cartomizers keep clogging

[flstc1997rider]

I 'm having problems with my cartomizers, they get clogged, or leak at threads, or just burn out,all seem to be premature failures. I am vaping with a lava tube by volcano, and I am mixing my own juices. I am pretty sure it has something to do with my juice, but can't figure it out.

 

[Susan~S]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

What type of cartomizer are you using?

 

[Amish Ed]

You say premature, how long are they lasting (how many ml are you putting through them before they fail)? Are these juices on the dark or light side?

 

[Train2]

Definitely will help to know just what cartomizers you have - even a photo, if possible!
If it's truly a pure cartomizer, like one of these, then depending on the brand, it IS possible you have "duds" - there have been whole batches that didn't really work well... But it also could be a matter of getting them "primed" well, or a matter of the right power, or really thick liquid causing problems.

A little more info, and SOMEONE will have a good solution for you!

 

[AzPlumber]

Some flavorings and too much sweetener are known carto killers. Try a different flavor and see if you still having issues. Are you using a sweetener? If so which one and how much?

 

[tayone415]

I 'm having problems with my cartomizers, they get clogged, or leak at threads, or just burn out,all seem to be premature failures. I am vaping with a lava tube by volcano, and I am mixing my own juices. I am pretty sure it has something to do with my juice, but can't figure it out.

Eventually all cartomizers will burn out after time and use. I'm not sure what you mean by clogged? If you mean you're not getting hits with little vapor output even from the beginning, it could be that you have too high of a VG mixture as some if not most cartomizers have a small hole that has a hard time feeding the thickness of VG. There are some places that sell drilled cartomizers for that reason.

Sweetener if used will affect the life of your cartomizer and any other tank or atomizer for that matter.

 

[K_Tech]

My range for cartomizers (I use mostly single coil XL cartos below 2 ohms) is usually between 10 and 30ml of e-liquid before they need changed out. The type of juice has a lot to do with lifespan.

If I may, I'd like to add that you shouldn't throw out the old cartomizers; I've used this method with great success, and can usually get at least one or two more uses out of them. Prior to boiling mine, they've usually been sitting in a sealed container soaking in cheap vodka.



Darker, sweeter e-liquids seem to gunk things up a lot faster than other e-liquids.

 

[rolygate]

If you fill your own cartos, then this will help:

- make sure if you use all-VG that it is thinned down enough, straight VG is too thick

- either drip your 20 drops (it's usually about that if new, maybe 10 or 15 if already used) down the side, with the carto tilted

- take your time otherwise you'll flood it down the centre

- or, use a syringe down the side, this method is faster

- WAIT till it 'wets out' thoroughly

 

[The Ocelot]

@Roly - you sure are hard to catch! I wanted to give you a tip about posting link examples. PM me if you want to know more, since it has zip to do with this topic.

 

[exnihilo]

I think Boge released a huge crap shipment of cartos recently. The two last 5 packs didn't last nearly as long as my older packs do/have.

Tapa-shutup

 

[The Ocelot]

Back on topic, sort of. If the juice has a high ratio of vg, you can thin it with a few drops of distilled water. Make sure it's distilled are not tap or drinking water.

For another method of filling cartos check out my blog. There are many ways to fill cartos, it takes some experiment to find what works best for you. This method (or variations of) it what I use.

The Ocelot Method of Carto Filling (aka The Upside-Down Condom)

 

[Baditude]

As The Ocelot mentioned, there are multiple ways to fill a carto with juice, and everyone will eventually settle on a method that works best for them. Filling the cartomizer with the right amount of e-liquid is the most important step in using a cartomizer, and determines how well that carto will perform during its life time.

I use what's called the "drip & flick" method of filling from the top. I plug the center air hole in the wick with a toothpick so I don't have to blow out the excess with my mouth. I don't count the drops, as different droppers make different size drops. I add liquid, flick the carto, and add more liquid, until the wick looks like a wet slushy drink without pooling of liquid on top. Capacity-wise, a standard length carto (35mm) will hold 1 ml of juice; an XL carto (45mm) will hold 1.5 ml of juice.

Baditude's Cartotank Setup Guide

 

[zoiDman]

I 'm having problems with my cartomizers, they get clogged, or leak at threads, or just burn out,all seem to be premature failures. I am vaping with a lava tube by volcano, and I am mixing my own juices. I am pretty sure it has something to do with my juice, but can't figure it out.

I Haven't used Cartos in a Long Time.

But when I did, if one got Clogged or had Too Tight of a Draw, I would VERY Carefully push a Straightened Out paper clip into the carto from the Battery Side. Then Roll the Carto on the Paper Clip like a Rolling Pin.

You have to be VERY Carful that the Paper Clip does Not Snag on the Coil Wire. And it is Best to Practice on an Old Carto to get the Feel of what is going on before you do it on a Working Carto.

 

[AzPlumber]

Just make sure your cartos are using the right equipment

 

[Smgordo13]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I am waiting on my first carto to come in the mail and this has me feeling a lot more confident on what to do and how to do it when it comes this week.

 

[mikek1]

I 'm having problems with my cartomizers, they get clogged, or leak at threads, or just burn out,all seem to be premature failures. I am vaping with a lava tube by volcano, and I am mixing my own juices. I am pretty sure it has something to do with my juice, but can't figure it out.

Really need to know which carto you're using. I had a look at the lavatube and there's a couple different tanks you can bundle with the lavatube. If you have that 7ml one you might want to try increasing the voltage to 6.5 volts and slowly work your way up and see if that helps. The coil on that tank is a pretty high 3.0 ohms.

I think you're best bet will be to get a Aspire Nautilus with some of the new bvc coils at 1.8 ohms.With those coils you should try setting the lavatube to about 3.3 volts and again work your way up until you find a good voltage. If you decide to try a new tank just make sure it has some type of air flow control built into the tank since it looks like the lavatube has some issues with airflow. Either the Nautilus or Aerotank will work well but I would go with the Nautilus just for the new bvc coil.

If you want to work with what you have you can try a couple things. Take off the tank after you fill it with juice, put down a paper towel and blow into the mouthpiece. That should shoot any excess juice that might be caught in the center tube where the coil is. Clean up the bottom of the tank and top of battery and see if that helps.

And please let us know what kind of carto/tank you are using and the vg/pg ratio of the juice you are putting in.

 

[zoiDman]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I am waiting on my first carto to come in the mail and this has me feeling a lot more confident on what to do and how to do it when it comes this week.

Nothing Wrong with Cartos. I used them for Quite awhile. But there is One Fundamental Rules about them that you should Never Break.

Never Vape them Dry. Always keep them Wet.

 

[exnihilo]

Nothing Wrong with Cartos. I used them for Quite awhile. But there is One Fundamental Rules about them that you should Never Break.

Never Vape them Dry. Always keep them Wet.

And never feed them after midnight!!

Tapa-shutup