Ce2-R4 Ceramic Carto issues and frustration

[dannoman]

Hi Dave--the one thing I never get is a 'plastic' taste (I do get that from the Joye cartos and other fillered cartos)...make sure you dio rinse them under hot tap water and dry and dry burn before your first use or on a refill. This always seems to do the trick.

I know its not what you want to do out of the box but we have some people on ECF in direct contact with the factory floor (badkolo in particular) and they are listenign and getting the 'problem' ones out of the supply chain...

I haven't been really impressed with the CE-2 R4 cartos so far. I've only tried one out of the box. I get good vapor production but the taste is a little hot and it's reminiscent of plastic. Taste is nothing like a 510 or Ego mega cylinder type B atty can produce.

I've removed the cap, the first seal, and the inner seal to look at the slots and the wicking material. I don't have a dental pick but I tried installing the inner seal upside down, then inverting the carto to prime up the wick, and test vaping. Good vapor, same aftertaste. I hope to remove pressure on the wick slots. No go. Then I took out the inner seal again and re-installed it the right way, got the slots in place and inserted the middle seal and the cap. Same taste.

Maybe it's just me getting past the warmth of the vapor that changes the taste. I'll have to drain this one and try another to see if this one has a crusted wick. Maybe I'll try a dry burn to see if that's it.

 

[DaveP]

Hi Dave--the one thing I never get is a 'plastic' taste (I do get that from the Joye cartos and other fillered cartos)...make sure you dio rinse them under hot tap water and dry and dry burn before your first use or on a refill. This always seems to do the trick.

I know its not what you want to do out of the box but we have some people on ECF in direct contact with the factory floor (badkolo in particular) and they are listenign and getting the 'problem' ones out of the supply chain...

I like the carto concept. I read some of the posts before ordering them and did make sure I got CE-2 rev 4 cartos. Although it does look like there's some silicone sealer around the edges of the inner seal that fits onto the ceramic cup, it's actually just the silicone insert itself against the sides of the tube, not glue. I proved that by taking it out and examining it. I didn't wash the carto before using it and that may be part of the problem.

The coil in the cup looked dark, but I thought that was just the color of the wire. Should it be shiny? It's hard to tell after it's been filled and used and I can't do a dry burn without draining the juice and washing it. I'll wash and dry burn the next one before filling it.

EDIT: After posting, I got a new carto out of the box and removed the cap and first seal so I could examine the unused coil. It was pristine, shiny wire wound on a white wicking. I washed it out with hot water, blew it out, and did several short dry burns in a dark room. I could see the cherry red glow. I filled it with about .5ml and turned it upside down to prime. The vapor is better and no plastic taste. I'll let this one sit and mellow and let you know how it goes.

 

[dannoman]

Ummm...it may look dark if you don't throw a mag glass on it but it shouldnt be dark-dark...

Once you shake it out, you may want to blow a hair dryer over it an dget it nice and dry (or let it sit overnight, your call). Then w/o any fluid in it press the power button until you see the orange glow run across and fill the entire coil then let go. You may see soem smoke arise and most probbly will. Do this off and on until the smoke clears. may take 4-5 times or only three times...the one thing I have noticed is they are hardy so don't be shy to dry burn them...Just don't lay on the button for 20 seconds at a time

My latest blog post talks of a syringe mod for this carto that has worked very very well for alot of ce2 users. You might want to check it out but you don't need to do that mod to enjoy these...

I like the carto concept. I read some of the posts before ordering them and did make sure I got CE-2 rev 4 cartos. Although it does look like there's some silicone sealer around the edges of the inner seal that fits onto the ceramic cup, it's actually just the silicone insert itself against the sides of the tube, not glue. I proved that by taking it out and examining it. I didn't wash the carto before using it and that may be part of the problem.

The coil in the cup looked dark, but I thought that was just the color of the wire. Should it be shiny? It's hard to tell after it's been filled and used and I can't do a dry burn without draining the juice and washing it. I'll wash and dry burn the next one before filling it.

 

[BeatSherlock]

All of mine came with a strange liquid on the wicks and the inner plug were EXTREMELY difficult to get off. In fact I busted my first carto because the wire came out with the plug. Glued? I also noticed that after about 3x crusting over no vinegar soak gets the crust(oxidized) taste out, even if the coil/wick become clean (which also might not happen). PTB mod actually didn't help me in my case (maybe the PTB wouldn't stay folded), plus my cerebral palsy makes it tough to do all the fine motor skill movements. BTW if I try to PTB mod again, how short do i cut the wicks?

Thanks everyone for your contributions!

 

[dannoman]

Hi - try to use a dental pick or a fine jewlers screwdriver. Insert the tip of your tool right under the lip of the filler ring and run it carefully around the ceramic cup until you feel it kind of 'go in' to one of the cup slots. You can then lift the ring out. (*note: the cup slots/slits run at a 90 degree angle to the coil so you can get fairly close by placing your tool in relation to the coil)

When you do the vinegar soak and you rinse it all out and dry you might want to do a dry burn while the carto is empty. This has worked well for me. Every once in a bit gently 'pick' at the coils to knock off any caked gunk that gets loosened by the dry burn. Let me know if you haven't done a dry burn before...

(fwiw I haven't done a ptb mod yet, I have the PTB's sittign here but just haven't bothered with it yet)

All of mine came with a strange liquid on the wicks and the inner plug were EXTREMELY difficult to get off. In fact I busted my first carto because the wire came out with the plug. Glued? I also noticed that after about 3x crusting over no vinegar soak gets the crust(oxidized) taste out, even if the coil/wick become clean (which also might not happen). PTB mod actually didn't help me in my case (maybe the PTB wouldn't stay folded), plus my cerebral palsy makes it tough to do all the fine motor skill movements. BTW if I try to PTB mod again, how short do i cut the wicks?

Thanks everyone for your contributions!

 

[inkjet21]

Man iv been reading posts all over the place about this carto and im not sure who to side with 50 50 some love it some hate it. I better just get one pack

 

[BeatSherlock]

@GotLogos,

I made an attempt at a dry burn. It's tough with an auto battery (M602c's don't have manual batts). I did it for 20 sec. total, just 3-4 sec. at a time. Am I supposed to wait till it's completely dry, then dry burn and blow off the ash([y] substance)? Also, to get the initial primer/etc off it's vodka soak right?

Thanks for the inner plug tip. I happen to have a dental pick. I'll give that a shot with the new pack of 3Ω (should work better w/ my 3.7v)

Danke.

P.S. all the ones from my first 5 are pretty much unserviceable. Too much gunk too quickly.

 

[dannoman]

Well all I do is run it under hot water...I use a pliers and run it under the hot water...sometimes I do a microwaved bowl of very hot water and soak it for a few minutes then rinse again. I try to get it dry before I do a dry-burn that way you aren't sizzling so much of the moisture as you are the gunk. Then when I do my dry burn I let the coil turn orange and blow the smoke as it does so...once it turns orange for a few seconds I let go and do another dry burn and I keep that up until it stops smoking...then I try to flake off a bit (you won't get everything) and then blow it out of the cup. It REALLY does help when you clean these...

 

[BeatSherlock]

Thanks much!

 

[canabino]

I recently purchased 100 multicolored ce2 r4 2.8-3.0 ohm cartos from E-liquid Web Shop CN and dry burned 2of them before filling and the coil burned bright orange without emmitting any vapours so I went ahead and filled them and they seemed to work ok, but every now and then a drag would taste funny (plasticy). So I took out all the rings and pulled out the wick so that it is hanging outside of the cart and placed them into a saucepan with enough water to cover them completely. Boiled them for 5-8 mins while stirring them around. Flick out the excess water give it a quick, hot blow dry cycle. Push the wicks back in with a big straw and then a couple of 3 second dry burns.(for cleaning) Blow hard into the cup to remove any gunk. Replace rings but make sure the inner ring's holes line up perfectly with the wick or else you will get a dry taste.

Now they wick better and the juice tastes great. I do this with every new cart that I open before using it and all of my carts taste and vape like they should. Do the same thing for cleaning them, the more i do it the better it wicks. It is like a new towel that doesn't want to soak up water but after a couple of washes it works better.

Hope it helps

 

[JD1]

I just received a five pack of these today. (Thanks MadVapes-very fast shipping). This was my first time to try these, but I already knew what I wanted to try from the videos. I pulled the two plugs out and set them aside. Then I did a short dry burn and didn't see even a wiff of vapor. I then tilted the cart and dripped in ten drops of juice. I then got out an empty 510 cartridge and trimmed about one quarter inch off of the bottom with diagonal pliers and stuck it on the carto. Screwed it on a five volt passthru and wow!!! I use the button of the passthru as a controller by only holding it down about two seconds on a four second draw. Gobs of warm, not hot, vapor with great flavor. When the vapor drops off a little I just pop off the 510 cart, drip in about ten drops, pop the cart back on and go. These measure 2.8 ohm on my meter. I can honestly get a good puff with holding the button down one second on a three second draw. I'm really liking these.

Later, JD

 

[avj7209]

Just to add my thoughts...

Let me start off with saying I am a huge LR Boge 510 cartomizer fan, but the flavor can fade on these. I figured I would try the Royal Smokers c-e2 R4. If you don't have a compatible syringe to fit the flexible adapter that comes in the pack, you may easily find an eye dropper that will fit.

My first c-e2 that I filled worked just fine, tasted good with no burnt flavor. Hurray, maybe I was one of the lucky ones. When I filled my second one, I got notihing but the horrendous burnt taste! I guess I spoke too soon after filling my first c-e2.

After looking through all the posts, here is what I did to get these in user friendly and great vaping order:

1)Take the end cap off and then remove the center ring around the cup.
2)Soak in vodka.
3)Blow out and do not replace any of the rings or caps.
4)Put the carto on your device and push the button on your 510 device for 5-10 seconds.
5)Continue this, giving a few second break between, until the carto stops sounding like it is sizzling and the coil glows orange.
6)Fill up with your e-liquid.
7)Put the inner/center ring in upside down. (I have a heck of a time putting it back in the right way, so this seemed to work)
8)Put a regular sized soft end cap from regular carto's back in place of the original, use a drip tip or cut the original in half and put on the c-e2 (This is due to the upside down inner ring/cap).
9) You should now be enjoying your carto.

As one can see, this took a little bit to get the c-e2 to get in useable condition for me. I know there may be other methods, but figured I would share my experience. While these do taste good and operate quieter than regular cartomizers, I don't think I'll purchase these particular ones again. I have seen some sites that will be offering the clearomizers with what appears to be an easier method of filling with a pipette. I'll probably give those a go and if they give that burnt taste, I'm going back to my LR Boges. Good luck to all and happy vaping.

 

[CraigHB]

Same experience with the CE2 R4 cartomizers. It's not worth it to me when I can just pop on a Boge carto, fill it, and get good performance out of it. The CE2 cartos are just not worth the trouble for me. It may be possible to get them working well, but you shouldn't have to do a procedure on every one before using it. Vaping already has a big hassle factor compared to smoking. It's one of the main reasons I use a cartomizer in the first place. No need to convolute the process.

 

[avj7209]

Same experience with the CE2 R4 cartomizers. It's not worth it to me when I can just pop on a Boge carto, fill it, and get good performance out of it. The CE2 cartos are just not worth the trouble for me. It may be possible to get them working well, but you shouldn't have to do a procedure on every one before using it. Vaping already has a big hassle factor compared to smoking. It's one of the main reasons I use a cartomizer in the first place. No need to convolute the process.

EXACTLY CraigHB!!!

 

[avj7209]

... I then got out an empty 510 cartridge and trimmed about one quarter inch off of the bottom with diagonal pliers and stuck it on the carto. ...

Later, JD

I didn't think about the cartridge trick... any problems with leaking?

 

[dormouse]

Some CE2 r4's have primer in them even though they claim to not have primer. Could you have been tasting primer fluid?

And on another board, somebody said if a CE2 r4 starts tasting dry, put it "upside down" briefly and when I asked him he meant mouth-end down.

 

[avj7209]

I'm sure that it was likely primer as after I soaked/cleaned them, they tasted just fine. I still have a few unused c-e2's left and will dry burn them before filling. I just wish it was a bit more convenient to refill and am not a huge fan of having to use a syringe. While there is a slight difference/improvement in flavor when using these, there isn't enough of a difference to my taste buds to stop using the convenient traditional LR Boge carto's.