Cartomizers - What am I missing here?

[mccawley]

OK so over the last three years I have tried on multiple occasions to use Cartomizers.
I always give up on them and revert to Atty dripping a 510, tanks, etc...

I just bought an eGo kit for travel and it came with shorty cartomizers. Ok I'll give 'em a whirl. After all it's been several years things change quickly.

Fill with juice, wait, top off, wait, let sit for 4 hours, top off with juice. Primer Puff....Primer Puff... !! Smoking Burnt Tires !!

Am I completely doing something wrong or do people just like the taste of burn ...?

I mean I'm not a noob to vaping. Mechanical, VV, Standard Atty, direct dripping, AGA-T, Terminator, Vivi Nova, eVod, all seem ok.
I make my own coil's and wicks. I think I know what I'm doing.

Is there a magic combination of Carto ohm to voltage?

 

[SilentEcho13]

I'm not a huge carto user, but i've noticed that the higher ohm cartos (2.5+) tend to hold up a little better than the LR's at the same wattage.

The key for me was to throw them in a tank. I'd get burnt hits often when using them alone, but a tank kept them saturated enough that some would last me 2 weeks on an eGo.

You might have some duds too.

 

[Mike36609]

Maybe it’s the cartos you have used. I’m about 18 months into vaping, cartos are my preferred delivery system at this point. I’ve done various generations/styles of clearomizers, carto tanks, and atty dripping. I always come back to cartos based on ease of use, no fuss/no muss for on the go, price and availability, and yes taste. I haven’t tried rebuildable attys yet, but have one on the way, hopefully it will be here today.

By sheer good fortune the first cartos I ever used were SmokTech, and I now use SmokTech cartos exclusively. Some time ago, before I knew better, I bought a bunch of Boge cartos because of reading about their popularity on ECF, and that was the absolute worst purchasing decision I have made in vaping.

I have never had a problem with a SmokTech carto burning or otherwise delivering an unexpected taste; Not a single time. Not true of the Boges I have used. The only cartos I have ever had that burned were Boges. The filler in Smok cartos absorbs the juice very easily, even the thick VG juice that I use – Gorilla Juice, Boba’s Bounty and Hype, as examples. Not true of Boges. Getting the filler in a Boge carto to absorb juice is like trying to get a sealed brick to absorb motor oil. If the Boge carto does eventually absorb some juice, it requires almost constant refilling/topping-off to keep it from burning.

All cartos, regardless of brand, eventually reach the point that they stop tasting good, and this varies greatly with the juice you are using. I get three to four days from a carto with Tennessee Cured before the taste starts to decline too severely, and I can easily get a week or more of really good taste from a carto when I am using Hype. I have cleaned cartos with pretty good results and have reused them successfully, but many folks throw them away when they reach the end of their life.

Since you are an experienced vaper, I won't get into how to properly fill a cartomizer, but I can't over emphasize the importance of getting it filled all of the way full, especially on the initial fill; Any carto will burn if it does not have enough juice. The higher the voltage/wattage setting you are using increases the importance of this process.

As always, these are my experiences and yours can be different. I have had great success using SmokTech cartos, and would only recommend Boges to my worst enemies, and then I would feel guilty about the advice I offered. To me nothing beats a fresh SmokTech carto with a little Hype or Tennessee Cured.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[BlueSnake]

OK so over the last three years I have tried on multiple occasions to use Cartomizers.
I always give up on them and revert to Atty dripping a 510, tanks, etc...

I just bought an eGo kit for travel and it came with shorty cartomizers. Ok I'll give 'em a whirl. After all it's been several years things change quickly.

Fill with juice, wait, top off, wait, let sit for 4 hours, top off with juice. Primer Puff....Primer Puff... !! Smoking Burnt Tires !!

Am I completely doing something wrong or do people just like the taste of burn ...?

I mean I'm not a noob to vaping. Mechanical, VV, Standard Atty, direct dripping, AGA-T, Terminator, Vivi Nova, eVod, all seem ok.
I make my own coil's and wicks. I think I know what I'm doing.

Is there a magic combination of Carto ohm to voltage?

Normally if you get burnt taste right away then the carto is not filled completely and/or you are trying to vape at too high a voltage. If drip filling a carto like your talking about, put a toothpick in the center hole then drip juice and allow it to soak in. Then repeat until it quits soaking in and you start to get a few drops out the bottom of the carto. Remove the toothpick and gently blow out the excess juice in the center hole into a paper towel and wipe off the bottom, threads of the carto. You should be able to vape it immediately. Start with lower voltage if vv and slowly work your way up. If you start to get a burnt taste back it down. Then top off the carto every few hours or so as to not get it too dry. Or get punched and put in a carto tank. Carto/tanks are still my favorite way to vape.

 

[SupplyDaddy]

Have you tried the "condom" method of filling the cartos? Filling the end cover about half way, sliding it slowly onto the connection end of the carto until the juice is out of the condom and into the carto?

Personally, I do not follow that method. I just stick the needle end bottle into the connection end and squint way, then soak the top. Blow out the excess and I'm done. I have yet to destroy a carto using my method and it's ready to use as soon as I've blown the excess out. Top it off now and then to keep it wet and I've had no issues!

Unless I'm using a very dark juice, my cartos last at least a week, most last several.

 

[skoot]

Definitely try some different resistances. I don't know why, but for me the same 2 ohm carto in a tank requires less voltage when not in a tank.

 

[Talyon]

I've used the Kanger Carto's, without any probs at all, fill using any method u see best and away they go.

Carto's are now my backups though as I've moved onto clearos. But they still get used.

 

[peacepipe]

Sounds to me like your comparing the "iron chef" to a can of soup...

 

[Chimney34]

I tried the condom method but I find that the method on Baditude's blogs works better for me. I also use my cartos in tanks but this should still work. This is pretty much what I do
1. Insert toothpick to keep juice from getting down the center
2. Put a couple of drops in
3. Let it absorb then shake the juice down a couple of times
4. Couple more drops & keep repeating until the top of the filler looks like a slushy

 

[mccawley]

Sweet, thanks guys and girls. The first Cartos I tried were indeed Boge.
and the ones I just received are not identifiable, but are supposedly 1.5 ohm, and I'm hitting them with a fresh battery ~ 4.2Vdc

With such bad experience(s) I'm reluctant to try again, but the ease of having several cartomizers in a small travel case is tempting.
I will have to add a few SmokTech cartos to my next purchasing spree.

I'm thinking two things....
1. I fill these things, but it sounds like they need saturated!
2. I have crap carto's

Can any of you recommend a Carto Ohm for standard battery? 3.7Vdc - 4.2Vdc

Thanks for all the replies

 

[Mike36609]

1.7, 2 or 2.5 Ohm, depending on your personal tastes. If your current cartos are 1.5 Ohm, that could be the source of your burning problem, as that would put them well beyond the 2 volts higher than ohm rule.

 

[Rocketpunk]

40 +/- drops into the polyfill, avoiding the center hole, and shaking it like a thermometer as per Baditude, I haven't had a bad carto since.

I use 2.0 ohm cartos at 3.8 volts/6.5 watts. My sweet spot.

EDIT: Dripping into the polyfill takes time and patience. Do not rush it. Especially with thicker juices. Be patient, and you'll be happy.

EDIT 2: If you think you've flooded it, you can do some things to save the carto. Try putting the connector end into a paper towel and gently blowing. If a lot of juice comes out, you flooded it. Continue gently blowing until there is no more excess juice coming out. Then be sure to wipe the connector end dry and that SHOULD help.

Also, if you've been vaping on a carto and you get gurgling or tight draws, unscrew it and hold it up to a light, looking into the polyfill. You SHOULD be able to see a clear hole through the carto. If you hold it up to a light and see nothing, try the step I described above. Be sure to wipe everything clean afterwards.

 

[mccawley]

Ah crap! then I'm definitely not filling these things enough!
Ok, cool going to add 1.8Ω and 2.4Ω Cartos to my next purchase.

Thanks

 

[YKruss]

You are trying to vape at 11.56 watts using your 1.5 Ohms carto at 4.2 volts.

Try 3.4 volts which gives you about 8.1 watts.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Ah crap! then I'm definitely not filling these things enough!
Ok, cool going to add 1.8Ω and 2.4Ω Cartos to my next purchase.

Thanks

With XL cartos, meant for use in tanks, you need at least 30/40 drops. I say go for 40. 20 will not suffice. If you taste burnt electronics and get zero vapor, you didn't fill it enough or mismatched your voltage, just like a previous poster said.

 

[Chef Vper]

Will have to say i have moved on from cartos but when i did use them i also got the burnt .... taste untill i watched a few filling videos, some great tips here about shaking it down and the toothpick, there is also the way to fill the rubber nip it comes with and then smoosh the carto into that forceing juice into the bottom

 

[Mike36609]

On a standard carto I typically get 36 to 40 drops in before it leaks. On the slightly larger XL cartos usually around 50 drops before leaking.

My method for a standard size carto, condom fill from the connector end, about 16 drops, then dripping to complete the fill, i.e., until it leaks a drop or two, wipe it off thoroughly and you are ready to go. For XL cartos, condom fill about 24 drops, then dripping to fill.

This process may be a little bit of an overkill to some, but this way I know, without a doubt, the filler is truly saturated. And, by the way, as PBusardo once said, "not all drops are equal," depends on the tip you are dripping from.

 

[mccawley]

I'm using a mechanical device so I can't really lower the voltage down to 3.4
The battery starts off at about 4.2V and I swap it when it tastes weak, that is usually around the lower 3 volt range from running meter tests.

I suppose I'm running on the dry side and pushing too much wattage. Well there ya go, no wonder it tastes like burnt tires.

So I should be OK with a 1.8Ω or 2.4Ω

 

[YKruss]

So I should be OK with a 1.8Ω or 2.4Ω

I would guess 2.0 Ohms would be better on your fresh battery at 4.2 with 8.82 watts.

1.8 will be pushing the power to 9.8 watts.

But again it's all depened who is a manufacturer - I use 1.7 Ohms Ressurector at 4.0 Volts on a Provari without any issues.

 

[mccawley]

Cool. so right around 2.0Ω is what I'll pick up.