At my wit's end. What am I doing wrong??

[ambeck22]

Hi, all. I've been having problems with cartos and tanks for days and days and am SO ready to get a pack of smokes out of pure frustration. My bf even posted in the Veterans forum, but I'll try to explain more with new findings.

Setup:
Lavatube
Dragon's Blood extra flavor 12 mg 80/20 pg/vg. Have used Grape with the same options as well.
Boge XL 3.0 ohm, Smoktech 3.0, Smoktech 1.7 Resurrector, whatever 3.0 cartos Volcano carries (they now carry Smoktech, but the older ones). I have tried slotted, punched, slot on one side with the pre-punched hole on the other, big pre-punched, smaller pre-punched.
Volcano Tube tank 7mL and a rarely used 4mL.
Usually vape this juice at 5.0 to 5.5, sometimes 4.7 with 5.2 being the most common

Problem:
Something is clogging this thing. I'm getting 2 days out of a carto before the draw is so tight that I can't use it. I've discovered the tight draw happens after I fill the tank a second time. I spent 2 days switching between using my tank and using a clearo to extend my carto life and as soon as I refilled the tank, the hard draw began.

Solutions Tried:
The straightened paper clip trick. This makes it manageable for a while. Nothing is really ON the paper clip when I do this, but I guess something gets pushed back into place or the Gods feel sorry for me temporarily.

Pushing the carto out of the tank again after refilling and putting it back in to fix some kind of suction problem that may or may not be there.

Blowing through the battery end. On several occasions, really dark liquid came up through the top which I absorbed with a Q-tip. It's MUCH darker than my juice, but I'm not having a burnt taste at all.

Blowing through the OTHER end. Same result, just different exit site.

Topping off carto while IN the tank even though that's not supposed to be needed with a tank.

I have managed to keep my latest Boge alive for 4 days by going to bed early and/or vaping on a clearo. I'm to the throwing things point and ready to be done with everything. The refilling the tank discovery is a new one as my 2 and 2 finally added up to 4. However, I don't know what the tank's problem would be since it's just a ho-hum Smoktech type tank. Possibly suction or something? If it's a tank issue, I can buy another tank when I know what kind to get (would need suggestions). I never use plain cartos and if it IS the tank, I guess clearos would be the answer until my new suggested tank got here. I was SO close to crying yesterday and just going down to the gas station for some smokes and digging my lighter out of the drawer . Please, please help me if you can!

Happy vaping everyone else but me.

 

[BrotherFrankie]

sorry u are having probs.. been there too.. just let it be for a week and never happened again.. i dont try to figure it out..

i just stopped at a brick and mortar store here in florida and the guys there let me try one of these.. i walked out with six and now my wife and I are using them... sigh.. the gadgets, hunt, switching, testing, gunking, wicking, vaping frustration is part of the fun...NOT.. really those things rock...

oh yeah, the are donating too..

 

[dreezy562]

Maybe the juice is just a carto killer. The extra flavoring might be a problem? I know halo juice midnight apple seems to kill my cartos after about 8ml goes thru em.

What kind of tanks are you using? Are the cartos just flooded really bad? Blowing on cartos usually upsets the equilibrium in the tank/carto and it could end up pushing juice back into the carto and flooding it. How much voltage are you running? How many watts?

 

[ambeck22]

sorry u are having probs.. been there too.. just let it be for a week and never happened again.. i dont try to figure it out..

i just stopped at a brick and mortar store here in florida and the guys there let me try one of these.. i walked out with six and now my wife and I are using them... sigh.. the gadgets, hunt, switching, testing, gunking, wicking, vaping frustration is part of the fun...NOT.. really those things rock...

oh yeah, the are donating too..

Thank you. I actually have a C8 eGo Cartomizer and Stardust eGo Clearomizer on the way. I'm kinda leary about using them on my LT since it's a VV and it's hard to find SR in clearos. The Stardust is SR; I guess that's why I ordered it (I'm not really sure why I did get SR since I was ordering for my bf). I already have the V3, but again I don't use it on my LT and my bf uses it on the Inferno batteries. I *may* be able to give up tanks, but definitely not my VV!

 

[ambeck22]

Maybe the juice is just a carto killer. The extra flavoring might be a problem? I know halo juice midnight apple seems to kill my cartos after about 8ml goes thru em.

What kind of tanks are you using? Are the cartos just flooded really bad? Blowing on cartos usually upsets the equilibrium in the tank/carto and it could end up pushing juice back into the carto and flooding it. How much voltage are you running? How many watts?

I thought it might have been the juice, but I have searched the daylights out of Dragon's Blood being a carto killer AND it's been happening with plain ol' grape as well. I hardly ever get flooding which I guess is odd with the hard draw. Any flooding is my doing from the blowing bit and I wipe that up before trying to vape again. I don't know the wattage, but the voltage is between 5.0 and 5.5 with 5.2 being the most common. I've dropped down to 4.7 to see if that would help to no avail. I use a standard Tube Tank from Volcano which looks just like the Smoktech DCTs Totally Wicked and GotVapes or MadVapes offer. Nothing special about them and they look all right. I usually don't do the blowing thing until I'm experiencing the hard draw, though. Thank you .

 

[donnah]

Are you using a 510 to 510 extender? I know that the LT has umm.. high sides and with many tanks, it doesn't allow proper air flow. If the tank is sitting flush against the top of the LT and restricting the air flow, that could very well be your problem. In his LT review, Pbusardo talks about and illustrates this. And it's an easy fix

If this isn't the case, you need to rule out the juice next. There are too many of us having great success with tanks for this to be happening to you. Try some juice that you know won't clog your carto. I diy most of my juice and use very little flavoring and never have clogging problems or tight draws. One juice that I do buy (and then dilute) is kbv warm sugar cookie. while it may start tasting flat after a week or so, the draw never gets tight.

But first try pulling your tank up on the carto away from the top of your LT a tiny bit and see if that helps.

 

[ambeck22]

Are you using a 510 to 510 extender? I know that the LT has umm.. high sides and with many tanks, it doesn't allow proper air flow. If the tank is sitting flush against the top of the LT and restricting the air flow, that could very well be your problem. In his LT review, Pbusardo talks about and illustrates this. And it's an easy fix

If this isn't the case, you need to rule out the juice next. There are too many of us having great success with tanks for this to be happening to you. Try some juice that you know won't clog your carto. I diy most of my juice and use very little flavoring and never have clogging problems or tight draws. One juice that I do buy (and then dilute) is kbv warm sugar cookie. while it may start tasting flat after a week or so, the draw never gets tight.

But first try pulling your tank up on the carto away from the top of your LT a tiny bit and see if that helps.

Thank you. I've tried pulling it up. At one point, I even pulled it up enough to cover the slot and/or hole to see if that made a difference.

My bf and I are venturing into DIY; everything should be here this week. Giving up Dragon's Blood is enough to make me cry, but I can try diluting it. I've been using my 4mL tank and haven't had a problem and I've refilled it 2 or 3 times so far. My 7mL is just a hair taller, but it's bigger around. Right now, I have my V3 on my LT and it's behaving. I might have to retire the 7mL tank or something. Thank you for your help .

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Hi, all. I've been having problems with cartos and tanks for days and days and am SO ready to get a pack of smokes out of pure frustration. My bf even posted in the Veterans forum, but I'll try to explain more with new findings.

Setup:
Lavatube
Dragon's Blood extra flavor 12 mg 80/20 pg/vg. Have used Grape with the same options as well.
Boge XL 3.0 ohm, Smoktech 3.0, Smoktech 1.7 Resurrector, whatever 3.0 cartos Volcano carries (they now carry Smoktech, but the older ones). I have tried slotted, punched, slot on one side with the pre-punched hole on the other, big pre-punched, smaller pre-punched.
Volcano Tube Tank 7mL and a rarely used 4mL.
Usually vape this juice at 5.0 to 5.5, sometimes 4.7 with 5.2 being the most common

Problem:
Something is clogging this thing. I'm getting 2 days out of a carto before the draw is so tight that I can't use it. I've discovered the tight draw happens after I fill the tank a second time. I spent 2 days switching between using my tank and using a clearo to extend my carto life and as soon as I refilled the tank, the hard draw began.

Solutions Tried:
The straightened paper clip trick. This makes it manageable for a while. Nothing is really ON the paper clip when I do this, but I guess something gets pushed back into place or the Gods feel sorry for me temporarily.

Pushing the carto out of the tank again after refilling and putting it back in to fix some kind of suction problem that may or may not be there.

Blowing through the battery end. On several occasions, really dark liquid came up through the top which I absorbed with a Q-tip. It's MUCH darker than my juice, but I'm not having a burnt taste at all.

Blowing through the OTHER end. Same result, just different exit site.

Topping off carto while IN the tank even though that's not supposed to be needed with a tank.

I have managed to keep my latest Boge alive for 4 days by going to bed early and/or vaping on a clearo. I'm to the throwing things point and ready to be done with everything. The refilling the tank discovery is a new one as my 2 and 2 finally added up to 4. However, I don't know what the tank's problem would be since it's just a ho-hum Smoktech type tank. Possibly suction or something? If it's a tank issue, I can buy another tank when I know what kind to get (would need suggestions). I never use plain cartos and if it IS the tank, I guess clearos would be the answer until my new suggested tank got here. I was SO close to crying yesterday and just going down to the gas station for some smokes and digging my lighter out of the drawer . Please, please help me if you can!

Happy vaping everyone else but me.

It is not the carto, it is the juice. I use the same ejuice and have the same problems. Try another juice to see if that helps. And let me know, you can pm me if you want. I have great success with jonboy tanks and big daddy's lil mama tanks.

 

[donnah]

I was heart broken to have to give up some of my favorite juices as well. But I've found that I can make my own good enough to satisfy me and my cartos. I know that cartos are cheap but after a while it just wasn't worth it to me to have to throw away cartos every day. Don't give up your favorite juices though. I do keep some of my favorites (that didn't play well in cartos) and still use them occasionally. I've found that tastyfinger is just as good diluted and it doesn't hurt my attys or cartos near as bad as full strength. If you don't have one, you might want to pick up an 510-510 extender for your LT anyway just to make sure it has plenty of room for air flow.

 

[ambeck22]

I've been using another juice, but with my luck it will be bad, too. I like sweet and creamy type juices. No problems so far, but I'm a bit gun-shy now. I can grab the extender when I get the 510 to eGo for the C8 I just bought. We haven't started DIY quite yet but after some practice and tweaking and tasting, I'm sure there will be a couple or more I really enjoy.

Thank you all very kindly for answering a question that's been asked many, many times and not becoming frustrated with me.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I've been using another juice, but with my luck it will be bad, too. I like sweet and creamy type juices. No problems so far, but I'm a bit gun-shy now. I can grab the extender when I get the 510 to eGo for the C8 I just bought. We haven't started DIY quite yet but after some practice and tweaking and tasting, I'm sure there will be a couple or more I really enjoy.

Thank you all very kindly for answering a question that's been asked many, many times and not becoming frustrated with me.

All you really need are these.
V2 510 Shorty Extension--works well for both the 510-ego and for an extender. Basically the same thing but costs a little less.
Madvapes.com carrys them but are out of stock currently. I don't see the need for an extension that can add too much height when the shorty works just as well.
Try doing a search to see if anyone else carries them.
My lt's havent required the need for any adapters and I have tanks on them. Where did you buy your lts?
In the end it all comes down to what you prefer. Just putting options out there.

 

[Riverboat]

Cartos? Yuck...... Dont you know how much better direct dripping on an atomizer works.... Best taste and best performance.

 

[CW1982]

Not that I have a lot of experience or anything, but I've noticed certain liquids clog up my cartos in no time. One of my favorite juices (flavor wise) is madvapes lemon blueberry cotton candy, this clogs up cartos in hours. I use a gogo and with other juices cartos last for weeks. The more it steeped the worse it got. It now looks like black coffee, and still smells awesome... I still have it because I can't give it away knowing the havoc it causes on hardware.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Cartos? Yuck...... Dont you know how much better direct dripping on an atomizer works.... Best taste and best performance.

Actually, we are taking tanks, hence the name of the thread. I personally don't have the time to drip and even if I did, it is too much hassle for me. Have you ever tried a carto tank? It is much like dripping cause the atty is always primed and without the fuss and muss....

happy vaping.

 

[VaporPhreak]

Ambeck, one thing to try (and if this has already been suggested I apologize) when the draw gets tight. Find a small needle or pin and push it into the punched hole or slot a little bit... maybe 2mm in and rotate gently a couple of times. Do the same on the vent holes near the threads of the carto. I have had those vent holes near the threads get gunky with what I suspect to be caramelized juice and that usually clears it up for me.

 

[ambeck22]

I won't be using an adapter for my LT; I bought the C8 for the Inferno batteries. I think I saw extensions at 310 Vapers, but I don't remember. My bf made one, but I haven't needed it.

I hate, hate, hate dripping and have tried it several times. I don't like the taste or the constant actual dripping involved or anything. I've tried it several times. My bf did make a dripping thing from a tankomizer and atty that holds 7-8 drops and lasts longer that I use for tasting, but it's carto tanks aside from that.

I've done the paper clip thing, and thank you for the suggestion and replying .

I'll be using my favorite juice in a V3 or something and save the cartos for "nicer" juices.