Attys Confusing Me

[Steve32]

I have a 510 and I think its great , problem is I have 4 attys 2 are 6 weeks or so old , of those 2 attys one has worked really well from the start and requires less cleaning . The other one has not worked so great ( less vapor ) , if I boil it in distilled water its usually much better for a short time and then its back to poor vapor and it gets really hot quite quickly not like my good one which stays warm but doesn't get too hot .

I have 2 more new attys which are 1 week old , again one works great the other one not so great . I'm going to try boiling the poor one and see how it is .

Have other people seen this with the 510 attys or is it my bad luck . Can I fix them in some way ?

[Steve32]

Oh ya and the poor new one gets hotter aswell

[Christopher]

Well most atomizers really should be changed at around 5 weeks or so. I suggest changing them around 4 to be honest. As for some working better than others, this isn't just the Joye atomizers it's all atomizers. It's just part of the quality control in China. Some work great and others work ok. I used to be much worse way back when, in fact you'd be lucky to have an atomizer last longer than 1-2 weeks. Suppliers are always pushing China to provide better products but atomizers should always be treated as disposable.

[Brian]

I've had a couple of poor performing atty's out of the gate, but for the most part I've been pretty lucky. I agree with Chris, if it lasts 4+ weeks, be happy. What brand atty's are you using? Are they Joye, or another brand?

[Steve32]

They are joye ones . So they last one month and you have to buy 2 because from. One to another they might not be good ? That sucks .

Can I take an atty apart and out it back together better to make it work better ? On one of them if I look into it I can see a white wick thing coming from under the mesh part is that wrong ?

[mcquinn]

I have found the same thing ,I think some just do not get as hot as others and they tend to carbon up very quick depending on the liquid .As a rule for me it seems the tastier the liquid the quicker the atties carbon up.I suspect whatever the sweetening agent is causes this.I only use 3.7 or 4 volts ,people who vape at 5 or 6 volts seem to have less trouble ,I suppose the higher voltage tends to burn off the carbon better.When you find a good atty enjoy it and baby it I one my first one actually that lasted over six months and produced great vapor the whole time .It is actually amazing these things work at all as something will always get left behind when you vaporise the liquid carrier.

[Lee]

They are joye ones . So they last one month and you have to buy 2 because from. One to another they might not be good ? That sucks .

Can I take an atty apart and out it back together better to make it work better ? On one of them if I look into it I can see a white wick thing coming from under the mesh part is that wrong ?

I recommend buying attys in bulk quantities of at least five. You get a break on the price and you have back up in case a bad one shows up. I know it seems like you're spending a lot of money, but think about what you used to spend on analogs.

I order five attys at a time from ecigsupply.com at around $37.00. I order 3 bottles of juice at a time at around $29.00. The attys last me at least two months(I have two or three e-cigs in play at a time), so that works out to $18.50/month on attys. The juice lasts about two weeks, which works out to around $60.00/month for juice. That's $78.50/month.

I smoked 4 cartons of analogs per month, which cost me around $160.00. The way I figure it, I'm saving almost $100 month by vaping.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Lee

[Steve32]

I see , I was hoping they'd last longer , 2 months is more reasonable . I will try all the recommendations for cleaning including using a clean cartrige+filler and put warm water in the cartrige and run it a few times without inhaling . Ive read this helps some . Also might try an alcohol soak , what's a good alcohol to use ?

I will be buying more attys and batteries as I'm supporting a few friends now . I got the kits in after some friends saw my unit . I don't want my friends to have problems either so ill get in more supplys attys especially now that I'm hearing about the issues

[mcquinn]

If you have one that does not work ,you can take it apart I have on occasion fixed a few.I have found wires come loose from the connecter (most likely from me trying to pry them down to make contact )and resoldered them.I tried once to crush the carbon ball but the element broke in the process.It is kinda neat to lok at whats in one and if it aint workin right anyway you aren't going to be out anything.You might just be "The Chosen One" and when you see whats in there it might be obviouse to you how to make a better atty.Some people hook the bridge and pull it out to expose the element for dripping ,I would think it would cause you to have to drip more often as there is no bridge to hold a supply of liquid.Someone uses a Waterpick to clean atties,I suppose if it aint working you got nothing to lose and if you get a few more days it might be worth it.All in al just keep plenty on hand and have some fun with it.I get the 901 and 801/302LB three packs from ElectroNicStix and they have five packs for 510's.

[Brandon]

Lots of good info given here, and I agree with all of it 100%.

I will help to reiterate that not all atomizers perform the same even within the same brand, and same box! It's just a fact of vaping life.

In regards to cleaning, I still promote cleaning with vinegar (soak in white distilled vinegar for several hours; then a really good wash with warm water; then drying overnight). It's not a very popular approach, I think folks are scared off by the knowledge that vinegar is an acid. But for me personally, it's worked fantastic. The carbon mess that builds up from vaping sweet juices is totally cleaned away and they come out looking brand-spanking new.

But in either case, we just have to consider atomizers as being a very temporary piece of equipment.

[mcquinn]

There is a person on one of the forums who uses citric acid to clean his ,you should be able to rinse about anything out of there eventualy.

[Steve32]

Ok at least its a common thing . If you use the vinigar method , you say the atty gets really clean about how much longer can you get your atty to produce good vapor ?

Sombody start a thread " how long has your atty lasted '" whos got the oldest atty ?

[mcquinn]

I personaly have found that if I have one that will not glow orange when I hook it up to my 5 volt pass through ,even though it gets hot to the touch it will never vape correctly.I use this test on my 510 style ,my 901's and my 801/302 LB atties.It is time to toss them when they fail this test for me.I am pretty picky about the liquid I buy any more and have been having less problems since I use exclusivly imported liquids.But that is what works for me .