Why/how do atomizers die?

[plastick]

I've had a DSE for over 4 months and I've never had my atomizer die. I got a Pilot M401 platinum about 2-3 weeks ago and the atomizer randomly quit on me tonight. I am desperate because I love my Pilot far more than the DSE.

What exactly goes wrong? How many things can go wrong? I mean, it's just a ball of small metal wires, right? I don't get it! It's driving me insane!

 

[bracky1]

Inside the atomiser there is a tiny coil of wire. Everytime you draw it heats up to vapourise the liquid. The constant heating up/cooling down eventually causes the wire to break, killing the atomiser.

 

[surbitonPete]

I've had a DSE for over 4 months and I've never had my atomizer die. I got a Pilot M401 platinum about 2-3 weeks ago and the atomizer randomly quit on me tonight. I am desperate because I love my Pilot far more than the DSE.

What exactly goes wrong? How many things can go wrong? I mean, it's just a ball of small metal wires, right? I don't get it! It's driving me insane!

Wow if only I could have an atomizer last for 4 months...I have only been vaping for two months and have used 6 evo atomizers.

 

[plastick]

Wow if only I could have an atomizer last for 4 months...I have only been vaping for two months and have used 6 evo atomizers.

My original njoy atomizer is over 6 months old and has been through atleast 10 cleaning cycles (although I don't use it anymore because of DSE/Pilot). I've never had an atomizer die on me before, and neither has my friend who also has had a DSE for the same amount of time (and we are both heavy smokers).

Is there any way to repair this coil manually?

 

[swanee]

My DSE atomizer has been going 63 days and counting..

 

[surbitonPete]

My original NJOY atomizer is over 6 months old and has been through atleast 10 cleaning cycles (although I don't use it anymore because of DSE/Pilot). I've never had an atomizer die on me before, and neither has my friend who also has had a DSE for the same amount of time (and we are both heavy smokers).

Is there any way to repair this coil manually?

Wow I always said I was born unlucky........I am afraid once an atomizer is cold there isn't any way to repair it...the wire it's made of is as fine as hair and once it breaks that's it.

 

[plastick]

Wow I always said I was born unlucky........I am afraid once an atomizer is cold there isn't any way to repair it...the wire it's made of is as fine as hair and once it breaks that's it.

There must be something that can be done! Do you know what material the wire is made of? And maybe there is a way to replace said wire with an alternative material of connection? If this extremely thin wire is solely responsible for atomizing the liquid, what do the rest of the metal wires do?

It sounds like it's made with a light bulb filament! Damnit!

 

[surbitonPete]

There must be something that can be done! Do you know what material the wire is made of? And maybe there is a way to replace said wire with an alternative material of connection? If this extremely thin wire is solely responsible for atomizing the liquid, what do the rest of the metal wires do?

It sounds like it's made with a light bulb filament! Damnit!

It's actually finer than most light bulb filaments..I have looked at it under a microscope.....the metal mesh you see that forms an arch over the heating coil is just a mesh for carrying the liquid to the heating coil. You would certainly need some special equipment to be able to fix an atomizer....it's far too small.

 

[jimgman]

its a filament(coiled around a rod though) just like a lightbulb. they last just as randomly as lightbulbs. unlike a lightbulb, you control how hot they burn though, so i think people go through them fast because they run them too hot. what they should implement on these is temp. sensors...i think that would save a lot of atomizers... i'm going on 3 months, and have yet to have one die, though i have been using multiple units.

 

[Di]

how do you clean your attomizers

you seem to be doing something right.

Di

 

[CandyGirl]

my brother explained it to me this way. think of it as your car's engine and cooling system. when the coolant's gone, boom engine's gone. always keep it topped off. it's a small inconvenience for an atomizer lasting 6 months or more.
keep it clean and keep it cool.
(of course your still at the mercy of how well it's constructed to begin with)

 

[surbitonPete]

my brother explained it to me this way. think of it as your car's engine and cooling system. when the coolant's gone, boom engine's gone. always keep it topped off. it's a small inconvenience for an atomizer lasting 6 months or more.
keep it clean and keep it cool.
(of course your still at the mercy of how well it's constructed to begin with)

I followed all the different advice with my 6 atomizers in two months.....I couldn't even overheat them if I wanted to because the evo cut's out for 2 mins if I drew on them for too long and I never let them get too dry...

 

[exogenesis]

Wouldn't like to vote on the Totally Wicked site
"How long do /should atomizers last?" thread would you?

wubblewubblewubble.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=439.0
(that would have been a link, but it was disallowed, < 15 posts)

The 0.01 mm Nichrome wire eventually burns out with use, I think this is amplified by clogging with carbonised e-liquid.

It seems regular washing may help, whether with solvent and/or hot water.

I need some help with motivation to lay out some dosh for an attempt at a platinum-wire based atomizer,
possibly with something better than the polymer-fibre coil-cores currently being used (like what?)

 

[trog100]

try this for size..

we throw ours after two weeks on average.. they dont just die they just produce less and less vapour... if you dont want much vapour and dont use them much they can be made to last longer..

the one in the pics is one week old..

trog

 

[surbitonPete]

I have seen your pictures before trog.......they are absolutely brilliant ..I tried to do one with my camera's macro but nothing like as good as those.
I have tested every cleaner I can think of (apart from battery acid) on my broken ones to see if anything will dissolve that black gunge and nothing seems to touch it.

 

[Rorschach]

try this for size..

we throw ours after two weeks on average.. they dont just die they just produce less and less vapour... if you dont want much vapour and dont use them much they can be made to last longer..

the one in the pics is one week old..

trog

Eek that looks like a really nasty segmented worm!

 

[Houdini]

Nice trog! Perfect shot to give everyone an idea of what's going on in the atomizer.

 

[Spikey]

Wouldn't like to vote on the Totally Wicked site
"How long do /should atomizers last?" thread would you?

wubblewubblewubble.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=439.0
(that would have been a link, but it was disallowed, < 15 posts)

The 0.01 mm Nichrome wire eventually burns out with use, I think this is amplified by clogging with carbonised e-liquid.

It seems regular washing may help, whether with solvent and/or hot water.

I need some help with motivation to lay out some dosh for an attempt at a platinum-wire based atomizer,
possibly with something better than the polymer-fibre coil-cores currently being used (like what?)

Anyone know what temp it takes to heat titanium? If we could find titanium blend wire that will heat up.. we could make atomizers that last 100X as long (if they were washed every day)! I would shell out $50 for an atomizer if it was likely to last for years instead of weeks. If anyone wants to try making one... find the voltage required to heat titanium wire (thinnest gauge) to orange color .. lemme know.. I will try to find the wire if the battery capacity is enough to actually heat it that hot. The screwdriver may be the only device with enough capacity and if it sucks the life out of the battery it will not be worth it.

By the way... the only atomizer that died so far for me was the one that got killed by JC "cough medicine" flavor. I used the 901 for 10 days straight and then the 401 with 2 atomizers (alternating) for the past 6 weeks. I wash out 2X a week and have not had an atomizer die on me yet.

 

[surbitonPete]

I would certainly be happy to pay more for an atomizer that could be guaranteed to maintain it's 'as new' efficiency and last for a decent length of time. At the moment I am thinking they cost far too much for how reliable and how efficient they are.

 

[kinabaloo]

That tar-like stuff on the atomiser looks like burnt (caramelised) sugar to me so i suspect that atomiser was used with sweet fluid.