How To Clean and Rebuild The Gogo Cartomizer

[gumbo1372]

How tight should the cotton batting be wrapped around the cocktail straw? The polyfill? I had to flare the black straw to get it to fit. How far down the center tube does the straws need to be? I have either had trouble sliding the batting/polyfill unit over the center tube in a couple ways. Either the batting doesn't go all the way down or it doesnt slide easily down the straw.

Thanks.

 

[mohawkx]

How tight should the cotton batting be wrapped around the cocktail straw? The polyfill? I had to flare the black straw to get it to fit. How far down the center tube does the straws need to be? I have either had trouble sliding the batting/polyfill unit over the center tube in a couple ways. Either the batting doesn't go all the way down or it doesnt slide easily down the straw.

Thanks.

I wrap it pretty tight. I wrap the polyfill tight around that. The straw should go all the way over the center tube with no problem unless the tip is flared from using a q-tip. You are talking about a gogo cartomizer and not an echo or Igo? If the filler is wet, it seems to insert better into the carto. I've done about 20 gocarts and the straw goes on and off the center tube pretty easy with the exception I noted above.

 

[soulkeeper]

i did this and when i went to do the dry burn something strange happened, the button just flashed 3 times and didnt burn, thought that maybe my battery was dead so i tried the other one that was charging and it flashed 3 times too, a put anouther full cart on and it worked fine? why is it doing this?

 

[gumbo1372]

So the straw should go all the way to the bottom? When wet the cotton seems to stick real well to the straw. I think I either have the wrong straw, a different cartomizer, or a user error. I got the gogo about two to three weeks ago.

 

[soulkeeper]

Okay found out both the batteries were dead lol, stupid charger didn’t charge em for some reason, working now though. Anyway I did it and it looks good, I didn’t have the fancy equipment to clean the carto so I just used hot water, seem to do the trick.

My only question is, when I rinsed the cotton pads they seemed to wash out pretty easy, just ran water through em for about 3 - 5 min and the smell was gone, was a really strong nasty menthol smell I tried but hated.

Anyway since all I really did was wash it out with hot water.....wouldn’t just putting them in boiling water and letting them dry out do the same thing? Your method worked well, I just felt like I could have done it alot faster and easier just boiling them lol...

 

[Major]

I did a rebuild of 4 cartos today and for what it's worth, the fact that I can only use a GO-cart 4-5 days before having to put it aside has nothing to do with the carto itself. As I have stated before I go through 4 plus ml a day of juice and literally keep the cartos and battery pretty warm.

I sacrificed a carto just to verify that in my situation, with my vaping habits, 4-5 days is reasonable. The coil was so gunked up, I am amazed it still produced vapor at all. My daily vape is a 50/50 mix of Tasty Vapor Atomic cinnacide at 80pg/20vg and DK Tab 100pg. I suppose the juice could play a part but at a mix that winds up 90pg/10vg, I doubt it. Both juices are light colored.

My only point is that different vaping styles can and do dictate the useful span between cleanings. Besides, at $3 per carto and whatever the cost of the juice, it is still more cost effective than a pack of analogs and a can of smokeless a day over that span. Just keep in mind your vaping style as well as the juice play a role in carto longevity. Just because others can get weeks and yours doesn't isn't necessarily an indicator of carto quality.

 

[Debian Dog]

I put and inch of water in a pan set, stood the cartos up and boiled them for 3 mins. After letting them dry, then dry burning them. I reassembled it worked like a charm (yes it was a semi PITA rolling thing up and re-inserting the filler and sheet)

As cheap as the cartos are for how long they last. Not sure i will be doing it again. I have better things to do with my time. Just ordered 3 packs of cartos yesterday. Call me lazy.

 

[soulkeeper]

Would it work if I boiled the carto as a whole, let it dry a bit, and instead of taking the filler all the way out, just pull it so it’s not seated against the coil and dry burning it that way? I know you wouldn’t be able to see the red coil but I think if I held the button down about 6 times everything should burn off right?

just trying to find a way not to completely remove the filler, I mean it worked great but putting the filler back in with the straw was a real PITA, can’t see myself doing that every time.

 

[mohawkx]

Okay found out both the batteries were dead lol, stupid charger didn’t charge em for some reason, working now though. Anyway I did it and it looks good, I didn’t have the fancy equipment to clean the carto so I just used hot water, seem to do the trick.

My only question is, when I rinsed the cotton pads they seemed to wash out pretty easy, just ran water through em for about 3 - 5 min and the smell was gone, was a really strong nasty menthol smell I tried but hated.

Anyway since all I really did was wash it out with hot water.....wouldn’t just putting them in boiling water and letting them dry out do the same thing? Your method worked well, I just felt like I could have done it alot faster and easier just boiling them lol...

Sure, just boiling will probably work really well. In the user's guide I just recommend using hot tap water. With the rebuild method, you get to dry burn the coils and remove any crud from around the heating element prior to re-inserting the filler. But as I and many have said, at 3 bucks a carto, buying new ones isn't half a bad idea.

 

[binaryman]

I did a rebuild of 4 cartos today and for what it's worth, the fact that I can only use a GO-cart 4-5 days before having to put it aside has nothing to do with the carto itself. As I have stated before I go through 4 plus ml a day of juice and literally keep the cartos and battery pretty warm.

I sacrificed a carto just to verify that in my situation, with my vaping habits, 4-5 days is reasonable. The coil was so gunked up, I am amazed it still produced vapor at all. My daily vape is a 50/50 mix of Tasty Vapor Atomic cinnacide at 80pg/20vg and DK Tab 100pg. I suppose the juice could play a part but at a mix that winds up 90pg/10vg, I doubt it. Both juices are light colored.

My only point is that different vaping styles can and do dictate the useful span between cleanings. Besides, at $3 per carto and whatever the cost of the juice, it is still more cost effective than a pack of analogs and a can of smokeless a day over that span. Just keep in mind your vaping style as well as the juice play a role in carto longevity. Just because others can get weeks and yours doesn't isn't necessarily an indicator of carto quality.

Thanks for the feedback.

I go through about 4ml a day also. Unfortunately I haven't found my all day vape yet, so I usually have 3 or 4 cartos with different flavors in them at one time. I am ordering a pack of 5 every other week. I have yet to do Mohawkx cleaning method. I have the equipement to do it (straws ) and about 20 cartos ready to be cleaned.

Anyhow, the point is , I agree with you. I imagine a cartos would last me a week. That would be $15.00 a month in cost if I had settled on an all day. But at this moment I am at $30.00 a month just for the cartos.

One thing I hate cartos of this type is I can't see the coil to know how gunky it is. I have to develop an intuitition for knowing when to clean it (dry burn or whatever). I loved the clearomizers because the coil is at the surface, plus the tube was clear.

I wonder if it would make sense to use a glass tube instead of a metal one.

 

[Debian Dog]

I wonder if it would make sense to use a glass tube instead of a metal one.

I think a 2 stage smooth glass or metal rod would be perfect. The first stage would go down the tube to the bottom. That "stage" would end at the top of the tube. Then the "second stage" diameter would be a bit bigger than the outside diameter of the tube. The 2nd stage would need to be +1mm bigger than the tube itself, this would facilitate and easy transition for the filler and sheet to transition back on to the tube.

I am going to try boiling them with the stuffing in next time and just sticking them in the dehydrator for 6 hours.

 

[rolandpibb]

I am going to try boiling them with the stuffing in next time and just sticking them in the dehydrator for 6 hours.

I wouldn't boil the filler, just a hot water rinse would work

 

[Debian Dog]

I wouldn't boil the filler, just a hot water rinse would work

I do not want to take them apart. That's the whole point of the exercise

 

[rolandpibb]

I do not want to take them apart. That's the whole point of the exercise

Then just wash them with very hot water, the density and saturation potential of the filler will change if you boil it.

 

[Debian Dog]

AH! O.K. then.

 

[les017]

Would it work if I boiled the carto as a whole, let it dry a bit, and instead of taking the filler all the way out, just pull it so it’s not seated against the coil and dry burning it that way? I know you wouldn’t be able to see the red coil but I think if I held the button down about 6 times everything should burn off right?

just trying to find a way not to completely remove the filler, I mean it worked great but putting the filler back in with the straw was a real PITA, can’t see myself doing that every time.

I did this a couple of weeks ago, and yes it does work. BUT in doing a true hard core dry burn you'll notice that the first 4-6 burns are really drying of the water. It's the next few truly "dry" burns that de-gunk the coil. You'll know you got there when you start getting a pretty rancid smell from the coil. That's the gunk burning off.

But then I had a heck of a time getting all of the stink and soot rinsed out with the filler still in the tube. So the dry burn itself seemed to do it's job in burning the coil clean, but eliminating the leftovers made it so that I did not really end up with a clean, fresh carto in total. It actually performed better since the coil was clean, but it tasted like ....e.

IMO, either just rinse thoroughly OR completely remove and dry burn. Lately i am getting good results, as well as improved time efficiency, by doing the full dry burn every 2nd cleaning...just thorough hot water rinse every other time.

 

[radiated1]

Is there a new filler material that I could use to replace the original filler and cotton?

 

[ajie]

Dear Sir,

Would you mind to make the video for this?
Gogo carts are the most expensive one and it would be great if I could rebuild it.

 

[VaporUprising]

I purchased a Go-go kit containing five cartomizers - two of which were crap right off the bat, with one at first producing very thin, minimal vapor then shortly thereafter becoming completely non-working, and the other not working at all, as well as one battery that seems to have power and charge okay, but will not power any cartomizer. I contacted the vendor (this isn't the right forum to mention names, unless asked) within two days of receipt, and his warranty will not cover the cartomizers as "they are consumables," but he will cover the battery. On an angry side note - at > $3 per cartomizer (w/shipping), I have to say I am both disappointed and dissatisfied with "no warranty" policies on DOA equipment. What does that say about the quality control? That there isn't any, perhaps?? In fact, I find "no warranty" policies so asinine and inquitable that I am seriously considering banning all vendors who have it. Yes, I considered the warranty before my purchase, but silly me, I thought I'd be fortunate enough to get ALL working equipment. That's what I get for gambling. Anyway...as for why I'm posting in this forum (IOW, /end rant), I'm hoping one of you veteran Go-go champions can help me?

Okay, so from the DOA go-cart, I removed the batting and plug/pin to try to get a better view of how they work (or in my case, don't work), and I just can't seem to figure out why the pin is removable in the first place. Does anyone know the purpose of the plug being removable on the carts?? How does the plug/pin transfer power to the heating part of the cart? For example, I know in the batteries there is a wire attached to the plug/pin; making the plug/pin basically unremoveable, yet semi-reseatable. I can see no wire for the cartomizer pin...or did I just get a dud?

If there is a way to repair the cart, I'd surely like to try. So many questions, so much confusion. Insights, anyone??

 

[kyaku]

I purchased a Go-go kit containing five cartomizers - two of which were crap right off the bat, with one at first producing very thin, minimal vapor then shortly thereafter becoming completely non-working, and the other not working at all, as well as one battery that seems to have power and charge okay, but will not power any cartomizer.

I don't know but it could be that your battery has a 'short pin' and the carto isn't getting a charge off of it.
I had the same thing happen with BOTH batteries of my set and had to take tweezers and very, very carefully wiggle/pull the pin up on the CARTO just a TINY bit.
Aggravating but now they work.
Perhaps that's why your carto's aren't working well either; not getting enough of a charge.

? my 2 cents ?