Atomisers and pods are essential components of vape devices that convert e-liquids into tasty vapours, but sometimes, vapers encounter messages on the device like “atomiser short” or “no atomiser” which can be frustrating. In this blog post, we'll explore the common causes of atomiser short or no atomiser messages and some simple ways to fix them.
What does Atomiser Short or No Atomiser message mean?
Atomiser short or no atomiser is a message that indication that your vape device is not detecting the atomiser or pod, or the coil's resistance is below the recommended level, resulting in a short circuit. When this happens, the device won't fire, and you'll be left scratching your head wondering what went wrong.
Common Causes of Atomiser Short or No Atomiser messages
Dirty or damaged connection points: The connection points between the atomiser or pod and your device can become dirty, gunky or covered with e-juice residue, leading to a poor connection. This can result in your device not detecting the atomiser.
Damaged or faulty coil: Your coil can become damaged over time, especially if you don't replace it often enough. A damaged coil can cause an atomiser short or prevent the device from detecting the atomiser. Sometimes, though not often, a brand new coil may faulty right out of the box.
Incorrect coil installation: If you install your coil incorrectly, it can cause an atomiser fault message or prevent the device from detecting the atomiser or pod.
Low battery: A low battery can cause an atomiser fault message and prevent the device from detecting the atomiser or pod. This happens because your device might not have enough power to heat the coil properly.
Damaged device: A damaged device can also cause an atomiser fault message or prevent the device from detecting the atomiser. This can occur due to wear and tear or accidental damage. This is the least common likely cause, but could be the case if all other trouble shooting fails.
How to Fix Atomiser Short or No Atomiser message.
Clean the connection points: Use a clean tissue or cotton swab to remove any dirt, grime, or e-juice residue on the connection points between the atomiser or pod and your device. This should restore a good connection.
Replace the coil or pod: If your coil is old, replace it. If you are using a pod with a coil that can’t be changed then try a new pod.
Test your atomiser on another device: If you have a spare mod handy, test out your tank on that device. If it works on another device this could indicate an issue with the mod.
Reinstall the coil: Check your coil installation to ensure you installed it correctly. If not, reinstall it correctly.
Charge your battery: If your battery is low, charge it fully. This will provide enough power to heat the coil properly.
Conclusion
Atomiser short or no atomiser message is a very common issue, but fixing it is generally simple and easy. By following these tips, you can enjoy vaping without any issues. Just keep your connection points clean, replace your coils or pods regularly, install them correctly, and make sure your battery is charged. And if all else fails, check your device for damage. Happy vaping!
If you're a vaping enthusiast looking to personalise your vaping experience and create unique e-liquid flavors, DIY e-liquid making can be a fun and rewarding hobby. You can create custom blends that cater to your preferences and save money compared to purchasing ready-made e-liquids. In this beginner-friendly guide, we'll cover the basics of DIY e-liquid making, including mixing by weight and volume, and recommend some recipe resources to get you started.
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
The first step in making your own e-liquid is to gather the necessary supplies. Here's what you'll need:
Vegetable Glycerin (VG) and Propylene Glycol (PG): These are the two primary liquids that form the base of your e-liquid. VG produces denser clouds, while PG provides more of a throat hit.
Flavor Concentrates: You can find a wide variety of flavours to choose from, ranging from fruity to dessert flavours. Some of the popular flavour concentrate brands include Flavor West, Capella, Flavorah, and The Flavor Apprentice.
Mixing equipment: A digital scale, mixing bottles, syringes, and blunt needles to measure and mix your ingredients.
Safety equipment: Gloves, goggles, and a well-ventilated workspace to protect you while you work.
Step 2: Choose Your Mixing Method
You have two options when it comes to mixing your e-liquid - mixing by weight or by volume. Mixing by weight is more accurate and efficient, as it saves time and eliminates the need to clean syringes after each use. Mixing by volume, however, is easier and doesn't require a scale. Let's discuss each method briefly:
Mixing by Weight:
Place your mixing bottle on the scale and tare it to zero.
Add the desired amount of VG to the bottle and record the weight.
Tare the scale to zero again and add the desired amount of PG to the bottle. Record the weight.
Tare the scale to zero again and add the desired amount of flavor concentrate to the bottle. Record the weight.
Shake the bottle vigorously to mix the ingredients.
Mixing by Volume:
Use a calculator to determine the desired amount of VG, PG, and flavor concentrate based on your desired recipe.
Use measuring cups or syringes to measure out the correct amount of each ingredient.
Combine the ingredients in a mixing bottle and shake vigorously to mix.
Step 3: Choose Your Recipe
Once you have your mixing method figured out, it's time to choose your recipe. There are endless possibilities when it comes to DIY e-liquid flavours, so don't be afraid to experiment and get creative. Here are a couple of resources to check out:
All The Flavors: All The Flavors is a recipe-sharing website that lets you search and sort recipes by popularity, rating, or flavour. You can also create an account to save and share your own recipes.
After you've mixed your e-liquid, you'll want to store it in a cool, dark place, away from sunlight and heat. Most e-liquid flavours will benefit from steeping, which allows the flavours to meld together and develop fully. Some flavours may require several days or weeks of steeping, while others may be ready to vape
Last year we discussed batteries - what they are, how they work, and how to not blow your peripheral limbs off with them. Based on recent news reports, it would seem some people didn't pay enough attention to item number three.
So I think it's appropriate we go over this again, paying particular attention to Lithium Ion batteries and their peculiarities, and how you can avoid ending having to learn how to tie your shoes one-handed.
Lithium-ion batteries
Lithium is the third element in the periodic table. It is a metal, is very small as far as atoms go, and is highly reactive. It is also fantastic for making batteries because of its light weight and ability to store large amounts of energy.
Lithium-ion batteries work by the exchange of electrons. When you charge a lithium-ion battery, an extra electron is forced into orbit around the atomic nucleus, creating an atom of ionised lithium. Then, when you connect your battery to something that draws electricity, the electrons break free of the lithium atom and flow into your device.
When lithium-ion batteries turn bad
If you abuse them, lithium-ion batteries can fail. Best-case scenario is your battery just won't work anymore. Worst-case?
The most common cause of the runaway exothermic reaction (aka go boom) that can occur in lithium-ion batteries is degradation of one or more components causing chemical reactions that shouldn't occur. This degradation is most commonly caused by excessive heat. The heat breaks down the electrolyte sheet, or the circuitry that prevents overheating, causing a chemical reaction that causes more heat, that causes more degradation, that causes more heat... until the thing flares up like a firework.
Overcharging
If you push too much current into a LiON battery, there will be a build-up of heat that causes degradation of the electrolyte.
Over-discharging
If you try and draw too much power from the battery, again you will degrade the electrolyte, causing extra chemical reactions that will increase the temperature of the battery.
Overheating
Operating the battery at too high a temperature will cause the components to break down, damaging the circuitry that prevents excessive temperature.
Short-circuit
This goes for most batteries, but particularly LiON batteries. Creating a short-circuit will create a runaway heat situation that never ends well.
Stabbing it with a knife
Or any sharp object, really. Piercing the layers of anode, cathode and electrolyte will almost always result in a flare-up.
Lithium-ion batteries and e-cigs
LiON batteries have their dangers no matter what they are being used for, but e-cig owners need to be vigilant about:
1. Heat
We all love our massively subohm builds and giant clouds, and to get these we are going to be working with high temperatures. This is where the design of your mod is crucial - cheap knock-offs or just poorly-designed units can put the battery too close to the hot parts.
2. Charging
You've heard the mantra: "never charge your batteries unattended", and you'd do well to heed it. Even if you've got a proper charger with full-charge cutoff circuitry, you can't guarantee it will never fail. And even if it doesn't happen to explode in the charger, it can still explode in your pocket or your face when you fire your mod up.
3. Discharging
I get it. We're envelope-pushers. We get the most power we can to get the biggest, most satisfying clouds. Unfortunately, dragging too much power out of a battery is a great way to destroy it and possibly bits of yourself. It is crucial that you know what your battery is capable of before using it in a mod, especially a mechanical mod.
4. Non-genuine batteries
Hard as it is to believe, there are people in this world who care more about making money than human safety and welfare. Some of them may even get cheap, poorly made LiON batteries and re-wrap them so they can sell them for a higher price. With batteries getting harder to come by these days, it is absolutely vital you make sure you are buying genuine batteries.
5. Poorly-made mods
Genuine mods are expensive for a reason - people spend hours perfecting the design and only using the best materials. As mentioned in point 1, mods need to protect the batteries by avoiding short-circuits, over-heating and over-discharge. Knock-offs from people who don't know what they are doing are dangerous because these measures may not be in place.
How to vape and not end up on the news for all the wrong reasons
The reality is that the dangers of LiON batteries failing are fairly low all things considered. As an e-cig user, follow these steps to make sure you don't add to the toll:
1. Watch your temperature
If your mod starts to feel hot to the touch, give it a rest!
2. Buy a proper mod
Don't be a cheapskate. Save that little bit extra to get a properly-made device that has the necessary protections built in. This goes double for mech mods.
3. Buy good batteries
Refer point 2. Buy from a vendor you know is responsible.
4. Buy a proper charger
It needs to have short-circuit protection and full-charge cutoff features. And "never charge your batteries unattended".
5. Buy an ohms meter.
Building your own coils? Using a mech mod? Buy an ohms meter and don't push the envelope past its limits.
6. Treat your gear with respect
Just like your dog, don't leave your mod in the car on a hot day. But unlike your dog, rolling the window down won't help.
If you drop it, inspect it for damage. And by inspect it for damage, I DON'T mean try firing it up to see if it still works. Check your mod for any broken internals (as best you can) and don't use the battery until you've checked it with a multimeter.
Store your batteries at room temperature. Don't put them in the fridge, you'll wreck them. Just don't leave them in the sun or behind the TV.
Share the love
Now you have all this wonderful knowledge, don't keep it to yourself! Make sure all your vaping friends know how to use LiON batteries safely. At the very least you'll save $30-odd at the hospital flower shop.
For the media-literate amongst us, you may have noticed some alarming headlines popping up recently about vaping possibly causing a horrid thing called "Popcorn Lung".
Here are three I found published just in the last week.
Gah! All so scary! So let's examine this torrent of information to see if there's any truth to it.
What is Diacetyl?
Diacetyl is the artificial flavouring responsible for that "buttery" flavour we all know and love.
More technically, "Diacetyl (IUPACsystematic name: butanedione or butane-2,3-dione) is an organic compound with the chemical formula (CH3CO)2. It is a yellow/green liquid with an intensely buttery flavor. It is a vicinaldiketone (two C=O groups, side-by-side) with the molecular formula C4H6O2. Diacetyl occurs naturally in alcoholic beverages and is added to some foods to impart its buttery flavor" (thanks Wikipedia!).
Although it has a scary name, Diacetyl is a naturally occurring compound. It is mainly a by-product of some fermentation processes, and along with its good friend Acetoin is naturally present in actual real-life butter.
Unfortunately for a number of factory workers in a Missouri microwave popcorn manufacturing plant, inhaling airborne Diacetyl vapours caused them to develop bronchiolitis obliterans, a disease every bit as nasty as it sounds.
What is Popcorn Lung?
Popcorn Lung is what bronchiolitis obliterans is more commonly known as. It was called "popcorn lung" or "popcorn worker's lung" as it came to public awareness thanks to the poor souls in the aforementioned Missouri microwave popcorn facility back in 2000.
Popcorn Lung is "a rare and life-threatening form of non-reversible obstructive lung disease in which the bronchioles (small airway branches) are compressed and narrowed by fibrosis (scar tissue) and/or inflammation" (thanks again Wikipedia). It is progressive, non-reversible and the only way to treat it is with a lung transplant.
As far as lung diseases go, this one is a doozey and should definitely not be on your bucket list.
What does any of this have to do with e-liquid?
Since Diacetyl is a widely used artificial flavouring, it was initially used in e-liquids that needed a buttery flavour. This posed an obvious problem because - y'know, bronchiolitis obliterans and stuff. And although most reputable and responsible e-liquid manufacturers have not used Diacetyl in their e-liquids for years, the fact remains that it has been found in some e-cigarette products.
Fast-forward until now and the media have suddenly decided they need something new to scare people away from vaping, hence such startling headlines of late. But the fact remains that if you do vape e-liquid that contains Diacetyl for extended periods of time, you are at risk of the dreaded Popcorn Lung.
I want to vape, but I REALLY don't want to get Popcorn Lung. What should I do???
Fear not my young padawans. There are some very simple steps you can take to keep on vaping and ensure you don't end up with an irreversible chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that will leave you requiring a lung transplant.
As mentioned above, most responsible e-liquid manufacturers ceased using Diacetyl as a flavouring as soon as they realised the potential danger. Unfortunately, not all e-liquid manufacturers are responsible; some don't use proper QC methods, some don't mix in a clean room, and some don't pay very much attention to the safety of the ingredients they use.
So my top tips to stay safe when buying your e-liquid are:
1. Avoid buying e-liquid from countries without rigorous QC standards.
Your safest bet is buying either Australian or U.S.-made e-liquid.
2. Only buy from vendors with a high trust factor.
Any fly-by-nighter can throw a few ingredients together in a shed. Pick a brand with a solid reputation either by way of social media or trusted third-party review sites.
3. Check the ingredients list.
If you've picked a good vendor, the ingredients will be listed on the bottle. If they aren't - contact them and ask. If you aren't satisfied with their response - go elsewhere.
4. Avoid "buttery" flavours.
If you want to be extra-careful, you can just avoid buttery flavours altogether. This suits some people who prefer fruity or spicy flavours just fine, but could make life difficult for those of us who just love our pastry and custard flavours.
5. Mix your own e-liquid.
Again, there are great swathes of vaping enthusiasts who do this because they want to. If you are the one adding the ingredients, you can know with 100% certainty what's going into them - although, of course, you would still be well-advised to check off the above points with your flavouring supplier...
Oh no! I've just realised my all-day-vape contains Diacetyl! Am I going to suffer from a horrible and protracted illness?
Don't go asking your rellies to reach for their donor cards just yet.
The CDC, who investigated the Missouri popcorn factory case, noted that Diacetyl inhalation in high concentrations and/or volumes over an extended period were one factor in the development of the disease. They also noted that the mixers - who basically had their head over a big bowl of the stuff all day every day - had the worst of it, with the most severe symptoms developing after 12 months of continuous exposure of this kind (check the source here).
There was one reported case of a man contracting Popcorn Lung from eating microwave popcorn. This particular guy ate two to three bags of extra-buttery popcorn every day for a decade.
Lastly, it is common knowledge in medical circles that the disease is rare, and may even be idiopathic (medical speak for "no idea how it happened"). It's also not a guarantee that inhaling Diacetyl vapour will give you the disease - it simply puts you in the risk category.
In all likelihood, unless you're already experiencing the symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath and difficulty exhaling, you're probably in the clear, and discontinuing use of your Diacetyl-laden e-liquid will be enough to keep you there.
So there you have it, folks - the skinny on Diacetyl, Popcorn Lung, e-liquids and not needing a lung transplant. Remember that if you hear a scary headline telling you e-cigs will kill you, it always pays to get to the source and get the facts straight. Because in this case, as in so many others, the facts don't seem to have gotten in the way of a good news story.
Propylene Glycol is a colourless and odourless liquid at room temperature. It is hygroscopic, meaning it has the ability to attract and trap water molecules. It is also used as a non-toxic and environmentally-friendly antifreeze.
Apart from in vape juice, Propylene Glycol is used in the manufacturing of polyester by mixing with chemicals it reacts with. It is also used as a food additive - number E1520 - as a humectant, solvent and preservative. Propylene Glycol is also used in tobacco cigarettes to help them retain moisture. Lastly it is used in medical applications for medicines that are either inhaled, ingested or injected intravenously.
Long term studies show no irritant potential to humans, however some people may be sensitive to Propylene Glycol and experience an irritation of the eyes or airways which typically goes away as soon as exposure is stopped.
In e-cigarettes, it is used primarily to deliver a the "throat hit".
Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
Better known just as "Glycerine" in Australia, Vegetable Glycerin is widely used in food and pharmaceutical applications.
It is also a colourless and odourless hygroscopic liquid that has a chemical structure similar to fat. It is non-toxic, very sweet tasting and very viscous (thick and sticky).
Apart from in e-liquid, Vegetable Glycerin is used in most of the stuff you consume on a daily basis - it is food additive E422 and is used in low-fat snack foods, cake icing, liqueurs, as a sweetener, as a preservative and as a humectant. It is also used in moisturising skin care products, sensitive skin care products, cough syrup, toothpaste, mouthwash, shaving cream, shampoo and personal lubricants. It's basically everywhere in the supermarket - you can even buy bottles of pure VG itself.
It is completely non-toxic and naturally occurs in soybeans, palm trees and animal fats.
In vaping, it is used primarily to produce the "clouds".
Food flavourings
E-liquids get their flavour from commercially available food flavourings, which is why there are literally thousands of different e-liquid flavours. Manufacturers of e-liquid will generally experiment for great lengths of time in order to get the perfect flavouring mix.
What PG/VG ratio should I choose?
The ratio you choose will generally come down to a few factors:
What kind of device you are using,
How "strong" you want it to be (eg. lots of "throat hit" or "lung hit" or little to none),
How big you want your clouds, and
How sweet you want it to taste.
PG is responsible for the "throat hit" and "lung hit", but can cause dryness of the mouth and airways in excessive amounts. PG does not produce a lot of vapour.
VG is responsible for the clouds and the sweeter flavouring, but can clog certain tanks. VG does not produce any "throat hit" or "lung hit".
Rule 1 - if in doubt, 50/50 it
If it's your first time buying, or you're using a pod device, or you just aren't sure how to choose, go 50/50. You will get the best of both worlds with the strength, sweetness and cloud production, and won't clog your gear up. Once you're in the swing of vaping you can begin to experiment with different ratios.
Rule 2 - not strong enough? Up the PG.
If you are not getting the same amount of satisfaction from vaping, upping the PG to 60% can be a good way to deal with it.
Rule 3 - not cloudy enough? Up the VG.
VG is responsible for the cloud production, which can be quite impressive with the right mixture and right equipment. If you're switching to using a rebuildable dripping atomizer, it's also a good idea to up the VG, as the simple logistics of how RDAs work will change the flavour of the vape and make it harsher than out of a clearo or tank.
Is e-liquid safe?
It's very important to only get your e-liquid from reputable manufacturers. In Australia, we are very lucky to have an abundance of exceptional quality e-juice producers - in fact, you're reading the blog of one of the best right now! ;-)
When buying from overseas, only buy from businesses who have a good reputation and who have been in the game for a while. You should exercise extra caution when buying from anywhere other than the US, Australia or New Zealand, the countries with the highest quality standards.
Hopefully we've been able to shed some light on the issue of PG/VG ratios and which one you should pick. If you're still not sure, hit up your local vendor for some more advice and information.
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