Sattec's atty cleaning test thread

[sattec]

that sounded pretty easy after sattec labeled it "difficult"

when I was test cleaning atty's, they were all dead atty's....after I started cleaning my "working" atty's, I learned I needed to reprime the atty's. I did have trouble at first repriming.....now, no trouble at all. We've progressed a long way since I wrote. And yes, cleaning the mesh does help with atty's that won't draw. I actually haven't been cleaning too much at all, my atty's are good to go, I wonder now if the "factory prime" is the problem and after you give 'em a good rinsing, you don't need to rinse too often????

 

[goonie]

I see. Thanks!

EDIT: So I tried the CrestProHealth Mouthwash (15m) + a hot water bath. I let it sit overnight and them primed it this morning.

I'm getting a cleaner pull (yet I feel more resistance to the drag), tons of vapor, but for some reason my vapor comes out hot sometimes. Is that just a result of keeping the battery on too long?

 

[Bellasin]

I cant believe what I have been doing to clean my attys but it works amazingly well. The first time I tried it on a dead 901 atty I was dumbfounded when it came back to life.

I went to the dentist for my 6 mo cleaning 2 weeks ago and the hygienist told me to start using Crest Pro Health. She said using ACT and Targon were no better than rinsing your mouth out with soapy water. When she told me to use CPH I laughed and said "great, thats the same stuff you use to clean atomizers for ecigs." She had no clue what ecigs were and was surprised that I had finally quit smoking. While I explained PVs to her she kept saying "you mean you get smoke just like a cigarette????"

That night, I brushed my teeth, rinsed my mouth with a big swig of CPH, and blew it forcefully through a "dead" atty that I had just rinsed out with really hot water. I let the atty sit a few minutes, rinsed it again then let it air dry 24hrs, periodically blowing it out when I thought to. I primed it correctly but the first few hits produced no vapor at all. About 6 more slow drags, and whoa, there was a big tasty vapor cloud! Prior to blowing Crest thru it I had tried blowing it out and rinsing it in hot water, but that hadnt helped.

So far I have brought back 2 "dead" attys and perked up 3 lazy ones. When I first started vaping I was killing attys right and left. Using the Crest to clean the attys at night seems to keep them working longer. I have to use the mouthwash at night anyway so its really easy to add atty hygiene to my nightly routine.

CPH and a good blow, who knew lol.

 

[rusty shackleford]

WOW! cph must do something good!

 

[jj2]

I cant believe what I have been doing to clean my attys but it works amazingly well. The first time I tried it on a dead 901 atty I was dumbfounded when it came back to life.

I went to the dentist for my 6 mo cleaning 2 weeks ago and the hygienist told me to start using Crest Pro Health. She said using ACT and Targon were no better than rinsing your mouth out with soapy water. When she told me to use CPH I laughed and said "great, thats the same stuff you use to clean atomizers for ecigs." She had no clue what ecigs were and was surprised that I had finally quit smoking. While I explained PVs to her she kept saying "you mean you get smoke just like a cigarette????"

That night, I brushed my teeth, rinsed my mouth with a big swig of CPH, and blew it forcefully through a "dead" atty that I had just rinsed out with really hot water. I let the atty sit a few minutes, rinsed it again then let it air dry 24hrs, periodically blowing it out when I thought to. I primed it correctly but the first few hits produced no vapor at all. About 6 more slow drags, and whoa, there was a big tasty vapor cloud! Prior to blowing Crest thru it I had tried blowing it out and rinsing it in hot water, but that hadnt helped.

So far I have brought back 2 "dead" attys and perked up 3 lazy ones. When I first started vaping I was killing attys right and left. Using the Crest to clean the attys at night seems to keep them working longer. I have to use the mouthwash at night anyway so its really easy to add atty hygiene to my nightly routine.

CPH and a good blow, who knew lol.

You do this everynight? You must rotate a lot.

 

[Bellasin]

You do this everynight? You must rotate a lot.

I brush my teeth every night lol but I usually have 3 attys in rotation so I blow every 3rd night...that sounds funny.....like old faithful or something

 

[ceo51378]

I cant believe what I have been doing to clean my attys but it works amazingly well. The first time I tried it on a dead 901 atty I was dumbfounded when it came back to life.

I went to the dentist for my 6 mo cleaning 2 weeks ago and the hygienist told me to start using Crest Pro Health. She said using ACT and Targon were no better than rinsing your mouth out with soapy water. When she told me to use CPH I laughed and said "great, thats the same stuff you use to clean atomizers for ecigs." She had no clue what ecigs were and was surprised that I had finally quit smoking. While I explained PVs to her she kept saying "you mean you get smoke just like a cigarette????"

That night, I brushed my teeth, rinsed my mouth with a big swig of CPH, and blew it forcefully through a "dead" atty that I had just rinsed out with really hot water. I let the atty sit a few minutes, rinsed it again then let it air dry 24hrs, periodically blowing it out when I thought to. I primed it correctly but the first few hits produced no vapor at all. About 6 more slow drags, and whoa, there was a big tasty vapor cloud! Prior to blowing Crest thru it I had tried blowing it out and rinsing it in hot water, but that hadnt helped.

So far I have brought back 2 "dead" attys and perked up 3 lazy ones. When I first started vaping I was killing attys right and left. Using the Crest to clean the attys at night seems to keep them working longer. I have to use the mouthwash at night anyway so its really easy to add atty hygiene to my nightly routine.

CPH and a good blow, who knew lol.

I've been doing the same thing with Crest Pro Health... it has been working wonders on my atty's. I soak them with CPH in a shot glass for an hour or two (occasionally shaking it around in the glass). Then I blow a few mouthfuls of hot water through it to get all the CPH out, blow air through it till I'm blue in the face and stuff the bridge with toilet paper to leach the rest of the water out.

 

[kinabaloo]

The idea that the NiCr coil corrodes is wrong. At most there is a very thin layer of oxide of the surface that does not increase. The problem is dry deposits from the e-liquid (and products of VG decomposition), ashing on the coil.

 

[jadeninja]

I just want to report that this cleaning method (Crest Pro Health), just brought one of my 401 atty's back to life.

The atty died yesterday. No vapor no nothing. I precleaned it with light rum. Rinsed. Then the Crest wash (15 minutes with agitation, 20 seconds every 3 minutes). Rinsed and dried. I did a dry burn and sure enough it lit right up. I am soaking in light rum overnight and will rinse and dry.

That Sattec

 

[pmd]

I must come here to ask forgivness for my past rants on cleaning atty's.
I am still very much a new/ill imformed vaper with a 510. In just 4 mths, I went thru a period of bad atty's, or maybe it was just how I used them
I've had 2 that have lasted 3 months, I expect no more than 4 wks. I've had 4 others that have turned into hard draw worthless devices in 2 wks.
The frustration with these 510 atty's made me want to give up on this whole thing. As much as I rant against cleaning ( I've tried rub. alcohol, hydrogen perox,boiling water,lemon juice which did nothing)
Well, after my last atty ( 2wks old) started crapping out with hard draws
I gave in. I had a travel size of crest pro health, soaked and shook that atty, and another old one, rinsed and dried.
Now I must add that the 2wk one , I also took out the inner wick under the bridge(out of frustration) before I soaked.
I dried it and primed and sure as sh#t, it is working. Smooth draw, seems good as new, even the older one is good enough to use for a back up.
I still am cynical as to how/why this made a diff but I cannot dispute the fact that it did. ( I would normally throw it out and start a new one).
So, for all my cynical rants on not cleaning, I humbly stand corrected

 

[DC2]

So, for all my cynical rants on not cleaning, I humbly stand corrected.

As someone who has cleaned and rotated his atomizers every week, for over five months now, and not lost an atomizer yet, I am glad to hear you say that.

One less person for me to have to argue with.

 

[Doug_Dread]

I have a mouthwash containing Cetylpyridinium chloride + boasts 'no alcohol' and I tried to clean a poorly vaping atty by filling it and shaking.... no debris came out and the m'wash kept it's colour. Tried soaking it for hours in the m'wash.... didn't work.

I conclude that Cetylpyridinium chloride is not the cleaning agent, something else is doing the cleaning. Can anyone isolate the ingredient?

Did my usual shake and rinse x3 with surgical spirits + water rinse and dry overnight. Atty's fine now, but I'd like to know for next time.

 

[Dave Rickey]

Well, I am not very knowledgeable of chemistry or metallurgy, but I worked out a method for cleaning my atomizers that seems to work pretty well:

1) Fill medium saucepan (2 quart) 3/4 full of filtered or distilled water.

2) Add 1 tablespoon ascetic acid (vinegar, either white wine or rice).

3) Bring to a boil.

4) Add atomizers and cartridge filler sections (separated from mouthpieces).

5) Set heat to a gentle rolling boil (just enough to make the atomizers rattle and move) and leave for 15 minutes. Set oven pre-heat to 300 degrees

6) Fill sink with warm water, add 1 tablespoon sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, to neutralize the acid).

7) Drain saucepan through a noodle strainer, set aside cartridges and drop atomizers into the sink of sodium bicarbonate solution. Agitate gently by hand for 30 seconds or so.

8) Remove atomizers and empty excess liquid, put a double layer of paper towel on cooking sheet and lay out atomizers.

9) Bake atomizers in oven for 30 minutes, remove and allow to cool.

10) Clear cartridges by vigorously "whipping" their contents out of the open end into the sink, lay out to air dry.

I vape Blip Labs diluted to 15% VG and 2.4% nicotine, and then that solution has about 10% Lorann flavoring added (Raspberry seems to build up a nasty taste eventually, Banana Cream chokes the atomizer the fastest, nothing noteworthy about my other flavors).

I have *yet* to have to replace an atomizer since 3 months ago (although I use only 801's, and generally never vape over 4.3V). The vinegar boil seems to remove all of the contaminants and restore like-new vaping performance, the bicarbonate bath and rapid drying to prevent corrosion (at least of the brass tubing).

--Dave

 

[P4C0]

How do I take away the mouthwash taste?? it taste awful... this should not be safe to vape...

 

[sattec]

hey Dave! I'm coming to your town Thursday!! thanks for the info!

"I must come here to ask forgivness for my past rants on cleaning atty's."

your forgiven...

 

[Poeia]

There are a lot of alcohol-free mouthwashes these days because there's come concern that the drying properties of alcohol is bad for the mouth. Even Listerine makes one (Listermint.) Crest is made by Procter & Gamble (I'm too new to post a link but the url is pg dot com). If they don't sell Crest in your country, click on the map and see what oral care products they do sell. One of them might be the same thing.

If, after rinsing, you want to wick the water out faster, cotton works much better than paper towels, tissues, etc. Go to the drugstore and buy a bag of cheap little ones (100 for $1-$2.) Prop on under (or slightly in) an atty, making sure the cotton touches the wick and it will suck a lot of the water right out. (If you're feeling especially cheap, you can probably reuse them after they dry although why anyone would want a bunch of 2-cent cotton balls sitting around, drying is beyond me.)

Don't buy a loose roll of cotton unless you enjoy removing wisps of cotton from your atty with a tweezers. The balls don't separate unless you pull them apart.

 

[Doug_Dread]

How do I take away the mouthwash taste?? it taste awful... this should not be safe to vape...

A slight taste should be safe to vape, but whatever you do, don't rinse your mouth with that Crest mouthwash stuff, it stains your teeth brown. Don't believe me? Google it, there's even a lawsuit pending.

 

[P4C0]

A slight taste should be safe to vape, but whatever you do, don't rinse your mouth with that Crest mouthwash stuff, it stains your teeth brown. Don't believe me? Google it, there's even a lawsuit pending.

That's bad, hope they don't ban it 8-o, btw, I can't get it on my country, just tried with oral-b but the after taste is so bad that I can't vape it, (also no debris came out and no colour changing, so maybe this is not working...)

I'll try again and rise it with hot water and vodka (several times)...

 

[Nietzsc]

That's bad, hope they don't ban it 8-o, btw, I can't get it on my country, just tried with oral-b but the after taste is so bad that I can't vape it, (also no debris came out and no colour changing, so maybe this is not working...)

I'll try again and rise it with hot water and vodka (several times)...

same here, the only option to buy is oral-b but wasn't sure so I didn't buy it so it's nice to know your experience to avoid this method

 

[Kurt]

sattec, thanks to your crest method, i've brought back several 510 attys from gunk-hell. this has worked really well so far. Post-crest-post-wash wicks are not brown anymore, airflow is close to new.

dvap: I am thinking its a surfactant, and this is what is doing the cleaning. which means maybe a dish-washing liquid/water bath might work too, especially a "degreaser". Maybe one of the "orange" cleaners, of course followed by either PGA or lots of hot water. Don't run out and try this folks, its just conjecture, and I take no responsibility if bad flavors remain in the atty.

This problem of gunked-up attys, I have found, is mainly with those that I vape tobacco juices with. Somewhere here (searched and searched, but couldn't find) was a simple statement from TropicalBob: tobacco juices are particularly high in particles. This may be the black pieces. So I am dedicating a few of my attys to tobacco flavors only.

My hot water follow-up wash was actually from my showerhead on low and set to a focused stream. Not too much pressure, as I dont want to disconnect anything inside. A minute of this removed all traces of mint.

I then flick most of the water out. I then dry off the atty with a paper towel, including inside by rolling up a corner and making a loose paper-towel "shaft" to push down inside. This get most of the remaining water. Then I do that again with the paper towel shaft with the atty on the batt, and activate the batt. This gets the water warm and the shaft wicks it from the inside of the atty. Then I put the atty to my lips and fire it up and pull over and over, like the depriming routine. If there is still water the gas will expand naturally into the mouth. I then prime with four drops of juice and vape as usual. Generally takes a few drags to get rid of the little bit of water and get normal vapor.

Of course, this is if I want that atty on line NOW. Otherwise drying overnight is fine.

I noticed that the full improvement from the crest wash is sometimes actually not immediate, but delayed for several carts-worth of vaping. Like further vaping continues the cleaning.

Topal used to put out a smokers stain-removal mouthwash. Can't find it now, but perhaps an anti-stain mouthwash would also work. I bought the crest health-pro, since I found no anti-stain washes, but it seems this might work too, since there are ingredients that supposedly remove tar stains. Just a thought.

Also, I think any cart/juice combo that works to keep the atty bridge from being starved will help keep them from getting hot without juice, which would further thicken the gunk. So keep those attys hissing and unflooded! The auto-drip mod I'm using now is allowing me to vape all day without ever having to blow the atty out, and this is keeping me from having to clean them as much.

Thanks so much sattec!!