The life cycle of cartos and atomizers

[Woodsman]

Hopefully this hasn't been discussed to any extent, as I would feel like a fool for devoting so much time towards figuring it out, but I am curious as why cartomizers and atomizers (referred to within as C&A) "wear out".

I haven't received my shipment yet, so I have very little visual reference here. Please bear with me.

My theory (and please correct me if I'm wrong) is that a current passes through the fibers or element within the C&A, resulting in a rapid heating followed by rapid cooling. The constant heating and cooling slowly breaks down the atomic structure of said fibers, causing them to support less and less of a current... Am I on the right track?

The picture I have in my head is similar to the effect of touching a 9 volt to a piece of steel wool, though MUCH less aggressive.

The other thought I had, is that "wearing out" is simply the result of chemical(juice?) build-up inside the the C&A. Much like cigarette tar coating ones lungs, inhibiting the ability to breathe properly.

If the latter of the two is the most prominent source of failure, I wonder then if a quality, fast evaporating electrode cleaner (Mass Airflow Sensor cleaner for the car folks here) would help extend the life of the C&A.

Feel free to contribute any input... Pure curiosity at the moment.

Woods.

 

[mooreted]

When one stops working well, take it apart.

What I noticed is the wicking material gets burnt, and the filler is compacted making the draw too tight. They still fire, but they don't have a good draw, and taste burnt.


Sent from my easy chair using brainwaves.

 

[hairball]

I wouldn't clean an atty or carto with anything other than drinking alcohol. For a atty only, rubbing alcohol works good too (so do denture tabs). As for something to clean them with in terms of what you would use on a car...NO. I would think it would leave a residue that can/could be toxic if inhaled.

As for wearing out, you're on track. Voltage is sent through those tiny wires. Too much voltage can cause the wire to break resulting in death. Too much gunk won't kill a c or a but can cause less vapor to be produced. Heating of both also causes the mesh/wires to "flake off" which thins everything eventually leading to death.

 

[ctourtelot]

I wouldn't clean an atty or carto with anything other than drinking alcohol. For a atty only, rubbing alcohol works good too (so do denture tabs). As for something to clean them with in terms of what you would use on a car...NO. I would think it would leave a residue that can/could be toxic if inhaled.

As for wearing out, you're on track. Voltage is sent through those tiny wires. Too much voltage can cause the wire to break resulting in death. Too much gunk won't kill a c or a but can cause less vapor to be produced. Heating of both also causes the mesh/wires to "flake off" which thins everything eventually leading to death.

lol you might want to edit those to add "of the atty/carto".

If I was a newbie..that would scare the bejezus out of me lol

 

[ingerri]

they do "wear out" so to speak, when mine get gunked up i clean them by boiling water in the microwave then flush them with a plunger kit i got from my freedom smokes. the wires will evantially go bad like a light bulb does. have been using the ones i have for over a month like this.

 

[Woodsman]

I wouldn't clean an atty or carto with anything other than drinking alcohol. For a atty only, rubbing alcohol works good too (so do denture tabs). As for something to clean them with in terms of what you would use on a car...NO. I would think it would leave a residue that can/could be toxic if inhaled.

As for wearing out, you're on track. Voltage is sent through those tiny wires. Too much voltage can cause the wire to break resulting in death. Too much gunk won't kill a c or a but can cause less vapor to be produced. Heating of both also causes the mesh/wires to "flake off" which thins everything eventually leading to death.

Had not thought of alcohol. Been spending too much time under the truck apparently.

ctourtelot; I needed that laugh, thank you.
Though it's hard to take anything seriously when looking at your avatar.

 

[ctourtelot]

my pleasure

 

[TaraMc]

Essentially you have it in a nutshell, but you can prolong the life of an atomiser, I soo miss working in an engineering environment with a hot Genclean (industrial pure alcohol) ultrasonic bath, I reckon if I had one of those my atty costs would be halved. That being said good maintenance can do wonders I have atomisers that are over 4mths old that have seen close to 200mls in juice with regular care and maintenance.

We have become a throw away society and it sort of annoys me, I cannot count the amount of times I've heard friends say their laptops have died and they need to order a new one, but under instruction they've hoovered (vacuumed) the vents and defragged to see a new lease of life.

Ive a friend who vapes they order a new Ego T atty every week, they seemed marvelled when I suggested maintaining it. We've become wasteful. I bought a new device the other week, it came with free cartomisers that were filled with some evil sauce, I was advised to throw them, I ran them through with a hot tap and sat them on the radiator, they are possibly the best cartos I've ever owned.

Remember just because they are disposable doesn't mean they are "one use only"

*/wanders off in a cloud of hippy tree hugging pachouli/*