B & M -
Congratulations (and salutations) for going about this so logically and decisively. You're going to be worlds ahead of most people just starting out.
Tips and tricks:
When filling your cartos and tanks: (After slotting it of course), lubricate the carto with a bit of juice and slide it up into the bottom of the tank, leaving enough room between the top of it and the top cap so you can squeeze in some juice without dumping any directly into the carto. That said, then drip about 15-20 drops directly into the top of the carto. Fill the tank as full as you can without having the level in the tank overflow into the carto, then slide the carto all the way up into and through the top cap.
THEN WAIT until a drop or two of juice finally drips out the 510 connector on the bottom of the carto. (During the waiting period, you can go ahead and add more drops - maybe as much as 10-15 more - but making sure that the carto doesn't develop any signs of "standing" liquid at the top surface of the polyfill. Pretty much fill it like you would water a houseplant; moist, but not soggy. This is very important for a great draw and great hit "right out of the box"). You do not want to put power to the coil before the carto is nice and moist; once the polyfill is scorched, it can't be unscorched. (I came up with that all by myself).
As the carto "stabilizes", you'll see little bubbles (RIP Don Ho) coming out of the slot. Enjoy them; they are cool. And like the "tingle" of Tegrin shampoo, they tell you that "it's working". (And yes, I am borderline nuts).
When you need to refill the tank, just pull the carto back down a bit, leaving the same gap as before between the top of the carto and the bottom of the top cap, and fill 'er up. Be careful not to pull the tank away from the bottom cap in the process. Been there, done that, cleaned up that mess. And again, be careful not to pour any juice firectly into the top of the carto. After using these tanks for about half a year, I just did that again yesterday. When (not if) it does happen, just go ahead and fill the tank (after mildly swearing and oulling th carto down a bit further), and then blow through the drip tip to help remove the xcess juice that has now flooded it. After a few gentle hits that will get some juice into your mouth, the carto should begin to draw nicely again.
After maybe a few days (some lucky users say a week or more), the carto will become increasingly hard to draw through. At that point, simply put a new, properly-slotted one in. Regardless of the juice level in the tank, what I do is to simply invert the tank, push the new carto in through what is now the bottom of the tank, driving the old carto out through wat is now the top of the tank. Presto.
Yes, the tanks are intended to have a top cap and a bottom cap, and might or might not have functional design elements on the "bottom" cap that would engage the flat spots on a flanged carto, but at best they barely work anyway, so I just ignore that feature and enjoy the luxury of being able to swap cartos so easily. I rarely have a problem unscrewing an unflanged carto and tank from the 510 connection, but if one does become stuck, just gently grip the top of the carto where it protrudes from the tank with a pair of pliers and turn it right out. Keeping the trim piece screwed tightly down on the 510 connectors reduces the chances of it acting like a lock nut.
The Twist itself:
I just thought of this last night, and just did it for the first time just now. Tried not being a douche, you might ask? No - I just put a little dab of "Streetwalker Red" nail polish right smack on the "4.0" on the volt dial, so now I can tell at a glance where I am. Not that I really cared all that much anyway, but it's just gonna be nice. I like stupid little things like that.
Remember that the Twist has the famous "five rapid clicks to turn off", "five more rapid clicks to turn back on" feature. Very nice for pocket-friendliness, and fun for the whole family.
Slotting cartos:
I recommend getting a little tube of 36 "Dremel Cut-Off Wheel No. 409" down at the local hardware store. They are 1mm thick, and do a very nice job. They are also EXTREMELY brittle, and if you're not careful, you will go through more of them through breaking than through their ntended purpose. DO NOT leave the arbor ith cut-off wheel mounted on the Dremel (or equivalent) when you're not using it. DO NOT ask me how I know this. Also consider getting a spare arbor for when you lose the little screw. Backup, backup backup.
When cutting the slot, there's obviously a trade-off between maximizing tank capacity (slot down low) and having it too damn low (insufficient juice flow into the carto). Have I made a jig yet to uniformly slot my cartos? Of course not. That would be far too sensible, and would require effort. For now, I mark them with a fine Sharpie, and err slightly on the high side.
OK, that's it for now - gettin' hungry. I'll probably think of a few more things.
Again, welcome to your new life as a healthy person and happy vaper!
