What's the best way to prevent/combat gunking up an atty coil?

[tmbridge]

I've noticed recently that sometimes my atty's coil gets completely gunked up with a hard black material. Sometimes I'm able to scrape it off and rinse with hot water. I'm trying an alcohol bath on a few now and then maybe I'll try boiling them.

Does anyone have any tips for how to prevent and/or combat gunking up a coil or is it just the inevitable result of vaping with a wick-based atty and that's why they sell replacement heads.

Thanks!

 

[LongDraw]

It is inevitable unfortuantely. The good news is, the amount it gunks up is dependent on the juice. Darker juices, and especially some naturally extracted tobacco juices will gunk coils faster than clearer juices. For NETs this is also dependent on how well they filter it.

So, for some juices like strawberry, and other fruits I can vape and vape and when I go to clean my coils it doesn't take much effort. Others, I will let sit in hot water for a bit then pat dry and dry burn.

Cleaning them regularly is best, this way flavor and such isn't affected as either.

 

[tmbridge]

I see. I guess I'll just have to be vigilent with my cleanings. One thing that I noticed is that one of my clear juices (Fruit Stripe Gum from MBV) slowly turns a deep, dark brown after about 6 - 10 hours in the Clearomizer. I'm guessing that this has to do with the gunk on the coil contaminating the juice. Does that make sense?

 

[Renzuli]

Welcome , but the best way , is not to use them . Just kidding . As said by LongDraw , all atty's and carto's , etc will gunk up with use . Some juices just seem to do it faster . I soak mine in vodka , about once a week , and scrape abit with a dental pick , to remove as much as I can . Now mostly use rebuildable atty's , like the Penelope , and the Ody . And just make a new coil and wick , when the flavor and vapor starts to diminish . But you can also use any of the Vivi_nova's and similar , that have replaceable heads . Or you can re-do them yourself , very cheaply . Like 10 cents . Good Luck .

And as for your juice turning dark . It's from the heat of the coil , cooking your juice . Coils get hot , and if you vape a lot , they don't have a chance to cool off .

 

[DanFromRioRancho]

Pushing the wattage limits in search of vapor will accelerate the gunking process. This happens when you're operating a VV at the upper limits or running a low resistance head (or both!).

Many eventually turn to a cooler vape, sacrificing vapor production for fuller flavor. It's an alternative that might be worth trying.

 

[tmbridge]

Interesting... thanks for the answers, fellas.

I soak my Vivi Nova heads in Isopropyl alcohol once every few days and use my syrnge to scrape out what I can. It seems to work well enough but nothing compares to a brand new head! I also have about 3 feet of wire and wick that I picked along with my order when I got my Vamo. I plan to try my hand at rebuilding the Vivi Nova attys soon enough.

I'm thinking about getting an RBA and I'll probably pick one up at VapeFest NYC. I just don't like the idea of having to drip so often. Are there any RBAs out there that actually allow a larger amount of juice to be put in at once (like 2-3ml)? I'll probably Google around a bunch before I make my final purchase but I thought I'd ask here as well because y'all are so knowledgeable.

Thanks!
Tim