My first atty bit it last night

[bass_lover1]

Or at least I think it did.

This is an atty I purchased from ecigexpress.com back in November. But probably didn't start using it until around December of 09 (it was meant as a backup).

Last night I was sitting at my PC using the USB PT and all of a sudden, no vapor. It still heats up and I can hear it working when doing a dry burn, but no vape. I'm guessing that the stuffing under the bridge went missing because I get very minimal vapor when huffing on it for a long time, and the cart is barely used up.

Regardless I'd say nearly 6 months of moderate usage is pretty damn impressive for an atty to last. Just for comparison sake, I go through 30mL of e-juice in 4-5 weeks. So not as heavy as some but definitely use it often.

Got another on order, but luckily I still have an atty from when I bought the 510 back in September that's been sitting unused.

I'm just typing this to let some of you know that it is possible to get long life out of an atty if you don't abuse it.

 

[Lab]

if it still heats up it might not be fully dead.. i had 2 like that and did a dry burn until the atty got hot then put a drip of liquid on it while it was hot and it started vaping again..

 

[brandon555]

Soak it in 190 proof alcohol aka Everclear or at the very least 100 proof vodka. Chances are the coil is just caked with residue especially if you use any VG based liquids. If that don't work do a dry burn until the coil glows red hot... rinse with water, blow it out and let it dry.

 

[Lab]

i have a bunch that are on 6 months use now.. just dont over clean them..

 

[bass_lover1]

I soaked it in good vodka for about 5 minutes, I know it was good because it was from a plastic bottle...

Not much came out of the atty, compared to the one I cleaned out previously with 3 month old Dr. Pepper e-juice dried in it. Which, a lot of gunk came out of that one but it isn't tasting right just yet.

My PT has about a 10 second cutoff limit so I just did about 40 seconds of dry burning and it seems to be working a bit better. I'll do it a bit more and see how well it works. I'm not concerned about killing it since I've got an extra one here, although slightly tainted, and one on order.

 

[gashin]

Yep an alcohol dip is one of the best ways to clean an atty.

 

[Lab]

i must drink too much if i laughed at this.. I know it was good because it was from a plastic bottle

 

[Israfil]

Alcohol dip works pretty well, so does the boil technique. Either way, if it is turning red quickly but no vapor then the coil is dry for whatever reason. Could be that your cart is worn out and not wicking down right, could be that your bridge is clogged up so it isnt wicking right.

I guess no matter what it isn't wicking right...

I wonder if anyone has ever mixed the two best techniques...alcohol boil. hmmmm...this might be a fire hazard worth testing!

 

[Lab]

i had a great idea for the people that wanted to get hurt.. nuke distilled water to the point that anything added to it would cause explosive boiling.. for some strange reason no one wanted to try it..

 

[bass_lover1]

i must drink too much if i laughed at this.. I know it was good because it was from a plastic bottle

I was hoping someone would get a chuckle out of that


Anyway, I tried dry burning it until the coil was red hot, I could smell it burning off some residue. However, it still doesn't wick properly. My guess is the stuffing under the bridge has nearly vanished, because it works but just barely.

Oh well, 6+ months use out of a 7 dollar part, is pretty damn good IMO. Much better than the alternative.

 

[Israfil]

i had a great idea for the people that wanted to get hurt.. nuke distilled water to the point that anything added to it would cause explosive boiling.. for some strange reason no one wanted to try it..

Actually I did that...bout a week ago. Boiled it in the nuker, then dropped the atomizer in and watched it bubble really hard...was fun!

 

[brandon555]

I was hoping someone would get a chuckle out of that


Anyway, I tried dry burning it until the coil was red hot, I could smell it burning off some residue. However, it still doesn't wick properly. My guess is the stuffing under the bridge has nearly vanished, because it works but just barely.

Oh well, 6+ months use out of a 7 dollar part, is pretty damn good IMO. Much better than the alternative.

That's probably the case. The wick does get kinda old and brittle after a while.

However you could remove it with a toothpick and tweezers and make it a drip only atty.

I've removed the wick from a lot of my attys that I use strictly for dripping.

 

[Lab]

Actually I did that...bout a week ago. Boiled it in the nuker, then dropped the atomizer in and watched it bubble really hard...was fun!

be careful doing that.. if it gets hotter the next time the bubbles can be enough to shoot a few feet out of the water.. how well did it clean the atty.. and did it mess up the glue that holds it together?

 

[bass_lover1]

Got my shipment from ECX, and I forgot just how much vapor the 510 atty produces when it's new. Also the 905 batt on the 510 atty seems to be working pretty well, should be able to vape all day on just one charge.

 

[mianker]

I wish my atties lasted that long I am trying to extend their lifes but I am nowhere near that time.