Am I missing something about clearomizers (vs. cartomizers)?

[Langdell]

I have tried various clearomizers in the past, but have now been using primarily cartomizers for about a year. (I now mostly use them with carto tanks.) Recently, I have tried a Davide tank (similar to Kanger Protank, and both bottom-wick clearomizer type tanks). I really want to like the Davide, mainly because I happen to love the way it looks and feels and how easy it is to refill. But after giving it a couple weeks' trial, I have the same issues with it that caused me to gravitate away from clearomizers generally and to cartomizers, namely:

Many more dry hits than with a carto (yes, I prime them, and I THINK I'm doing so correctly).
Even with non-dry hits, the flavor just isn't there like it is with cartos.

Obviously, though, clearomizer/wick systems are very popular. So it makes me wonder if I'm just missing something. Maybe I just don't have the hang of it? Any thoughts?

 

[Rocketpunk]

You're not missing anything. I came to the same conclusion almost a year ago. Clearos just weren't for me. As I just said in another thread, it's like playing Russian roulette. Some hits are good, but you're bound to get a bad hit in there, too, and I have no time for that. I gave up on clearos a long time ago, and I doubt I'll ever go back. I've tried the iClear series, the Kangers, evods, and Protanks. I've tried the Aspire, as well, and while they delivered a decent amount of vapor, the silica just completely mutes any kind of flavor. I've removed flavor wicks, swapped silica for cotton (and learned I am most definitely NOT into rebuildables), and still I get burnt hits.

I get zero burnt hits on a carto tank setup, unless the carto is defective. I've had a few DOA's right out of the box. A DOA carto only appears when I'm almost out of my favorite juice and I use my last 3 mls to prime and fill the carto tank.

But that is very, very, very rare.

 

[SissySpike]

Im the same also I have not found any I like ether.

 

[bcalvanese]

Same here.

I still try the clearos every so often, and they have come a long way, but they just are not consistant enough yet.

To me, cartos are just as consistant as cigarettes, and the draw is about the same too. And that is exactly what i need to NOT think about a cigarette.

 

[Barbara21]

I feel the same way as the OP, only reversed. (I prefer clearos over cartos/cartotanks).

I've tried cartotanks a couple of times - too fiddly. The whole 'priming' the cartos is a pain. Some of my juices are distinctly thicker (higher VG) than others so I get dry hits. Same thing happens when the temperature is cold. Conversely, I get flooding in the summer. And they taste funny.

Conversely, clearos are simple. They're easy to fill. Dry hits are not a problem. (It probably helps that I tend to hold my pv almost horizontal when I vape (like a cigarette)). And I can rebuild my clearos for 12 cents (using pre-wrapped coils) or 1-2 cents (wrapping my own).

Seriously, I'm not trying to bust your chops. Different people have different preferences, that's all.

 

[cope]

i started on carts and hated the whole thing i was getting frustrated punching priming leaking
now i use kanger pro tanks i have both 1 and 2 they are both different but you learn quickly to master them ..well i did..
IMO carts muted the flavor i was seeking but everyone has different tastes. i now rebuild pt coils with cotton and wow what a change from stock coils but thats me
i am planning on getting a russian 91 soon
ohh when i change coils i remove 1 flavor wick and drop some juice on the coil before i fill the tank so i dont have to wait for the wicks to work thats if i use stock coils on the original pro tank

 

[MikeZ28]

I love the protanks though agree the silica does mute flavor. Rebuilding the heads and using cotton wicks solved that problem. Just recently started using carto tanks so I'm still learning but, it seems the darker juices are killing the carts pretty quickly. Could be something I'm doing wrong too, not sure yet.

I believe (too lazy to look it up atm) that the Davide uses the same heads at the protanks. If tinkering is your thing, try rebuilding the heads with a micro coil and a cotton wick. Huge difference. It's not hard, once past the initial learning curve a head can be rebuilt in about five minutes.

 

[Langdell]

Thanks for all the input, everybody! The comments seem to mostly support what I was already suspecting, i.e., cartos just happen to float my boat in a way that clearos don't; different strokes; etc.

You're not missing anything. I came to the same conclusion almost a year ago. Clearos just weren't for me. As I just said in another thread, it's like playing Russian roulette. Some hits are good, but you're bound to get a bad hit in there, too, and I have no time for that. I gave up on clearos a long time ago, and I doubt I'll ever go back. I've tried the iClear series, the Kangers, evods, and Protanks. I've tried the Aspire, as well, and while they delivered a decent amount of vapor, the silica just completely mutes any kind of flavor. I've removed flavor wicks, swapped silica for cotton (and learned I am most definitely NOT into rebuildables), and still I get burnt hits.

I get zero burnt hits on a carto tank setup, unless the carto is defective. I've had a few DOA's right out of the box. A DOA carto only appears when I'm almost out of my favorite juice and I use my last 3 mls to prime and fill the carto tank.

But that is very, very, very rare.

Murphy's Law of vaping.

i started on carts and hated the whole thing i was getting frustrated punching priming leaking
now i use kanger pro tanks i have both 1 and 2 they are both different but you learn quickly to master them ..well i did..
IMO carts muted the flavor i was seeking but everyone has different tastes. i now rebuild pt coils with cotton and wow what a change from stock coils but thats me
i am planning on getting a russian 91 soon
ohh when i change coils i remove 1 flavor wick and drop some juice on the coil before i fill the tank so i dont have to wait for the wicks to work thats if i use stock coils on the original pro tank

I buy pre-punched cartos and have learned that priming is pretty much a snap using a needle-tip bottle, although still more fiddly than filling the Davide tank. I grant you that carto tank leaking remains an annoying problem.

Interesting contrast on the flavor issue--I'd say I have the opposite experience, i.e., finding the flavor more muted in clearos compared to cartos.

I love the protanks though agree the silica does mute flavor. Rebuilding the heads and using cotton wicks solved that problem. Just recently started using carto tanks so I'm still learning but, it seems the darker juices are killing the carts pretty quickly. Could be something I'm doing wrong too, not sure yet.

I believe (too lazy to look it up atm) that the Davide uses the same heads at the protanks. If tinkering is your thing, try rebuilding the heads with a micro coil and a cotton wick. Huge difference. It's not hard, once past the initial learning curve a head can be rebuilt in about five minutes.

Yes, The Davide heads are interchangeable with the ones for the protanks. I appreciate your suggestions. Tinkering really isn't my thing, and I'm just not much of a DIY person at all. So I have a strong preference for products that work satisfactorily off-the-shelf.

 

[GoodNews!]

Like other users in this thread, I've tried the iClear 30, the Protank II (Kanger heads), the Aro Tank (Smoktech heads), the Aspire, various CE4/CE5's, just a bunch of stuff, and on each device, the result ranged from dry hits, to tons of vapor with no flavor, to tons of vapor with quite a wicky, wall-insulation type taste - even if I knew for a fact the device was wicking well.

I'm hoping than I can build a coil in an RDA where I won't taste the silica so much, as I had a Cisco atomizer that seemed to be silica wicked, and I got a great, clean taste out of that. If it doesn't happen, my last resort is carto tanks.

 

[p.opus]

I feel the same way as the OP, only reversed. (I prefer clearos over cartos/cartotanks).

I've tried cartotanks a couple of times - too fiddly. The whole 'priming' the cartos is a pain. Some of my juices are distinctly thicker (higher VG) than others so I get dry hits. Same thing happens when the temperature is cold. Conversely, I get flooding in the summer. And they taste funny.

Conversely, clearos are simple. They're easy to fill. Dry hits are not a problem. (It probably helps that I tend to hold my pv almost horizontal when I vape (like a cigarette)). And I can rebuild my clearos for 12 cents (using pre-wrapped coils) or 1-2 cents (wrapping my own).

Seriously, I'm not trying to bust your chops. Different people have different preferences, that's all.

Pre wrapped coils? What clearo are you using? Where are you finding pre wrapped coils? Currently I rewick my kanger heads to extend their life. I don't have the eyesight to recoil so I just buy wicking material and dry burn the coil and rewick. It would be nice to replace the coil when they eventually pop without having to actually coil...

 

[Baditude]

As this thread is showing, the preference of one over the other is based on each individual's personal experience and preferences. Clearomizers are definitely easier to fill and use, hence why they are often included in eGo starter kits. However, due to their wick design they can be inconsistant and mute some flavors. Dry hits are the downfall of clearos, and this is because of the wick design, IMHO.

Cartotanks definitely have a learning curve, mainly in learning how to properly prime the cartomizer the first time. Most beginners ruin their first couple of cartos due to not properly priming them. There are a few different ways to prime a carto, and once one finds a method that works for them they are golden. Priming the carto takes a little more time and patience than filling a clearo, but refilling the cartotank only takes a few seconds with a tank tool. Many find cartotanks to be more consistant and to provide a better flavor. However, there are some who can taste the batting material in the carto, which can ruin their experience.

I believe the difference between the two has to do with the way each wick liquid to the heating coils. Clearomizers depend upon silica string wicks, a relatively small surface area. It's not hard to overcome the wicks ability to feed enough liquid to the coil.

A cartomizer's heating coil is completely surrounded by a wad of absorbant filler material, a relatively large surface area by contrast. This represents an improvement of more juice to the coil, eliminating the dry hits that clearos are notorious for and allowing for better flavor and a more consistant vape.

It's important to remember that we are vaping an e-cig and not smoking an analog. The draw technique is different. Long, gentle draws of 4 - 6 seconds is required to allow enough liquid to reach the coils of both wick systems. I advise novices to imagine sucking on a straw that's in a thick milkshake.

 

[GoodNews!]

That's been my experience with how, surprisingly enough, disposable e-cigs seem to usually taste pretty decent to me. I've had some very bad luck with "kit" models where you screw the little pre-filled cartomizer onto the e-cig, but for some reason, with fully disposable models, the cartomizers for those seem filled with liquid and seem to function really well (though the batteries last maybe a couple hours? lol) I just usually get a nice, clean flavor with those, though it's very expensive to buy those.

Blu makes some horrible stuff lately, but there's some dinky things like e-Hookah branded disposable e-cigs that seem to perform up to standard. I bought one of those other night and it was actually giving me a respectable cloud of vapor, the taste was nice and clean (a little polyfil or something here and there, but nothing out of this world), and I really enjoyed it. I put the cigarettes down as soon as I had that type of vape, and it really proves what I expect out of vapor.

So if those tend to work for me (since the cartomizers that are permenantly attached to disposables seem to be built the exact same way as a regular cartomizer), I'm hoping that I could indeed end up being able to go down a cartotank path in the end. I had some bad luck with my Cisco atomizer gunking up almost instantly with darker juices, so I'm wondering if cartos handle any of them well, but even if I was restricted to lighter flavors and cleaner juices, I'd still love to have something to vape on the go.

While we're talking about cartos, does anyone have any brands of cartos they'd recommend? I've seen negatives concerning all the brands (recent production dips, a chance of a bad carto, ect ect) but does anyone know a brand that really seems to shine for them among the rest?

 

[FranC]

I use only Fusion cartos from Ikenvape.

 

[Baditude]

While we're talking about cartos, does anyone have any brands of cartos they'd recommend? I've seen negatives concerning all the brands (recent production dips, a chance of a bad carto, ect ect) but does anyone know a brand that really seems to shine for them among the rest?

Any of the cartomizers sold by Ikenvape. For me and many others who are lucky enough to find them in stock, they provide better flavor production and seem to last longer than Boge or Smoktech. Isaac from Ikenvape commissions a manufacturer in China to make cartos under his strict specs - a better quality of batting material and better coils namely. He appears to be restricted in the quantity that the supplier will allow him. They are often out of stock on the website, and when a batch gets in they disappear quickly within 2 - 3 days. There is an e-mail list you can get on to be notified when they are back in stock.

There are different IKV carto models. The 801 Fusions are the flagship carto; they use an 801 thread so will require a 510-801 adaptor for a 510 connector. The 510-Fusions have a flange. The Platinums do not.

Both Boge and Smoktech have their loyal fanbase, too. Boges' filler is more compact (more difficult to add juice, less likely to flood) and Smok's is less dense (easier to fill but more likely to flood), based on my experience. I prefer the Smoktech, but Boge is the most popular brand.

Like with anything else in vaping, its best to try some of each brand to see which you as an individual prefers. The most important step is the initial priming of the carto; how well you do this will determine how well the carto will perform for the rest of its life.

Cartos can be used solo or in a cartotank (with either pre-punched holes or made with a punch tool). It can be difficult to tell when to refill a solo carto because you can not see its juice level, so frequent topping off with more liquid will eliminate any burnt or dry hits due to not enough liquid being in the cart. Using carts in a cartotank eliminates this issue as with each vape you take, liquid from the tank replaces what you vaporize.

 

[FranC]

Well said,Bad. I agree all cartos from Ikenvape are superior but the fusions are #1 for me. I've tried the boges and the Smok cartos and just plain didn't like them.

 

[FranC]

I do always tank my cartos also.