Why Dry Atomizer After Washing?

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LedGecko

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But my question is why dry them after cleaning? Why not just blow them out to get the bulk of the water out and then prime and use them.

That is exactly what I do, and it works fine for me. As others have said, do what works best for you ... some of the methods you'll read here are (to me) overboard on a regular basis, but they work well when I need a thorough cleaning (like before switching flavors). In fact, I rarely "clean" them at all unless I'm switching flavors. If one gets hard to draw on, I just blow it out, prime, and go.

You'll quickly get the hang of what works best for you, and realize that it's not as complicated as the wealth of information here makes it seem.
 

spider362

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That is exactly what I do, and it works fine for me. As others have said, do what works best for you ... some of the methods you'll read here are (to me) overboard on a regular basis, but they work well when I need a thorough cleaning (like before switching flavors). In fact, I rarely "clean" them at all unless I'm switching flavors. If one gets hard to draw on, I just blow it out, prime, and go.

You'll quickly get the hang of what works best for you, and realize that it's not as complicated as the wealth of information here makes it seem.
Haven't had to clean any atomizers due to changing flavors yet, but I do have 8 different flavors coming soon so I'll need to do some cleaning then.

Have you tried using baking soda which is supposed to absorb odors out of the atomizer?

I think you might be confusing atomizer with cartomizer.
When people clean cartomizers they do let them dry a long time or even oven dry them to
compleatly dry the filling in them.
Attomizers dont need this kind of drying.
I can see where cartomizers need to be thoroughly dried.

Also, it's very possible I'm reading the posts wrong. I'll have to pay more attention as to whether they are referring to cartomizers or atomizers.

Thanks
 

LedGecko

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Have you tried using baking soda which is supposed to absorb odors out of the atomizer?

No, I haven't tried it. If the taste of the old flavor is still around after cleaning with water, it is usually gone by 5-10 puffs of the new flavor, if not sooner. The few times I've had a stubborn flavor, I got rid of it by rinsing the atty with Everclear, burning it off while blowing into the atty, then vaping several drops of pure PG until the taste was gone. (But then again, that's just "someone else's method" ... find what works for you.)

I only have a few flavors that I vape regularly now, and I have an atty dedicated to each one to avoid all this. I use a cheap atty for testing new flavors, so it's not a big deal if it gets destroyed by all the cleaning.
 

dgmilner

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Like most anything else that heats a liquid it will accumulate gunk around the heating element and should be cleaned out so it will operate more efficiently. Also there's a very good possibility of bacteria build up that should be cleaned out.

Not washing it every so often would be like reusing your coffee cup over and over without washing it. UGHHHHHH!!!!!


I think my batteries are gunked up. Is there anyway to clean those? Is there a known issue with batteries getting juice in them and no longer working?
 

spider362

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If it's an automatic battery, or a manual with a hole in the center where it screws onto the atomizer, then, yes, it's possible for the juice to get down inside where the switch is.

I had one of my auto battery switch start acting funky soon after I blew into the atomizer without taking it off the battery first (I was a very noobe then). I took some electrical cleaner I bought from Radio Shack and squirted some into the hole. Then I shook it out like you would one of the old mercury thermometers. Started working again after a couple hours of drying out.

If you don't have electrical cleaner, try denatured (wood/grain) alcohol, vodka, or Everclear. Swish the open end of the battery around in a small glass of it, shake it out, and let dry for a couple hours. (DON"T USE RUBBING ALCOHOL! IT WILL LEAVE A RESIDUE YOU CAN'T GET OUT!)

Acetone (fingernail polish remover) might work, too, but it might take the paint off the battery.
 

DC2

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However, I read so many posts where people say they dry theirs in the oven, use a hair dryer, let air dry for 24 - 36 hours, etc. To me that's just a waste of time since you're going to get it wet again anyway when you prime it and put the cartridge back on.
You've read those posts because too many people that don't dry the atomizer think they ruined it.
It doesn't really work with water in it, or at least it appears not to be working.
 

Whistle_Pig

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If you don't have electrical cleaner, try denatured (wood/grain) alcohol, vodka, or Everclear. Swish the open end of the battery around in a small glass of it, shake it out, and let dry for a couple hours. (DON"T USE RUBBING ALCOHOL! IT WILL LEAVE A RESIDUE YOU CAN'T GET OUT!)

Acetone (fingernail polish remover) might work, too, but it might take the paint off the battery.

There seems to be some confusion these days about denatured alcohol, and I even had it backwards in my head for a while too. I'm not sure the term "rubbing" alcohol has ever had a strict definition, for that matter. But, FWIW, rubbing alcohol used to be denatured ethyl alcohol. Nowadays, it seems to be somewhat synonymous with isopropyl. Whether denatured alcohol will leave a residue I suppose depends on what the denaturing agent is. Maybe there are "rubbing" alcohols which have other ingredients?

Rubbing Alcohol
Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, USP / B.P. contains 68-99% of isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) by volume, the remainder consisting of water, with or without color additives, suitable stabilizers, and perfume oils. Isopropyl alcohol is oxidized by the liver into acetone.
Of course, Wikipedia isn't always accurate either.

Best to read the label.
 

SuZamme

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Ahhhh, Western style, huh?

Boil coffee grounds in pot, pour in cup, drink, filtering coffee grounds with teeth, spit grounds back into pot for later use. :p

Put in coffee, put in crushed egg shell, put in water, boil. Egg shells make coffee grounds stay at the bottom when you pour.
Drink. Refill with water and boil as needed thru the day, adding a little more coffee each new day. Throw grounds on to some needy plants every Sunday and start over.
 

Whistle_Pig

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Ethanol is grain alcohol. Mmmmm, grain alcohol! (Not just grain, actually, for example mead from honey, wine from grapes and other plants.)

Methanol is wood alcohol. Poisonous.

You don't want to drink isopropyl either. I wasn't completely sure of how bad it is so I looked it up:
Isoproanol ingestion
9.1 Acute poisoning

9.1.1 Ingestion

This is the common route of poisoning. Absorption (80%) occurs within 30 minutes, and is complete within 2 hours. Symptoms are drowsiness, gastrointestinal pain, cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, with unconsciousness and death following massive exposure. In children, more than three swallows of 70% isopropyl alcohol results in symptoms requiring medical observation.

Isopropyl alcohol intoxication has a rapid onset of action (30 to 60 minutess) with peak effects occurring within several hours. Severe poisoning presents early with stupor leading to deep coma, respiratory depression and hypotension. Other symptoms are dizziness, poor coordination, headache, confusion, gastric irritation, abdominal pain, vomiting, haematemesis, hypotension, tachycardia, (and cardiodepression) and loss of deep tendon reflexes.

9.1.2 Inhalation

Common route of poisoning. Mild irritation of the respiratory tract occurs at 400 ppm. High concentrations can cause nausea, headache, lightheadedness, drowsiness, ataxia and deep narcosis.

Methanol was used (still is?) as a denaturing agent for ethanol which is to be sold "not for consumption.
 

PapaJoe8

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Ok, I don't wash my coffee cup. I just rinse it. Unless... I forget and leave it outside. We have coons and possums. Then I might give it a swipe w/ some soap.

I had an addy start geting hard to puff on this am and then it stopped vaping completely. I did the blow out thing but still hard to draw and no vape. I remembered reading about a burn off around here somewhere. I did that w/ my push putton 401 batt button down. It smoked a bit. Then I blew it out again. Wala... it then started slowly working. Works great again now. Next time I think I will give it a rinse w/ water, then burn off, then blow.
Joe
 
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