How do you know a new carto is fried?

[hmorphone]

I'm new to vaping. I started out with Ego non-VV batteries and Smoketek Mega Ego cartos. I bought a pack of 5 Boge XL LR cartos and tossed 2 because of a burnt taste that didn't seem to be going away (right after I started using them.) I've since bought 10 more of the same cartos and tossed another1 already for the same prob. One of the cartos might have been refusing to heat the juice, I don't remember. I've been filling them by dripping until they appear saturated, and on a brand new one trying to top it off right away too. Problem is I don't know if those carto's were really bad or not. I haven't been waiting 10 minutes after I fill them to use them, and I didn't learn the "blow into the top of the open carto" trick til recently either. I don't know if the problem is primer on the coil, trying to use them before they're full enough and toasting the coil, or they're just plain bad. Ideas?

 

[Vash]

I recommend getting some smoktech 1.7 ohm cartos and filling with condom method.They fill quick and vape great.Look up how to fill carto on pbusardos videos

 

[Baditude]

It's not unusual to get an occassional "bad" carto. Quality control of these tiny heating elements leave something to be desired. However, since you've had a few in a row with disappointing results, I think it be more likely something else is at work here.

You mentioned that you were having some problems visualizing if the carto is properly filled. When I fill my cartos, I put a wood tooth pick into the air hole. This blocks any juice getting in there and eliminates the need to blow the air hole out later.

I drop juice onto the polyfill material while spinning the carto around in order to get a wider dispersion of juice. When the filler looks like a "wet slushy drink", I then take the carto and shake it like a thermometer. This simulates the action of a centrifuge by forcing the liquid down into the bottom of the filler material. After a few shake downs, I add more juice until it again looks like the slushy drink. Shake it down again. I repeat these steps until the filler will take no more, and remains looking wet. You can then remove the tooth pick and place your drip tip on the carto. It's ready to vape.

Another possibility to consider is you don't care for low resistance cartomizers. I know that I don't. I find them to taste harsh and to have a burnt taste with some flavors. I've found that I prefer a "cooler vape". I use standard resistance cartos (2.0 - 2.4 ohms) on fixed voltage batteries, and 3.0 ohm on variable voltage batteries. I've also found that the longer drip tips of 1 1/2 inches long allow the vapor to cool a little more due to the distance that it must travel.

http://www.myfreedomsmokes.com/parts-accessories/510-parts/510-miscellaneous-accessories/510-long-skinny-drip-tip-aluminum/

http://pinkspotvapors.com/shop/hardware_accessories/freudian-tip/

By the way, if you are using your cartos solo (not in a cartotank), don't be afraid to frequently top off the carto with additional juice as you vape. Once a carto gets dry and burns, you'll never get that burnt taste to leave. You'll have to discard of it.

Consider trying a cartotank. Each time you vape the tank feeds more juice into the carto automatically, so you will no longer wonder when to add more juice. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/3710-5-cartomizer-tank-setup.html

This link will also explain about cartos and cartotanks, along with some other juice delivery devices:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/baditude/3230-1-proper-terminology-carto-tank-what-primer-juice-delivery-attachments.html

 

[hmorphone]

What symptoms would I look for to decide if the carto's actually bad out of the box? Thanks for the tips, I feel the main problem is I probably wasn't doing a sufficient initial fill like you suggest, and now I have at least one that's borderline burnt. If I top it off most of the burnt taste goes away, but I see what you mean - the carto's functional, but the burnt taste is going to persist if I've really burnt it. I'll also try some SR carto's. That may be important, I'd not thought much about that til you pointed it out.