Boiling water to clean prebuilt coils?

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Justin L

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I know there is a lot of threads about this but I’m reading a lot of mixed answers so not really sure. Is it ok to soak prebuilt(smok) coils to clean them out a bit. I know nothing will help a burnt coil, and you shouldn’t rely on doing this repeatedly but more so only 1 or 2. I see some people are saying that you can’t use boiling water or any liquid at that for cotton coils because it will just ruin them. Then again I see some people say that it works good. Just curious what your opinions are for a bit more clarification. Once again, Thankyou ECF. This forum has helped me learn a lot.
 
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440BB

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Boiling is fine but not my first choice. I would start with a soak in vodka, then a hot water rinse. No guarantees on whether it will give you more vaping time as it depends on how gunked up the coils are before cleaning. Good luck experimenting!
 

zoiDman

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I know there is a lot of threads about this but I’m reading a lot of mixed answers so not really sure. Is it ok to soak prebuilt(smok) coils to clean them out a bit. I know nothing will help a burnt coil, and you shouldn’t rely on doing this repeatedly but more so only 1 or 2. I see some people are saying that you can’t use boiling water or any liquid at that for cotton coils because it will just ruin them. Then again I see some people say that it works good. Just curious what your opinions are for a bit more clarification. Once again, Thankyou ECF. This forum has helped me learn a lot.

You can do it. But as Beamslider mentioned, it Isn't going to bring it all the way back.

Get an RTA and Trust Me, you will Never Look Back.
 

Justin L

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You can do it. But as Beamslider mentioned, it Isn't going to bring it all the way back.

Get an RTA and Trust Me, you will Never Look Back.
Yea I plan to but I’ve only been vaping for 3weeks ( the day I joined ECF) so trying to learn about vaping in general first lol. But I hear nothing but good things about RTA’s.
 

Steve Parry

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Yea I plan to but I’ve only been vaping for 3weeks ( the day I joined ECF) so trying to learn about vaping in general first lol. But I hear nothing but good things about RTA’s.
Awesome approach. Learning first, then building.

You can boil them. Trouble is it can mess up the cotton and lead to leaks or dry hits, and they won't be like new or last as long, but it can be done to save a buck or two if you need to.
 
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zoiDman

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Yea I plan to but I’ve only been vaping for 3weeks ( the day I joined ECF) so trying to learn about vaping in general first lol. But I hear nothing but good things about RTA’s.

Always a Good Plan to have something you know that works that you can Fall Back to. Especially if an e-Cigarette is the Only think keeping a person from Smoking.

An RTA will free you Dependency of having to buying Coil Heads. And Very Quickly will start saving you Money. You can also Fine Tune the hit you get by the Type of Build you put in an RTA.

You also Don't have to even make your own Coils if you don't want to.

And you can get something like these if you are Lazy like me...

$2.20 Authentic MKWS 316 Stainless Steel Pre-Coiled Wires for RBA Atomizers (50-Pack) - 26 AWG / 0.4mm dia. / 0.32ohm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

$1.87 Pre-Coiled Wires for RBA RDA RTA Rebuildable Atomizers (50-Pack) 50-pack - 29 AWG / 1.1ohm / 0.3mm dia. / 15*15mm leads / 5 loops at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping
 

stols001

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RTAs are great and I love mine. I still use some storebought coils.

I used to "revive" mine early on (I used a hot water "soak" overnight then rinsed with hot water. I ceased the practice as a) with more setups, I'm not going through coils as often, mainly because I'm not chain vaping on one device, that can be a coil killer along with other things) so even my coil life is longer despite having more setups, well not chain vaping causes my coils to last longer period, is what I'm saying. RTAs are great although I think there will always be some drop in coils in my life.

I ceased the practice as a) I know those coils were getting clean enough to reuse but I will also say, b) their life was short and usually fairly unpredictable. I got a few more days out of a coil (sometimes) but I just didn't enjoy "not knowing" exactly when my coil would die, sometimes after I refilled something completely leading me to discard the juice.

So sure, RTAs are a worthy endeavor but it's certainly fine to be patient on those (unless they are really calling to you) in which case you want to check out the rebuildable atomizer forums, tons of great advice on types of rebuildable tanks, coil building and etc.

Anna
 

steeledragon78

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Since youre just starting out, a few questions....

are you using a regulated mod or a unregulated stick?

is the tank you are using a tootlepuffer (mouth to lung) or a BIG-AIR-CLOUDS-BRO-CLOUDS (direct lung sub ohm) tank?

the reasoning behind the questions is there are different drop-in and rta tanks for those methods. a good tootlepuffer would be an innokin zenith or joyetech cubis, while for clouds the vaporesso cascade and smok beast series are good.

if you are looking for best coil longevity, you really cant beat an rta, (but since youre new, here are a few safety stipulations) i recommend using only a regulated mod and good batteries, an external resistance checker for testing builds, and a good coil jig. a regulated mod with good batteries like any of the 80 watt single 18650 devices ( there are too many to mention), or even a dual 18650 mod will have most of the safety features you need for newbie building. the resistance checkers are dirt cheap and run on a couple of AA batteries, this will help you figure out your wraps/ohm balance during early builds and keep you honest as you get more proficient. @Mooch has you covered for good battery recommendations in his blog, and he doesn't sugar coat the ratings he gives. and the coil jig will save you from embedding the atties in the wall from frustration in getting your builds made. Wow, that got rambley didnt it....
 

NHXJer

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I'll add something else here:

I don't boil coils once they're used to try to clean them, but I always boil them for 5 minutes or so when I first get them (new) even before I use them.

I find I get much quicker break-in, better performance, and longer life regardless of coil brand or type. I think that boiling new coils removes any machine oils, residue, etc and possibly fluffs and/or cleans the cotton as well.
 

OcalaFlGuy

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Justin, IMO, Especially with most of the thinner wire drop in coils, you are going to hit a point where the coil is just a charred lump of crystalline ash (?) and burnt wire. You Won't be able to rewick it
IF you could get it clean.

There is one set of exceptions, the Ego One tanks and similar models, that take the CLR rebuildable coils. There is a sizable thread for them here. Those CLR coils will go through Multiple rewickings after just a good dry burn. About as easy as it can get with a drop in coil. When it comes time to fully rebuild one, I think you can also use the pre-wound coils in the rebuilds too. The coils are probably The Easiest to disassemble/reassemble. I would not dally dally, ; ) though there is a list of 12-15 diff tanks that take those coils, many of those tanks are getting hard to find.

I would be using them if I still weren't using GS Air stuff. Almost all the GS Air folk went to using the CLR Ego One style tanks.

Bruce in Ocala, Fl
 

Justin L

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I tried it and although it did change the color of the water to almost brown, It still tasted pretty much the same. Not going to try that again but like somebody else said just trial and error. After doing some research I ordered the fireluke mesh tank, supposedly the coils last 3 weeks- a month chain vaping and are only 15$ for a 5pack. I guess they have similar flavor to a RTA although I wouldn’t know considering I’ve never built a coil.
 
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