Carto vs clearo?

[gandalfgreycat]

Hey all.

Just ordered a ProVari mini. Stepping up from a twist. Anyway, I have a bunch of Kanger T3 and T2s for the ego already. Problem is I don't really like the look of those on the ProVari and am thinking switching to carto-tanks.

Can anyone give me a pro/con type list to clearos vs carto-tanks?

I did order one 3ml carto tank from provape so I can at least check it out when it gets here.

Thanks for any insight!

GG

 

[alexvander123]

I just recently started looking into a leak free substitute for my gennys this summer and agree that clearos are ugly! I just ordered some boge cartos and a pyrex tank from IBtanked.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[plastictree]

Clearomizers have a clean taste, the t3 is a cool vape. Cartos are very slightly perfumed but are super consistent and more flavor. Warmer than a t3. Cartos also have a learning curve with punching and how many punches ect. I love carto tanks but every now and then ill grab a clearo. Ibtanked, phianic, and j-tanks are a few good tanks

 

[crxess]

Boge F16 looks decent and works well with the Boge 2.0ohm F16 cartomizers. Will also take Smok XL's
Also consider Genuine Vision Vivi nova tanks. A little tip and roll as they get low, but they work nice and are super easy to maintain.

 

[peacepipe]

The cons of carto tanks;

1) Cartos are not, and never were designed to be submerged.

2) The two leading manufactures Boge and Smoktech are at odds as to filler composition. Boge is tight and compact and Smokteck is all loosy goosy.

3) They ALWAYS go bad after you top off your tank and you have a huge mess to deal with.

4) Expect only 1 in 5 to work.

5) You'll have to modify your idiosyncratic vape style (how you suck on it) to each cartos filler thickness, the number of holes and / or slots, the viscosity of the juice, and the vacuum presser created in the tank.

6) You have to tell your friends that you love the taste of filler, and say, "no, nothings burning in there it's all vapor." with a straight face.

The pros of carto tanks

1) They look cool.

2) You can get "Tanklets" at Alice in Vapeland.

 

[jazon1]

my first time around with cartos wasn't that great i turned to clearos for about a year but am now back to cartos after learning how to use them properly,over all i would say clearo gives a slightly cleaner but airier taste but the wicks clog up to fast and flavor is muted much to fast.cartos once you learn to use them properly give a thicker vape and last much longer and personalty i have never tasted the "filler" ever.
you might want to look the the Fluid Flask (tank on the right in the picture) i added a pro ring to it since the picture was taken so it looks a bit cleaner on it now.

 

[Rocketpunk]

The cons of carto tanks;

3) They ALWAYS go bad after you top off your tank and you have a huge mess to deal with.

Not true. I use Smoktech cartos and I've had some of them last for almost two weeks of constant vaping and tank refilling. I wouldn't lie about something this trivial. You can avoid much of the mess if you use carto refilling tools such as the Slap Yo Mama, Smoktech DCT Tank Refilling Tool, blunt needle caps or syringes. These are super cheap. Any carto tank user should own some, if not all, of these tools.

4) Expect only 1 in 5 to work.

Also not true. I buy my Smoktech cartos in boxes of 5. I have 10 tanks in rotation at any given time, so I use a lot of cartos. Out of all the cartos I've bought since November 2012, I only had 4 that were DOA.

6) You have to tell your friends that you love the taste of filler, and say, "no, nothings burning in there it's all vapor." with a straight face.

But silica wicks or ss mesh isn't "burning" something else, either? Juice doesn't just spontaneously turn into vapor. It's going to require something to absorb and wick it. Polyfill, wicks.

 

[The Ocelot]

What Rocketpunk said.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Daaaang, doo, that tank on the right is fierce.

 

[OrangeCrush]

Yes I most certainly agree with rocket punk.
But I really don't like smoktech anything like peacepipe said they are really loosy goosy! I've had them on 2 occasions spill all over me after the tank slipped off.

 

[peacepipe]

What Rocketpunk said.

Name the juice your using and the exact make and model carto, plus describe your method of punching (if not pre-drilled) and I'll eat a huge crow sandwich if it works.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Yes I most certainly agree with rocket punk.
But I really don't like smoktech anything like peacepipe said they are really loosy goosy! I've had them on 2 occasions spill all over me after the tank slipped off.

I think he meant the polyfill inside the carto being loosey goosey, not the tank itself. Unless you get a locking tank, many tanks can slide off the cartomizer and spill juice. I guess you could add this to the "con" list. It only took me a few minutes to learn how to pull my devices out of my pocket or pick them up without the tank sliding off. Biggest and first lesson: never handle the tank itself. Apply pressure to the entire device to unscrew the tank. It's really hard to describe through typing, but most carto tank users find it comes intuitively.

EDIT: After re-reading the thread, I could be wrong about what peacepipe was referring to.

I must admit I have had very little experience with Boges. I first started vaping right after Bogegate, and my B&M store only carries Smoktech cartos, so those are the only ones I've had direct experience with. I've vaped my cousin's Boges and they were just fine, too.

 

[Oddish]

Wow, you seem to have had some really bad experiences with cartos. So just to add another perspective on some of your quite silly and antagonistic points.

1) Cartos are not, and never were designed to be submerged.

How lucky we are that they work so well submerged then.

3) They ALWAYS go bad after you top off your tank and you have a huge mess to deal with.

I usually go through 6-10 tanks of juice on every carto and I've never experienced this.

4) Expect only 1 in 5 to work.

100% of my cartos (Boge) have worked fine, albeit I've only been vaping full time since november.

5) You'll have to modify your idiosyncratic vape style (how you suck on it) to each cartos filler thickness, the number of holes and / or slots, the viscosity of the juice, and the vacuum presser created in the tank.

That might be a slight annoyance if you happen to constantly switch carto type/tanks/number of holes punched. I suspect most people don't.

6) You have to tell your friends that you love the taste of filler, and say, "no, nothings burning in there it's all vapor." with a straight face.

For those who really hate the (barely noticable) taste of filler, sure, stay away from cartos.

 

[jazon1]

i agree about the Smoktech cartos they work like crap and ive gotten alot of junk ones in the past i only use boge's these days and get them dirt cheep in bulk packs and punch my own. for 75/25% pg/vg i use one medium sized hole and for 50/50 juice i use two med/large holes then i add 20-25 drops in the tip and let is sit in a full tank for a good 20 minutes before i even attempt to use it, if you try to hit it before all the filler is soaked you will destroy the carto just toss it.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Name the juice your using and the exact make and model carto, plus describe your method of punching (if not pre-drilled) and I'll eat a huge crow sandwich if it works.

JUICE: Boba's Bounty. AVE.
MAKE AND MODEL: Smoktech 2.0 ohm single-coil flanged replacement cartomizers. Vaporcast.
METHOD: Carto punch tool (stainless) from Discount Vapers: Carto Punch Tool - Stainless

The cartos are already pre-punched.

This is what they look like after I re-punch them (I make the original pre-drilled hole bigger, then make another hole on the opposite side of the carto. The tool is to the left in the picture. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I'm pretty confident in my hole-punching skills. I know how much pressure to apply now without deforming the body of the carto. They slide in and out of the tanks just fine now.)



I've been vaping Boba's out of a re-punched Smoktech carto for almost, no, yes, 12 days as of midnight tonight.

So, yes, it works.

EDIT: I've only punched a carto for Boba's. I mostly buy my juices from Mount Baker Vapor and Vaporcast. These vendors' juices do NOT require me to re-punch a hole, or punch a second one. The factory holes are just fine.

 

[Baditude]

As a "young" vapor, I used clearomizers along with cartomizers. The cartomizers provided me with nice flavor production, but they were difficult to judge how much juice was left because you have no way to see the juice level. Clearos allow for that, but I found that they were pretty inconsistant in quality and in their vape experience and were expensive. I stopped purchasing the clearos when I had one completely melt in my hands within 5 minutes after filling it with some strawberry-lemonade flavored e-liquid in it.

Clearomizer falling apart - Read the description for a possible explanation. - YouTube

I soon after switched to pyrex and polypropylene plastic tubed cartotanks, and couldn't be happier. With the pyrex and polypropylene I no longer have to worry about what flavors that I choose to use in my tanks. Since the tubes are clear, you can easily see your juice levels. Using a carto in a tank, it's filler stays wet from continuous feeding of juice from the tank which allows the cartomizer to last longer than when used solo.

I tried a new Vision clearomizer for the first time in months a couple of weeks ago, and realized again why I stopped purchasing them. The flavor was off and it gave me a harsh vape that was very unpleasant. And yes, I did insure that the wicks were wet and had allowed them to soak for several minutes prior to vaping it.

I've come to the conclusion that any silica string-wicked delivery device is going to disappoint me.

The Smoktech cartotanks are notorious in the e-cig trade for having slidey tanks, probably why Smoktech started adding flanges to their cartomizers. However, that only keeps them from sliding toward the PV, not away from it. Other tank manufacturer's tanks fit much more snug on the carto. Regardless of those facts, it's smart practice to always lift your PV by it's body and not by the cartotank. This is just common sense.
___

I've been using Ikenvape cartomizers (Platinum or 510 Fusions, punched!) exclusively for the last 3-4 months. Prior to that I was using Smoktek 3.0 ohm single coil cartomizers, with one or two laser-drilled holes. Single Coil XL Tank replacement 510 cartomizer for 3.5 and 6ml SmokTank XL - w/flange and 1, 2 or 3 holes.

I did not have a good experience with the one time I purchased some Boge cartos, but I'll admit that this was during the early part of Boge Gate last summer when they had horrid quality control issues.

It is true what people are saying about the difference in filler density of Smoktech vs Boge. And that can be a good thing depending upon what your previous experience with cartomizers has been. If you have had wicking issues with dry hits in the past, try some Smoktech's. If you have had flooding issues in the past, try some Boges. Having options is a good thing.
____


The juices I use vary from a 50/50 pg/vg ratio to 100% vg. I use only laser-drilled cartomziers, as I believe punching your own holes by whatever method invariably distorts the carto shaft. This oval shape of the carto can cause damage to the o-rings, allowing for eventual tank leaking. Laser-drilled cartos eliminate this possibility and allow for as much juice flow from the tank as do tool-punched.

I also always use a carto tank tool such as the Slap Yo Moma tool from Big Daddy Vapor. Using this tool further protects the o-rings from the top edges of the carto and makes assembling and filling the tank a breeze.


Cartotank set up that I use, including video: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/3710-5-cartomizer-tank-setup.html

 

[captiancd89]

510 bogey carts in a phiniac tank wonderful vamping experience!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

[The Ocelot]

Name the juice your using and the exact make and model carto, plus describe your method of punching (if not pre-drilled) and I'll eat a huge crow sandwich if it works.

Huh? Okay.

I'm sitting at my desk with three 19mm XL glass tanks: one with a Smoktech 2.0ohm single coil 2-hole laser punched carto with Kick Bass Vapor Peppermint Ice Cream (12mg 50/50) in it on a Twist; a second one with the same carto, but with ECBlend "Cold Fusion" (12mg 70/30) sitting in a cup awaiting rotation; one with a Smoktech 3.0ohm single coil 2-hole laser punched with Cinnamon Fireball in it (12mg 70/30) on a ProVari; and a 5ml polypro tank with a Boge 2.0 single coil with 2-holes punched by the vendor (that I think are a little too big) with RH Candy Candy (12mg 70/30) in it on a Twist. (I switch flavors a lot)

What difference does any of this make?

ETA: I also have 14 CE3 Xls (in a box on my desk) filled with different flavors to switch around, since I have the attention span of a guppy. I'm only adding this because many people have said CE3 "always leak."

 

[Rocketpunk]

I was waiting for Baditude to offer some of his 100% tried and true carto tank advice. If I could offer any advice, it's follow his advice! Baditude knows what he's talking about, trust me. I learned a lot from him!

 

[The Ocelot]

I was waiting for Baditude to offer some of his 100% tried and true carto tank advice. If I could offer any advice, it's follow his advice! Baditude knows what he's talking about, trust me. I learned a lot from him!

I'm patiently waiting for Baditude to get so heavily into RBAs he stops buying IKenVape cartos.