Just got in new gear.

[Nodnerb]

Ordered lr cartos (no name, not sure) and an lr ego t atty. I was really excited to try cartos but ended up disappointed. Filled with a sharp needle along the side and a bunch of juice poured out the bottom. No th at all but lots of vapor. Still tastes funny. Plus there's a hell of a noisy sizzle when hitting it. Is that normal? Do cartos have a breaking in period to before tasting better?
Tried the lr atty and love it. Tastes great almost imediately. Great th and vapor. Not sure what my issue is with the cartos. Any ideas?

 

[swedishfish]

I usually fill the cartomizer by holding it at an angle (avoid the center) and drip about 5-10 drops and they start to absorb. Then I shake like a thermometer a few times so the juice starts to work its way to the bottom. Then I do about 5 more drops, shake, repeat. When it can't take any more juice, let it sit about 15 minutes. Then shake again and top off with a few more drops of juice. When I get a drop of juice from the battery end, it's usually full. Wipe off the bottom with a tissue, put it on the battery.

I'm not sure why you're having an issue. I've never had juice pour out of the bottom of a cartomizer. Is it very thin juice?

 

[mynameisrob]

Where did you order them from? and what ohm are they? Also what PV do you use?

If it makes a sizzle type noise with occassional crackling/popping noises than that is actually a good thing. That means the coil is getting enough juice. If it starts to sound more like a hiss then its prob getting dry and needs to be refilled. Normally when a carto needs more juice it will make a small hiss very quickly right after you let go of the button.
The crackling type noise will settle down once the carto has been used for awhile.

How much juice do the cartos hold? I use a syringe to fill all my cartos. Normally a few drops will come out the battery end once their completely filled, but it should def not pour out. Did you put juice down the tube in the carto? Thats the only way I can think of that would cause juice to pour out.

 

[brianishiwa]

No name LR cartos? Hmm.

I know that Boge LR cartos are arguably the "standard". I find Boges are great out of the gate, have tightly packed filler, and tend to stay loose on the draw the longest.

Smok cartos have a looser filler, which works well for my thicker juice. They do tend to tighten up faster though, and draws become tougher faster than the Boges. This is across their entire carto line, DCC 1.5's, 1.7's, 1.25's, etc.

I've read (no firsthand experience) that Kanger cartos have a "different" taste. Whether that's the filler, wick, primer, is much debated, but they generally taste different according to a lot of people.

What juice are you using? Atties will inherently give better TH than a carto, but a good LR carto will give a nice amount of throat hit. Also, what battery is all this run on?

The juice pouring out the bottom could be just overfilling. If it's a Boge sized carto, you're looking at 1ml-1.5ml max of juice on the first fill. While syringe filling is normally uneventful, you can try both the condom method or drip fill it to see if the filler absorbs the juice without leaking. Make sure you blow out the carto a little if you hear juice gurgling on the draw. The "sizzle" is normal usually.

And yes, some cartos do need a break-in before hitting their taste peak. I find that my Smok 1.7 SC's taste ever so slightly burnt when first filled (and I'm an obsessive compulsive filler, syringe fill, thermometer shakes, waiting 30 minutes, etc.) but really hit their stride after the first ml of juice.

Report back. Let's get your cartos working properly.

 

[dormouse]

When you use random cartos you can get crap. IMO SLB are crappy and so are L-Rider

What is the PG/VG of your juice? What is the capacity and ohms of the carto? How much juice did you put into the carto and how/how long did you settle it afterwards?

 

[Nodnerb]

Thanks for replies. I'll try answer all questions.

I am using an ego-t battery from my ego-t kit, so I'm assuming 3.7v. The caromizers are in a plain white and black box and says "atomized cartridge" on the front and "SGS" on the side. They are 2 ohm. I'm guessing it holds about a ml. I didn't settle it after filling really. I assume that means simply waiting before using it. I would post the website I got them from, but I don't want it to appear I am blaming them. I am not at all. It is 95% change it is just me being a noob and using a new method. If it is ok to link to the cartos I will. Will a carto last as long between top ups as the standard ego-t type a tank?

I am using 70pg/30vg 'juicy clear' juice. I didn't put any juice down the hole. Just along the side of the barrel to the bottom with a needle.

I've tried it again, and it is ok, but not nearly as good as the ego-t lr atty. Still no TH at all, but decent vapor and the taste isn't stellar. I think I will use the atty for now and work on the carto tomorrow at work where the sizzle won't bother my wife. She's already worried about all the money I'm spending. But hey, I'm not smoking.

 

[dormouse]

This is how I fill, cleanup and settle a carto. I used to use 70PG/30VG but I think I get a bit longer carto life and easier soaking in with 80PG/20VG or less VG. I also now avoid all dark/opaque/cloudy juices because they usually drop a bunch of flavoring sediment in the carto and ruin the carto much quicker.

You can use the syringe instead but only between the inner wall and the stuffing (else you may push together wires that don't belong together). If you use a syringe you put in the capacity of the carto (if the carto is about 9.2mm diameter and about 1.25 to 1.5 inches long then it's probably a 1ml carto). And you still have to settle the carto.

----
How I fill Vapor4Life KR8 cartos and Boge 510 cartos

With the carto off the battery... Pop out the soft cap with an unbent paperclip in the mouth hole, very careful not to catch stuffing or the wire loop.
Shake and open the eliquid

Fill
Hold a bit of tissue on the threaded end hole (or use the carto condom spike to block the hole), tilt the carto, and add 18 drops per ml of capacity into the stuffing (Boges and most KR8 cartos are about 1ml).
Wait 15 seconds or so then see how many more drops the carto stuffing will soak in easily.

Cleanup
Clean up the threaded end, tilt open end down into tissue, puff into threaded end to clear air channel (Boges and the KR8 cartos I use have a defined center air channel and I want to see light through that) While the carto is still open end down, touch a soft bunch of tissue to the top of the stuffing to get the loose juice - this will help prevent leaks.

Settle (first fill only)
Cap and let it settle - I lay it on different sides for 15-20 minutes to make sure every bit of stuffing gets damp so I won't singe the carto. if you use thicker juice than me (I use 20% Vg or less) then you may need to wait much longer.

While vaping
While vaping, if the vapor gets a bit light or a bit dry or the carto is getting hotter than normal, I take the carto off the battery and add eliquid. Also, I use such light sediment-free juices, I can look at the stuffing and see if it needs juice because the stuffing goes back to near-white.

I often use a plastic or delrin drip tip as a mouthpiece on Boge and KR8 cartos (not to drip into since the juice would head for the central air channel). Easy to pop out to add juice.

 

[Nodnerb]

Thanks for all the help once again. Ill take all the advice and see how things go. On a side note, damn does this lr atty go through juice. Lol. Had to fill it up in a quarter the time as with my sr atty. I guess that's the point of it though. Maybe my sr atty was getting too old.

 

[Running Wolf]

I found that letting the cartos sit for a while before using work best as well.... I am refilling cheap one on a cheap PV till my real stuff arrives. When I go to fill one I instead fill two so one will be sitting for a while (maybe 1/2 a day to a day) and then just add a drop or two.

 

[mafig]

hi Nodnerb..i am not a fan of cartomizer..but yesterday i recd my parcel of goodies..and this micromizer might win me over to using cartomizer..just amazing & very satisfying vape..hope U get to try it..regards mafig

 

[swedishfish]

I'm really sorry. I wish I could help, but it doesn't sound like you're doing anything wrong that I could see.

 

[swedishfish]

hi Nodnerb..i am not a fan of cartomizer..but yesterday i recd my parcel of goodies..and this micromizer might win me over to using cartomizer..just amazing & very satisfying vape..hope U get to try it..regards mafig

OMG, I love the colors!! But-- why one earth would you need a waterproof cartomizer?

They have a LED too? How cool is that!

 

[liscombc]

To fill my Boge carts I use a syringe and jab it in the white filler but only go in a couple mm and press until all of the filler is saturated. When I have tried placing the syringe between the side and the filler, it usually all goes out the bottom for me. I could be doing it wrong, but so far it has worked great.

 

[swedishfish]

To fill my Boge carts I use a syringe and jab it in the white filler but only go in a couple mm and press until all of the filler is saturated. When I have tried placing the syringe between the side and the filler, it usually all goes out the bottom for me. I could be doing it wrong, but so far it has worked great.

That might be it!! Very good- I bet the juice isn't getting absorbed.

 

[Nodnerb]

Yeah that could be it. I did run the needle right down the side of the can to the bottom. Thanks all!!!! Ill see how things go in the next while.

 

[VapApe]

Well all I can add is Happy New Gear

 

[mynameisrob]

Try pushing the syringe to the bottom, and once its at the bottom, pull up like a quarter of an inch to a half of an inch. Then fill, but do it slowly so the polyfill has time to absorb, I think that might fix the problem.
Also I wouldnt recommend pushing the needle through the filler, even if it is just alittle. You could move the polyfill and potentially break the wire off the connector and ruin your carto.