New Tank, Horrible Vape. :(

[MikeB]

I just got a Cartomator Tank, and the vape is horrible. It's not filling the carto. I'm getting a dry, airy vape with nothing but a watery taste, and when I look in the carto its bone dry. It must be damp-ish down in there somewhere, because it doesn't taste burnt and still vapes, but what is the deal? Why won't the carto refill? The thing is submerged in a thin pg juice and has a HUGE hole in the side that Nhaler put in there when they shipped it to me. I'd think juice would be pouring out if I tipped it sideways. The only way I can get a good vape is to put juice directly in the carto... I'm so confused.

You know, I had the same issue with my old SmokeTech DCT, but I chocked that up to it's tiny hole in the carto and the entire thing only costing $12.

Is this just what tank vaping is like? Why won't the tank do it's job and refill the carto????

 

[eyebedam]

Do you have a syringe? Try filling the carobitself via syringe to get it spake into the bottom & let it sit for awhile before you vape it.

 

[MikeB]

Do you have a syringe? Try filling the carobitself via syringe to get it spake into the bottom & let it sit for awhile before you vape it.

I'm not sure I follow... use a syringe to fill that carto and let it soak before I vape it?

I've filled it several times til its soaked with 20-25 drops, and I left it over night like that too (just got the tank yesterday).

 

[hmlessalky]

Have you been doing dry (not firing) pulls in between vapes? That will help pull the liquid in, especially if you do a few rapid hard pulls. I have had a few cartos that never really look wet at the top, except in my pre-fill, and they have worked fine. Also, if it is a XL carto it may take more to fill it than you think!

Good luck!

Salky

 

[MikeB]

Have you been doing dry (not firing) pulls in between vapes? That will help pull the liquid in, especially if you do a few rapid hard pulls. I have had a few cartos that never really look wet at the top, except in my pre-fill, and they have worked fine. Also, if it is a XL carto it may take more to fill it than you think!

Good luck!

Salky

Hmmm... well I did try sucking on it dry to see if that would do it, but only seemed to help for the next hit or two. I kinda thought it might just never get damp at the top, so I tried not to worry about that, but the quality of vape is so bad it just has to be dry down inside too.

I've thought that maybe the carto's filler is just wound too tight. Maybe I just need to try another carto. I got a saddle punch from BigDaddy, so I could try punching like 10 holes in a new carto and see if that helps. What do you guys think of that idea?

 

[Grumpus]

I, personally, would avoid putting 10 holes in the carts...maybe add another on the opposite side. With my DCT i had the opposite problem. I had constant flooding. I have now switched over to a rebuildable tank. Enjoying vaping once again.

I would try another hole. See if that helps first.

 

[MikeB]

I, personally, would avoid putting 10 holes in the carts...maybe add another on the opposite side. With my DCT i had the opposite problem. I had constant flooding. I have now switched over to a rebuildable tank. Enjoying vaping once again.

I would try another hole. See if that helps first.

Interesting, what have you switched to?

 

[hmlessalky]

The possibility you just have a bad carto is pretty good. If it has a big hole you should not need another unless the carto is bad. I would give a fresh one a try and go from there!

Salky

 

[MikeB]

The possibility you just have a bad carto is pretty good. If it has a big hole you should not need another unless the carto is bad. I would give a fresh one a try and go from there!

Salky

Thanks. I'll give that a try. Really appreciate all the feedback.

 

[Baditude]

I agree, it could just be a bad cartomizer. If it was me, I'd empty the tank and save the juice. Double punch a new carto, prime it with juice (it won't leak thru the punched holes while filling), insert the primed carto in the tank part way and refill the tank.

Let the fluid levels shift and balance for an hour or so. Before vaping with power on, take a couple of dry tokes, then go for it. Keep an eye on the punched holes, every time you inhale you should see an air bubble escape from the hole. This is an indication that fluid is indeed getting into the carto.

 

[Kay1959]

'10 holes'? Why not just take that puppy outside and fill it full of bird shot?
Your aggrevation is coming through loud and clear with that one statement.

Ok, so you're using mostly PG, correct? Like 70% or higher? You didn't say whether you got the Boge or the Smokteck carto. The Boge hole is much bigger than the Smokteck hole. I use only Boge's and punch the hole in it myself, just to save money. I use something like this because I didn't have any luck with the saddle punch...
V2 Cartomizer Punch - Phiniac Rugged Pyrex Glass Tanks so if you have problems with that saddle punch try this instead...

With a juice consistency of around 70% PG, one good hole from a punch like this should be sufficient.

Since you say dry pulling helps for awhile, it sounds like you just need to give it alittle time to break in that carto. Just the other day I put in a new carto and it wasen't hitting right (the first time it's happened to me) I had to do quite a few dry pulls to get the carto going, but after that, it's been fine. (I'm thinking maybe it's time to change my screw on my punch) Like Bad says, you should see little bubbles coming from the carto every so often.

Hang in there! Learning about tanks takes alittle time. There's a learning curve just like everything else in life. After you get the hang of it, you'll be happy you did.

While filling that puppy with birdshot might help you feel alittle better, it's not going to really solve your issues!

 

[Baditude]

There's kind of an unspoken truth about the relatively poor quality control of cartomizers in general. It seems many people accept the fact that a small percentage of cartos are going to be DOA (dead on arrival) or at the very least inferior or inconsistant in performance. Despite getting that little award that OP spoke of, Smoktech seems to have a notorious reputation for this very thing.

I've heard people say that Smoketech dual coils flood easier than Boge's single coils do. Now I'm hearing Boge is having quality control issues, too, and have changed their polyfill to a lesser quality material.

All of these devices are hand made in China, so there is going to be variances in the quality of their manufacture. So unfortunately, the chances of getting a bum carto in any given pack is too high. To a person new to tanks, this just complicates things when something goes wrong.

 

[MikeB]

'10 holes'? Why not just take that puppy outside and fill it full of bird shot?
Your aggrevation is coming through loud and clear with that one statement.

Ok, so you're using mostly PG, correct? Like 70% or higher? You didn't say whether you got the Boge or the Smokteck carto. The Boge hole is much bigger than the Smokteck hole. I use only Boge's and punch the hole in it myself, just to save money. I use something like this because I didn't have any luck with the saddle punch...
V2 Cartomizer Punch - Phiniac Rugged Pyrex Glass Tanks so if you have problems with that saddle punch try this instead...

With a juice consistency of around 70% PG, one good hole from a punch like this should be sufficient.

Since you say dry pulling helps for awhile, it sounds like you just need to give it alittle time to break in that carto. Just the other day I put in a new carto and it wasen't hitting right (the first time it's happened to me) I had to do quite a few dry pulls to get the carto going, but after that, it's been fine. (I'm thinking maybe it's time to change my screw on my punch) Like Bad says, you should see little bubbles coming from the carto every so often.

Hang in there! Learning about tanks takes alittle time. There's a learning curve just like everything else in life. After you get the hang of it, you'll be happy you did.

While filling that puppy with birdshot might help you feel alittle better, it's not going to really solve your issues!

LOL.... yea I think birdshot would do the trick.

The juice is mostly PG and I'm using a Boge with a pre-punched hole from Nhaler. The hole is quite large. I did notice a bubble once or twice over two days. And it's not burnt tasting so it's not completely dry, but its not a good vape like a soaked newly filled carto. For the life of me I just can't imagine why its not wicking with such a huge hole in the side. It seems like juice would just be running out the ends!

I'll keep it up and try a new carto too... maybe I'll figure it out.

 

[MikeB]

I agree, it could just be a bad cartomizer. If it was me, I'd empty the tank and save the juice. Double punch a new carto, prime it with juice (it won't leak thru the punched holes while filling), insert the primed carto in the tank part way and refill the tank.

Let the fluid levels shift and balance for an hour or so. Before vaping with power on, take a couple of dry tokes, then go for it. Keep an eye on the punched holes, every time you inhale you should see an air bubble escape from the hole. This is an indication that fluid is indeed getting into the carto.

This is really good advice. I appreciate you spelling it out for me. lol. I'll watch those holes while I vape after I have it put back together...

 

[MikeB]

Ok, so I got a new carto, and punched three holes (got a bit over zealous) with my saddle punch. That thing is hard to use and the holes it made were smallish. I need to get something else.

So far so good though. I primed it, slipped it in the tank, and then filled it. Tried to save the juice that was in the tank previously, but only captured maybe a drop and lost the rest. :-/ I also lost some juice after I filled the tank and pushed the carto back up. It seems when the O-ring slides over the punched hole it looses the seal and leaks until I get past the punch. Kinda sucks. Then I sucked hard on it a bunch in the mirror watching for bubbles and I saw some (got dizzy actually, lol). Then I vaped on it a good bit and it didn't run dry. The top of the carto filler looks bone dry but it's vaping fine... maybe not a good as a fresh carto soaked with 20-25 drops, but good none the less. I'll see how vaping for the rest of the evening goes and if it keeps wicking... HERE'S HOPING!

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Kay1959]

Glad to hear your having better success Mike! And all without 10 holes! Imagine! lol!
Here's what I use to punch holes in my cartos, that saddle valve didn't work for me either, and this is cheap.

V2 Cartomizer Punch - Phiniac Rugged Pyrex Glass Tanks

and you can either buy tank tool from there as well, or I hear good things about the 'slap your momma' tank tool. This will help save your carto from catching on your O-rings and tearing them up.

Tank Tool/Filler Tip - Phiniac Rugged Pyrex Glass Tanks

You don't necessarily have to vape in the mirror and get dizzy lol! just vape and then hold your device away from you right afterwards...you'll see them.

 

[Kay1959]

Here you go Mike! This is EXACTLY what I use to punch cartos! And it's at Valleyview vapes!!

Cartomizer Punch

And here's where I bought a bunch of screws to fit it. Enough to last you a LONG LONG time.

Amazon.com: 25 1/4-20x7/8 Mirror Mounting Screw Phos W/Nylon Washer: Automotive

 

[Fiamma]

Love my Slap Yo Mama tank tool, has paid for itself many times over where the little white 'tank tool' didn't do much for me. SYM makes it so easy to put in new cartos, fill tanks etc. Don't know what I ever did without it.

 

[MikeB]

Well... Not so much luck. It vapes better but not great. Maybe I'm just too picky, I don't know. I'm still getting a decent amount of vapor, but its really thin, dry, and airy. I like thick dense clouds like you would get off a freshly topped off carto.. you know one that is really full. When I pull the trigger I want to hear it crackle and pop, and feel a think dense cloud on the inhale. I'm starting to think a tank just can't fill it well enough. I've left it for a few hours while I drip on a 306, and it's still just... weak.

Maybe I need larger holes? Maybe more holes? Maybe bird shot, lol? Honestly, I don't understand what is keeping the juice IN the tank... why doesn't it just run into the carto and out the bottom and make a mess? Seriously, I'm asking because the physics don't make sense. Is there a suction or vacuum inside? If so why doesn't it equalize pressure through the holes in the carto?

 

[Kay1959]

I'm just guessing here, but I'd guess it's a combination of both the filler and the vacuum/suction inside. I know just for S**'s and giggles one time, I took the filler out of a carto and it leaked like crazy (didn't even get it to the tank stage). I also know that you can vape off of a hole punched carto just by itself (not in a tank) and it works fine(no leaking out of the hole).