Who doesn't clean their atomizers?

[SharonLM]

I'm finding this thread really interesting and comforting. I do clean mine each night, but I won't feel so bad if I go a night or two without cleaning. However, I will more than likely set the atomizer so it can at least drain.

Now, I'm wondering about flavoring. There's so many threads about flavoring and mixes, etc. I wonder how many actually measure.

As an example, because a lot of my flavorings and e-liquids are still on their way, I've been mixing in a 15ml bottle, after it gets half empty, some glycerin, some 18, maybe 24, maybe 36 strength e-liquid. Never measuring, just topping off and I'll add some spearmint, different tobacco flavorings, etc and I've yet to have something that tasted awful.

18ml is not strong enough for me, I don't want to get hooked on 36ml so I just mix by topping off with 18, 24, or 36. Am I the only one who does this?

I know when my items come in I may take the time to mix carefully, but right now it's sure working for me.

 

[let_there_be_vaping]

Well, that settles it for me...

no more cleaning!

 

[Glock]

I have made several 801 battery mods using battery connectors. I have one or two dead attys.

The connector center post + connection is insulated from the - connection outer threads with a plastic insulator. The material is very thin and not very durable. This insulator can melt. If the insulator melts the atty is shorted!

Just a word of caution for those who like to boil attys.

No flames please, no need to explain how boiling works and has never caused a problem.

I just wanted to mention the plastic insulator in the connector.

Great post! It will just get buried, but I love a post that makes sense, mechanically.

 

[Glock]

Now, I'm wondering about flavoring. There's so many threads about flavoring and mixes, etc. I wonder how many actually measure.

As an example, because a lot of my flavorings and e-liquids are still on their way, I've been mixing in a 15ml bottle, after it gets half empty, some glycerin, some 18, maybe 24, maybe 36 strength e-liquid. Never measuring, just topping off and I'll add some spearmint, different tobacco flavorings, etc and I've yet to have something that tasted awful.

18ml is not strong enough for me, I don't want to get hooked on 36ml so I just mix by topping off with 18, 24, or 36. Am I the only one who does this?

I actually mix directly in my cart... Couple of drops of RY4 36, 6 or so drops of RY4 18, a few drops of vanilla 24 and a few drops of menthol 24 = yummy and great throat hit, etc.

Later I top off with RY4 18 or 36 or menthol 24 based on how it tastes.

I do want to get the right mix down and just have to deal with one bottle when I have the time. I did try mixing about 3ml in a bottle and I did not get it just right. Now that it is empty again I will try 3ml based on the ratios I mentioned above and once I get that right I will put together a 10 or 15ml bottle so I can leave the rest of the bottles at home. Plus it is a pain having to open 2 to 4 bottles to top off my cart...

 

[SharonLM]

I just keep topping off a 15ml bottle. But soon I'll probably get into all the flavors and mixing and wow, there goes my wallet again

 

[Emilia]

Wow! this is one very helpful thread, specially since I'm new to vaping.
I'll try not cleaning my atty, I don't think cleaning them with acids is a good choice. I'll drain them once a week.
I'll have to figure out about drippin vs topping up or refilling. I'll cross that bridge when I get my liquids.
I had someone tell me that it's a good practice to put a little glycerin in the wire mesh of the atty occasionally to keep it moist. Have any of you tried it?

 

[playerags]

Welcome to vaping Emilia! All of us here believe you have made a very wise choice grasshoppa. I mean froggy.

 

[Smokingfreely]

I rarely clean most my attys. I have to clean my 501s more because they wind up tasting like burnt plastic frequently - most of the time, I just blow them out - with the burnt ones I have used water, lemon juice, vinegar, even alcohol. The vinegar took the taste out, but then it took quite a while to get the vinegar out.... I burnt the cartridge for the very first time on an 801 a few days ago and it's proving more difficult to get the taste out of it than the 510 - maybe the atty size??

No attys died on me yet, although my 4072s - which I also use more than my 510 - aren't putting out quite the same amount of vapor as they used to and one is a very hard draw - the other the metal band broke on me and its a very easy draw now (I don't reccoment taking this off just in case the fluid overlows though.)

I have a new model that I'm hoping to bring to market (order on hold pending SE's injunction) that I have blown out but never cleaned either - still works like new (atty very similar to my M-403.)

 

[skullsoup432]

I was careful with my first atomizer (510). I drained it nightly, cleaned it once, then it died after only 15 total days of use.
I have been using the same Janty atomizer for 9 weeks this Saturday, always the same one. It is still kicking strong, even after going through a complete cycle in the washer. Hell, it took some finessing, but the battery still works, too. I do nothing to the atomizer, no preventative maintenance, I just vape.
After reading posts about caring for atomizers, including; cleaning, draining, rotating, praying for, talking to, giving it a BJ (both of you need to smoke afterwards) I figured to hell with it, just vape.

Just like humans, sometimes they just pass on prematurely. Others just refuse to check out. Go figure.

 

[playerags]

great post skull

 

[Antebellum]

I have six 801 vaporizers that I received between 4/19 and 4/29/07. At first, I tried rotating them, but then I discovered that I had a favorite. One particular atomizer has a light draw, gurgles enthusiastically, and for some reason, seems to produce a sweeter mist. My guess is that 90% of the time, I've selected this one atomizer to use.

I'm not sure in which batch, exactly, I got this atomizer. I don't track them like I do my batteries, but it's made it through at least a month of moderate to heavy vaping.

My precautions include blowing and draining if I think it's flooding and then stowing it upright over night to drain. I've never tried cleaning one.

Once a week or so, I test each atomizer and make sure that the mesh is wet.

I've had four battery failures. Two were from a bad batch - they shorted out, got hot, and quit. One failed from a flooded pressure switch. That one was fully my fault. The last one died in the charger. That was perplexing as it was working normally, flashed four times when I plugged the charger in, and then was a dud after the charge completed - just a dud. Now it does absolutely nothing. (I'm going to do an autopsy.)

When my favorite eventually does fail, I'm going to start marking the replacements and tracking them. Why track them? Simple, I'm buying them from a source that has a good warranty. I want to be able to say what the in-service date was. Also, I've spent well over a month's equivalent to smoking on e-cigs so far (and with me at 4 ppd when I quit), that's not chump change.

 

[fishhawk]

TW 901 Platinum. Never clean the atomizer and never had a problem. I've ruined one atomizer by breaking the wire inside the atomizer by aggressively twisting a paper towel in the battery end.

 

[Slea]

I'm still on my first penstyle atty with no cleaning. Not blowing out. Not even draining.

It's been going however long that doohickey down in my sig line says I've been vaping.

My EVO is similar, but I've had it about 1.5 weeks less.

(Actually, I blew the penstyle out once to change incompatible flavors. But not really a cleaning per se.)

I also drip like a .... and never ever leave a cart on.

 

[KreeL]

I don't clean the atty, BUT I do change out the stuffing in the cart I am using every other day. I also quit mixing VG or glycerine with my juice. No LorAnns for me either. Clean stuffing and clean juice is the answer for me. Since I started doing this I haven't had any failures. From my DIY days, I've got five or six attys that I will have to try a hard clean on.

 

[rinkusu]

I don't clean mine but do ocassionally let them drain overnight. I used 1 janty atomizer 2 mos. every day, heavy vaping all day long. It's resting now because I got some from beci and wanted to give them a try. I do drop mine from time to time (by accident not as part of "cleaning") and so far they seem to have suffered little. 1 from beci died after about 2 weeks. Oh, these are for the pentstyle by the way.

I got 5 penstyle atomizers from Beci. They all lasted approximately 2 weeks and strangely, all 5 died one after another in one day. No amount of cleaning / draining helped.

Beci is presently sending me 5 replacements. Great custy service!

I can't fathom what I could have done to make them all die at the same time- I rarely dripped and was very careful about it when I did. I did have serious problems with them not wicking the liquid in the carts properly for the entire time I used them.

I wonder if the over-sensitive batteries I was using (also purchased from Beci) had something to do with their simultanteous demise.

Hopefully using the replacement attys with the PS prodigy at 5v will correct any further issues!

 

[MustangDriver36]

Has anyone ever had a Atty stop working and then start working again? I have a Atty that I got yesturday and used for one day and it quit,any suggestions?

 

[karenrcg]

I don't clean my attys, the only one that I have cleaned I killed it stone dead I have only lost one other atomiser since October last year. I have a 901 atty that is now 6 months old, although I haven't used it recently cos I bought a Dura then the stick. I only ever blow them out occasionally and that is normally when i want to switch to a different flavour juice.

 

[Paradiso]

Has anyone ever had a Atty stop working and then start working again? I have a Atty that I got yesturday and used for one day and it quit,any suggestions?

I started a new 401 atty yesterday. This morning it started to fade, hardly gave any vapor.
After a while it has started to pick up again and is vaping quite well. Odd, it seems it needed to wake up this morning.

I have had no luck whatsoever with 401 attys (I have had 10 dead attys in a month). This new one will not get cleaned ever and I'll see if that affects longevity.

 

[Glock]

For those that have the atty's that stop working and start again, you are simply flooding your atty (too much juice)... Drain it or burn through it and it will work...

 

[tribalmasters]

I don't clean my atomisers, they are all very grubby!! I just chuck erm away when they turn to wimps!