Making the hole in your carto for a Tank

[mwa102464]

OK I've spoken to a lot of people regarding punching holes in there carto's for tanks this week and last, they say they are punching a 3/16 or so hole in there cartos or using the saddle valve or some other high end priced Jig, and some are slotting there carto's with a dremmel for the most part. First off when you punch a hole with a punch it then makes your carto no longer perfectly round and I have found this wheres on your O-Rings when pushing it threw and pulling it out of your bottom cap, you also get a bubble over the hole a lot and it seems to effect the draw some on many cartos with this punched or 3/16" hole

So what I have been doing is taking my dremmel and making a slot but NOT going all the way through, just a small slot or grove in the carto, carto's are actually a pretty soft material. I then take a large sewing needle, push and turn the needle inside the slot I made to make a very small needle head or pin head sized hole.

I'm finding that this smaller needle size hole does a few things, first it creates more pressure and allows the liquid to actually pull in the carto really nicely, it doesn't effect the draw as much as the big hole and no bubble hanging round like it does with the bigger punched hole. I also have found that the cartos like Atty's perform much better with just the right amount of liquid in them. with to much liquid you dont get as much vapor and with to little it burns of course, the bigger hole allows to much liquid in the carto's and this new type of hole in the slot allows just the right amount of liquid into the carto for the perfect vape. The filler & Carto is lasting a greater amount of time and the vape is much better. You may want to try this it works very well ! pic's below

 

[Str8V8ping]

I drill two 1/16" holes

 

[misplacedsooner]

i like this idea, makes me feel more comfortable now before my first attempt at slotting.

 

[dotma]

oh cool idea! I had such a hard time with my carto holes, i stopped using my tank!

 

[mwa102464]

I drill two 1/16" holes

That would probably be good too Str8, but most people or a lot of people will go to far and hit the filler, if ya use a drill press that would be good though, these bigger 3/16" punched holes are just not the best in my opinion. This slot with a very tiny hole works extremely well, you could also do one on either side if you want but I'm finding I only need one, even with a high VG Ratio juice.

 

[Killjoy1]

3/16" is way too big, IMO, I agree with you on that. Like Str8v8ping, I do two holes at approx 1/16" for Boge cartos, only one hole about that size for DC cartos

Your technique is far more appealing to me than fully slotting with the dremel, though, so I give you props on that one

 

[Str8V8ping]

yup i have a drill press so it a matter of seconds to drill 2 holes .Makes a clean hole without indenting the carto like a punch would . I dont drill in deep where it will pull out the filler but iv tried pulling out a little filler a few times to see what it would do and it seems to work even better .

 

[Bdbodger]

I got a 1mm drill bit for my dremel but I am still waiting for some SS cartos to try it . I don't know how hard or easy it will be to drill a hole yet though with a dremel instead of a drill press . Anyone have any tips for that ?

 

[Str8V8ping]

A dremel will drill through it faster ,just make sure you dont go through it and damage the wires/coil/filler .The dremel will might run a little on you as well but you shouldnt have a problem . Tap the location with a nail or something to keep the bit from running around

 

[micksf]

what happened to the picts?

 

[mwa102464]

Pictures re-added for ya micksf

 

[djej]

Pictures re-added for ya micksf

Are these boge cartos, and are you doing only one side? I like the idea a lot, and that it's woking with thick juices as well. I'll definitely give this a shot.

 

[micksf]

djej, I use both boge LR and Smoktech 1.7 Single Coil cartos using this method. I currently have found making the hole only on one side works for me and all the different juices that I vape. I know some people use holes on both sides, but so far I have not run into a situation where I needed more than one.

Are these boge cartos, and are you doing only one side? I like the idea a lot, and that it's woking with thick juices as well. I'll definitely give this a shot.

 

[Bdbodger]

I got a workstation for my dremel and a 1/16" bit and it works great . The workstation turns the dremel into a drill press and after tapping a slight indent with a punch to stop the drill from wandering I get a good hole . I wet the carto with PG first to prevent the heat from burning the filler .

 

[wyojoe]

I have tried a lot of different methods for making slots and holes and have found the best and easiest for me is using a Saddle Valve from a hardware store with a curved bottom plate and not a flat plate on the bottom, that works the best for me. Drilling was the worst unless you have a drill press, if you use a hand drill the second you break thru the carto it will wind up the wicking material and wad it up inside, and it will never wick like it should for a tank. I have been using the Saddle Valve for over 6 months now and it works great.

 

[saltysharktoes]

I have tried a lot of different methods for making slots and holes and have found the best and easiest for me is using a Saddle Valve from a hardware store with a curved bottom plate and not a flat plate on the bottom, that works the best for me. Drilling was the worst unless you have a drill press, if you use a hand drill the second you break thru the carto it will wind up the wicking material and wad it up inside, and it will never wick like it should for a tank. I have been using the Saddle Valve for over 6 months now and it works great.

+1 on the saddle valve i bought one today and it works great takes like 10 seconds to punch a carto and it doesnt dent the carto much around the hole, took me about 20 minutes with my roommate holding the carto while i nailed it to get one

 

[wyojoe]

+1 on the saddle valve i bought one today and it works great takes like 10 seconds to punch a carto and it doesnt dent the carto much around the hole, took me about 20 minutes with my roommate holding the carto while i nailed it to get one

+1 again for the saddle valve. It doesn't take up much room and you can keep it in a drawer and not need to go to the garage to plug something in or find a hard surface to hammer on. Its easy with the saddle valve. You had a trusting roommate to hold the carto while you nailed it. LOL

 

[micksf]

I've been using the partial slotting method described here with great success (thanks to mwa for that) but I'll go get a SV tomorrow and give it a try. I've seen picts of punched cartos using a SV and it scares me for two reasons. the hole size seems really big and the dent made in the process of creating the hole seems really large as well, and I'm worried the dent will cause leaking issues on the bottom seal of the tank. but the SV is cheap enough I guess to give it a try.

 

[Str8V8ping]

Sorry for the mistake i actually drill two 5/64". Drill press only . It would be awfully difficult to not pull the filler out using a high speed hand drill.

 

[Malawi]

Thanks for the pics. I was also looking for them. -I assume the slot itself has no real function other than to make it easier to make the correct sized hole?

I have not tried to make hole in cartos, but assume that I can make a 9mm hole in a piece of wood to keep it firmly in place. I can then use my dremmel-like tool to drill trough the wood and into the carto. Alternatively, I can cut away some wood, and use the wood to keep the carto in place and make it more manageable.

Hmm, the wood thing could also be used to make a small jig. If you can strap down the dremmel in some way. You then make some kind if stopper. You can then lead the piece of wood with the carto inside to the dremmel, and be sure that it stops at the right debt. -Surely a bit more hassle than using a punch-tool though, but with no deforming of the carto.