eGo Question

[bobby9621]

I have a question on eGo atomizers.

Does everyone remove the wicks? I understand you can prevent the burnt taste by removing them and keeping carts full am I correct?

 

[ajrily]

I think most of the people that remove the wicks are dedicated drippers but someone can correct me if I'm wrong on that. From my understanding, the wick is needed mostly BECAUSE of the cartridge. The wicks do work better if the cartridge is kept topped off but I think removing it entirely if you're using cartridge might not be the best way to go. I would look further into it and read more on the forum before I started "de-wicking" your attys. You certainly can't put them back in if it was the wrong thing to do.

I've kept my attys working (and wicking) fine on my eGo. I've lost two in three months but I came to realize I was cleaning them too vigorously. Now I just do a short and very gentle everclear rinse and dry every couple of days and have had no problems.

My simple but very effective cleaning method? I found a plug for the bottom (battery side) of the atty- in my case, a small rubber stopper that fits perfectly.

I stand it battery (and plug) side down
Drip the everclear into the atty side until it's full
Put a silicone cartridge cover over the atty end.

Sometimes I let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes first but I then shake it back and forth a few times, repeat if I think necessary, then blow it out from the battery end and let it dry. Very quick, very little mess, and the alcohol evaporates very quickly unlike water so it's ready to go in minutes.

I use that method about every other day on each atty and it seems to be keeping the wicks working well. Since it takes less than 5 minutes I also do it fairly often when I'm getting ready to change flavors.

 

[Brewlady]

If you're using carts, you need to prime the atty when you first get it (after blowing out the liquid in a brand new atty), and after you clean it, by dripping four or five drops directly on the bridge, and give it a minute to absorb before using it. If the wick gets dry it will burn. This is supposed to work, at least in theory. I eventually gave up on carts and just drip.

 

[Katatonik]

My simple but very effective cleaning method? I found a plug for the bottom (battery side) of the atty- in my case, a small rubber stopper that fits perfectly.

I stand it battery (and plug) side down
Drip the everclear into the atty side until it's full
Put a silicone cartridge cover over the atty end.

Sometimes I let it sit for 10 or 15 minutes first but I then shake it back and forth a few times, repeat if I think necessary, then blow it out from the battery end and let it dry. Very quick, very little mess, and the alcohol evaporates very quickly unlike water so it's ready to go in minutes.

I use that method about every other day on each atty and it seems to be keeping the wicks working well. Since it takes less than 5 minutes I also do it fairly often when I'm getting ready to change flavors.

Be careful to make sure the everclear dries before use. Wet everclear in an active atty will end in destruction.
I would softly blow into an atty (both ends) and let sit for several minutes before using it.

I haven't tried using the everclear on an atty, but I use everclear all the time to clean my tobacco pipes, and it usually takes a good 5-10 minutes to dry thoroughly. If you light it before it's dry, you'll get a light blue flame that won't immediately do any damage (everclear starts burning very coldly, but heats up the longer the blue flame goes), but the second you see a blue flame blow it out quickly.

I'd recommend the cleaning method, let it dry, and do a quick test before actually using the atty (just activate the atty BRIEFLY, and make sure there's no flame).
Nothing would be worse than to use an atty wet with everclear and vape some nasty blue flame that burns your throat as well as destroying your atty (and possibly even the battery).

If you don't want to dry burn the atty and still make sure to clean it of alcohol, I'd recommend dripping distilled water into it and then vape that away. Maybe a drop more than you would use than when you drip vape.

Also, I don't know how it works with atty's (since my experience in cleaning things with alcohol is with pipes), but I suspect that everclear cleaning probably leaves a better taste than vinegar cleaning. Everclear residue leaves a slightly sweet taste.

You could in theory, do both. Do a majority of the cleaning with vinegar. and then use alcohol to clean the sourness of vinegar out. If you do this, the alcohol cleaning part need not be as rigorous or long of a process.