The “Cola” Method Taken to Another Level That Works

[Sun Vaporer]

That was with the nucalgon, right? I actually wouldn't mind trying it again....but that rubbery stuff concerned me a bit. I am waiting for you to try the kettle cleaner too. Sounded promising.

So nothing else worked, huh? Not even in a crockpot? (Never thought of that one...lol)

Well, I can wait a bit before I have to clean again so maybe something will show up with the kettle cleaner (fingers crossed).

Lu

Lu--after many tries, including the crock pot, nothing has taken that residue off the coil other then this solvent. There may be other methods that employ heating the atomizer with a solvent, but I am looking for a solution that is safe, easy, economical, and actually visably cleans that coil--I will post when I get the results of the popcorn kettle cleaner in--Sun

 

[StoneE4]

What would happen if you used the Nu Calgon like they do with the H2O2 and boiled a couple drops on the atomizer?

Maybe mix a few drops of Nu Calgon with H2O2 and then drip it on the hot atomizer?

I dunno... It may actually work better, but I wouldn't try it. I'd be too concerned about stray droplets shooting off of the hot atomizer or inhaling any NuCalgon vapor. To me, that's sounds like something that should only be tried in a (ach... what the hell do they call them?) chemistry hood(?)

Maybe I'm acting in an overly circumspect manner in regards to your suggestion, but I think I'll side with caution on this idea and suggest that others do the same.

 

[kinabaloo]

Yes, safety googles are a good idea, and you could cover the atty with a cloth also.

Such experiments should only be undertaken if you feel confident in the matter. Many of the people active here are or have been chemists. These ideas should not be tried by the general population.

 

[exogenesis]

Damn right about that StoneE4,
spitting boiling strong acid? No thanks.

SambucaLu
have you tried the coil 'burn heat' to ash it,
then H2O2 boil-in-place thing at all ?

 

[kinabaloo]

Damn right about that StoneE4,
spitting boiling strong acid? No thanks.

Exogenesis - the guy asked about a few drops heated in place. Does juice spit out, or H2O2? It is deep inside a steel tube.

And I said you would no more about it.

 

[surbitonPete]

Yes, safety googles are a good idea,

.

How do you do a safety google...kinba..... ( only joking)

What's peoples thoughts on dripping a little vinegar on the coil and vaping it ....do you think the fumes from vinegar are dangerous??

 

[kinabaloo]

The atomizer doesn't have the power to make the acid jump out of the tube.

If you think it wise not to try, ok, i concur with that. No need to be insulting about it. MoonMan is not an idiot, as I know from his previous posts.

 

[exogenesis]

The atomizer doesn't have the power to make the acid jump out of the tube.

If you think it wise not to try, ok, i concur with that. No need to be insulting about it. MoonMan is not an idiot, as I know from his previous posts.

Think again, even deep atomizers like 901's will spit tiny droplets out
if a liquid is dripped onto the hot coil (and vapour).

Yes, it can happen with H2O2 but that is relatively benign,
it won't destroy eye tissue like acid would.

If you happen to be looking down the tube when some acid
comes out - well.....

 

[StoneE4]

Exogenesis - the guy asked about a few drops heated in place. Does juice spit out, or H2O2? It is deep inside a steel tube.

I'm not speaking for Exogenesis, but I know I've gotten a pretty good sizzle off of residual water in an atomizer while only hooking it up to USB passthrough. I've gotten an even bigger sizzle by hooking up an atomizer to a 3 VDC, 1100 mA battery charger. I don't remember if any water droplets shot out of the atomizer with either set up, but I wouldn't risk it with phosphoric acid.

Keep in mind, the Nu-Calgon IMC's directions instruct you to dilute 1 ounce of cleaner per 48 ounces (3 pints) of water. Anyone who is using this product undiluted (and I think thats exactly what most people are doing) are using it in a concentration that is far stronger than the manufacturer intended it to be used.

 

[StoneE4]

...If you think it wise not to try, ok, i concur with that. No need to be insulting about it. MoonMan is not an idiot, as I know from his previous posts.

I don't know if your comment was directed at me, kinabaloo. If it wasn't, simply disregard this post...

I wasn't being insulting to anyone. Also, I never called, or even implied, that anyone on this board is an idiot. I am simply stressing the use of caution when using phosphoric acid.
I would really hate to hear about anyone having an accident with this product. Especially since I was the one who originally mentioned it as possible atomizer cleaner in the first place.

 

[exogenesis]

Qudos for the original idea StoneE4 ,

cold or even heated soaking sound good,
but I think we agree not so good an idea - dripped onto a hot coil.

I didn't know the instructions said dilute 1 in 50 (approx.)
that is significantly.....significant, no-one mentioned that before.

And don't worry, I think Kinabaloo was refering to my post,
freedom to try anything is good I suppose, but googles may be necessary

 

[kinabaloo]

Well, what I do in such a case is pm the person first with a suggestion and reasoning. I certainly wouldn't express my opinion in such a manner as done here. It feels like a cheap shot to play the safety card this way.

If it was possible for hot liquid to jump out of the atomizer we would be hearing reports of burnt tongues and melted mouthieces. But don't let that get in the way of a good argument.

The whole point of writing that safety notice that is in place, and which I helped to write, was to disuade any but the scientifically knowledgeable from actively following ideas here and to avoid stating the obvious every post, like dont look down the tube while heating the acid.

To be quite clear: I didn't recommend doing this and don't recommend it.

In normal use, nucalgon is not only diluted but 'run through' the ice maker. Even at full strength and soaked for a week it is sometimes not effective at removing the atomiser deposit. For this reason I have suggested a number of times moving the focus of attention to 1) prevention in the form of juices with the minimum dry deposit, and 2) testing whether preventative cleaning with something mild could prevent the deposit from building up, and how frequent that clean would need to be. Nobody took any interest.

 

[MoonMan]

I may be a lot more cavalier than most when I say I'm not afraid to try dripping a couple drops of this acid onto a hot atomizer (obviously I wouldn't do it near my face or try inhaling the fumes) - I've done much stupider things and lived - I'm FAR more concerned if mixing H2O2 and phosphoric acid would create something flammable or give off toxic fumes, or just heating the acid itself would give off fumes. A couple of sizzling drops of this relatively weak acid at the bottom of a steel tube doesn't really scare me - but toxic fumes and explosions DO.

However, seeing as how I only have 901 atomizers that I'm not willing to dissect since they aren't completely dead, I would probably avoid trying it simply for the fact that I wouldn't be able to verify the results visually. I'll probably just let someone who has the stuff to verify it do it if they choose.

 

[kinabaloo]

MoonMan - It was the fact that you mentioned mixing the two that made me feel i should reply and suggest only mixing a few drops. The very word 'suggest' though could be seen as an endorsement, which we need to be careful about.

Ultimately, nucalgon cant be a general population cleaner because it is too strong - someone is bound to spill it. But we needed to know how far we could take it - would it remove the deposit in all cases if strong enough (answer: certainly not always).

There is still the popcorn maker to test, otherwise we have some things which might work well if done fairly frequently more as a preventative than a cure.

The most important thing is to determine which juices leave the least dry deposit and push the manufacturers to formulate their juices bearing this is mind.

 

[rsngfrce]

In normal use, nucalgon is not only diluted but 'run through' the ice maker. Even at full strength and soaked for a week it is sometimes not effective at removing the atomiser deposit. For this reason I have suggested a number of times moving the focus of attention to 1) prevention in the form of juices with the minimum dry deposit, and 2) testing whether preventative cleaning with something mild could prevent the deposit from building up, and how frequent that clean would need to be. Nobody took any interest.

Well... I am certainly interested! Particularly on point 2...

 

[zip]

After looking at the pics of the gunk, I started thinking that it looked very similar to the creosote build up we used to get in our stove pipes and chimneys from burning wood. In order to dry it up to prevent chimney fires, we used to throw a handful of salt on the hot coals occasionally. After this treatment we would give the stovepipe a rap and the buildup would just let go and the pipes were clean again without having to brush. I don't know if a saline solution or heating up the coil with a few grains of salt would have the same effect but it might be worth a try. I am new to vaping and do not have any gunked up spare atomizers to try it on but it might be worth a shot for someone with spares. If it works it sure would be a cheap fix. Caution,I would not try and inhale the salt vapor
Zip

 

[Sun Vaporer]

After looking at the pics of the gunk, I started thinking that it looked very similar to the creosote build up we used to get in our stove pipes and chimneys from burning wood. In order to dry it up to prevent chimney fires, we used to throw a handful of salt on the hot coals occasionally. After this treatment we would give the stovepipe a rap and the buildup would just let go and the pipes were clean again without having to brush. I don't know if a saline solution or heating up the coil with a few grains of salt would have the same effect but it might be worth a try. I am new to vaping and do not have any gunked up spare atomizers to try it on but it might be worth a shot for someone with spares. If it works it sure would be a cheap fix. Caution,I would not try and inhale the salt vapor
Zip

Zip--I just added it to my list which is long but almost done. And

Kinabaloo--your idea for a maintence everyday method that might make much milder solutions work is my top priority and is being worked on everyday. Just give it some time----Thanks---Sun

 

[StoneE4]

Well, what I do in such a case is pm the person first with a suggestion and reasoning. I certainly wouldn't express my opinion in such a manner as done here. It feels like a cheap shot to play the safety card this way.

I don't understand what you are talking about. What did I say that could have even remotely been mistaken for a cheap shot?

If it was possible for hot liquid to jump out of the atomizer we would be hearing reports of burnt tongues and melted mouthieces. But don't let that get in the way of a good argument.

Yes, you are probably correct. We will most likely never hear of melted cartridges or burned tongues caused by hot liquid being expelled from an atomizer. However, I stated my opinion that I would not and am not willing to take the chance when using phosphoric acid. I also (again, stating my own opinion) said that I would advise others to refrain from boiling phosphoric acid on a hot atomizer coil.
There is no argument here, I was simply giving a warning. MoonMan, or anybody else, can sort that all out on their own and take my advice for whatever they think its worth.

The whole point of writing that safety notice that is in place, and which I helped to write, was to disuade any but the scientifically knowledgeable from actively following ideas here and to avoid stating the obvious every post, like dont look down the tube while heating the acid.

Good for you. That was a smart idea to include a warning in this section of the forums... Well done.

However, I don't care how many warnings there are in this forum, when someone mentions doing something that I feel is not safe, more times than not, I'll say something. Not so much for the person who mentioned it because usually they have calculated the risks just as MoonMan has done in this situation. Rather, I'm more concerned about people who may not understand the risks involved and in an uninformed manner decide to do what someone else proposes.

I didn't intend to start a debate, ridicule anyone's opinion, or to state the obvious. I simply wanted to state my opinion on the subject that another forum member brought forward.

Nothing more... Nothing less...

I thought I made that point abundantly clear through the following sentence...

Maybe I'm acting in an overly circumspect manner in regards to your suggestion, but I think I'll side with caution on this idea and suggest that others do the same.

 

[StoneE4]

...I don't know if a saline solution or heating up the coil with a few grains of salt would have the same effect but it might be worth a try...

Good idea. Definitely worth a shot.

Didn't "surbitonPete"mention something about this before? Or is my memory failing me tonight?

 

[StoneE4]

Sorry, I missed your post in the flurry of other posts tonight...

Qudos for the original idea StoneE4 ,

Thanks for the kudos.
It's too bad it doesn't seem to be a universal cure, as some people are reporting no success or limited success using it.

cold or even heated soaking sound good,
but I think we agree not so good an idea - dripped onto a hot coil.

I didn't know the instructions said dilute 1 in 50 (approx.)
that is significantly.....significant, no-one mentioned that before.

Yeah, this stuff isn't exactly your average everyday household chemical... Obviously there is worse stuff out there, but it isn't a typical over-the-counter product either.

...freedom to try anything is good I suppose, but googles may be necessary

You wouldn't happen to know where I can get a good, but not too expensive, pair of googles, would ya?