I just got my 510 and I love it, it's much better than the 901 I had. I use fluval and the straw mod and it works great. However, after a good few vapes I get a really nasty taste. When I remove the cart the top of the fluval is dry so I top it up with juice and all is well again. However, when I take the fluval out there's still quite a lot of juice at the bottom of the filler, am I doing something wrong to stop the juice at the bottom reaching the atty?
510 juice not flowing
- Thread starter Slofe
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it's possible you are hitting it too many times in a row and too quickly. I drip now so it's no longer a problem. However, when it was I found that having at least two of the 510's going at once and switching back and forth took care of it. It might just need more time to wick up the liquid.
Home this helps.
Home this helps.
You can wreck a cartridge by putting too much liquid in it. Over time the threads seem to become over saturated and they stop holding liquid well. That is why your liquid is seeping all the way down to the bottom of the cartridge.
When I begin vaping, I add one drop to the atomizer, and two drops into the cart. Then I vape until I feel the card pulling dry, then repeat. This way, I never over fill either the cart or the atty.
When I begin vaping, I add one drop to the atomizer, and two drops into the cart. Then I vape until I feel the card pulling dry, then repeat. This way, I never over fill either the cart or the atty.
I've found Fluval to be bad for holding most of the juice in the bottom too. It doesn't seem to wick very well at all. I've had much better luck with Marineland Bonded Filter Pads at PETCO but that is by no means perfect either.
There are several ways of trying to get the stock filler to wick well, and none work very well. Quexos gives good advice with the aquarium foam. I'm using AquaClear Filter Insert Foam, and it works really well. Blue Foam (Marineland) is probably the favorite filler. I also use the ZFM mod, which is tough to get right, but once you do works really well.
Stock filler is the bane of 510 users, and IMHO the sooner you get into a cart mod, the better. This is both good and bad news. Bad because the stock filler is not going to get better, I'm afraid. Good news because if you use something like aquarium foam, the 510 is going to become amazing. I can get 50 hits off mine before having to refill, if not more. And the flavor and vapor quality is much better.
Good luck!
Stock filler is the bane of 510 users, and IMHO the sooner you get into a cart mod, the better. This is both good and bad news. Bad because the stock filler is not going to get better, I'm afraid. Good news because if you use something like aquarium foam, the 510 is going to become amazing. I can get 50 hits off mine before having to refill, if not more. And the flavor and vapor quality is much better.
Good luck!
I think you must have it packed to tight but I would do as posted before me and change to the stuff from Petco. When I used a 510 I only used a little piece of wicking in a ;ittle ball filled the cart with juice put the little piece in to hold the juice in and vaped.
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I wish I could get a little plug to work. I find the juice will pool and cling in the bottom and not even get to the plug after just a few hits. I just tried my own mod with 2 small stir-stick straws in there loosely side by side with an angled cut on the bottom (to let it breath) and a small plug on top. Didn't work for beans. It half drained the tiny plug and quit. I turned it upright, cart up, I tapped it, shook it...nadda. When all I could get was dry atty, I removed my plug to investigate. It had 2 good drops stuck in it and there was all my juice just sitting there at the level of the straws refusing to come out.
I removed the straws, turned it upside down....nothing. Shook it a couple times and a burst of juice went down the drain. Shook it again and I could actually see a drop come out of the cart, but cling as if attached with a rubber band and snapped right back up into the cart. I kid you not!
My conclusion? There must be some kind of wick in there reaching all the way to the bottom. Free liquid will not come out on it's own. Problem is, I can't find anything yet that will actually wick it out well either.
I removed the straws, turned it upside down....nothing. Shook it a couple times and a burst of juice went down the drain. Shook it again and I could actually see a drop come out of the cart, but cling as if attached with a rubber band and snapped right back up into the cart. I kid you not!
My conclusion? There must be some kind of wick in there reaching all the way to the bottom. Free liquid will not come out on it's own. Problem is, I can't find anything yet that will actually wick it out well either.
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Is Marineland the brand name for it? I live in the UK and we don't have petco here. I got my fluval off ebay before. Do you think fluval is the reason why my vapour's going down too? I got the 510 a few days ago and the vapour was amazing, now it's declined somewhat.
I have been using the straw mod and that worked really well for a while but now my vapour's going down and i'm wasting loads of juice by having it stuck in the bottom of the cart. I'll have a look for the blue foam on ebay. What's the ZFM mod? I lurked on here a while back but haven't been on for a while, mainly cause I went back to analogues because I just got irritated with the DC901, now it seems that it wasn't so much the e cig itself but the way I was using it.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/cartridge-mods/53487-zfm-zero-filler-mod.html
I use the cart caps to make mine, but Scottyballs sells them, and I think they are more consistent. You need a drinking straw, cart cap and an xacto knife. There pics and suggestions in the thread.
The idea is to make the cart into a juice reservoir with a heat-resistance silicone plug on top with a hole in its center. The drinking straw is cut so that it sits in the cart and its top is about 2 mm below the level of the rim. The the plug is put on top of it. So the straw acts as a shelve for the plug to sit on. The plug fits the cross-section area of the cart. The hole in its center sits right on the top of the bridge when the cart is in place. If made properly, the cart is filled with juice (syringe or slowly dripping it in through the hole), and then the cart is put on and vaped. It should empty itself of juice entirely before needing a refill. And if it is made right it will, as in 50-60 hits before needing a refill.
I used this mod for months. The nice thing is the plug may discolor a bit, but it will not melt or degrade. One can use the cart for weeks on end without having to change filler, as there is no filler. ZFM doesn't die, change or need repacking essentially forever.
In the thread, Scottyballs gives a link to his new website where he sells the plugs. If you make them yourself, expect to get it wrong the first few times, thus going through caps. There are tricks to cutting the cart cap easily, and if it is wrong the cart will either leak or not give liquid. But once it is right, you are good to go, although sometimes the bridge of an atty might be in a slightly different position than in another atty that you made the ZFM for, which can mean leaking on one atty and great on another. It all takes time to get right.
To be honest, it is the best 510 cart mod I had found, and I tried many types of filler material. But now I'm using the aquarium foam, which wicks about as well and gives many hits before refilling, and is easier to make a cart out of. I still have all my ZFMs, and use them sometimes, but for making a cart that is almost as good very quickly with less problems if it is wrong, the foam is probably best.
Kurt is right about the AquaClear. It's all I've been using for 4 months or more. Perfect in the 510 and I use it in all my other models as well (great in the Penstyle!). No more straws, plugs and fiddly stuff. You can find it at PetCo. No bad taste, doesn't come apart in your atomizer (the blue foam left tiny pieces down in my attys!) and no more straw.
Just be sure to cut it slightly wider than the cart and seat it with tweezers to the bottom of your cart and cut off flush to the top. If it doesn't wick, trim a tiny bit off one side. You can wash it out and reuse it for months!
It is branded Marine Land. http://www.petco.com/product/5539/Marineland-Bonded-Filter-Pads.aspx The pad inside is blue on one side and sort of fades to white on the other, and is about 1 inch thick (needs trimming for proper fit in cart). It is not nearly as spongy as "blue foam" Rite-Size U.
It says on the bag:
Marine Land
Rite-Size
Bonded Filter Pad
(bottom) pad size: 312 square inches
Comes in a plastic bag about 14x8 inches and has one large pad folded up in it.
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Thanks for the help people, think i'll give the ZM a miss. It looks great but i'm a bit cack handed and £25 incl shipping is a bit dear for a few carts.
I can't find marineland in the UK. The forum won't allow me to post links yet. If you google:6 x Coarse Aquarium Foam Filter Juwel Compact
on google.co.uk it's the first shopping result i'm talking about, looks like a blue foam block. Would that be suitable?
Actually it looks like a blue version of the aquaclear block I have. About the same pore size. I think it is worth a shot, although my aquaclear block was $1.50. I think these blocks are the same polymer method of synthesis, only the color changes. Materials like these are really not that varied between manufacturers. I don't have the marineland blue foam, but I've seen close up pics and it looks like the same basic polymer sponge material.
Another similar filler material is facial cleaning sponges, like Buff Puff. I've used that with some success, certainly better than fluval, but not as good as this aquarium foam. With the Buff Puff, you have to be careful because the sponge "channels" are directional, and it matter how you cut it for the cart. But this foam you found looks like it should at least work better than fluval. Give it a go!
Still can't post links 
If you google aquaclear foam on google.co.uk it's the 5th result down under shopping, the £4.99 one in ebay. Is that the aquaclear I need to get? Do you cut it in much the same way as fluval? And no straw mods or anything are needed for it?
If you google aquaclear foam on google.co.uk it's the 5th result down under shopping, the £4.99 one in ebay. Is that the aquaclear I need to get? Do you cut it in much the same way as fluval? And no straw mods or anything are needed for it?
Here ya go Slofe.
Aqua Clear AquaClear 20/100 Filter Foam Pads Mini Media on eBay (end time 16-May-10 17:48:51 BST)
Just cut slightly wider than the cartridge and same depth. Take it to the bottom of the cartridge with tweezers and hold it there when you remove the tweezers. Cut flush to the top of the cartridge.
Aqua Clear AquaClear 20/100 Filter Foam Pads Mini Media on eBay (end time 16-May-10 17:48:51 BST)
Just cut slightly wider than the cartridge and same depth. Take it to the bottom of the cartridge with tweezers and hold it there when you remove the tweezers. Cut flush to the top of the cartridge.
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Still can't post links
If you google aquaclear foam on google.co.uk it's the 5th result down under shopping, the £4.99 one in ebay. Is that the aquaclear I need to get? Do you cut it in much the same way as fluval? And no straw mods or anything are needed for it?
Not seeing that one in particular. Here is what I got:
Aqua Clear Foam Filter Block
Although I got the 20 gallon size, not 30 gallon. same stuff though.
And what Helen says about making it, although I hook one end with a blunt syringe needle and stick it in the cart that way. Also, after you make it and vape on it for a bit, take a look at the top of the cart: if there are stray fibers sticking up out of the cart, trim them off...they can lead to a harsh taste, like when the cart needs topping.
Haven't tried blue foam, but some people say it gives a slightly plastic taste. I detect no taste at all from the aquaclear.
Have fun! I think you will fall in love with your 510 all over again soon!
Excellent, that's the one I was trying to show you
. So you stuff it in the same way as fluval? And I don't need a straw mod for this? Just the material?- Status
