Clean ceramic heating element

[cosimo]

Good evening.
Hope some one can help, please! I already conacter the manufacturer but wanted to see any other suggestions since my unit is out of warranty. How can i clean/remove this please?

I tried using my finger nails to scrape it off, but it doesn't, not even a bit. Not sure what it is. Black and shinny. And since it came up the flavor is gone from the vapor and I feel vape a bit harsher than before! Tried with a bit of iso as well and a cotton cloth to try to rub it of but didn't work either.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Vaporware]

I got the ceramic chamber of my DaVinci Ascent much cleaner by cramming an iso soaked piece of paper towel in and leaving it there for a while...not sure that’s the best method, or even a recommended method, but it seemed to work well for me.

 

[cosimo]

I got the ceramic chamber of my DaVinci Ascent much cleaner by cramming an iso soaked piece of paper towel in and leaving it there for a while...not sure that’s the best method, or even a recommended method, but it seemed to work well for me.

thanks. i have also had good result with iso on ceramic, but not sure if this is the same type of ceramic. i did try iso on this heater, but just didn't work. the smudges seem fused to the heater. I was thinking i could try to use a really soft sand paper / file and gently sctapr to srr if it fall off... but worried thta might also damage te ceramic.

 

[Vaporware]

For me, leaving the iso soaked paper towel in the chamber for a long time worked many times better than just a quick wipe with it...I forget how long I left it, but if you think it’s safe with your material you might try just keeping the iso on it longer. Personally I’d be a lot more worried by abrasives that might leave little ceramic particles loose on it.

Hopefully someone with more experience with ceramics in this application will have more definite answers for you.

 

[cosimo]

This morning I took a magnifying lens and took a look at the bristles of the tooth brush i used. The tips of a few hairs do seem a bit melted. So, i'm convinced now I fucked up mayor and the heater must have been too hot for the nylon bristles.

I consider the piece unusable if i cant remove those plastic melted pieces. With that in mind, i started tryind to scrape the black dots using a very sharp blade. I somehow ended up chiping the top part of the heater, and i just continued. Now it looks like this:

I put everything back up and tested it: 10 minutes at 185C, 10 minutes at 200, another 10 at 230. A few second into 185 i see a small string of smoke coming from the heater. It dissapeared after a few second but smell remained the whole 30 minutes. Will disassemble all again a see if there is something melting or what.

Won't be inhaling on this unless i'm able to get rid of the smell.

UPDATE EDIT: after opening up the unit again to see what was gassing off, i saw nothing strange. The tip of the ceramic element did get a bit darker on the places where the screen touched on top. So I rearranged the screen, put everything back together. Here I realized i may have put the heater cover too low (there is a mica piece i took out that stops the heater moving downwards), so this time I made sure everything was properly aligned as if the mica piece was still in place.
The was no more smoke, not even at 260C for 20 minutes. There is a smell still if i bring my nose close to the heater, but is very similar to the smell it had when it was working well (like a hot hair drier smell?). think I may have "fixed" my unit. I'm waiting for some weed to be brought here and test it again with herbs.

 

[Vaporware]

Good luck with it man...personally I’m a bit wary of that type of unsealed ceramic to begin with, so after having to damage the surface to clean it I’d probably just buy a new part, but I’m more cautious than most about the materials I trust so good luck with it if you continue to use it.

While you’re waiting you might at least do a forum search for info on ceramics to make sure there are no big red flags for you.

 

[cosimo]

thanks @VaporWare . I did the ruff scrapping just because i took the unit as completely lost, so, just wanted to see what would happen. I told my friends all that happened and they didn't mind coming and testing it out.

I did searches since last night, and from what i gather what i did will have two main consequences: 1. uneven heating of the element, 2. any scrapped ceramics dust that remains there could be inhaled and cause respiratory problems/cancer. To avoid 2, after having chipped all i chipped, I used canned air and brushed the ceramic with 3 different new brushes, and gave the interior another completely cleaning. I after each burn off iv'e done in case the heat would cause more dust.

I already had my friends over who had tried the vape on Friday and Saturday. It seems to be working again, just as it had been on friday and saturday. Flavor is back as good as it was and there is no more smell if on without herbs (not even at 260C for 20 min). I'm thinking there must still be some micro dust from all the scrapping and chipping i did, but it was not felt at all during the session. Actually, nobody even coughed, only with long draws and at temps above 200C. We took it all the way to 230 with herb and it worked quite well.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS MOD/FIX TO ANYONE. I confess i will take the chance while i get a new vape and keep using this one with this "fix". Obviously if i perceive again the slightest change in flavor or any weird smell or breathing problem, it definitely goes to the trash.

 

[cosimo]

@steama the initial stains? oh no, theya ffected performance alot. they were melted nylon that took away all flavor and hurt my throat even at 185C. so performance was affected huge for me.

Nontheless, I'm actually much more comfortable using it as it is now than with those melted spots it had. Now, its working as if nothing had happened, perfect flavor and no hurt throat... performance is just as before. Only "but" is that i know i scrapped that ceramic alot and ceramic has silica and breathing silica con lead to silicosis or cancer. So it's a HUGE "but" that i will assess as time goes by and while aI save for a new vape. I read that silica particles remain in the air a long time so now im worried my room is filled with silica particles floating around from all the post cleaning i did to remove all the dust i could. i already asked a friend to lend me her vacuum that has a fancy filter for dust and alergens.

 

[cosimo]

omg! That is horrible. I have fucked up a vape or two in my time. It sucks. Sorry that happened to you.

thanks. and i also have to confress the reason i'm going to milk this vape as much as i can is that it's my first real vape (have some diy fails) and i only started using it on friday!!! i haven't been very lucky with it. first broke the heater glass cover and had to wait 2 weeks to get the replacement, then it only lasted 3 days before i screwed it up again (i tried to clean the heater before using it with a tooth brush and the heater must have been still hot and burnt some of the bristles which lead to those balck dots i wanted to clean (photo1))... i have been trying to be careful with the unit, maybe i'm being too careful or to exagerated with the cleaning.. both screw ups have been during attempts to clean the unit.

 

[Squiby]

I have routines and rules so I don't break my gear. Like I always turn my waterpiece mouthpiece pointing away from me so it is not accidently knocked off the table. Having everything organized in clear cosmetic cases, screens, Ti, glass bowls, each vape gets a bag...

I keep my shit like new and it may be because I am a bit touched.

Please come live with me.....I could use the discipline.

 

[cosimo]

@steama You made me laugh (good laugh, though). You would be invited to my home heheheheh not like most my friends who still don't understand all my rules and why i clean my grinder after every grind hahahha. I do think i will turn down my ocd with the vape cleaning.

Btw, This morning I read the post on silicosis from Jman, and I gotta say your answers kinda gave me the courage me to try the vape out after my fix. I can't deny silicosis is still a fear since i really went heavy when i scrapped and chipped that top part of the rod.
Oh, and my friends went so far as to take several hits from the vape, at 230, with no herbs in... no coughing or anything about weird smells or harshness for them. Maybe that was a good sign that there wasn't much or any dust left in the unit from my intervention on it. I didnt try that, though. i tried with herbs and it feels just fine as it did on friday and saturday.

 

[Some-new-user]

Aww @cosimo my heart literally broke for you. Twice. I've been following you on the extreme q thread (I know this is a v tower) and it definitely seems like you have had it bad. Well done on getting your vape back on track. I would use caution still but it seems like you're back up and running. I'm not sure if the ceramic heater is replaceable but it could be worth investigating for the future. Did you get a reply from arizer?

Good luck.

 

[cosimo]

Aww @cosimo my heart literally broke for you. Twice. I've been following you on the extreme q thread (I know this is a v tower) and it definitely seems like you have had it bad. Well done on getting your vape back on track. I would use caution still but it seems like you're back up and running. I'm not sure if the ceramic heater is replaceable but it could be worth investigating for the future. Did you get a reply from arizer?

Good luck.

yeah... i've had it bad, but it's my own fault... good thing is i have learnt my lesson: try to turn my cleaning obsession down a notch hehehe
And yeah, i will be cautious and be alert using it, thanks

Arizer has not replied... I imagine it is replaceable but not easily by the user since i think it would need soldering and other technical stuff. What i've read from other posts concerning heater damage or PCB problems is that Arizer would usually offer a new unit (sometimes at lower price) instead of replacing the heater. In my case I cant afford sending it to them to fix it, nor could i afford a new unit right now. So if that would've been their response i'd be left the same. And I feel that there was no way to actually remove that melted nylon. It seems ceramic is pourous and that the nylon had been able to get through. When i was chipping out pieces i could see that the black was no just in the surface, it kinda penetrated that top part.

But yeah, it's back up and running... i will report if anything new comes up.

 

[Scuba Steve Tokes]

Hey Cosimo and friends!

I found this thread because as I was assembling my Terp Torch the ceramic rod looked dirty.

Did Arizer ever return your email?

 

[cosimo]

Hey Cosimo and friends!

I found this thread because as I was assembling my Terp Torch the ceramic rod looked dirty.

Did Arizer ever return your email?

Hey! They advised not to use it. They offered to sell me a new vaporizer (any of their line) with a discount. Decided to save and get another vaporizer (Ghost MV1, and now a WoodScents, love them both). I did use it for a while before having the new ones, and i think i did fuck up my lungs a bit. Lesson learnt the hard way.

 

[Scuba Steve Tokes]

Cosimo it hurts to hear that happened to you. So glad that you are loving your new vapes though!

Just yesterday I discovered Ddave mods sells specially designed DynaVap wands that come with a cap and a tip so I’m trying to share this with everybody bc I saw on here they are better than the M, the ones that come with a cooling system for $55 anyways. Just thought it might be something fun for you to play with since you already have a WoodScents. Although I’m not familiar with how the WS functions really so it might be too similar for you to be interested.