The problem with attys - are we going down the wrong path?

[KiloWatts]

I'm just gonna put this out there - it seems like the main problem with attys is juice getting gunked up on the coil, which eventually turns to carbon, and eventually kills the atty. The whole disposability of attys is irritating, and I don't think it needs to be this way.

Wouldn't it make more sense to create an atty where the juice never touches the coil? If there was a way to create something like a 'heating plate', or direct the heat to some other element, all we would have to do is replace the juice-covered part - not the whole atty. There are plenty of metals that could conduct the coil's heat almost immediately. Now if we can get that going, we can make the heating plate any shape we want, which could probably improve vapor production even more.

The other thing that someone else mentioned here on the forum was to create a ceramic heating element. Nothing sticks to ceramic. The atty could potentially last years.

Anyway, just putting that out there, because I feel dripping directly onto a coil is the wrong way to go forward.

 

[Mindfield]

The problem here is that the heat needs to be sufficient to vaporize the liquid, and it needs to happen almost instantaneously the moment you press the button (or take a drag for autos). You aren't going to get that with any sort of heating plate no matter how thin it is. So there are two ways to produce sufficient vapor to mimic the feel of smoking in an E-cigarette: More heat over a smaller surface area or less heat over more surface area. More heat is obvious: Crank up the volts or lower the resistance. More surface area means larger coils, or more than one coil so that more liquid is vaporized at once, which can happen at lower temperatures -- as happens with dual coil cartos. But with higher volts or more numerous coils comes greater power draw so you need a larger battery device or a mod to handle it.

Realistically what we have now is really the best compromise to achieve the effects required to make E-cigs work as a more or less instant-on device that feeds us E-liquid vapor right when we need and want it. The only real way to get the most life out of your atomizers and cartomizers is to clean well and clean often.

 

[KiloWatts]

There must be a better way - unfortunately I don't have the time or capacity to experiment, but I'm hoping this'll spark someone's interest to do so.

 

[carpedebass]

I know a lady that does all her cooking on some kind of fancy whiz bang cook plate that works in conjunction with special pots and pans...(Ionic heating or some such thing). The cookplate will bring water to a boil in under 30 seconds and if you remove the pan of water, you can touch the top of the cook plate with your hand immediately and not get burned.

While this kind of tech might well be more expensive, I think a certain segment of the vaping market would likely be very interested in such a thing.

 

[bjannr]

Never say never. I am sure what the OP proposed will in fact be a realistic option some day. I have been vaping for about 14 months, and there have been alot of advances in the technology since I started.

 

[YKruss]

Ionic heating

They call it induction heating.

 

[carpedebass]

They call it induction heat.

That's it!!

 

[Mindfield]

Induction heating requires alternating current though, as it is the frequency of the oscillations that generates the oscillating magnetic field that produces heat in the (ferrous) pot. Besides requiring a lot of power to generate such a magnetic field, it's probably not something you'd want to use in close proximity to credit or bank cards.

 

[KiloWatts]

What about just encasing the coil in an aluminum shield? It would heat to the same temperature almost instantaneously, and when it gets gunked up, you just replace the shield. Coil stays clean and lasts for years.

 

[Creniker]

I like that idea. I have no idea if it would work or not but way cool.

 

[KiloWatts]

Or copper... or silver...

 

[tj99959]

They call it induction heating.

RF heating elements are nothing new, and you probably use one every day.

ONLY.... can you imagine carrying a microwave around with you?

 

[carpedebass]

Induction heating requires alternating current though, as it is the frequency of the oscillations that generates the oscillating magnetic field that produces heat in the (ferrous) pot. Besides requiring a lot of power to generate such a magnetic field, it's probably not something you'd want to use in close proximity to credit or bank cards.

Killjoy!

 

[goodtimes]

The problem with induction heating is that it's the pot/pan that's analogous to the coil, not the induction plate. So you'd need to have some kind of induction element and then the actual heating surface and there's still going to be a delay waiting for the heating surface to heat up. When it comes to vaping even a few seconds would be too much, which, I think, pretty much rules out anything that depends on heat being transferred (or induced) from one component to another.

 

[JustaGuy]

Good idea, KiloWatts, of course it could be better and someone will come out with something, evolution continues. I look at the atty as a micro electric burner. I use the big ones in the kitchen. Don't they have glass/ceramic-top models now? That would work.

Meanwhile, I'm happy with the little old attys, dry burn to clean them, same attys 5 months running. If a $4-8 atty can last me a whole year, it's a bargain. I'd be happy with 6 months each too. How many things lasts that long for that price? YMMV.

 

[Vermonster13]

Like in all things, how much do you want to spend? Lots of things can be done, but can they be done efficiently and cost effective? As new technology develops things will change, but in the grand scheme of things the vaping segment of society is quite small so some changes will take longer than others.

 

[KiloWatts]

If we're talking about an atty that has the lifespan of a lightbulb, I think it's fair to say it's worth a pretty penny.

 

[mcrt]

If we're talking about an atty that has the lifespan of a lightbulb, I think it's fair to say it's worth a pretty penny.

I am vaping right now on a 510 that has been in use since February this year.Maybe you know about this method allready but here's the thread http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html
It has saved me a lot of money and frustration!.
On the R&D front there are things happening,Ikenvape has a wickless atty in Beta testing http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ikenvape/212154-official-io6-atomizer-beta-thread.html
And Raidy,the idolized german modder will have a new atty in the market by the end of the year,no coil and no wick...but he's very secretive about it.

 

[JustaGuy]

I am vaping right now on a 510 that has been in use since February this year.Maybe you know about this method allready but here's the thread http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html
It has saved me a lot of money and frustration!.

Ditto, use same method.

 

[KiloWatts]

Holy cow, so I'm definitely not the only person thinking of new ideas. This guy Raidy is really breaking new ground...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/modding-forum/132663-all-my-mods-part1-2.html#post2097259