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

[tj99959]

It depends on the construction of the atty. Atomizers that were made to be used with cartridges have wicking material under the bridge that feeds liquid from the bridge to the coil. This is what you burned. The good news is that you can remove that wicking material, and the burnt taste will be gone. Atomizers that were made for dripping only have a wick inside the coil, and not the wick from the bridge to the coil. So look for a youtube vid on "dewicking an atty".
I dewick/debridge normal 510's before I ever use them.

 

[sandybeach]

I've been vaping quite awhile. Soaking them does not work. Dry burning atomizers and some tank heads is the only way to get the burnt gack off of them. As someone said above, fire them for short bursts until smoke stops coming out. If you don't dry burn until the smoke stops coming out, it will taste burnt. If you have any propylene glycol around, you can put 5 or so drops of that in, blow it out, vape it a minute (it's fairly tasteless) then put your juice in.

 

[flbutterfly1]

The best way I have found to dry burn is to rinse the atty under the faucet and then blow it out and do 3 second pulses till it is dry then continue the pulses till it burns all the crud off. Sometimes I need to rinse, blowout and do 3-4 sec pulses again but I never end up with a burnt taste.

 

[zoiDman]

I do a Quick Dry Burn on ALL Atty's or Filler-Less Cartos when they are New.

It the Coil/Wick doesn't have any "Mystery Fluid" on it then I fill it. But if it Smokes, I do a Cleaning/Dry and do the Dry Burn Again.

 

[Screwbag]

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.

Well, part of the joy of vaping is that even the rituals that we all develop over time is part of the personality of vaping...

However, whenever you add liquid to a carto, or to an atty. you are soaking it in liquid. dunking in alcohol just helps to remove any residual e-liquid. My addition to this would be to use ethanol ( or ever clear in a pinch) not isopropyl... removing any hazards of poisoning. and that you must be sure that your atty/carto is very dry (all alcohol evaporated) before you add liquid again....

but thats just me...and my ritual...

 

[vsummer1]

The best way I have found to dry burn is to rinse the atty under the faucet and then blow it out and do 3 second pulses till it is dry then continue the pulses till it burns all the crud off. Sometimes I need to rinse, blowout and do 3-4 sec pulses again but I never end up with a burnt taste.

That is exactly what I do, its quick and it works. I have different attys for different styles of juices, coffee, tobacco and light fruits but I like them clean. If I had to soak them for hours I would go crazy

 

[zoiDman]

... 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.

The Key to Vaping is finding what Works for you. That and how much Time and Effort you want to put into it.

I know some people that will Spend All Day Cleaning Cartos. And I know some that just Toss them once they start tasting bad. Some people think it is OK to Vape the “Mystery Fluid” that can be on a New Atty/Carto. And Some think it is Not ok.

Neither is Right and Neither is Wrong.

 

[Iffy]

Early on, I used to do da vodka soak in a sonic cleaner for my atties and clearos. But now...

My cleaning method for the StarDust type clearos (VNs and atties should be easier):

Remove mouth piece/drip tip.
Remove silicone cap and tube with tweezers/needle nose pliers. You will now be able to see your coil.
Flush and rinse with water until the clearo has no remaining joose.
Shake out water and dry the exterior, including the connection end.
Pulse dry burn until you see (1) individual red coil wraps with (2) no 'smoke' or (3) sizzling.
Let clearo cool.
Using a toothpick, GENTLY scrape the coil and then GENTLY bump the tube upside down to remove any residue.
Replace cap/tube.
Fill with joose.
Replace MP/DT.
Let sit for a few minutes to soak the wick.
Vape your face off!

Be cautious when dry burning. You can burn out the coil if you leave the power on too long. Remember to pulse on, then off for 3-4 seconds each.

Whether you use a SD, VN or an atty, this method should provide extended 'life' for your device and remove old flavs.

It sure works fer me! Hope this helps ya'll.

 

[zoiDman]

...
Using a toothpick, GENTLY scrape the coil and then GENTLY bump the tube upside down to remove any residue.

...

Next time your at the Store, check out these Dental Brushes/Picks. There in the Tooth Paste / Floss Section.

They work great to get "Gunk" off Wicks/Coils.

 

[bacc.vap]

The best way I have found to dry burn is to rinse the atty under the faucet and then blow it out and do 3 second pulses till it is dry then continue the pulses till it burns all the crud off. Sometimes I need to rinse, blowout and do 3-4 sec pulses again but I never end up with a burnt taste.

Exactly what I do, and works great. The only difference is that I don't worry about the 3-4 second pulses, I dry burn with reckless abandon, but I do it regulated at 3.3v's., most of the time.

 

[zoiDman]

Exactly what I do, and works great. The only difference is that I don't worry about the 3-4 second pulses, I dry burn with reckless abondoned, but I do it regulated at 3.3v's., most of the time.

Dry Burn with Wreckless Abondoned. I like that.

My throry is if you Baby a Cartos or Atty that they get Spoiled and a Bit Fussy.

I think it is Better to Law Down the Law with them and Constantly Remind them Who's Boss.

 

[xaos1000]

How often does everyone do the cleaning and or dry burn? Do you wait for ill effects or be proactive and clean before ill effects?

 

[bacc.vap]

How often does everyone do the cleaning and or dry burn? Do you wait for ill effects or be proactive and clean before ill effects?

With most of the juices I use I rinse and dry burn after somewhere between 6-8 mls of juice through an atty. That's pretty much where I find the effects of turning up the voltage to compensate for a dirtier coil become diminished. When using high VG juices the coil gets dirtier quicker so I will usually clean it earlier depending upon performance. The high VG juices also tend to bake on the atty and create a hard crust which needs to be completely removed( picked off in some cases) or you will get a burnt flavor if not.

 

[zoiDman]

... When using high VG juices the coil gets dirtier quicker so I will usually clean it earlier depending upon performance. The high VG juices also tend to bake on the atty and create a hard crust which needs to be completely removed( picked off in some cases) or you will get a burnt flavor if not.

I use High VG e-Liquids. And I find that soaking in White Vinegar for an hour or so Dissolves that Crud Ball that VG/Sweeteners developed.

 

[JPoodles]

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.

All atty's are not mostly metal. Atty's are ceramic cup with silica(or similar)wicking surounded by a wire(nichrome) element. The cup is surrounded by mesh and a bridge with mesh. The mesh catches liquid and wicks it to the silica which holds juice to vaporize when it touches the heating element.
Dry burners must be careful not to burn or fire without water moisture in there wicks. Its not actually "dry" burning. You just replace the liquid so that the gunk from vaped juice disipates. The wick resists high temps but can taste "burnt" when too much heat is apllied without moisture. Hope this helps.

 

[DC2]

I have been dry burning my atomizers as the ONLY way of cleaning them for years now.
It works fantastic, you just have to be careful and know what you are doing.

This thread is the very best way to make sure you know what you are doing...
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html

 

[bcambas]

I have been filling up a jewelry cleaner with propanol and running it for a couple of minutes. That seems to clean them pretty good without any dry-burning. I have no idea if it is a "good idea" to put them in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner filled with alcohol, though. So, if someone thinks this is a terrible idea, please let me know.

 

[Buggs5347]

::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.

That's one more reason I'm a big fan of cartomizers. You can fill several up then cap them with the original caps and condoms, screw one on your PV or even a cig-a-like stick battery, which looks more like a cig. (Need to be Standard res cartomizers for the little batteries). Top them off ever so often as you go or recap them and top them off later and use another cart. You don't even need a drip tip. I also like the flavor best out of them.

 

[AttyPops]

Dry burning is an atty resurrection method, not normally a 1st choice cleaning method. As with all things e-cig... your opinion and mileage may vary. I use it as a last thing before throwing an atty out (assuming the coil is intact but gunked, of course).

 

[zoiDman]

... Dry burners must be careful not to burn or fire without water moisture in there wicks. ...

This is Kinda the Entire Point of Dry Burning.