Cleaning Boge 510 Cartos - Suggestions Please

[pbusardo]

Ok, so I've seen a ton of information and videos on boiling these things and IMHO the process doesn't work.

I boiled these bad boys 4 times at 15 minutes each, blew them out, and let them dry for 24 hours.

When I went to fill them, the first thing I noticed is that the filler was soaked, so I stuffed some paper towel in there until it was dry.

I filled it up with the new liquid and vaped. First thing I noticed, absolutely no flavor from the new juice, I could only taste the old juice.

Did I mention that I boiled these 4 times for 15 minutes each time? Oh yeah, I did.

So I vaped and vaped and the next thing I noticed was a period of absolutely no vapor at all. My guess, I was vaping the water that was supposed to be gone by drying them for 24 hours.

Finally, the vapor came back, but STILL the flavor of the old juice.

At this point, I'm not sure how long it will take for the new flavor to shine through. Maybe I'll post when it does.

Does anyone have a better method for refurbishing these cartos that actually works?

You can even post a link if there is a process out on ECF already.

Thanks so much!

 

[WomanOfHeart]

It's been my experience that darker juices and juices with strong flavors like menthol and cinnamon tend to cling in a cartomizer. I don't boil mine. I just rinse them out under hot running water in the sink and let them dry for at least 2 days. I make sure that they aren't dripping and put them on the top fan of my computer or on the fireplace mantle. Sometimes I get a slight taste of the previous flavor, but it usually goes away after a while, unless there was a cinnamon or strong coffee flavor in there. I just refill those with the same flavor or something close to it.

 

[Cee_Jay]

After opening one I doubt attempting to clean is viable. The vertical coil is wrapped quite tightly with a felt-type piece, and fed through the air tube centered on the filler. It'd take a lot of warm air blowing through to dry it, maybe a couple days from your computer fan(?).

 

[markfm]

I've done isopropyl alcohol soak, though dropping into very hot water, letting them soak, then rinsing under the tap, repeating several times, works quite well.

When done they should look clean, smell clean (no odor).

To dry, I bake them on a paper towel on a pan or plate, 225 - 250 degrees for about 40 minutes. Not much hotter, as at about 300F the plastic casing will shrink. It's okay to leave them in a bit longer.

They should be pretty dry after that -- they'll of course be hot, need to cool a bit.

Test the draw before refilling. If it is too tight, gently push a straightened out paper clip through the center, from the mouth end (don't break the bridging wire at the top of the column).

 

[texasgranny]

I've tried all methods....but to me, just not worth what little recovery you get.
4 days or so of use (depending on juice).....then I trash can them.
$1.50 or so each, 2 per week...cheap to me.

 

[Nightseer]

I tie them in a sock and dry them in the dryer........

 

[player30]

I like the sock idea! Thanks Nightseer.

 

[cynyc2]

I rinse well with hot water, boil twice for 15 minutes each, boil again in the microwave with vinegar in a small glass - then let sit for 15 minutes, then cook them in the toaster oven at 225 for 45 minutes or so. You have to watch it in the microwave, as the vinegar will boil all over the place. Just stop the microwave when it boils.

It sounds like a pain, but I spend very little time watching them. It really only takes about 15 minutes of my time to do it all, the rest of my time is spent doing what ever I would be doing anyway.

The vinegar step is important! The vinegar is a dilute acid solution made with distilled water. When baking them, the vinegar and water all evaporate off. The vinegar helps remove flavors, but I think the most important part is that it does not leave calcium and magnesium deposits in the cartos like tap water will - this leads to hard draws and clogging. Vinegar will also help remove burnt in deposits. Plus, vinegar is dirt cheap! This worked a lot better than boiling in water alone.

Granted, they are only going to get cleaned a few times, but between the wife and I we save a few bucks that we can use on juice! I also find this to be a good time to clean the microwave, as all that vinegar condensation cleans and makes the microwave stink free. You just wipe the condensation out with a paper towel and wallah, clean microwave!

 

[pbusardo]

I've tried all methods....but to me, just not worth what little recovery you get.
4 days or so of use (depending on juice).....then I trash can them.
$1.50 or so each, 2 per week...cheap to me.

This so far sounds like the best option for me! ESPECIALLY when I'm trying new liquids for the first time. I don't want the new flavor to be tainted by the old in any way!