Help: Can't get my new 510 to work

[Ratty11]

Just got the madvapes smok Tech 510 Mega Kit but I can't get it to work. The little instruction booklet that came with doesn't match the model. I did figure most of it out.

- When I plugged it in to charge it the little green light came on after about 15 seconds like it was all charged up already. Still, I let it charge for four hours.
- Went to madvapes' FAQ video to see that I had to push the button as I inhaled to make it work. The instruction booklet didn't mention a button and said it was automatic.
- Confirmed that the 5 cartridges I got in the kit were prefilled and all I had to do was insert them.
- Pretty confident I assembled everything correctly. Removed the blank at the end and screwed in the cartridge.

So I push the button and inhale, the little blue light comes on at the end but I'm not getting anything. There's maybe a tiny hint of *something* and the end of the cig gets warm. I'm being careful to keep it level, not at an angle. One thing I can't find anywhere: at the end of the cig where the cartridge screws in there is a thin strip of foam covering the metal terminal. Am I supposed to remove that? It doesn't look like it's supposed to be removed cause I'd have to get a small pin or something to get down in there.

So if that foam isn't supposed to be removed does anybody have suggestions for how I can get this to work?

 

[acv987]

Can you show a pic of the foam?

 

[player30]

I have never used MadVapes, and so I can't help you. It sounds like to me the foam should be removed. Have you posted this on MV forum?

 

[KeithB]

I think the foam is probably a metal mesh that's supposed to be there. The filler in you cartridge should make contact with it to wick the e-juice into the atomizer. Maybe your cartridge isn't all the way in? Maybe you need to pull the filler out a little bit so it is touching the bridge? If it's getting warm, it sounds like it's functional. Do you have any juice you could drip a few drops directly onto the atty?

 

[Hoosier]

Could you go to about 2:30 on this video and tell us which part of the cig has this foam?

 

[Rosa]

Is yours a two piece e-cig or a three piece e-cig?

2 pc: battery + cartomizer
3 pc: battery + atomizer + cartridge

 

[Ratty11]

I found some images on Google. This is the atomizer:

http://www.madvapes.com/assets/images/productimages/510atomizer.jpg

Aha! I just found a picture of the interior of the atomizer with the foam thing here:

http://creative.epsinternet.com/apps/photofile/uploads/pointy-901-ZYFYNn.jpg

My eyes aren't good enough to tell whether it's foam or a wire mesh. When I press the button the element *behind* the foam glows red but the "foam" does not glow.

 

[Zurd]

- Went to MadVapes' FAQ video to see that I had to push the button as I inhaled to make it work. The instruction booklet didn't mention a button and said it was automatic.

Wrong booklet that came with the ecig. Your ecig is a manual one. Better than an automatic tho, not many people uses automatic. Atomizer takes a while to break so they can perform very well, you could try dripping instead of using cartridges. Just remove the foam in a cartridge and drip 2-3 drops directly in the atomizer, you'll have to remove the cartridge everytime for dripping tho.

 

[Ratty11]

Is yours a two piece e-cig or a three piece e-cig?

2 pc: battery + cartomizer
3 pc: battery + atomizer + cartridge

There's the battery, there's the thing I'm calling an atomizer but maybe it's a cartomizer? Then I push the cartridge into that.

 

[classwife]

That is your wire mesh -the bridge..leave it .

Your atty probably does not have any liquid...
Remove atty...blow any possible primer out into a tissue...replace. Prefilled carts don't wick liquid to the bridge (wire/foam thing) very well...give your PV a kind of "thermometer shake" to get some liquid on it.....did you buy extra liquid ? If so, put 3 or 4 drops on that bridge then put cart on....

vape with light end tilted down a little....

for your 510 , this is great !
http://www.cignot.com/help_answer.asp?ID=20#131

 

[5vz]

Yes, you push the cartridge into the atomizer. If the polyfill stuff is not touching the metal mesh thing that gets hot it will not work. You can pull the polyfill stuff down just a bit with a paperclip or whatever, put it back on and try it again. Try a different cartridge (polyfill thing) and see if it makes any difference.

To be honest, I started with a 510, and quickly switched to mods b/c the 510 just does not produce enough vapor for me, that could be what you are experiencing too.

 

[Zurd]

Aha! I just found a picture of the interior of the atomizer with the foam thing here:

http://creative.epsinternet.com/apps/photofile/uploads/pointy-901-ZYFYNn.jpg

It's a mesh or wick, sometype of metal, over the bridge of the atomizer, no need to remove it.

Some people do though, they call it dewicking and/or debridging, you can't use cartridge after, it's only for drippers.

 

[Bradder]

All good suggestions. If the atty is glowing it should be working. You might try pushing the button a second before you take your first draw and hold it while you take a slow steady draw into your mouth. Short, quick draws will often make the atty hot, taste hot, and not vape. Go with a slow, steady draw.

 

[Rosa]

That is your wire mesh -the bridge..leave it .

Your atty probably does not have any liquid...
Remove atty...blow any possible primer out into a tissue...replace. Prefilled carts don't wick liquid to the bridge (wire/foam thing) very well...give your PV a kind of "thermometer shake" to get some liquid on it.....did you buy extra liquid ? If so, put 3 or 4 drops on that bridge then put cart on....

vape with light end tilted down a little....

Do it this way.
Yes, you have the standard 3 piece system.


It's easier if you have some e-liquid to drip in there and start up the wicking process. Do you have some e-liquid?

 

[dormouse]

There are 3 pieces
battery-atomizer-cart

The atomizer screws onto the battery
The cart should be pushed, not screwed onto the atty, and the juice cup of the cart is best lined up like this
[==]
_/\_

The stuffing in the cart needs to be moist on top and reach up to somewhere near the top of the cart

The stuffing belongs in the cart

The bit of white you see in _/\_ this part of the atty belongs there - it is the wick that absorbs juice from the cart and brings it to the atty

Any foam or plastic strip over the threaded end of your battery should be removed (never seen that but some batteries might ship that way to protect the terminals

Manual batteries are best - less work and more control of your drag, more sealed and won't turn on accidentally in wind etc.
You shift your press and release a bit earlier in time than your drag
press.. about 1/2 to 1 second later start dragging.......and before end of drag - release the button - while continuing to drag out already-made vapor

 

[Ratty11]

for your 510 , this is great !
Cignot your Midwest Electronic Cigarette store.

That's a helpful site. Nice that it's the same model as mine. But, still no luck. I tried a different cartridge (Marlboro 25 mg if that helps), shook it vigorously like a thermometer first, pushed it into the atomizer aligned as illustrated on the site above, pushed the button then took a long draw into my mouth with the cig tilted slightly downward. I taste a little something, I can feel a hint of warm in my lungs and a bit of a tang, but certainly not a trace of vapor "smoke" like the guy exhales in the video, not so much as a tiny puff. The filler in the cartridge is not pushed into the back, it comes right to the top so no need to fish it out with a paper clip or anything. I tried it several times but no change.

I didn't get any liquid, just the five pre-filled cartridges. Do those things even work?

 

[Rosa]

That's a helpful site. Nice that it's the same model as mine. But, still no luck. I tried a different cartridge (Marlboro 25 mg if that helps), shook it vigorously like a thermometer first, pushed it into the atomizer aligned as illustrated on the site above, pushed the button then took a long draw into my mouth with the cig tilted slightly downward. I taste a little something, I can feel a hint of warm in my lungs and a bit of a tang, but certainly not a trace of vapor "smoke" like the guy exhales in the video, not so much as a tiny puff. The filler in the cartridge is not pushed into the back, it comes right to the top so no need to fish it out with a paper clip or anything. I tried it several times but no change.

I didn't get any liquid, just the five pre-filled cartridges. Do those things even work?

Without getting my hands on it, the only guess I have left is that I'm wondering if your carts were dried up somehow... or else maybe they weren't full to begin with. I hope it's only that and not a bad atty....What a PITA!

If you take the cartridge off and (keeping the atomizer on) press the button and look inside... does the bridge inside - or the wicking material (the threads stuck underneath the bridge) do they glow? Does it make a hissing sort of sound? Have you tried your other atomizer?

 

[Ratty11]

Without getting my hands on it, the only guess I have left is that I'm wondering if your carts were dried up somehow... or else maybe they weren't full to begin with. I hope it's only that and not a bad atty....What a PITA!

If you take the cartridge off and (keeping the atomizer on) press the button and look inside... does the bridge inside - or the wicking material (the threads stuck underneath the bridge) do they glow? Does it make a hissing sort of sound? Have you tried your other atomizer?

I think it must be dried up cartridges. I swapped in the other atomizer and it sizzled when the button was pressed like you said but still no luck. The cottony stuff in the cartridges is pretty dry. Is it supposed to be damp or anything?

 

[Hoosier]

I think it must be dried up cartridges. I swapped in the other atomizer and it sizzled when the button was pressed like you said but still no luck. The cottony stuff in the cartridges is pretty dry. Is it supposed to be damp or anything?

It is suppose to look like a slushy. Yes, it is usually very damp.

 

[dormouse]

Could be dried up carts. It is also possible you were accidentally shipped blank carts. or the juice may have settled tot the bottom. Try poking the pointy end of a toothpick down into the juice cup right next to the stuffing - as far down as it goes, and see it if comes out damp? If yes, then you could try using something to push the stuffing down into the juice then use an unbent paperclip or something to uncompress and pull back up the stuffing.

If you want to check you equipment - since you have no ejuice...to test your equipment you could get plain USP Glycerin at Walmart (pharmacy aisles) and put a few drops of that near the middle of your cart stuffing and try to vape that to see if you get vapor.

Meanwhile - if you think there is no juice in the carts, call your vendor and tell him because there should have been juice in them. A prefilled cart doesn't last very long before you need ejuice to top it off but there should be ejuice in them if that is what you ordered.