first go at carto tanks

[solace.discord]

ok, I'm frustrated. I gave up on cartos two years ago because of the dry, burnt hits, and it's happening again.

Boge F16 arrived yesterday-
I primed with about 25 drops, no more pooling, let sit for about 10 minutes, put in the tank, filled the tank, insert toothpick in the bottom and took some dry pulls to suck more juice into the tank, saw air bubbles, did this until no more bubbles. works great for about 1/2 hour, then a burnt hit. filler on top is no longer slushy (barely moist), top off, let sit, drip again until no more pooling.. 1/2 hour later, same, and no change in tank level.


primed again, let sit overnight.. added a few drops this morning until no more pooling.. 1/2 hour later, burnt hit.


I've dripped more than 3mL into the carto at this point, and it doesn't seem to be drawing from the tank. what am I doing wrong?

 

[Plumes.91]

what e-liquid mixture are you using? and is your carto a laser punched 1 hole, 2 hole, or screw punched 1 or 2 hole? This is all you have to think about when it comes to carto tanks. If your getting dry hits, it probably needs another hole or a lighter e-liquid. 100% VG liquid tends to need 2 holes at minimum.

 

[solace.discord]

using approx 50/50 juice, and the single-coil, double hole, flanged carto that came with the tank.
Boge F16 Tank

is the top of the carto supposed to stay slushy, or is it normal to be just slightly moist after a while? why would sticking a toothpick in the center from the top stop the burning hits?

 

[gjshaw29]

I've found when I use tanks that the top never looks slushy but I'm still getting good vapor. I think it's because the coil stays wet because it's by the hole in the carto. Like mentioned above try another hole or try enlarging the existing hole with a nail. I've had to do that as well. Hope ya get your tank running, the work great when ya get them going.

 

[solace.discord]

when it works, I love it immensely! great flavor and vapor, much better than the T3s I was obsessed about previously. it's this initial fiddling and burning that is driving me crazy!

 

[Stormy1960]

I had that problem till I got cartos from Ikenvape, the 510 platinum punch have been great..best flavor I have ever had and they last forever. Never a burnt taste!

 

[Uncle Willie]

I have found that once you get a burnt hit, the carto is essentially toast as it will have that taste for good ..

I always drip about 3 drops into the threaded end of a carto as well just for extra saturation .. and when I fill the carto, I keep filling until it pools, then let it sit for a while and dump the pooled liquid back into the bottle ..

Myself, I am not a fan of the tiny laser hole cartos and I do my own with a Dremel ..

Lastly, sometimes you just get cartos that are stubborn and don't absorb like they should ..

 

[markfm]

The top can absolutely dry out, still be fine, it depends on the carto design. I'm another Ikenvape fan, stick with his standard 801 fusions or his 510 platinums.

I punch my own, use the punch carried by valleyviewvapes, Cartomizer Punch It's my design, but I put it in the public domain, anyone is free to use it (the parts are posted in the PIF area, but VVV sells it essentially at cost).

You should see a couple bubbles as you vape, during normal use. If not, I'd definitely go for widening the holes a bit. The punch I referenced can be used for that -- it has a fairly rapid flare, so you don't have to go deep into the carto to get the hole to widen.

(If you punch too deep you risk flooding.)

 

[solace.discord]

thanks everyone for the advice. I've heard mixed reviews about these Boge cartos- will certainly try another brand and see if that makes the difference.

as an update: I primed the carto again, let it be for a good hour and then it's been working fine, pulling juice from the tank. the burnt hit I got was like that of a dripping atty that needed more drops applied, not like the carto itself was burnt.. sorry for not explaining that in more detail earlier.

 

[echofinder]

Priming hits often do the trick - inhale sharply without firing the device. Look for bubbles exiting the intake hole(s); that means juice is entering.

When the tank is first filled, if the carto is saturated beforehand, it will not draw juice from the tank until the carto begins to dry out. Also, if you overfill the tank then that can affect the performance as well; there should be a gap of free space between the juice & the top of the tank all the way around. It is not bad to overfill it per se, I usually do it, but often the tank won't draw effectively until the juice level is lowered a bit & frequent priming hits are required.

Your carto itself may be affecting things, but I am not qualified to speak to this - I use 80PG juice & smoktech cartos; boges are widely reputed to have denser polyfill.

Carto tanks can be a PitA - each tank/carto type is different and any setup will have a learning curve, but through trial & error you will learn how to use your setup effectively & will be able to deal swiftly with any problems that come your way. I truly believe that carto-tanks are the best way to vape, and with experience are also the least hassle.

 

[bnrkwest]

You can also try thinning you juice with a few drops of distilled water. Tanks work best I have found with thin juice. I use 80/20 or 70/30 but no higher VG and usually no wicking problem, but I also have to do many draws on the tank without heat added to get the juice in the tank if i am chain vaping. I have been meaning to try the Ikanvape because Boges are not as good as they used to be, at least not for me. bnrk

 

[Mike36609]

Long live Smok cartos!

When I first started in all of this in 2011 I read a bunch of reviews, opinions, whatever you want to call them, about how great were Boge cartos. So I bought a couple of dozen, the absolute most terrible purchase of my vaping life. Rocks don't absorb liquid, to any great extent anyway, and neither does the filler in Boge cartos. Amazes me that people think those things are worthwhile.

Save yourself from all of the headaches and get Smok cartos.

 

[solace.discord]

You can also try thinning you juice with a few drops of distilled water. Tanks work best I have found with thin juice. I use 80/20 or 70/30 but no higher VG and usually no wicking problem, but I also have to do many draws on the tank without heat added to get the juice in the tank if i am chain vaping. I have been meaning to try the Ikanvape because Boges are not as good as they used to be, at least not for me. bnrk

I am a chain vaper! and while it is the reason I love large capacity delivery methods, this might be part of my problem.. need to slow it down a bit and get the hang of these before going on like I normally would/want to.

it's been going good for half of the day now- thank you everyone! love ECF!

 

[solace.discord]

Long live Smok cartos!

When I first started in all of this in 2011 I read a bunch of reviews, opinions, whatever you want to call them, about how great were Boge cartos. So I bought a couple of dozen, the absolute most terrible purchase of my vaping life. Rocks don't absorb liquid, to any great extent anyway, and neither does the filler in Boge cartos. Amazes me that people think those things are worthwhile.

Save yourself from all of the headaches and get Smok cartos.

that is my next stop- a local friend got the Inferno kit with tube tank, and I really wanted my own without that price tag. went to DV and got the F16 and F17 and two replacement cartos for a lower cost start.

have a cart sitting at ST with the locking slim and reg xl, I hear their cartos are awesome, and one of the few I feel comfy purchasing from that offer discounts based on quantity. pay day is tomorrow!

 

[Mike36609]

Good luck with it all... hope it goes well for you!

 

[solace.discord]

as the day has gone on and we've learned how to handle each other, these tanks are my new favs. my ADV in the bigg'un on the MVP, and the F17 carries my driving mix (Vacation & Nice Melons) for the Inferno. the vapor is awesome at my voltage/flavor preference.

I'm an official fan of carto tanks.

 

[Baditude]

as the day has gone on and we've learned how to handle each other, these tanks are my new favs. my ADV in the bigg'un on the MVP, and the F17 carries my driving mix (Vacation & Nice Melons) for the Inferno. the vapor is awesome at my voltage/flavor preference.

I'm an official fan of carto tanks.

Glad to see that you are starting to have some success. Cartotanks are my preferred delivery device, but I admit that there is a learning curve involved.

Common mistakes newcomers do is not priming the carto enough; filling their tank with the top cap off; or not having the correct draw technique.

I find that you need to give the tank time to refill the cartomizer. Too few or too small of holes (depending on the viscosity of the juice) can slow the speed of juice movement. Chain vaping prevents allowing the juice time to reach the carto in time for the next pull; doing a couple of draws without power can encourage more juice to enter the carto.

Too many holes or too large holes will have the opposite affect - too much juice in the carto and it floods. The trick is to find a happy medium with the juices you use and your vaping technique.

I find a slow, long, patient draw of 3 - 6 seconds works best. As you said, "Slow down."

There IS a difference between carto manufacturers and brands. Boge's filler material is more compact, so they are slower to absorb juice when filling, and may wick slower as you vape; they are less likely to flood, though.

Smoktech cartos have a looser or less dense filler so they are easier to fill and may wick faster while you vape, but are also more likely to flood.

I find the Ikenvapes to be somewhere in between. If you can get them, they are well worth the wait.

 

[Baditude]

as the day has gone on and we've learned how to handle each other, these tanks are my new favs. my ADV in the bigg'un on the MVP, and the F17 carries my driving mix (Vacation & Nice Melons) for the Inferno. the vapor is awesome at my voltage/flavor preference.

I'm an official fan of carto tanks.

Glad to see that you are starting to have some success. Cartotanks are my preferred delivery device, but I admit that there is a learning curve involved.

Common mistakes newcomers do is not priming the carto enough; filling their tank with the top cap off; or not having the correct draw technique.

I find that you need to give the tank time to refill the cartomizer. Too few or too small of holes (depending on the viscosity of the juice) can slow the speed of juice movement. Chain vaping prevents allowing the juice time to reach the carto in time for the next pull; doing a couple of draws without power can encourage more juice to enter the carto.

I find a slow, long, patient draw of 3 - 6 seconds works best. As you said, "Slow down."

There IS a difference between carto manufacturers and brands. Boge's filler material is more compact, so they are slower to absorb juice when filling, and may wick slower as you vape; they are less likely to flood, though.

Smoktech cartos have a looser or less dense filler so they are easier to fill and may wick faster while you vape, but are also more likely to flood.

I find the Ikenvapes to be somewhere in between. If you can get them, they are well worth the wait.
___

I've written several articles on cartos and cartotanks that you may find interesting and useful. You can access them by clicking the link beside Blog Entries under my avatar.

 

[solace.discord]

I've written several articles on cartos and cartotanks that you may find interesting and useful. You can access them by clicking the link beside Blog Entries under my avatar.

before I made my purchase, your blog posts helped me understand what I was getting into, where to get what, etc.. extremely helpful! thank you!

 

[solace.discord]

not sure of the brand that DV sells for their replacement cartos, but I got some in dual coil, and I don't care for the build or performance- the flanged bottom didn't fit right for some reason in the groove on the bottom of the F16, and I like single coils better (couldn't find a sweet spot with the duals).

I hope those aren't SmokTek brand, as I just ordered 1.7 and 2.0 2-hole single coils from ST- because of the reviews and they actually had other things I need!

I will try the Ikenvapes the next time around- if they had the 510 to eGo adapter, I would have purchased from them this morning instead. my concern on the Ikenvapes is many say their drip tips don't fit. I love my drip tips, so that would be a bummin situation for sure.