808 Cartomizer Beginner Questions

[Finn the Human]

Greetings!
I read in a few spots on the forum that when your cartomizer is spent (burnt) you can remove the filler and drip a few drops of ejuice at a time directly into the space between the center post (air tube?) & outer wall. I have a Volt 78mm auto battery, cartomizers from SI & was wondering if this would be safe to do.
Also, when the cartomizer is spent, would it be possible to remove the filler & replace it with more filling material? If so, what material could be used safely? I realize cartomizers are meant to be disposable, but I like to make stuff stretch as far as possible.

 

[Johnnie Price]

I've tried rebuilding those little stick cartos. It can be done, but it's a pain in the ....

Yes, you can refill the Volt cartos. You can refill any cartomizer.

You can drip into the top or use a syringe. You can even condom fill, but I always found that pretty messy.

 

[Finn the Human]

I've tried rebuilding those little stick cartos. It can be done, but it's a pain in the ....

Yes, you can refill the Volt cartos. You can refill any cartomizer.

You can drip into the top or use a syringe. You can even condom fill, but I always found that pretty messy.

Thanx for the response! I know I can refill the ejuice into the carto, have done that a few times already. Maybe I worded my question wrong. What I meant was is it safe to use a carto with the cottony filler material (after old & spent or burnt) removed to drip a few drops at a time in & vape that? I think this is basically turning the carto into an atomizer. I read you can somewhere on the forum, but I use an auto battery & am worried about shorting the battery out or something bad happening.
Also, what cottony filler material did you use to stuff the rebuilt carto with? Would actual cotton work?

 

[Evil Speakers]

is it safe to use a carto with the cottony filler material (after old & spent or burnt) removed to drip a few drops at a time in & vape that? I think this is basically turning the carto into an atomizer. I read you can somewhere on the forum, but I use an auto battery & am worried about shorting the battery out or something bad happening.

I have done this and it works pretty well... Probably best to do it with manual battery though. Even "sealed" auto batteries aren't actually sealed. I believe the hole is on the side of the post instead of dead center. I just dipped it down the side to avoid the center tube.

 

[Evil Speakers]

Also, I recently tried the Halo mini tank Mini Tanks | G6 Electronic Cigarette | Halo Cigs on my girlfriends auto SI battery. I was really surprised at how well it works. Not too pricey either.

 

[Finn the Human]

Also, I recently tried the Halo mini tank Mini Tanks | G6 Electronic Cigarette | Halo Cigs on my girlfriends auto SI battery. I was really surprised at how well it works. Not too pricey either.

Those look interesting. Is the diameter of the mini-tank the same as the Volt? I wouldn't want mismatched size parts.

 

[Johnnie Price]

I just pulled the filler out, cleaned it and then re-inserted it. It worked okay, but in the end it was just too time consuming to really be worth it. For the small cartomizers it requires a good deal of patience, some small tweezers or even hemostats, and even some tiny drinking straws. The cartos are cheap enough, and depending on your chosen vendor liquid is too, for it to really be worth the effort. Though I have talked to some people willing to put that amount of effort into it.

You can turn the S.I. cartomizers into dripping atomizer, but they leak like a sieve and, again, it isn't worth it. And you can drip on automatics, if you're willing to risk destroying a battery or two in the process. I prefer automatics over manuals, and I only drip. It took me about a month to learn how to drip without leaking horribly, but it works very well. I did ruin a couple of my unsealed stick batteries, but I haven't fried one of my 808's yet.

If you want to use a proper atomizer on your Volt, then you either need a manual or an adapter from Mad Vapes. I've tried several 808 adapters on my autos, and Mad Vapes is the only vendor I've found with the proper ones. They're cheap, too.

I tried rebuilding one of my Echo cartomizers with cotton. It seemed to work okay, but that was right around the time I stopped using cartomizers. My preferences changed and I simply don't like the cartomizer flavor anymore.

 

[Evil Speakers]

Those look interesting. Is the diameter of the mini-tank the same as the Volt? I wouldn't want mismatched size parts.

Exactly the same size. A lot easier to fill than cartomizers. Halo has branded them as G6 mini tanks, but they are basically Kanger T4's... for example Kanger 808D-1T4 Clearomizer

Also, Smokeless image, Halo and Bloog are all interchangeable. I have used parts from all three vendors and have had no problems.

 

[Finn the Human]

Thanx Johnnie, great info! Didn't know cleaning the filler was an option.
I also now feel a bit more confident about trying to drip when one of my cartos gets spent. Will let you know how that adventure turns out. =]

 

[Finn the Human]

Exactly the same size. A lot easier to fill than cartomizers. Halo has branded them as G6 mini tanks, but they are basically Kanger T4's... for example Kanger 808D-1T4 Clearomizer

Also, Smokeless image, Halo and Bloog are all interchangeable. I have used parts from all three vendors and have had no problems.

I see, thanx for the infos! All Halo G6's appear to be out of stock atm, but that kanger one looks sweet. Cheaper at that link too. Was considering an SI nano clearomizer, but negative reviews about build quality put me off. The kanger seems pretty solid.

 

[Johnnie Price]

I've heard good things about the T4.

And good luck dripping on autos.

 

[Evil Speakers]

I see, thanx for the infos! All Halo G6's appear to be out of stock atm, but that kanger one looks sweet. Cheaper at that link too. Was considering an SI nano clearomizer, but negative reviews about build quality put me off. The kanger seems pretty solid.

I tried a couple of Nanos and did not like them at all!

Also, as I am reading your posts I am hearing them in my head in the voice of Finn.

 

[Finn the Human]

And good luck dripping on autos.

Danke! These things make me feel like a budding mad scientist. This is a good thing.

Also, as I am reading your posts I am hearing them in my head in the voice of Finn.

That, my friend, is mathematical!

 

[Finn the Human]

Ok, here's another carto question that just came to mind. After refilling one of my cartos a few times it has become slightly harder to take a drag from it. I have read that is a sign it's about to go kaput. I have also read that cartos can be cleaned by boiling them. Now, would boiling clear up the tighter draw problem? Remember I have SI cartos with the black sticker. Will the sticker come off? If it would help, how long should I boil it for?

 

[Johnnie Price]

If you do try to rebuild a cartomizer, make sure to get it saturated first. Otherwise that polyfill will stick to the air tube and you can end up ruining your carto.

You can also buy polyfill from various vendors. I wouldn't know who. I didn't go that far into it. That stuff has been used in carts since the first e-cig a decade ago and is still easily obtained.

If you truly want an easily rebuilt cartomizer, you may wish to upgrade to an Echo. It's basically an automatic 808 eGo without the cone threading. The cartos hold about 3 ml and can easily be broken down, rebuilt and recoiled. There are similar cartos designed for the eGo and iGo (aka Volt X2) models as well.

 

[Finn the Human]

If you do try to rebuild a cartomizer, make sure to get it saturated first.

I assume you mean saturated with ejuice? Sorry if that's a silly question, just want to make sure I understand as much as possible.

 

[Johnnie Price]

The boil method is another of those things I didn't find worth the effort. Boil them for 5-10 minutes and then drain it. Repeat until the odor completely goes away. let dry for 24-48 hours. It may come back to life or it may not.

Best wait until you have about 20 clogged cartos before you bother though.

 

[Finn the Human]

Best wait until you have about 20 clogged cartos before you bother though.

Good protip! That totally makes sense, but I wouldn't have thought of it.

 

[Johnnie Price]

I assume you mean saturated with ejuice? Sorry if that's a silly question, just want to make sure I understand as much as possible.

Water. Soak the whole carto in water for a few minutes. If you don't, the glycerin will act like glue on that air tube and you may pull that out with the polyfill.

When you pull the polyfill out, you may also pull out a thin piece of cotton as well. The cotton sits around the air tube directly on the wicks. It's there to keep the wicks saturated. If it comes out, you may be able to replace it. If not, it will work without the cotton but the juice may not feed to the coil as well.

Then when you rebuild it you need to find a plastic drinking straw just slightly larger in diameter than the air tube. Cut some slots into one end of the drinking straw and thread the polyfill through. Insert the straw and polyfill onto the airtube and slide the polyfill off the straw with a pair of tweezers or a toothpick.

 

[Finn the Human]

Thanx for the wonderfully concise info! Exactly what I was looking for. We have plenty of coffee stirrer/sipper straws at my job that may fit the bill for the polyfill re-insertion.