How do you know when a cartomizer is empty?

[SweetSpot]

I have some new juice coming, but also have a bunch of cartomizers(prefilled) and was informed that I can fill them again after empty. However, as I can't actually see inside, how can I tell when all the juice is gone? And I'm not ready to buy a new upgrade as I have to wait for next pay, plus I just got my new set up and so far it's been great, minus not knowing when it's time to refill.

 

[Blurgas]

You'll probably notice either a lack of flavor or a lack of vapor

 

[thecatanddog]

normally its too late to refill by the time you know they're empty (foul taste) just fill when u get the new juice. rather be safe than sorry

 

[meltmyface]

if it starts to get a little thin on the vapor, but don't wait til you taste burn because it likely won't go away.

 

[dale1962]

If have the rubberized white mouth piece just pop it off with paper clip or something and look down at filler and if looks dry tilt the carto and fill around airhole try not to get any in there,and then fiil a few drops all around the filler wait a few seconds let it soak in then repeat till it looks like a slushy on top then know its filled.

Always best to overfill and never let them run dry.

 

[CarbonThief]

Yeah vape until the production and flavor become muted, or do what I do and add 10 drops, give or take, after vaping 15 or 20 puffs.

 

[SweetSpot]

Thanks for everyone's advice. This will definitely save some money at the moment so I don't have to go out and buy a clear one

 

[patkin]

Depending on what juice you're using and its flavor compatibility, you don't have to wait until its empty... that's risky business anyway... just start topping it off with a few drops. Stay by the wall and try to avoid getting juice in the center hole (air shaft) but if you do get some in there just blow on it with your top lip only and it will clear out. You'll be able to tell by taste and vapor production how many drops. Start with ... oh... 5 drops, up to 8 drops, then 12 and so on. Eventually you might even get to 15 and then you've pretty much totally refilled it. If you do overdo and get a gurgle instead of a crackle hitting the power, then blow on it from the threaded end and blow some juice out on a kleenex... no biggy. After that you might need to set it upright for a half hour to totally absorb the juice. Hope that helps.

 

[the_vape_nerd]

This is not a wait til empty and then fill situation. Cartomizers if empty will burn and become useless. A guy up there says put 10 drops to every 10-15 puffs. These seems like way too much to me as that would be about a half ml which if he's direct dripping on an atomizer might not be so much but in a cartomizer its a lot.

My rule was always just to fill those cartos every 30 minutes. Just add a few drops until it looks slightly slushy. After 30 mins of moderate vaping it'll be dry and you'll have to re-wet it.

ORRRRRRRRR you could get a tank...either a wicking tank like say the vivi nova or a carto tank

if you are now using a cig lookalike this is probably not the route for you b/c a tank is going to look rather ridiculous on your set up

ce2s are another option but they do require a tiny amount of fiddling..hope this helps

 

[MacSabbath]

Less vape/flavor. Best to top them off once the flavor and vape diminishes. Don't burn them completely empty. If you do that you will get a burnt sock like taste in your mouth and will have to toss the cartomizer. I've done this a couple of times already. It's not as big a deal to refill them as you would think. It's pretty simple not to mess things up.

 

[CarbonThief]

Yeah I may have overstated it a bit, but what I said was 10 drops every 15 to20 puffs. But not everyone hits it like I do to be fair, which is slow and LONG. So for me, 8 to ten drops every 20 puffs is accurate.

 

[DannyBorneo]

I always just make sure the top of the filler is way moist. Drip-twist-drip-twist-wait- repeat

 

[TheToolMan]

Of you can get a burnt taste if it's really dry. Like previously stated. A tank will be your friend

 

[SweetSpot]

Definitely looking into transitioning soon. Looking into different setups in which I don't have to guess as to how much liquid is left.

 

[the_vape_nerd]

I always just make sure the top of the filler is way moist. Drip-twist-drip-twist-wait- repeat

I am not calling you a liar or anything. I just think that is way more than what he average user would need to do. People report direct dripping on an atomizer of like 2-3 drops and will get 10 puffs so 8 drops in a filler carto seems excesive but then again it is dependent on wattage and type of carto etc.

 

[SeanMoore]

I keep the tops of mine looking juicy. One can usually tell when a carto is getting too old and with experience you'll learn when it's not worth putting more juice into the carto.

 

[yzer]

I hate to say it but there is no simple, one-size-fits-all answer here.

First, vaping a cartomizer until it is dry will probably burn it. Once burned a carto will never taste good again. Toss a burned carto out. The liquid in the carto acts as a coolant. Without the coolant they can burn.

A couple of things factor into how much liquid you can vape from a carto before it burns.

1. The wattage (power) you are operating with the carto. This depends on the voltage from the device and the resistance of the carto. The cooler the carto the more you liquid you can vape from it before refilling.

2. The size of the carto. The bigger the carto the more liquid and the better the cooling.

Example: I use Smoktech single coil low resistance (LR) cartos that hold 1.8 ml of juice (XL size). I run them at regulated 3.7 volts. I can safely vape off 40% of the juice from the 2.0 ohm LR XL before refilling. Not so with the 1.7 ohm LR XL. I have to refill those after vaping off only 20% of the liquid. At 3.7 V the 1.7 ohm will run over one watt hotter than the 2.0 ohm carto.

This information is not widely available so I had to learn when to refill cartos by trial and error. After burning a few cartos of different resistances at 3.7 V I figured it out.

 

[klynnn]

It took me awhile and a few burned up cartridges till I got it down. You will get used to a certain loss of flavor and vapor through trial and error. Once they are burnt they must be thrown out.

 

[yzer]

It took me awhile and a few burned up cartridges till I got it down. You will get used to a certain loss of flavor and vapor through trial and error. Once they are burnt they must be thrown out.

Yes, it's amazing what you can learn from cartos with experience. By the vapor quality I can tell if the carto is running lower than I want or if the battery is low. I can usually detect a low battery by vapor quality before the low battery indicator flashes.