So I think I might have gunked up my atty last week. I blowing through the threaded end to get the rest of the juice out and let it dry. After letting it dry I noticed the draw is tougher than my other pieces. The thing is I kind of like it. It forces a slow draw and better vapor.
Has anyone experienced this before and if so is there a solution to solve this problem?
Using this for a complete explanation of what I do and why - so I can link to it later.
This isn't intended to be
the answer, just
my answer and not to discredit any others even though my 'reasons why' might tend to do that.
Airflow on the 510 is from the intakes on the side of the atty above the threads, through the atty past the coil, bridge and then through the sides of the cartridge to the mouth hole at the end.
To clear that atty end - I soak in 151 fully submerged for about an hour - if there is any build up of particles (rather than just liquid juice) the 151 dissolves any gunk on the coil, in the intakes or metal mesh that makes up and surrounds the bridge. 151 vodka is for human consumption, unlike isopropyl. It won't rust or affect electronics like water could, or leave any film or minerals like both isopropyl and water can. It won't move or disconnect anything like boiling water might. And the 151 drys rather quickly, unlike the others. What I use is Galen's 151 proof vodka, pure grain and charcoal filtered - it is clear. $12/fifth locally. I just bought a second fifth after 4 months. I don't drink it. Everclear 191 if you can get it, or 151 if you can't will work in the same manner according to others that use this method.
After the soak, the clear vodka becomes yellowed with particles in the liquid, so something is being removed. Taking the atty out of the 151, I blow it out three ways - by mouth. Canned air has bitterants and can be too forceful. I first blow from the battery end with a paper towel at the cart end and I do it forcefully until it no longer wets the paper towel. Then I blow from the cart end - again with the paper towel at the batt end. Then I cover the middle hole on the atty and blow again - this clears the intake holes on the sides of the atty - blow and draw to clear anything that still might be there. When you do this the airflow should be pretty good through the atty. Lst dry on a paper towel and I blow through once again before using. If I'm not going to use it - I rotate attys - I put 3 drops of PG unflavored on the bridge to keep the atty moist and put it in a ziplock bag, bleeding out the air so air doesn't dry it out.
With the cart airflow I do the same blow from both sides until there is no sound of juice. With the cart, sometimes the 'inside floor' of the cartridge (below the filler) can come loose in some carts - and that can effect the airflow - blowing and drawing you can 'feel' this moving. I throw those carts away.
I then connect the atty to the battery and with it fully screwed in, I 'stove pipe' - blow and draw on the open end of the atty. If before the draw was good, and now not so good, then the airflow is being blocked by either dirty threads (I clean threads on the batt and atty each time I recharge a battery), or misaligned thread that block the intakes. Clean the thread in the first instance and either tighten or losen the atty in the second - that doesn't happen much with the 510 but some (not all) super mini's 4xx or 4xxx attys, have instructions that come with them that says to loosen the thread to allow for better airflow - 'black super' for example.
All of that said... ;-) .... many have used all of the products mentioned - some with good results and no problems and some have killed attys instantly... at least that has been the reports by some posters. Coke baths, oven cleaner, rubbing alcohol, phosphoric acid, dry burns, boiling water, hot water, cold rinse, using toothpicks and dental picks on the coil, pulling out the fiber around the coil, etc. etc. etc.
Some of these were 'last ditch efforts' and some of them 'worked' and then became standard operating procedure. Some newbies have read what were intended as last ditch efforts for reviving a dead atty and then used that just to clean attys.
And... if I had one die, I'd likely try anything as well. But I wouldn't then take on that procedure as a SOP.
Probably the best advice is to not do any of the above, including what I do, and if the atty dies, buy another. I'm just relating what _I_ do. I have one weak performing atty in 4 months out of a dozen. The weak one was from pulling some of the fiber out of the bridge material. It was working well, I saw what I thought was filler strands, pulled on them with tweezers and they were atty fibers. I stopped as soon as I realized that, but the atty didn't perform as well after that.
For nasty primer/shipping fluid on new attys - I try out the atty first. If there is no nasty taste or it is weak taste, I do nothing. If it is rather nasty, I first just blow out the fluid from the battery end into a paper towel and repeat until there is no wetness on the paper towel and then I try it. If the nasty taste still exists after some vaping with a few drops of ejuice, then I do the same soak above except for 10 minutes instead of an hour. If there is still some lingering taste I just vape through it. But usually the 151 will completely eliminate the taste.
