Blanking Blanks! (Carto Problem)

[Atari]

I recently went to order my usual two week supply of 2 pack of prefilled 555 cartos and 2 bottles of juice (I think Im a heavy vaper) I vape 24mg but much to my dismay they were out of 24mg prefilleds. So I ordered 3 packs of blanks. I filled them with a 1ml syringe, left them sit over night. The next day I opened one, blew out the excess, and vaped it. Terrible, it tasted like straight chemicals. I checked the filler it was moist, blew it out again, same results. I opened a second one, and a third, and so one to the fifth, they all tasted terrible after 10 puffs. I wasnt burning them till i started chain puffing away at them hoping it would get better. I took the bottle and flash steeped it (I use a whine aerator and let it breath for a couple hours) till it changed to a few shades darker. i tried again with another pack, and the next day...SUCCESS. I had never had to steep volt juice before, but who cares, it was working. Then after the first refill (I fill 5 every day and change when they start to get dry, then refill them in the evening 5-7 times through the week if they hold up, and they usually do) the chemical taste was back, this time even after a few puffs spaced out over a much longer time they still started to burn. The filler is wet, the juice is steeped and it taste like crap. I actually smoked a couple menthol lights till I was ready to try again. No its hit or miss on every fill out of all three packs, one fill decent the next terrible. Did I get a new or bad batch? am I missing something basic here? I cleaned the batteries and that helped for a few puffs, it is worse on any battery that isnt fully charged, I have taken a couple apart, the silica tube does seem to have a little more of that white melted molding around the wick, but I see nothing that would cause this. I tried loosing the filler, I tried some V4L carts with the juice just to check and other than I dont like the carts the flavor was normal. Im lost, frustrated and want nic, HELP.

Im not an amateur, I have vaped, dismantled and built pretty much everything on the market over the last few years, This has me stumped.

 

[Atari]

Wow, no one? I ordered the prefilleds as they are back in stock and am cleaning some old ones now, so hopefully I can pitch these blanking blanks.

 

[Imagine]

hmmm not really sure... if it is not happening in another brand of cartos I would rule out it being a juice issue.

that being said... I would assume 1 of 2 things..

1) blanks need more time to saturate then the prefilleds as the prefilleds sit and absorb during shipping and etc...maybe letting them sit overnight after a fill... there could be dry pockets in the ones you tried.

2) the resistance may have been off in a few of them.... try letting them sit overnight and if not let CS know and they can most likely give you some volt points toward your next purchase to make up for it.

Wow, no one? I ordered the prefilleds as they are back in stock and am cleaning some old ones now, so hopefully I can pitch these blanking blanks.

 

[firechick]

What Imagine said.

I'm not sure what would cause that, Atari. I have used a several packs of blank and prefilled SI cartos ordered at times that were far enough apart to be fairly certain they weren't from the same production runs. I must have been lucky as I didn't have a single bad one. A couple didn't last as long, but no burnt ones or duds. I would contact customer service. They are pretty good at resolving issues quickly.

 

[Atari]

Thank you. I dont think Im getting dry pockets in filling but maybe as they are wicking. I do think you are correct about letting them sit for a while after filling. Im probably just going to pitch them, but again thank you

 

[DedTV]

I had problems with burning taste (poor wicking) at first when I was trying to drip fill them. Now I use a condom method to fill them the first time. Fill the condom 3/4 full, insert carto with battery end in the condom, then fill the open end of the cart until there's juice all the way up to the rim and let it sit over night. The next day I remove it from the condom, wipe it off, blow it out, and vape. Haven't had a problems since.

 

[Bizzar1]

Well, if it makes you feel any better my Cowboy (country) refill juice tastes NOTHING like the pre-filled cartos. I mean nothing! I let it steep for a week and there has been very little change. RY4 is just fine and has been every time. But this most recent order of their country refill...bleh! I tried it in a brand new carto. Two of them. Tried it in a clearomizer and even tried re-filling a slightly used cowboy carto. They all taste the same...terrible. Only once I got one good puff of a cowboy/country flavor but on the second puff it taste very off and different. Almost like plastic?

 

[mechanus]

Blanks always seem to require more saturation time than pre-filled, at least the first couple of times around. If it's a brand new blank, I'll fill (I use the drip method), until it drips one or two drops via the battery connector - I'll leave that one aside and start filling another one. 10/15 minutes later I'll go back to the first one, and put in a drip or two. Usually it will still absorb these without a problem (sometimes more than just a couple). I've only had that plastic/chemical taste with 1 of the cartos, but I admit that I might have been a bit zealous and burned it myself.

 

[trichman]

Well, if it makes you feel any better my Cowboy (country) refill juice tastes NOTHING like the pre-filled cartos. I mean nothing! I let it steep for a week and there has been very little change. RY4 is just fine and has been every time. But this most recent order of their country refill...bleh! I tried it in a brand new carto. Two of them. Tried it in a clearomizer and even tried re-filling a slightly used cowboy carto. They all taste the same...terrible. Only once I got one good puff of a cowboy/country flavor but on the second puff it taste very off and different. Almost like plastic?

I wonder if anyone else has had this issue. Maybe Imagine can shed some light on this.

 

[Imagine]

have you filled your own cartos before? they may just be underfilled and you are getting a dry hit?

Well, if it makes you feel any better my Cowboy (country) refill juice tastes NOTHING like the pre-filled cartos. I mean nothing! I let it steep for a week and there has been very little change. RY4 is just fine and has been every time. But this most recent order of their country refill...bleh! I tried it in a brand new carto. Two of them. Tried it in a clearomizer and even tried re-filling a slightly used cowboy carto. They all taste the same...terrible. Only once I got one good puff of a cowboy/country flavor but on the second puff it taste very off and different. Almost like plastic?

 

[Bizzar1]

Yes I've gone through 30ml of your ry4, apx 15ml of 555 and maybe an additional 30+ml from various vendors all through si cartos. Im pretty sure I got the technique down ^_- The cowboy refill just tastes off. Not a dry hit it has a plastic flavor to it. It does not taste like the cowboy 5pack pre-fills. It even smells like plastic. Did I get an old stock bottle maybe?

 

[Imagine]

ok I was just checking...no we can't keep the stuff in stock ..everything is also fresh... it may be too fresh and need to steep...

if there is still an issue just let CS know and they can work out a return.

Yes I've gone through 30ml of your ry4, apx 15ml of 555 and maybe an additional 30+ml from various vendors all through si cartos. Im pretty sure I got the technique down ^_- The cowboy refill just tastes off. Not a dry hit it has a plastic flavor to it. It does not taste like the cowboy 5pack pre-fills. It even smells like plastic. Did I get an old stock bottle maybe?

 

[Mroutlaw]

Try using the Tayrn Spin on a new cartomizer. Do a condom fill, give it a few spins and then add some more juice. I had the same problems until I started this. The spin pushes the juice down to the bottom of the wick and forces it to saturate. Make sure you keep a condom on the battery end when you do the spin or the juice will come out the bottom (I learned that the hard way)

 

[Atari]

If you do need to steep it heres what I use Vinamor - The Shark Tank - Home
But the same thing can be done with a ping pong ball and a cocktail glass, put the ball in the glass and pour the juice over the ball making sure it pours all over the ball and not just to one side. Roll it around then leave it sit for a little bit, and just like that it will be a few shades darker and a little richer in flavor

 

[Atari]

Oh and an update, though I love my syringes, it seems drip filling is the best alternative, but I dont have that kind of time, so I have started over filling the cartos, then using the needle to flex the filler a few times from four sides. You can see air bubbles come up as you force the filler to release the air and absorb the liquid. Then use the needle to draw most of the excess from the top of the filler and leave them soaking as it were overnight. The next day I waste a little more when i blow them out but no more bad taste and poor wicking. They still go dry faster and the filler is still tight and not wanting to let the liquid wick to the bottom, but as I said before I have never had a problem with burning SI cartos, so they get several refills before I throw them out. After a few refills they are amazing. Still the best cartos I have used, but still not 100% perfect.