Diminishing performance of tanks?

[DaveP]

The worst offender for orings is GREASE, and that's basically what we're vaping

No oil or grease in my DIY vape.

There may be a light application of silicone on new o-rings to prevent galling when they are installed. It's probably used during manufacture as a release agent. I do check for a slick feel on new rings and clean them before use.

 

[DaveP]

UPDATE: found something
What is this brown liquid that I got when I boiled glycerol and water solution?
This link is from what looks like a forum, but people on it are claiming that when you “dehydrate glycerol” at high temperatures you get Acrolein - Wikipedia which is apparently one of those scary cigarette cancer chemicals. I am discomfitted. The stuff is apparently supposed to smell really bad for one thing, which I really don’t notice.

The way I understand it Acrolein is created at high temps. It's one of the reasons that temperature control vaping was developed. When Acrolein is produced it's a nasty taste and smell and we would go wash out our atty, clean the coil, and replace the wick.

Here's a Rolygate article from 2013 on Acrolein.
Glycerine vapor and acrolein - the issues

 

[vapdivrr]

VG when vaporised is turned into water and esters that are deposited on coils and the inside chamber of your atty. Buildup can change the taste of your vape dramatically, and as that inside chamber is constantly expanding and contracting, VG gets into the metal pores. A good example of that is how you cure an iron or SS pan. You cover that with grease and heat it to 450F. That creates a laminate of grease that makes a pan non stick. What I find is that the more I vape, the shinier the inside of the cap is. Remember, we're vaping a water soluble grease.

I'm not so sure about this....perhaps it depends on some things, but I seriously doubt the inside of my chamber gets anywhere near 450 degrees.....I'm vaping at 23ish watts and my pulls are like 2 seconds max , so im thinking my chimney might see 150 degrees. When I have a wicked coil that is saturated and fire that coil for 2 seconds (and this is without air cooling it) there is hardly any heat at all close by, yes the coil itself is hot, but that's it. You add af , low wattage, great wicking, coil not firing very long and juice on the other side of chimney cooling it, no way my chimney is seeing expansion and contraction at 450 degrees.....perhaps 150 watts and an 8 second draw might get close.....

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[Susaz]

No oil or grease in my DIY vape.

There may be a light application of silicone on new o-rings to prevent galling when they are installed. It's probably used during manufacture as a release agent. I do check for a slick feel on new rings and clean them before use.

You do use VG, don't you? Read Wiki on Glycerol

 

[Susaz]

I'm not so sure about this....perhaps it depends on some things, but I seriously doubt the inside of my chamber gets anywhere near 450 degrees.....I'm vaping at 23ish watts and my pulls are like 2 seconds max , so im thinking my chimney might see 150 degrees. When I have a wicked coil that is saturated and fire that coil for 2 seconds (and this is without air cooling it) there is hardly any heat at all close by, yes the coil itself is hot, but that's it. You add af , low wattage, great wicking, coil not firing very long and juice on the other side of chimney cooling it, no way my chimney is seeing expansion and contraction at 450 degrees.....perhaps 150 watts and an 8 second draw might get close.....

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I vape at 70W. Nevertheless, metal from room temp to vaporizing temp is high. Maybe not that high, but high enough to expand and contract. Your chamber WILL cover, only later than sooner.

 

[DaveP]

You do use VG, don't you? Read Wiki on Glycerol

I should have clarified. There's no animal based oils in my vape.
There's animal and vegetable oils. VG is derived from vegetable sources, things we commonly eat. Animal based oils aren't for vaping.

What Is Vegetable Glycerin? Uses, Benefits and Side Effects

Vegetable glycerin, also known as glycerol or glycerine, is a clear liquid typically made from soybean, coconut or palm oils. It is odorless and has a mild, sweet taste with a syrup-like consistency

 

[vapdivrr]

I vape at 70W. Nevertheless, metal from room temp to vaporizing temp is high. Maybe not that high, but high enough to expand and contract. Your chamber WILL cover, only later than sooner.

My opinion is its far fetched to say that juice remnants are penetrating the metal in 6 months , causing bad tastes that cannot be cleaned off. My SS pans at home get heated far more at a much higher temp and for alot longer and flavors are not transmitted at sufficient amounts to be detected by our taste buds, so if one cleans their tanks regularly, that cannot be an issue or a reason your flavor is off.

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[DaveP]

My opinion is its far fetched to say that juice remnants are penetrating the metal in 6 months , causing bad tastes that cannot be cleaned off. My SS pans at home get heated far more at a much higher temp and for alot longer and flavors are not transmitted at sufficient amounts to be detected by our taste buds, so if one cleans their tanks regularly, that cannot be an issue or a reason your flavor is off.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Agree. All of our vape juices are water soluble. A hot water clean in the sink should remove all traces of a previous juice. I use my ultrasonic cleaner with dish soap and sometimes alcohol on attys when they are new, but that's only necessary when an atty comes in with machine oil smell. Lately, the new atomizers I've bought don't have the machine oil odor or feel. I just wash them in hot water and dry them before the first fill.

 

[susieqz]

if juice is water soluble , logically, a hot water soak should clear a clogged coil.
it doesn't so something in juice isn't water soluble .

 

[Jebbn]

if juice is water soluble , logically, a hot water soak should clear a clogged coil.
it doesn't so something in juice isn't water soluble .

Define what you mean by, "a clogged coil"

 

[susieqz]

using a drop in coil, after too much use, it clogs up n you have to change it.
i tried soaking in water but that didn't work.

 

[Mordacai]

susieqz, you could try a heated ultrasonic cleaning with a mixture of Alcohol and Distilled Water.

The worst that could happen is that you mess it up more.

 

[Jebbn]

using a drop in coil, after too much use, it clogs up n you have to change it.
i tried soaking in water but that didn't work.

A rta coil can be cleaned, within reason, and the cotton or rayon wick can be rinsed and and cleaned until there is no taste of what was previously run through it.
It is completely water soluble apart from the affects of over heating.
Im not suggesting moving to an rta btw.