How long do your cartomzers last?

[Jslay00]

...depends on the juice and the carto for me but, apparently, not very long compared to many folks. Anywhere from 1 week down to two days (with one 4 hour aberration, noted below).

I use 510 devices: a variety of ego/Kgo/T-Rex batteries (3.2 to 3.7 volts, I'm led to believe) and a Darwin, usually at 8.5 watts (voltage varies depending on the carto/atty, usually below 4, rarely over 5.2). I like low resistance cartos so I don't really need high voltage.

I'm a chain vaper but I've never had a cartomizer "pop" or stop firing. I keep them wet and never burn the filler anymore, either. (Learning curve, here.) I *always* give up on them before they electronically expire. They just tighten up until they're simply too hard to draw comfortably. Cleaning gets me one more day, tops. Half of them don't improve enough after cleaning and drying for me to consider refilling them.

For cartos, the amount and type of filler seems to be relevant:
Single-coil cartos (of any resistance) seem to stay unclogged longer than duals.
Opaque dual coils (black/steel) seem to last longer than clears (Possibly they have different filler material?).
Regular-sized/"Short" cartos last considerably longer than xl/xxl cartos.

Unfortunately, my favorite all-day juices are dark, VG-thick delicacies that have a (usually pronounced) sweet component.
AVE Boba's Bounty (praise The Force!) performs pretty well in spite of this. I'm ending my 4th day with a CCV 2.7ohm "resurrector" and the draw isn't even mildly annoying, yet.
On the other end of the spectrum, BwB's Casablanca (an absolutely excellent flavor, I will NOT give it up! gummed up a Boge 2.0ohm for me in less than 4 hours, last week. Haven't cleaned that carto, yet, so I don't know if it will survive.

I've heard that diluting dark/sweet/vg-based juices with pg and/or grain alcohol will help alleviate this problem but I do not want to lose flavor, vapor production or nicotine content. If I ever run out of money and cartos at the same time, I guess I'll just drip.

 

[Nomoreash]

you have a link for syringe mod demonstration/explanation?

This one shows it better than anything else I could find, post 13 at the link below. There really isn't that much to it just cut the syringe tube to the length of the original tube and replace it, slide the plunger end of the tube to the base of the carto and your done. Be sure to use 3ml BD Syringe on the clearos as the inner diameter is slightly different on other brands. They can be found locally, I get them at CVS and Walmart also carries them or you can buy them in bulk if you need that many over the net for a little cheaper per cart.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/cartomizer-issues/191274-replace-clearomizer-tubes-2.html

 

[Jslay00]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/cartomizer-issues/191274-replace-clearomizer-tubes-2.html

Ah, CE2/Clearomizers!
I have a few of those left. I had great hopes for them. The flavor and vapor they produce for me is superb... for a few minutes. Unfortunately, they don't wick fast enough to keep up with me, turning them upside-down makes them spit and dripping on them requires that you remove the top stopper and, well, it's just wrong. The syringe mod seems like a perfect fix for problems with the tubing but, unfortunately, I don't see how that would improve the wicking speed.

 

[Nomoreash]

Ah, CE2/Clearomizers!
I have a few of those left. I had great hopes for them. The flavor and vapor they produce for me is superb... for a few minutes. Unfortunately, they don't wick fast enough to keep up with me, turning them upside-down makes them spit and dripping on them requires that you remove the top stopper and, well, it's just wrong. The syringe mod seems like a perfect fix for problems with the tubing but, unfortunately, I don't see how that would improve the wicking speed.

There are other mods to do as well, cutting the places that the wick goes through on each side of the filler ring to give the wick more room is one and when replacing the filler ring don't push it down all the way on top of the ceramic cup, it just needs to go far enough down to seal around the cup. Some people have had great success doing these things and they last forever, others never do seem to get them performing correctly so ymmv. They perform great for me, I do have to turn it upside down long enough for the liquid to run up around the cup when the tube starts getting low then flip it back over and vape, if I do that I get a perfect hit every time.

 

[RialCeLmiT]

Does anyone clean theirs out with water and reuse? Does this make them last longer/shorter?

I am not telling anyone to do this because I don't want to feel bad if you destroy you're cartos...I'm currently on an eGo-T with an Atomizer which I HATE...Waiting on Cartos...But before that I had a VaporKing from V4l and used nothing but those cheap little v4l cartomizers...Yeah you get two three days and junk right? WRONG...Boil that sucker...I used the same twenty cartos for like months...And were talking v4l ones...When I really had a disgusting taste in one, I would boil, give an alcohol bath then boil again...But I haven't had any other Cartomizers since then so i don't know if you can boil Boges and whatever else...I plan on using just one for a long time then boiling it to see what happens cause I leanred not to trust the opinion of every person on the ECF...Good luck though. Carto's aren't worth it if your only getting a couple days, even if your not rotating

 

[Jslay00]

There are other mods to do as well, cutting the places that the wick goes through on each side of the filler ring to give the wick more room is one and when replacing the filler ring don't push it down all the way on top of the ceramic cup, it just needs to go far enough down to seal around the cup. Some people have had great success doing these things and they last forever, others never do seem to get them performing correctly so ymmv. They perform great for me, I do have to turn it upside down long enough for the liquid to run up around the cup when the tube starts getting low then flip it back over and vape, if I do that I get a perfect hit every time.

Drat. Now I have another research project.

Thanks for the tips though, Nomoreash, seriously. If I can persuade these suckers to SUSTAIN their excellent performance, even for half a fill, I would go back to them.

 

[dragonladee]

I'm using Volt's dual cartos, I have yet to kill one or have it discolor or have a bad taste.

I've been using the same 10 for almost 5 weeks, rotating them out and they're still going strong. No change in flavor and filling is still pretty darn close to as white as they were brand new.

I don't top the same one off over and over, I load several at a time so I can just grab another-then refill when my stash is empty. After they've had half a dozen fills I clean them by boiling water, removing from heat then letting them soak for about 20 minutes, blowing them out, rinsing with more hot water, blowing out again and then letting them sit battery side down for a day before filling again. Not supposed to stick anything through the hole with these, it will damage the coil.

I'm not what I'd consider a heavy vaper-I read some users going through 5 mls a day or more and I'm more like 1 ml. I do make it a point to change them out before I think they're even close to dry.

 

[emus]

I've been vaping primarily DC for over two months.
Keep 5 in rotation.
Lost 2 so far.
DC requires a strong PV.
DC coils share work load so they can take more abuse.
See 14:20
‪A PBusardo Review : Boge 510 LR Carto Vs. Smok Tech 510 LR Dual Coil Mega Carto‬‏ - YouTube

 

[PirateVaper]

Where I could buy lot of carts cheaply for the voltage of a provari? My carto taste very bad, boiled it but can't get rid of an ugly dekang flavor ... yiak

 

[Nomoreash]

Where I could buy lot of carts cheaply for the voltage of a provari? My carto taste very bad, boiled it but can't get rid of an ugly dekang flavor ... yiak

The Provari is a variable voltage mod, any ohm carto should work on the Provari. The only ones that might have issues are the dual core cartos and they will work you just can't reach the upper voltage range with them. If you're using lr keep the voltage down to 3.7 or below.

Sounds more like a carto issue rather than what mod your using. Some flavors are just about impossible to get out of them if it's a filler carto. Might want to just toss it and move on to the next.

As far as buying cartos cheap, I'm really not sure considering your location. Check Crystal Clear Vaping. They have excellent prices, especially if bought in bulk. Not sure what shipping will be though or if they even ship outside the US.

 

[UpInTheCut]

my Go Go 5 carto's have not crapped the bed yet.. It's been about one month.. I have had to take the filler out and clean them, but other than that they are just the same as when I 1st opened them... the coil is right on the base so they are great with VG plus now they have made adapters to fit the 510 etc...

 

[DaveRitchieAz]

i use the smoktech dual standard and xl they last about a week then i rinse them and rotate ... they work for another week then toss em ... unless i use carmel just a week and very hard to clean just toss em

 

[six]

it just depends on the juice (more or less). I have a couple of juices that will kill a carto in a day or two. I have some that vape for a couple of weeks in a boge, but start tasting bad in under a week in a dual coil. I have a few juices that go a couple of weeks in a dual coil, but don't taste right to begin with in a boge...

And, I have a juice that will go about a month to 5 weeks in a MAP tank (CE2 carto is the guts of a regular MAP) with minimal maintenance (if it was a good CE2 to begin with). Another juice I have that i really like the flavor of in a MAP will only go about three refills (12 or so ml) before the CE2 is beyond help.

Sometimes, it's also a little voltage dependent. Specifically with my boge 2.0 ohm cartos, if I have one that's starting to lose performance or plug up a little, I can quit using it at 3.7v, put it on a 4.8v battery and get another few days out of it.

I'm not much for cleaning cartos. Once in a great while, I'll boil out a couple... but generally, I just throw them away when their performance starts to drop off or they get a funky flavor. -- in fact, even when a carto is still vaping well and hasn't had too much of a flavor change, I'll toss it before it has been in use for three weeks. That's sort of my limit for everything but the CE2s in my map tanks, but I can't offer any good reason for it.

 

[m00nshake]

just another thing on consider..what type of juice are u using..and when u top off your cartomizer...do you drip the liquid on the filler or in the center hole..most times when I top off my carto..I drip a couple drops on the filler and give the cartomizer a thermometer shake to push the juice down farther and move the juice around..maybe the juice is just burning up and clogging..

I drip around two or three drops down the sides, not the center hole, wait until the filler soaks it up, then drop a max of two or three more drops down the sides. It is possible that I'm not keeping it wet enough. How often do you top yours off?

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[m00nshake]

The juice being a factor is definitely a possibility. I vape Tasty Vapor liquids almost exclusively. I do notice some flavors last longer than others, but none that lasts more than a couple of days. I have a couple ave juices lying about, what I'll do is give one of those a try and see I can get more life out of this cart.

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[pizza2me]

mOOnshake, I had the same issue when I used Boge LR. Try some Ikenvape cartos. If you don't do LR the Gold V2's seem to be the favorite 510. I was lucky if I got 2 full days out of a Boge LR. I switched to IKV 1.6 Ohms and I've had 2 in rotation for over 2 weeks now! They are not as cheap as Boges. But if they all last this long I will save a LOT of $$$!

 

[m00nshake]

mOOnshake, I had the same issue when I used Boge LR. Try some Ikenvape cartos. If you don't do LR the Gold V2's seem to be the favorite 510. I was lucky if I got 2 full days out of a Boge LR. I switched to IKV 1.6 Ohms and I've had 2 in rotation for over 2 weeks now! They are not as cheap as Boges. But if they all last this long I will save a LOT of $$$!

Good advice I'll order some. I am switching to ave Strawberry Cooler to test if my liquid is issue, but this stuff is so thick its difficult to fill the cart. Gotta love Ave...

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[m00nshake]

mOOnshake, I had the same issue when I used Boge LR. Try some Ikenvape cartos. If you don't do LR the Gold V2's seem to be the favorite 510. I was lucky if I got 2 full days out of a Boge LR. I switched to IKV 1.6 Ohms and I've had 2 in rotation for over 2 weeks now! They are not as cheap as Boges. But if they all last this long I will save a LOT of $$$!

Do the Ikenvape Gold v2 carts have a soft cap or do you need a syringe to fill it?

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[hairball]

Weeks out of Boge, Ikenvape 801 Fusions and Mega LR 510's in a vaporescence tank mod. The mod always keeps them wet so it's like a fresh draw every time.

 

[m00nshake]

Okay did a little research and it looks like the Ikenvape Gold v2 carts do have a soft cap for filling. I ordered 5 SR and 5 LR and see if this makes a difference. I'll also keep everyone posted on if switching to another liquid supplier helped. Thanks again everyone for your input.