(HELP) Two Questions (Atomizer and Throat Hit)

[Keita]

Hi everyone. got my E-cig this morning and now its past midnight.

Anyways a question about cleaning Atomizers (i use) and Cartomizers (my brother uses).

How do you clean them?

My brother didn't do anything to his cartomizer tonight because he isn't sure how to clean it.

I on the other hand took my Atomizer, blew (not too hard) out the E-juice from the cartridge side and am now currently letting it dry battery side up on a paper towel.

Is this good enough to clean it? I know they say not to let the atomizer get dry (but i asked in the chat and they said its fine, as long as you are not smoking it dry). I play to add 2 drops in the morning to get it wet again then about 2 more drops to being my vaping (i use a drip tip).

The last question is about the throat hit.

We are smoking 100%VG 18mg juice from Freedomsmokeusa and we are still getting a throat hit even though we were told we would not get a throat hit from 100%VG.

This isn't too much of a problem except for my brother he says it "burns" and is a little unconforable. I can sometimes feel this sometimes too (i personally think when this happens we are inhaling too much vaper or for too long). Is this common? I heard there are some weird things that will happen if you switch from analogs to e-cigs. Will this go away in time? Any tips on this?

Thanks everyone!

 

[jj2]

Here's a link to links that cover should you? and how.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=458

I'm assuming you JUST switched so I'd say you will adjust to the TH. If not, try adjusting your nicotine level, or try different liquids cause it could be flavoring or a variety of things.

 

[Keita]

any tips for cleaning or taking care of a cartomizer? that link only provides atomizers.

 

[xg4bx]

Blowing out the atty is a perfectly fine way to clean it, that's all I do and it's still going strong 2 weeks later.


I'm vaping 100% PG and the only juices I really get a mild burning sensation from are the higher nicotine juices (24mg+). My 16/18mg juices are smooth and have no discomfort.

 

[Keita]

I thought blowing out the atty would be fine, but i keep hearing about "run it under hot water" or "soak it in isopropyl alcohol" or "dry burn it". I'm just trying to find a way to keep my atty lasting as long as it can without having a chance of destroying it by doing something stupid.

Also anyone know about cleaning cartomizers.

My brother also mentioned that the Mango flavor is not as harsh as the Cherry. I noticed my Blk Cherry is a bit harsher compared to the pre-filled carts that i received with my Ego today.

I heard E-cigs are harsher on the throat then regular cigs so this might be why also, it might just take a few days to get used to it.

I also heard VG juice can cause dehydration? Is that true? I thought that was only PG?

 

[Keita]

I am going to sleep so i wont be able to respond until tomorrow morning or afternoon (depending on when i wake up haha)

Please leave posts and i will get back to them as soon as possible.

Much appreciated!

 

[D4rk50ul]

I think any vaping causes dehydration at first, it takes your body a while to adapt.

The only time I get burning or uncomfortable throat hit is when my atty is too dry. Sometimes carts don't wick fast enough to keep up with your vaping habits, usually if I take a second hit immediately after the burning one it tastes like metal. You may try keeping your cart topped off and possibly using a mod (Blue Foam, Pyramid Tea Bag, Fluval, etc) for your cartridges. Also, did you blow out the primer that came in your atomizer? That stuff burned like crazy and tastes like gasoline.

 

[Java_Az]

As far as atomizer cleaning goes , i would have to say dont fix it unless it is broken. In my two months of vaping cleaning my atties has done nothing but kill them. But my performance was going way down after a day or two. So i pretty much had to clean them. Pretty sure at this point it was the cheap juice i was getting. I switched to FreedomSmokeUSA juice this last weekend with brand new atomizers and the black gunk i was getting is not building up like it was before. I would say my atomizer is preforming as good as it was from day one. But it is performing better. I think you will find that in the next day or so that harsh taste will be gone. i think thats what you might be thinking is a throat hit and really it is that wick inside close to the coil making it harsh. There is one sure fire way to find out. If you get that harsh taste put one but no more then two drops of juice directly on the bridge of the atomizer. Put your cart back on and try it again. If that harshness is gone it is just your atty is on the dry side. New atomizers tend to be really hungry for juice. Once you break them in they tend to not require as much. A lot of posts from other people say it takes them anywhere from 3 to 5 days after cleaning to get a atomizer back to tasting and performing right. But since i am a heavy user it took me about a day and a half. So your going to see a difference as the days go on. If i am switching juices to one i know is not going to mix with what i have in my atomizer i will blow threw the threaded end of the atty into a paper towel. I dont really do that to clean it but more to get the taste out of it. There is only one way that Companies that sell them recommend to clean a atomizer , at least that i have read so far. That is soak them in alcohol. Then let dry But no sooner then once every two weeks. Personally i wouldnt do it unless the vape is tasting bad. After two weeks of different flavors you might find the atty tasting a bit weird. I dont recommend putting regular tap water threw a atty. Because it is conductive. Distilled Water is non conductive so if you really want to rinse the alcohol out of a atty after you clean it then i would use that. You still want to let it dry completely because if it pick up any impurity's it will become conductive. Basically why regular water conducts is the extra stuff in it.

 

[Bozzlite]

Keita, are you inhaling directly into your lungs? That would cause a very strong TH I think. The recommended method is to draw slowly for 4 to 5 seconds filling your mouth with vapor, then inhale.

Just a thought.

I don't use cartomizers, but I would probably clean them this way:

Blow out the excess juice.
Soak the carto for 5 minues in IPA or Everclear or strong Vodka.
Blow out the carto again
Rinse thoroughly with hot water from the tap
Blow out excess water
Let dry for 24 hours
Refill with e-juice and vape away

 

[Col. Gaunt]

Regarding cartomizer cleaning, most of the threads that I have read about people who have tried to wash them out say that after that they taste like "Wet dog"

Many people still swear that boiling works, check out this vid

YouTube - Cleaning a cartomizer by boiling

 

[KEITH97M3]

Keita,
If you have an espresso machine or a shark steamer, you can use steam to clean out the atties but for the cartomizers, I would just use them till they die. Use a silicone glove to hold the atty while steaming so you don't get burned. After steaming you can either air dry for a day or so or you can use a can of compressed air.

For cleaning cartomizers I already tried boiling, boiling with baking soda, ultrasonic jewelry cleaner and alcohol soak. None of these methods worked very well because the filler would almost always retain the previous flavor. In the end I figured out that the cost of the cartomizers wasn't worth the time and effort to try and clean them out since they are cheap, can be used for over a week and don't have a problem with clogging.

Hope that gives you some new ideas and can help you out a little.
Aloha, Keith

 

[Col. Gaunt]

You might want to try the new version 2 cartomizers, they contain no filler therefore do not retain flavor like filler does.

They are a bit more work to use but I have had mine for a while and they have basically worked out well for me.

You can purchase them at cloudsofvapor.com

 

[Keita]

To J808, yes i made sure to blow out the primer before i started using the atomizer.

I was told to inhale directly into the lungs but i stopped doing that mid way yesterday because i noticed my throat hurting. I now hit it for about 3 seconds lightly in my mouth/throat then inhale and i noticed it is much better. My brother inhales for like 5-6 seconds into his lungs... I shall correct him and see if that helps him.

I also doubt it was a dry atty because i drip and it even effected me right when i got the atty wet and let it sit for a min or two. This morning i noticed the throat pain is less severe, so i think im just getting used to it. It might have to be the fact that i smoked menthol analogs before so im not used to the harshness of the throat hit.

It has been 1 and a half days since i smoked a analog, i still have 1 last pack of smokes.... No urge to even open it (i was going to give it too a friend, but everyone i know smokes lights or ultra lights, not full mentals/smooths 100's)