I'm sick of atomisers already!

[Credo]

The 901 T atty should last longer than this.

The wick in the center is probably getting gummed up.
I've never owned any of these, but of they're like the eGo T was for me....they can take alot of fiddling or adjusting the liquids themselves to get them to wick just right.

Try simple stuff first....use an ultra fine needle to gently stir the wick up a bit...that can break up any oxidation that might be preventing a good liquid flow.

If the wickplate part will come out, try adjusting/removing/adding strands of wick...and making sure it's aligned well.

A regular 901 atty should last way more than 3 days.
Check this out as well, some of it may apply to the T atties as well.

If it still fires but just produces poor/weak vapor/flavor there are a number of things that can cause this.

1. Some liquids just don't produce vapor well. If it's the same liquid from the same bottle over that 3 day period then this can ruled out. If you're swapping liquids out a lot, you may have a batch of something that just won't vape well and it could be part of the problem.

2. Over time the mesh and wicks can get gummed up. In only three day's time it usually takes little more than 'blowing hard' through both ends of the atty into a tissue or something to move the surface film/oxidation that can build up on the wicks and get it flowing again. You'll probably need to reprime the atty after blowing it out like this.

3. Some liquids use extra sweetners that can gum up an atty really quickly. If you're using liquids like this, you'll want a cleaning regiment of some sort for your atties, or possibly just debridge them (take out all the mesh and vertical wicks).

Cleaning:
Lots of ways to do this.

One of the simplest is to simply blow hard through both ends of the atty and reprime it with liquid. That usually works for me for several days.

The next simplest method is to blow it out as mentioned above, and vape a ml or two of a very clean/pure all PG liquid through the atty. Flavorless, or something sure not to have any added sweetners is good. I personally like to vape a high acid cinnamon flavor (no sweetners or other flavorings) PG base liquid though mine to get it flowing again.

Browse the forum here for other more drastic cleaning methods.

Simply running water through it works for many people. Just be aware that vaped water can taste awfuly bad...so distilled water or pure grain alcohol (everclear/vodka) is recommended over tap water. Let it dry good....or be prepared for quite a few off tasting hits.

Others soak them in various concoctions from white vinager to cinnamon extract, to Cocacola. Mileage varies there.

If you have an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner...drop them in that with distilled water or PGA for a couple of cycles. It does help, tho' I'm not sure it's worth it to invest in a jewelry cleaner for the sole purpose of cleaning e-cig atties.

Debridging:
This may be the simplest way to avoid a bunch of regular cleaning. The bad thing about this, is you must drip smaller amounts into the atomizer more often. The good thing about it is there are no longer any wicks or mesh to get gummed up by thicker or more sticky liquids.

To debridge look around for a youtube video. It's pretty simple...scrape the mesh aside and remove it bit by bit, then carefully pull the metal bridge out. If there are any bits of wick left sticking upward gently tweeze those out. Do NOT attempt to pull the wick out that the coil is wound around...that needs to remain.

You can't use the cartridges anymore if you debridge. You'll have to 'drip' instead. Either use a drip tip, or pull the stuffing out of a 901 cart.

I personally like the 901 better with the bridge in, but if you have a liquid that's only getting 3 days out of an atty before gumming it up beyond enjoyment...maybe debridging is a worthy option?

 

[Charlz]

hehehe. Can be a bit frustrating waiting for the OP to come back and answer questions. Nice that you took charge. Hopefully he'll read before trotting off to buy new hardware.

 

[sachavaca]

I gave up on attys and never could stand cardboard taste of cartomizers so made the switch to rebuildable attys and genesis mods. never going back

 

[mrrunon]

my situation is peculiar... i really hate cartomizers. i have experienced so many problems with them that i'm about to give up on e-cigs in general (well, after a try a few more alternative methods).

with my cartos, 1) the juice burns through some of the material, which gives me a bad taste... i usually see darkish liquids come out the bottom end (only on particular juices though) and muted flavor... the hits are also very weak. i've tried multiple juices from multiple vendors, and the problem is still the same. are there any other cartos that work well that i should try?

 

[DaveP]

Boge 2.0 are my goto cartos. I also like the Smoketech 1.6 ohm dual coils.

The key to great service and flavor from a carto is to thoroughly wet the filler on the first fill. The best and easiest way to do this and ensure that the filler is saturated is the condom method, IMO. After the first fill, you can pop off the mouthpiece or drip tip and add a couple of drops when the filler turns white at the top. I use a drip tip, which is easy to pop off. If the filler is still gray, it's good. If it's white, add a few drops slowly and watch it soak in. I use 100% PG juices and get 5 to 7 days out of a carto. Thick or very dark juices don't fair well in a carto. I use a 306 dripper atty for those.

 

[Charlz]

my situation is peculiar... i really hate cartomizers. i have experienced so many problems with them that i'm about to give up on e-cigs in general (well, after a try a few more alternative methods).

with my cartos, 1) the juice burns through some of the material, which gives me a bad taste... i usually see darkish liquids come out the bottom end (only on particular juices though) and muted flavor... the hits are also very weak. i've tried multiple juices from multiple vendors, and the problem is still the same. are there any other cartos that work well that i should try?

If you have issues with dry burning these things. Try a horizontal coil. You get better flavor due to a widened center airflow tube and gravity keeps the coil more moist. Lots of choices for 808s and I think Boge makes a 510 horizontal. They can be trickier to fill the first time because the coil at the bottom means more juice and time is needed to settle on it.

 

[oojimmyflip]

I dont know if this will help but I saw someone cleanning attys on you tube using the steam outlet nozzel on a coffee maker, then she dried them out overnight before reusing them apparently this works really well.

 

[mgordon1100]

DaveP, is that five to seven days on a carto before you throw it out? I mean, it must be. Right? I couldn't imagine that you would go five to seven days before you need to refill it. You should be refilling it every day. Right? I need details when someone gives information about time. I'm thinking about buying cheap Boge 2 cartos, to give them a try. I can go at least a month, dripping on my regular 510 atty. OK, so the thing cost me 4 to 5 bucks. But you sound like your talking about 8 to 10 bucks for carto usage in a month. A little clarification for me, please.

 

[Lacedolphin]

I use 3.2 omh boge at 6v ( I like a hot vape) and they last usually a week before the coil goes out. I usually buy 2 boxes of 5 and that gets me through a month with extras.

 

[n9emz]

Last week I purchased a backup VEC starter kit and had my first bad experience with an atomizer. I loaded a new tank and all the juice immediately started leaking into the atomizer body; oh, well....bad tank, right? Cleaned it up and loaded another new tank....same dealio. The new atomizer was punching the seal completely out of the tanks and leaving a big, ragged hole; whereas, my old atomizers left the seal intact and functional. I'll be visiting the store and exchanging it tomorrow.

Otherwise, I've been using the same 510 (Joye original and Boge backup) attys for over a month with no failures. I initially soaked them in isopropyl alcohol every other day or so, but switched to ABC 153 grain (can't legally get 99% in FL) a couple of weeks ago. I cleaned them and stuck them in storage early last week after switching to 510 and VEC tanks. Just got tired of having to top off cartridges after 6-8 puffs but they're still my faves for backup and short trips away from home.

Tanks were initially a PITA because of occasional leakage. I learned something about them....don't twist them in the atty and carefully plug them back in orienting them the same way they were unplugged when refilling them. The VECs normally get messy enough that I prefer to blow them out and soak them daily....they consistently vape great that way. I clean the 510 tank attys every other day whether they appear to need it or not.

EDIT: All my 510 attys have seen over a month of usage with no problems. Only been using the VECs 3 weeks tomorrow....original two attys are blowing huge clouds and doing great.