How to Repair a Broken Maplin Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK

These RSL3660R-UK units were originally sold by Maplin in the UK which closed down a few years ago now. They come with a little controller and you can control multiple power circuits using the same control so its quite handy. The radio receiver units themselves actually work really well and lots of the time when they stop working it is a common problem with the safety capacitor. Buying a replacement unit can be expensive and there is a way the majority can be repaired a lot cheaper if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty and can do some basic soldering. The first thing to check when problem solving is that the dial on the back of the plug matches the switch on the controller.

Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Back View
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Back View
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Front View
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Front View

Now before you attempt to fix this please make sure you are competent and confident to do so. These plugs operate on 240VAC and can kill you or injure you if you do it unsafely or don’t put the casing back together properly.

First thing to do is lever off the plastic collar to reveal the screws. You should be able to put a small screwdriver under it where the screwholes are and pull up to remove it.

Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Levering The Collar Off To Access the Screws
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Levering The Collar Off To Access the Screws

Now you are onto the hardest part, getting the Torx screws out! I found one of mine came out fine with the correct Torx screwdriver, it should use a T10 with security centre pin. The other had already been mangled by someone and I had real difficulty getting it out. In the end I managed to fit a small flathead screwdriver into the groves and push/twist to get it moving. Once it was out I replaced the screws with some new ones to save the next person the struggle.

Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Unscrew The Torx Screws
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Unscrew The Torx Screws

Now you should be able to pull the case apart and get access to the circuit board.

Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK The Yellow Safety Capacitor
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK The Yellow Safety Capacitor
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Underside of Circuit Board
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Underside of Circuit Board

The big yellow capacitor is the safety capacitor and the specs are Safety Capacitor MKP or MPX X2 0.33uF 250-275VAC. The capacitor has a 15mm pitch, you can try to bodge in other pitches as there it some room in the case but for an easy life go for 15mm. I managed to find my replacements on ebay.

Use a soldering iron to heat up the old solder and if you have one use a solder sucker to remove the majority of the solder around the legs. Once you have done that can heat the legs and it should pull free of the circuit board. Once you take the old capacitor out then you can measure the capacitance with a multimeter to confirm whether its broken or not, the correct reading should be 322nF or 0.33uF. There was no visible damage to the capacitor I removed but it was only measuring 83nF so there was a definite problem.

Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Replace The Bad Capacitor
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK Replace The Bad Capacitor

Once the new one is in then you can start putting all of the parts back together and give it a test with the remote once the case is fully assembled. Never plug it in and test without the case being back on properly.

Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK All Of The Internal Parts
Repairing Radio Receiver RSL3660R-UK All Of The Internal Parts

Finally check that the switches on the plug and remote control are all set correctly then hopefully you will have a few more years of operation.

This chap on Youtube has a video on this subject too that may be handy:

RSL3660R-UK UK Plug Programmable Wireless Remote Control Sockets Electrical Outlet Switch RSL-3660R-UK.

How to Break Down a Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Into Components

Firstly, safety – The batteries can still carry an electrical charge and can be dangerous still so if you are not confident then I would recommend you put the whole thing into battery recycling rather than try to break it down yourself first. For those who wish to contine I have put a guide below on how I disassemble and recycle the Lost Mary QM600 disposable electronic vapes or Cigarettes I find.

First of all, get your tools ready, I use a couple of pairs of different sized Pliers, some snippers and a screwdriver.

Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Ok lets roll.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

I start with the metal end cap, get some small pliers and either lever it off or put then through the hole in the top and pull. Don’t worry about breaking it, you are just going to recycle it anyway.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the metal cap off
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the metal cap off

Now grab the plastic end part underneith and pull the guts out.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the plastic part away from the body
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the plastic part away from the body
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the guts out
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the guts out

Now to get the main metal piece out of the plastic body grab the other end and wiggle it out.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette grab the other end and pull to get the metal away from plastic
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette grab the other end and pull to get the metal away from plastic
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette main parts pulled out
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette main parts pulled out

Now use pliers to pull the rubber parts out of the end plastic part you pulled off.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the rubber pieces out of the plastic lid
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the rubber pieces out of the plastic lid

Now we shall focus out attention on the battery. Remove the coat from the battery carefully with pliers.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette take the coat off the battery
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette take the coat off the battery
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette take the coat off the battery
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette take the coat off the battery

Now snip the red wire away from the positive terminal.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette snip the positive wire away from the battery
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette snip the positive wire away from the battery

Then the two black wires away from the negative terminal to free up the battery.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette snip the negative wires away from the battery
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette snip the negative wires away from the battery

Now we just have some tidying up and separating to do for the other pieces:

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the rubber part out of the plastic tube
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the rubber part out of the plastic tube
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette gently pull the pieces away from each other
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette gently pull the pieces away from each other
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the wires through the battery
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the wires through the battery

I couldnt see a way to pull the component out without snipping the rubber part or the wires, do that and it should pull free.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette snip the rubber to get the wires through
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette snip the rubber to get the wires through
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the material out of the metal
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the material out of the metal
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the material out of the metal
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the material out of the metal

Once you have done that everything should be nicely separated. Recycle the plastic and metal bits in your normal recycling. The battery can be taken to battery recycling, they have these in lots of the big shops and your council should have various facilities. The electronic part and wires can be put in the waste electrical equipment recycling (all councils have these facilities). The rubber is sometimes recycled but sometimes not. If not you can bin it with the fabric pieces.

Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette recycle parts
Disassembling Lost Mary QM600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette recycle parts

Well done for recycling these items and having a positive impact, read more here: https://junglebiscuit.com/guide-on-how-to-recycle-disposable-electronic-vapes-or-cigarettes/

How to Break Down an Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Into Components

Firstly, safety – The batteries can still carry an electrical charge and can be dangerous still so if you are not confident then I would recommend you put the whole thing into battery recycling rather than try to break it down yourself first. For those who wish to contine I have put a guide below on how I disassemble and recycle the Elfbar Cigalike disposable electronic vapes or Cigarettes I find.

First of all, get your tools ready, I use a couple of pairs of different sized Pliers, some snippers and a screwdriver.

Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Right, lets crack on. The Cigalike is a very compact design and is one of the most difficult to disassemble. The first step is to use a tool like screwdriver or pliers to lever the top off.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pop the plastic end off
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pop the plastic end off

Use the same method to remove the cap from the other side.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pop the other end off
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pop the other end off

Now you should see the wires and electronic component one end, I was able to grab this and pull out most of the insides. Sometimes the come out whole sometimes not, if not use a tool to poke the rest through the tube.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the middle parts out
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull the middle parts out

Once everything is out it should look like the image below.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull enerything out
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette pull enerything out

The good news is that once the insides are out of the tube it is one of the easiest vapes to separate the components and recycle. The next step is to disconnect the battery, snip the single red wire from the positive side. Sorry about the images by the way, I didn’t realise how blurry they were until I uploaded them here!

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Disconnect the Positive Red Wire from The Battery
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Disconnect the Positive Red Wire from The Battery

Give the tape a small snip in the middle and pull the wires through.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Snip the Tape in the Middle of the Battery
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Snip the Tape in the Middle of the Battery

Now snip the wires attached to the negative side of the battery to disconnect it completely.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Snip the Other Wires from the Negative of the Battery
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Snip the Other Wires from the Negative of the Battery

Now snip the two wires that go into the white tube.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Snip wires each side of the flexible fabric part
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Snip wires each side of the flexible fabric part
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Snip wires each side of the flexible fabric part
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Snip wires each side of the flexible fabric part

Now grab the wires and pull them clear of the rubber piece.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the Wires Through The Rubber Part
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the Wires Through The Rubber Part

Just pull the other bits apart now and you are done.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the Remaining Pieces Apart
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the Remaining Pieces Apart

Once you have done that everything should be nicely separated. Recycle the plastic and metal bits in your normal recycling. The battery can be taken to battery recycling, they have these in lots of the big shops and your council should have various facilities. The electronic part and wires can be put in the waste electrical equipment recycling (all councils have these facilities). The rubber is sometimes recycled but sometimes not. If not you can bin it with the fabric pieces.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Recycle as Much of the Parts as you can
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Recycle as Much of the Parts as you can

Here is a before and after of a large batch of crystal vapes that myself and friends found and recycled.

Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Large Batch of Vapes Recycled Into Parts
Disassembling Elfbar Cigalike Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Large Batch of Vapes Recycled Into Parts

Well done for recycling these items and having a positive impact, read more here: https://junglebiscuit.com/guide-on-how-to-recycle-disposable-electronic-vapes-or-cigarettes/

How to Break Down a Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Into Components

Firstly, safety – The batteries can still carry an electrical charge and can be dangerous still so if you are not confident then I would recommend you put the whole thing into battery recycling rather than try to break it down yourself first. For those who wish to contine I have put a guide below on how I disassemble and recycle the Crystal Bar disposable electronic vapes or Cigarettes I find.

First of all, get your tools ready, I use a couple of pairs of different sized Pliers, some snippers and a screwdriver.

Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Ok lets get going. You will see that the plastic tube is only accessible one end and we have to get the metal cap off first.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Use a pair of pliers to lever the metal cap off of the plastic tube. It doesn’t matter if you bend it up too much as you are just going to recycle it anyway.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Lever Off The Metal Bit
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Lever Off The Metal Bit

Next you will see a rubber cap, lever it slightly with some pliers then use it to pull the whole of the insides out of the plastic tube.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Lever the Rubber Seal and Pull
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Lever the Rubber Seal and Pull
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette The Whole Inside Bit Should Come Out
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette The Whole Inside Bit Should Come Out

Now we have a metal tube and we need to grab the rubber part either end to extract the whole insides out of the metal tube. Don’t worry if it comes apart slightly, just use a screwdriver or pliers to extract any bits left in the metal tube.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull Again While Holding The Metal Tube
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull Again While Holding The Metal Tube

Now you should be able to gently pull the wires connected between the battery and the vape liquid tube to separate them.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the Wires From The Vape Liquid Tube
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull the Wires From The Vape Liquid Tube

Now you need to snip the wire from the positive side of the battery to disconnect it.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Disconnect the Positive Wire From The Battery
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Disconnect the Positive Wire From The Battery

Then pull off the tape holding the wires to the battery, I couldn’t pull it off very easily so I gave it a careful snip then pulled the wires through.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Cut or Pull Off The Tape Holding Wires
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Cut or Pull Off The Tape Holding Wires

Now to completely disconnect the battery we just need to snip the two negative wires from the negative side of the battery.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Disconnect the Negative Wires From The Battery
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Disconnect the Negative Wires From The Battery

Now just pull the component out of the rubber part to separate them.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull The Wires To Remove The Component From The Rubber
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull The Wires To Remove The Component From The Rubber

Now we need to pull the rubber bits out from the liquid tube to separate the pieces in there.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull The Rubber Parts Out From The Plastic Tube
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull The Rubber Parts Out From The Plastic Tube
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull The Rubber Parts Out From The Plastic Tube
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull The Rubber Parts Out From The Plastic Tube

Sometimes its a good move to give that clear plastic tube a quick rince under the tap before you recycle it as it often has some left over juice. Next we need to pull apart the rubber and fabric parts from the small metal part.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull The Rubber Part and Fabric Part From The Metal
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Pull The Rubber Part and Fabric Part From The Metal

Then grab hold of that metal part with some pliers and use a second pair of pliers to pull out the fabric in the middle.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Hold The Metal and Pull The Fabric Out
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Hold The Metal and Pull The Fabric Out

Once you have done that everything should be nicely separated. Recycle the plastic and metal bits in your normal recycling. The battery can be taken to battery recycling, they have these in lots of the big shops and your council should have various facilities. The electronic part and wires can be put in the waste electrical equipment recycling (all councils have these facilities). The rubber is sometimes recycled but sometimes not. If not you can bin it with the fabric pieces.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Recycle The Parts
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Recycle The Parts

Here is a before and after of a large batch of crystal vapes that myself and friends found and recycled.

Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette The End Result!
Disassembling Crystal Bar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette The End Result!

Well done for recycling these items and having a positive impact, read more here: https://junglebiscuit.com/guide-on-how-to-recycle-disposable-electronic-vapes-or-cigarettes/

How to Break Down An Elfbar Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette Into Components

Firstly, safety – The batteries can still carry an electrical charge and can be dangerous still so if you are not confident then I would recommend you put the whole thing into battery recycling rather than try to break it down yourself first. For those who wish to contine I have put a guide below on how I disassemble and recycle the Elfbar 600 disposable electronic vapes or Cigarettes I find.

First of all, get your tools ready, I use a couple of pairs of different sized Pliers, some snippers and a screwdriver.

Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Here we go, although the larger lid is easier to grab and get off, it doesn’t let you get the insides out easily from that end. So you need to find the little hole at the other end and use something small to lever it off.

Taking Off Lid Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Taking Off Lid Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Once off you should be able to pull out all of the insides in one go

Pulling Out Insides Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Out Insides Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Out Insides Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Out Insides Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Then take the other lid off as below

Taking Off Other Lid Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Taking Off Other Lid Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Taking Off Other Lid Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Taking Off Other Lid Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Next separate the battery by cutting the wires. I would do the positive side first as there is only one wire to cut there.

Cutting Battery Wires Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Cutting Battery Wires Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Then cut both wires from the negative side to separate the battery completely.

Cutting Battery Wires Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Cutting Battery Wires Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Battery Free Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Battery Free Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Lever out the electronics from the lid with some small pliers.

Taking out Electronics From Lid Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Taking out Electronics From Lid Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Remove the rubber bungs and hard plastic tube, its best to give the plastic tube a quick rinse after to wash any vape liquid off too.

Remove Plastic Tube Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Remove Plastic Tube Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Then just separate the remaining wires from the other material by cutting.

Cut Wires Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Cut Wires Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
End Result From Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
End Result From Disassembling Elfbar 600 Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Well done for recycling these items and having a positive impact, read more here: https://junglebiscuit.com/guide-on-how-to-recycle-disposable-electronic-vapes-or-cigarettes/

How to Break Down A Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Firstly, safety – The batteries can still carry an electrical charge and can be dangerous still so if you are not confident then I would recommend you put the whole thing into battery recycling rather than try to break it down yourself first. For those who wish to contine I have put a guide below on how I disassemble and recycle the Lost Mary or Bloody Mary disposable electronic vapes or Cigarettes I find.

First of all, get your tools ready, I use a couple of pairs of different sized Pliers, some snippers and a screwdriver.

Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Tools Used For Disassembling Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Here we go, grab the big pliers and give the lid a wiggle and a yank.

Removing Lid Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Removing Lid Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Removing Lid Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Removing Lid Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Pull the bits of rubber and material out of the lid.

Removing Material From Lid Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Removing Material From Lid Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Removing Material From Lid Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Removing Material From Lid Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Now grab your smaller pliers and you should be able to grab the clear bit of hard plastic within the main case to pull all of the insides out in one go.

Pulling Insides Out Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Insides Out Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Insides Out Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Insides Out Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Insides Out Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Insides Out Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Now you can remove the other lid from the main case.

Pulling Back Off Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Back Off Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Back Off Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Pulling Back Off Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Insides Out Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Insides Out Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Next we have to focus on the insides, first remove the clear plastic completely, pull the sticky piece off the side too and give it a rince ready for recycling.

Separating The Plastic Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Separating The Plastic Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

We can now disconnect the battery wires. I always start from the positive side as there is only one wire, cut that away.

Cutting Wires Away From Battery Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Cutting Wires Away From Battery Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

You can see on the negative side they use a confusing mix of red and black wires, as you have already disconnected the positive side it should be safe to cut through both to disconnect the battery completely.

Battery Disconnected Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Battery Disconnected Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Battery Disconnected Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Battery Disconnected Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Pull apart the material that contains the liquid and snip the wires as shown below to separate them.

Finishing Up Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Finishing Up Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Pull them all apart and you should now have all parts separated.

Finishing Up Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
Finishing Up Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Dispose of the hard plastic pieces and metal case in the recycling. Take the battery to a battery recycling collection point and the wires and components to a waste electrical recycling point. The rubber parts you can recycle in some places but not all accept them. The other material parts you may just have to throw in the bin.

End Result From Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette
End Result From Disassembling Lost Mary or Bloody Mary Disposable Electronic Vape or Cigarette

Well done for recycling these items and having a positive impact, read more here: https://junglebiscuit.com/guide-on-how-to-recycle-disposable-electronic-vapes-or-cigarettes/

Guide on how to recycle disposable electronic vapes or cigarettes

Intro

Electronic vapes have been around for a while now and are a good way to move away from smoking cigarettes (though it may introduce other health issues). The reuseable vapes are great, you can charge them up and add whichever flavour liquid you fancy with the amount of nicotine required. However, the rise in popularity of vapes have introduced a monster with “disposable” electronic vapes or cigarettes appearing over the last year or two in a big way. These things are extremely bad for the environment then the low cost, bright colours and range of sweet flavours makes them very attractive to children. For those reasons, in my opinion, it should be illegal to make and sell these disposable devices.

Environmental Impact

I live in Greater London and at the moment I can guarentee that if you walk down any street you are very likely to find one of these devices disguarded on the pavement, in the road, on the grass verge etc. I even went for a visit to a seaside location and the beach was littered with these! On the envronmental side nobody seems able to dispose of these properly, its much easier to chuck it out of your car window or put it in the general waste than work out how to dispose of it correctly. If you do try to take it apart to recycle the various components it isn’t an easy task as we shall show below. Do they get recycled if they are put in battery recycling collection points?

The e-cigarette casings contain a mixture of plastic, rubber and metal which when broken down turn into microplastics and chemicals which pollute waterways and be bad for wildlife. The vape liquid contains various substances such as nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerine, and flavourings which can be toxic to the environment on their own when disguarded. The largest issue to me is the lithium-ion battery which contains hazardous substances such as lead and mercury. The lithium contained in e-cigarette batteries is not just an environmental and public health hazard when discarded, but a precious natural resource that must be conserved, reused, and recycled. The ten tons of lithium discarded in vapes yearly in the U.K. alone is enough to construct 1,200 electric vehicles. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency estimates the world will face lithium shortages by 2025. With that in mind I’ve taken a few pictures of what is happening to these devices on our streets:

Discarded e-cigarette kerbside crushed by vehicle
Discarded e-cigarette kerbside crushed by vehicle
Discarded e-cigarette kerbside crushed by vehicle
Discarded e-cigarette kerbside crushed by vehicle

Damaged Vapes Recycled

Here are a few disposable vapes I found damaged in the road that I attempted to take apart into their recyclable components. I’ll go into various vape types and how to take them apart later on but these ones took a bit more effort than normal as the outside cases were squashed but I managed to get them apart:

Damaged Disposable Vapes Found In Road
Damaged Disposable Vapes Found In Road
Disposable Vapes Found In Road Taken Apart Into Recyclable Components
Disposable Vapes Found In Road Taken Apart Into Recyclable Components

How to disassemble the various types of disposable Vape

Here I have linked a new page to show you how to disassemble each type of vape so that you can break it down into components to recycle. Just a warning that the batteries can still carry an electrical charge and can be dangerous still so if you are not confident then I would recommend you put the whole thing into battery recycling rather than try to break it down yourself first.

How to dissasssemble Lost Mary or Bloody Mary disposable electronic vapes: https://junglebiscuit.com/how-to-break-down-a-lost-mary-or-bloody-mary-disposable-electronic-vape-or-cigarette/

How to dissasssemble Elfbar 600 disposable electronic vapes: https://junglebiscuit.com/how-to-break-down-an-elfbar-disposable-electronic-vape-or-cigarette-into-components/

How to dissasssemble Crystal Bar disposable electronic vapes: https://junglebiscuit.com/how-to-break-down-a-Crystal Bar-disposable-electronic-vape-or-cigarette-into-components/

How to dissasssemble Elfbar Cigalike disposable electronic vapes: https://junglebiscuit.com/how-to-break-down-a-Elfbar Cigalike-disposable-electronic-vape-or-cigarette-into-components/

How to dissasssemble Lost Mary QM600 disposable electronic vapes: https://junglebiscuit.com/how-to-break-down-a-lost-mary-qm600-disposable-electronic-vape-or-cigarette-into-components/