When Do I Need To Clean My Atomizer

[Oddler]

ive had my rio for about 2 weeks now..and idk if im just paranoid but i think its starting to taste bad..been tryin a lot of different flavors and stuff..but anyway..wen do i need to clean it..and would rubbing alcohol work..?

[Sinikal]

I would definitely not use rubbing alcohol. Its good to clean the atty when you notice a decrease in performance or like you said, its tasting bad. All you need is some distilled water, a pot, and a stove. Bring the distilled water to a boil, take your atty drop it in boiling water for about 10mins. After that just set it out to air dry preferably for 24 hours. Make sure before starting your atty back up to put juice on it. You dont want to start an atty dry, it can damage or even break it.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Sinikal

[VegasVapor]

I would definitely not use rubbing alcohol. Its good to clean the atty when you notice a decrease in performance or like you said, its tasting bad. All you need is some distilled water, a pot, and a stove. Bring the distilled water to a boil, take your atty drop it in boiling water for about 10mins. After that just set it out to air dry preferably for 24 hours. Make sure before starting your atty back up to put juice on it. You dont want to start an atty dry, it can damage or even break it.

Hey, I've used this method once and it works great. Brought 3 attys back to life. But have you noticed the attys burning through juice a lot faster now? Maybe it's just me. These are 510 attys by the way.

[TheGreen]

As a weekly routine, I take the mouthpiece of and run hot water from the tap(my water at home is pretty hot) into the mouthpiece end out the battery end for about a minute or so. I seems to work really good for me. I haven't had to boil my atty's in quite awhile.

About a month ago I did gather up all my atty's and mouthpieces, boiled some water, dropped them in and turned off the heat. I let them sit for 10min(before the water cooled). Removed and blew out the excess water then let dryer 24hrs.

Oh I forgot to mention. Remove the atty from the battery.

[Speakeasy]

Thanks for the topic, Oddler. I'm gonna try this out

[Oddler]

is it possible for the atty to take more than 24 hours to dry..?if i assemble the cig and i here cracking does that mean its still wet..?i really hope i didnt f*kk sh*t up..

[keenan]

is it possible for the atty to take more than 24 hours to dry..?if i assemble the cig and i here cracking does that mean its still wet..?i really hope i didnt f*kk sh*t up..

After 24 hrs it SHOULD be dry, but still you should blow it out as a precaution. Im assuming youre putting liquid in the cart or on the atty when you start, and not burning it dry. The crackling you here is normal, as long as its not TOO loud.

[Christopher]

You can always put it in front of a fan and blow it out.

It will still work if it's wet it just won't vape properly. Kinda like having water in your gas, you car will run...but like crap

[VegasVapor]

is it possible for the atty to take more than 24 hours to dry..?if i assemble the cig and i here cracking does that mean its still wet..?i really hope i didnt f*kk sh*t up..

The crackling is normal. I see it as a sign that the atty is working. I actually like hearing it cuz usually it means I'm going to get a good drag.

[keenan]

You can always put it in front of a fan and blow it out.

It will still work if it's wet it just won't vape properly. Kinda like having water in your gas, you car will run...but like crap

Been there, done that. BADDD day!

[TheSmokingMan]

Is it really that big of a deal to try to save the atty? I mean, I understand getting your money's worth and then some out of a product, but when is too much effort just too much and not worth the ten bucks for a new atty? I vape a lot, I mean a whole lot, I vape 5 to 6 mil's a day. That figures out to about 200 drops when dripping into an atty. When I smoked I smoked two and a half packs a day. I was spending five grand a year on cigarettes, ten bucks a month for a new atty is a drop in the bucket. I am trying to make vaping as simple as smoking without a bunch of hassle and special equipment. I have been using the 801LB on my VP2's and just shelve them after a month when the vapor production falls off. I keep a ready supply of new attys and carry an extra with me in the battery case, just in case. If I forget to order more attys then I will use one of the old ones until Arno can get me some more.

[nana]

I'm so glad I read this post. I've been wondering if it was worth the time and effort to clean the attys. I also want to keep things simple and so far it hasn't seemed all that simple to me. I really liked your comments TheSmokingMan. I think I will do the same thing you're doing. I bought the VP2 because I liked the idea of more vapor and the longer battery life. To be able to take only it, an extra battery, an extra atty, and juice with me when I'm on the road sounds great. I've been taking so much more so far - a couple of e-cigs, several batteries, a car charger, extra carts, etc. I even ended up buying an adapter so I could use my pass thru in the car. I tried the different fillers for the carts and finally started dripping - which worked so much better and cut down on some of the stuff I take with me.

It may have taken me some time, but I think I'm finally figuring this all out and deciding what's good for me. I've wondered for awhile now if I'm vaping way too much, but after reading this, I know I don't go through that much juice - although I do seem to vape a lot more than I smoked. I've looked for info on what others are doing, how much equipment they keep, etc. I really appreciate everyone telling what they do as that has helped me out a lot. It would have saved me a lot if I'd read all of this before ordering all the stuff I have, but it was still worth it. I'd decided it might be a good idea for me to keep several extras attys and batteries on hand and now I read that others do it. At first I only had one extra battery and one extra atty, but after having some quit on me, I know I need more. I thought maybe it was just me doing something wrong, but now I don't think so.

[FTJoe]

I'm so glad I read this post. I've been wondering if it was worth the time and effort to clean the attys. I also want to keep things simple and so far it hasn't seemed all that simple to me. I really liked your comments TheSmokingMan. I think I will do the same thing you're doing...

But I'm cheap at heart. And I think my JC juice was clogging the atty after a day. Boiling does seem to work, I put my attys on a wooden spoon to prevent heating up at the bottom of the pan. Not too tough to do, I'll probably rotate them into the water each week and drop the JC juice once I determine that really was the culprit. I have 6 810 attys right now so rotating not an issue. I have 5 510 batts and 4 510 attys as a backup in case my JantyStick goes down. Four batteries for the JantyStick, two 360mah stock and two 500mah bought from dealextreme. I tried a cigarette after two weeks of vaping and I almost threw up as soon as it hit my throat. So I know I have to never go back again, for the sake of another $100-$200 of backup product, in relation to the money I'm saving it's nothing. Nevermind the health benefits and also I'm down to about 0 nicotine, so if I went back to a cigarette as a stopgap, I'd be addicted again.

[TheSmokingMan]

But I'm cheap at heart. And I think my JC juice was clogging the atty after a day. Boiling does seem to work, I put my attys on a wooden spoon to prevent heating up at the bottom of the pan. Not too tough to do, I'll probably rotate them into the water each week and drop the JC juice once I determine that really was the culprit. I have 6 810 attys right now so rotating not an issue. I have 5 510 batts and 4 510 attys as a backup in case my JantyStick goes down. Four batteries for the JantyStick, two 360mah stock and two 500mah bought from dealextreme. I tried a cigarette after two weeks of vaping and I almost threw up as soon as it hit my throat. So I know I have to never go back again, for the sake of another $100-$200 of backup product, in relation to the money I'm saving it's nothing. Nevermind the health benefits and also I'm down to about 0 nicotine, so if I went back to a cigarette as a stopgap, I'd be addicted again.

Have you noticed if only JC juice is clogging your attys or if other suppliers juices clog them as well?

[StringDancer]

To be honest, I've never had all that much luck boiling attys. They may be cleaner, but they still draw like crap and just don't crank out the vapor like a fresh one. Maybe I'm not boiling the water right (how dumb does one have to be to not know how to boil water?).

I'm more of the opinion that just keeping a stash of fresh 801 attys works best for me. As others have noted, I'm spending so much less on ecigs than I did on analogs, I'm not at all concerned about the cost... and then there's my apparent problem with boiling water.... Simplicity works for me.

[keenan]

Maybe I'm not boiling the water right (how dumb does one have to be to not know how to boil water?).

Let me introduce you to my wife .......

[TheSmokingMan]

Let me introduce you to my wife .......

I have a feeling (I get those sometime), that you and I are going to come face to face. When we do I'm telling your wife what you said!

"On Topic" I am a simple man, and I live a fast life at times. When it's time to go, it's time to go! I grab my juice, my VP2 and battery pack that contains two fresh charged batteries and one spare atty and dash out the door to a fire somewhere. With that I can be gone for at least 16 hours with out running out of batteries. If I'm going to be gone over night, i throw a charger in my scat pack and bolt!

I really don't have time to boil attys and after the time I tried to make a citronella candle out of an old candle, my wife is a little short when it comes to weird stuff in the kitchen.

Exactly how do you get wax out of the cracks in the cabinet doors?

[vapemudgeon]

I've been rotating 2 901 atty's for about a month.... I blow it out every couple of days.... and they keep cook'n !

[FTJoe]

Have you noticed if only JC juice is clogging your attys or if other suppliers juices clog them as well?

Seemed to be the only one as my Vermont Vapor chocomint is going strong. I was running a mix of JC and VV with a little VT for some nic and it was a disaster. I've also switched back to a cart as I just thought the direct drip was a pain with the 801 attys. I think I may have been missing the wick as I heard the gurgling sound a lot. The vapor seems much better with the cart installed and it's so much easier. Direct dripping seemed to be better for the 510 but it was much easier to hit the wick on the 510 atty and the carts always seemed to dry up quick and taste foul.

To be fair, I really need to get some new attys and experiment with the combos, if only VT would do a 0 nic juice, they have my fav menthol taste in Mentha.

[TheSmokingMan]

Seemed to be the only one as my Vermont Vapor chocomint is going strong. I was running a mix of JC and VV with a little VT for some nic and it was a disaster. I've also switched back to a cart as I just thought the direct drip was a pain with the 801 attys. I think I may have been missing the wick as I heard the gurgling sound a lot. The vapor seems much better with the cart installed and it's so much easier. Direct dripping seemed to be better for the 510 but it was much easier to hit the wick on the 510 atty and the carts always seemed to dry up quick and taste foul.

To be fair, I really need to get some new attys and experiment with the combos, if only VT would do a 0 nic juice, they have my fav menthol taste in Mentha.

I don't clean my attys, I use them for about a month and then shelve them, I keep them on hand in case I run out of new ones. I have had several fizzle out on me, three to be exact, two was because of an accident with over heating and the third just quit one day after I dripped JC juice in it after using VT juice in it for weeks, a fluke I suppose. I have been using Arno's 801 Low Bridge attys and I have shelved one, burnt one up on accident and I am on the third one for a week now. I don't really taste a difference when the atty is new as opposed to when it's broke in. They all get a funky taste when they need juice but other than that I have no complaints. I just don't see the need to clean my attys.

I also don't switch attys when I switch flavors, of course I don't vape menthol or anything with mint in it, I do not like mint anything, except a piece of chewing once or twice in a blue moon, but chewing gum was frowned upon in my house when I grew up.

Edited November 14, 2009 by TheSmokingMan

[mergryphon]

You can always put it in front of a fan and blow it out.

It will still work if it's wet it just won't vape properly. Kinda like having water in your gas, you car will run...but like crap

The whole boiling thing kinda scares me. Aren't there electronic connections in there can be ruined?

Jen

[TheSmokingMan]

The whole boiling thing kinda scares me. Aren't there electronic connections in there can be ruined?

Jen

No, the atty has no electronic parts save for the element. It is like the burners on an electric stove only miniaturized and it's not coiled. It will not hurt it to get it wet, after all the eJuice goes on the element. The electronic parts that you do not want to get wet are contained in the battery, those you don't boil. Hope this helps. And Welcome to the forum, yo must have joined while I was out of town these past few weeks, I hope you like it here.

Edited November 14, 2009 by TheSmokingMan

[TheSmokingMan]

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Edited November 14, 2009 by TheSmokingMan

[GDub]

I've tried the RC Cola method with success on my old M-401s. For anyone that hasn't come across this one yet it's really simple. Just soak the atomizer in RC Cola (most colas work, but I read somewhere RC has the most acidity) then rinse it out really good and let it dry. A lot like back when you used some coke to clean off dirty pennies in school.

[FTJoe]

the third just quit one day after I dripped JC juice in it after using VT juice in it for weeks, a fluke I suppose.

I think it's the JC juice. Went back to it in my mix, I just love the background taste of JC. Creamy, smokey...I can't put my finger on it...