Cart Cleaning

[bander68]

I've learned a ton in my first month of vaping. I now know how to clean my attys easily, but was wondering if somebody could point me to a simple method for cleaning carts. I know empty ones are cheap, but so am I and I want to save every penny I can. Thanx in advance for your help!

 

[knobbysmoo]

Hi and welcome to ECF! I just remove the filler and soak both cart and filler in alcohol for a little while then rinse with water but you can just rinse them. Just make sure they are dry before reusing them.

 

[bander68]

ok, I was wondering if alcohol would work on the filler as well as it does on the attys. Next question: how do I remove the filler without destroying it? Would a particular tool be ideal?

 

[tybin]

hello. i just soak both in very hot water. you can remove the filler with a paperclip pretty easily

 

[knobbysmoo]

I just pull mine out with a safety pin. Really easy to clean.

 

[Carless]

There is a youtube video someone made that details how to take a 510 cart apart to thoroughly clean it. The mouthpiece end can be pulled out easily with a paperclip, then you soak them, blow them out and reassemble.
It shouldn't be too hard to find, but you could no doubt figure it out yourself once you remove that tip.

 

[bander68]

Odd. It looks like one piece on my 510 carts. Got a link for that vid?

 

[Mudflap]

ok, I was wondering if alcohol would work on the filler as well as it does on the attys. Next question: how do I remove the filler without destroying it? Would a particular tool be ideal?

Replacement filler is cheap and it's probably just a matter of time before you try the vaunted aquirum filter blue foam.

 

[Newbz]

Replacement filler is cheap and it's probably just a matter of time before you try the vaunted aquirum filter blue foam.

I bet that's true!

There is a fantastic youtube video where a guy goes through step by step of how to clean your 510 cartridges, but I can't find the link for the life of me. Basic jist is this:

1. Remove filler from the cartridge. You may wash this out with hot running water and squeeze dry if you want to reuse it, or you can purchase new polyfil at WalMart or a craft store to replace it, or you can purchase Marineland U shaped blue foam from PetSmart or another pet store and use that to refill with.

2. The mouth piece (aka cartridge) comes apart into 3 parts. Using a paper clip, pop off the end piece you put in your mouth. Right under that is another disc shaped piece of plastic. Remove that as well. You should be able to see most of the way through the cartridge now.

3. Place all pieces in alcohol to soak and sterilize for about 15 minutes. Some people use isopropal, but I use either 100 proof liquor. Everclear or vodka will get the job done.

4. Dry off your pieces and reassemble.

5. Re stuff your cartridge with the filling of your choice.

Sounds like a lot of work, but I do about 20 carts at a time and it takes about 5 actual minutes of work. It's a good idea to clean your equipment. After all, you are sticking this stuff in your mouth.

Good luck!

 

[bander68]

I'm at work today, but I'm obviously not working too hard since I keep posting here. I only brought 2 carts w me today, so I was a little nervous to try it....but I went ahead and tried...lo and behold, the thing popped right off. Cleaned it w some water dried it by squeezing it out. In a few minutes I'll re-juice it and give it a shot. Kind of tricky doing all of this in front of a classroom of 12 year olds.... Thanx to all who responded so quickly.

 

[dormouse]

I throw out the white stuffing when it gets old and cranky, rinse the plastic parts in hot water or vodka and dry with a Q-tip. Then I stuff it with blue foam. if it's a 510 cart I use cheap the precut blue foam from strictlyejuice.com. If a smaller cart I cut my own blue foam stuffing. Since my other carts (M401, Joye 306) are smaller than 510 carts I can cut stuffing for them out of a piece of precut 510 stuffing.

I like the blue foam better. It holds its shape, easy to remove, rinse under running water and pat dry. Makes it easy to change flavors or quickly clean the cart if it's tasting gunky.

The uncut material is Marineland Rite-Size U Foam Sleeve from Petsmart's aquarium dept.

 

[bander68]

One more question. What is the advantage of the blue aquarium filler?

 

[bander68]

Ty, dormouse...but it's a little freaky the way you just answered my question before I asked it! Cut that out!

 

[JonB]

I toss them into some isopropyl alcohol and soak for a few.

 

[dormouse]

The blue foam for me usually behaves as well as new white stuffing. It is less likely than the white stuffing to give a burnt poly taste. It holds its shape. Eventually using an unbent paperclip to pull it out of reposition it will fray it a bit and when it's too frayed I replace it. I used the same foam plug in an M401 cart for 3 months (washing it occasionally and patting dry) and then cut a new one. For small carts search Youtube for M401 Blue foam - I cut mine a longer than he does and a tiny bit fatter to help keep it from slipping. Some people go extreme with a very short plug at the top of the cart but I get too much slippage and spills that way.

With blue foam, you can pull it out to fill the cart 1/2 way, stick it back in, push it down into the juice, reposition at the top of the cart, and top off with 1-3 drops, and it holds its shape.

For 510, the precut pieces at strictlyejuice.com are super cheap. You stick them tapered end first into the cart.