Do atomizers "wear out"?

[plehem12]

I have a CLT v2 Plus and a Mutation X v2 running on a sigelei 150w and an Asmodus Klone v1.5. I am a cloud chaser, just to get that out of the way. Both attys on both mods used to CHUCK the clouds like nobodys business. My builds have not changed, if anything I have gotten much better at it obviously with time and practice. But boths attys on both mods just don't do what they used to. Neither performs in a way that is something to be "ashamed" of, if you will. But they don't do near what I used to get out of them. Maybe it's the batteries? I have 10 18650 batteries, all have been in even rotation for a while now. Although I would think it wouldn't be such a big deal in the Sigelei, it being regulated and all, right? Or maybe I just suck and don't know it? I am not against getting new atomizers, as I love throwing away hard earned money on vape gear I don't really need as much as the next ECF member, but still. Thoughts?

 

[Alien Traveler]

I remember when I was 130 pounds younger ice-cream was so much sweeter...

 

[NancyR]

My first suggestion would be to meter to see what type of voltage loss you are getting from the atties, and to clean all connections. A lot of times the threads get dirty (even if they don't look it) and that causes the attys not to work as well.

 

[Completely Average]

They do wear out but that is probably not your problem.

What you're really running into isn't so much wear as grime getting on the contacts. We're so focused on the coil that we tend to forget that the contact points also get saturated with juice and over time that juice cooks and carbonizes onto the contacts. It makes the contact points less efficient. What you'll want to do is tear down the RBA and remove the screws. Clean the screws off thoroughly until they're nice and shiny and then do the same with the holes in the RBA that you insert the wires and screws into. Make sure you get both contact points nice and clean. That should restore it so it acts like it's brand new.

As for the actual wear, over years and years of use, turning the screws until they're tight and then loosening them again you'll gradually wear out the threads. Also the constant heating and cooling of the contact points will slowly degrade the metal. They won't last forever but if you keep them clean and in good condition you shouldn't have any problem keeping them in good working order for a decade or more. The most important thing is to keep those contact points clean.

 

[Asbestos4004]

My guess is that your expectations have changed more than your attys have.

 

[WattWick]

Batteries will wear out over time regardless of you running them in a regulated or not mod. And as Nancy points out - it doesn't hurt to pick your atties apart and giving them some TLC every once in a while. At least give your 510 connectors a proper cleaning.

 

[plehem12]

Appreciate the replies. I gave my mods a nice TLC bath of epic proportions not too long ago but I have neglected to do the same for my atomizers. I'll give them some love tomorrow since I have nothing better to do and hope it works out. Thanks again all.