really? i ordered 4 boxes of blanks from v4l and i filled two of them and they taste really weird. im accually just refilling old ones and they taste better. dunno whats up with that??
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I haven't tried any of the V4L blanks I got yet but will make it a point to do so soon (don't know why I drag my feet so much when it comes to filling my own! I'm always disorganized and late, and keep saying 'Next time next time.'... As with many other things!
) They've been sitting out in their boxes for awhile and I just sniffed them (had never had their condoms removed yet) and there was virtually no smell. Hope that means no taste either, well nothing that could distort the taste of whatever juice I put in them.For some reason tho I have been kinda expecting that at least until I get the hang of it (or maybe a carto breaks in a bit/tastes better once you're past its first fill), that my filled blanks from anywhere won't be as tasty as prefills have been, no matter what I put in them...
I'm talking about V4L here:
...So, me too. Fine cartos otherwise; reliable.
It's not quite as strong as the blister-pack taste/odor.
It goes away with airing out, at least I found so.
It's possible, I just thought, that some people pick up this taste/smell more than others, for whatever reason(s).
My experience says otherwise -- but, always interested to hear contrasting experiences. YMMV. It's something permeating both caps and the carto itself. They are sealed from liquid, yes, but the silicone will take on the odor as well. Blister packs prevent gas exchange with the environment around (my guess is that blisterpacks are at least partly considered a sanitary measure) so the whole unit is "marinating" in whatever smell/chemical is in there. The whole carto units can and do air out when taken out of the blisters.
I really, really wonder what compound is doing this, where and how in the manufacturing process. When a carto is "off", it's always the same chemical taste.
Synthnadz - impressed w/ HG that they gave you a refund, good CS on their part!
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what i think it might be is a left over of some type of sanitary chemical that they put before shipping but iam not sure if they even put any sanitary chemical. or somthing left over from when they are acutlly making the parts of the cartos like example: oil might be left over from the milling of the metal tubbing to keep the metal cool but these are just thoughts iam not sure...
I got some blanks from CigEasy that came in those boxes and they're not working very well either. Very little vapor, burns up the juice really fast. I sent them an email asking for a return in exchange for some in blister packs. If they don't have any of the good ones, where is a good place to get them right now?
Well here's my answer from CigEasy regarding my bad blanks.
"I have been selling the cartomizers for almost a year now in both boxes and blister packs all from the same factory. The bad carts out there are from copy cat factories.
My newer carts run a little hotter than the old in order to produce more vaper but will use the liquid faster.
I have not had any complaints about any of the carts and if you are having any problems my guess is you are using a vg based liquid. The carts just don't hold up well when using any of the vg that I have tested. I have some new carts from a different factory on the way to test. Everyone including me wants more vapor
Frank"
Admittedly, I am using a juice that is 20% VG. So I guess the lesson here is don't use those black cartos that come in a box if you have any VG in your juice. It's just not gonna work right. I guess I'll have to get my blanks somewhere else from now on.
"I have been selling the cartomizers for almost a year now in both boxes and blister packs all from the same factory. The bad carts out there are from copy cat factories.
My newer carts run a little hotter than the old in order to produce more vaper but will use the liquid faster.
I have not had any complaints about any of the carts and if you are having any problems my guess is you are using a vg based liquid. The carts just don't hold up well when using any of the vg that I have tested. I have some new carts from a different factory on the way to test. Everyone including me wants more vapor
Frank"
Admittedly, I am using a juice that is 20% VG. So I guess the lesson here is don't use those black cartos that come in a box if you have any VG in your juice. It's just not gonna work right. I guess I'll have to get my blanks somewhere else from now on.
I have blanks from EastMall. They are black unfortunately (would have preferred white). They come packed in blister packs of 5 inside a black flat box. There's no "funny taste" whatsoever. I just filled one. It took 30 drops. Did not take anymore after the Taryn spin. Looked "dry" however but when I added more it flooded. Will fill the next one using the condom method.
Regarding the chemical taste/smell; I've only ordered blanks from a few vendors so far. There was a strong chemical smell to one batch I ordered, but I found the cart condoms were the culprit. I washed them and found the cartos themselves not to have it.
BTW, 'bluesuede', I've also filled cartos that look dry after filling. I also find they often flood if you get them to where they look wet.
BTW, 'bluesuede', I've also filled cartos that look dry after filling. I also find they often flood if you get them to where they look wet.
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Me too, actually. They didn't even put up a fight. I just told them that I was not interested in shipping them all back until I received replacements from them, and they replied with 'no worries - we've given you a refund'. Perhaps they know that they have been unloading some...undesirable blank cartomizers lately? Who knows.
For someone who likes nailing things down to 'science' and getting the things I care about *just right*, this sort of experimentation drives me a bit crazy. No matter what I do to isolate variables, there are still too many gray areas to contend with.
I guess for now I'll continue with my far-less-than-satisfying protocol: Order some from a vendor, test them, and if they work well - quickly order a pile more from the same place. So much for science. ;-)
...but the main thing I wanted to mention (all else was pretty subjective & irrelevant lol) is that afaik, what you were told about VG in cartos above isn't accurate, as long as appropriate thinning is done, e.g. with a little vodka or distilled water. That's a very common and popular thing around here! And many prefilled "PG" cartos also already have 15-20+% VG (to say nothing of 'all'-VG varieties) for vapor balance, without that necessarily being mentioned in product descriptions. For instance all V4L "PG" cartos, and look how popular they are! And that's still the case with their new premium cartos, which also burn hotter with the target of more vapor.
Oh yay, now you're my favorite person of the day (considering that I have 200 EM blanks about to hit town)!!
Matter of fact, when I was first trying to see if others with some of my same equipment had used them without problems, I'd seen that you were one who'd bought some, but I lost the trail at a post you made saying they were then sitting in a drawer and you'd try them soon. I wanted to ask if you ever did, but couldn't remember your nick by then! So! Glad you popped up here. [OH and between white and black only, I even prefer black! I can 'uglify' whites too easily, including while holding in my teeth! And I won't necessarily keep using the same flavor in each carto, so I figure the colorful little stickers I have, cut into strips, will be swell (enough)!]
Guess this still doesn't tell me whether mine could be from the same batch of duds as the OP's from HG, but hey, I'll let myself be optimistic for a change!
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Oh yeah, I have whole lot of them! One order got lost and EM replaced it and *added* extra blanks on top of what I ordered. Then the lost order showed up like a month and half later. They said to keep it at no charge. You just gotta love EM's customer service!! Terrific bunch of people, David, Di et al. I have enough blanks now to keep me going for a loooong time!
These blank cartos are very nice indeed. No funny taste, no funny smell either. I have no complaints at all. Fit my generic KR8, DPV9 as well as V4L bats as they have the groove. They draw beautifully on all of them. And how can you beat the price?!
My next order from them is the Indulgence along with all the xtras. The PT is too cute to be believed. Tiny! It will be my very first mod. My fingers are itching so bad but I must wait until after the 10th. <bites nails>
These blank cartos are very nice indeed. No funny taste, no funny smell either. I have no complaints at all. Fit my generic KR8, DPV9 as well as V4L bats as they have the groove. They draw beautifully on all of them. And how can you beat the price?!
My next order from them is the Indulgence along with all the xtras. The PT is too cute to be believed. Tiny! It will be my very first mod. My fingers are itching so bad but I must wait until after the 10th. <bites nails>
Oh yay, now you're my favorite person of the day (considering that I have 200 EM blanks about to hit town)!!
[OH and between white and black only, I even prefer black! I can 'uglify' whites too easily, including while holding in my teeth! And I won't necessarily keep using the same flavor in each carto, so I figure the colorful little stickers I have, cut into strips, will be swell (enough)!]
Guess this still doesn't tell me whether mine could be from the same batch of duds as the OP's from HG, but hey, I'll let myself be optimistic for a change!
Lecig just got in black empty cartomizers with the new easy to remove mouth pieces and free shipping too...
I wanted to verify that these do not have that chemical taste/smell and messaged Lecig. I was told that they do not use the same manufacturer as Eastmall but they will open a pack up tomorrow and to make double sure there is no chemical taste or smell. I also placed an order and will let you all know if there is an issue.
I am well aware of this chemical taste as Nhaler had a bad batch like that. They were so bad that even after cleaning it wouldnt go away so they were trashed. However, I will state that my last order from Jan 21st from Nhaler was fine.
I wanted to verify that these do not have that chemical taste/smell and messaged Lecig. I was told that they do not use the same manufacturer as Eastmall but they will open a pack up tomorrow and to make double sure there is no chemical taste or smell. I also placed an order and will let you all know if there is an issue.
I am well aware of this chemical taste as Nhaler had a bad batch like that. They were so bad that even after cleaning it wouldnt go away so they were trashed. However, I will state that my last order from Jan 21st from Nhaler was fine.
I'm not sure why he would say VG is the culprit. ALL of my juice has some VG in it, and I use only blank cartomizers. However, I will say that I've ordered blanks from a lot of different vendors, and CigEasy is the only vendor I have had consistent good results with. Almost every time I order from other vendors, some of the blanks I get have that chemical taste, or the slots are so shallow that there is little to no airflow, or are just functioning poorly right off the bat.
I'd suspect that any answer such as 'it's the VG you're using' is probably an attempt to ward off the initial suspicion that the vendor's cartomizers are at fault. This isn't to rip on the vendor we're talking about per se, but just an observation.
Proactively limiting liability by steering blame towards the nearest and most convenient available variable. Oldest trick in the (d-bag) book. ;-)
eh, i have to totally agree with you there. ALL of my juices are 35% -100% vg. That chemical taste is an issue with the cartos and has nothing to do with vg.
I am really bumming. I just placed a big order with health cabin (including blank cartos). My first KR808. I was looking forward to a new pv.
I am really bumming. I just placed a big order with health cabin (including blank cartos). My first KR808. I was looking forward to a new pv.
I wouldn't worry too much. First, the turnover rate is so high with cartomizers, you may very well get a different 'batch' than what I received. Next, if you do get them and they taste terrible, just tell them. It worked for me, as they gave me a refund.
I'm going to order some blanks from LeCig and see how they do. You've got me intrigued.
How's the draw on their D1 auto battery? I'm finding KR808 autos to be far too airy compared to 510/306 autos, and I have to pull like crazy to activate the battery.
Synth, it drives me nuts not to know exactly what this is and how to avoid it, too.
BTW, Electronic Ash sells orange KR8 cartos by the piece that have never given me a chemical taste. Sometimes he offers a special on them, but 10 for 14.90 with free shipping isn't so bad anyway. (Also great prices on plain USP PG and some other items.) Only downside to me is the color. I used to think EA's cartos burnt easily until I realized it was more or less user error at 6v.
Now they last a good amount of time.(The batch of black cartos I bought in late Dec from HealthCabin, aside from having to air out the chemical smell, have also seemed to have more problems with burning for some reason -- even now that I've figured out the general techniques, top off frequently, etc. [And yet not the stainless steel ones.] May not be a noticeable issue at 3.7v. May not even be an issue with other batches. This is all way too irregular -- hence I don't want to ward off anyone from ordering from HC.)
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