Ego-T Leaky Tank + Tighter Draw [Solution]

[BlackChad]

Let me start by saying i kind of had an aha! moment last night and kind of wanted to share with a little more testing in the hopes that this will help someone that was in my position.

Ive been vaping on my ego-t rotating out two attys for a couple/few weeks now, cleaning every few days with hot water and a good blow out. Seemed like everything was going fine but I had noticed the draw getting a little tighter. Also over the last week or so I was starting to get a bit of leaks here and there and a "bubbly" draw is the only way I know to describe it. I noticed liquid coming up through the sides of the tip as well. Then two days ago I had the dreaded leaky mess, and I mean it got EVERYWHERE. I searched around for a solution but couldn't dig through 250 pages in the ego-t thread. A lot of people were basically saying I needed to "fluff" the wick. I was getting so frustrated with the thing I had a couple of analogs for convenience and really had a make-or-break moment I feel. (yes, they were yucky haha)

Long story semi-short, my first step was attempting a dry burn to see what my wick looked like. I dry burned a couple of times and saw nothing but the thing was cooking for sure. I could hear the liquid going and feel the heat on the sides but no glow whatsoever. I took a paper towel and blew the crap out of it. A HUGE amount of liquid came out of the thing even though the battery was dry and the bottom of the atty also appeared dry. I attempted a few more dry burns, and blew it out again. It was about this time I gave it a nice long dry burn and let it rest a couple of minutes. When I picked it up again, I dry burned it and BAM! I could see the start of a glow. One more dry burn and I could see my wick was fine the whole time but the problem was my atty was holding onto a ton of juice.

I was never a big fan of the dry burn but I feel its necessary with these things to make sure youre not holding on to a bunch of extra liquid. Hopefully this will help someone out that cant read 250+ pages of the other thread and cant find a solution. No wick-fluffing needed here. These things have a learning curve for sure but I feel if everyone helps out this is the best vaping solution by far, I absolutely love it.

 

[OctobersRust81]

how long have you been using the attys since the dry burns? i was going to try that but at 13.00 a piece, i didnt want to risk burning them out

 

[Libby Love]

I heard of another way to clear it out and that is soaking the atty overnight in rubbing alcohol then rinse with hot water / blow out and let sit for a day or two. I tried it and was able to save one of two atty's. The other atty was dead and nothing could bring it back.
I will pass on your findings also ...
Thanks

 

[NonCig Ang]

I tried the dry-burn method and ended up burning my atty out It was only 3 weeks old.

 

[blondeambition3]

I tried the dry-burn method and ended up burning my atty out It was only 3 weeks old.

Thanks for this 'tip'... I've got a few T-Attys lying around that could probably benefit from this

 

[ckgjt]

Were you able to see the glow even with the plate still inside? I have done a couple dry burns but never for that long and I could never see any glow b/c I thought I had read that you wouldn't be able to see it. Maybe I just wasn't doing it long enough. Thanks

 

[wyojoe]

I have popped 2 Ego-t attys in 2 weeks during a dry burning, and only hit the button for 5 sec's at a time. So I am afraid to dry burn again because of the cost of them. I have dry burned 510 atty's and clearomizer atty's and have not had any problems with them, just the Ego-t.

Any suggestions???

 

[jerky666]

you can definitely see the glow, around the slots in the plate, and even the wick in the spike will glow. I did this successfully on the normal atty's, but popped 2 LR's (one dry burning, and one heavy stove piping trying to clear it out.)

It seems these guys definitely 'gum' up by holding juice in the cup, which impedes airflow through that tiny tiny hole under the threads in the side of the atty (there is a thread on that somewhere too)

I have found that holding the whole pv upside down and vaping a bit will help burn off some of this 'cup juice' and eventually loosens up the draw. It could even be done until you get a slightly dry hit, then resume vapes from normal position.

This may help not waste juice blowing too much out. I find that when swapping tanks is a good time to do this, as when that new tank is inserted, its going to wick some juice into the cup immediately. YMMV on that one

*tip* once it stops bubbling when you are trying to dry burn (and make sure to blow out the vape is it starts coming out the top) give it much much shorter burns, like 2 to 3 seconds until the glow starts... its definitely a fine art and takes practice (which sucks on such expensive attys)

 

[toddos]

I'm not sure you really need to dry burn. Just blow out the atty every couple of days. As you found out, they hold onto a ton of liquid, and if you just keep feeding them more via the tank they'll eventually flood, leak, tighten the draw, etc. A dry burn after blowing out all the excess may not be a bad idea if you're still getting poor vapor production afterward, but I'd start with just blowing it out.

 

[Tom10]

I just ordered 2 LR Atomizers for the Ego-T and did some reading while I was there. It was suggested to never let these guys get dry. So, I don't think that the dry-burn is wise on the LRs.

 

[achtungbaby]

I just ordered 2 LR Atomizers for the Ego-T and did some reading while I was there. It was suggested to never let these guys get dry. So, I don't think that the dry-burn is wise on the LRs.

Where did you order the lr attys for the tank? please...

 

[achtungbaby]

Thanks for this 'tip'... I've got a few T-Attys lying around that could probably benefit from this

Blonde - how do you love your go-go? did you have a ego-t prior? What's the biggest difference in your opinion?

 

[JWebb]

Not sure dry burns are ever a good idea fro atty, whether regular or LR, or tanks, IMO. Atty's are made to stay wet and it may be best to try cleaning them with the other methods of alcohol or vinegar soaking, wash with hot water and blow them out and re-moisten with juice. I have never lost an atty with this method. I have seen hundreds of people on ECF say they burned out their atty by dry burn. You can ask the veterans on technical issues/Atomizers and you will get lots of opinions!

 

[GoodDog]

I also lost 2 Ts to the dry burn. I started with 4, one went on it's own and 2 I did in with the dry burn. Three attys in a couple of months is too much for me at that price. I like them but I could use the same 510 atty for months before it gave out and at half the price. Never had any problems with dry burning them but seldom needed to do it either. Hopefully the Ts will get better and maybe the next generation will solve the current problems. I also broke down and bought a GoGo (should be here Friday). Hopefully it will give me the no fuss vape I'm now looking for.

 

[tsbrewers]

I have been doing it to mine lately too, but I have been removing the spike plate first. I know the wick isn't supposed to burn, but in the few I have taken apart, then end of the wick was pretty black and nasty looking. I don't want to make it any worse by doing dry burns on the wick.

This is what I have been doing for a dry burn.

hit the button for about 3 seconds wait about 10 seconds, and do it again, at first the coil won't even glow, just get some vapor. Here is where you don't want to over do it. Just hold it for a few seconds, then let off and let it cool a little. Do it a few times this way, you most likely won't see any glowing of the coil right away, will take a few quick burn and cool cycles before you see a glow. Especially if you leave the plate on. Don't crank on it the first time until you see the glow, keep them all under 5 seconds, and you will see the glow eventually.

Then the coil will burn through the gunk and start to turn red. I do this a few times, probably about 4 or 5 times once I see that glow. Blowing down the end of the atty lightly to clear the vapor and cool the coil in between burns. (remember i remove the plate too) This does really seem to help with the vapor production and taste too. sometimes takes a tank or two to really get back to like new after doing this though.

still going on my original 2 attys (my wife on her 2 original ones too) for about a month and a half. Matter of a fact, the one I am using as we speak was one that leaked like crazy all of a sudden and I thought was toast. I tore it apart, replaced the wick, and did the dry burns and cleaning, and it has come back to life. That was probably 3 weeks ago.

Brew

 

[pion]

Where did you order the lr attys for the tank? please...

I'm not him but I just ordered some from cignot.com. $10 each.

 

[cowfodder]

I'm not him but I just ordered some from cignot.com. $10 each.

Not him either, but I agree. Cignot is the place to go.

 

[Pur3Rush]

I'm not sure you really need to dry burn. Just blow out the atty every couple of days. As you found out, they hold onto a ton of liquid, and if you just keep feeding them more via the tank they'll eventually flood, leak, tighten the draw, etc. A dry burn after blowing out all the excess may not be a bad idea if you're still getting poor vapor production afterward, but I'd start with just blowing it out.

This is the best idea. I killed 4 atties attempting to do this. Now I don't dry burn, I just blow out the atty after I change a tank, to keep it from sitting in juice. I also remove the tank at night and blow the juice out. I also make my own wicks after the hard draw issue. Sometimes, you can draw so hard that small pieces of the wick stick to the atty coil. This further reduces draw and vapor production. I've become somewhat of an expert on all things Ego -T, from the atty to the tank, to leaking, burning, dry hits, etc. I refuse to buy anything else... for now.. Anyone can pm me if they have questions, and want solutions that actually work. FYI, I really try to clean the atty as little as possible. The most effective thing I've noticed is replacing the wick and blowing out the juice. All very simple.

 

[HedonismBot]

Anyone can pm me if they have questions, and want solutions that actually work. FYI, I really try to clean the atty as little as possible. The most effective thing I've noticed is replacing the wick and blowing out the juice. All very simple.

Vapey newbie here... I picked up an ego-T last week and am certainly open to any suggestions on maintenance and improvement. I found the wick mod (CJSimple or something) and am thinking I should procure the supplies for that, and as I'm nearly off analogs I am thinking I should pick up another couple of atty's for insurance. I have definitely noticed the massive juice accumulation, and have had a couple of burnt-smell draws even with a full tank, I've mostly avoided that since by frequently primer puffing and taking slower draws.

I am interested in suggestions for major cleanings, in my own mind I've thought a soak in rubbing alcohol or everclear would be a good way to go. I'm real curious about wick mods as I have to believe this can be a little better - while very consistent and easy to use, there are times when I'd really like one or two much bigger drags...

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[wyojoe]

Not sure dry burns are ever a good idea fro atty, whether regular or LR, or tanks, IMO. Atty's are made to stay wet and it may be best to try cleaning them with the other methods of alcohol or vinegar soaking, wash with hot water and blow them out and re-moisten with juice. I have never lost an atty with this method. I have seen hundreds of people on ECF say they burned out their atty by dry burn. You can ask the veterans on technical issues/Atomizers and you will get lots of opinions!

Thanks I will try your method when my atty needs it.