Ok, I want to post this here in order to clarify that is nearly impossible that you can damage your battery if liquid goes into it. At least it is my conclusion of what I saw.
First of all, the bronze part goes about 6 mm into the battery case. Inside the bronze part, there is a kind of plastic mic that fit very well in the bronze cavity and it is glued with a kind of rubber that not only will protect the battery from any liquid to go inside it, but also protects the wires that make the electric contact with the bronze. Then, after the mic, there is also rubber glue that seals the sides of the inner case of the battery and protects the chips that are there from leaking liquid.
So, I think it is quite difficult that you can kill the battery because a short circuit with liquid leaking into it.
Now, what maybe can happen is the liquid can leek into the Mic trough the small hole at the side of the bronze part. If that is the case, the drag will be very hard. Also, If that hole is not clean, the drag will be very hard and if it does not allow enough air flow, the battery would not work at all.
So my recommendation is to maintain that little hole as clean as possible. I use a needle to "clean" inside it, just pushing the needle into it. That will clear the air path from impurities and also the rust of the bronze. After that, I can have an easier drag since I am clearing the air path into the battery.
Now, regarding the Atty:
I have done some "resistance" test of the attys and I am convinced that they are not as delicate as everyone think they are.
I have connected a power line directly to the atty and I have go as far as 12 volts (I burned that atty, but after about 3 minutes of 12 volts constant power).
These kind of "experiments" have show me that you can not "kill" the atty if it goes dry of liquid with just the power of the battery and dragging! I have dried the atty with a 6 volts constant power supply for more that 5 minutes without a problem! and not just one time but several times.
As a mater of fact I have done that when I start to feel that I need a harder drag to keep my battery on when dragging. What I do, is to drop about 3 or 4 drops of H2O2 in the atty and then hit the atty with 6 volts (500 mA 9W) of constant power until the atty start leaking "liquid" from behind and also from the wire mesh. That liquid is darker that my original liquid (I only use MB liquid from the original prefilled carts from Smoore). I hold the power about 30 secs to 1 minute more and then clean the leaking with a paper towel. I will wait until the atty is cool again, flush it with some water, dry it with a paper towel, hit it again with 6 volts until it is dry, and then I got a the softer, cleaner, tastier drag that a e-cig can give me with huge amount of vapor
Note: for this first wonderful drags I have to drip the atty with not just 2 or 3 drops of e-liquid, I have to add a lot more, by try and error, until I got the proper drag! I think that the inner mesh inside the atty have to be wet with liquid before you can get a decent drag.
So, my point is that these little fellows are not as week as we think!
These are my experiences and I hope they help you. But, please think that since I am not an electrician, not a scientific or something like that, but have a bunch of spares at low prices (Wholesaler prices since I am a supplier in Colombia) I can afford the risk of experiments without the proper knowledge!
If you want to try my methods, it is at your own risk!
BYE and Sorry for my English!!