"Cartomisers" What have you learned?

[just-cass]

What have you learned about carto's? Anything you were doing wrong in the beginning that you've figured out now?Mistakes and obstacles you found a solution to?


This is the "sticky" forum...a resource for newcomers with concise informative info...please stay on topic or post in another thread the topic of your choice : o)

 

[pianoguy]

It's important not to vape the cartomizers dry if you intend to reuse them. The optimum time to refill is when you detect a drop-off in flavor (which may be accompanied by an increase in vapor production). Someone new to vaping might not be able to sense this flavor reduction, as their taste buds are still desensitized from smoking. The next key is a slightly burnt taste, which most people can easily detect. Time to stop there for sure. If you continue past that point, the cartomizer will not likely be a good candidate for refilling. Better to stop early than late - a well-kept cartomizer can be good for quite a number of refills.

 

[GeeYourHairSmellsTerrific]

After a refill let them rest, vaping a newly filled carto can burn it up if it's too dry at the core. So let it sit for a while before you vape if it was really empty/dry!

 

[JerryRM]

I have a question about refilling cartomizers. When I use refilled cartomizers, I get little or no vapor. The throat hit is ok, but not the vapor. I used Johnson Creek e-juice, if that matters. What am I doing wrong?

Jerry

 

[Madame Psychosis]

Refilling cartomizers comes with a real learning curve.
I can only list my mistakes, and the lessons I've personally taken from them.
These are purely my opinions.

1) Don't drip through the mouthpiece hole. Doesn't work. Open up the mouthpiece to find out why: there is a silicone O-ring underneath the mouthpiece, and between that and the mouthpiece itself, you basically are directing the liquid straight down into the atomizer tube, when what you really need to do is saturate the wick around it. If you drip into the atomizer tube, and you'll produce no vapor, get a bubbling sound, and possible end up leaking liquid onto the battery. (Bad news if you have an auto batt!) Or if you hit the wick, it'll take ages to wick down to the atomizer as intended.

2) Don't use a syringe. OK, some people are going to disagree vehemently with this one. Sorry, but using a syringe without taking out the mouthpiece first will give you no visual cues as to how much you need to inject, and because of the aforementioned two-piece-thick mouthpiece, it's very hard to aim the syringe down into the wick properly. You have no visual way of checking whether you've flooded the wick faster than it can take up the liquid, thereby creating a pool of liquid that blocks the atomizer tube.
And if you are using anything thicker than a medical-grade sharp, and jut it down into the wick, you will destroy the wick. This is my big problem with the 18-gauge "filling tool" syringe sold by several vendors. It's too large a gauge. I used one on my cartomizers, gently sticking them down along the carto walls to refill, and the wicks turned into swiss cheese.

3) If you drip through the battery end, problems can arise. I do this if I'm too lazy to refill by taking out the mouthpiece. But here's the thing: By dripping through the battery end, you're dripping into the atomizer tube. What do you have to do to make this technique work?
a) Drip several drops (5-8 on a getting-kinda-dry carto) into the battery end, letting them sink in one at a time.
b) Prop the carto up at a 30-75 degree angle, to let the liquid sink down through the atomizer tube. If you want to visualize this, the liquid is actually pooling around the top of the tube and wick, against the silicone O-ring at this point.
c) Put in the cap+plug, and use the spin trick to make the liquid run down through the wick. You might still get a bit of liquid in your mouth if any of the pooled liquid is still in the atomizer tube and/or mouthpiece.
...See what I mean about problems arising?

4) Basically, doing anything that avoids taking out the mouthpiece is tricky because you're not getting any visual feedback about how full the wick is.

YMMV, as always.

Next post will be... what I find can work.

 

[Madame Psychosis]

My technique for refilling cartomizers:
This looks all complicated but it's actually very quick once you get the hang of it.

1) Keep the battery-end plug and cap on. Pry out the mouthpiece and silicone O-ring.
2) Drip into the wick along the wall of the cartomizer, to avoid the atomizer tube. Let the liquid sink in with each drop to avoid pooling.
3) Once it looks like the top of the wick is saturated, use the spin trick (my tool below) to give it 10-15 good revolutions.
4) If the wick looks dry again, give it another several drops and spin again.
5) If you overfilled and there is pooling at the top of the wick, use a Q-tip to sponge up the excess.
Note: If you get liquid in the atomizer tube, you can blow it out gently onto a paper towel. If it doesn't come out easily, run it on your battery briefly (always dragging a little on it to avoid leaking down onto the battery). The liquid is now heated up a little and comes out more easily, so you can unscrew the cartomizer and blow out the liquid still blocking the tube.

If you're filling an empty cartomizer, you can drip a whole lot more at a time than if you're just topping up a partly-dry one.

My spin tool:
1) Cut off the bulb of a 3ml pipette. (Cheap, cheap, cheap. Get a friend who works in a lab to give you some -- they buy by the case in research labs. Or buy a dozen on eBay for a few bucks.) This is your cartomizer sling.
2) Use a hole punch to make two diametrically-opposed holes close to the cut-off edge of the pipette bulb.
3) Tie each end of a 2-to-3-foot piece of string through the holes. You now have a loop to hold on and swing with.
4) Put the cartomizer battery-end down with the plug and cap into the pipette 'sling', and swing by the string loop you've attached.

My hook tool:
How do you take out the mouthpiece? Make some kind of hook tool to pry out the mouthpiece by the center hole.
I start with a large safety pin. Think 1.5" long or so. I use pliers to bend a broad hook (a touch over 90 degree angle) into the end of the pin. Safety pins have harder-spring metal than paperclips, so my homemade hook tool has never been distorted in at least 300 uses (though a thick paperclip or smaller safety pin might also work).

 

[Madame Psychosis]

I should also note that these are the tips I have learned so far, that work best for me personally, in two months of cartomizer use. People are coming up with new ones all of the time, and part of the enjoyment of a forum is finding out the tricks that people share.

For instance, Dogsbody posted new tricks to fill in this thread: Cartomizer Mods utilizing the CCFM (Carto Cap Filler Method)

Bottom line with cartomizers? Don't get discouraged. There's always tweaking to be done, and other methods to try!

 

[uzzaperez]

A few tips on cartomizer use:

KNOWING WHEN TO REFILL
Early and often. You have to get it out of your head that you should vape it dry before refilling. Keeping it wet is the key to a long carto life and good performance. I actually tend to leave the top off and drip it full after awhile of vaping, if it is taking more than 10 drops to refill I think I’ve waited too long. Whatever you do, learn a method that works for you to drip and keep the carto wet. This, along with good batteries, is the key to a happy KR808D-1 experience.

REFILLING TECHNIQUE
As others have said, don’t refill blind (i.e. dripping the battery end or using a syringe without removing the cap). Pop the cap off and drip onto the filler. When liquid starts to pool at the top, give it a Tayrn Spin (search Tayrn Spin for many methods to do this), an easy way, if you don’t have shoulder problems, is just to hold it in your hand, battery end down, and swing your arm around so the centrifugal force pulls the juice into the filler. By this method you can put 30 drops into a blank carto.

DRAINING TECHNIQUE
For when you want a different flavor or to get out old juice. Put a condom on the mouth end, loosely so there is room in the condom for juice, and reverse Tayrn spin. It also works well to just put a rolled tissue in the tip, pressed against the filler, and let it sit and drain upside down for an hour or so (this is a common method for draining most attys).

REMOVING THE CAP
A screw works great. Just a regular drywall tip screw. Screw it into the hole in the tip and pull. The even force at the center of the cap pulls the cap off quite nicely. You will occasionally mangle a stuck cap to get it off, but you will likely have extra caps around from used cartos. I actually don’t even put the cap back very often, I just vape it open to make it easier to drip. Another good cap replacement is a KR condom with a hole poked in the top.

KEEP AN EYE ON VAPOR4LIFE
Vapor4Life is/are the masters of cartomizers. They are actively involved with their manufacturers and actively trying various options and redesigns to improve their cartomizers. Sooner or later they will settle down on an ultimate cartomizer design. All cartos are not created equal. V4L also has superior quality control so you are less likely to get a dud carto or one that is not properly filled as is so common with run-of-the-mill carto suppliers. A lot of people don’t like “V4L Fanboys”…but there are very good reasons that so many people are V4L fans. I have not seen another supplier out there with a fan base like V4L has. There are models with a big fan base, but it is rare to see a vendor with devoted customers. It comes from top notch service and innovation.

ORDER BLANKS
There are a lot of good juices out there that don’t come in cartomizers. Don’t pass up a good juice, buy blank cartos and fill them with your favorite.

TRY A MOD
More vapor and better performance at higher voltage. Check out a Chuck or a Prodigy with a 510 connection and get a 510 to cartomizer adapter. Another option is a 5 volt USB pass-thru. Sooner or later V4L will come out with a cartomizer specific high voltage mod. Just be aware that the increased performance means juice is being used up faster so you will have to refill more often. This is why I vape with the cap off.

USE GOOD JUICE
No e-cig model will fix bad juice. Nobacco from V4L is the best Dekang stuff available (Dekang is not nomally highly rated, Nobacco is). Ms. T’s is amazing juice. A lot of people recommend Tasty Vapor, N-Haler, Halo, Totally Wicked & Decadent, ECOpure, and others. One tip for cartomizers: thicker is not better. Cartomizer design means you can’t bypass the filler and thick juice can clot and clog filler or at best it is slower to move through the filler and vaporize on the atty coil.

BATTERIES
Try around. Eventually V4L will get their battery design nailed down, but it isn’t there yet. Design changes impact air flow, loudness, etc. Longer batteries last longer, shorter batteries feel more convenient, portable and similar to analog. Manuals give you greater control, Autos tend to better air flow, hands free use, and a more “analog” feel. My favorite batteries are old-style V4L auto shorties, but you can’t get them anymore for now. That is okay by me since I tend to prefer a higher voltage mod anyway so I can wait for them to get their battery design nailed down.

 

[hittman]

I bought a carto adapter and a pack of blanks to try some time ago. It was like sucking air thru a straw and could never really get a good hit. I am wondering if perhaps my carto adapter had too big of a hole in it or something. I hear about so many people loving the cartos but I just couldn't get them to work for me.

 

[JerryRM]

When that has happened to me, I noticed that it was because I had removed the cartomizer cap, by using a pair of tweezers in the center hole and enlarging it in the process.
Since then, I take off the caps, by using a pocket knife and prying them off by the side.

 

[hittman]

Thanks for the info Jerry. I tried another one yesterday and even taking the cap off from the side does not help. I think the next time I place an order that I will buy a new adapter to try. I hear about how much so many people like them and how they last pretty long and would like to give them a fair try.

 

[hittman]

Jerry, being the impatient person that I am, I put a piece of tape over the hole on the adapter and then poked a smaller hole in the tape. That seemed to work well. I guess the hole on the adapter was just too big.

 

[JerryRM]

That sounds like your problem hittman. I have two 510 battery to KR808D-1 cartomizer adapters. They work great, especially since my 510 batteries are manual switch, while my KR808D-1 batteries are automatic. I don't use them much, but I like the flexibility that having them gives me.

 

[hittman]

I think I will get a couple like the ones you have the next time I put an order in. I use a 510 fitting on my xhaler most of the time anyway.

 

[sanfordf]

I have found that on some (not all) cartomizers that are more 'airy', I can cut a condom in half to make a cylinder, open on both ends. I then cut a very acute 'V' into it, with the point of the 'V' near the middle of the silicone cylinder. I then slip this down to the junction of the battery and cartomizer. I can vary the air intake by how much of the 'V' is at the junction where the air comes in. I am using this method (occasionally) with my 510 cartomizers and it works for atomizers as well.

 

[tiburonfirst]

i have found that the best, most updated info on all things carto is here:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...tem-808-dpv9-smoke51-etc-133.html#post1552844

 

[tiburonfirst]

since you were interested in the trueman 510s i thought i would post this here for you. delete once it served its purpose

ClumsyGirl sent me this 510 carto purchased from Truemans. It appears that Vapors Etc is now carrying these so we have a US supplier.

They test around 2.4 ohms and I used this carto heavily for 8+ days. I have NEVER used a carto that long without something going bad. The thing that went bad in this one was the juice at the very bottom got old and soured. If it wasn't for that I'd still be using it. It was used primarily on a Lazer mod, but the last day I did have it on the Chameleon for a bit.

First pic... I had already cut the tube off when I decided to take this shot, but this is what it looks like when looking in the top. I did wash this after I took the tube off and before I took pics as it was nasty with old juice and ya'll didn't really need pics of that

There is no visible wire up through the center when you look into it. As reason would have it, that would mean it has a horizontal coil like the SLB cartos

Must to my surprise when I unwrapped it, it has a vertical wire!!!!!! The filler is thick and pulled up over the wire so you can not see it when you look down into it.

Next pics are it opened all the way up and the wire assembly close up.

Yes there is a burn mark, but after 8 days of heavy use from me, that's dang good!! I'm betting the burn came at the very end when I had it on the Chamy. I never tasted it or could tell it was burned at all and I can usually tell that very quickly. I have an allergic reaction when the filler in cartos burn. I actually get sores on the roof of my mouth from it so I can always tell a burnt carto quickly. I never had any reaction to this one and no signs it was burnt at all so I'm pretty sure it happened right at the end. And or the filler is different somehow.

Summery... I love this carto. The juice wicked fast, it never clogged up on me, the draw was great, vapor fantastic and my juices tasted wonderfully. With the lower ohms I'm surprised it did not burn up quickly, but it did not, so this carto is now at the top of my favorite list


Happy Vaping!!!

Trueman, brown label - 4081 - horizontal coil - 3.5 ohms
Seems to be identical to the GP 4081
Trueman black label - 4081 - vertical wire - 3.4 ohms
I like this baby, it's very close in performance to the SS carto despite having a different build.
Trueman, black label - 510 - vertical wire - 2.4 ohms
My new favorite 510 carto
I don't see any 4081s on the Vapor Station website and I believe their 510s are Boge. Vapors Etc now has the Trueman 510s. I ordered a couple packs just to make sure, but the description and picture match the Trueman 510s. They also have the regular Kanger 510s so watch what you are ordering, make sure they say Trueman.

I think Lori said someone was getting the Trueman 4081s in, but I can not for the life of me remember who it was, sorry.


Happy Vaping!

 

[Szn122]

Love it! Good Q?