Vape Cleaning Hints Thread?

[TransistorBass]

I'm starting this thread in the hope that others can add their Vape-Tank cleaning tips, I have no idea how long a coil lasts, how often one should strip things down and clean all the tank parts etc.
I run a Geekvape Aegis Legend 3 with 2ml Zeus Tanks on Z 0.15 ohm Coils at 30-35 Watts.

I've just cleaned out my Citrate DMT Juice from what I call my Citric Tank, and my goodness it was grim!

I started with a Vodka soak of all the parts, including the coil that I've now thrown away, then used some small cleaning brushes and Cotton Buds (Q-Tips), the juice that was in the bottom of the tank was almost black and kinda gritty.
I moved onto some Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) for the stubborn bits and to clean the layer of gunk of my curved glass Drip Tip.

Now left everything to fully dry off.

Weirdly this Tank was my least-used out of my 2 tanks, so I can only assume that the Citrate Juice creates more mess and probably faster discolouration of juice. I still had a sample of the same juice stashed in the fridge which was a much more normal colour.

Topped up the juice in my Freebase Vape Tank which does show a little darkening of colour in the tank versus the juice I was topping up with but nothing like the Citrate.

I've previously successfully cleaned a lightly used Coil by soaking in Vodka for a few days before allowing to fully dry in a warm place, though the one I removed today was pretty thick with sediment.

I should maybe clean things more regularly but I don't like to waste precious Spice Juice, Geekvape tanks aren't exactly easy to suck out with a syringe either, unless I'm missing something?

A Top Tip is to only ever buy light coloured Vape Tanks, dark colours make it harder to know what colour your juice is.

It would be great to hear other's thoughts on all things tank cleaning, coil life-span and juice.

Spotted @RitualOpossum Like this post I made - Djuice storage time seems to work with this thread too, what I said still stands but maybe the Citrate juice doesn't keep quite as well.

 

[The Sofa Traveler]

I started with a Vodka soak of all the parts, including the coil that I've now thrown away, then used some small cleaning brushes and Cotton Buds (Q-Tips), the juice that was in the bottom of the tank was almost black and kinda gritty.
I moved onto some Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) for the stubborn bits and to clean the layer of gunk of my curved glass Drip Tip.

Juice tends to darken over time, seemingly the result of heat+oxidation but when it becomes almost black and gritty, it could also be from residual burnt material, whether from citric acid or just from the freebase deemz. It can be an indicator of too much heat/power used. I prefer to make more concentrated juices and use them with less power rather than the opposite approach (lower concentration/more power), for identical results and diminished burning risk.

For the cleaning part, I usually just let soak the disassembled - glass included - tank in hot demineralized water and use a brush for visible persistent stains, which doesn't happen very often because I use several tanks in rotation and clean them regularly. I dry the parts with some toilet paper or a napkin but most of the time I let them dry by themself. I only use IPA soak for extreme resistant stains cases, which rarely occurs.
I never clean the coils, they are disposables. The cotton wick deteriorates from (over)heating so I change the coil every new juice batch to make sure I get the best out of it, taste wise as well as experience wise. Cost of coils here is derisory (2€ each) so I don't take the risk to re-use ad infinitum a used coil to realize, while my tank is still half full, that I should change it.

I should maybe clean things more regularly but I don't like to waste precious Spice Juice, Geekvape tanks aren't exactly easy to suck out with a syringe either, unless I'm missing something?

Cleaning the tank regularly is never a lost cause. Current tanks are not easy to empty completely, indeed. There is always a remaining bit of juice hard to grasp out of the tank. I never found a tank as convenient as the Vaporesso Veco from this perspective, unfortunately it's no longer marketed.
My approach is to vape until the last drop of a given batch, sometimes even to the point of a dry hit. Once the current juice batch is all vaped, I disassemble the tank, clean it, change the coil and start with the next juice batch from scratch tank and coil wise. Doing so, there is not much juice left to save from waste.

A Top Tip is to only ever buy light coloured Vape Tanks, dark colours make it harder to know what colour your juice is.

Obviously. People shouldn't get black or whatever color tanks for this specific purpose. All of my tanks intended for DMT use are silver models and only silver. The bottom or top cap and the rubber seals can be colored without much impact but the central chimney should be neutral/silver anyway.