Help Me Understand Cartomizers

[supermarket]

When I bought my first e-cig, from Vapor4Life back in 2010, it used a 510 battery, and pre-filled cartos. The pre-filled cartos were suppoesd to be eq. to about 1pack of cigs, and then you throw them away.

As far as I remember, it was pretty close. A pack of cigs used to last me around a day, and a pre-filled carto lasted about the same.


However, now that I ordered the BOGE, blank cartos for my ego-c twist.....it seems once I fill up the cartos, they hardly last at ALL before I have to top it off.....maybe an hour or so tops.

Once I top it off, I get maybe 20 decent vapes from it, before it starts tasting run out.


Am I doing something wrong? Why did the pre-filled cartos last so much longer?



Also, I read on another thread, people saying a carto would last them all day before they had to top it off......how is there such a difference between my experience and theres? I'm not constantly vaping, so what am I missing?

 

[djsvapour]

It could be as simple as this.

Most prefilled cartomisers are medium to high resistance. They last longer because the don't use as much juice, because the combo of the battery and carto doesn't produce much power.
Blank boge or kangers can be low/medium/high, but I'm guessing the most commonly sold are standard.

Let me put it this way; on a regular ego battery a high resistance cartomizer will produce under 3.5-4 watts of power. That's going to make them last longer, although vapour-wise, they will produce less. I like to vape at 7-8 watts, so that's an immediate cut of 50% in vaping time.

If I put a low resistance on a twist at 3.8v that's going to be 8 watts.

I gave up with cartomisers because I was topping them up way too often.

There is a famous brand in the UK that uses low power batteries, v.high resistance atomizers and pumps out a pathetic 2.6 watts. It hardly produces any vapour at all. It also makes not smoking very difficult.... But they can brag about "40 cigarettes". I despair.

 

[supermarket]

It could be as simple as this.

Most prefilled cartomisers are medium to high resistance. They last longer because the don't use as much juice, because the combo of the battery and carto doesn't produce much power.
Blank boge or kangers can be low/medium/high, but I'm guessing the most commonly sold are standard.

Let me put it this way; on a regular ego battery a high resistance cartomizer will produce under 3.5-4 watts of power. That's going to make them last longer, although vapour-wise, they will produce less. I like to vape at 7-8 watts, so that's an immediate cut of 50% in vaping time.

If I put a low resistance on a twist at 3.8v that's going to be 8 watts.

I gave up with cartomisers because I was topping them up way too often.

There is a famous brand in the UK that uses low power batteries, v.high resistance atomizers and pumps out a pathetic 2.6 watts. It hardly produces any vapour at all. It also makes not smoking very difficult.... But they can brag about "40 cigarettes". I despair.

That DOES make sense......I'm using a bigger, stronger battery than the e-cig I got back in 2010. I'm also vaping at a higher voltage im sure (4.5-4.8 on the ego twist).


However, only getting maybe 8-20 vapes before I have to top it off again, does that sound right?? That STILL sounds absurd to me, almost seems to make cartos impractical for anywhere but the house, when u have time to top them off every half hour or so?

 

[cyberwolf]

The higher power/better performance idea sounds spot on. I'm currently using various tanks that produce loads of vapor, but go through several mls of juice a day. Differences between brands of cartomizers and even between those of the same brand may explain the rest. Some cartos will keep performing until they run dry and can be refilled with another 30 drops of liquid while others need a constant topping off to perform well. Age of a cartomizer will also come into play. When cartos get older they seem to need to be topped off more frequently and I have found that new cartos often seem to take a day or two to get primed to use all of the juice in them.

You may want to try some different cartos or even a carto tank.

 

[Baditude]

A standard length cartomizer (ie Boge) will hold a little less than 1 ml of e-liquid. If you are consuming that 1 ml with 4.5 - 4.8 volts, it does not sound unusual to empty a cart in a short time if you are a heavy vapor.

Cartomizers work better in a cartotank, in my opinion. Cartos last longer when used in a tank than when used solo. Using a tank allows the cartomizer to be refilled automatically with more liquid as you vape. Since most tanks are clear, you can easily see how much liquid you are using and more easily know when to refill the tank.

The smaller cartotanks have a 2 to 3.5 ml juice capacity. They are rather easy to refill if a tank accessory tool is used (see blog article in link below). Cartos used in a tank will require holes in their metal tubes, so you need to either purchase pre-punched cartomizers (laser-drilled holes) or punch them yourself with a simple carto punch tool.

I've written a cartotank tutorial here in my blog: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/3710-5-cartomizer-tank-setup.html

 

[bnrkwest]

yep that is why carto tanks are used, saves that constant topping off. bnrk

That DOES make sense......I'm using a bigger, stronger battery than the e-cig I got back in 2010. I'm also vaping at a higher voltage im sure (4.5-4.8 on the ego twist).


However, only getting maybe 8-20 vapes before I have to top it off again, does that sound right?? That STILL sounds absurd to me, almost seems to make cartos impractical for anywhere but the house, when u have time to top them off every half hour or so?

 

[StarDose]

I decided to try out a carto tank yesterday and am not a fan of them as of yet. I still prefer clearomizers like my vivi nova minis and stardust as a backup for them. While the cartos have yet to give me a dry hit the clearos just need a tilt every now and then to keep the wicks wet.

 

[SouthernBliss]

I also found that I was refilling every time I turned around. Even so I felt cartos were just all around easier and less risk. No "moving parts" so less risk I would end up with a bad one and so forth. Then I got my first clearomizer and the difference was amazing taste wise. Still not a perfect solution for me yet since I tend to want to change flavors regularly and they hold a fair bit. And of course I didn't order a half dozen as a first go so its just the one yet. So the upshot is I'll be investing in clearomizers with fingers crossed they are not born to leak and I'm even going to give myself a pro tank because I am way to fond of the things that potentially etch plastic.

 

[StarDose]

I find my vivi nova minis to never leak and is hard to flood them, I also got the metal tanks for them as I am trying to stay away from plastic aswell. The Stardust clearos work well but tend to flood pretty easily compared to my novas.