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It happens; sign of use. It can be a good gauge for replacement - when the carto starts to look real gross, toss it.
That my friend is the sign of changing the cartomizer...I always over do my cartos then when I change them I can't see how I could have possibly vaped on the old one.
The pull is starting to get a little tight also. So it's just a sign of use? Nothing you can do to minimize it?
On a side note, somewhat related.. The filler material doesn't seem to be getting any juice that far up. Should it? I also punched a hole opposite of the single pre-punched one. Seemed to help with flavor but not with juicing the whole carto. In the picture above the material is still white. My juice is either gold or red.
Can a carto be rebuilt or is it not worth the trouble?
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On a side note, somewhat related.. The filler material doesn't seem to be getting any juice that far up. Should it? I also punched a hole opposite of the single pre-punched one. Seemed to help with flavor but not with juicing the whole carto. In the picture above the material is still white. My juice is either gold or red.
Can a carto be rebuilt or is it not worth the trouble?
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Lots of times cartos won't look wet on top. As long as its vaping well, then it's, uh, vaping well.
If the draw is getting tight then it's definitely nearing the end if its life.
If the draw is getting tight then it's definitely nearing the end if its life.
I had a friend say cartos are like car headlights. You never notice how dim yours have gotten till you put new ones in. But when one fails completely (burned out) you can definitely tell!
I mentioned in another thread. I live in Florida, Corrosion Capital. My cartos look like that after a day of use and I get a metallic taste towards the end of my first tank. I chalk it off to corrosion, being so close to the ocean and all the humidity down here. As long as it still works, and my juice doesn't turn black, I don't sweat it.
That's gross. lol. How long have you been using that carto? It kinda looks like mold. Either that, or you burned the heck out of it and it as seeped into the material.
Little over a week. It does look kind of like mold but I'm pretty sure its just burned.
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The rest of the fill looks white. Does your juice turn dark? If it does, pitch the cart.
I find if the draw gets kinda tight then some juice got into the center of the carto, that little hole where the black wire goes down. Take a small paper clip and try and scrape out something if its down there. At BEST I've had a carto last me almost 4 weeks, but that was because I was seeing how long it could last, and that was with unflavored 50/50 PG/VG juice. It still worked, but it was just nasty. Cartos are cheap enough just to use for a week or two and then toss em out. You could TRY to boil them, or clean them using the turkey baster method, but I don't think that's worth it, and I've never had luck with boiling/cleaning my cartos.
I use gin or rubbing alcohol, rinse well, blast my carts with a steam cleaner, then let dry.
Switched out and must have forgot what I was missing. I saved the old one. Will try to clean it. Who knows?
If it burned at all it can't be saved. Once the filler material is scorched it'll taste bad forever. They are cheap and disposable. Buy a 5 pack of a good brand and pitch them when they get weird.
Why are people even using cartomizers any more?
Welcome to 2010?
There are many better options available today.
Welcome to 2010?
There are many better options available today.
I admit, I was a latecomer to the carto party. I had been using drippers and vivi Novas and even a AGA-T+ for months before getting a carto tank. I wanted to try something simple and fuss free that potentially had more flavor than my Novas, which while great, still had a muted flavor compared to dripping.
A good carto in a well made tank is damn near foolproof, and lasts all day with no leaking or flooding.
Now I only go out with a Kanger Protank or my carto tank.
Convenience. I love my Protanks and RBAs but my cartotanks still give me an awesome vape and they last a loooooong time between refills. Especially convenient on long road trips.
Got a friend who likes to putter around with car engines and only uses cig-a-likes while tinkering so that he doesn't mess up his "better options".
dud3r said:
A hard or tight pull is a sure bet the carto needs to be replaced. Our juices have small particulate matter in them (flavoring agents?) and the filler material acts like a filter. The material that doesn't get vaporized accumulates and clogs the filler. It's inevitable and nothing can minimalize it. This is why darker juices will clog a carto faster than clear ones will because darker juices have more particulate material.
A well-used carto will also eventually have its fluid barrier break down and end up causing gurgling or flooding. Again, a sign to replace the carto.
dud3r said:
If you study the above diagram of a cartomizer, you can see the flow of juice by the red arrows. The suction created by vaping pulls the juice in the carto down toward the heating element. The juice entering the carto from the tank can't keep up with wicking the entire filler all the way to the top, so it will appear to look dry. This also is normal and inevitable. You can frequently "top off" your carto if you need to, but as long as the filler stays wet enough to keep the covering around the heating coil from burning, its not necessary.
I've not found this worth the effort. It takes time, supplies, and space to clean old cartos. You never get them to be as good as when new.dud3r said:
I often say: I spent $5-6 a day on cigarettes and thought nothing about it. I don't mind spending $2 on a carto that should last me 1 - 3 weeks.
An aside note: Never attempt to "dry burn" a carto like you would a clearomizer or Vivi Nova's coils. I remember a noob saying he dry burned his carto and wondered why it tasted burnt.
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