Ok so in my recent post, I was frustrated with short lifespan of my new IKV Fusion cartos. I purchased these shortly after switching from clearos so my experience with cartos in general was fairly limited. However, with the first 3 cartos I did experience very quick decline in performance. Frequent flooding/gurgling would set in on day one, followed by loss of taste and tigher draw. The first three cartos lasted only about 1-2 days (and I really tried vaping them as long as possible). At the time, I was vaping fairly light-colored tobacco, caramel tobacco, and rose tobacco 12mg 80/20 mixes I purchased from a well known vendor.
After my third carto died, I was trying to determine why my experience with the highly regarded IKV cartos was so far below "average". While searching the forums, I found this thread where the OP claimed to get a long lifespan from pure VP/PG/Nic mix. So I decided to try that approach and to my surprise, my 4th carto had no drop in performance after 3 days of use. Well, I thought, I am onto something here. So I tried refilling with my own mix of TFS Bubblegum 70/30 10% flavor (great juice btw) and I am now on day 6 with this carto and it's performing as well as day 1!!!
This morning, I pulled apart the first three carts I tried and inspected the insides. The bottom of the cartos were completely packed with dark gunk, especially in and around the coil. What I believe happened is the juice leaves deposits of this stuff as it goes through the cargo, clogging the coil and the center tube. The tube clogging causes you to draw in more liquid from the tank when you drag, which causes more flooding, etc... It's all downhill from there.
In conclusion, I believe my initial problems were due to the juice brand and/or type. Not sure what additives vendor puts in, but they were causing significant buildup. So if you're having issues with carto lifespan, especially when accompanied by flooding, try switching the juice brand or mix your own and you're likely to see a huge difference.
After my third carto died, I was trying to determine why my experience with the highly regarded IKV cartos was so far below "average". While searching the forums, I found this thread where the OP claimed to get a long lifespan from pure VP/PG/Nic mix. So I decided to try that approach and to my surprise, my 4th carto had no drop in performance after 3 days of use. Well, I thought, I am onto something here. So I tried refilling with my own mix of TFS Bubblegum 70/30 10% flavor (great juice btw) and I am now on day 6 with this carto and it's performing as well as day 1!!!
This morning, I pulled apart the first three carts I tried and inspected the insides. The bottom of the cartos were completely packed with dark gunk, especially in and around the coil. What I believe happened is the juice leaves deposits of this stuff as it goes through the cargo, clogging the coil and the center tube. The tube clogging causes you to draw in more liquid from the tank when you drag, which causes more flooding, etc... It's all downhill from there.
In conclusion, I believe my initial problems were due to the juice brand and/or type. Not sure what additives vendor puts in, but they were causing significant buildup. So if you're having issues with carto lifespan, especially when accompanied by flooding, try switching the juice brand or mix your own and you're likely to see a huge difference.
