Cleaning and Discarding Cartomizers - Salivation and No Throat Hit Problems

[deback]

Deback,
I tried your method of rinsing with the same syringe kit you have. I attached the rubber cone to one end flush in and out 4 times then switch to the other end and repeat. Ive let them sit to dry for a few days and tried to refill but i think i destroyed all my atomizers in the turbo cartomizers because i don't get any vapor . The reason why i really need to rinse them is because i haven't found a flavor i like yet and the flavors i tried with them almost made me vomit.

Maybe you can tell me if i did actually ruin the atomizers inside and am i doing something wrong?

I've never used the turbo cartomizers, haven't seen what they look like, so I really can't comment on them.

I didn't see how you cleaned and dried the cartos, so I really can't comment on if you did something wrong. I also don't know if you flushed out the excess water, and if not, how many days you allowed them to dry, if they were still soggy inside due to not plunging out the excess water. Sorry, I don't have enough details to know if your atomizers are ruined or if you did something wrong.

I remember, when I did the cleaning experiments (I won't clean cartos anymore, since it really doesn't work, as I've stated in a few messages and a blog since then), that I plunged out the old juice at least 8 times both ways and then plunged out the excess water about 20 times, then blew through the mouth end to blow out the excess water, and then allowed them to dry for 3 1/2 days. When I finished cleaning them, the fillers inside were just damp and not soggy at all, so that's why it only took 3 or 3 1/2 days for the filler to dry completely.

 

[deback]

Nobody. That's why you rinse with water afterwards. I did it with filler cartos. I do it now with E2's to free up juice gunk accumulation. Works great, no vinegar residue.

Simple hot tap water will work fine and then you don't risk inhaling vinegar residue. Except cartomizers shouldn't be cleaned by soaking them in any liquid. It ruins them, and they are pretty much unvapable in the future.

 

[sashwa]

bnag0, this may be a bit OT, but when you are trying out flavors, you might want to try them out with attys and carts before you dedicate a carto to the flavor. At least that is what I do.

 

[mle]

Deback - I watched a youtube video on cleaning cartos where the guy pumped air through the carto to dry it out. I haven't tried it yet, so I'm not sure how effective it is. I can't find the link again, but I'll post it when I do.

 

[deback]

I saw that video about two months ago, mle. That's how I flush out the excess water with the syringe and rubber cone, as described in my blog, accessible over at the left under my avatar. It is effective, but simply cleaning cartomizers (that is getting them wet with water or any liquid) degrades the future performance, especially when the cartos are soaked in any type of liquid, including water. It's best to not soak them at all, but just flush out the old juice with hot tap water, and pump air through them to remove all the excess water -- and don't use any other liquids but hot tap water. And never use boiling water or the fillers will shrink by about 33% and degrade future performance even more.

These opinions were all formed by doing several cleaning cartomizer experiments.

 

[mle]

Ah - good to know, guess I have a lot to learn. What if you just pumped air through them to clear out the juice and then scraped them a bit? Would that maybe extend the life some?

 

[deback]

I'm sure pumping air through cartos wouldn't remove the juice.

Scraping cartos? Not sure how you'd do that. There is a filler inside with a wire that runs up from the built-in atomizer through the filler and back down through the center hole. You don't want to do much scraping inside a carto or the wire will break and ruin the carto.

 

[mister kil]

if you scrape the wick bettween the coil with a pin a lot comes off

 

[irwink]

Simple hot tap water will work fine and then you don't risk inhaling vinegar residue. Except cartomizers shouldn't be cleaned by soaking them in any liquid. It ruins them, and they are pretty much unvapable in the future.

In your opinion. Mine obviously differs as does that of others apparently.

 

[proudlion]

Reading this thread inspired me ... I just now tossed out a ton of used cartomizers that I thought I would clean and reuse - "someday"! Free, Free, I'm Free at last!! Thanks everyone

 

[arjay55]

Reading this thread inspired me ... I just now tossed out a ton of used cartomizers that I thought I would clean and reuse - "someday"! Free, Free, I'm Free at last!! Thanks everyone

Hehe. Feels good, don't it. There's nothing like breaking out a new carto. Pity we can't do it after every couple of fills in a way, but who can afford to do that, not me that's for sure.

We just gotta do what's right for you, using the available info to make an informed choice, as far as I can tell. ymmv is true enough

 

[deback]

In your opinion. Mine obviously differs as does that of others apparently.

My opinions are based on several experiments, and I've posted a lot about those experiments in some of my blogs. I haven't seen too many posts from others who have had much success with cleaning Boge 510 cartos. As I've posted before, the only times I've had success with cleaning cartos is when quickly flushing them out and not soaking them. As far as using other liquids besides water, I won't take the risk of inhaling residue from other liquids (and I'll no longer risk inhaling water, which contains who knows what.).

 

[ImYourSalt]

You guys use the same carto for weeks!? WOW!
I typically measure my cartos lifespan in hours.... now and then I'll even get a day or 2 out of a carto.

 

[Katya]

Deback,
I tried your method of rinsing with the same syringe kit you have. I attached the rubber cone to one end flush in and out 4 times then switch to the other end and repeat. Ive let them sit to dry for a few days and tried to refill but i think i destroyed all my atomizers in the turbo cartomizers because i don't get any vapor . The reason why i really need to rinse them is because i haven't found a flavor i like yet and the flavors i tried with them almost made me vomit.

Maybe you can tell me if i did actually ruin the atomizers inside and am i doing something wrong?

There is no need to use any syringe kits to clean your cartomizers. If you just need to change a flavor because the ejuice in your carto is not to your liking, the simplest and most effective method is to do a reverse Taryn spin to empty the carto first and then flush the rest out using straight PG (I like PG because you don't have to dry the cartos afterwards--just fill your carto with PG, leave overnight, and blow out or spin out the PG and refill with the juice you like). The most effective carto cleaners are, as others have mentioned, vodka, PGA, or plain white vinegar. Vodka and PGA don't even require rinsing with water afterwards because they evaporate quickly; vinegar needs to be rinsed out with water, I think. Anyway, that's what I do.

Water is not a very good cleaner but it works, just takes more time and effort. The experts advise the use of distilled water; boil for 15 minutes, or soak in almost boilling water, then flush with more clean hot water to remove impurities. Water takes a long time to dry inside a carto, so people have devised all kinds of clever ways to speed up the process, like using a hair dryer or putting your cartos in a warm oven (~200-225) for 1/2 hour, turning the oven off and then leaving the cartos in the oven overnight. If your filler is compacted after boiling/drying, it's easy to fluff it up with a sewing needle.

[Deback, FIY, distilled water contains nothing but hydrogen and oxygen molecules and has a PH level of 7 and no additional gases, minerals or contaminants. Nothing harmul there, I assure you. Alcohol is used in many ejuice formulations to increase TH or to add flavor; if used in cleaning cartos or attys, it evaporates cleanly, leaving no residue.]

I have used all of those methods myself with good results and can recommend them. I have also tried the syringe method once and found it to be cumbersome and unnecessary, and possibly harmful to the delicate coil/wiring inside the carto. One has to be very gentle while cleaning cartos and attys, as they are fragile. I even ruined an atty once by just flushing it under a strong, hot stream of tap water.

I also strongly recommend investing in an atomizer for trying out new juices. Just a few drops and you'll know if you like the flavor or not.

Turbos are great cartos and take well to cleaning. They are made by Bogetech, just like the 510 cartos.

 

[Bluesmom]

Not useless at all, very helpful! Thanks for the research.