Do Not Dry Fire Atomizers to "Clean" Them!!!

[Rocketpunk]

Gaaah! I just watched a Youtube video on how to clean your atty... Cleaning your E-cig atomizer using the dry burn method - YouTube.

I tried this on a perfectly fine joyetech 510 lr atty AND IT TASTES LIKE CRAP NOW.

It didn't pop the atty, it still fires, but now it tastes like crap. I still get a ton of vapor and throat hit, but the atty gives it a burnt taste.

I don't think dry firing an atty is a proper way to clean them.

The best way I've discovered is simple, simple, simple. And it works. Just unscrew your atty, use a paper towel or some toilet paper, wipe off the bottom of the atty (the threads), the actual battery connector (the part of your battery that the atty screws into), and then twist up the paper towel into a point and insert this gently into the atty itself. Don't twist or push too hard, just stick it in there and let it soak up the left over juice. DO NOT DRY FIRE IT!!

I also go so far as to clean out the cone by twisting and shoving the paper towel into it. I use a q-tip to clean the drip tip itself.

AGAIN, DO NOT DRY FIRE YOUR ATTYS TO CLEAN THEM.

You just might ruin a perfectly good atty like I did.

(And by dry fire I mean hold the fire button down for two to three seconds. That's all it took to ruin my atty).

 

[Strigoi]

Soaking them in isopropyl alcohol and then rinsing them well works for me.

 

[Ryedan]

Rocketpunk, I've been dry burning my atties, my Startdusts and my eGo-C atties for months now. It's worked every time for me, with he exception of one time I 'toasted' a eGo-C atty and killed it. That experience taught me what 'too much heat' was for that atty. Overall, it's saved me a bunch of hardware.

Please see the attie cleaning info on ECF here. . It might give you a bit more information on the whole thing.

 

[hrlw817]

I agree. I have tried dry burning. It never works. Never. Ever. I have either fried the silly things or the vape tastes burnt. I have found that soaking them in vodka for a few hours and a good rinse and air dry works well for me.

 

[Ryedan]

Strigoi, that works for me too, if I get to them before they coat with burnt juice, which doesn't work too often for me!!

 

[bivie]

Actually, I saved and revived an atty by dry burning it. I thought it was on its way to the dump
cuz it tasted burnt, even after a good cleaning. So, this time I boiled it, blew it out, and dry
burned it until it quit emitting smoke. I did that in short spurts. Now, I use it all the time again,
and I will clean it the same way next time. It is a bridgeless, so maybe that makes the difference.

 

[Strigoi]

Strigoi, that works for me too, if I get to them before they coat with burnt juice, which doesn't work too often for me!!

I only drip when it's not worth it to waste a carto or fill a tank when there's just a small amount of liquid left. My attys don't really have time to get gunked up.

I also boil them if I have enough and am doing cartos as well. I just keep a lot of "clean" boiled cartos on hand just in case. If they still have a stiff draw or smell heavily of the liquid that was in them they get tossed.

 

[blue_gr]

3hours to alcohol 100% and then blow excess alcohol and always wet them with VPG
Sent from my Htc using Board Express

 

[Rocketpunk]

I don't know, I may be ignorant here, but I have no desire to soak anything "electronic" in liquid, be it alcohol or anything else.

Since I dry fired it, I've used it again and the burnt taste is noticeably less, but it's still there. I wonder if this effect is temporary. Dry firing may work for you, but after this experience, I'm going to stick to my paper towel ritual. It always worked in the past.

 

[Ryedan]

Well, the other thing that comes to mind, and I have not been into vaping that long so beware of my opinions, is that I am assuming that all atties are mostly metal including the wicks so they should be OK to dry burn (and not harm them). I have noticed that a couple of Stardusts I've bought have not been friendly to the dry burn method. I assumed that was because they had wicks that did not handle the heat of a dry burn and did not buy any more of them (had very short life spans). Maybe there is something here - and maybe someone that knows will chime in and let us all know for sure.

 

[Rocketpunk]

and always wet them with VPG

Please excuse my noobishness, but was is VPG? Thank you.

 

[Rocketpunk]

::Smacks forehead::

Taste has changed.

Maybe it was leftover paper towel stuck to the atty filament/wicks! This has never happened before when cleaning (I'm .... retentive about cleaning between drips, especially when alternating juices), but I never dry fired it until tonight. I won't again, as my previous cleaning method works for me, but I'm glad I learned another vaping lesson.

On a sidenote, my girlfriend mentioned how easy it was for me to smoke. I'd just pull out a Camel, light it up, and puff. She's confused and nonplussed by my sudden fascination with Ohm's, mAh's, cartros, atomizers, fluids, etc. I try to explain that anything that keeps me from a cigarette and satisfies my man-gadget instinct is a billion times better than the alternative. It's... weird. Seeing me smoke a real cigarette didn't really bother her... But seeing me vape disturbs her.

 

[Rickajho]

The point of dry burning is to burn off the residue that will build up on the atty coil as you use it. Accumulate enough gunk on the coil and the atty becomes useless. The more gunked up it becomes the more likely you are to fire it for longer and longer tmes, trying to get past/beyond/through/over the residue build up to get a liquid to produce vapor. And then you pop the coil in the process. As one vendor I use said, dry burning an atty might kill it by popping a coil. But not dry burning at all will definitely kill it. Accumulated gunk on the coil starts to act like an insulator.

If it is harsh after a dry burn the most likely problem is you didn't re-prime the atty correctly. If the atty & wick are now too dry chances are what you are experiencing as "vape" is actually more dry burning going on. Drip onto the atty mesh, but give it a few minutes to absorb liquid into a now dry wick before trying to use it.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I think you're right, the taste has definitely changed.

 

[Ryedan]

Rocketpunk, if it works for you, stay with it ... There are so many variables to this vaping thing - whatever it takes to stay off the cigs, just do it is my opinion. I've been off em for 6 months now and I feel a whole lot better than I have for a long time. As for your GF, well, there's a whole lot of information on the effects of smoking out there and ECF is a great place to explore the benefits of vaping. Maybe check it out and read some of the posts with her. Best of luck!

 

[hrlw817]

The point of dry burning is to burn off the residue that will build up on the atty coil as you use it. Accumulate enough gunk on the coil and the atty becomes useless. The more gunked up it becomes the more likely you are to fire it for longer and longer tmes, trying to get past/beyond/through/over the residue build up to get a liquid to produce vapor. And then you pop the coil in the process. As one vendor I use said, dry burning an atty might kill it by popping a coil. But not dry burning at all will definitely kill it. Accumulated gunk on the coil starts to act like an insulator.

If it is harsh after a dry burn the most likely problem is you didn't re-prime the atty correctly. If the atty & wick are now too dry chances are what you are experiencing as "vape" is actually more dry burning going on. Drip onto the atty mesh, but give it a few minutes to absorb liquid into a now dry wick before trying to use it.

This may sound dumb, but, does this info apply to CE4's like Stardusts??

 

[Rocketpunk]

All of my clearo's, Stardusts, etc., crapped out on me real quick. I don't trust them anymore.

So far, dripping is my preferred method. It's not for everyone, though.

I agree with bigsmoke... If you find something that works for you and does what you want it to do, I say go for that.

 

[xaos1000]

I have been cleaning my atomizer by simply soaking it in everclear 190, blowing it out, soaking in fresh everclear, blowing it out, drying and then priming the wick. Mind you I have only been using the same atomizer for nearly two weeks. Strong, smooth and lots of vapor still just like the day I bought it.

 

[Jiggawatt]

Tried that method in the past and have only been left with that burning wicking material that is next to impossible to get out.

 

[hotrod3539]

I've been mostly a carto guy but ive been looking into attys since i have started to DIY juices mainly for flavor testing so i dont waste good cartos on bad juice flavors but have been hesitant becausse of not knowing how to clean one out and it looks like ive got some good ideas now thanks!!