Cartomizers for dummies

[awesome1]

Can anyone provide a list of do's and don't when using Carts. I currently picked upa few boxes of the smok Tech 2.0 ohm 510 Cartomizers and would like to maximize the life span. A few of my concerns are

How are you filling them?
How often do you top off?
Are they able to be cleaned or should I just throw them away?
I occasionally get a burnt taste when I top off, what is the cause of this?

 

[Linden]

I haven't had any luck with cleaning them but I top off consistantly. 4-6 drops when they start to change flavor/throat hit. I use 1 cartomizer for 2-3 days this way without cleaning. I throw them out when the flavor gets too dulled down. Burned cartos are awful, aren't they? Once they burn they just don't taste good anymore at all, no matter what you do. It may take some time but you will begin to notice when they get a bit dry. Thats when you top off and re-wet them.

 

[borockster]

I would highly recommend you go to youTube and look up pbusardo. He does an excellent tutorial on both filling and cleaning cartomizers. Subscribe to his channel and you will easily find the vids in question... Good luck!

 

[awesome1]

Thanks for easing my concerns. I find myself constantly adding a few drops to keep the banana flavor in the sweet spot for me I don't mind doing this, just wanted to make sure i was doing this right.

 

[hairball]

Drip at a 45 degree angle into the top of them with the mouth piece removed.

Top them off when the flavor or vapor start to diminish.

Yes they can be cleaned. Takes about 3-4 boils and then several days to dry unless you use your oven or a food dehydrator.

If you are getting a burnt taste, you are not letting the juice absorb into the filler material. After filling, allow at least 20 minutes before using. This is also for a new fill on a new carto.

 

[hiram13pm]

Top them off a lot, and they'll last quite some time. Darker juices will 'nastify' them a lot faster than lighter ones. I use the same ones, with a drip tip in place of the rubber stopper; you don't actually drip into it, since it's not aligned for a carto, but it's easy to pop off and on for topping off, and just feels better in an ergonomic sense. First filling, I remove the top cap & stopper, leaving the bottom cap & plug in place. 22 drops, 5 drops at a time, allowing it to absorb. Since I use a drip tip, I usually just toss the rubber stopper & replace the top cap only (assuming I'm not going to use it right away).

I haven't yet found a cleaning method that really works well for cartos, but they all go into a "dead pile" instead of the trash. Who knows what tomorrow may bring? There have been posts about using ultrasonic cleaners (like for jewelry) on them with great success, but I haven't gotten one... yet... so I can't say for sure. Sounds promising though.

The most important thing is to not let them get dry, as that'll lead to a scorched stuffing & then it's dead for real. I don't even keep those.

 

[Chime]

If you can get a drip tip to fit em its an awesome way to go.

Yeah u can boil em but they're relatively cheap still u should be able to clean and recover about 80% just do 20 or 30 at a go to make it worth the time.

 

[awesome1]

Forgot to mention I picked up a drip tip and it is makes the whole experience much more enjoyable. Do you recommend the condom fill method?

 

[dormouse]

Do you mean dos and don'ts when using Cartos? Carts push onto an atomizer.

Cartos

Do not use those 2.0 cartos on a battery less than 450mah

I only buy soft-cap cartos and I fill them as intended, by popping out the soft cap and adding liquid into the stuffing.

I top off whenever the vapor seems a bit dry or a bit light or if the carto is getting unusually warm

They are meant to be disposable. Do not count on being able to clean them. Some people succeed and some do not

I often use a plastic or delrin drip tip as a mouthpiece on a carto. I do not drip through it.

I find my cartos keep vaping well longer with thin (20% VG or less) juices that leave no sediment. I use Boge cartos and I usually use 2 at a time and usually get 2-3 weeks use out of the pair.

How I fill
Pop out the soft cap with an unbent paperclip in the mouth hole, very careful not to catch stuffing or the wire loop.
Shake and open the eliquid
Hold a bit of tissue on the threaded end hold, tilt the carto, and add 18+ drops per ml of capacity into the stuffing
Clean up the threaded end, tilt open end down into tissue, puff into threaded end to clear air channel (Boges have a defined center air channel)
Sop up any loose juice above the stuffing
Cap and let it settle - I lay it on different sides for 15-20 minutes to make sure every bit of stuffing gets damp so I won't singe the carto. if you use thicker juice than me then you may need to wait much longer.