Dry hits, cartomizer not wicking, pressure issue?

[motherman]

I've been using a SR boge cartomizer at 5.4 volts with a phiniac tank for quite some time now. For the past couple of months, after 1 tanks worth of juice, my cartomizer wont wick or feed from the tank. I don't see bubbles coming in when I take dry hits or blow into the drip tip.

Some background:

-Prime new cartos with condom method.
-Make two holes on the bottom with 6-8 half turns on the screw punch
-Usually use 70/30 pg/vg juice
-I use the little plastic wedge filling tool after the cartomizer is primed, push it in the tank and fill tank, push it out more and pull out the filling tool
-Ive tried regulating pressure by blowing in, dry hitting, with and without my finger on the bottom. Opening up the cap to maybe let air in. Drilling a third hole on top of one of the bottom holes but by the top of the cap to try help regulate pressure
-The cartomizer doesnt seem gunked up its clean, smooth airflow, it just wont pull in juice, or if it does it seems like it pulls in 1/3 the juice it really needs, with either very muted or burnt flavors. Not seeing bubbles when dry hitting leads me to believe juice isnt getting pulled in

It is getting to the point where after using tank cartomizers for awhile im about to give up. If im lucky to get one tanks worth of vaping, by the second it will be gunked or in this scenario it seems pressure isnt correct and wont wick at all or very slightly?

The only thing I can think of is spacing near the holes maybe gunked just enough not to let juice in, but the rest of the cartomizer is fine hence the reason it doesnt feel gunked?

Any help will be appreciated. I read about drilling a hole into the tank but I do not have the tools or expertise to do that.

Thanks

 

[serenity21899]

I have Phiniacs, and have used 2-hole prepunched cartos from both Smoketech and Boge without incident beyond some bad cartos, I use the tank tool from IBTanked. I do not use the condom method, and fill the more traditional way. And I use about the same ratio juice,

The only thing that comes to mind is are you using dark juice, such as coffee. They seem to gunk up more.

ETA: I never remove the top cap except to clean it when I'm changing the carto. Doing so changes the tank pressure and can cause leaking issues.

 

[Baditude]

Maybe try a different brand cartomizer.

 

[r77r7r]

Maybe try a different brand cartomizer.

Shortest Baditude post ever?? Getting tuckered?

 

[r77r7r]

I've been using a SR boge cartomizer at 5.4 volts with a phiniac tank for quite some time now. For the past couple of months, after 1 tanks worth of juice, my cartomizer wont wick or feed from the tank. I don't see bubbles coming in when I take dry hits or blow into the drip tip.

Some background:

-Prime new cartos with condom method.
-Make two holes on the bottom with 6-8 half turns on the screw punch
-Usually use 70/30 pg/vg juice
-I use the little plastic wedge filling tool after the cartomizer is primed, push it in the tank and fill tank, push it out more and pull out the filling tool
-Ive tried regulating pressure by blowing in, dry hitting, with and without my finger on the bottom. Opening up the cap to maybe let air in. Drilling a third hole on top of one of the bottom holes but by the top of the cap to try help regulate pressure
-The cartomizer doesnt seem gunked up its clean, smooth airflow, it just wont pull in juice, or if it does it seems like it pulls in 1/3 the juice it really needs, with either very muted or burnt flavors. Not seeing bubbles when dry hitting leads me to believe juice isnt getting pulled in

It is getting to the point where after using tank cartomizers for awhile im about to give up. If im lucky to get one tanks worth of vaping, by the second it will be gunked or in this scenario it seems pressure isnt correct and wont wick at all or very slightly?

The only thing I can think of is spacing near the holes maybe gunked just enough not to let juice in, but the rest of the cartomizer is fine hence the reason it doesnt feel gunked?

Any help will be appreciated. I read about drilling a hole into the tank but I do not have the tools or expertise to do that.

Thanks

Can you give us a pic of your carto- as punched?

 

[motherman]

Can you give us a pic of your carto- as punched?

I attached the picture. This is probably one of the biggest holes and the picture makes it seem bigger than usual. If you see the hole above it that is something new. I've been vaping for two years on a carto tank system with no problems, to the point where its a detriment because it works so well I dont even want to try anything else.

Lately its been almost impossible to vape. I read a lot and never post, but its getting to the point where im going to go back to analogs. At best its one tank of clean vaping. When the cartomizer gets gunked up i realize its either a bad carto or the juice. But with a free flowing cartomizer with normal resistance while inhaling (if that makes sense), for it not to pull in any juice its mind boggling and ruining vaping. I get my cartomizers from vaporbeast, and I am thinking of trying the fusions but im running out of options I dont know what to do.

I am thinking of trying the protank, but from what I read its not the same as a nice sr boge cartomizertank set up at 5.4 volts.

 

[motherman]

Just a heads up because I know everyone punches their holes different sizes, I don't want to dismiss my issue as a too big or too small hole. I've been using it for years. By mental note I know the perfect spot to punch it. I don't know if the cartomizer tool is messing it up or just bad cartomizers from vaporbeast, or if boge is making bad cartomizers lately. I just cant comprehend the physics if I tried everything from opening the top cap to blowing in and dry hitting with my finger in and off the bottom, with the polyfill dry how it cannot bubble at all?

 

[motherman]

I've only removed the top cap out of desperation. For the past three or four months maybe more, my cartomizers have been lasting like one tank. I just posted everything I have tried to remedy the situation to save the effort of someone suggesting it. Even with a dark juice, 70/30 mixture it should last more than one standard phiniac tank's worth of juice.

I've been analog free for like two years but I don't know what to do. It either gets gunked up or more perplexingly like the question in hand, the juice wont get pulled in after one tank.

I am going to try a different vendor and maybe those fusion cartomizers but this never happened before.

 

[nicetucu]

Your juice should be thin enough to wick, really strange. When I have a hard time wicking (using boge xl lr 2.0 ohm carto) I use the beauty ring that comes with the protank (for an ego twist) and push down so it sits tight on the battery and do some dry pulls. It's almost airtight when I do this and almost always see some bubbles. Push tank up a bit for good airflow and continue to vape.

I usually fill my boge carto's from mouthpiece end, then take the rubber mouthpiece thing out and put a drip tip on. I sometimes take the drip tip off and drop a few drops in on top if it's tasting weird. I think you may have some bad carto's. Cause you sound like you know what you're doing.

I've also been slotting mine with a dremel lately horizontally. I find even Boba's Bounty wicks well, just kills carto's easily. Is this with different kinds of juice?

 

[motherman]

Your juice should be thin enough to wick, really strange. When I have a hard time wicking (using boge xl lr 2.0 ohm carto) I use the beauty ring that comes with the protank (for an ego twist) and push down so it sits tight on the battery and do some dry pulls. It's almost airtight when I do this and almost always see some bubbles. Push tank up a bit for good airflow and continue to vape.

I usually fill my boge carto's from mouthpiece end, then take the rubber mouthpiece thing out and put a drip tip on. I sometimes take the drip tip off and drop a few drops in on top if it's tasting weird. I think you may have some bad carto's. Cause you sound like you know what you're doing.

I've also been slotting mine with a dremel lately horizontally. I find even Boba's Bounty wicks well, just kills carto's easily. Is this with different kinds of juice?

Different juices destroy cartomizers at different rates. They say the thicker the juice or the darker the juice the worse it is for a cartomizer. If you have a sweeter juice, apparently the sugars tend to carmolize and gunk it up quicker. I've tried everything I have read on here besides drilling an airhole and closing it with a screw, and everything I've noticed with experience. I just don't know what it is. If my wedged tool is creating some sort of a plunger pressure differential, or if vaporbeast is selling shotty cartomizers, or if boge is manufacturing broken products.

I am getting so upset that I don't know the issue. They have been gunking up and breaking after one tank or in the situation in question wont pull juice into the holes after one tank. The latter perplexes me the most, since its a decent size hole, not an aggressive juice and I'm adding suction in everything direction how does it not get filled with juice.

To the previous poster that said change cartomizers, you might be correct, but the bigger issue is then are boges for the past few months just having their QC down to zero?

I wanted to check if there was a way to fix this or equalize pressure before I warn everyone of my vendor and or my cartomizers in general. Given the responses on here thus far it seems like its not an obvious fix. I'll contact the vendor and let the community know of the results. I assume if SR boges were so shotty for the past few months it would've been known. Granted I am not up tot he latest news with our hardware but I feel like 4-6 months is enough time of patience.

Just wanted to thank everyone for past and future suggestions I really appreciate it.

I feel like I should post a video of everything I've learned in the past few years but there's no way I can compete with Mr. Busardo and Green, which have been great for me.

 

[Baditude]

Maybe try a different brand cartomizer.

Shortest Baditude post ever??

I am getting so upset that I don't know the issue. They have been gunking up and breaking after one tank or in the situation in question wont pull juice into the holes after one tank. The latter perplexes me the most, since its a decent size hole, not an aggressive juice and I'm adding suction in everything direction how does it not get filled with juice.

To the previous poster that said change cartomizers, you might be correct, but the bigger issue is then are boges for the past few months just having their QC down to zero?

I wanted to check if there was a way to fix this or equalize pressure before I warn everyone of my vendor and or my cartomizers in general. Given the responses on here thus far it seems like its not an obvious fix. I'll contact the vendor and let the community know of the results. I assume if SR boges were so shotty for the past few months it would've been known. Granted I am not up tot he latest news with our hardware but I feel like 4-6 months is enough time of patience.

Perhaps I should have gone into more detail. The three major brands of cartomizers use different fillers, or polyfill densities, from one another and will wick differently. Boge's are notoriously more dense, Smoktech less dense, and Ikenvape somewhere in between.

I don't like to badmouth a particular brand, because there are always loyal customers who prefer that particular brand and have had no issues with it. I've never cared for Boges myself, but that is a personal preference. I do not care for the more dense filler, because I drip my juice into the carto from the top and it takes way to long for the filler to absorb the e-liquid via this fill method.

We've all heard about last summer's Bogegate situation. I've been reading some complaints about the quality of Boges this summer, too. I won't even go into what might be causing this.

I personally use Ikenvape cartomizers. I find them to be superior to either Boge or Smoktech, but they can be extremely difficult to obtain being as only one vendor carries them and they are often out of stock.

Smoktech cartos are easy enough to get a hold of. Give them a try.

 

[r77r7r]

Try Anything. The analogs will probably taste like crap now. I'd toss everything but the battery and start over. New punch ( or get pre-punched) new tank, new supplier for the Boges, if you choose to stay. Surevapes has a good turn-around. Certainly try Smoketech and Iken (when available).

Boge also has a new laser slotted carto. If I can find it, I'll post a link.

I wouldn't get hung up on Iken being a savior here, he has a different quality maybe, but I haven't heard or experienced superior tank flowing capabilities. They tank-flowed like Boges to me.

Edit- Surevapes has the slotted Boges also.

 

[New2vaps]

I have to agree with the poster above, ikenvape might not be savior here. I have had issues with their quality. With all fairness, when the ikenvape cartos worked, they worked very well. But the quality control on them has not been consistent in the last few batches from what i have experienced personally. I also agree with Baditude, try the smoketech. They are less dense and wick well. Before you go back to analog, give it one more chance.

 

[WageSlaveEscapist]

I'm having the same issues with my boge lr cartos. So annoying. I took my swiss army knife file and irrigated my carto with like 7 slots, eventually it had the same issue. It just won't .....ing wick - rebuildables are my only hope. My only solution has been to diligently drop drops in from the top and blow in and out to make sure it is thoroughly soaked. Shouldn't have to do that with a tank. Oh and it's annoying as hell how the tank will come off or the drip till will come off while i'm working - bad design

 

[EL Pistoffo]

I'm having the same issues with my boge lr cartos. So annoying. I took my swiss army knife file and irrigated my carto with like 7 slots, eventually it had the same issue. It just won't .....ing wick - rebuildables are my only hope. My only solution has been to diligently drop drops in from the top and blow in and out to make sure it is thoroughly soaked. Shouldn't have to do that with a tank. Oh and it's annoying as hell how the tank will come off or the drip till will come off while i'm working - bad design

You mention your tank keeps coming off. Sounds like a sealing issue which I think would definitely give you wicking issues. What tank are you using?

 

[Muggs]

I'm a user of Boge F16's and Ikenvape Platinums. I'm not even going to list the bad experiences with Smoketech cartos but we all agree on that already.

I have found that some cartos from both companies don't wick time to time. What I have done is pull a paperclip as straight as I can leaving a bit of a hook at one end. Then grab some filler with it through the top of the carto and lightly pull up. Do this all the way around. Sometimes the filler ends up too compact. You just need to spread it apart a bit, prime it through the top after that, load it in the tank, dry pull on it about 10 times and you should be good.

 

[BernieVideo]

It sounds like a tank pressure issue.
I would bet you have a worn, or cut, o-ring. If the seal isnt there, there wont be enough negative pressure to force liquid to wick.

Did your Phiniac come with replacement orings? If so, try changing them out.

Do you have another carto tank to try? See if the problem persists with another tank.

Weird thing, I read a lot about dry hits in cartos....I have never had one, ever. I do get clogged cartos, they dont dry hit, they just hit very very slow and tight.

 

[UncleChuck]

I don't think it would be an issue with damaged o-rings or seals, as that would cause flooding not lack of feeding. The AGR for example, early models had really loose o-rings where it sealed against the carto, which allowed air inside the tank, allowing the juice to empty out.

When I've had issues with juice not feeding I'd usually take a push-pin and kind of work the polyfill that's exposed through the punch hole. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.

I suspect that when punching a carto, the deformation of the carto body compresses the polyfill and makes it difficult or impossible to soak up juice from the tank. Either punching too big/deep of a hole, or using a dull punch which deforms the carto too much seem to make the problem worse.

I finally gave up on punching cartos and started slotting them, not a single juice feed issue after that time. If you can't get your cartos working well with a punch I'd really suggest a slot (or getting pre-cut ones without a deformed hole)

The slot might also break up some of the surface tension of the juice better than a round hole, just guessing there.