I've gotten some hard draw/bad flavor problems too, especially with just refilling and no wash. Tried GhettoCowgirl's Everclear method today and now all is well! It got more brown gunk out of the cartridge than just the wash does. Plus, if I'm ever hard up for nicotine, I can drink the soaking jar.
Hard Draw/ Refilling Carts.
- Thread starter jgrubb
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
Oh my don't pop a vessel. Just go to McDonald's and get a couple of their straws (theirs work great because they are almost as big as the carts) I cut mine in half put it on the inside of the cart and dry it out. I also put it on the medal part and blow again just to get that all dry. Kinda like a blow dryer. I do it on both ends and get that puppy really dry. I have no worries of popping a vessel...
Hope that helps.
There's a second part to this story.
If you plan on refilling a cartomizer... don't even think about "over-vaping" a carto that is going dry. At the very first hint of marshmallow, burnt taste, or decreased vapor... STOP!
The coil is wrapped around a heat resistant wick (fiberglass braid). This is the engine. That assembly is then wrapped with a layer of heat resistant material that has limited "wicking" characteristics. This is the fuel line. Then that entire assembly is wrapped with another layer of filler. This material is different from the inner layer, and it is selected for its ability to hold and feed a large volume of liquid. It's the gas tank. When you look down through the top of your carto, what you are primarily seeing is the last, outer layer.
When the tank runs dry, and the fuel line is deprived of liquid, the coil gets quite hot. And although the materials are heat resistant, they are not heat-proof! The first layer of material (fuel line) can and will ultimately burn/melt.... and remnants of it will fuse to the coil. In extreme cases, the outer material (gas tank) will then burn and melt too.
When this happens the fuel/liquid delivery system is irreparably damaged.. and no rinsing, soaking, drying and refilling is going to bring it back. It's shot and you really have no choice but to dispose of it and move on.
Soooo.... just like with modern automobiles... it is wise to stop short and refill the tank before you actually run out of fuel.
If you plan on refilling a cartomizer... don't even think about "over-vaping" a carto that is going dry. At the very first hint of marshmallow, burnt taste, or decreased vapor... STOP!
The coil is wrapped around a heat resistant wick (fiberglass braid). This is the engine. That assembly is then wrapped with a layer of heat resistant material that has limited "wicking" characteristics. This is the fuel line. Then that entire assembly is wrapped with another layer of filler. This material is different from the inner layer, and it is selected for its ability to hold and feed a large volume of liquid. It's the gas tank. When you look down through the top of your carto, what you are primarily seeing is the last, outer layer.
When the tank runs dry, and the fuel line is deprived of liquid, the coil gets quite hot. And although the materials are heat resistant, they are not heat-proof! The first layer of material (fuel line) can and will ultimately burn/melt.... and remnants of it will fuse to the coil. In extreme cases, the outer material (gas tank) will then burn and melt too.
When this happens the fuel/liquid delivery system is irreparably damaged.. and no rinsing, soaking, drying and refilling is going to bring it back. It's shot and you really have no choice but to dispose of it and move on.
Soooo.... just like with modern automobiles... it is wise to stop short and refill the tank before you actually run out of fuel.
Man I love this guy! I never knew the how... but I have always said stop vaping at the first sign of burnt taste and refill. He said it way better than I ever would have. Thanks Scottbee!
you really don't even have to blow! If you take a papper towel cut or tear into fours then twist up one end and put it in the end it will actually wick all of the liquid up and out of the carto sometimes you have to do it twice but they are extreamely dry! I do this when cleaning mine and they refill about 16 drops right off if I let sit and dry further I can get about 18 drops in then I let mine sit with the juice but I can use them ouright especially IF you use the plunger method! IF you have the end caps and little plug in place you can pull one of the end caps partially off and squeese ot make suction this will help distribute the liquid through the cartomizer more evenly and also let you see right off if you can put more juice in! The only time I blow is when i seem to overfill the carto ( but that happens less now that I am gettign this down!) ALSO extreamely hot warm seems to help remove the buildup better I soak/ swirl mine in close to boiling water ( just off the stove use a small container and change the really hot water till the pan runs out) then rinse under the tap ( guess IM a bit lazy but I like to do mine all at the same time and this saves me some time and money on my water bill too !
!
where did you say you went to carto college Scottbee?? LoL.... Excellent explanations.. Thank you! Makes perfect since now... I'll bet you anything i was taking them to dry, thats why no matter what i was doing i was getting no flavor, hot carts, and a hard draw....
I agree about using more than water to rinse, I tried vodka for a final rinse, not a terribly high proof either, just what I had here. Yup it got them cleaner and fluffier than just the hot water. I did hot water, blew them out lightly(no vein popping), dropped them in a glass of vodka. Then I blew them out again and filled with vodka one more time, lightly blew out again, paper towel trick(yup gets 'em good and dry), for about a half hour, then filled. BEST results with refilling ever. I have to think that basic vodka couldn't have done nearly as well as the everclear so I'm gonna get me some of that.
Hey if I end up inebriated it's Ghetto Cowgirls fault, not mine. My lips were getting numb from blowing out the vodka, can only guess how that'll be with the everclear!
Hey if I end up inebriated it's Ghetto Cowgirls fault, not mine. My lips were getting numb from blowing out the vodka, can only guess how that'll be with the everclear!
Oh Boy, it has been a while since I last posted here. For those who do not know me, I am (like many others) a hard core VAPOR KING FAN!!!
Now, Scottbee and many others have mentioned pretty good points. Now, I have to be very honest with everyone here. Follw this principle:
"KISS"
Keep It Simple Silly!!
One of the best things about the vapor king is that it is very low maintenance compared to other e-cigs on the market and I have tried many of them. This was the main reason I became a dedicated user. If a VK user starts to wash out the fillers with Vodka, soda, water and what have you, you are really defeatling the purpose here of having a virtually maintenance free e-cig.
Using the VK for sheesh, since it came out pretty much, I have never ever washed any of my carts out. I refill 2-4 times then I throw them out and order a new batch. They are, after all "disposables".
The issue with the hard/heavy draw, I keep a pin handy and on the pass thru and battery terminals, I use the pin to clean out the gunk that accumulates on the air holes on the side of the terminal and the air hole on top. I do not stick the pin all the way in, just a little bit in, enough to scrape out the juice gunk. Once I do that, the batteries and PT's are good to go with back to normal air flow. Yes the carts at times do have something to do with air flow to a certain extent, but you need to clear the air flow from the source, otherwise your carts will burn hotter resulting in wasted juice and shortening the life of the cart.
Also, every night before recharging the batteries, I use a paper towel and wipe off the daily accumulation of juice gunk off the battery terminals as well as the pass thru. You have to keep them clean especially if you refill.
When I order carts, I order at least 40 at a time. They do last me a while with refilling because I am always rotating them.
Try not to mix flavored juice with a different flavored cart. That will affect the overall taste and enjoyment.
Bottom line, nothing is better than coming home after a long day at work, kick back and have a vape with the vapor king. Life is too short to be spending the majority of your time trying to figure something out that Steve has made very easy to enjoy and use. So go ahead and refill the carts and enjoy quality time with your VK and let other e-cig users who use other models waste their time trying to figure out how to get the most for their buck.
Steve has already figured that out for us.
Now, Scottbee and many others have mentioned pretty good points. Now, I have to be very honest with everyone here. Follw this principle:
"KISS"
Keep It Simple Silly!!
One of the best things about the vapor king is that it is very low maintenance compared to other e-cigs on the market and I have tried many of them. This was the main reason I became a dedicated user. If a VK user starts to wash out the fillers with Vodka, soda, water and what have you, you are really defeatling the purpose here of having a virtually maintenance free e-cig.
Using the VK for sheesh, since it came out pretty much, I have never ever washed any of my carts out. I refill 2-4 times then I throw them out and order a new batch. They are, after all "disposables".
The issue with the hard/heavy draw, I keep a pin handy and on the pass thru and battery terminals, I use the pin to clean out the gunk that accumulates on the air holes on the side of the terminal and the air hole on top. I do not stick the pin all the way in, just a little bit in, enough to scrape out the juice gunk. Once I do that, the batteries and PT's are good to go with back to normal air flow. Yes the carts at times do have something to do with air flow to a certain extent, but you need to clear the air flow from the source, otherwise your carts will burn hotter resulting in wasted juice and shortening the life of the cart.
Also, every night before recharging the batteries, I use a paper towel and wipe off the daily accumulation of juice gunk off the battery terminals as well as the pass thru. You have to keep them clean especially if you refill.
When I order carts, I order at least 40 at a time. They do last me a while with refilling because I am always rotating them.
Try not to mix flavored juice with a different flavored cart. That will affect the overall taste and enjoyment.
Bottom line, nothing is better than coming home after a long day at work, kick back and have a vape with the vapor king. Life is too short to be spending the majority of your time trying to figure something out that Steve has made very easy to enjoy and use. So go ahead and refill the carts and enjoy quality time with your VK and let other e-cig users who use other models waste their time trying to figure out how to get the most for their buck.
Steve has already figured that out for us.
Last edited:
There are some gr8 methods in here on refilling... I learned something tonight as well and wanted to share for the people that might be wondering but never write or post anything. I had been using an automatic battery, and when i was refilling, i noticed that the draw was progressively harder. I received a pass-thru today from Steve, and when i broke out a couple of those old "hard draw" cartos I threw them on the pass-thru and everything was fine.. With the manual button, the draw on the refilled was a touch "stiffer" then a new cart, but by all means not hard like it was on the automatic battery. If anyone has read this thread and tried some of the prior mentioned methods and they are not working for you, and you have the auto batt only, you might consider a manual battery or pass-thru. It really does change the draw... Thanks again guys for all the knowledge posted earlier in this thread...
Did anybody ever think that what they fill there carts with,,"meaning E-JUICE" is different than what steve has them filled with at the factory..!! "ahh lightbuld go off" I know if I had a ecig and cart munufacturing company here in the states I would want my carts to taste better than anybody else's especially that first drag and there after, so maybe there is a different process in the vapor king filled carts than just refilling with purchased ejuice and refilling... I deffinitaly taste a nicer taste with a freshly opened cart from vapor king than refilling,,,, Maybe we should be asking Steve at vapor king to let us all know his secret filling process?????????????? think he will tell us??????????? NO WAY !!!! I know I wouldnt if I didnt have to and would want it to be that way until someone made me tell.....!! tell$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
MWA102464
MWA102464
It's the same juice. The harder draw is probably because you've gotten juice down into the battery or at least on the connector. The juice will build up and reduce airflow.
When I refill, I do it with the little plug in the battery hole. After filling, I remove the plug and blow from the battery end to make sure there's no juice in there.
My refilled cartos taste & vape the same as a brand new one but I don't think they last quite as long.
Just my $.02
When I refill, I do it with the little plug in the battery hole. After filling, I remove the plug and blow from the battery end to make sure there's no juice in there.
My refilled cartos taste & vape the same as a brand new one but I don't think they last quite as long.
Just my $.02
MWA102464
According to Steve, to get the same juice to drip, it's in the 5ml bottles.
According to Steve, to get the same juice to drip, it's in the 5ml bottles.
This is correct. You will get a better draw with the USB pass thru. However, keep in mind that the USB pass thru works with 5volts of power vs the 3.7 volts from a battery. The higher voltage with the additional power/heat will burn the juice faster giving you the lighter draw.
Business secrets are just that business secrets. What I can confirm is the fact that a fresh cart from the factory is the best way to go. Most of us refill to save money in the long run but the bottom line is (and always was) that the cartomizers are "disposables". We can only get so much from them before they eventually die off.
Just like any other e-cig, the VK needs to be maintained. Keep the juice gunk away from the battery terminals and holes on a daily basis to avoid the hard draw issue. If all else fails, try a new cart.
Ditto. I've been making the same point for months. However, I do not agree with refilling from the center hole. Being that the carts are "hand made", not every cart is exactly the same. There will be some where the center hole is off centered and there will be others where the o-ring is either on to close to the heating element or to far. Refilling from the hole will cause juice to be introduced in vast amounts to the heating element where it will burn much faster and in the long run, you going through juice like water. It's always a good idea to take the extra time to pop the top off and refill onto the fiber away from the wire. Carts will last longer and you'll be able to drip just the right amount of the juice into it.
I guess I wasn't clear. I refill from the top, but put the plug in to prevent leakage, then I remove the plug and blow from the battery end to clear any liquid that might've leaked into the hole.
I refilled last night for the first time. I took the top and gasket of a cart, rinsed for a while with warm water, put the end of a paper towel in to wick water out (without pushing into the batting), and used a hair dryer to evaporate the rest of the water. After letting the cart sit for an hour or so I put 15 drops in, put the gasket and cap back on, and let it sit standing on the battery end for a couple of hours without the condoms on. I tried to vape it and, nothing. I heard the normal crackly sounds but got nothing from the cart. The draw wasn't hard or anything, I just got nothing out of it. I rinsed it because I was changing flavors. Am I missing something?
- Status
