After reading the boards and using an e-cig for a little over a month, I thought I would post some tips/trouble shooting information about atomizers. If any of this information is wrong hopefully someone who has been using e-cigs longer than me will chime in and correct me!
Bad Taste:
Did you blow out the primer juice? Atomizers need to be wet. They will come with icky tasting primer on them in order to stay wet for storage and shipping.
Disassemble the e-cig. Grab some kleenex and your atomizer. Blow into the side that the cart sits in and use the kleenex to catch the liquid that comes out. When no more liquid comes out, the primer fluid should hopefully be gone. Make sure to wipe any liquid off of the treads.
Now that you have blown out all of the liquid in the atomizer, you will need to re-moisten it. Just put a couple of drops of your e-juice right on the bridge of the atomizer. There might be a little bit of the primer left so it may take a couple of puffs to get rid of the primer taste.
Burnt Taste:
-Dry Atomizer
If you are getting a burnt taste, your atomizer may not have enough liquid. There is several reasons why this may happen. Your cart may be dry. You might be puffing faster than your atomizer can wick the liquid. Put a couple of drops of e-liquid on the atomizer bridge and take a few puffs. If the burnt taste went away, you just need to figure out why your atomizer is not getting liquid.
-Build up in atomizer
It is possible that you may have some build up on the coils of the atomizer. This seems to happen to me when I use darker color liquids - that may just be imagined or observer error. In any case, this is the method I use to try to get rid of that taste: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html
If you do use this method, your atomizer is going to be very dry. You will need to put several drops of e-liquid on the bridge of the atomizer.
Flooded Atomizer:
If you are not getting much in the way of vapor and there is a gurgling sound you most likely flooded the atomizers. There is too much liquid. Disassemble the e-cig. Grab some kleenex and your atomizer. Blow into the side that the cart sits in and use the kleenex to catch the liquid that comes out. If you completely blow out the atomizer, remember to put a few drops on the bridge of the atomizer before you start puffing.
Some additional tips:
-Changing E-juice flavors
I bought some pure glycerin USP from CVS. When I am changing flavors, I put a couple of drops of the glycerin on the bridge of the atomizer and puff that (I don't inhale, but you can if you want) to get rid of the current flavor. Some stronger flavors (like cinnamon or clove) will not come out. You will probably want to dedicate your atomizer to that flavor.
-Lining the cart and atomizer up
If you look inside your atomizer, there is a white square looking thingy. Now look at your cart. The cart is square in shape. When you put your cart on the atomizer, the squares should line up. Hopefully this explanation is not confusing.
Bad Taste:
Did you blow out the primer juice? Atomizers need to be wet. They will come with icky tasting primer on them in order to stay wet for storage and shipping.
Disassemble the e-cig. Grab some kleenex and your atomizer. Blow into the side that the cart sits in and use the kleenex to catch the liquid that comes out. When no more liquid comes out, the primer fluid should hopefully be gone. Make sure to wipe any liquid off of the treads.
Now that you have blown out all of the liquid in the atomizer, you will need to re-moisten it. Just put a couple of drops of your e-juice right on the bridge of the atomizer. There might be a little bit of the primer left so it may take a couple of puffs to get rid of the primer taste.
Burnt Taste:
-Dry Atomizer
If you are getting a burnt taste, your atomizer may not have enough liquid. There is several reasons why this may happen. Your cart may be dry. You might be puffing faster than your atomizer can wick the liquid. Put a couple of drops of e-liquid on the atomizer bridge and take a few puffs. If the burnt taste went away, you just need to figure out why your atomizer is not getting liquid.
-Build up in atomizer
It is possible that you may have some build up on the coils of the atomizer. This seems to happen to me when I use darker color liquids - that may just be imagined or observer error. In any case, this is the method I use to try to get rid of that taste: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/tips-tricks/69834-my-atty-resurrection-method.html
If you do use this method, your atomizer is going to be very dry. You will need to put several drops of e-liquid on the bridge of the atomizer.
Flooded Atomizer:
If you are not getting much in the way of vapor and there is a gurgling sound you most likely flooded the atomizers. There is too much liquid. Disassemble the e-cig. Grab some kleenex and your atomizer. Blow into the side that the cart sits in and use the kleenex to catch the liquid that comes out. If you completely blow out the atomizer, remember to put a few drops on the bridge of the atomizer before you start puffing.
Some additional tips:
-Changing E-juice flavors
I bought some pure glycerin USP from CVS. When I am changing flavors, I put a couple of drops of the glycerin on the bridge of the atomizer and puff that (I don't inhale, but you can if you want) to get rid of the current flavor. Some stronger flavors (like cinnamon or clove) will not come out. You will probably want to dedicate your atomizer to that flavor.
-Lining the cart and atomizer up
If you look inside your atomizer, there is a white square looking thingy. Now look at your cart. The cart is square in shape. When you put your cart on the atomizer, the squares should line up. Hopefully this explanation is not confusing.
