Never ending problems. Possible rant.

[Nodnerb]

Ok so I have a VPX tank that works fine. I ordered another one and it just won't keep the cartos wet and they burn. It's almost like they de-wick. How is this even possible? It's a tank. All it has to do is hold liquid, and it does that. But every single carto(boge 2.0 and 2.2) I've put in it burns. I'm using 60/40 juice and have tried one hole, two hole, and different size holes in the cartos. I condom fill it and let it sit before initial install. Put it in the tank and prime it, nice and wet. Put it down five minutes and it's bone dry. Prime it again, take a few hits and it starts getting burnt. Prime again, and it's flooded. Blow it out, take a few hits, burnt. WTF?!? Play around for several hours trying to get it to work and there's no saving the carto because it's so burnt already. And some of these hits are BONE dry. Like the carto had never touched juice and hurts the lungs. This has happened with 4 brand new cartos and I don't have this problem with my other tank at all. However, I do go through cartos every 3 days or so in the other tank. Which is abysmal in itself. Just about at my wits end.
I have now ordered some Smoktech dual coils to see if I have a better experience, at least in the tank that works. Hopefully they will last longer. If these smoktech cartos aren't any better, I'm done with vaping and I'll be posting a lot of stuff in the buy and sell section. It has really just been more hassle and expense than it's worth. It sucks because when things are working, I REALLY enjoy vaping. It's just so rare that there isn't some sort of problem.

 

[donnah]

I feel your pain. Some days have been like that for me as well. One day everything works and you're on top of the world and the next day nothing works right and you just want to quit! Fortunately I don't have too many bad vaping days anymore. The are so many different variables that can go wrong and it can be difficult to determine which one (the juice? The carto? The battery? The atty? An air leak? Too much of this? To little of that?)

Been there. Nowadays its rare that I run into a problem I can't figure out and fix. Mow that I've said that...everything will quit working right and I'll feel like a newb again!

 

[Duekster]

I feel better knowing I am not the only one.

I thought the 60/40 was the sweet spot to improve wicking, maybe it is 70/30 ?

How many volts are you running?

 

[Nodnerb]

Thanks guys. Glad to know I'm not alone. I feel like an idiot not being able to get this stuff to work sometimes.
Duekster, I am using ego-t batteries which are 3.7 I believe.
Still not sure what to do. My "good" tank broke this morning. The "bad" tank I just don't want to use any more because I've never once got a good vape out of it, just a pack of burnt cartos. I'm tired of topping off cartos and spending money. I just want something that works. But it doesn't exist.

 

[donnah]

Have you tried bottom feeding? If you like 3.7 vaping, old goat makes and sells a nice, inexpensive bottom feeder for $30. Its easy to bottom feed carts and no leaking.

 

[Duekster]

Thanks guys. Glad to know I'm not alone. I feel like an idiot not being able to get this stuff to work sometimes.
Duekster, I am using ego-t batteries which are 3.7 I believe.
Still not sure what to do. My "good" tank broke this morning. The "bad" tank I just don't want to use any more because I've never once got a good vape out of it, just a pack of burnt cartos. I'm tired of topping off cartos and spending money. I just want something that works. But it doesn't exist.

I hate to tell you, I took back my ego-T within an hour. I was fresh quit and pulling hard so I messed it up badly.

I was put on a bullet with stacked batteries running at 6V. I get the feeling those smoke carto's in a heart beat.

I am also fairly sure my taste buds are some what shot.

To an extent I am buying into the concept of a VV.

I wish I knew. After almost 3 months, which included a trip to vegas, I am about as close to going to analogs as ever.

I know vaping is cool, it works but just is not getting there unless I can unlock the key to what really works.

I am sure there is something that works.......
this is as good as it gets if you include the health aspects


Honestly, I like vaping.... but when it's broke it is broke...

 

[TGT]

I just encountered the same problem and came here to see if I could find anyone else who did, and what to do with the carto afterwards...clean it and try it again or toss it. And, sorry to tell you, it was with a smok DCT-1 tank setup, so if you already purchased one then you may have the same problems.

As I was vaping, I started to notice abit less vapor and less taste...looked at the tank...one more hit, and YUCK, burn. I'm not sure if the carto is ok to use again (thinking the burnt taste, and smell will stay).

I started to think and wondering if it's the liquid I'm using. Looking again at the tank, I noticed some sediment in the bottom and thinking that pluged it up. I can not think of anything else that would cause this problem. You tried different carto, holes, blowing it out but nothing...could it be that the sediment plugs it up beyond the point where blowing into it would clear, or having bigger holes in it would help, unless they are the size of the top of the carto and just a cleaning will work..?

I'm using a tobacco PG/VG 70/30. I dont know what to think either and I have to agree with you on the feeling of calling it quits..on the e-cig that is, to much hassle, leaks, burning carto's, money money money, and so much figiting and looking for what works. But when it's good it's great!

I\m gonna try to clean it and see what happens.

 

[BAzz]

Ok, for those of you who are getting to the point of stopping vaping altogether try this.

The cartos and tanks are wonderful, when they work. When they don't they're a never ending source of frustration.
There are lots of variables, as others have pointed out.

Try this, and yes, I know it's a complete faff and not suitable for all occasions, get a 306DCA from GoodSenseVaping. Get a couple of 306 atomisers and a drip tip.
You can avoid buying the DCA and just use the 306s and drip tip if you want, but the DCA eliminates the problem of leaking with these (they are a bit prone to it)

It'll restore your faith in vaping, believe me. Then, when you're a bit more settled and have a good reliable vape by all means explore cartos, tanks, VV, box mods etc safe in the knowledge that you have a good vape as backup.

 

[markfm]

I use two good size holes in my cartos, and prime them from the top when I start a new one. After that they should just plain work, with periodic tank refills, until it's time to change a carto (I run 22 - 24 ml of eliquid between changes).

I stick with Ikenvape 801 fusion cartos, very consistent performers.

If you take a slight puff, without firing the PV, you should see one or two small bubbles coming up from the holes in the carto. Also, if you top fill the tank (I do), when you first slide a fresh carto up through the tank top cap, there should be a noticeable drop in tank eliquid level, as the eliquid is doing the initial soak of the carto.

 

[DaveP]

Any juice that isn't clear or at least translucent is going to be a carto killer. The filler in a carto depends on the space between the fibers being clean. Any sediment is going to fill those voids and lead to blockages. If you can't see through the bottle clearly or at least translucently, there may be problems using the carto by itself or in a tank setup.

I use 100% PG clear juices and I sometimes unwrap a new carto, fill it using the condom method (or the toothpick method), and have dry burn issues. If I keep adding drops to the top and to the threaded end next to the coil, sometimes I can eventually get good wicking. Other times, I just have to chuck it and open another. I think some cartos are just packed too tightly during manufacture.

 

[LadyVaper]

Seriously, You may have just gotten a bad box of Carto's.
It has happened to me before. I looked at them closely, and noticed
the air tube was cut in half. It was a tube but it looked like it had
two half tubes put together. Plainly put, they got put together wrong.
So I wrote that of as a bad box of carto's. It happens sometimes.
Also I use 80-90%VG so wicking tanks is hard at that consistency.
I often have to cover the air holes with my hand and suck really hard and fast on my
drip tip. It offten times sucks juice into the holes. I also take a ice pick and make my
hole on the DC carto's slightly bigger, so the thicker juice can wick.
Don't give up on it yet. Vaping is so much better for you. It can actually be enjoyable.
It has become a hobby for me, so I figure out ways to make even the stubborn
ones work

 

[Gerbil]

The method that Ive found that's working pretty well for me is using a mom and pop mini sub tank (or any tank with the side fill hole, I'd assume works the same), putting the new carto in the tank dry, filling the tank, then blowing into the fill hole until the carto floods and leaks out the airhole slightly. Seems to give me a perfect fill every time, at the small cost of a little juice wasted, and a slightly wet hit the first time. Once I do that, I never have any wicking issues with the cart and I'm usually running 100% vg juices through either mom and pop's prepunched Boge 3 ohm, or the prepunched 3 ohm DCT carts from madvapes. Also, the air pressure fill works with some of the dual coil tanks, too. The one I got from Totally Wicked has a removable top cap and I just pull the cap off, put the new, dry carto in normally, fill the tank up past where the cap will slide down into, then put the cap back in, letting it force the juice into the carto. Takes a little bit of practice to find out how much overfill is too much or too little, but once you see where the sweet spot it, it works like a charm.