eGo-T Battery Completely Screwed Up After Stainless Steel Wick Mod

[mgomez]

Hi guys! I got a really complicated issue. I just think I killed my eGo-T battery, the only one I had. I'm now using my wife's battery. So, here's what I did:

1: I followed a tutorial that involved oxidizing stainless steel mesh (I have 325 or 300. I don't remember) to the letter. It told me to put some VG on it and burn it off with a lighter. Then, I learned that I had to put some rolling paper and wet it with VG around where the coils will be.
2: I dry burned the rig (I'm on a Vivi Nova, by the way) and it worked amazingly. I was really excited because it worked on my first try.
3: I attached the Vivi tube to the base and screwed it in nice and tight, then I put a small amount of liquid into the container and put a few drops on the coil directly to prime it up (perhaps this is where I made my mistake?). I then placed the top cover on and slapped on my favorite mouthpiece.
4: The Vivi was making the typical little noise it makes when you activate it, so I guess it means that some glycerin was steaming up. I took a few puffs and suddenly I had vapor coming out of the battery button and the battery wouldn't turn off even after I released the button.
5: I take off the Vivi Nova and take a break. After a few minutes, just out of morbid curiosity, I screw it in and the battery light blinks like 3 times. When I remove the Vivi, the battery blinks 5 times. In all the time, it doesn't fire up at all. The battery will not charge. It will not turn on or off either.

What seems to be the problem? I must add that I've washed the Vivi with water just before getting to work on the oxidation of the wick. I guess the water didn't dry up from the inner tube? I'm not sure what could have gone wrong here, but I doubt that there was a short caused by the wick.

 

[LucentShadow]

Personally, I would not even think about trying a stainless steel wick in a vivi nova. Those wicks can be extremely problematic in a 'line' setup where the wick does not contact the negative terminal directly. They can still cause shorts across the coil itself. The micro-layer of oxidation can come off in spots when the coil heats, even if it was oxidized well. With a vivi nova, you'd likely have the wick directly in contact with the metal body as well, which is the negative electrical path.

If you had water in the vivi nova connector, I suppose that it could cause a short circuit, but I'd honestly suspect the wick first. Did you check the resistance of the completed vivi head with an ohm meter? That's something that you should always do.

Sounds like you fried the battery unit, and are lucky that it wasn't worse, especially since you tried it again. Those things can take off like a rocket when unfettered.

Anyway, if the resistance of the head checks OK at this point, then I'd have to go with the water theory.

 

[mgomez]

I don't have a multimeter, but that's a good suggestion. You can't avoid touching the head with the wick, so I guess it did have some conductivity. What atomizer/cartomizer/clearomizer do you recommend I get? Here's my list of options in my local websites in Romania:

- CARTOMIZOR smok DCTANK V2
- DCT 510 mod - MOD cartomizor DCT 6ml

Aaaaaaaaaand that's pretty much it. I don't have many other options. I'm guessing it would be a good idea to order one that would require a straight wick?

 

[LucentShadow]

Personally, I like the Vivi Nova, and it's just about all that I use at this point. I use cotton ball or bamboo thread wicks when rebuilding the heads, per this thread:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/284030-wick-materials-safe-vs-dangerous.html

There are many rebuildables out there that are often gotten through co-ops here on the forum, from what I understand, but I have not looked into them. There is some process you have to go through to have access to them that I don't care to bother with at this point. The two I have thought of buying are here:

GG ODYSSEUS the iAtty 2 Rebuildable Tank

Z-Atty Rebuildable Atomizers

You should still get at least a cheap ($5-10 USD) multimeter wheter you stick with the Vivi Nova or get one of the Premium rebuildables, though.

 

[mgomez]

Alright. I'll have a look into cotton. I suppose it gets better flavor as a wicking material than silica.

 

[urquidezj]

I blew up my ego with the line I generally don't use stainless mesh on a ego, I would recommend all vapers not to try stainless on a ego unless you are seasoned when it comes to ss mesh. Seeing a ego explode is pretty trippy

 

[mgomez]

Ah, yes. I suspected that other PVs would have some kind of protection against short circuits. Are you suggesting I get a more advanced model like a ProVeri or LavaTube? Do they protect against this sort of thing? I really desperately need an idiot-proof battery. I want to be an idiot without looking like one! LOL!

 

[pokerplaya]

Personally, I would not even think about trying a stainless steel wick in a vivi nova. Those wicks can be extremely problematic in a 'line' setup where the wick does not contact the negative terminal directly. They can still cause shorts across the coil itself. The micro-layer of oxidation can come off in spots when the coil heats, even if it was oxidized well. With a vivi nova, you'd likely have the wick directly in contact with the metal body as well, which is the negative electrical path.

If you had water in the vivi nova connector, I suppose that it could cause a short circuit, but I'd honestly suspect the wick first. Did you check the resistance of the completed vivi head with an ohm meter? That's something that you should always do.

Sounds like you fried the battery unit, and are lucky that it wasn't worse, especially since you tried it again. Those things can take off like a rocket when unfettered.

Anyway, if the resistance of the head checks OK at this point, then I'd have to go with the water theory.

You know the condoms that the Vivi Nova heads come packaged in? What if you cut the condom up and used that to insulate the ss wick from the head housing? Would the condom pieces be able to withstand the heat, as I'm sure the wick does warm up some. Then again you do have that condom like cap on the head directly above the coil. I wonder if that would work?

Your thoughts?

 

[Racehorse]

I would not even consider doing any kind of re-building without owning a multimeter.

In reality, there is no such thing as an idiot proof battery. You can pop a new atomizer onto a batt and have it short out. It happens.

Otherwise, you'd better love surprises.