some carto questions... baditude are you out there?

[serenity21899]

Is there a US source for the SOphia? My Prepaid card won't work internationally and I can't figure out if the main site for the sophia takes paypal

No, ByLeo is the maker, and the only one who sells them. And yes, it's PayPal with all the usual options.

 

[beckdg]

Would you be willing to pay more for a more consistant, dependable, quality cartomizer? How much more?

i already paid. ;-)

still awaiting a decision on the 50 bad cartos i received.

i went all in based on info and suggestions found in your blogs linked by your posts all over ECF. i wanted to make sure i got plenty before they sold out.

i learned my lesson. i have 15 of the nitros coming. 5 of each kind that i was interested in that were still available when i got to them.

 

[serenity21899]

I got a large shipment of Ikenvape cartos some months back, and was gifted another large batch around Christmas, so I'm well-stocked with Ikenvapes for some time to come. Having said that, I understand the frustration of seeing Ikenvapes being out-of-stock more often than not.

Isaac has had more than his share of bad luck. He's a small business which had innovation ideas with his own line of cartomizers. He knows how to design a superior cartomizer, he's just had bad luck with the Chinese manufacturers because of their inconsistant quality control and limiting his supply. I haven't been privy to the behind the scenes stuff, but I know he is frustrated just like some of his customers. He is taking steps to improve the quality, consistancy, and availability of his line of cartomizers.

I suggested possibly into looking to Mexico to manufacture his cartomizers. He responded that he was "looking closer to home." Maybe I'm reading more into this than I should, but that sounded to me like he is going to have his cartos made in the USA. How about that idea?

If this is true, and if it turns out that these are superior quality cartos, but likely at a premium price due to being built in the US, I would hope that customers choose to support him. Would you be willing to pay more for a more consistant, dependable, quality cartomizer? How much more?

While I realize the IKV issues were not their fault, I became frustrated enough to try the Sophia, and give up cartos all together. Then wanting more tanks in use than I could afford Sophias right now, I got my Kayfun working, and intend to buy a Kayfun Lite. My vaping journey has moved on, but I still see a need for the unfussy world of carto tanks. So, I am likely to try IKV's new offerings. I think the price should not be more than the average clearo head price.

 

[Baditude]

I have used Boges. From my experience, the synthetic polyfill wrap in a Boge is wrapped waaaay tighter than a Smoktech carto. I think that's why I have such good success with Boba's Bounty in a carto tank.

I've seen a few vapers' progressions go like this: clearo>carto tank>rda/rba. There are plus and minuses to each level, but the most consistent and hassle free I've found are carto tanks. Us e-stoo-peed A-mur-ee-cans are too lazy to sit there and drip drops into a 1.2" metal tube. Take them or leave them, do what thou wilt. But priming a carto is no where NEAR as difficult as learning rebuildables.

I can agree with Rocket on the above. I've not had much success with Boge. If I can't get Ikenvapes, I'll use Smoktech.

I've had mixed results with rebuildables. I'm not a "tinkerer", which I think you have to be to do rebuildables. I found them to be time consuming and inconsistant at worse, with great vapor and nice flavor at best.

Having said that, I've been using a Kayfun Lite plus for nearly two weeks, and I have been extremely pleased with it. I describe it like a marrage between a rebuildable and a cartotank, as it works on the negative pressure system of a cartotank wicking the e-liquid to a rebuildable coil and wick. So far its been very consistant, with great flavor and decent vapor. Setup time is just a little longer for me compared to a cartotank. Pretty simple, even for me. If you can wrap a coil, you can work a Kayfun.

 

[Katya]

I've been having some issues lately with my carto tanks. using smoketechs and ibtanks...
my cartos arent lasting long.


so my question is...
i use standard cartos 19mm and 22mm cartos, how many times, if any should i be able to refill these tanks on the same carto?


next question...
how long can juice sit in a tank before its not good...


my thinking is that maybe i have too many tanks in rotation, so the juice is sitting the carto too long..
like... maybe its getting gunked up, thick or something..


any thoughts for me?

Hi Ladiekali!

I have tried every carto ever introduced, tested them and then took them apart...

Like others have mentioned, how long a carto will last depends on your juice (the darker, the sweeter--the shorter the lifespan) but also on your wattage and your device. In a nutshell--cartomizers are disposable. Whether they are tanked or not, the gunk on the coils builds up and taste goes bad and vapor production begins to diminish. Since carto coils can't be properly cleaned, the whole thing has to go.

In my experience, a good cartomizer (like Boge or SmokTech) cannot process more than 8-12 ml of juice unless you're vaping unflavored mostly PG ejuice. Every carto I ever tried begins to taste off to me after 5-9 ml. They still work, but I can tell the difference in taste.

IKV cartos (the old line) are manufactured by Bogetech--my favorite brand. I still have some of the old stock Boges and they are great--I just tried one the other day. There's no better carto than a good Boge, IMO--but they have been having QC issues lately. Even Isaac decided to fire them after all those years.

I'm not sure how long a carto can sit in tank, I'm not a carto tank user, but I believe it can sit for a while. If you have trouble "restarting" an old carto tank, the coil probably dried up a bit--take a couple of primer puffs (without activating your battery) or drip a few drops of eliquid directly into the filler (and a drop or two onto the coil) to get things going again.

Good luck!

 

[Ladiekali]

do you think the not wicking up my juice is a vacuum issue maybe?
maybe i'm not filling them full enough or something?

i probably vape 5 ml a day... so maybe a day and a half is decent i'm just vaping more than i use to?

 

[Susan W.]

Thanks about my banner. Ocey made it for me. I drew the kitty.

The Sophia build is almost like the Protank except I think it's easier as there's not as many pieces to take apart and put back together. It's not finicky but it does use nr-r-nr wires. I buy them already made up and they come in different resistance so I see no need to make my own as I'm not doing anything extreme.

I really want to try the Nitro cartos and see if they are similar.

well crud, i guess it's time for the sophia.

i've been trying to rebuild protank coils, some are awesome some just pop like crazy.

I have a couple rda's. i have the igo-L with a pretty good build on it, and igo3 which is way too airy for my liking.
but unfortunately, i don't have any ejuice below 12mg... i don't reccomend dripping 12mg lol. seriously.

i'm also looking into the kayfun lite clone.

it's payday so i'm trying to figure out what to buy.
I love my cartotanks. and I enjoy the rda's.
so it looks like i'm ready to advance.
and stock up on some 6mg juice lol.

susan i love your banner!!!!

 

[aushizz]

I can agree with Rocket on the above. I've not had much success with Boge. If I can't get Ikenvapes, I'll use Smoktech.

I've had mixed results with rebuildables. I'm not a "tinkerer", which I think you have to be to do rebuildables. I found them to be time consuming and inconsistant at worse, with great vapor and nice flavor at best.

Having said that, I've been using a Kayfun Lite plus for nearly two weeks, and I have been extremely pleased with it. I describe it like a marrage between a rebuildable and a cartotank, as it works on the negative pressure system of a cartotank wicking the e-liquid to a rebuildable coil and wick. So far its been very consistant, with great flavor and decent vapor. Setup time is just a little longer for me compared to a cartotank. Pretty simple, even for me. If you can wrap a coil, you can work a Kayfun.

bad just curious have you ever tried a spheroid?

 

[Katya]

do you think the not wicking up my juice is a vacuum issue maybe?
maybe i'm not filling them full enough or something?

i probably vape 5 ml a day... so maybe a day and a half is decent i'm just vaping more than i use to?

It very well may be.

Most of my carto tank friends claim that they can put 12-20 ml of clearish juices through their tanked cartos. It may be a vacuum issue, especially if you leave them unused for a while.

As for underfilling, just keep in mind that a regular size carto takes about 1 ml of ejuice--or more--which translates to 25-35 drops, depending on the carto filler and the size of your dropper. Boges are notoriously difficult to fill properly because of the density of the filler that Bad mentioned; but once filled correctly, they wick like a dream. So just make sure that you put at least 1 ml of ejuice when you first fill your carto. The larger ones (XL) take about 1.5ml, the XXL--2 ml.

 

[Katya]

Ikenvapes are hard to get and expensive when you can. I've never used Ikenvapes so I cannot speak for the quality; however. I trust Bad to the Nth degree and if he says they're good, take that as gospel. (If there are other brands of cartos, let me know, I consume info and love to be corrected). I have used Boges. From my experience, the synthetic polyfill wrap in a Boge is wrapped waaaay tighter than a Smoktech carto. I think that's why I have such good success with Boba's Bounty in a carto tank.

Ikenvape cartos are and have always been made by Bogetech, albeit to Isaac's specifications--there's really not much difference between IKV and Boge cartos. I've used and dissected both kinds...

Smoktech cartos are different--different manufacturer, different filler; good cartos--but not quite as good as good Boges. But they are much easier to use with thick juices because their filler is loose and more porous.

There are other cartos on the market, most notably Kanger 510 horizontal-coil model, but they are nowhere near quality-wise to the Boge and Smoktech ones.

As always, YMMV.

 

[Baditude]

bad just curious have you ever tried a spheroid?

I have not. I did watch PBusardo's review. Didn't seem like something that I'd be interested in. I believe the Kayfun-style attys are the wave of the future for rebuildable tanks. My

 

[dannyrl]

I ran Smoktech cartos for a while and they typically only lasted me about 3 days of awesome vaping, then a week or two more before the flavor became so dulled out that I just couldn't vape on them anymore. I got tired of paying for a new box of cartos every month. I tried everything to keep them clean from boiling them, soaking them in everclear, to forcing water through them with a baster. But I broke down and just got a Kayfun.

I ran 100% VG juice with lots of sweeteners in it though. My cartos were probably gunked up to hell by the time I decided to throw them away.

 

[Pappy358]

If cartomizers cause so much trouble and like you all corrected my ignorance, then why not go to a clearomizer? I've used some of the junk you recommend only to find it was a waste of money.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[beckdg]

got my nitros in yesterday. preliminary assessments look promising. seem they may be the best cartos i've used to date with some caveats to be disclosed shortly. i want to give a little more time on the one line and try them all with all VG and higher PG mixes so i can give a better fair assessment.

though, the single coil non-DCT lineup seems to be shining greatly with 50/50 juice at this time. definitely a winner by a long shot at this time.

 

[Ladiekali]

If cartomizers cause so much trouble and like you all corrected my ignorance, then why not go to a clearomizer? I've used some of the junk you recommend only to find it was a waste of money.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

i have the same or worse problem with clearomizers.
and they leak when they sit for a day or two.
i think i'm just gonna stick to two flavors in rotation.
the flavor in a cartotank surpasses a clearomizer.
it's kinda hard to go back.
And that dreaded burnt taste with clearomizers is awful! and gurgling ugh!
there are too many benefits over the carto tank. i've been trying to use various clearo's and they all are more work than the carto tank.

now i'm just stuck on do i order the sophia or a kayfun... not sure.

 

[Pappy358]

i have the same or worse problem with clearomizers.
and they leak when they sit for a day or two.
i think i'm just gonna stick to two flavors in rotation.
the flavor in a cartotank surpasses a clearomizer.
it's kinda hard to go back.
And that dreaded burnt taste with clearomizers is awful! and gurgling ugh!
there are too many benefits over the carto tank. i've been trying to use various clearo's and they all are more work than the carto tank.

now i'm just stuck on do i order the sophia or a kayfun... not sure.

My Nautilus Aspire has none of those problems. Plus I beat it up while working and never broke it. But this debate is like the debate on who has the best hot dog or barbeque.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[NealBJr]

If cartomizers cause so much trouble and like you all corrected my ignorance, then why not go to a clearomizer? I've used some of the junk you recommend only to find it was a waste of money.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Clearomizers are my solution as well.

However, there are some benefits to cartomizers over clearomizers. Cartomizers offer not only pre-wicked solutions, but he poly fill also controls juice to the atomizer. With cartomizers, you select the cartomizer that has the perfect juice control and atomizer setutp for your solution. To get someone's "perfect vape",they simply keep buying the cartomizer that suits their liking. No flooding, no rewicking, no worries about ohm settings. It's almost like a "plug and vape" solution to where when you find your perfect vape, you can replicate it easier.

With clearomizers, it's almost like cartomizers. I personally prefer the Mini protank and rebuild the coils for that. However, I know how to rebuild the coils, and I'm willing to spend the extra time to do it... not everyone does. Sure, you can simply buy replaceable heads, but that still leaves the juice control problem. With my mini protank, the coils will go dry if I take a few light draws. I have to draw more juice in with some heavy inhales. Mine leaks only slightly into the battery compartment, and never floods unless I make it. the Cartomizer's polyfill makes things much easier as far as juice control.

Now, someone said the cartomizer's performance surpasses a clearomizer, That I'm not sure about. There is a big difference between clearomizers. I have some CE 5's and a mini protank, and the difference is between night and day. So much difference, that I have refilled the mini protank about 10 times since I got it. I got some CE5's, and I've yet to vape it down to halfway.... the flavor is simply not there like the protank.

I was considering trying a few cartomizers. I think they might be a great grab and go solution for when I go to places like six flags. a 350MaH battery and a cartomizer is a lot more portable than a mech mod with an Aqua topper. Summer is coming, and we usually get seasons passes. I am thinking a cartomizer might be the best solution.

 

[Susan W.]

I love your new banner and avatar but I'm not used to seeing it. I really like the other kitty too.

I want to try a Kayfun to see how different it is from the Sophia. I did get a Gus Aiolos as it came as a package deal with the Microstick. It is similar to a Spheroid. I'll probably end up selling it as I like the Sophia better. Flavor from the Gus Aiolos is like a carto. The Sophia is a tad better and the build is easier.

i have the same or worse problem with clearomizers.
and they leak when they sit for a day or two.
i think i'm just gonna stick to two flavors in rotation.
the flavor in a cartotank surpasses a clearomizer.
it's kinda hard to go back.
And that dreaded burnt taste with clearomizers is awful! and gurgling ugh!
there are too many benefits over the carto tank. i've been trying to use various clearo's and they all are more work than the carto tank.

now i'm just stuck on do i order the sophia or a kayfun... not sure.

 

[beckdg]

ladie - there's a discussion on the new IKV cartos that might be beneficial to you here... http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/cartomizers/542802-new-line-ikenvape-nitro.html