My cartomizer is just driving me nuts...

[Baditude]

The very best advice is to adjust your voltage to taste for whatever flavor you are using. There is no voltage "magic number" that suits every flavor or every vapor. With each new flavor you try, start at a low voltage and work up in volts in increments until you find a sweet spot.

For example my flavors: 3.4v for fruit flavors, 4.0 for coffee and tobacco, 4.6 for a red hot cinnamon. YOUR results may vary from mine.

The nicotine strength will have absolutely no effect on the thickness of the juice or how it will wick into the cartomizer. As pointed out by others, juice color and viscosity (thickness) can affect the wicking of juice and also shorten the life of the cartomizer due to clogging of the polyfill.

 

[Nev NYC]

Start around 4.2 and slowly work your way up. You'll know when it's good by taste and vapor. Some juices don't like higher voltage even if the ohm on your topper is supposed to handle to voltage. Fruit and candy vapes are usually the ones that don't handle high voltage well. I use LR Boges and don't go above 8w but usually hang around 6.5 to 7w. If that's in volts then you should be safe around 3.5 to 4v depending on how fresh your battery is.

 

[Leithan]

I'm going to use my third eye to bend space and time and look over your shoulder..........I can see it now, it's coming into focus......You pick up the device after letting it sit for a bit, take a hit and wow! Tastes pretty good, I'll hit it again....not bad....and one for the road......ack burnt. Fiddle with the power and hit it again....still burnt. You set it down in frustration and walk away for a bit, you come back and repeat the cycle again. Your cart isn't getting enough juice, you let it sit, it wicks some up but by the third hit or so it's running lean and hot, so hence the burning taste. Your carts wicking, just not enough to keep up.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

What voltage you should vape at is totally dependent on your tastes, that is why vv/vw PV's are variable/adjustable.

Try turning it down to 3.5 and take a drag, turn it up a little more take another drag keep doing this until you find what tastes best to you, there are no set rules in vaping.
I might like a certain juice at 5.2v on a 2.8 coil someone else might like the same exact juice at 3.7v on a 2.8.

The taste may have come back because it has had enough time between vapes to saturate the wicking material surrounding the coil or you're experiencing vapors tongue, many people new to vaping do.

 

[Leithan]

Vapors tongue.....totalley didn't thing of that

 

[Nev NYC]

You know your carto is wicking properly by the crackling sound it makes.. When u hear a good crackling noise then its working.. If it sounds weak then it's probably burnt out or dry.

 

[kpmeth]

I'm going to use my third eye to bend space and time and look over your shoulder..........I can see it now, it's coming into focus......You pick up the device after letting it sit for a bit, take a hit and wow! Tastes pretty good, I'll hit it again....not bad....and one for the road......ack burnt. Fiddle with the power and hit it again....still burnt. You set it down in frustration and walk away for a bit, you come back and repeat the cycle again. Your cart isn't getting enough juice, you let it sit, it wicks some up but by the third hit or so it's running lean and hot, so hence the burning taste. Your carts wicking, just not enough to keep up.

I think THAT is my problem right there.

Right after the taste came back again, I topped off and looked. Fillings were all dried. So I used needle bottle to put some drops again to get it soaked. I think I put like 6 drops thats it. Put it back on the battery, did couple dry puffs. and FIRE! gurggling...grrr....

So I blew it off some juices out through the end by covering with paper towel. No more gurggling.

And FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now the burning taste came back again

Is this requires rocket science or what

 

[kpmeth]

You know your carto is wicking properly by the crackling sound it makes.. When u hear a good crackling noise then its working.. If it sounds weak then it's probably burnt out or dry.

yes. It makes good sound. like Ferrari exausts

 

[Leithan]

Mine never crackle, just hiss, like a can of spray paint.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

No rocket science needed, what you need is more/bigger holes in your carto and to turn down the power and gradually work your way up until you get a slight burnt taste then turn it down a little to prevent the burnt taste.

 

[kpmeth]

UPDATE

I sat this thing up side right for about good 10 mins. The taste came back.

So unlike most of the video tutorials, I actually need to have it saoked about 10~15 mins and then start to vape.

I get it....my poor cartos in trash can....RIP

If I mix some water in the tank, will that help the carto to absord the liquid better??

 

[kpmeth]

No rocket science needed, what you need is more/bigger holes in your carto and to turn down the power and gradually work your way up.

The hole is not that small.

 

[Leithan]

Like I said brother, I run two big ... slots in mine, I could never get one hole to work for me. If it's a good brand carto It won't flood. Adding water will just give you a week hit.

 

[kpmeth]

Like I said brother, I run two big ... slots in mine, I could never get one hole to work for me. If it's a good brand carto It won't flood. Adding water will just give you a week hit.

So I need to invest a puncher.

God..when this shopping spree will ever end....

 

[Nev NYC]

You don't necessarily have to wait 10-15 minutes once you find your grove. Take a few short puffs after you condom fill or top fill and look for bubbles coming out of the hole(s). You'll know for sure that its taking in juice they way. I'm too impatient to wait when I wanna vape. U need bigger holes or more of them. There is definitely a learning curve with cartos but once you get the hang of it you'll know exactly where to punch and how to punch, you'll know what voltage you prefer and what juices need special care to wick.

 

[Leithan]

I run two, one one each side, I cut them with a dremmal tool

 

[Topwater Elvis]

I use 50/50 pg/vg ratio some of my cartos have 2 or 3 holes that size some have slots on each side that would be the equivalent to 4 holes that size.
It is very possible you have the voltage set too high, you take few hits and the heat produced dries the filler next to the coil, then you take a few more that tastes dry / burnt. Then you let it sit and the filler re saturates and everything seems fine again until you take a couple hits drying out the filler next to the coil and your problems start over again.

Are these carto's single or dual coil?
The provari reads them at 2.8 or the box said 2.8?

 

[Nev NYC]

I run two, one one each side, I cut them with a dremmal tool
View attachment 228496

The tank on the far right is slick looking. What is it and does it have a fill hole?

 

[Leithan]

It's the Atmistique Scuba tank, It's made for the diver ( getting a rebuild) but any standard carto works. Yup the biggest damn fill hole I have seen. and its in the bottom of the tank so you can use what ever drip tip you please.

 

[kpmeth]

Guys. Thanks a million for countless helps.

It turned out to be the juice was tainted. I decided to syringe all the juice that was in the tank. Ran HOT water through the tank. Used the same cart in it. Now Im getting very tiny burn taste but it gets faded out and now the real flavor started crawling out now.

I feel bad for my unguilty cartos that were thrown away.......