Cartomizers

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QusieQ

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I used cartos in tanks, my clues that it was time to change it were burnt taste and leaking when I know I didn't overfill. Dry hits are a way to tell it needs a refill, so I guess the answer would be yes it is empty. If empty of juice/to low on juice and kept being used will burn it out. I recently switched to a vivi nova - clearomizer type device and love that I don't fiddle w/ cartos anymore!
 

Disk4mat

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Well a burnt taste is a sure fire way to tell... I think after a while, you get used to the vapor quality just before burning it. When I used to refill carts for my cig style batteries I would just top them off durring the day. The idea was to never let them empty and burn.

If you have a good charge on your battery and the vapor seems off, add several drops to the cart and wait a few minutes. If the vapor improves then your cart could have been running near empty and its time to refill.

Im sure others will have some tips and suggestions for you.
 

Baditude

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If using a cartomizer alone, it's difficult to tell when it needs refilling, because you can't see the level of the juice through the metal casing. There are alternatives to using a cartomizer that allow easy viewing of their juice level.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/3230-1-proper-terminology-carto-tank-what-primer-juice-delivery-attachments.html

If using a large enough battery device (ego or larger), I'd recommend exploring a cartotank. There are also the string-wicked devices such as clearomizers and Vivi Nova tanks.

If using the cigalike stick batteries, a Nano clearomizer is the same size/shape as a cartomizer yet has a clear casing to allow you to see the juice.
 

yzer

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I used cartomizers without a tank for over a year. First off, I used Smoktech XL 2.0 ohm cartos which are long enough to hold 1.8 ml of juice. Standard size cartos hold less and shorties hold still less. The bigger the carto the less often you need to top them off. The lower the resistance with the same voltage, the hotter the carto runs and will need topping off more often. The liquid acts like a coolant in the carto. I could use these cartos for up to two weeks by topping off but found I liked the taste better if I changed them out somewhere somewhere after 7-10 days or after I ran 15-18 ml of juice through them.

Once you taste burning the carto is finished and will never taste good again. Just toss it. The trick is to top off the carto before it starts to burn at all. With the Smoktech XL that meant I'd have to top them off every 20-30 minutes depending on how much I was vaping. At no time would I need to add more than 20 drops. If I had to add say 25 drops on a top-off I knew I had burned the carto at least a little.

So, yeah. Cartos without tanks can be good. Especially if you like to carry a PV in your jeans pocket. I'm still using Smoktech XL cartos but I punch them and use them in a tank now.
 
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IShotBigBird

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I used cartomizers without a tank for over a year. First off, I used Smoktech XL 2.0 ohm cartos which are long enough to hold 1.8 ml of juice. Standard size cartos hold less and shorties hold still less. The bigger the carto the less often you need to top them off. The lower the resistance with the same voltage, the hotter the carto runs and will need topping off more often. The liquid acts like a coolant in the carto. I could use these cartos for up to two weeks by topping off but found I liked the taste better if I changed them out somewhere somewhere after 7-10 days or after I ran 15-18 ml of juice through them.

Once you taste burning the carto is finished and will never taste good again. Just toss it. The trick is to top off the carto before it starts to burn at all. With the Smoktech XL that meant I'd have to top them off every 20-30 minutes depending on how much I was vaping. At no time would I need to add more than 20 drops. If I had to add say 25 drops on a top-off I knew I had burned the carto at least a little.

So, yeah. Cartos without tanks can be good. Especially if you like to carry a PV in your jeans pocket. I'm still using Smoktech XL cartos but I punch them and use them in a tank now.

So there really is no way to save these carts unless I have the e liquid that matches it
 

yzer

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So there really is no way to save these carts unless I have the e liquid that matches it
If a carto is burned it's done and way past re-using unless you like the burned taste. I suppose you can refill prefilled cartos if the supplier provides the same flavored juice in bottles. Mixing juice flavors in a carto usually doesn't work out. I found washing out cartos to be impractical considering the low cost of blank cartos. No amount of washing will rid a burned carto of the burned taste. It's dead, Jim.

I was talking about blank cartos that I fill from bottles myself
 
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The Ocelot

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I use cartos in tanks, but I imagine it's the same if one is using a carto alone. I pull the drip tip off periodically and check to see if it the filler looks dry. I might add a drop or two if it looks like this (it's kind of borderline wet) (Other people may have a different opinion!):

step10fh.jpg
 
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