Monitoring and Refilling Cartomizers

[jordan85]

I'm wondering how everyone keeps track of/decides when it it time to trash a carto.

It could be my taste buds haven't fully recovered but to me it seems like cartos go through about three phases before going giving off the burnt taste:

strong, tasty flavor/vapor --> good tasty flavor/vapor --> weak but decent flavor/vapor --> burnt taste

Basically, I think I would like to reill my cartos to keep in the first two areas more often, but I'm not sure how to monitor my carts for replacing. I was kinda just planning on trying to throw them out every 7 or 8 refills, but that will be hard to keep track of, and if I start refilling half-way through cycles that plan goes out the window.

So how does everybody keep track of how many times they have refilled a carto, and/or how do you know when it is time to toss an old carto and replace it?

 

[Griffin]

I try to stop using them at phase 3, when the flavor becomes weak or there is just a hint of a burnt taste, and then refill them. If I ever get a refilled carto that tastes bad immediately or shortly into it, I'll throw that one away. It hasn't happened yet, so I don't have a good gauge of how many refills that will take.

FWIW, I "flavor hop" a LOT, so, while I have a lot of refilled cartos, I probably don't have too many that have been refilled more than 3 or 4 times.

I have thrown away a few that I accidentally vaped right into phase 4 (nearly completely dried out - oops!) as well as a few that tasted bad because of a poor choice in selecting which juice to refill with. Refilling a grape MF carto with french vanilla juice is NOT recommended!

 

[MrHyde]

I tend to top off my carts when they start to become weak. But then again...I'll keep doing this until the cart becomes unusable. I have a serious problem with not cleaning my carts, so I completely kill them lol. I can probably get a good 15 uses out of a single cart before it starts going noticably bad.

 

[otrpu]

I've received XL Clearo's from CoV, (Clouds of Vapor), and been vaping one for a full month. At least 3 refills a day, sometimes 4 on weekend days off. I finally switched to another Clearo because the tube started spinning, (turning), on the batt connector. I don't clean um, or haven't as yet. I vape eGo/Riva class batts, and ProVari. All my juice is 50/50 or > % VG, Cinnamon. JMHO

Cheers,
otrpu

 

[Marsai]

I toss em If :

- Burnt taste does not go away after refilling.
- taste just not that good/strong anymore.
- I've chewed the hell out of the paper on the carto and just want to start a new one.

 

[jayvap33]

I toss em If :

...
- I've chewed the hell out of the paper on the carto and just want to start a new one.

Me too! May I recommend using a rubber cap for bite-protection? Just cut a hole in it. Or a drip tip...

 

[nycsublimegirl]

yes totally do this... makes handfree so much better =)

Me too! May I recommend using a rubber cap for bite-protection? Just cut a hole in it. Or a drip tip...

 

[Marsai]

Me too! May I recommend using a rubber cap for bite-protection? Just cut a hole in it. Or a drip tip...

I actually have tried that and it works great, however, Most of the time when its not stuck in my mouth my cig is on a lanyard around my neck ..... and it just wont fit in with the rubber cap on. ....
I stick it in Upside down to prevent any juice getting into the batt. I could keep taking it off and on but ....meh ... ty though

Haven't tried the drip tip yet though. Thinking of getting one.

 

[jordan85]

Hey everyone, I have a concern....

I have been going through my first refilling experience. I have been super careful; I take off the carto, drip at a 45 degree angle while turning, and stop filling when I see the juice starting to not soak in. Then I blow out the "lips-end" of the carto (the end without threading), and let the cart sit for the evening (I do this before I go to sleep).

I have noticed that even though I let the juice absorb overnight, and I blow through the end to ensure there is no juice in the carto that will leak into the battery, after I remove the carto, if I rub either the male-end on the battery or the female end on the cartomizer, I will have juice on my fingers.

The battery is working fine, and I haven't had any weird signs, except that it seemed like the cartridge "gurgled" a little bit more at first than it had w/ my pre-filled ones. I just want to make sure that I am not about to fry a battery here!

So is this normal? If not, what's the deal? Am I overfilling my cartos?

 

[Big Hitter]

I keep topping mine off all day long. I never reach phase 2. That way I can use the same one for 3-4 days.

The dryer you let them get the more damage you do.

For evidence, I have used the SAME carto on a bottom feed mod where I keep it wet every 6-8 hits.
When they stay that wet I can run 24ml (or 6 days for me) through the befor they start to taste funky.

 

[leaford]

Hey everyone, I have a concern....

I have been going through my first refilling experience. I have been super careful; I take off the carto, drip at a 45 degree angle while turning, and stop filling when I see the juice starting to not soak in. Then I blow out the "lips-end" of the carto (the end without threading), and let the cart sit for the evening (I do this before I go to sleep).

I have noticed that even though I let the juice absorb overnight, and I blow through the end to ensure there is no juice in the carto that will leak into the battery, after I remove the carto, if I rub either the male-end on the battery or the female end on the cartomizer, I will have juice on my fingers.

The battery is working fine, and I haven't had any weird signs, except that it seemed like the cartridge "gurgled" a little bit more at first than it had w/ my pre-filled ones. I just want to make sure that I am not about to fry a battery here!

So is this normal? If not, what's the deal? Am I overfilling my cartos?

Yes, if you are hearing it gurgle it's oversaturated. The filler should be visibly moist, but not visibly wet, and when dripping liquid should still be absorbed but a bit slower than when you started dripping. When you blow through it nothing should be expelled out the other end. One test I do is to turn it upside down, the right side up, and look in. When it's full but not overfull I see liquid right on the top of the filler for just a quick moment but it's already soaking back in. If it "hangs" for a moment before reabsorbing it's too much.

 

[Doomed!]

Someone on the forums here said that the filler should look "slushy". I think that's a great way to put it. If the juice is pooling, then you've gone too far. As for the carto lifespan, I have refilled my original 5 that came with the kit more than a dozen times and haven't had one go bad on me. Just as an experiment, I even did a dry burn on one for about 3 seconds, filled it and it vaped fine. No burnt taste. I do usually clean them after 1 use, I don't generally just top them off. I have just topped one off a couple of times and haven't seen any noticeable difference in performance.

 

[Mr. White]

I do usually clean them after 1 use, I don't generally just top them off. I have just topped one off a couple of times and haven't seen any noticeable difference in performance.

Hi Doomed,

Any chance you could share your method for cleaning the carts?

Thank you

 

[Frick]

I'd like to know, too. A couple of my original cartos are starting to get to the point where performance is dropping off. I don't mind tossing them if they're done, but I'd like to attempt a clean first.

 

[Doomed!]

Hi Doomed,

Any chance you could share your method for cleaning the carts?

Thank you

Basically I just soak them in rubbing alcohol for a few minutes, blow them out from the battery end and then let them dry. It generally takes about 24 hours for them to dry. If you have really strongly flavored juice, you might have to do this twice. Some juice, I have some JC chocolate for instance, just leaves it's presence around permanently. Can't get that chocolate taste out to save my life. A good clean will bring a carto back to life, in my experience. I will say that I clean them after every use just because I only have a few right now and I like to change my flavors up. Cleaning them with the alcohol gets all that juice out. When I get the 25 pack of blanks that I ordered, I probably will be doing it much less.

 

[Frick]

Thanks. That's how I cleaned 510 attys, and the alcohol really got them clean. I'll give it a go with a few of my older cartos.

 

[Newme]

Basically I just soak them in rubbing alcohol for a few minutes, blow them out from the battery end and then let them dry. It generally takes about 24 hours for them to dry. If you have really strongly flavored juice, you might have to do this twice. Some juice, I have some JC chocolate for instance, just leaves it's presence around permanently. Can't get that chocolate taste out to save my life. A good clean will bring a carto back to life, in my experience. I will say that I clean them after every use just because I only have a few right now and I like to change my flavors up. Cleaning them with the alcohol gets all that juice out. When I get the 25 pack of blanks that I ordered, I probably will be doing it much less.

The rubbing alcohol doesn't leave any taste at all, or affect the taste of the juice you put in afterward? And it's safe to be vaping?

 

[Doomed!]

The rubbing alcohol doesn't leave any taste at all, or affect the taste of the juice you put in afterward? And it's safe to be vaping?

Nope. Not if you give it enough time for the alcohol to evaporate. I don't taste anything from the alcohol after it's dried. If you use 91% alcohol it should evaporate completely after about 24 hours. It's just alcohol and distilled water after all. If you don't feel comfortable with it, you can always rinse the cartos out with water after you clean them with the alcohol. Just keep in mind that it will take longer to dry if you go that route.

 

[Frick]

When I was cleaning 510 attys with alcohol, I'd dry them out with a blowdryer and they'd be dry in seconds. I bet a carto would dry out in a couple minutes with that method.

 

[Newme]

Well then maybe I will try that next time. I know that when I use water it takes forever to dry, and sometimes doesn't even seem to dry completely. Plus a little of the flavor does seem to stay behind.