There are a bunch of methods suggested in cleaning atomizers. After tearing apart a few atomizers and rebuilding them as a survival skill in the case of a ban, I have been trying to figure out ways to prolong the life of my attys. Chemically I would have to question the validity of a lot of the methods suggested.
Most juices contain some form of sweetener which generally is a type of sugar. The juice flavorings contain all kinds of stuff. There is also VG/PG. They all contain carbon bonds of one sort or another. The most common types of food bonds are proteins and carbohydrates, but there are many other types such as alcohols.
Breaking down carbon bonds under heat causes a process of caramelizing. Keep up the heat and you will carbonize the liquid. It is a bit more complicated than that, but that explanation is all we need. It's the gunk that remains at the bottom of pan when you cook something. The same would happen if you were to vaporize under heat a sugar solution or even your favorite e juice.
This is the same process that happens inside an atty. The build up of gunk on the atty coil is what kills it. It only takes a very small build up (then again these coils are tiny being either 36 or 38 gage wire) to pit the surface; then it's only a question of time before the atty is history.
Some juices (dark, sweet, etc.) will leave a lot more residue than others which is one of the reasons we see such huge disparities in the life of attys between one user and another.
If you tried to remove the cooked on gunk from a pan using solvents (alcohol, acetone), mild acids (vinegar), baking soda, etc., you would not have much luck.
You will need a strong oxidizer like denture cleaner or peroxide (not sure if 3% peroxide available in a pharmacy is strong enough) to break down the carbon bonds.
These, however, are relatively safe to handle and rinse out easily enough.
Stronger cleaning products might do the trick, but they simply would not be safe so we have a dilemma.
The other thing that blows my mind is that people will spend hours trying to clean and revive attys that may be dead due to a broken coil rather than use a multimeter (these days costs the price of an atty and are really simple to use) to save themselves the trouble.
Without a lot of experimenting, the safest bet right now would seem to be denture cleaner.
Most juices contain some form of sweetener which generally is a type of sugar. The juice flavorings contain all kinds of stuff. There is also VG/PG. They all contain carbon bonds of one sort or another. The most common types of food bonds are proteins and carbohydrates, but there are many other types such as alcohols.
Breaking down carbon bonds under heat causes a process of caramelizing. Keep up the heat and you will carbonize the liquid. It is a bit more complicated than that, but that explanation is all we need. It's the gunk that remains at the bottom of pan when you cook something. The same would happen if you were to vaporize under heat a sugar solution or even your favorite e juice.
This is the same process that happens inside an atty. The build up of gunk on the atty coil is what kills it. It only takes a very small build up (then again these coils are tiny being either 36 or 38 gage wire) to pit the surface; then it's only a question of time before the atty is history.
Some juices (dark, sweet, etc.) will leave a lot more residue than others which is one of the reasons we see such huge disparities in the life of attys between one user and another.
If you tried to remove the cooked on gunk from a pan using solvents (alcohol, acetone), mild acids (vinegar), baking soda, etc., you would not have much luck.
You will need a strong oxidizer like denture cleaner or peroxide (not sure if 3% peroxide available in a pharmacy is strong enough) to break down the carbon bonds.
These, however, are relatively safe to handle and rinse out easily enough.
Stronger cleaning products might do the trick, but they simply would not be safe so we have a dilemma.
The other thing that blows my mind is that people will spend hours trying to clean and revive attys that may be dead due to a broken coil rather than use a multimeter (these days costs the price of an atty and are really simple to use) to save themselves the trouble.
Without a lot of experimenting, the safest bet right now would seem to be denture cleaner.
