Great trick for cleaning a dripping atomiser...

[hexdrin]

Have recently started debridging my attys prior to dripping, and WOW! What a difference it makes!

However (and this likely has something to do with the amount I vape), my attys do tend to build up a burnt taste pretty quickly - like within half a day. So I've taken to letting them sit in alcohol for 20 mins, until the fireproof fibres the coil is wrapped around appear whiter, then I rinse the atty through THOROUGHLY with very warm water for 2 mins. Finally, I dry the atty with my girlfriend's hairdryer and I'm good to go!!

In total that takes about 30 odd minutes, but I've added another part to my atty cleaning process which I feel works fantastically..... Whilst the atomiser is sitting in the alcohol, I take a pin and jab the fibre which the coil is wrapped around. This breaks apart the stubborn, carbonised gunk which has built up there and allows the alcohol to penetrate the fibres more easily; it kind of fluffs it up too and allows for a MUCH nicer vape with fuller flavour and thicker vapour once I stick the atomiser back on my 3.4V !!

If anyone can be bothered to give it a go then let me know if it worked out for you!

Oh, I'm using LR 2.0 Ohm debridged 510 atty on a 650mAh ego battery with a stainless steel drip-tip.

 

[expat007]

I've tried physically breaking up the gunk on a coil. It's a risky proposition, IMO. Those wires are pretty delicate.
What I've found works better is to poke them gently after dry burning them, but only if absolutely necessary. The ash that remains after a dry burn is much easier to break up. Then, give them another alcohol soak and a very brief dry burn. That blows away any remaining white ash.

So, the process I use is. Soak in grain alcohol (not rubbing or isopropyl). Soak again in hot water with a denture cleaning tablet and rinse in HOT (not warm) water. Dry burn.

That's usually enough and they're good to go.

If there is a lot of ash after the first dry burn, then I poke a bit to break up the ash, soak again in alcohol and rinse. Dry burn again.

I'm also going to get some denatured alcohol and try that instead of grain alcohol. I can't get Everclear around here, so I'm limited to 158 proof vodka. I think denatured alcohol would work much better and, as long as it's rinsed well, it shouldn't cause any problems or leave any taste.

 

[hexdrin]

Yes, the coils are extremely delicate! Perhaps I should've refrained from using the word 'jab' to describe how i clean them, but the pin method I explained above definitely seems to work for me - albeit as long as it's done carefully. I've been using the same two atomisers for a month now, cleaning them daily as described above. I use isopropyl alcohol though, which is why I emphasized the need to rinse atomisers with warm water and dry THOROUGHLY prior to use.

 

[expat007]

I don't know what's available in the UK, but in the US the strongest isopropyl alcohol I can find is 70%. The cheap vodka is cheaper at 79%. Everclear is 90%, but I can't find it where I live. I have found that the 79% vodka works pretty well, better than the 70% isopropyl, and without the issue of being poisonous. In fact, I often use vodka as a last step to displace the water after the denture cleaner/rinse step. It evaporates quickly and leaves no residue.

The denture cleaner tablet also has the effect of physically scouring the gunk that the alcohol has softened up. I also have a little ultrasonic jewelry cleaner on order and I expect that will work even better. A lot of times, I've found that just the alcohol/denture cleaner treatment is enough and I don't even need to dry burn or poke or prod unless I'm using the dry burn just to dry out the wick quickly.

If you can find 90%+ grain alcohol, you might want to try that. If not, denatured alcohol is no more poisonous than isopropyl, but it's a lot more powerful. I definitely recommend the denture cleaning tablets though. If you get the unflavored "smokers" variety, they don't leave any lingering taste and they definitely make all the difference.

 

[bravo95]

I use vodka and everclear to clean mine out. You guys have some great suggestions with cleaning the gunk off the coil. I usually use a syringe with a tip that holds the atty. Then flush it out several times then let it dry. Thanks all! I will try your ideas for the stubborn gunk