How do you clean and maintain an Atty?

[newb]

I started off with a KR808D-1 which is a 2 pc e-cig.

As I learned more about e-cigs, I decided to get an adapter and use an atty for dripping as the 901 atty which is compatable seems to leak on people.

With the 510 atty, I noticed I cant use more than 1 flavor for each. Example, I dripped menthol and vaped it out. I tried blowing it out before adding a Red Bull flavor and still tasted the mint / menthol.

Is there a way to get rid of a previously used flavor? Even if there isnt, what is a good way to clean an atty without screwing something up?

 

[jdg]

I just vape the menthol out by vaping the other flavor until the menthol is gone.

 

[aschmidy]

That's what I do too, jdg

 

[Seabrook]

There are several methods people use to clean their attys out. Some an overnight coke bath, some by pouring boiling water over them and letting them sit, some purchase the ice machine cleaner (the name of it escapes me right now), But a lot of people don't believe cleaning them out w/solution is a good call. I just blow mine out about a couple of times a day. Some of the DIYers thin their 'too-gooey' liquids out with Everclear 151. If I were to clean mine out w/a solution, it would be the Everclear. I'm certainly no pro, though, so you might want to post this same question in the DIY liquid section of ECF. They are a really a fun and entertaining group and, man o man, they've tried everything. I love to read their posts -- super entertainment.

 

[AlexTM]

Actually, the only time I use anything but hot tap water is when I have to get rid of terribly clingy flavours. (Menthol is one of them, though. Clove is another. Some Coffees, too.)

I usually only blow out my atties. After weeks of use, when I feel they weaken somewhat, they get a shower or a bath in hot tap water. Then I blow them out, let them dry a bit, and they are good to go. Only when it's nearly dying, I do a dry burn, but that is the ultimate last resort.

And when I have a clingy flavour, I simply drop alcohol into the atty, let it sit for a bit, then it gets a hot water bath, and that's it. (Although I did have to repeat that once - in an atty I used for clove where somebody else had then poured coffee espesso into it, too. Don't ask how it tasted … or smelled …)

Overcleaning can kill atties.

 

[emus]

About once a month I:

Soak in mouth wash.
Rinse w/ distilled H2O.
Few drops PGA.
Suck dry w/ small shop vac or blow out w/ mouth.
Clean threads w/ Q-tip, cloth and tooth pick.
Prime w/ PGA.

 

[Whistle_Pig]

There are many methods. People claim various benefits and / or drawbacks to most of them. There's at least one very long discussion with nearly everything I've heard of in it, but I did a quick search just now looking for it, and found yet another method -- using hydrogen peroxide.

Might be TMI, but here's a forum search that brings up several threads.

Cleaning your atty with polident.

I had thought the big 'how to clean your atty' thread was stickied in GD, but I'm not seeing it. But then, I've had only 1 cup of coffee so far this AM.

 

[gerry81611]

menthol seems to stick around for a long time.. that and white chocolate take a while to get out.. with other flavors i just stick some paper towel in the atomizer and blow it out and i'm good to go.

 

[Seabrook]

Actually, the only time I use anything but hot tap water is when I have to get rid of terribly clingy flavours. (Menthol is one of them, though. Clove is another. Some Coffees, too.)

I usually only blow out my atties. After weeks of use, when I feel they weaken somewhat, they get a shower or a bath in hot tap water. Then I blow them out, let them dry a bit, and they are good to go. Only when it's nearly dying, I do a dry burn, but that is the ultimate last resort.

And when I have a clingy flavour, I simply drop alcohol into the atty, let it sit for a bit, then it gets a hot water bath, and that's it. (Although I did have to repeat that once - in an atty I used for clove where somebody else had then poured coffee espesso into it, too. Don't ask how it tasted … or smelled …)

Overcleaning can kill atties.

What kind of alcohol AlexTM, Everclear or rubbing alcohol? I'm too shy to buy Everclear in front of anyone, LOL, so I thought I'd go in at the break of dawn when the liquor store opens. But I guess rubbing alcohol might work

 

[AlexTM]

Plain Vodka, or, if I know they get a very long bath afterwards, isoprop, because it's cheaper. There's some discussion about whether one should use it, but I find it evaporates completely anyway.

OTOH, why a problem buying everclear? Just tell everybody around it's for cleaning, which is what it is

 

[Whistle_Pig]

What kind of alcohol AlexTM, Everclear or rubbing alcohol?

"Rubbing" alcohol could be denatured ethanol, and you don't want that, due to the denaturing agents being who knows what, but specifically intended to make it unfit for consumption.

Just use isopropyl. It's cheap.

 

[Thyestean]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html

 

[geeker]

Just a caution for newbies:

Isopropanol is not for consumption.
Neither is methanol.
Neither is any sort of denatured ethanol.

Do not use isopropanol "rubbing alcohol" in any DIY mixes: ONLY use undenatured ethanol. The only place most people can procure this is a liquor store.

If you use isopropanol to clean, make sure to rinse well.

 

[Papagoatee]

I just leave it upside down with a stuffed tissue. Blow on it once in a while. Been working great.

 

[Kurt]

I used to use vodka for cleaning 510 attys, but found they tended to die faster if I did. Worked great for cleaning, but it seems alcohol of any kind, PGA or IPA included, tends to dissolve adhesives in the atty over time. YMMV, but that is what I read, and they did tend to die faster than they should. Could be chance though...510 attys are not known for their consistent lifetimes.

For a long time I've been using Crest Health Pro, a no-alc mouthwash, with pretty good results. Soak for 10 min, then flush vigorously with hot water, let dry completely, dry burn out the residual water and to check if working properly, and enjoy.

I started a polydent soak for some persistently sluggish attys last night. I will report the results when they come in.

As for mint oil lingering, some people use a dedicated cart/atty for mints and menthol. Hot water will get those oils out, but it must be vigorous.

I clean attys maybe once every two weeks, or less. Most of the time, at the end of the day, while the atty is still wet from the cart-juice I do the following:

!. Take off the filled cart and put an empty one on.
2. Vape from that until I start to get The Taste.
3. Take several really hard mouth hits but don't inhale.
4. Take the atty off and do more hard mouth-pulls from the cart end.
5. Put the atty cart-end down on a paper towel.
6. Say good night.

The heat and hard pulls will better unclog an atty than blowing through it while it is cold. My last atty lasted 4 months of nonstop use using this method, with occasional CHP washes.

But I am looking to get Shortstuff's 5 months of use.

 

[fairweasel2323]

dont clean ur attys it kills them quicker! just simply use ur mouth and blow the juice out from time to time! Its a proven fact ask some of the veterans!

 

[fairweasel2323]

DoctorVapor
Re: cleaning attys
Here is my method of cleaning attys. I don't. I've found that cleaning them causes them to die a lot quicker. I just use them till they break, and when I change flavors, I simply vape through the old flavor till the new one becomes dominant.
Sent to: fairweasel2323

 

[fairweasel2323]

DoctorVapor
Re: cleaning attys
yep, it's fine to blow the juice out. That won't hurt anything.
Sent to: fairweasel2323

 

[emus]

I can go a few weeks between cleanings w/ unflavored juice.
When I use the dark stuff I have to clean atty often.

When I feel like I'm sucking on a milk shake or not getting clouds then I clean.

 

[fairweasel2323]

when mine feels like sucking on milkshake just blow atty out with mouth hits good as new!