Mini Pipe atomizer review....the results are in!

[ZambucaLu]

I am still using the 2 white ats I started with last week and as long as I keep them "juiced" right, I haven't had a problem....and they were used to begin with. I think a lot of it has to do with having the right atomizer, whichever one that may be. Using the wrong one not only gives a poor hit, but draws too much off the batt.

I still haven't retried the original ats....maybe tomorrow. The one barely worked at all so I don't think it will hurt to experiment with that a little. The other one worked so-so, but not as good as the white and silver ones. I really want to use the ats that came with it so I hope I can get them working.

As far as the batts, well, I do have 4, with 2 chargers. And I use 2 pipes during the day so that may account for why I'm not having a problem with them.

I learned early on that if you like something, get 2 of them....if for nothing else but peace of mind. It's worth it!

Lu

 

[ZambucaLu]

Magnus ...you are quite right that it is the build up of residue on the coil that reduces the performance.....terraphons Idea for using coca-cola seems to be the best cleaner so far.....but for me no cleaning method has brought an atomizer back to working like new........and I would sooner buy a new atomizer every week than keep on messing about all the time 'trying' to make one work like new.

I think you're right Pete....no method nor amount of cleaning is going to make an at like new. People say they are like new because by the time they clean them, their performance has so diminished, that any "step up" would make it seem like new. A cleaned at is useable....but will still pale in comparison to a new one. So "working like new" is an overstatement, definitely overused on this forum. "Working better" (than it had been) is definitely more accurate....and the best you can hope for.

There is nothing like a brand new, working at....but people forget what that is like because they recycle the ones they have so much.

Lu

 

[Silver]

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know, I found out today that David Yang is now also offering the Mini Pipe on his website !

Prices are:

Starter kit (Black or White): US$60
Spare atomizer (Black or White): US$8
Spare battery: US$6

His worldwide flatrate shipping costs are US$15.

Happy shopping !

Cheers,
Silver

 

[ZambucaLu]

Hey thanks Silver! That's good to know!

Lu

 

[Silver]

Hey thanks Silver! That's good to know!

Lu

You're welcome Lu, thought it might be useful ...

Cheers,
Silver

 

[EDO]

I have noticed that as the amount of vapour the atomizer produces ...reduces ......I tend to make up for it by taking longer draws or even by taking warm up puffs, before taking a draw.....this in turn drains the batteries in no time at all......use a new atomizer and the batteries last for ages again.

I am thinking if I want 'as new' performance all the time I should budget for a new atomizer every week! but I am also thinking that would be worth it because the 'as new' performance of the Mini pipe seems to me to be as good as vaping can possibly get.

SurbitonPete I think your right in regards to me just puffing the battery life away. I ordered the silver atomizers from Bestecig...hopefully that will make my lady pipe perform like new. If it does, than it would be worth it to change the atomizer every week,....since like you said Mini pipe seems to be as good as vaping can possibly get.

 

[surbitonPete]

SurbitonPete I think your right in regards to me just puffing the battery life away. I ordered the silver atomizers from Bestecig...hopefully that will make my lady pipe perform like new. If it does, than it would be worth it to change the atomizer every week,....since like you said Mini pipe seems to be as good as vaping can possibly get.

Yes Edo it vapes like a steam train and the batteries last a long time while the atomizer is still good.........and that consistency is worth it.

 

[EDO]

God i just spent way too much money at david yangs place...I bought a new unit, 5 atomizers, 4batteries, e liquid....god I better get a hold of myself.LOL
One thing I noticed with my pilot was that when I would rotate my atomizers...let them drain battery side up for a few days...it would greatly increase their life. I have been smoking my analogs for the last couple of days...... so I let my pipe atomizer drain for about 36hrs...I noticed today that it is vaping almost like new....the throat hit is immense. I also cleaned the connections and let the batter drain as well. What is every ones experience with rotating atomizers?

 

[ZambucaLu]

That's right SambucaLu, you want to try to lift the central pole with the hole in it up and out of the atomizer a mm or so by using the straightened paperclip to lever one side and then the other.

You should be able to see the little round rubber joint underneath and, as Yvilla says, you dont want to lift it too far in case it pops out altogether. This has not happened to me yet since only a little movement was necessary to get my ats working.

It's kind of the same idea as levering the top off a bottle of beer.

Thanks Magnus, this worked! My white ats were getting "dull", so I tried this with the origianl ats and I can say the ats work BUT it seems I have to draw a little harder to get the same hit I got with the white ones. But at least I'm getting a hit with them now, which I wasn't before. Great tip!

When it's good though....it is great!

Lu

 

[ZambucaLu]

God i just spent way too much money at david yangs place...I bought a new unit, 5 atomizers, 4batteries, e liquid....god I better get a hold of myself.LOL
One thing I noticed with my pilot was that when I would rotate my atomizers...let them drain battery side up for a few days...it would greatly increase their life. I have been smoking my analogs for the last couple of days...... so I let my pipe atomizer drain for about 36hrs...I noticed today that it is vaping almost like new....the throat hit is immense. I also cleaned the connections and let the batter drain as well. What is every ones experience with rotating atomizers?

Since I first started vaping, I have carried 8 various pen styles around with me every day. I never touched an at til it started losing performance. First, I would try blowing it out and if it wasn't better, then I took it off and cleaned it. I never took them off until that time. My ats will last anywhere from 1-2 weeks like this (depending on the at....some are just better than others). When I clean them, I just pop on a new/clean one, and the cycle repeats.

Since November, I have had 2 ats die....and now I'm not even sure they were really dead because that was at the beginning and I tossed them when I couldn't get anything out of them. With further care, I might have been able to revive them....but I'll never know now.

I attribute this longevity to 2 things: one, the rotation. I tend to think that vaping heavily on the same atomizer day after day kills it faster; and two, the fact that I am not constantly screwing and unscrewing them. Personally (and this is only my personal conclusion), I think all that wears at the connectors...negatively effecting both the batt and the atomizer.

I used those white ats on my pens all week. Now I see they were failing so I took them off to clean. Put the 2 original ones on and will leave on til they start failing too.....blow them out...see what they do. I'll let you know how long it takes til I feel I have to clean them.

Again, this is only my procedure. I'm really not advocating it for anyone else....but just saying it works for me.

Lu

 

[Magnus]

Glad the atomizer trick worked for you SambucaLu, I think all pen-styles should work with a bit of tweaking.

Well, after blasting the near-dead original atomizer with caustic-soda for four hours and then a serious rinse, I am pretty sure it is now performing 'like new' again. I know this is a phrase which is used way too frequently, but I mean it in the sense that I have tested it with the same juice next to a spare original at for the mini-pipe which is just broken in and they produce exactly the same vapour. This morning it really was on it's last legs...

I am pretty sure that cleaning can restore original performance but, as we have all noted, performance seems to vary enormously between different ats and the originals are not necessarily the best for everyone. I just don't like the idea of chucking away an at every week. One of the reasons I also like vaping as opposed to smoking is the reduced amount of consumables and garbage produced. Also the reason why I almost always drip smoke and try to avoid chucking out too many carts. Reduce, reuse, recycle peeps!

Having said that, the performance seems to depend largely on the juice I am using too, and I would be very interested to hear which liquids are producing the most vapour for everyone. Particularly if it is also a clean liquid which is not leaving residue on the ats...
All my juices produce good vapour if you don't inhale and just puff like a real pipe, but only some seem to give good vapour on the exhale as well. Maybe a topic for a new thread.

When it comes to battery life, I have not noticed any drop in performance of the batteries themselves, and I charge and discharge both twice a day at the moment with all the testing ats! However, as Pete says, a clogged at means I am puffing double for the same vapour so the effective battery time is halved. I have also rigged up a dodgy looking usb power set-up (very easy to do) which I have been using to ensure that the relative performace of the ats during testing is not affected by battery life. I know I could easily pick up a pen-style pass-through battery but I really enjoy vaping the pipe, and I am so happy with the usb power performance that I am considering drilling a little hole through the under-side of the bowl to make a permanent usb mini-pipe to use with a monster battery pack!

Anyhow, I have a new pipe at home which I have not touched yet, complete with spare at, and some new juice on the way, and once it arrives I am not going to mess with it quite so much and see how it gets on! It is still such a pleasure to vape, and definitely my favourite device so far.

PS. Did I use the word 'performance' enough times in this post?!

 

[Vince1]

Try a little Vegetable Glycerin in your juice. I do this and it almost doubles the amount of vapor. I find that 15-20 drops in 10ml perks it up quite a bit and doesn't cut the nicotine content enough to worry about.
Since I use 24mg, I'm getting 36mg and cutting it down to about 24mg with the VG. Clouds of vapor and it adds a sweet taste.
Bestecig juice makes good vapor, it's kind of thick like the VG.
Puresmoker is great too. Janty has good flavors and throat hit, but less vapor.

 

[Magnus]

Thanks for the tip for the juices Vince. I've got Janty, Johnsons Creek and e-cig UK juices in various flavours. Some are very good, but there even seem to be huge differences between the vapour produced by different flavours of the same brand. I should be getting some TW Virginia in the mail tomorrow though and I have high hopes...

I think I will definitely try the VG though. Heard lots of people say the same and I quite like a sweet flavoured vapour.

I just love it when there are great clouds of smoke to sit back and watch curl away lazily while I vape!

 

[EDO]

I have only tried JC and the Pure so far. I prefer the Pure eliquid way more than the Johnson's Creek. A lot more vapor and throat hit as well. With the Pure liquid...I don't think anything else is needed...it vapors really well. It is quite a bit more thicker than the JC juices. I don't think I will buy any JC products again since the taste is way too subtle for me and little to no throat hit. If you buy the JC products and you like it...make sure not to drip...since they are very runny you will kill your battery.

Just too add to the discussion of the atomizers...the Coca Cola trick really seems to have resurrected my atomizer. At first it seemed like nothing great happened but after letting the atomizer drain for 36hrs ....man this thing is truly like brand new...throat hit is immense and the vapor production is great as well. I can't believe it.

 

[VapeAllDay]

Little off topic. I was going to stock up on some mini-pipe batteries and atomizers, and then this occurred to me. What if the piece on top of the bowl that secures the battery is lost or is broken. Then I am screwed! Has anyone found a place to order these or thought of an idea how to fix it with something else if this was to happen?

Thanks!

 

[BeRight]

I have both the mini pipe an an NJOY NGAR (e-cigar). The pipe is good but my cigar is better to me. Using same juice and fresh batteries in each the cigar is a better hit and thicker vapors. Maybe because the atm is buried deeper in a larger area, mouthpiece is larger and the cartridge is larger on the cigar as well.

I alternate between the two and consider them both keepers. Cigar mostly at home and the pipe when I am out and about.

 

[surbitonPete]

It's funny I have just been reading my original thoughts on the mini pipe atomizer...I had a great start for the first week or so then things all went downhill from there and I think things only got worse when I switched to the recommended janty juice. I have been lucky to get three 'good' vaping days out of an atomizer. I have now 'almost' given up with the pipe because of the atomizers and am trying out RN 4072 atomizers with the mods I have made.

 

[ZambucaLu]

It's really too bad you had such bad luck with yours Pete

I still use 4 a day, all day and I love them. And now my 801LV for when I need the power hit. These are all I carry with me now.

Keep up with your other experiments though....I'm sure something will come of it!

Lu

 

[surbitonPete]

It's really too bad you had such bad luck with yours Pete

I still use 4 a day, all day and I love them. And now my 801LV for when I need the power hit. These are all I carry with me now.

Keep up with your other experiments though....I'm sure something will come of it!

Lu

Hi lu I am on my last two mini pipe atomizers out of sixteen!!.....they have revived a bit from a few days soaking in coca cola and now I am testing out this new ecopure juice with the RN 4072's in my mods and with the pipe. I am also experimenting with a little bit of vodka added to some juice which seems to have made the pipe vape almost like it has got a new atomizer and it also seems to be wicking better than usual at the moment.

 

[ed_bollix]

I'm still using the original atomizer that came in the box I received about April 7th. I opened the pipe, charged it up and have had zero problems at all... It works like a charm and to quote Scott, "produces vapor like a burning tire." I still have a few in the boxes and extra parts... I guess I'm good for life