IBTanked - Having a hell of a time

[lantrick]

I usually prime before I put the carto in the tank.

I use method i read here someplace . About 10 drops around the top, then shake like a thermometer 510 connection down . Repeat until completely saturated and it's a bit juice colored on top a starting to weep out of the punches. Then put it in the tank and fill . I also give it some priming pulls so the top of the carto looks wet .

Yes, don't toss a flooded carto unless it's chronic . Just blow it out

 

[Storm52]

You might try to thin your juice with a bit of distilled water, until you get the slotted cartos. You can also purchase 3 hole punched cartos that are designed for thicker juice.

 

[Arch]

Villiska- How about wandering over to the IBTanked thread or the Provari sub-forum.

This is all easy stuff to get sorted, most likely.

I figured it'd get moved if I went over to the Provari section, which is my favorite section.

 

[Baditude]

Sorry to hit this thread so late. This sub-forum is usually pretty dead and its one of the last ones I hit.

There's multiple ways to prime a carto. No one way is the best. Whichever one you find works for you is the one you should settle on.

You can inject the filler with a needle/syringe, condom fill, reverse condom fill with flanged cartos - The Ocelot's preferred method, fiddling with your thingy (OCD's method), and Baditude's method. Of course I've had the most success with my own and made a blog describing it.

I drip from the top of the carto, before putting it into the tank. I use a wood tooth pick in the center air hole to keep juice out (this avoids having to blow out the carto later). I don't count drops, but you can. Different size dropper tips make different size drops, resulting in a potential huge difference in the volume of liquid used. I use my experience to observe how saturated the polyfill is. A standard length carto will hold 1 ml of juice; an XL length carto will hold 1.5 ml of juice fully primed.

I drop in a few drops, then shake the carto down like an old school mercury thermometer. Add a few more drops, shake it down again. I repeat these two steps until the filler will hold no more juice. It will look like a wet slushy drink; glistening with juice with no pooling on top.

I remove the tooth pick, add a tank tool, and insert the carto half way into the fully assembled tank. I fill the tank through the top end cap 80% full. Push the carto up all the way. Remove the tank tool and replace it with the drip tip. Finished. The entire process takes me 5 - 7 minutes. I may accidentally waste a couple of drops of juice when adding juice to the tank if I'm sloppy. No muss, no fuss.
______________

I use both flanged and unflanged cartomizers. The flanged cartos are only needed in some Smoktech tanks. I've found no need for a flanged carto in an IBTanked. Once the o-rings absorb some juice and swell and then dry out the tank holds securely on the carto.

I use two hole prepunched cartos. Most of my e-liquids are a 50/50 pg/vg ratio, but when I do DIY I use mostly Vg for more vapor. I may need to do more primer puffs while vaping with the thicker e-liquids.

It is normal for the polyfill to look dry after vaping for a period of time. Not only does juice get pulled from the tank with each puff, juice is pulled down in the cartomizer, too. The punched holes will keep the lower portion of the carto nice and wet (where the coil is). I've not found it necessary to add juice to the carto during tank refills, but no harm will be done if you decide to.

 

[Arch]

Sorry to hit this thread so late. This sub-forum is usually pretty dead and its one of the last ones I hit.

There's multiple ways to prime a carto. No one way is the best. Whichever one you find works for you is the one you should settle on.

You can inject the filler with a needle/syringe, condom fill, reverse condom fill with flanged cartos - The Ocelot's preferred method, fiddling with your thingy (OCD's method), and Baditude's method. Of course I've had the most success with my own and made a blog describing it.

I drip from the top of the carto, before putting in into the tank. I use a wood tooth pick in the center air hole to keep juice out (this avoids having to blow out the carto later). I don't count drops, but you can. Different size dropper tips make different size drops, resulting in a potential huge difference in the volume of liquid used. I use my experience to observe how saturated the polyfill is. A standard length carto will hold 1 ml of juice; an XL length carto will hold 1.5 ml of juice fully primed.

I drop in a few drops, then shake the carto down like an old school mercury thermometer. Add a few more drops, shake it down again. I repeat these two steps until the filler will hold no more juice. It will look like a wet slushy drink; glistening with juice with no pooling on top.

I remove the tooth pick, add a tank tool, and insert the carto half way into the fully assembled tank. I fill the tank through the top end cap 80% full. Push the carto up all the way. Remove the tank tool and replace it with the drip tip. Finished. The entire process takes me 5 - 7 minutes. I may accidentally waste a couple of drops of juice when adding juice to the tank if I'm sloppy. No muss, no fuss.
______________

I use both flanged and unflanged cartomizers. The flanged cartos are only needed in some Smoktech tanks. I've found no need for a flanged carto in an IBTanked. Once the o-rings absorb some juice and swell and then dry out the tank holds securely on the carto.

I use two hole prepunched cartos. Most of my e-liquids are a 50/50 pg/vg ratio, but when I do DIY I use mostly Vg for more vapor. I may need to do more primer puffs while vaping with the thicker e-liquids.

It is normal for the polyfill to look dry after vaping for a period of time. Not only does juice get pulled from the tank with each puff, juice is pulled down in the cartomizer, too. The punched holes will keep the lower portion of the carto nice and wet (where the coil is). I've not found it necessary to add juice to the carto during tank refills, but no harm will be done if you decide to.

I think my issue was with my juice having too much VG. I successfully primed my carto and it was fairly easy at the end, but my issue was not that it began to dry at the top of the carto, but I began getting a very burnt flavor. I knew I was about to burn my carto apart so I re-filled it with juice and was forced to completely re-prime it. The only cause for that, that I can think of, is that the VG was too high and the liquid was too thick to get into the holes allowing it to stay primed.

I saw no bubbles when I dry puffed nor when I was vaping on it, which implies that none of the juice was going through those 2 pre-punched holes. It's put away now, but I will be trying it with a thinner juice in the near future. It's a shame that I've had such a bad time with this carto tank, because when it was primed and working how it was supposed to before it dried out, it was absolutely perfect. The vapor production was great, flavor was definitely intensified and not to mention it just looks kick ... on your Provari with the Pro Ring.

That does bring me to my last 2 concerns though. One being that when I screw the fully assembled tank onto my Provari with the pro ring attached, it doesn't allow me to get a tight twist onto the 510 connection. You just twist and twist and then you can feel yourself twisting the tank around the cartomizer because the cartomizer is in tight enough for you to lose traction. Concern #2 is that when I unscrew the tank back off my Provari, I notice there's a gap in between the flange and the tank, implying that it was pulled out while being screwed in due to not fitting correctly. With that being said, I fear leaks from the bottom. I also noticed the carto is rather slippery inside the tank. I can almost pull the entire tank off my cartomizer when I pull off a tight fitted drip tip.

So far, personally, I'm just feeling that it's a lot more simple to use clearomizer tanks such as the Kanger AeroTank. However, I will hands down agree that the flavor and aesthetics of carto-tanks is superior. I'm just really trying to make this a less messy and babied alternative for when I want something different.

 

[Baditude]

Villiska, there is a learning curve with using cartotanks. Once you've "paid your dues" so to speak you'll soon get the hang of it like all the rest of us have. Hang in there, the best is yet to come.

Yes, a clearomizer is hands down easier to use than a cartotank. But because of their inferior wicking system they are prone to dry or burnt hits, flooding, and inconsistancy. A cartotank takes a little more time during its initial setup, but tank refills are a breeze. IMO they are worth the extra flavor production and consistancy.

It does sound like your first e-liquid was too thick. Some flavors are just not a good candidate for a cartotank. I've had the same issue with Boba's Bounty, a notoriously thick flavor. Luckily it isn't one of my favorite flavors. You can always dilute a thick liquid with (distilled) water or Pg. Many juice manufacturers will make your custom mixes with a "tank friendly" base if you ask them in the "comments" section before you confirm your order.

Concerning your questions, don't be afraid to let the tank ride a little high on the carto when you go to tighten the tank down on the Pro Ring/Provari. I've found it best to allow a little space between the flange (if there is one) and the tank bottom end cap. This will not cause any leaking. I find this necessary when using the IBTanked Pro Ring as it is deeper than my other Pro Rings.

This falls in line with your second question. By tightening the cartotank down to make a proper connection on the Provari connector, you are essentially doing what I just recommended. This leaves a slight gap between the flange and the bottom cap. Normal.

 

[Arch]

@Baditude,

Thank you very much man. Your replies are always down to the point and hit every question/concern I have in one go. I'll definitely be giving my Carto-tank another shot with a thinner juice.

 

[beckdg]

i didn't read the last couple posts. forgive me if this is covered.

couple tricks.

if you're vaping high VG;
after a few chain vapes when the carto is warmed up and so is the juice in contact with it... that's when you want to take a few primer puffs. the juice will flow into the carto much easier.

the white filler in the carto;
it doesn't have to stay wet all the way to the top. i have a carto in use currently that was primed with the thingy that has only recently been slightly visually moistened at about 1/3 of the circumference at the top of the carto. nigh a single dry or burnt hit and it's been in use over a week.

inserting/removing drip tips;
i find it much easier to remove drip tips from the carto while still attached to my mod. some times the o-rings can grip quite well and others they'll be more lubricated and the tank will slip easily off the carto. these times can be quite surprising once you dump the entire tank in your lap. so when removing drip tips or filling tools, do yourself a favor and keep your mod attached.

EDIT:
flooding by fiddling with your thingy;
when priming with the thingy, you're essentially just priming the lower end of the carto. the top half rarely gets saturated. if you take your first pull and experience gurgling, don't be afraid to puff hard and pull the excess liquid to the top of the carto to disperse through the less saturated polyfill at the top. it should clear up easily.

 

[CalamityJess]

@Baditude well thanks! I had noticed that proring to tank issue myself. I have a heck of a time putting my tank back on and getting it to fire. I usually end up doing a little dance number *twist twist try to fire...twist twist...fire...twist twist AHA vape*