atties when I swap the cotton/coils out. I don't notice any negative effects from that. I don’t leave them soak very long, but I can’t see the harm in it. Any other part seems a more likely culprit.

 

[Baditude]

I noticed a gradual drop off in performance with my authentic Kayfun Lite Plus RTA. But I think it was more my change in preference from a MTL to DTL style. All my tanks in daily use now are DTL.

 

[Shadav]

I would venture to say it's the 510 connections, either of the atties or the mod itself

 

[Asbestos4004]

No idea....but I think vaping until your clothes are wet might be excessive.

 

[TrollDragon]

Never experienced any of that, my Plus' have been in rotation going on 2 years and they perform the same now as they did when I first picked them up. My Zeus single lives in a box, it wasn't all that amazing to begin with.

Possibly your vigorous cleaning routine is taking all of the good seasoning out of the tanks.

 

[Susaz]

Everything is possible, I'll be checking over the next days other culprits like ejuice in battery connections (I've never cleaned them) or loose 510 pins. Happened with the Dead Rabbit SQ I was having little vapor, when suddenly putting new cotton I noticed the deck was loose. Tightened it and now it vapes like a dream. Thanks! Keep the guesses on, we might nail the problem!

 

[Letitia]

Have had my Nanos since around Feb 2017 and zero issues.

 

[Mordacai]

Suzaz, cleaning shouldn't cause any issues as far as I'm aware.

As others have said, coil or coils, wicking and seals can cause issues.

Also, toothpaste is a good cleaner for tanks. Ultrasonic cleaning with Distilled Water is good as well, if you have one at your disposal. As they're not cheap, but they're useful.

 

[bombastinator]

Suzaz, cleaning shouldn't cause any issues as far as I'm aware.

As others have said, coil or coils, wicking and seals can cause issues.

Also, toothpaste is a good cleaner for tanks. Ultrasonic cleaning with Distilled Water is good as well, if you have one at your disposal. As they're not cheap, but they're useful.

YMMV with ultrasonic. It has some limitations. Basically the deal is it works by shaking things, so anything soft that absorbs shaking like rubber or silicone or cotton or basically anything not really ridged like iron or stone, will make the thing work less efficiently. This is why they’re commonly used for jewelry. No soft bits.

 

[bombastinator]

Have had my Nanos since around Feb 2017 and zero issues.

Maybe you should talk to that guy who had to have robot surgery. Maybe he’d do better with smaller robots.

 

[Mordacai]

bombastinator, Ultrasonic cleaning is used for lots of items of all different densities. The ultrasonic waves cause cavitation, this means bubbles form in the liquid. So they can even be used to clean seals, and you don't ever want to clean anything hard by leaving it on the bottom of the tank. There's plenty of stories where precious stones have worn through the bottom of the tank.

Just finished deep cleaning an SXK Prime due to machining oil contamination, here's what's been done so far.
1: Isopropyl Alcohol bath.
2: Ultrasonic cleaning with Carburettor/Engine cleaner.
3: Ultrasonic cleaning with Corrosion Remover.
4: Ultrasonic cleaned O-rings in 450ml Distilled Water, 50ml Isopropyl Alcohol and 1 drop Washing up liquid/Dish soap.

It's been a complete pain, but at least got rid of the machining oil contamination, O-rings have come out well. No smell to them now, just got to go over the metal parts now with a toothbrush and toothpaste to give them a nice minty freshness.

 

[AngeNZ]

Hi everyone!
My Zeus single has hit the 6 month mark, and for the past 2 months or so its performance has been diminishing in vapor and flavor. Not only that, but also other tanks like the SMM and Themis. I wash them thoroughly with detergent when changing coils and once a month or so I put the whole tank overnight in water and a little vinegar and scrub everything clean with paper or a rag to remove all traces of VG. All I have left is to change the coils for new ones. Have you noticed something like that? Did changing coils improve performance?
Mind you, when new I'd fog the room with many of these tanks, and my clothes would be damp and sticky with condensation.

Have you stopped sucking as hard on them?

Sorry, couldn't resist

 

[bombastinator]

bombastinator, Ultrasonic cleaning is used for lots of items of all different densities. The ultrasonic waves cause cavitation, this means bubbles form in the liquid. So they can even be used to clean seals, and you don't ever want to clean anything hard by leaving it on the bottom of the tank. There's plenty of stories where precious stones have worn through the bottom of the tank.

Just finished deep cleaning an SXK Prime due to machining oil contamination, here's what's been done so far.
1: Isopropyl Alcohol bath.
2: Ultrasonic cleaning with Carburettor/Engine cleaner.
3: Ultrasonic cleaning with Corrosion Remover.
4: Ultrasonic cleaned O-rings in 450ml Distilled Water, 50ml Isopropyl Alcohol and 1 drop Washing up liquid/Dish soap.

It's been a complete pain, but at least got rid of the machining oil contamination, O-rings have come out well. No smell to them now, just got to go over the metal parts now with a toothbrush and toothpaste to give them a nice minty freshness.

Yep. I was just trying to keep it short. My guess is the o-rings took a longer time though. Silicone resists ultrasonics somewhat.