How to avoid "burn-tasting".

[Eplus]

Hi everyone,

i recently got my first e cig [a volt] and after removing the rubber top cap and taking a look at the insides, the cartomizer seem to stop working. There was smoke at first but it tasted horrible [burn-tasting]. And after awhile there wasn't even smoke any more. I am looking to refill the cartomizers but at this rate i'll have to get new ones before i can even refill them. Any quick guide to maintain the cartomizers? i tried searching online but most are on cleaning and refilling.

 

[Retriever]

Hello and welcome to ECF! I use a Volt and the only thing I can think of is that you may have had a bad carto. It happens sometime. The Volt cartos work very well usually and have a horizontal coil that uses up all of the juice in the carto. They are very efficient. Once a carto gets a burned taste it is, in my opinion, best to toss it and get a new carto. Be sure to top off future cartos before they run dry to avoid the burned taste. Glad you are here.

 

[kabonk]

you can top them off before they dry out and give them a few seconds to wick in between vapes but no matter what you do after about 7 days they start tasting burnt so just toss it and pop on a fresh one

 

[Scottinboca]

Welcome to ECF. It sounds like your carto was dry. Cartos need to be wet at all times! I use a tank so that doesn't happen.

 

[frosting]

Make sure those cartomizers are wet! An average cartomizer, like a Boge will hold 20-30 drops on the first filling. If the stuffing looks dry after vaping a bit, or flavor is off/changes put in more drops until it looks wet again. Not too wet but a happy medium. Over filling your cartomizers can be another culprit of cartomizer death.

You did fill the cartomizer with e-liquid right?? It almost sounds as if you skipped that part! That would taste truly terrible if that is the case.

Good luck with your volt!! Welcome to the forum.

 

[Ferris419]

yes as others said WET WET WET i learned this lesson the hard way also!!!!

 

[Eplus]

Hey everyone! thanks for the reply and welcome. The cart was pre-filled and was fine and nice tasting before i open the cap. I tried filling it up with e-liquid afterwards and there is still no smoke. sounds like i would have to get a lot more cartomizers than i would like to. D:

A question to fellow Volt users: how long can a single cart last?

 

[hairball]

Hey everyone! thanks for the reply and welcome. The cart was pre-filled and was fine and nice tasting before i open the cap. I tried filling it up with e-liquid afterwards and there is still no smoke. sounds like i would have to get a lot more cartomizers than i would like to. D:

A question to fellow Volt users: how long can a single cart last?

Did you try blowing it out after filling to clear the airway? If juice is in the airway, it won't produce much vapor if any at all.

Cartomizers lifespan depends on several things. Is your juice dark colored? 100% VG? Have sweetner? Are you using high voltages? Is the carto low resistance? All of this plays a part in the lifespan. Everyone's mileage is different when using them because we all use a different type of vaping setup.

 

[kabonk]

the prefilled seem to only last me about an hour or so if that's what your asking but you can keep refilling it untill it starts tasting burnt about 3-7 day some people use them longer I toss as soon as they start tasting burnt

 

[Retriever]

I generally toss mine when they quit working properly (producing enough vapor) or taste burned. I usually only get the burned taste when I use my USB passthrough though. I generally stock up on cartos so I will have enough for awhile.

 

[Eplus]

Did you try blowing it out after filling to clear the airway? If juice is in the airway, it won't produce much vapor if any at all.

Cartomizers lifespan depends on several things. Is your juice dark colored? 100% VG? Have sweetner? Are you using high voltages? Is the carto low resistance? All of this plays a part in the lifespan. Everyone's mileage is different when using them because we all use a different type of vaping setup.

Uhh, I tried blowing (from both ends) but to no avail. I am using a new cart now.

The juice is light coloured. Not sure about the VG or PG content as I bought it from dealextreme. I am not sure about voltage though. Don't remember smokelessimage providing detail voltage. (I am using a volt)

I am not sure what it means by low resistance carto too. @.@

 

[Eplus]

I generally toss mine when they quit working properly (producing enough vapor) or taste burned. I usually only get the burned taste when I use my USB passthrough though. I generally stock up on cartos so I will have enough for awhile.

But the volt carts are so expensive. @.@
Any alternative carts available?

 

[dormouse]

You keep the carto damp with suitable juice so it doesn't singe. I find suitable to be 80PG/20VG like Volt uses or V4L WOW liquids or any 10-20% VG juices and I avoid all dark, cloudy or opaque liquids that drop flavoring sediment in the cartomizer. Sediment clogs the stuffing, leaving tons of residue and bakes onto the coil and in general ruins a carto speedily. I can get 7 days use (about 20ml) out of a Volt/Bloog carto.

And BTW if you thought you saw burnt at the top of a Volt carto, I doubt it. The coil of those is in the bottom. If it tasted burnt then you did singe it. But any dark you saw on TOP was probably flavoring sediment.

 

[RockinRobbieSF]

I didn't have luck cleaning my Bloog cartos.

 

[dormouse]

Cleaning is a crapshoot. it may work for a carto you hardly used and did not singe (like a prefill you didn't like). but once a carto is well-used the coil is coated in baked on juice and weak and no amount of cleaning wil get that off.

What is expensive about $2 for one week of use (or even 1/2 week for heavy vapers) out of a carto? IMO the juice is the more expensive part. $2 for a week is nothing is nothing compared to what smoking cost.

Learn to use them, use suitable clear juices, and you will get good carto life.

Short version of how I fill 1ml cartos (like Bolt, Bloog, Boge) and keep them damp
---
The carto has a 1ml capacity. You need to aim towards putting 1ml in. I hold a tissue on the threaded end hole (or put a carto cover's spike in the hole), tilt the carto and drip in 18 drops (waiting longer for the first few to soak in), Then I wait 15 seconds. Then I see how many more it will soak in easily (usually 3-6, occasionally more).

Then I clean it up - clean threaded end, tilt open end down into tissue and puff into threaded end to clear the air channel, then while still pointed down I just touch a soft bit of tissue to the top of the stuffing to sop up excess (to help prevent leaks).

Then I let the carto settle. I use juices with 20% or less VG so 15-20 minutes of laying it on different sides and on end is plenty of time for every bit of stuffing to get damp.

While vaping - any time the vapor seems light, dry, or tastes the tiniest bit off or loses flavor, or if the caro is getting abnormally warm, I add liquid. I also occasionally look at the stuffing (especially before putting a fresh battery on or before going out) and if the top of the stuffing looks white, I add some juice. No settle needed when just keeping the carto damp. And if you do not keep it damp or if you use juice that is too thick (too much VG) you will singe the carto and that adds a bitter taste. I use a simple plastic or delrin drip tip in place of the end cap so it is easy for me to remove that to look at the stuffing, or add juice with the carto off the battery.

 

[Shilo]

I tried a new cleaning method with the Isopryl Alcohol mentioned in another thread and got another day and a half out of the first reused one. Cleaning is a crapshoot but this was the only method that worked for me so far.

 

[classwife]

Moved to Cartomizer Issues

 

[craftmath]

I use the syringe method.... take about a ml of liquid and stick needle into the polyfill material. Shoot the liquid in and then blow the excess out. Also, if you overfill, with the syringe in, use the syringe to draw a lil excess out, but still making sure the visible part of the polyfill material is syrup-y looking...

 

[MediocreTrombonist]

Like others have already suggested, the most important thing about using a cartomizer is to not let it become too dry.

How can you tell when it is getting dry? Well, the flavor will diminish somewhat and it will look dry when you look inside. Most of all, when you first start using e cigs, there is a great deal of trial and error. There is no harm in adding liquid to your cartomizer too early. The worst that can happen is that there will be a little leak. A leak will not harm your cartomizer, and will keep you from having one of those terrible dry, burning inhales!

I started on cartomizers just like you, and had to get the hang of how and when to fill them without making a mess

The good thing is that you've made your way to the ECF, and that means you're probably checking YouTube too (there are lots of helpful videos there.)

All the best luck!

 

[Pega]

I use the syringe method.... take about a ml of liquid and stick needle into the polyfill material. Shoot the liquid in and then blow the excess out. Also, if you overfill, with the syringe in, use the syringe to draw a lil excess out, but still making sure the visible part of the polyfill material is syrup-y looking...

No need to blow the excess out, once the carto is filled (or over filled) draw the excess back into the syringe. You can then a add a few drops of juice to the carto to ensure it's 'soaked'.