Cart Question

[Dimitris]

Fairly new to vaping 7 weeks analog free and loving it.
I am using Pro vape 1 with the LR Carts sold on the ProVape site. I have really enjoyed this experience and at 3,7 volts i am a happy camper.

I have refilled my favorite carto appx 7-8 times. At this point i am not getting a crackling sound when firing up and the taste seems a bit diminished but still flavorful and good vapor production. On to my question now...
Is it safe to assume the cart has died? Does this sound like its about the right life span for a cart ? What other symptoms would give me indication that the cart has died?

Thanks in advance for the replies!

 

[Kurt]

Hi Dimitris,
I think you are talking about a cartomizers (cartos), not cartridges (carts). If you are getting vapor from the carto, then it has not died. After 7 or 8 refills, it might be time for a cleaning. I soak my cartos in vodka for a few hours, flush with hot water thoroughly and dry in a 200 degree oven for 30 minutes or so. Mine come back to close to new after this. Crackling is common with cartos...its just juice vaporizing in a place in the carto where the vapor cannot escape easily, and it pops out. No worries, although it does cause some people concern, its fine and a common sign of a nice healthy carto.

If the carto has died, it will not vape at all. A multimeter hooked up to it and set to ohms would give a reading that jumps around (broken coil) or else a very high reading, like 5 ohms or more. Yours would be around 2.2 ohms. I get many cleaning cycles out of mine, and while I do get a cold dead one occasionally, I mostly get sluggish airflow after several cleanings, possibly from filler that has rearranged itself and is blocking the air holes. Haven't figured out how to solve that just yet, but the electronics in cartos is generally pretty hearty. They will die completely eventually though. I get several weeks out of mine, but I haven't kept track quantitatively.