Thank you. Time for an Echo?

[bobsyeruncle]

One of the big advantages of Everclear or isopropyl alchohol is that they evaporate much more quickly than water. With Everclear, you can still vape off some of the alchohol before it has completely evaporated. You definitely don't want to vape isopropyl alchohol. However, I do an isopropyl alchohol clean and let it dry out overnight. I give it a sniff test and then I tentatively suck on the atomizer to see if I can still detect any residual alcohol. And I've had no problems.

If you clean with water, it's not a bad idea to wait 48 hours before assuming it's dry and popping it on an atomizer. Haven't tried it yet, but you can also leave your atty on an open oven door, oven set to 150 - 200 degrees and that should speed up the drying. It has been rather warm here to try something like that.

 

[Ginagab]

Don't know if they sell everclear here. Will check. The vodka will go fast. One for me one for the carto. Ordered the syringe 'gizmo' and will try with isopropyl alcohol first. I have read about drying in oven and someone said they dried them on a lightbulb.
Can't wait for the echo to come. All five of my 901 batts are dead. Been in and out of the office today and haven't charged any. Went to work today with all five charged.

 

[Michael Curry]

Highest alcohol content we can get here is 151 proof. Commercially, that is.

Just be careful that all the alcohol is well evaporated if you're using isopropyl, especially in those strengths. Heated IA is not something you want to vape.

I'm going to try this method, but I'm way too impatient to wait a couple days for it to all dry. Has anybody tried a food dehydrator? The oven trick sounds OK, but in Florida in the summertime, leaving the oven door open is just not gonna fly. lol

 

[Michael Curry]

Don't know if they sell everclear here.

If you're where your profile says you are, and you want real Everclear - it's road trip time. Kentucky and Indiana sell the 190 proof, best bet in Ohio is 151 proof Rum or Vodka. Your local liquor store might carry the 151 proof Everclear that is made for the states that don't allow the full strength stuff.

Even at 151 proof, it should do a good job cleaning. Just remember, that's 75.5% - the flash point is a tad low at that concentration.

 

[mwa102464]

First, don't buy those syringes with the protective coating. It's shellac or lacquer or something which alcohol will dissolve and make a sticky mess. (Guess how I know!) If you have, take a piece of religious (holey) tee-shirt, saturate it with isopropyl alcohol and scrub off the spray shellac or lacquer or whatever it is.

Second, pour about five fluid ounces of 91% isopropyl alcohol into a glass made out of glass. (Isopropyl alcohol will affect some plastics.)

Third, jam your carto into one of the two tubes that come with the kit. You jam echo-e's on via the mouthpiece end. It will fit -- you just have to be firm with it. Then attach the other end to the syringe.

Fourth, pull out the syringe plunger to suck the isopropyl alcohol through the carto, then push it back in to expel the alcohol back into the glass. Do this slowly, lest the assembly fall apart and spray alcohol all over the place. I do about 15 cycles of this out-then-in process, but that may be overkill. It's amazing how much gradoo you get out of the carto! Replace the alcohol every couple of cartos or when the alcohol changes color considerably. Experience will tell you when to do this.

Fifth, take the carto off the tube and inspect. The filler should look grayishly wet and not any other color.

Sixth, let the carto dry for a day, or sling it, battery end down, to remove most of the isopropyl alcohol. Inspect the filler again. Once you've dried it on the surface, the filler should be fluffy white, just like it looked when it was brand-new. Use a brand-new carto to compare. Also smell the filler. If the filler isn't fluffy white and/or you can still smell flavor, repeat steps three through six again.

Seventh, let the carto dry for a week to be certain all the isopropyl alcohol has evaporated. Vaping a droplet of isopropyl alcohol probably won't kill you or make you go blind, but it is profoundly nasty stuff and will ruin your new charge of eliquid. Needless to say, during the weeklong drying process, you're using another bunch of echo-e cartos.

Also, be sure to wipe the exterior of the carto and don't let it air-dry: isopropyl alcohol can cause the black paint to de-adhere. I found this out the hard way. If this does happen to you, though, all is not lost. Take a toothpick and scrape off the paint. The unpainted body of the carto is a nice brushed stainless steel which looks great on steel colored batteries and normal on most other battery colors.

Right now I'm using two sets of five echo-e cartos each. One set is in use for a week; the other set has been cleaned and is drying. The whole cleaning process takes about ten minutes for a set of five cartos. It's a Saturday morning chore which is worth doing: those cartos cost about $5.00 each. The set currently drying has been through this process six times. I haven't had to pitch an echo-e carto yet.

Hope all this helps!

Amen to that Brutha !

I put a piece of scotch tape over the ML markings on my syringes while using them for anything to protect the ml markings and it works fine.

 

[tlynn]

I use PG juice and I have to tell you the juice makes a world of difference as far as these cartos go. No exaggeration, I'm on my third week with the same echo-e cartomizer and is still going strong. My mom's last about 1 week with her thicker dark juices.

The cartos can be cleaned and reused. I haven't tried a cleaning yet, but plan to and I'll let you know how it goes.

Could you tell me if your moms' cartos ever taste burnt in the first week? Do they wick well enough for chain vaping thick juice? I like the thicker dark juices and if I only get 1 week out of a $3 carto that is fine.

 

[mangoon]

Never heard of an Echo ... can you describe it?

Fat bat along the lines of ego, igo , gogo etc. Comes in an auto 901/808 threaded batt which I think was a big selling point when they came out. Have since come out with a manual 510 threaded bat. Have also read allot of positive feedback on the echo cartos. The new echo dual coils seem to be getting even bigger raves.

Was thinking of a riva 510 for my next upgrade but maybe leaning towards an echo now.

 

[kinabaloo]

If use water for cleaning, use distilled water for the last rinse.

 

[mostlyclassics]

Could you tell me if your moms' cartos ever taste burnt in the first week? Do they wick well enough for chain vaping thick juice?

I like the great, billowing clouds that VG makes, so just about everything I vape is 20/80% PG/VG to almost straight VG. The last is pretty goopey. I find myself topping off with four or five drops fairly frequently (twice per day sometimes). I'm also careful to keep a four or five fat-batt rotation going at once: I take a few tokes off #1, then move on to #2 and so on. That trick keeps the cartos cool and allows time for the goopey e-liquids to dissipate through the filling before you get back to #1.

Works for me . . . your mileage may vary.