I had a refilling question I couldn't answer today...

[leaford]

I took a customer service call today that I did not know the answer to.

She was refilling cartos and found that they all had very hard draws after being refilled. She could blow through them without trouble, but when she put them on her battery she couldn't get normal airflow.

It wasn't the battery's airflow, she got normal airflow with prefilled carts. The cartos airway was clear, she could still see through it. And she had made sure the center tube was straight.

So, she was stumped. And so was I.

I remember I used to have the same trouble occasionally when I was learning to refill. But I never figured out the cause, or a solution. I just found I was getting better and better results over time.

How about you guys? Does anyone know what causes this, or know a solution?

 

[StaceyM]

Too much liquid? Maybe she saturated them? I remember this used to happen to me- I had a bad habit of overfilling. The liquid coming out of the mouthpiece does not always happen as an indicator.

I know it's probably a long shot, but a thought.

 

[lonercom]

I've had that happen to me a few times.

I recently dissected a few cartos I found wicking material that was still sopping wet. It was from a batch that I had washed last month and blown dry with a compressor. I have no idea how that could have happened. As a result, I have added a new step to the cleaning process; I take every dry carto and blow through them and then take a drag to test draw.

Last weekend I washed about 200 cartos. 27 had the hard draw so I did a few more "Autopsies" and found wet filler material again. My new rule is if it's washed and dried and still has a bad draw, throw them away.

When I come across one that's filled, I always do the same dance:
Take a pair of scizzors and trim about 1/8" of the label from the bottom, then blow out any excess juice. If that doesn't solve it I usually throw it away and move on.

Hope that's helpful Leaford.

 

[Kimmy]

when I was younger if something didn't work right I just blew into it (like the old nintendo and sega)...so I use this theory when it comes to cartos. I do believe it happens from over filling or perhaps one too many refills, or juice not being absorbed all the way.

after taking the cap of and refilling I blow into it, put cap back on, vape it a couple times and it usually loosens up. For my blanks I use the condom fill method and then top off taking the cap off. I'm not sure that's what she is doing or not tho.

 

[JustMeAgain]

When I come across one that's filled, I always do the same dance:
Take a pair of scizzors and trim about 1/8" of the label from the bottom, then blow out any excess juice. If that doesn't solve it I usually throw it away and move on.

lonercom, I'm not sure what it is you're cutting off and how it lets you blow out more liquid...could you clarify that a bit?

 

[sanfordf]

It could be (longshot) loose fibers stuck somewhere?

 

[lonercom]

lonercom, I'm not sure what it is you're cutting off and how it lets you blow out more liquid...could you clarify that a bit?

Sorry 2 confuse. Two separate issues:

There are little notches at the bottom of the carto to force air into the atomizing area. Sometimes the labels get misaligned and block those notches. I use sizzors (sp!) because I can clamp down a bit and twist making it easier to cut around.

When I get greedy or don't pay attention during refilling, I overfill my carto. "Gurgly" cartos lead to icky tasting mouthfuls of juice. Blowing them out gets rid of the extra juice and sometimes forces any gunk out with it.

Stiff draws are usually one of these 2 problems and it's just quick triage to do both.

 

[JustMeAgain]

Sorry 2 confuse. Two separate issues:

There are little notches at the bottom of the carto to force air into the atomizing area. Sometimes the labels get misaligned and block those notches. I use sizzors (sp!) because I can clamp down a bit and twist making it easier to cut around.

When I get greedy or don't pay attention during refilling, I overfill my carto. "Gurgly" cartos lead to icky tasting mouthfuls of juice. Blowing them out gets rid of the extra juice and sometimes forces any gunk out with it.

Stiff draws are usually one of these 2 problems and it's just quick triage to do both.

Now I get it....

I wonder if the labels could be sliding down a bit when they get wet from cleaning?

I think it must be your night for answering my questions ~ looks you were responding to a question I posted in the V4L forum while I was asking you about this...

Thanks for both!

 

[terrie1]

I sometimes get a hard draw after washing/refilling... I too just toss em out, they have had their day.

 

[Nilius]

*Disclamer* This is my method and my opinion, do not listen/read if you disagree or have found the method that works for you...


Toss them out??? Bah! They get tossed when they don't fire anymore!

After refilling, I've found that the filler is to blame for the impossible draw

This is perfect

Notice that you can see directly through the center of the carto?

This is an impossible draw

Notice that you can't see through the carto? Want to fix it?

Use these!

yep, that's an ashtray... I still keep it around, I like it

 

[NightVapor]

Leaford,
I refil all my carts a number of times. After topping off many times, the draw gets a little harder as time goes on.
But if I OVERFILL a cart, it gets a hard draw immediately, and is never quite the same, no matter what I do to clear it.
I am now very careful not to overfill.
I fill by the cap off drip method now, and stop when I first see the filler is getting saturated. Avoids the hard draw for quite a while this way.
Hope that helps a little.
Night

 

[terrie1]

I have tried that on each and every bad one, it seldom works for me.

:edit: The binder clip through the hole.

 

[TexasRain104]

Give the cart a good funeral.

 

[RanVapor]

Or....take the polyfill out (carefully) and drip away, a la Dogs NF cart mod.

 

[uzzaperez]

I've had that happen a couple times. It is usually associated with burning, not from running dry, but whatever causes it leads to easy burning too. It happens so seldom that I just toss it and break out a new carto. These things seem to last so long that I don't get to break out a new carto often so I just take advantage of the opportunity to start a clean one.