E2 Cartomizer Technical Discussion

[BanjoMan]

After a fair amount of diddling and trying, it would appear that the wife won't be able to use the 510 XL's that I got with her TV-AC. It's just not going to work.

The TV-AC (Tasty Vapor Atomic Cynacide) is a peculiar liquid. It is quite, quite strong.. but it is fairly thick and it is sensitive (or perhaps my wife is) to over-heating. The XL's that I have.. coming in at 2.6 to 2.8 Ohms are just "too warm".

I'll probably give this another kick later with some 3.0 or 3.2 units.

I'm curious if anybody else has tried the 510 XL's (current production) with this liquid.

Not an exact comparison but my wife uses TV AC daily. I tried to get her to switch to the first CE2 510's I got (earlier version, but similar ohm rating), and the taste was too harsh for her. It wasn't a wicking problem, it was just too much for her on her 3.7v box mod (she won't use anything else). I think it's a combination of too low an ohm rating and too strong a liquid flavor.

 

[badkolo]

i love tv-ac but for some reason when it gets dry on my e2 it tastes like plastic, i get this when i drip with tv-ac but it never happened in filler cartos'

the one i had was 90pg/10vg and wasnt that thick but absoluitly delish but would get a bad plastic taste when the atomizer was dry and the same on the e2.

 

[BanjoMan]

Today's mail brought me a Little Sister, two 10440 batteries, and two 5-packs of the new ceramic E2 cartomizers. I feel like I've fast forwarded to Christmas and Ken from boxmods is Santa

The batteries are on the charger, so it'll be a while before I can give the LS a try-out with the E2 carts. In the meantime, I'm vaping one on my Tornado. I didn't see any sign of liquid in the cart, but I did do a couple of 10 second dry burns. Didn't detect any stinky odors, so I filled the cart using the plastic needle, left out the center ring, screwed on the Tornado cone, popped on a delrin drip tip and am in vaping heaven. Clouds of vapor are coming out of this set up and the liquid's flavor is clean and crisp. Nice, but not overwhelming throat hit. In short, I'm a happy camper

Good news. I think you'll like the LS. When your batteries charge up try out the new cartos on the LS at some of the lower settings and see what you think.

 

[badkolo]

Good news. I think you'll like the LS. When your batteries charge up try out the new cartos on the LS at some of the lower settings and see what you think.

if my tekkeon could fight it would kick your little sisters ......

i think im gonna give in and get the ls as well because besides you everyone else is praising it as well.

 

[BanjoMan]

if my tekkeon could fight it would kick your little sisters ......

i think im gonna give in and get the ls as well because besides you everyone else is praising it as well.

It's a great little mod, but I'll be getting the Big Brother too.

 

[badkolo]

It's a great little mod, but I'll be getting the Big Brother too.

i thought it wasnt ready yet???

 

[BanjoMan]

i thought it wasnt ready yet???

Almost. The first video review is up.

 

[Scottbee]

It's probably an elementary question for me to ask Scott, but have you tried a lower voltage? My 510's work well for me at 2.5 volts.

Honestly BR I haven't. The wife is gagga over her shiny new platinum Rivas and that's all she is going to use. Even if the cartomizers worked unbelievably well at 2.6V on a mod.. it wouldn't matter. She wouldn't use it.

She is quite happy with her TV-AC in her "Turbo" cartomizers right now. They don't have the capacity of lifespan that we are going to expect from the E2 XL's.. but she is comfortale with using them, knows how to refill... and pops the top off during the day and "tops them off". Frankly... I don't know why I am even attempting to upset her apple cart.

 

[br5495]

I'm starting to develop an interesting problem... lots of loose cartos of different types lying around - all working - all good. I hesitate opening any more of these for testing because my whole desk is starting to get kinda messy. I'm even starting to have problems deciding what to take with me to work in the mornings.

I guess it's a nice problem to have though, no?

kinda messy? You ain't seen my desk or the card table I have set up on my right. Or the stuff I have under them. If we look for the good side of things, we can call it a nice problem.

About my KR8. I removed the filler ring for the first time. It is vaping okay now and the good taste is back.

Now for the guessing part. I believe there is a fine line between a dry wick, a working wick, and one that wicks too much. I do not believe this wicking method can be mass produced and get it exactly right every time.

On at least some of these cartridges, the outer part of the filler ring goes down far enough to touch the wick. In some cases it can go too far and pinch the wick too much, causing it to run dry. In other cases, it needs to pinch the wick to some degree to keep it from wicking too much. In yet other cases, the wick works fine with the filler ring removed.

Part of the reason I say this is because I vape these things a good bit of the time with the filler ring removed. Most of the time it works great. However, I have two E2's that cannot be done this way very well. If I quit vaping for a minute or two, I get a Slurpee. If I put the filler ring back on, no more Slurpee. There are several factors that cause these differences, but I won't get into that.

I am basing part of my opinions from experience with the early E2's, which may not necessarily apply here. However, I have inspected the filler ring, wick, and plastic cup combination very closely. As removed from the tube. In my hands. Under magnification. I saw the outer part of the filler ring touching the wick and compressing it to some degree.

 

[Scottbee]

I was going to say something about wife-unit who likes TV-AC but just figured she was twice as tough as me, it would fit for you.

Charlie.... there are very few things in this world that I am afraid of. The wife-unit is one of them....

 

[br5495]

Honestly BR I haven't. The wife is gagga over her shiny new platinum Rivas and that's all she is going to use. Even if the cartomizers worked unbelievably well at 2.6V on a mod.. it wouldn't matter. She wouldn't use it.

She is quite happy with her TV-AC in her "Turbo" cartomizers right now. They don't have the capacity of lifespan that we are going to expect from the E2 XL's.. but she is comfortale with using them, knows how to refill... and pops the top off during the day and "tops them off". Frankly... I don't know why I am even attempting to upset her apple cart.

Understood. My wife has her ways too. Fortunately, she goes along with most of my stuff and we have a new found ecig togetherness.

Build her a 2.6 volt shiny Riva, heheh.

 

[br5495]

Charlie.... there are very few things in this world that I am afraid of. The wife-unit is one of them....

Up until a few years ago, my wife carried an over and under 38 derringer in her purse. Loaded with wad cutters.

 

[v1John]

I think the inner ring has to be kept on the ceramic.
The cup can get too close to the carto shell and cause it to get real hot.

I think the next generation could be the cartos 1mm wider in diameter, that could make them almost 3ml, and give the wick a little more room as they come out of the slots and make a sharp 90 degree turn also.

(All cartos would still work with the vgo's, the cones just need to be upgraded and both could be available.)

 

[CJsKee]

Hi ya'll...I've been reading all things E2 since about the first thread and watching the progressions. Thanks so much to those who have hung in and and been the "guinea pigs".

So I ordered a pack of the regular size 510 E2s from Ken at boxmods and got them today. I don't have a meter so not sure about the ohms, but definitely less than 3 - maybe 2.5 or so.

They're in a blister pack so I don't think there will be a problem with smashed threads. Someone on VF said the ones they got were wrapped individually and they thought maybe the threads were smashed during the sealing process (made sense to me). Could use a little more QC.

I popped the top and removed the O ring. There was a little dab of liquid on top of the whatcha-call-it, so I blotted it off (no color) and blew it out a little. Did a short dry burn, but there was no vapor coming off of it. There also was no smell. I filled it with 1 ml using an 18 ga. needle (cause there wasn't one of the little plastic dealies in the box). Put the O ring back in and put on a drip tip...

Wooooo hoo!! These are great! Very short draws = tons of vapor. Very clean taste.

The only thing I don't really like is the vapor is almost too warm. It's great that we'll be able to specify what ohms we want...I'll be wanting around 3 I think.

I've refilled once. Got a little carried away and flooded it. I didn't try to blow it out, just vaped through it -- worked great.

I'm using the E2 on an eGo, and I've got another eGo and a Journeyman going too. Alternating around the 3, the reg E2 is lasting a good long while between fills. Can't tell exactly, but I've been using this one since noon with only one refill. That's pretty good! I vape probably 3-4 mls a day so I'm hittin 'em pretty heavy.

I'd say we've got a winner! I'm very happy so far, and with you guys' suggestions for tweeking and improving a little here and there, I think in another month or so we'll be in great shape. I'll for sure be getting more -- the XLs next time.

Oh, one question...when I pulled the O ring out, I didn't pay attention. Which way does it go? Flat side down or the other side down?

 

[PattyR]

Admittedly, I'm only a couple hours into vaping with the new-and-improved E2 cartomizer, so I can't add nearly as much info as others have. The vape is still good; lots of vapor, good flavor, good throat hit. The only problem I've experienced is leakage around the inner seal (the one with the filler holes). I laid my Tornado down for about half an hour to do some chores and when I picked it back up, it had leaked into the drip tip. I can live with that, though. From now on, I'll avoid leaving my Tornado or LS on its side when I'm not actively vaping.

Tomorrow, I'll open a new carto and give it a try to see if it leaks, too. Hopefully, this is a one-off and I'll have better luck next time.

 

[br5495]

I think the inner ring has to be kept on the ceramic.
The cup can get too close to the carto shell and cause it to get real hot.

I think the next generation could be the cartos 1mm wider in diameter, that could make them almost 3ml, and give the wick a little more room as they come out of the slots and make a sharp 90 degree turn also.

(All cartos would still work with the vgo's, the cones just need to be upgraded and both could be available.)

I didn't know the inner ring has to be kept on the ceramic. I don't like the taste of a dry wick, so what do you think I should after I put it back on?

 

[br5495]

Oh, one question...when I pulled the O ring out, I didn't pay attention. Which way does it go? Flat side down or the other side down?

The other side down. That is, if you can get it all the way down on there. I'm still having hell with that little sucker.

 

[BanjoMan]

The other side down. That is, if you can get it all the way down on there. I'm still having hell with that little sucker.

br, I believe they're talking about the middle o-ring. That one goes flat side down.

 

[v1John]

I didn't know the inner ring has to be kept on the ceramic. I don't like the taste of a dry wick, so what do you think I should after I put it back on?

Thinking.

Someone mentioned shaving 2 grooves under the ring to allow more room for the wick earlier yesterday or today I thought.

I think the inner ring should be there because it stabilizes and insulates as well. If yours has no problem with wind tunnel stability or cup-to-carto heat transfer then you may not notice it or really need it. I'm just generally speaking, for using them as ecigs in the day to day world. While at the PC and workbench? sure, a drip tip mod could be all that is needed though.

The next version I mentioned previously should make so many things even better still, and easier to work with. Much earlier I wondered about a smaller cup, but I think many things point to a carto that is just 1mm wider, the cup cannot be smaller.

So the cup is fine, though I wonder what a little ridge around the drain would do to help keep liquid from going down the drain towards the thread connector? It may work to an extent, preventing up to 1 to 3 drops from going down the drain so easily. other thoughts about it?

[Finally, I will clarify that these ce2's are the best I've bought so far, I'm only bringing up further developments as this is a progressive advancement. I am in no way implying that the ce2's are not good. They are good. The advancement of the ecig has come a long way and it's rate of progress is astounding.]

 

[br5495]

Admittedly, I'm only a couple hours into vaping with the new-and-improved E2 cartomizer, so I can't add nearly as much info as others have. The vape is still good; lots of vapor, good flavor, good throat hit. The only problem I've experienced is leakage around the inner seal (the one with the filler holes). I laid my Tornado down for about half an hour to do some chores and when I picked it back up, it had leaked into the drip tip. I can live with that, though. From now on, I'll avoid leaving my Tornado or LS on its side when I'm not actively vaping.

You may very well have a leak, so I am not questioning that. However, when I use my modified tips, a good bit of moisture condenses inside. It looks almost like my juice, feels like my juice, but it does not taste like my raw juice. Most of what I taste is sweet vegetable glycerin with no bitter nicotine. I never saw this much condensation until I began using the E2. I haven't seen anyone else mention this, so maybe it's just my juice and tips that are doing this.