lifespan of a cartomizer
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I don't throw mine away until they just simply won't perform anymore...hasn't happened too many times, though. I have quite the stash.
what do you mean by not "performing" anymore. what are the indicators of this?
I will use a brand new carto until it stops tasting good and producing vapor. It goes into a clean pile, and then eventually will get a boil, rinse and reboil, rinse again and dried. I will reuse it until it tastes bad and stops producing vapor, and then will do the cleaning again. If I find that a cleaned and dried carto looks brown inside, I'll toss it. Once I can't get a clean carto to taste good and producr vapor, I will throw it away. I have 200+ cartos here in circulation, and I've thrown away between 4 & 6 in four months.
[edit: oops I just realized this is the kr808-d forum. I was talking about 510 cartos. Exact mL volume may vary for yours but the principle is the same]
DO NOT run them dry. If you refill them before they get below about 20% then they will last much longer.
Here's what I do. When I'm a home I use a 3mL syringe with a 20ga needle. This makes filling very accurate and fast (you don't even have to take it off the cig to top up!) and also lets you see exactly how much is going in.
Initial fill 0.6 to 0.7 mL, very slowly until a bead appears on the battery end. Then stop feeding and let it soak in for a minute. As soon as you stop the bead will be drawn back into the carto as is soaks in. Then one more tiny top-up (0.1mL) before vaping. If you do it this way you will get a near maximum fill with no drips and without having to blow out any extra. After that I try to keep track of my usage and top up 0.25mL at a time. I try to average something like 75% saturation for the best vape.
When I'm out and about I either take a few pre-filled ones with me, or do the condom fill. The problem with the condom fill is it's messy and it's only practical to do larger fills. This means you're cylcing between very wet and almost dry which doesn't vape as well and wears out the carto faster.
I usually dispose of one carto per day. Sometimes more if I accidentally run it dry. Usually I try to toss them well before they would start tasting funny - that taste is burnt filler, and I don't want to breathe it.
DO NOT run them dry. If you refill them before they get below about 20% then they will last much longer.
Here's what I do. When I'm a home I use a 3mL syringe with a 20ga needle. This makes filling very accurate and fast (you don't even have to take it off the cig to top up!) and also lets you see exactly how much is going in.
Initial fill 0.6 to 0.7 mL, very slowly until a bead appears on the battery end. Then stop feeding and let it soak in for a minute. As soon as you stop the bead will be drawn back into the carto as is soaks in. Then one more tiny top-up (0.1mL) before vaping. If you do it this way you will get a near maximum fill with no drips and without having to blow out any extra. After that I try to keep track of my usage and top up 0.25mL at a time. I try to average something like 75% saturation for the best vape.
When I'm out and about I either take a few pre-filled ones with me, or do the condom fill. The problem with the condom fill is it's messy and it's only practical to do larger fills. This means you're cylcing between very wet and almost dry which doesn't vape as well and wears out the carto faster.
I usually dispose of one carto per day. Sometimes more if I accidentally run it dry. Usually I try to toss them well before they would start tasting funny - that taste is burnt filler, and I don't want to breathe it.
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I use the cleaning method in post 5 with vodka instead of water. They dry quickly and I feel they're disinfected.
After the initial fill, I put on a drip tip. (I don't remove the fill, just the hard and soft caps) and drip 4 - 6 drops every 30 minutes or so.
I still have cartos that are working well from the first ones I've used.
They don't seem to die very often.
After the initial fill, I put on a drip tip. (I don't remove the fill, just the hard and soft caps) and drip 4 - 6 drops every 30 minutes or so.
I still have cartos that are working well from the first ones I've used.
They don't seem to die very often.
I'm not obsessive about my cartos. I simply use them until they burn out. But keeping them refilled will do wonders for extending their life. Got a 5 pack last week and still have 2 unopened.
I keep about four cartos in my rotation (four different flavors) which I swap throughout the day. I fill them all in the morning when I wake up.
I usually can refill them for about a week before they don't taste so great. At that point they go into the recycle bucket and I fill a fresh one. I haven't really boiled/reused any yet, but I figure that if I ever have a vaping emergency, I have a backup stock to pull from. Four cartos in a week is well within my spending range, so even if I was throwing them away I'd be fine with it.
Acorn, it gets better as you go, in regards to that brnt taste you mentioned. At some point you start recognizing that "finished" flavor before it tastes burnt, and you know when to refill in advance. It just takes some getting used to.
I usually can refill them for about a week before they don't taste so great. At that point they go into the recycle bucket and I fill a fresh one. I haven't really boiled/reused any yet, but I figure that if I ever have a vaping emergency, I have a backup stock to pull from. Four cartos in a week is well within my spending range, so even if I was throwing them away I'd be fine with it.
Acorn, it gets better as you go, in regards to that brnt taste you mentioned. At some point you start recognizing that "finished" flavor before it tastes burnt, and you know when to refill in advance. It just takes some getting used to.
Thanks for the video, Coolone!
And thanks also for the vodka tip, Princessdee!
I'm going to try this method out.
And thanks also for the vodka tip, Princessdee!
I'm going to try this method out.
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