amount of eliquid needed to refill cartomizer

[laflaone]

This is my 1st post, so if I ask a stupid question, I guess so be it.

I just started vaping in May. I have been using the Mistic brand, which is sold nationally at Flying J, Loves, and Pilot truck stops. From what I have learned, this is a KR808 style ecig.

The cartomizer refills are 5/$14.99. This gets old fast. I have been saving the used ones, along with the plastic end covers. After doing a little research on refilling, I have decided to go that route. I understand you boil them to get them clean, then air dry.

My question is how much eliquid does it take to refill a cartomizer? I understand you keep adding drops until it starts to "puddle" at the top. Expressed in ml, how much does it take? This would help me in deciding how big a bottle to buy, and also help me get a handle on the cost of refilling vs buying cartomizers.

 

[Boodle]

They'll hold one ml (20 drops) or less I believe for your brand. I use 3 to 5ml of juice daily. YMMV.

 

[swedishfish]

The average person uses 3-5 ml per day. It really depends on the size of the cartomizer. They can hold from .5 ml up to 5 ml on the huge cartomziers. I think a KR808 holds slightly less than a ml of juice.

If your kit is a KR808, you can purchase empty cartomizers and fill them yourself. It's a less expensive way to go. Cartomizers are meant to be disposable but some people have luck washing and reusing them. If it's a prefilled cartomizer, when flavor drops off drip several drops into your carto. When it becomes difficult to draw through the carto you can try washing them or putting them in boiling water. The key is to make sure the carto is completely dry before reusing it.

Smokeless Image and Vapor 4 Life both sell empty KR808 cartomizers. Liberty Flight may carry them, not sure. LiteCigUSA carries empty and prefilled KR808 cartomizers.

 

[bryansthl]

When I started vaping I used a kios e-cig and I refilled my spent carts for a couple weeks and then switched to a 510 drip setup and then upgraded to ce2 cartomizers and 510 thread style batterys. Back to your question my carts took about 1/4 mil of liquid.

 

[mwa102464]

You may want to think about buying a nice amount of some good KR8 style blank cartos, there are some nice ones over at NHaler that are filler-less and they have a center tube that comes up the middle of them they are here = KR808DM-1 ClearoCartos These hold 1.2ml's of liquid and would probably work well on your unit, very easy to clean and refill in seconds and also will net you a cleaner more favorable vape. Just a thought

 

[emus]

Dry DC takes about 50 drops or about 1.5ml.
When topping off I stop when starts to gurgle with quick toots.

 

[dormouse]

I would not run a cartomizer dry - you can singe it and ruin the flavor. If you are buying prefills I would top it off and keep it damp. I can get a week of use out of a carto if I keep it damp.

If you have auto batteries or anything other than a totally sealed manual battery then you have to make sure the carto is not going to leak before you put it back on the battery. That means no where near a puddle.

I pop the end cap (being careful not to catch wire or stuffing), hold tissue on the threaded end of the carto, tilt, and drip juice slowly down the inner wall so it slides into the stuffing while rotating the carto. As soon as the stuffing seems to be absorbing more slowly, I would slow way down and not put any more than it can absorb, Then I do cleanup - clean/dry the threaded end. If it has a defined center air channel (mine all do), I tilt the open end down into the tissue and puff into the threaded end to clear that. Then while the carto is still open end down I touch a soft point of tissue to the stuffing to sop up any excess that came up. That will make it less likely to leak. If you leak juice onto an auto battery you can damage or kill it it. Ditto for manuals with an open hole but it is harder to kill manuals.

In slim ecig stuffing cartos I use juices with 20% or less VG and I avoid juices that drop a lot of flavoring sediment. I also try to keep them damp to avoid singeing and its bitter taste. That's how a get a week of use out of each.

If you are refilling cartos I recommend you buy a spare battery just in case.

 

[Wuzznt Me]

I don't know how many drops = a ml. Someone else may come along with that info but I get about 20-25 drops in my cartos depending on how dry I vape them. I would advise not buying over a 10 ml bottle or smaller until you find out if you like that particular juice or not though. I pay about $8.95 less the ecf discount for 5 prefilled cartos and refill with the same or a similar juice. If you've got auto batteries be very careful not to overfil. One drop can kill the battery. You really don't have to clean them each time as SF said.

Dormouse posted while I was typing.....again

 

[laflaone]

I very much appreciate the replys so far. They are very informative. Anyone else that wants to pitch in, I will be pleased with your input. The first response by Boodle says a ml equals about 20 drops of liquid. Anyone agree or disagree?

 

[STLBluesNut]

The first response by Boodle says a ml equals about 20 drops of liquid. Anyone agree or disagree?

well i won't necessarily disagree, but i belive i read that a ml was about 25 drops.

also, the elite 808 cartos hold 2ml, the instructions say to fill them with 50 drops on the first fill.

so probably somewhere in that range, 20-25. you are better off taking it kind of slow since you can't really tell how much you have vaped out when refilling so drops/ml is kind of moot at that point.

this may not be good advice, but usually ill add about 15-20 to top off, then add one or 2 at a time until some somes out of the bottom. then i will clean it off and let it sit to see if any more comes out. when no more comes out, i blow it out and wipe off the threads and its ready to go.

i have a manual battery though, so im not as worried about juice coming out of the end.

 

[dormouse]

ml drops depend on the size of the drops. Different juice bottles make different size drops. For a blank 1ml carto I first make it take 18 drops. Then I wait for that to soak in, then I slowly drip a bit more into the stuffing until it absorbs a drop very slowly then I stop (total sometimes I get in 20, 22, 24) depending on the juice bottle. I hold a tissue on the threaded end hole of the carto while I do that. Then I do full cleanup on the carto. Then I let it settle by laying it on different sides for 15 minutes or so. That is enough time or the thin juices I use to dampen all of the stuffing. If you use thicker juices you may have to let it settle longer.

But the only time I do a complete fill and settle is with a blank carto. Any other time I add juice I am just keeping a carto damp and it is usually 1/4 to 1/2 empty judging by the number of drops I fit in - I add juice, clean up, vape. Occasionally a carto tricks me and is vaping so beautifully I don't realize it's almost dry and I singe it.

 

[zerominusone]

If you're going to be using a really clear e-liquid, the G5 cartomizers from nHaler that bryansthl recommended are good. If your e-liquid is slightly dark, they will leak. I got 10 of those and only three didn't leak. myvaporstore.com has the 'best value for your money' on blank cartomizers (in my opinion). Oh, and most of 'em hold around 1ml (about 20 drops).