Found a good how-to on filling and priming carto tanks

[Rocketpunk]

Tube Tank Instructional Video - YouTube

I'm interested in what Baditude has to say about this. I think they get it across pretty well. Hate the guy's voice, reminds me of corporate training videos.

I recently got a slap yo mama and I can't believe I waited this long. Ingenious device, and will definitely protect your o-rings. Also, I never thought about re-inserting the silicone cartomizer cap beneath the drip tip to prevent any kind of accidental spillage.

 

[sawlight]

That's how I used to do it, until...............
I talked to Issac at Ikenvape one day and he was explaining how stupid simple it is to fill and prime one of these things! Put the carto in all the way, remove the top cap from the tank, fill with juice then, as you hold your thumb over the battery connector, slowly push the top cap on. Once on, hold the entire assy upside down for about 30 seconds.
As you push the cap into place it displaces the fluid forcing it into the carto priming it. Flipping it upside down lets the overage run down and saturate the top filler material.
It works slick as snot!

 

[Baditude]

Thanks for the find on the instructional video, Rocket. I found the majority of it well photographed and with the instructions easily explained. I do agree on the corporate trainer style of presentation being a slight turnoff, but he was very effective in getting points across.

My only complaint is a biased one. I don't care for a low resistance (1.5 ohm) cartomizer being recommended for a eGo type battery (3.7v or less). It can easily cause some flavors to taste burnt or harsh, especially to beginner vapors who might not know what could be causing that. In addition, although he didn't say, it was probably a dual coil cartomizer, which would drain an eGo battery down faster than a single coil cartomizer would.

Vaping Power Chart 2.0 - Imgur

I would have liked to have seen a tank tool such as the Slap Yo Moma tool used in the video, but that's probably asking for too much. I also like to put a wood tooth pick into the center air hole in the cartomizer when filling it to keep out unwanted juice that can cause flooding (and eliminates the need to blow it out with your mouth after filling). I personally don't see the need to replace the silicone cap back into the cartomizer, I've never experienced juice from the polyfiber leaking into my drip tip.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Once on, hold the entire assy upside down

Was this a typo, because I lost you there... Did you mean assembly?

 

[Rocketpunk]

I also like to put a wood tooth pick into the center air hole in the cartomizer when filling it to keep out unwanted juice that can cause flooding (and eliminates the need to blow it out with your mouth after filling).

I tried the toothpick trick but it kinda got in the way as I turned it to drip in the juice. Do you break it in half, or do you leave the whole thing stuck in?

 

[sawlight]

Was this a typo, because I lost you there... Did you mean assembly?

No typo, once you get the top cap on just flip the whole thing upside down, this lets the juice that would go out the battery side run back down and fill the rest of the fiber fill in the carto.

 

[Baditude]

I tried the toothpick trick but it kinda got in the way as I turned it to drip in the juice. Do you break it in half, or do you leave the whole thing stuck in?

I actually do both. I've gotten so it doesn't hinder me any more if I use the whole thing. But if it gets in your way, break it in half.

As you push the cap into place it displaces the fluid forcing it into the carto priming it. Flipping it upside down lets the overage run down and saturate the top filler material.

If this method works for you, I'm happy for you. However, I see a lot of new cartotankers do it this way and they get flooding of the carto. I think if you do your method, how well the carto's polyfill gets primed is rather hit or miss, either not enough or too much eliquid and no way to know before vaping. I just believe the method that I have settled on is better for the majority of people. Different strokes for different folks.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/3710-carto-tank-setup.html

 

[Rocketpunk]

I agree with Batitude. For experienced carto tank users, that method may (and probably does) work. But I don't necessarily want to risk flooding a carto. Dripping 30+ drops (some juices, I've learned, take more than that) works just fine for me.

However, they mentioned the blunt needle tip cap. I have seven of those things. I never thought about inserting them into the polyfill. Baditude, I defer to you. Have you tried this method?

 

[sawlight]

I guess I'm old hat, flooded carto's don't much bother me, just unscrew it and blow into a tissue and good to go. Doesn't slow me down much.

 

[Baditude]

However, they mentioned the blunt needle tip cap. I have seven of those things. I never thought about inserting them into the polyfill. Baditude, I defer to you. Have you tried this method?

Yes, I have done it, and it works rather well. Doing that would eliminate the "thermometer shake" portion of my methodology. Both methods work equally well. Some people want nothing to do with needles and a syringe, so I don't mention that method.

I often recommend CE3's for testing sample flavors for people who don't like to direct drip (like me). But using those requires filling them with a tiny needle and syringe, which turns some people off from the get go.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Yeah. Syringes have a stigma attached to them. My roommates know anything goofy or weird looking in my room is most likely used for vaping, but I draw the line at syringes (my roommates may understand, but I don't want family or friends accidentally walking into my room and seeing a tackle box with bottles of liquid and syringes lying around). But the blunt needle tip bottle caps aren't "weird" enough to be off-putting.

I just tried one on a dead carto and it pushed the polyfill down a little bit before breaking through. This OK?

 

[Rocketpunk]

I guess I'm old hat, flooded carto's don't much bother me, just unscrew it and blow into a tissue and good to go. Doesn't slow me down much.

Eventually I'll get to that level, but every drop I blow out the end is a drop I can't vape. I'm a juice hoarder. ;-)

 

[Baditude]

Yeah. Syringes have a stigma attached to them. My roommates know anything goofy or weird looking in my room is most likely used for vaping, but I draw the line at syringes (my roommates may understand, but I don't want family or friends accidentally walking into my room and seeing a tackle box with bottles of liquid and syringes lying around). But the blunt needle tip bottle caps aren't "weird" enough to be off-putting.

I just tried one on a dead carto and it pushed the polyfill down a little bit before breaking through. This OK?

That shouldn't affect the function of the polyfill or of the carto that I'm aware of. However, try working the tip between the pollyfil and the carto's steel edge, not "into" the polyfill itself. Using a true needletip, you can actually inject into the polyfill.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Would "twisting" the bottle and asserting gentle pressure work? Hell, I guess I can check for myself...

Just tried it. I'm using them on dead cartos already saturated with juice. I'm not going to rip open a fresh carto to try it now, but when the time comes I will try the "injection" method.

Baditude, where would we be without our beloved carto tanks? I've said it before, I'll say it again, these babies kept me in the game and off cigs, especially when I needed it the most.

 

[thrillcaptain]

Anyone tried this?

How to prime and fill a DCT (dual coil Cartomizer tank) - YouTube

works just fine for me, no added equipment necessary...

 

[Baditude]

Anyone tried this?

How to prime and fill a DCT (dual coil Cartomizer tank) - YouTube

works just fine for me, no added equipment necessary...

If you mean "no added equipment necessary" meaning no tank tool, that choice is up to you. But your tank's o-rings are still succeptable to being damaged by the cartomizer each time that it passes through an endcap hole. Watch this video as reference:



I've viewed the video thrill captain submitted before, and that technique is a viable option. If it works for you, I won't try to sway you in another direction. I just dislike needing to put my mouth on my tanks for any reason other than for actual vaping. Just like when people blow out the bottom of a tank to clear the air tube of juice, that repells me. I don't like tasting e-juice in my mouth, and is one of the reasons I came up with the tooth pic tip.

With the method that I have settled with, I can be confident that the cartomizer is as saturated as can be because I can actually see the polyfill as I fill it. With the method in the video above, you are guesstimating how wet the carto is, because you can't see inside the carto. Just my thoughts.

 

[RoadToNever]

I think thrillcaptain meant priming after the tank is filled by blocking the bottom hole with you finger and drawing heavily until the polyfill is saturated.

In my experience either way works. An advantage of the old way is that you can test your carto outside the the tank and dispose it conveniently if it happens to be a dud (always one or two in batch).

 

[Baditude]

I think thrillcaptain meant priming after the tank is filled by blocking the bottom hole with you finger and drawing heavily until the polyfill is saturated.

In my experience either way works. An advantage of the old way is that you can test your carto outside the the tank and dispose it conveniently if it happens to be a dud (always one or two in batch).

Perhaps I wasn't completely clear in my comments. In the video that thrillcaptain linked to, the lady doing the demonstration doesn't pre-fill the carto at all, instead relying on filling the tank first, and then filling the carto by drawing heavily on the drip tip while blocking the bottom hole. It's a minor point, but this is still a "blind" method of how much liquid is actually getting into the carto and can be inconsistant in the amount of liquid that gets into the carto.

The method that I employ, I can visually see how wet the polyfill is which results in consistant results every time. In addition, the method the lady shows can't be used with cartomizers that have a flange, as she is filling from below with the carto pulled up into the tank. The flange that Smoktech uses in their cartomizers prevents this from being possible.

And as you pointed out, pre-filling the carto allows you to test it out prior to putting into the tank to test for duds. It's a simple matter to block the hole(s) while testing it out outside of the tank.

As I said earlier, if you have a method that works for you continue using it. I only recommend my method because I have had fool-proof consistant results with no flooding or dry hits at all.


*EDIT* - I just want to point out here that I got the above video confused with another one that I had viewed the same day. It was later pointed out to me that in this video the young lady does indeed fill from the top of the carto. I had confused this video with one shown by Phiniac which demonstrates a bottom fill method http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_ad8BVZU6u8. My appologies for my previous inaccurate statements -- Baditude.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I would encourage you to try Baditude's advice. He's pretty much narrowed every possible question about carto tanks down to very wise answers. But like he said, if your method works for you, awesome. But just so you know, there's other ways out there that work very, very well. Baditude's advice and tips about carto tanks kept me in the game when I was ready to throw in the towel after experiencing major clearo failure.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I also just discovered a new use for my blunt needletip dropper lids. I kept wondering how to get that last drop of juice out of a tank in between refilling, cleaning, etc. Those needletip caps make EXCELLENT suction tools. I saw someone post in a thread to use a syringe to suck up any remaining drops of juice, and it clicked.

Wow. Between the slap yo mama and these needletip dropper lids, my refilling cartos has become much easier and simplified.