Cartomizer Life

[CthulhuSaves]

(Sounds like a magazine, heh heh)

Anywho, I'm curious how long other people's cartos last, in general. Not referring to the atty part dying, but just how long you typically can use one before it seems like you're sucking a golf ball through a garden hose and the flavor of the juice is pretty much gone.

See, for some reason, no matter what juice I use, or what size or brand of carto I use, I get about three days out of them. Finally got my hands on a tank recently, and a handful of punched DC cartos for it (and am loving it, BTW), and even with the tank keeping the carto wet and full, the same thing happens. Even does it with my Boge Leo's 4ml cartos. Nevertheless, I know people that seem to get weeks out of them, so I'm stumped.

 

[melloyello]

carto life is dependet on more than one factor. the biggest ones are juice, saturation of filler.

if you use only one kind of juice, carto life is the same, day-in-day-out. dark/sweet juices typically cut your carto life drastically.

if you keep your carto wet (10 drops every so often even while its not completely dry) the carto will last longer. i didnt notice a big difference in carto life after using them in tanks.

it is very common that cartos last 2-4 days before its time to toss it, and if you spend $7 on a pack of 5, thats about 2 weeks of vaping.

i think our nature is to want something to last longer because we paid for it. if cartos would last 10 days each, we would ask why they dont last 15 days.

 

[golferx]

I think it depends on your liquid and how much potential it has to gunk up the coils. Also keeping the filler wet at all times greatly increases life. I got 4 days out of boge cartos with one hole punched in the bottom. Once I added a second hole higher for better wicking I'm now getting 6-8 days on one. Run about 3 ml a day through them.

 

[radiated1]

I get about 10 ml give or take. I do use. Sweet juice some light some dark. Usually use tanks but get same result with out. Since I use vv on buzzpro that only one day or less for me. Tired on people using days. Everyone is different need to use ml to make comparison.

 

[washvap]

Personally, I get 10-15ml depending on the juice. If it's both a sweet and dark juice then I will get about 7-8ml out of it before it's burnt.

 

[CthulhuSaves]

Sorry, but days are more accurate for me, not ml. Sometimes I chain-vape, other times I'll go hours without. No real pattern to the vaping, but no matter what, it's always right about the three day mark where the carto just won't produce any more flavor, and I have to fight it to take a draw. Same goes for the juice. Might be using an 80/20 mix one time, a 50/50 mix the next, and pure VG after that, and damned if the timing isn't the same at the three day mark. Weird, but true. So that's why I asked about how long people's cartos were lasting, because that's actually what I'm wanting to know.

I'm starting to wonder if there's not some facet of a carto that wears-out quickly once juice is added, effectively starting the clock, so to speak.

 

[DarkAynjil]

higher voltages seem to whack the life right outta my 2.0 ohm dc's... I get a few days out of 'em, then they start to fade a bit, and then they just flood. Still looking into it, but I believe I'm pushing the wiring in the coils past their thermal limit...

 

[CritterBuddy]

Juices, voltages, etc. all do have an affect on how long your cartos last. I get about the same life out of each whether I use a tank or not which is about 5-10 days. They are cheap enough at about $1.25 to $1.50 each that I don't even bother to clean them and get them mostly from Crystal Clear Vaping which includes free shipping.

 

[Blakd]

I get at least a week and most times a month or more out of my Boge cartos. Everyone seems to be amazed when I tell them this. My rule of thumb is when my tank is empty I have about 5 to 10 more vapes before needing to refill. I do not clean, and if I find a flavor such as (nasty) butterscotch I just toss the carto when done. Here is a list of flavors and the tank I use.

Liquinator
Boge 2.0 at about 4 volts
Boge 3.0 at 5 to 5.5 volts right now is 4 punch from VL
VE - Bavarian creme
VE - clove
VL - Strawberry Cheese cake
VL - Pineapple Use this one as a palate cleanser
all of my juice is 70/30 pg/vg

VL = Vape Lounge in Texas

 

[Slurp812]

I use mad vapes chinese 3&5 juice mostly, and a few other very lightly colored juices. Mine seem to last a few weeks. Hard to tell really, I switch cartos quite a bit...

 

[CthulhuSaves]

Y'know, it's odd, but I'd forgotten an exception to my typical experience. I discovered I really like Blue Mist's Citrus Punch (tastes just like the spray from an orange peel), but only a few vapes now and again between my usual daily stuff. I keep a PV sitting off to the side with some in a carto, and vape it for maybe five minutes every few days. Now, for some reason doing it this way (and hey, maybe the juice has some bearing), I can actually leave that sucker sitting to the side for something like six months before I need to change the carto. Figure that one out. Three days with most stuff, half a friggin year on that one. Just crazy.

The only real difference I can see is that with my daily vapes I keep the cartos full all the time, always filling the tank when it's low, or topping off the carto. With the other stuff I don't vape regularly, like the Citrus Punch, I'll vape 'em until they need a few more drops added, and just repeat as needed here and there. That way seems to make things last a helluva lot longer, which is weird, because everyone always says to keep a carto wet to extend it's life.

Man, I sure can't wait for vaping technology to grow to the point it's mindless and idiot-proof, so we don't have to fret over stuff like this.

 

[N rustica]

Sometimes I chain-vape, other times I'll go hours without. No real pattern to the vaping, but no matter what, it's always right about the three day mark where the carto just won't produce any more flavor, and I have to fight it to take a draw.

I'm starting to wonder if there's not some facet of a carto that wears-out quickly once juice is added, effectively starting the clock, so to speak.

In total agreement, this forum is great to find someone with the same pg/vg ratios and same usage pattern. I've only been vaping for a couple of months and already bottoming out on the whole cartomizer question. Some work amazing, others get tight and become half dead fast. I'm wondering if it's the inconsistent poly filler because of the tight draw. I don't think labeling them with dates will help much, although I'm willing to try it, at least will help keep track of the vendor I got it from when I find one that is excellent.

I heard Russ on VP Live Podcast describe a kanger bottom coil he tried which was magical and then he couldn't find another to work just like it.

 

[acleme1]

Cartomizer life has boggled me since the day I started vaping. I would read about others getting 5, 10, 30 days out of a carto. I was getting 1 day...if I was lucky. After researching and asking around, it became apparent that the KIND of juices I was using clogged up my cartos. I like tobacco juices. More specifically, I like extracted tobacco juices...better known as "Carto Killers". I've just accepted the fact that my cartos aren't going to last me as long as others, but it's worth it to me. With a single coil 2.0 ohm carto and Tank, I can pull 5ml of juice through it and then it's done. I typically get 1 - 1.5 days out of my cartos. Still cheaper than smoking, and a hell of a lot better for me. I keep hoping for a better "system" that will last longer than a day, but until that happens I'm good with what I've got now.

 

[Mark C.]

I get at least a week and most times a month or more out of my Boge cartos. Everyone seems to be amazed when I tell them this. My rule of thumb is when my tank is empty I have about 5 to 10 more vapes before needing to refill. I do not clean, and if I find a flavor such as (nasty) butterscotch I just toss the carto when done. Here is a list of flavors and the tank I use.

Liquinator
Boge 2.0 at about 4 volts
Boge 3.0 at 5 to 5.5 volts right now is 4 punch from VL
VE - Bavarian creme
VE - clove
VL - Strawberry Cheese cake
VL - Pineapple Use this one as a palate cleanser
all of my juice is 70/30 pg/vg

VL = Vape Lounge in Texas

Well, im actually sitting at the same thing with one of my 2.0 ohm boges (it actually reads 2.3 ohm but 2.0 was what it was advertised) im using Bluemist Vaping RY4 in it, and ive been vaping this thing at anywhere between 4.5-5.4 volts for the past month and put at very least 30 ml of juice in it and have not had a single sign of a drop in performance... im not to experienced but i do notice i get a little more harshness, not burnt in any way, its almost like nicotine harshness or something... trying to find out if thats the carto being a month old, or if its from the nicotine steeping and standing out more, im really not sure... its more like a tingly feeling in my mouth, sometimes it overpowers the flavor of the juice but not usually.

 

[emus]

I've been exclusively using CE-2 and DC since May 2011.
I strongly prefer CE-2, 2.6-2.8ohm, 3.7v, single batt.
CE-2 lasts about 2 to 6 months with unflavored eliq.
I keep two CE-2 and one DC in my rotation.
One SS CE-2 has a 5ml DIY syringe tank mod and other is the stock 56mm long SS CE-2.
Some CE-2 needed cup adjustment and one leaked from factory.
Not sure if anything better is available now.

 

[Stosh]

+1 on using CE2, mine last about a month or two, 3ohm at about 4.8v. The steel ones, slotted fit into a DCT perfectly so I can vape 5 mL with never a dry hit.

 

[vikeme28]

+2 on ce2's. I get about 60-70 ml through mine till they need to be cleaned and dryburned for reuse. I punch a few holes in my clearo and insert into a 6ml DC tank for all day bliss.

 

[Liv2Ski]

For me about 3 - 4 days using Iken Fusions in tanks. Or 30 mls. For me once a carto hits that mark it is tossed in the circular file to rest in peace.

 

[yo vapo]

I'd been using the same Boge 2.0 in a tank for a full month. Just using that carto exclusively, no others. This represents 100 ml or so of juice, which I mix myself using only (or at least mostly) clear ingredients.

Last night the draw got real tight, cluing me in that the carto was dying. With nothing to lose, I poked a wire twist tie (with the "insulation" removed) up the battery end a few times to break up the gunk. Successfully - I blew out a lot of blackish gunk, and the draw was once again nice and light.

Still, I figured I must be losing a lot of flavor with that old carto, so I replaced it this morning. Wrong! No improvement in flavor that I could tell.

So how long would that carto have lasted? Throughout its life I never cleaned it with any solvent (water, alcohol, etc.); all I ever did was give it a thermometer shake at each fill of the tank, and blowing it out if necessary.

That's the good news. The downside is that my juice may not have as robust, rich flavor of some of the bought juices I've tried. But then again, I'm saving money all around, so I'm happy.