Eheim filterpad mod

[Quitter]

I'm using it on my 510's and my Janty Stick's 801 and have had great success on both. The 801 took a few tries to get the width right. I just use the stock thickness from the size U foam. The secret is to have a small amount of compression. The first try on the 801 I just cut the foam to the height of the cart (1.1") and the exact width. It leaked too much. Second attempt was to leave the length the same - 1.1" - but went 1.5X as wide. No leaks but didn't wick that well. So I split the difference and voila! You need just a bit of compression on the foam and the 1.25X the cart width seemed to do the trick. It basically made the 801 atty/cart system useable.

On my 510's I did kinda the same thing as far as a little compression. The 510 was much less particular. It works great. I've dumped all my PTB's in my 510's for this mod.

I should also note that I use a fairly thick DIY juice. It's basically 2/3 PG and 1/3 Glycerin. So this has an impact on the wickabilty and leaking charactaristics.

 

[jedrojam]

For the 801 cart a larger cell reticulated foam works best.

The larger cell foam i found is yellow in color and the brand name is AQUA CLEAR.
made by a company called HAGEN. Rolf C. Hagen Inc.
Product name is "AquaClear 50 Foam Insert".

Quo,

Just wanted to add to the great info you already gave. I went to Petco a few days ago to pick up some AquaClear 50 for my poor-wicking Janty stick. I noticed that Fluval makes some foam blocks, and the manufacturer is Hagen as well.

Here's the link... Hagen Fluval Foam Inserts at PETCO

I opened both the AquaClear and Fluval Foam 104/105 packages and the material is very similar. The Fluval comes in 2 thinner blocks versus the 1 thick block for the AquaClear. The Fluval has slightly smaller "pores" than the AquaClear as well. I bought the Fluval because it had less of an odor than the AquaClear did. Just my own personal preference, however.

I brought it home, washed and dried it, and most of the smell went away. For this Fluval foam, I took one block and cut strips 3/8" wide along the long side of the block. This yielded a bunch of 3/8" x 3/4" strips. I cut those strips in half to make 3/8" x 3/8" strips. Each of the 3/8" x 3/8" strips gets cut up to make 2 inserts for the Janty stick atty. I got around 60 inserts out of one block. So for 4 bucks for a pack of 2 blocks, I got about 120 inserts. That works out to $.03 each.

Anyway, on to performance. THIS FOAM ROCKS!!!

Trimmed the "V" in the bottom of the foam, and stuffed it into the cart with tweezers. Trimmed the top to my liking (1/16" under plastic edge of cart). Tilted to the side and dropped in 34 drops of juice (YMMV, depends on bottle dropper size). Dabbed off the top and loaded it into the Stick.

I have had my Janty stick standing up with the atty down for the past few days. 1 cart lasts me almost the whole day. No flooded atty, no dried out wick (see caveat below). Great flavor every hit. To refill the cart, I used a paperclip to "break the seal" and put 25+ drops back in the cart. In fact, the first refill was taking so much liquid, that I thought I was actually missing the cart altogether and dripping onto the floor.

One caveat. On the first day, I put the Stick on its side because I was a little nervous of flooding. Well, it didn't wick well for me on its side and I got the dried out taste. So, I did the thermometer trick to snap the liquid down to the atty. DO NOT DO THIS with the foam if the cart is over half full. With the large pore size, a whole lot of liquid came right out and it did indeed flood the atomizer. I cleaned everything up and started over. This time I just propped the Stick up vertical. No flooding since.

Huge thanks to everyone who has done the initial legwork on this foam mod.

Vape on,
Jed

 

[PaulZ]

im going out to buy this tomorrow. i must try this foam stuff in my 510

 

[Dredbull]

I have and LOVE it, even tho I pack a few ptb mixed bags. My foam is a mixure of fluids I like it, and if i need more clouds I drop a few drops of ecopure and away I go.

 

[decatur]

This stuff is great. One question: some folks have said when their carts are dry their vapor just goes away. When mine goes dry I take a big gnarly drag of burnt nasty vapor I can't say its much different than when a poly or PTB cart goes dry, but maybe more pronounced and immediate. Is that a sign that my atty is going dead, or needs cleaning? It would just be nice if I had a friendlier reminder to refill.

 

[decatur]

Here's a simple technique when topping off for people having trouble completely refilling. Add several quick drops...there's no need to wait for it to completely soak through. Grab the cart between finger and thumb with the mouth hole facing away from your grip and do a quick windmill motion. Centrifugal force pushes the juice to the bottom of the cart and you can continue topping off. Repeat as necessary, but once or twice is probably all you need.

 

[hxj]

This stuff is great. One question: some folks have said when their carts are dry their vapor just goes away. When mine goes dry I take a big gnarly drag of burnt nasty vapor I can't say its much different than when a poly or PTB cart goes dry, but maybe more pronounced and immediate. Is that a sign that my atty is going dead, or needs cleaning? It would just be nice if I had a friendlier reminder to refill.

In my admittedly limited personal experience, that taste will occur with ANY filler when the atomizer starts to go dry, because it's not the filler burning, it's the atomizer eating itself—specifically, the white fiber wick that connects the mesh bit to the heating coil area.

If you let the atomizer get too dry, it heats up so hot it starts to burn the wick. This appears to be one of the two main causes of atomizer death: the wick finally burning all the way through so that no liquid actually makes it to the coil anymore. (The other is a coil getting so gunked up with caked-on residue that it burns out from the increased heat or breaks the circuit from the pressure. You can prevent the coil-gunk death somewhat by regular cleaning and using better liquids, but the only way to prevent wick-burning death is by keeping the atomizer wet during use—and every time you taste that burnt flavor, the atty is one step closer to the rubbish bin.)

YMMV, as may your atomizers: I use mostly L88b and 306a ones, myself, and the above may not apply to other models.

 

[DC2]

In my admittedly limited personal experience, that taste will occur with ANY filler when the atomizer starts to go dry, because it's not the filler burning, it's the atomizer eating itself—specifically, the white fiber wick that connects the mesh bit to the heating coil area.

I second this motion.

If you let the atomizer get too dry, it heats up so hot it starts to burn the wick. This appears to be one of the two main causes of atomizer death: the wick finally burning all the way through so that no liquid actually makes it to the coil anymore. (The other is a coil getting so gunked up with caked-on residue that it burns out from the increased heat or breaks the circuit from the pressure. You can prevent the coil-gunk death somewhat by regular cleaning and using better liquids, but the only way to prevent wick-burning death is by keeping the atomizer wet during use—and every time you taste that burnt flavor, the atty is one step closer to the rubbish bin.)

Well said.

 

[cazzz29]

i have the flugal foam, it worked good but it looks plasticky to me, does anyone know how this holds up to heat. I thought it may be melting slightly when using it, but it could have been me being nervous.

 

[Luv2CUSmile]

Okay, I have my FluVall but now am wondering should I also get the Aquaclear... I haven't had the need to refill filler yet but am eager to rip out a good one just to do it and see how it works...
Ilike the concept behind the Aquaclear though- I am opposite cazzz though- I think the Aquaclear seems to be plasticky... Yet many people are having success with it...?
Well, I am going to try out the FluVal first- then I may try Aquaclear just to see the difference...
Oh! & I already had the idea of- when using Aquaclear (the blue filter) and needing to "plug" w/ polyfill (FluVal) at the top - Just use a hole punch to punch out a circular piece of FluVal to put right on top of cart to keep blue filter from leaking... A hole punch should be exact size of cart diameter... & no "wad" needed...
At any rate, as soon as my new liquids come in, I will be trying out my FluVal... WTH! I need to see if it will work when I really need it to!

 

[nwofoxhound]

Just FYI, I think if I remember correctly, this stuff can emit carbon monoxide if burned beyond whatever temp it was (275 i think) and carbon monoxide is odorless and tasteless 8-o

I hope you guys are willing to trust ppl online. Just know for sure that your atty wont burn it... Personally, I am skeptical about this mod.

 

[cmdrmaxwell]

Just FYI, I think if I remember correctly, this stuff can emit carbon monoxide if burned beyond whatever temp it was (275 i think) and carbon monoxide is odorless and tasteless 8-o

I hope you guys are willing to trust ppl online. Just know for sure that your atty wont burn it... Personally, I am skeptical about this mod.

i have been using it for 30 or so days now, still alive and kickin!

using on 401, 510, vapre51 w 801 and soon to be SB w 510 at 6v!

 

[AcidGhost]

I just tried the MarineLand Rite-Size "U" H.O.T. Magnum sleeves today after reading this thread.... and WOW what a difference. I have had a Joye 510 for about 6 days or so and was getting discouraged. I could get maybe one or two good hits off it and then back to a burned taste. I had heard so much about the PTB method and how great it was. I tried several variations and it seemed to be a big hassle (those bags are NOT easy to work with) with little payoff (not wicking that great... leftover e-liquid after seeming to run dry).

I went by the local pet store. Found it in about 30 seconds. Went home and cut a strip with slight arrow at one end. Inserted into my cart and filled. Took about 1 min. I had delicious vaper for a couple hours and it still seems to be keeping up. No leaks to speak of.

I will give it a few days trail run but this is the EASIEST best working solution I have found so far.

 

[opuscroakus]

Just FYI, I think if I remember correctly, this stuff can emit carbon monoxide if burned beyond whatever temp it was (275 i think) and carbon monoxide is odorless and tasteless 8-o

I hope you guys are willing to trust ppl online. Just know for sure that your atty wont burn it... Personally, I am skeptical about this mod.

Since this never comes in contact with the coil of the atomizer there isn't a problem. The bridge doesn't get near that hot or your cartridges would melt.

I have been using this for over a month and the only problem I had was not washing it out enough in the beginning and I got the plasticy taste from the filter. I now wash the filter with soap and water for a few minutes and then rinse it really well. It completely removed the funky plastic taste and I can vape for hours on one fill.

 

[Coffin Nailer]

Here's a simple technique when topping off for people having trouble completely refilling. Add several quick drops...there's no need to wait for it to completely soak through. Grab the cart between finger and thumb with the mouth hole facing away from your grip and do a quick windmill motion. Centrifugal force pushes the juice to the bottom of the cart and you can continue topping off. Repeat as necessary, but once or twice is probably all you need.

I use a precision oiler with my 510 carts and fill from the bottom up. Just stick the needle end of the oiler between the Poly Fill and the cart wall to the bottom of the cart. squeeze until the top of the poly is damp looking. This (in my opinion) removes all air from the poly and allows proper wicking. I also prime the bridge with a couple (2-3) small drops from the oiler and re-attach the atty to the cart. When my cig stops producing satisfying vapor (too many puffs to count) I pull the poly out and it is white and almost dry from top to bottom. It is dry enough that I can roll it between my fingers and re-insert into the cart. I usually turn the poly around (stick the part that was on top in first) because the side that was on top seems to be frizzy and the part that was on the bottom seems to be re-compacted (repaired). This method seems to work well for me with the poly that came with the cart and I don't have to worry about blue fish foam that nobody seems to know the safety aspects of when heated and inhaled. Just my 2-cents

 

[cmdrmaxwell]

anybody using it w the SB and having luck cuz i am not getting the superb performance like i was gettin on my normal 510 and 401!

 

[cdmcfud]

I'm using the Eheim filterpad mod as shown on the first page of this post. I'm using the needle oilier bottles to fill from the bottom up. It seems to work very well with 6v and 3.7v with a drip start. I haven't had any burnt carts, or have had to drip unless the cart was empty. They last for hours too. I love it.

 

[Dredbull]

I got some a while ago, tried the ptb and agree its nice but wow talk about a juice trap.

Went back to this mod and changed the shape and thickness of the filter... WOW what a change! nice not ick tasting fog.

Glad I picked a block of this stuff up.

 

[seminolewind]

I have been using those marineland sleeves (same as the rest) for 4 months now. On a 901, I cut it about 1/2 inch thick, push it into the cart, and cut straight across. I stick a syringe needle down the side, and fill from the bottom up. Then top it off a bit. The best fill for me is to drip until the top just starts to look wet. I find that the first few hours is kinda a break in period. Then it gives tons of vapor and you're refilling alot cause of the amount of vapor. But then you hit this great stable period, my last was a week long, that it just plugs away enjoyably. Towards the end of it's life, it seems like you are not really getting good vapor and it needs to be topped off alot. Time to toss it and insert a new one. I also discovered that my mod, the nicostick, with the 3.7 volt battery is the best because the bat actually charges to 4.1 or 4.2, and I get the best vapor down to 3.6 volts. When I feel like the vapor is thinning out, I get another charged battery. I also seem to feel that different e-juices vape differently. Seems like the thinner ones work better.

 

[nocomply]

excuse my lack of knowledge, but I picked up some blue stuff a couple months back, and I could never get it to wick right.

It's blue, and looks just like the stuff in the first picture, but it's smaller cells.

Are you guys using that type of blue stuff, or the stuff that looks kinda like polyfil or fluval but is blue, because I have seen both...

I am trying to fill tiny 084 carts, which is a task, but if it works in one, it should work in most all carts.

Thanks in advance.