Cartomizer Longevity??

[VeryICY]

Hello and thank you up from for your assistance.

I recieved a 510 cartomizer starter kit (I got from electronicstix - not sure if that matters or not) yesterday afternoon. Somewhere, though I no idea where, before I order the unit I'd read that cartomizers last anywhere between 1-2 days before needing to be refilled. The kit came with 4 prefilled cartomizers and as of this morning I have added e-liquid to them all. I changed when the taste seemed "off" and when I took the top off the wick did appear dry.

So my question is twofold: How long do carts typically last before refilling? If the cart is not nearly emptied is adding drops ill advised or is it acceptable to add liquid even if cart is 1/2 full for example?

 

[Firefly13]

Hello and thank you up from for your assistance.

I recieved a 510 cartomizer starter kit (I got from electronicstix - not sure if that matters or not) yesterday afternoon. Somewhere, though I no idea where, before I order the unit I'd read that cartomizers last anywhere between 1-2 days before needing to be refilled. The kit came with 4 prefilled cartomizers and as of this morning I have added e-liquid to them all. I changed when the taste seemed "off" and when I took the top off the wick did appear dry.

So my question is twofold: How long do carts typically last before refilling? If the cart is not nearly emptied is adding drops ill advised or is it acceptable to add liquid even if cart is 1/2 full for example?

You can top up the carto however often you want to, i just do it whenever the taste is wearing thin, don't leave it until it starts to taste burnt. I use cartos at 5 and 6 volts so they don't last as long for me as they would for somebody on a regular e-cig, they last me a good 2 or so days of solid pounding each before the draw gets weaker and taste goes funny. But if i was using them at 3.7 volts they would last a lot longer.

Just make sure when you top up the cartos that no juice leaks out of the bottom battery connector, blow through the hole and clean up any excess juice.

 

[VeryICY]

At least I know I'm not damaging anything if I refill prematurely. Thank you for taking time to respond.

 

[Croom]

In my experience it really depends on how much you are vaping. Some i've had last for a couple days but other days i go through them quick. And with them dry at the top that doesn't mean there is no juice in the fill inside. As firefly said make sure to blow through them so they don't leak if you overfill. This is my experience with the 808's at least.

 

[texasgranny]

I'm fairly new with just a little over 35 days experience.
All my experience is with cartomizers, that I fill myself.
The first week of use, was a learning experience.
I had read that one could "flood" one (too much)
and that one could "burn up" one (too dry)
So, what is the happy balance? Kinda takes a little while to learn.
I learned that if I got too much liquid (flood) the cartomizer could recover. (you will hear a gurgling noise)
Just blow out the excess and the carto recovered.
But when you "burn up" one (too dry) the cartomizer does not recover.
The burnt tast is there for good.
My unfilled-new cartos start out with about 20 drops.
After vaping for a while (depends on how much you vape) then you can just top of the carto again,
with 5-8 drops or so.
If the top of the filler looks real wet/shinny..then that is about enough.

Now days, I fill about 5 cartos the night before. Then I rotate those thru out the next day.
If the carto gets warm, pay attention, it probably needs juice.

There are SEVERAL videos on YouTube that you can watch and it will really help you
see what is going on in the fill process.

Overall the cartos last me about 10 days to 2 weeks and the performance goes down and I throw them
in the trash. Some clean them, just not worth it to me.

Just today, I watched a video on the "condom" method of filling a cartomizer.
I tried it.
I must say, it was very easy, got the juice in there very quickly and you should give that method a try as well.
Videos everywhere on that.

Lots to lean, but you are at a great place when you run into those stumbling blocks.
Just read, watch and learn.
Good Luck and Happy Vaping!

PS...Find a vendor, order more cartomizers and small bottles of juice, right now!
You will need them.

 

[VeryICY]

Thank so much to everyone, it is very helpful. I've tried to learn as much as I can, but it sometimes is more prudent to just ask. I will look up videos "condom" fill method.

 

[CraigHB]

I've been using the Boge 510 cartomizers for almost 5 months now. I seem to be able to run about 10ml of juice through one before it's shot. You can boil them clean and run another 5 to 10ml of juice through them, but they don't always clean up well so I haven't been doing that lately.

It's always best to keep them wet. If you let them dry out to much before refilling, it kills them prematurely (makes them taste bad permanently). Be sure to get them fully saturated on the first fill. The ones I use hold a little over 1-1/4 ml or about 30 drops.

On some cartomizer makes (including the Boge), you can throw a drip tip on the end and refresh the fill simply by dripping into them.

 

[Croom]

You can also look up the "spin method". That along with the condom method has worked quite well for me. Good luck!

 

[sleepybrains]

Okay, I'm a noob and a bit confused. A cartomizer is a cart with a built-in atomizer, and a cart is just a plastic piece with foam in it that you put on a atomizer? I just used up a cartomizer and was going to throw it out and use a cart to refill and put on a atomizer. Please help?

 

[CraigHB]

Yea, the stuff gets confusing. There's a lot of ins and outs to vaping.

There are basically three ways to vape your juice.

You can use an atomizer and cartridge (a two piece unit). Cartridges are probably the least favorite method. They can be messy, can be hard to get working well, and don't hold much fluid. You typically pull the cartridge off the atomizer and drip into it to refill it. The plastic piece itself usually lasts a long time. They do tend to loosen up in the atomizer after a while and then need to be replaced. The batting (or fluval) in the cartridge should be replaced around every 10 fills.

You can direct drip into your atomizer replacing the cartridge with a "drip tip". Direct dripping is popular because it provides the best flavor and vapor production, but you have to drip into the atomizer every 5-10 hits. Atomizers are usually good for about 50ml of juice. In other words, you typcially can run 50ml of juice through one before it wears out, but some last longer, some last shorter. When they wear out, they can fade away, quit totally, or start tasting bad. They usually just start fading away.

You can use a cartomizer which is a one piece unit that holds the juice and has a built-in atomizer. Cartomizers are a good compromise. They run a long time on a fill and provide good flavor and vapor production. There are various ways to refill them which depends on personal preference and model/make of the cartomizer. There's lots of model/makes. However, not all cartomizers are created equal. Personally, I like the Boge brand 510 cartomizers. There are other good ones so you might want to try a few different makes to see for yourself. Longevity varies for catromizers, but the Boges I use are good for about 10ml of juice or about 10 refills. After that, they start tasting bad permanently and should be discarded. The Boges and some other brands can be boiled clean for a rerun. Although atomizers last much longer, cartomizers are much cheaper. The cost works out about the same.

When fitting a cartomizer or atomizer to your battery, there are various standard fittings such as 510, 801, 901, and a few more. The 510 fitting is probably most common. The fitting you use depends on your battery. Some devices offer options there. For example, mod PVs (ones that use a standard cell battery) usually offer a 510, 801, or 901 fitting option.

Okay, hope that helps.