Lesson learned

[Kissowa]

Yesterday I cleaned out two of my three atomizers. My first time cleaning them. The instructions said they needed to dry for at least 24 hours, so that's what I let them do. Then I cleaned the third one, before checking if the first two was dry. Yeah, they weren't. GAH!

So here I was with three wet atomizers. I took an analog. I've only been at vaping for two days, but already that smoke felt insufficient. It doesn't last as long!

Anyway, lesson learned. Check if they're dry before cleaning the final one.

What rookie mistakes did you do?

 

[Maximillian]

Heyas Kissowa,

lol. So far, worst thing I did was singe my first carto. Read again and again not to let them get dry, then the first time I used one, forgot about that and decided to vape 'till it wouldn't go any more. Refilled it with the same juice, and YUCK! At least it only cost me a buck


Happy vaping,
Maximillian the Vaguely Disreputable

 

[440BB]

Running my carto dry until it had a burning taste was my early mistake, and I made it a few times before I learned to top it off regularly!

I've got an idea for you on drying - place it battery side down on top of an incandescent light bulb and it'll be dry in 15 minutes! Works great for cartomizers and attys.

 

[Warlordxxx]

Blew a juice clogged atty out without completely covering the bottom with tissue - nic bounceback in your eye hurts!

 

[VTAK8K]

The first time I tried cleaning the atty on my eGo T, i ripped the coil out and broke it. The second time I tried cleaning one out, the same thing happened. I still don't understand what happened. When I pulled the wick plate out, the wick was somehow stuck to the coil, ripping it out. Now I can make a dirty eGo T atty perform like new again, lesson learned I guess.

 

[Della Cirque]

I have learned to be a little more careful with the juice. I had juice everywhere for a few days, on my clothes, hands, in my eyes...under my contacts, and a spill or too.
I have also decided to leave making tanks to the more mechanically inclined. (after ruining a few cartos and spilling a couple tanks of liquid.)

 

[Stosh]

I'm guilty of all the errors mentioned so far, spilling, breaking, burning, and generally
causing major mayhem with my vaping gear...

Most of my spending early on was replacing wrecked attys, cartos, chargers,(stepped on one)
but slowly learned my lessons... Guess it's a right of passage??

Congrats to all for quitting and vape on!!!!

 

[Kissowa]

Blew a juice clogged atty out without completely covering the bottom with tissue - nic bounceback in your eye hurts!

Hahaha, sorry that made spit out my soup on the keyboard.

 

[Warlordxxx]

Hahaha, sorry that made spit out my soup on the keyboard.

That's ok i nearly had coffee come out of my nose when my vaping buddy told me he did the same thing

 

[carpedebass]

When I used to clean attys, I would just lay them on their side on a paper towel in front of the exhaust port on my laptop. Dried 'em out overnight with no issues at all.

 

[Murdock Ruml]

My question is, why were you cleaning 2 day old attys? They were probably not even completely broken in. Usually I do not even think about soaking attys until they hit their month mark. Just give it a blow every night to get extra gunked up juice out, then drip a couple drops then you are ready for the next day of vaping.

 

[laurel099]

Hmm.. Honestly you don't actually have to let atomizers dry if you clean them with Everclear or vodka. You can blow out the excess alcohol, add some juice (or PG/VG mix and blow out again). You puff on them until the alcohol evaps (I don't inhale the first few puffs) and they spring back to life.

Cleaning depends on your juice and vape habits but I've had good luck with cleaning attys every 4 days or so. Once that gunk gets built up on the coil it's a bear to get off but if you clean them more often you can avoid the buildup.

Good luck

 

[Kissowa]

My question is, why were you cleaning 2 day old attys? They were probably not even completely broken in. Usually I do not even think about soaking attys until they hit there month mark. Just give it a blow every night to get extra gunked up juice out, then drip a couple drops then you are ready for the next day of vaping.

It was recommended to do so with new ones to get out that weird new atty taste. So I figured I'd try.

 

[carpedebass]

It was recommended to do so with new ones to get out that weird new atty taste. So I figured I'd try.

NAH! Just blow 'em out, then put a few drops of juice on 'em. Then vape the juice off (not inhaling), then you're good to go.

 

[everman7]

What rookie mistakes did you do?

tried to fill my clearomizer without watching a youtube video and inserted the syringe into the whole in the top and dumped 5ml through the bottom hole onto the kitchen floor...

 

[pan]

I learned early on..never clean an atty unless I have a new back up on hand...just in case. my first few months were filled with low performing atty's ..and a lot of frustration. I think I tried cleaning (rising or soaking) them too often and seemed to need a new one every week or two. Just got my new tank system..I do not plan on doing anything other than blowing it out till it stops working well. cleaning only when a new one arrives...wish me luck. I feel like a newbie all over again.

 

[Kissowa]

I learned early on..never clean an atty unless I have a new back up on hand...just in case. my first few months were filled with low performing atty's ..and a lot of frustration. I think I tried cleaning (rising or soaking) them too often and seemed to need a new one every week or two. Just got my new tank system..I do not plan on doing anything other than blowing it out till it stops working well. cleaning only when a new one arrives...wish me luck. I feel like a newbie all over again.

Good Luck! What system did you get?

 

[tj99959]

Nice thing about e-juice being water soluble. Guess what?!? Water is e-juice soluble.
Blow the water out as best you can, then blow e-juice through the atty, and it is ready to go. I have never bothered to let an atty sit for 24 hours. Cartos is a different matter.

Might come as a shock to some, but many e-juices have water listed as an ingredient.

 

[DoseyWallups]

Dumbest mistake I have made so far was while using the condom method to fill a cartomizer. It was my first time trying the condom method and so I had my face right down near the top of the cart because, in my newbness, it felt like a surgical operation. I thought if I push this down really fast, it won't have a chance to spill over the side of the condom!

Unfortunately that hole on the battery end goes all the way through and I got a nice little splash in the face hah! DER

Lesson learned!

 

[ColKurtz]

NAH! Just blow 'em out, then put a few drops of juice on 'em. Then vape the juice off (not inhaling), then you're good to go.

For me personally, I disagree. The flavor of the primer is the biggest reason I failed failed the first time around, a couple of years ago. I tried blowing it out, boiling and letting set overnight, soaking in alcohol. It still tasted nasty, I could never fully get the taste out, and couldn't stand vaping it out. The other issue was finding flavors I liked. I got a lot of dekang the first time around, and getting nasty juice taste out of an atty was worse than primer.

I suggest getting an oral syringe from your local drugstore. Fill up a cup of boiling water, place the atty in the adapter on the end, then push/pull the water back and forth for a couple of minutes to flush primer or flavors out. The one I linked above is great b/c everything I've tested -- 510/901 attys, eGo attys, boge cartos, clearos, even naked 306's fit snugly in the end.

I finally kicked cigarettes this time around by dual-coil clearomizers. But after I saw someone post a vid of this device I'm back on atomizers. At higher voltages (I got an eGo booster) I'm digging the eGo-T type B tanks because 2 tanks will last me all day and the flavor is consistent all day since there's no batting to gradually dry up.

BUT, I do let them dry thoroughly. I have enough attys/cartos that it's not a big deal. My strategy, after washing them out with the syringe method above, is "turbo-drying" by putting them in a fan. I let them sit overnight, but the attys at least (cartos might take longer to dry the batting) probably would be dry in a couple hours.