When do you change your Protank atomizer?

[guruguhan]

I was wondering what is usually the trigger where one switches/rebuilds their atomizer? In this case, I'm talking about a pro tank atomizer, but I'm also asking in general. Do you use an atomizer until it stops firing? Or is there a point that the wicks deteriorate?

Thanks

 

[Spazmelda]

I use mine till it starts to taste funky. The amount of time depends on the juices I'm vaping. Maybe after one day for the worst of the juices (worst for gunning up the coils, not for vaping), and maybe after 2-3 days for non-funking juices. I like fresh coils, and I'm kind of picky about it.

Then I take it apart and dry burn the coils, rinse, replace the flavor wicks, and use it until it tastes funky again. When I can't dry burn them anymore I take them all the way apart and rebuild them.

 

[OzarkTroutBum]

Till it kind of goes flat tasting and not making much vapor.

I do like Spazmelda and clean and burn and reinsert cotton flavor wicks and get more life out of them.

 

[retired1]

I was wondering what is usually the trigger where one switches/rebuilds their atomizer?

It's time to switch out when you vape and your eyeballs spin around 3 times due to the awful taste you just experienced.

I rebuild with each swap out. The extra heads go into a soaking jar and when I get low on heads, I pull 'em out, tear 'em down and rebuild 'em all (usually around a dozen at a time). That way I'm not thinking about how long I've been using a specific coil and wick combination. Even with 4-6 days on a rebuilt head, it's still cheaper (time and money wise) for me to rebuild each time rather than trying to boil, dry burn, etc.

 

[Magma]

I change mine out after every tank. It goes into Distilled water for a few days, then everclear for a few days, then dry burn, rinse in everclear and back to the end of the line. Each head is lasting me a lot longer then before when I ran them till they tasted bad.

 

[MoonLit_Water]

I was wondering what is usually the trigger where one switches/rebuilds their atomizer?

The extra heads go into a soaking jar and when I get low on heads, I pull 'em out, tear 'em down and rebuild 'em all

What do You soak them in, I just set mine aside until it's time to rebuild, completely tear them down, hot water rinse then rebuild

 

[OzarkTroutBum]

It's time to switch out when you vape and your eyeballs spin around 3 times due to the awful taste you just experienced.

I rebuild with each swap out. The extra heads go into a soaking jar and when I get low on heads, I pull 'em out, tear 'em down and rebuild 'em all (usually around a dozen at a time). That way I'm not thinking about how long I've been using a specific coil and wick combination. Even with 4-6 days on a rebuilt head, it's still cheaper (time and money wise) for me to rebuild each time rather than trying to boil, dry burn, etc.

Whats your recoil wire guage and silicone or cotton wick? Have you tried the micro coils?


Haven't started rebuilding yet but need to get some wire and try it.

 

[Myrany]

WARNING: This Vaper is atypical

Because I DIY and don't use many colored flavors or sweeteners the heads and carto's I use tend to last an abnormally long time.

I got my protank 1 the week they came out. I am still using the original heads that came with it. Each has been rebuilt ONCE. they both have been dry burned/cleaned maybe twice each. In all cases here it was done for a clean start when changing flavors. Not because of any off taste or other problems.

Heck I have one CE5 that has not had the juice or head changed out in 4 months (though I do top the juice off).

To give a frame of reference. It is not unusual for my cartos in carto tanks to last a month or more even though I chain vape.

I attribute this to simple crystal clear unsweetened juices.

 

[retired1]

What do You soak them in, I just set mine aside until it's time to rebuild, completely tear them down, hot water rinse then rebuild

I have a glass of water that sits on the counter. When I change heads, the used one gets tossed into the glass and a fresh one gets popped into the Protank. So some of those heads could be soaking for a couple of weeks at least.

 

[Belushi]

I usually go by a combination of color of my juice, vapor production, and taste. Haven't tried re-building or the like, coils seem cheep enough not to worry about it. Although a coil will usually last me at least a week (maybe 10+ days), anything less and I'd probably consider re-building/cleaning options....

 

[irwink]

I change mine out after every tank. It goes into Distilled water for a few days, then everclear for a few days, then dry burn, rinse in everclear and back to the end of the line. Each head is lasting me a lot longer then before when I ran them till they tasted bad.

That seems a little extreme unless you're using super dark super sweet juices. Of course it doesn't hurt if someone wants to take the extra steps after every tank.

Personally I vape pretty hard, 8 - 10 ml a day at times. My juices tend to be sweet but not too dark. Some juices will make me want to change out heads after a day or two. One juice, and one juice only - root beer by MBV - will give me two weeks on a coil assembly.

So there's no set answer. It depends on how much juice you go through at what pace and the properties of the juice. Basically, if the taste falls off to a point you consider unacceptable - swap out he head.

 

[Myrany]

I usually go by a combination of color of my juice, vapor production, and taste. Haven't tried re-building or the like, coils seem cheep enough not to worry about it. Although a coil will usually last me at least a week (maybe 10+ days), anything less and I'd probably consider re-building/cleaning options....

Just a suggestion for you. Stick you spent coils in a baggie and keep them. You never know when the manufacturer will make a design change and you can't get the coils you like anymore. That baggies of spent coils will let you rebuild them in a pinch.

 

[entropy100]

Haha I want a really dummy version of this since I used the same coil for two weeks now.

1: take the coil off
2: remove top part of coil and dip in water for one day
3: remove watered one and insert into ever clear for a day
4: pick up coil, put top back on, then with no juice and turn it on max 5 times till my ego batteries stops blinking.

Or after 3, I remove the wick and place my own?!

 

[supermarket]

Whats your recoil wire guage and silicone or cotton wick? Have you tried the micro coils?


Haven't started rebuilding yet but need to get some wire and try it.

I use 2mm silica wick, and 32g kanthal wire.

2mm silica wick seems to work very well. Sometimes I use a few split strands for flavor wick, sometimes I don't use any flavor wick at all. I might try 3mm silica next.

So go with 2-3mm silica wick, and you'll be great.



As for the topic of the thread.....I usually replace my coils after 3-5 days of HEAVY vaping.

 

[supermarket]

Also, I never really understood why so many people bother cleaning / dry burning coils. wire and wick is so cheap....and practice makes perfect....so the more opportunities you have to re-coil, the better your coils get (BELIEVE me, mine are damn near perfect now

The only time I usually clean my coils /wash them off is when I'm changing flavors. Even then, I rarely ever dry burn, there is usually no need, since I replace my coils every 4-7 days or so anyway. I just wash them off under the faucet, let them dry overnight, and they are good as new, ready for a new flavor.

 

[MoonLit_Water]

I use 2mm silica wick, and 32g kanthal wire.

2mm silica wick seems to work very well. Sometimes I use a few split strands for flavor wick, sometimes I don't use any flavor wick at all. I might try 3mm silica next.

So go with 2-3mm silica wick, and you'll be great.



As for the topic of the thread.....I usually replace my coils after 3-5 days of HEAVY vaping.

I use 32gauge, and 3mm, I never have tried anything else, never used a flavor and have been very happy with the results, i would say give 3mm a shot i think you will like it

 

[zazz]

i don't think about it much, if i switch between similar juices i just let it ride. If i want to change juice i'll just go ahead and rebuild. only takes a few minutes.

 

[Rickajho]

Also, I never really understood why so many people bother cleaning / dry burning coils. wire and wick is so cheap....and practice makes perfect....so the more opportunities you have to re-coil, the better your coils get (BELIEVE me, mine are damn near perfect now

The only time I usually clean my coils /wash them off is when I'm changing flavors. Even then, I rarely ever dry burn, there is usually no need, since I replace my coils every 4-7 days or so anyway. I just wash them off under the faucet, let them dry overnight, and they are good as new, ready for a new flavor.

If I went through as many wash/rinse/spin cycles as I see some people doing I probably wouldn't bother cleaning them either. When I clean:

Step 1: Dry burn it. No soaking in this then soaking in that. Remove the vent tube, leave the top wick in place, and just start burning.

Step 2: Once the gunk starts burning off and smoking then remove the top wicks. It just makes the whole process easier to even see the difference between them and the top coil, and remove them as well. Once removed it takes only a couple seconds to burn the gunk off the top wicks running them through a gas flame. If the top wicks are too far gone/frayed just replace 'em.

Step 3: Finish your dry burn of the coil - and you aren't done until is stops producing nasty smoke.

Step 4: Leave the coil on the base and put it in some simmering water for all of maybe 2 minutes to get any ash out of the wick and coil from the dry burn. Put it in the simmering water Ego threading down - that forces water to percolate from the base through the coil/wick. While you are at it throw the metal vent tube in there as well to clean that too. When it's cool blow any water you can out of it.

Step 5: Dry burn off any water that's in the wick. If you did your real dry burn right you'll get some steam out of it until dry, but no additional nasty smoke odor. This part isn't really even necessary, but it confirms for me that all the gunk is really gone if this quickee burn to get the water out doesn't produce more gross smelling smoke. And it just dries everything out. Put the top wick back in and reinstall the vent tube. Done.

Five minutes, tops, largely depending on how long it takes to completely dry burn the coil in step 3. No vodka, everclear any any other type of alcohol required. And no soaking - period.

 

[B1sh0p]

I usually get 2-3 weeks per head. I vape all light colored juices and usually high PG. I switch flavors on the same head too. I never understood why people change tanks/heads to swap flavors. I change heads when I start getting dry hits, leaks or limited vapor. I also don't clean and dry burn a head. They're $1.50.

 

[Spazmelda]

If I went through as many wash/rinse/spin cycles as I see some people doing I probably wouldn't bother cleaning them either. When I clean:

Step 1: Dry burn it. No soaking in this then soaking in that. Remove the vent tube, leave the top wick in place, and just start burning.

Step 2: Once the gunk starts burning off and smoking then remove the top wicks. It just makes the whole process easier to even see the difference between them and the top coil, and remove them as well. Once removed it takes only a couple seconds to burn the gunk off the top wicks running them through a gas flame. If the top wicks are too far gone/frayed just replace 'em.

Step 3: Finish your dry burn of the coil - and you aren't done until is stops producing nasty smoke.

Step 4: Leave the coil on the base and put it in some simmering water for all of maybe 2 minutes to get any ash out of the wick and coil from the dry burn. Put it in the simmering water Ego threading down - that forces water to percolate from the base through the coil/wick. While you are at it throw the metal vent tube in there as well to clean that too. When it's cool blow any water you can out of it.

Step 5: Dry burn off any water that's in the wick. If you did your real dry burn right you'll get some steam out of it until dry, but no additional nasty smoke odor. This part isn't really even necessary, but it confirms for me that all the gunk is really gone if this quickee burn to get the water out doesn't produce more gross smelling smoke. And it just dries everything out. Put the top wick back in and reinstall the vent tube. Done.

Five minutes, tops, largely depending on how long it takes to completely dry burn the coil in step 3. No vodka, everclear any any other type of alcohol required. And no soaking - period.

One reason I prefer to dry burn rather than replace the coils every time is because I don't want to be removing that little rubber grommet very often. I can't find a suitable replacement, and every time you take them out you are putting wear and tear on them. In my mind, that's the piece that's going to limit the lifespan of a head. Dry burning for me is quick and easy, and IMO restores the coil to as good as new. I like my coils to be fresh and replacing them every time I was dissatisfied with the vape would get expensive. Here's how I do it.

Take the tank off, remove tank part and set aside.
Put head and base under hot running water while I get the rest of the stuff out. (Small pliers, 1 mm wick, nail clippers)
Use pliers to remove top stem.
Take off flavor wicks. If they look good, I set them aside to reuse. If they look too dirty I toss them.
Blot base and stem dry, and put on ecig.
Pulse battery until coils are glowing evenly and funky smoke disappears.
Remove head from base and put in a bottle of water. Shake through 2-3 rinses of water. Blot dry.
Put flavor wicks back on, or add new ones. Replace stem. Reassemble tank. Vape.

Just for kicks, I just timed myself. Took me 2 minutes and 37 seconds. Lol. I reused the flavor wicks. If I'd added new ones it would have added a little more time.