IGO-L: rusting?

[jmkiang]

I purchased an IGO-L and it arrived yesterday. I wrap my first coil using 3 loops of 2mm silica and 3 wraps of 32g Kanthal. Measured on a DMM at 1.6 ohms.

First time dripping so it was pretty fantastic.

Decided to rinse the wick and soak it in water for a little bit to get some of the previous flavors out of there. Accidentally left it in there over night. You'd think stainless steel would be fine in water. Wrong.

I woke up this morning and there were rust colored "stuff" surrounding the two posts and a little on the base. I rinsed it under warm water and the rust colored "stuff" came right off but it left a big stain on my wick. Needless to say, I will be rebuilding a new wick tonight.

Anyone else experience similar issues with their IGO-L's??

Also, what's a better way to cleanse the wick of previous flavors?

 

[Racehorse]

Are you sure it was rust and not just vaporized juice gunk that your first water bath didn't remove?

 

[classwife]

Moved to Rebuildable Atomizer Systems from Atomizer reviews

 

[jmkiang]

Are you sure it was rust and not just vaporized juice gunk that your first water bath didn't remove?

Hmmm... possibly. I wish I had taken a picture. Either way, my wick is stained so I'm going to rebuild it now. Fun fun!

Also, I was vaping mainly clear juices last night. Maybe some of the darker stuff got trapped in the threads.

 

[Thrasher]

when you vape it turns black, doesnt matter what you started with, just the way it is.
usually i rinse the wick every day and replace when the wick is getting beat up. the longer you wait to clean it the darker it will get.. usually just farks the wicking up or starts to change the taste, harmless though.

 

[gokusnimbus]

the best way to clean silica is to unmount it from the posts and torch all of it till it turns back to white. brand new again!

 

[UncleChuck]

Just a helpful hint:

If you want to clean nasty wicks, just remove the wick + coil from the posts, and torch it. It will turn back into a bright white brand new wick. No need for water or anything else.

I'm still concerned if it really is rust though. Are the posts chrome plated brass? I'm thinking it's possible that the plating is worn off inside the threads, and it's not rust but brass oxidation that stained your wick. No idea if this would even happen in this scenario, but it makes more sense than SS rusting in water after a night. I've got several devices with the plated brass posts and never had any such issues.

EDIT: Looks like I was late suggesting the torch clean method

 

[gotalotgoingon]

Where did your Igo from?

 

[Randy C]

I actually had an RBA turn to rust soaking in isopropyl alcohol overnight. I had no idea that isopropyl alcohol contained water... go figure??? Anyway, The RBA that rusted on me was a stainless steel A-7. I ended up tossing mine; I didn't feel it was worth trying to clean up. Since then, no more soaks for me- stainless steel or not