A question about Cartos

[Jaandlu]

Okay, so I fill my carto with what I believe they call the condom method. But when I fill it up all the way, as instructed in a video I saw, I get a gurgling and often a bit of the e juice in my mouth. So I have been rolling up a napkin and sticking it inside to soak up the excess juice. I am wondering if there is a better way to do this. Any tricks you may use to keep from overfilling your carto while getting it as full as possible. I just feel like I am wasting juice there. Although, probably not as much as I imagine. Just wanted your ideas.

 

[The Duke]

I just pop the cap, add about 6 drops, stand it up on a paper towel for a few, if no juice comes out the bottom I add about 3 more drops and call it good.

 

[player30]

For me, there are two more efficient ways to fill 1. Drop fuice in from the battery end until a drop just sits on the top, or 2. Take the end cap off and slant the carto and drip until it looks a little slushy. Then let that soak in. If you do overfill, you can blow from the battery end into a tissue to catch any excess. Also I use a drip tip for my cartos to make the refilling from the mouth end easier.

Best wishes!

 

[cyberwolf]

It definitely sounds like you are overfilling. Different cartos may hold different amounts, so don't assume that the videos show the exact level you need to fill the condom to. There will be some trial and error. Try the other filling methods mentioned above and you should get a better feel for how many drops of liquid you need to use. Standing the filled carto on a paper towel on the battery end and/or blowing out should help to get rid of the extra juice. Beyond that, I have found that using a drip tip with cartos is the best way to prevent liquid in the mouth.

 

[dormouse]

I don't use the condom method. And some cartos have inner seals that sort of deter the condom method.

I buy soft-cap cartos and fill them as intended, by popping the cap and dripping juice into the stuffing. On a new fill I fill completely (18 drops or more). After adding juice I clean up any drips, blow through the threaded end to clear the air channel, sop up any loose juice above the stuffing. If it's a new fill of a blank I then lay the carto on different sides for 15-20 minutes (may need much longer with high VG juices) to may sure every bit of stuffing is damp.

I like Boge cartos on 510 or for my KR808D-1 I use Boge or Vapor4Life, or the Premium ones at LiteCigUSA.net because these all have soft caps and defined center channels.

 

[Pneathery]

This is an agreement on the soft cap carto's, and drip tips. That way you will get ALOT less juice in your mouth.
If you don't have soft top. Carto's, to get you through till you get some I have a friend that "spins" their carto's after filling them, she threads them in her battery and put them in a bag and spin them battery side facing out.
Check out iVape.net for the Boge carto's, he has them on sale for $6.95 a 5 pack of normal resistance. Good luck!

 

[rule413]

Look up Taryn Spin videos on the web and discover the absolute best way to top off cartomizers to the max...annnnd also extract juice that is no longer wanted in your carto...This method changed the way i felt about cartos for the better.

 

[davedbc]

Does bring up a question I've had about the various means to fill Cartos. FWIW, I just started vaping (GoGo) and used the drip method to fill a couple of cartos (I ordered blanks since I didn't want to be stuck with 5 full cartos of juice I didn't like)

Anyway, from what I can tell:

Drip Method - pop the cap (mouthpiece) and drip juice into the carto along the side while turning the carto around. With the 3ml GoGo carto I did let it sit for a few minutes after about 20-30 drops before continuing. However, using this method to fill cartos - the information out there is to avoid getting juice down the hole in the middle (which I presumed was because it was basically going to drip straight through the hole in the bottom of the carto). Which brings us to the...

Condom Method - Pop off a carto condom. Fill 1/3 - 1/2 full of juice - and slowly push the carto (either end although the preferance seems to be the mouthpiece end) into the juice filled carto until full or you see a drop come out the other side.

The question - using the condom method, aren't you basically forcing juice directly through the center hole that you're trying to avoid in the drip method? I'm going to guess that the center tube (so to speak) is porous enough to allow the juice to soak through and get to the filler thus filling the condom - but it at least sounds somewhat of a contradiction

 

[Jaandlu]

Thanks for all the great ideas everyone!

Davebc, you bring up a good point. On the cartos I have now I do not see a cap to pop off. It is all one piece. The juice that is in the center is the problem I am having. But a lot of juice is soaking through to the correct place. If the carto is totally empty I can fill the condom about half way full and there is nothing in the center. So the soaking action is happening. Apparently, I am overfilling.

I like the condom method because it is simple. Anyway, like I said, I can't pop the top off my cartos. But if I could open up my cartos I would probably use the drip method.

 

[hairball]

Drip down the side of your carto with it at a 45 degree angle. Turn it slowly as you drip. Let sit after you think it's full on a kleenex/paper towel for about 30 minutes. Look at it again and see if it looks dry but no leaking out the battery connection end. If it looks dry, drip some more turning it slowly and let it sit a few minutes. Continue doing this until it looks faintly slushy on top. Replace cap and vape. If you get a gurgle sound, gently blow through it to clear the air channel.

 

[Eclipsed1770]

Jaandlu, what I did was get a large paper clip and straighten out one end. I then bent the very end at a 90 degree angle. I insert the bent end inton the hole of the white cap and pull moving the carto around and do it again until it pops off. The first time you pop off the cap is the hardest. After you've poped the cap the first time the rest are easy. The other solution is to get the soft tip cartos. Their white cap is rubber not plastic and you can get those off with a finger nail. You'll find that you don't waste juice like you do using the condom method. Once you get used to it it's not so bad.

 

[davedbc]

Jaandlu - Your cartos more than likely do have a cap you can remove - more than likely it's just flush with the side of the carto. The mouthpiece (with the little hole in it) can usually be removed with a bent out paperclip - or binder clip (recent suggestion) to expose the fill chamber underneath. Just be careful as the first one I did I poked the paperclip in too far and took the filler out with it (oops).

Do a quick youtube search on filling a cartomizer and you should see just how easy it is

 

[Jaandlu]

Thanks Eclipsed1770 and davedbc, that was the bit of info I as missing. I am totally paranoid about messing to much with my hardware. I've already ruined an atty and one of my batteries went out for a while. I think I flooded it. It just sucks to have to replace something long before you know you should have to.

Now i can get the cap off. Now I can fill my cartos properly. Thanks everyone!

 

[hubh]

I use a syringe with 18 gauge needle. Insert needle about half way down on outer edge of cart. Usually 25-30 drops depending of consistency of juice. I let gravity do its thing unless I’m in a rush. Make sure condom is on battery side so the juice doesn’t run out the bottom. If you should over fill, gently suck out the excess and use on the next cart. When finished, I store flat thinking the liquid would wick more evenly. After about 10 refills I pitch the cart. Seems to work the best for me.

 

[davedbc]

I actually just use the drip method (on my 3ml Go-go). Basically once the top is off, tilt the cartomizer a bit and drip down the sides of the cart onto the filler. Also, rotate your cartomizer a bit as your dripping to make sure it's as even as possible. You do want to avoid getting any e-juice down the center tube. With a larger cartomizer - you'll want to take a break every so often (I usually do after about 20 drops) and let the juice settle a bit - then go ahead and continue filling. There are some who swear by taryn (spelling?) spinning (do a you-tube search) to force the juice in (or out!) but I haven't played with that as of yet. Keep in mind I just started with all of this as of last Friday so I'm sure I still have lots to learn.

Cheers and Happy Vaping!