Noob cleaning cartos. Am I just wasting my time... and juice?

[JmeMcG]

Have tried a couple of times to clean my used cartos. So far, all attempts have failed. I have tried the boiling in water method. Rinsing and/or soaking in water method. Flushing with a syringe method. Giving them a week or longer to dry after cleaning, so they are not wet.

They look clean after all these methods and do not have odors from the juices, it is just when I try using them again that I am not happy. They just don't work. They fire, so it's not that they are dead, but it's like they are not firing hot enough or something??? I also notice that they do not absorb the juice the same. No or very very little vapor and the taste is bad, not burnt, just weak and gross. It's also a bummer filling these cleaned cartos and experiencing this... it's just a total waste of juice.

I stopped at the liquor store yesterday and picked up some PGA. I have some cartos soaking right now and I am thinking this is the last attempt I am going to make as it seems I am just wasting my time. I would like this to work. I know they have a short life span so I'm not thinking they are going to last forever. Even if I can get another good round out of these I would probably be happy. It's not like they are *super* expensive, but ya know, if I can save a *little* $$ it would be cool.

My preference in juice gunks cartos up pretty fast I think. I like the dark, sweet juices and although I have lowered the PG to 20%, the 1.7 LR are gunking up in 3 days. I can get a few days longer on the Boge 2.0 LR's. Between my husband and I, we are going through the cartos pretty fast.

I have read some success stories on cleaning these on this forum. I just wish it was working for me.

 

[orachel]

Try this... set up all your dirty cartos and attys at the sink. One at a time, put about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, then fill rest with white vinegar, and plug the top hole with your thumb, so the 'volcano' effect forces it out thru the filler and bottom hole. Repeat a few times with each. If you've been using a particularly stinky strong juice, might want to follow up with a flush of water with lemonjuice in it (i usually use about a tablespoon of lemonjuice, maybe 2, in a cup of water). Then rinse the b-jayjay out of it. SERIOUS rinse. That should clean about 90% of em. I've revived ones that were horrible, cleaned out atomic cinnacide... that method works pretty well. For a very few, I've soaked in the water w lemonjuice overnight, then rinsed. But that only cleans out gunk/smells/juice and revives em. Dead is dead, for the most part.

Sorry forgot important part! AFTER you clean and rinse your cartos, use the REVERSE TARYN SPIN method to get most of the water out of em, then set em to dry overnight. Only have to taryn spin reverse on the cartos...not the attys. Keeps the filler from getting funky and moldy. You can find videos showing you reverse spin on youtube and ecf.

BTW, awsome suggestion for sweet fab juices that don't gunk up your cartos (and I use 100% VG!) is Virgin Vapor, and The Vapor Room. Both have fabulous sweet bakery flavors, and I've been using my current round of cartos for going on 3 mos now... with 100% VG. Pretty amazing.

I keep thinking of different things to add, cause i struggled with the same things you are when I was starting. Important note. That 'Reverse Taryn Spin' method is perfect for getting almost all of the juice OUT of a carto, so you don't waste it if cleaning didn't work well. I fill with taryn spin, get juice out and dry cartos with reverse taryn spin. Its a lifesaver.

 

[r77r7r]

You're probably getting them good and clean. Problem might be that the coil is gunked up too much and won't get hot again. With an atty or some clearos, you can "dry burn" them, can't so much with cartos- hence the disposability.

You can try cleaning more frequently, or put them in water until you get to cleaning to keep the juice from hardening on the coil. The more PG the better to keep it thin.

You can buy bulk cartos for under a dollar also.

 

[JmeMcG]

Thanks for the tips and advice from you both! I really appreciate any help here. Going to try a few more times I guess. I really don't have anything to lose I suppose. I think it must be the dark colors in the juices that are coating the coil. I don't know... most of the cartos I have tried to clean were still firing hot and I was getting lots of vapor (before I cleaned them) it was a matter of losing flavor and harder draw that made me decide to try and clean them.

Thanks again! You guys are awesome for trying to help me out!

 

[mke67]

Check this out...How to Fill and Clean a Cartomizer with the Plunger Kit (Patent Pending) - YouTube

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