510 Platinum V2 - something a little different for me

[VaporMadness]

Decided to give one of these IKV 510 Platinum V2 cartos a whirl today giving my usual 2 ohm attys a break. In the past I have tried some nothing-special KR808D cartos and some earlier generation 510 cartos and the much more exotic CE2 carto (freaking impossible to fill). Just tried, never really a prime-time user of any of these carto things.

510 Platinum V2 - So far so good! It's very nice!

I'm vaping it with a short drip-tip on a 3.7v MOD, doing some button pulsing to avoid burning it. I've got a 70/30 blend in it.

On my first fill, i dripped in 5 drops at a time from the top, slightly off center, letting them seep in a bit before dripping the next five. I was surprised to get 30 drops in there and it still looked like it could take more, but I held off at 30 because that's just a lot of juice. I waited a half hour or so after filling before taking a toot.

The first few toots had a slightly tainted flavor to it and pretty decent vapor production. Since it didn't seem near over filled, I put in another 5 drops. Those next 5 drops pushed it slightly over filled, I got a bit of sputtering on my next couple of toots, but the sputtering quickly passed. Vapor production stepped up a bit after adding those last 5 drops, and the 'taint' in the flavor has diminished, but flavor isn't as bright as with dripping.

I really like the draw on it, not too airy and not too tight.

And that's pretty much where I'm at with this first carto in a long time. Not sure how long till I'll have to add more drops. Question for the carto users? How frequently do you top off?

Anyways... Happy vaping!

 

[Grammie]

When I use carto's, I normally fill 3-5, when the flavor drops off, I cap it and use another. If you can judge about how many (carto's) you go through in a day, fill that many and use another when the flavor drops off. At the end of the day top them all off and you're ready to go the next day. Beats topping them off every time the flavor drops off!

 

[VaporMadness]

When I use carto's, I normally fill 3-5, when the flavor drops off, I cap it and use another. If you can judge about how many (carto's) you go through in a day, fill that many and use another when the flavor drops off. At the end of the day top them all off and you're ready to go the next day. Beats topping them off every time the flavor drops off!

Thanx, this give me a rough idea if how often.

I see, so you have many cartos "in use" at a time, or at least as many cartos as you might expect to use in a single day.

I try to have one atty (really two now, one for 3.7v and another for 6v) in use at a time, and run it into the ground before breaking out a new one. So I have in mind to do the same with cartos, use the same one until it's dead.

So... if you were a topper-offer instead of a multi-carto-carrier... sounds like you'd end up topping off 2 to 4 times

So far, I haven't needed to top it off, but I'm mildly worried about burning it and thinking maybe i should drop a couple more in. That's always somewhere in mind when i use cartos.... ah... just dropped 7 more in for good measure... nice pick up in flavor/vapor as a result!

 

[Gregg]

I've noticed the off flavor also VaporMadness, but it does leave after a few hits. This is the first of this version carto I've tried from Iken, since they were on super discount I grabbed a few of them.

But as for topping them off, they should be like any other carto so what I usually do is when I notice the flavor or vapor dropping off I will top them off, depending on how many drops it took to fill the first time, it usually takes about 10 or so drops fewer to bring them back up to the full level.

You can also just add 5 or so drops every now and then along the side of the carto as it is tipped at a 45 degree angle avoiding dripping into the center hole. This way you will avoid getting juice down to the battery and making sure you have plenty of juice so as not to let it burn.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[VaporMadness]

Yup, I'm more in the frequent carto topper-offer camp, 5 or 6 drops every now and then seems to keep the flavor and vapor up pretty good.

 

[Switched]

I found VM that if we do not chain vape them, they pretty much render similar results as with dripping, if that makes sense, for the amount of toots per drop. I probably only top mine off a couple times a day usually 10 drops at a time sometimes more. Sometimes I am really surprised as to how little they actually will take. I guess I wasn't vaping it as heavy as I thought. Of course it goes without saying that at HV they will require to be topped off more frequently.

BTW I like your tip wrt vape then drip, vice drip and vape

Wrt that faint taste you get in the beginning, that is normal. FWIW I despise that taste as well, but I can say that of all the cartos I have tried IKV are the best wrt not having what I call the KR8 funky taste.

I know you have been following the make you own atomizer threads. That is why they oxidize their Nichrome and metal mesh. To burn off the coating on them.

 

[Gregg]

I've been wondering if it could be due to burning of any filling fibers burning off, but didn't think of the wires coating. That seams more sound vs my fiber thought. Have to agree with Switch that Isaac's cartomizers are the cleanest tasting ones out there other than these.

 

[VaporMadness]

Since I've lowered the nic level to 6mg, I've been vaping more than I was at 10/12mg, so I've been topping off pretty frequently. It's performing quite nicely on day 2 after pretty heavy use on day 1. I think I'm gonna avoid HV with these cartos... they really don't seem made to handle 6v.

All-in-all, I think these cartos are definitely worth having in my vaping arsenal for times when dripping is just too much of a hassle. They work well, better than other cartos I've tried in the past. And these are the one's that Isaac is discontinuing (i bought them at the discount price), so i imagine the "Gold" one's are only better.

BTW I like your tip wrt vape then drip, vice drip and vape

Awesome, a Switcher approved tip! That really helped with one of my attys in particular. It just needed extra time to seep deeply into the wick. Each atty is a little different, I just try to discover what works with each one, and then run it for all its worth.

Wrt that faint taste you get in the beginning, that is normal. FWIW I despise that taste as well, but I can say that of all the cartos I have tried IKV are the best wrt not having what I call the KR8 funky taste.

That tainted taste past very quickly, but still the full flavor really doesn't shine thru as compared to atty dripping... part of the price of carto convenience.

 

[Switched]

Since I've lowered the nic level to 6mg, I've been vaping more than I was at 10/12mg, so I've been topping off pretty frequently. It's performing quite nicely on day 2 after pretty heavy use on day 1. I think I'm gonna avoid HV with these cartos... they really don't seem made to handle 6v.

IMO none of them should see anything more than 5V

Awesome, a Switcher approved tip! That really helped with one of my attys in particular. It just needed extra time to seep deeply into the wick. Each atty is a little different, I just try to discover what works with each one, and then run it for all its worth.

Nah, I just give credit where credit is due. I missed our convos we sure shared allot.

That tainted taste past very quickly, but still the full flavor really doesn't shine thru as compared to atty dripping... part of the price of carto convenience.

That surprises me considering you were a cart user for the longest time. For me I never noticed that much of a difference between carts and Isaac's cartos, compared to some other cartos I have tried. Yes they are the freshest tasting, but then again nothing replaces dripping or the flavour of dripping on a 306.

 

[5cardstud]

IMO none of them should see anything more than 5V

I agree to that. I don't believe they were neant to be used any higher. I've noticed on every one I've ever used the flavor or vapor etc. starts to deteriorate.

 

[VaporMadness]

That surprises me considering you were a cart user for the longest time. For me I never noticed that much of a difference between carts and Isaac's cartos, compared to some other cartos I have tried. Yes they are the freshest tasting, but then again nothing replaces dripping or the flavour of dripping on a 306.

I think a combination of two things has made me more of a flavor vapor than I was before.
- dripping just really brings out flavor in all its brightness
- sampling some new bacco liquids that genuinely have good flavor (BWB)

Before, I was after an the "experience" that somehow mimic'd smoking, taste was a smaller part of the equation. So long as it was some kind of bacco'ish flavor, that was close enough provided there was ample TH and of course plenty-o-vapor (oh and the nic too). But now that I've tasted some genuinely nice tasting bacco flavors, I'm more in tune with the whole flavor thing.

 

[Pyloric Thinker]

VM, What flavors have you tried from BWB? I love their Casablanca and Peach, but haven't made a follow up purchase yet and intend to do so. Any recommendations? I like a little sweetness to my vapes, but am open to anything. Thanks!

Ryan

 

[Switched]

I've vaped Honey Flue and Applewood from them. I loved them both. The downside to Don's juices, they need to sit a good 3-4 weeks to get full flavour. Of course this is not a big deal if ordered ahead of time.

For folks that may think this sounds odd, remember Don's liquids are not mixed ahead of time, so it is actually quite normal to let them steep. Most commercial flavours (Dekang) have sit for a while before you receive them.

 

[Switched]

I think a combination of two things has made me more of a flavor vapor than I was before.
- dripping just really brings out flavor in all its brightness
- sampling some new bacco liquids that genuinely have good flavor (BWB)

Before, I was after an the "experience" that somehow mimic'd smoking, taste was a smaller part of the equation. So long as it was some kind of bacco'ish flavor, that was close enough provided there was ample TH and of course plenty-o-vapor (oh and the nic too). But now that I've tasted some genuinely nice tasting bacco flavors, I'm more in tune with the whole flavor thing.

Same here VM, flavour was always #1 in my book.

 

[VaporMadness]

VM, What flavors have you tried from BWB? I love their Casablanca and Peach, but haven't made a follow up purchase yet and intend to do so. Any recommendations? I like a little sweetness to my vapes, but am open to anything. Thanks!

I've tried 8 of them so far, all tobacco of some kind. Honey Flu Nut is a really good one to try on the sweeter side (i didn't get the honey flu without the nut). Casablanca is real special, but I think HFN is more of an all day vape. On the stronger side, Hunter's is real good. I have in mind to try the eJoker's blend (menthol + otherstuff), but haven't yet. I did get BWB Menthol Light and surprisingly that's one of my top BWB picks too (surprising since i never did like menthol cigs).

 

[Pyloric Thinker]

Thanks for the tip guys. I've had mine for almost a month and I've noticed that the ones I haven't vaped yet have changed color and intensity. One was gone within a week, but I was getting nice flavor from it. Thanks for the tips guys. I totally agree VM. I love the Casablanca, but it's one of the last ones standing because it's so robust, I can't vape it for an extended period of time. Thanks again!

Ryan

 

[Iken]

IMO none of them should see anything more than 5V

Let's just view that as a temporary statement

 

[Switched]

Let's just view that as a temporary statement

Ahhhh, don't get me wrong Isaac. If someone can pull it off it is IKV and I wish you all the success in pulling it off. I know I would like to see it. Perhaps 4 - 4.5 or even 5Ohm with the IKV design would be a direction to consider for some test ones..

 

[VaporMadness]

So... an update on my foray into 510 Platinum V2 usage..

It was underperforming yesterday compared to saturday and sunday... and started tasting a little 'greasy' today after pretty heavy use thru sat/sun/mon... so I've swapped it out and am back to LR801 dripping at 3.7v for now. I guess if I had multiple cartos in circulation instead of just one, I'd get more like a weeks worth of use out of the set of them which would probably be a better carto regime.

The carto convenience is nice, and the performance is adequate while it lasts (a couple of days per carto)... but for the best vaping experience, i still gotta go with the attys.

 

[Switched]

FWIW VM that is the way I use mine, for going out and about. Liquid does play a big role wrt longevity. If we go back to what cartos were meant to be, 3 days and a bit is still good performance. How much liquid did you go through?