A couple questions on refilling cartomizers..

[jessikwa]

Hey everyone.

So I've got myself a few blank cartomizers and some juice for filling. Just a couple things that I'm still unsure about..

How many drags will a full refill usually get you? How can you tell when it's time to refill again?

How long is necessary to wait after refilling a cartomizer until you can vape? Is the time less if you're just 'topping off'?

Is it bad if you overfill and some of the juice comes out of the battery side? Will this hurt my battery?

 

[dormouse]

1. Variable - depends on the size of your drags, your mouth etc. If the vapor is not as strong than it is either time to add more juice or your battery is nearing the end of its charge. I am pretty new to cartos and just winging it and doing OK so far.

2. Some say 1/2 hour for stuffing-type cartos. It does take a while for the juice to really spread throughout the fresh dry stuffing.

3. Yes. if juice comes out the threaded end and you have automatic batteries you could kill your battery or gunk up its drag sensor which would make it not work. Manual batteries are recommended. Even then, always be sure the end of your battery is clean and dry before sticking the battery in a charger. A film of dried juice in a charger or on a battery can make it not charge.

I have manuals and still try to be careful. I always take the carto off the battery when adding juice. I hold a piece of tissue on the threaded end. I clean up any drips and blow through the threaded end to try to clean the air channel. I wait to make sure juice has stopped dripping before putting the carto on the battery. If it doesn't vape well, I take it off and blow it out again.

 

[ujack71]

YouTube - how to refill your 510 and 4081 cartomizers
This guy looks like he has a good method.

 

[Pav]

How many drags will a full refill usually get you? How can you tell when it's time to refill again?

Not sure exactly how many drags off a standard size cartomizer, but it usually lasts me an hour of solid vaping (give or take).

When it gets empty I guarantee you will know. It's something you'll develop a taste for. the vape gets kind of dry and burnt taste.

 

[Abigor]

My standard cartomizers last me a good 4 hours, I've never counted the drags but I'm a very heavy vaper. I only use them when I'm getting tattooed, less annoying for my artist. I use the condom method, stick them in a bag and swing them around (explained in some tutorials) I can vape right away.

 

[dormouse]

I buy soft-cap cartos and just pop the top out and add juice to the stuffing.

 

[jessikwa]

I buy soft-cap cartos and just pop the top out and add juice to the stuffing.

This is what I've been doing, and it always leaks out! How many drips do you do?

 

[jessikwa]

Is there a good guide posted somewhere on dripping, too? I'm not sure if I'm doing this right. =/ Should I keep a rubber piece on the bottom while it's soaking is it doesnt seap out?

 

[VermontGuy]

depends on the size of the cartomizer. I would fill mine with 12-18 drops

 

[jessikwa]

Also, is it necessary to clean the cartomizers? If so, why/how/how often?

 

[texasgranny]

Fill till you see a little "glaze/wet" look on top of the filling. If it gurgles and not much vapor
you might have overfilled. Just unscrew and blow a little out into a tissue. How long it lasts...
just depends on how much you vape. You'll see a little less vapor and a slight burnt taste..
key word is "slight". Stop and top off..meaning add a few more drops...6..8.10 ???
Keep in mind.....your carto can recover from too much juice....just blow out the excess.
It probably will NOT recover from too little....burnt taste that probably won't go away.

When it comes to cleaning....you will get two views. One's who clean (watch youtube
videos) and one's who don't feel it's worth the time and effort.
I'm in the second one. I use the carto for about 4 days or so....and when the draw gets
really tight...I trash em.

Just keep reading and learning. It is a little hard at first...but then it gets real easy.

 

[Katatonik]

This is what I've been doing, and it always leaks out! How many drips do you do?

What I do seems to work well.
I pop the top and add a drop to the side (otherwise it will drip into the air chamber and leak onto the battery), rotate it, and drop, rotate it and drop until all the filler has been juiced. Let it sit for about 5-10 seconds, and add more drops on areas that still look dry. Once the filler stops absorbing the liquid, you know it's full.

 

[ujack71]

blow it thru the threaded end and not the othe way. put the plastic cover (condom) over the mouthpiece and shake it in a bag, then blow it.

 

[Shinypaladin]

right now I take the rubber stopper off the top and shove a syringe down the side of the filler it seems to be the easiest method for me right now, I have been use one with a soft tip not steel so on new carto's I have to use a paper clip to pull the filler aside.

 

[jessikwa]

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. :S Everytime I fill a carto it leaks out of the battery side. I only put a few drops in one and it still did. I think I'm going to give up and just keep buy prefilled. =/

 

[caz55]

Question for you that I haven't quite figured out. I am new to vaping and ordered blank (unfilled) cartridges (with the foam) and a 510 atomizer for my Mod, the Silver Bullet from AltSmoke. I have been dripping and find that to be just fine. What is the difference between a cartridge and cartomizer, especially in terms of filling with eliquid? Thanks.

 

[Pav]

Cartridges usually have a reservoir that can hold filler which will hold the juice. The atomizer is a seperate piece that the cartridge attaches to and is supposed to deliver juice to from the filler.

A cartomizer combines these two things into one unit with a different internal design.

In my experience the cartridge-atty concept is flawed and doesn't work well. Cartomizers work better. Or if you like the dripping just do that and forget the cartridge. They sell drip tips to make this easier.