possible to test a cartomizer?

[jbmcdan]

Is there a way to test a carto to see if it's going to work/not going to leak before loading it up with juice? I've tried to refill a few and have then had to reverse spin the juice back out -- just getting tired of wasting juice, since I never seem to get everything back out.
I thought of using a syringe and filling the stuffing with water to see if I get any leaks out of the battery-end hole before trying juice...but does anyone have a better suggestion?

 

[SnowDragon]

Honestly, if you don't separate and toss known burnt Cartomizer filling them first with 25 drops of water maybe really be the only real option for you. Burnt Cartos are tricky, all you need is a small hole and juice will leak down the air tube. As well, strong flavors like Peppermint or menthols can mask a small burn so you might not even notice.

It's true that spinning the juice back out will only retrieve about 3/4's of what you put in since residual juice (stays damp) remains in the polyfill.

Are you rinsing out these Cartomizers or just refilling them with the same juice they came with prefilled? (this sounds silly but try it) Do you have a small l.e.d. flashlight, I've found that if you cup your hand around the battery hole and put an l.e.d. flashlight right up the battery hole in a dark room you can inspect the inner wick. It's not perfect by any means, but you can see burn holes or differences in the wick tube surface areas. Just slowly turn the carto and look for any inconsistencies in the wick tube.

 

[jbmcdan]

tried a few that I'd rinsed and cleaned with a turkey baster,then soaked in everclear and let them sit to dry for a day or two. Also tried just refilling used ones with similar (tobacco) juices. I try to keep them topped off, but apparently I'm burning them without realizing it...they all seem to gurgle and leak out of the battery end. I'll keep trying!

 

[keyzygirl]

I cant understand why they are leaking and gurgling unless your filling them before they are dry or your overfilling them.

 

[SnowDragon]

Well, let's go through this a little bit and I'm just going to run through how I would do this. So I have used cartomizer, I run some hot water through it to flush it out a little bit, then toss it in a glass of Everclear and let it soak for 15 minutes. Then I take it out, toss it in a bastor and flush hot water in and out of it for a couple of minutes, then give the bastor bulb a couple of good squeezes over the sink to blow out any excess water. Then take the carto out and give it a Taryn Spin or let it sit out for a day or two upside down on a paper towel.

So do you have a Syringe or are you currently drip filling? And if you are drip filling after how many drops does it appear that juice is running into air/wick tube?

 

[keelalagirl55]

I was thinking over filling too Keyz.....if I top off too early, I get a gurgle sound also and it will get to the batt end if excess is not removed.

 

[jbmcdan]

Thanks to all for advice -- maybe I am overfilling since I'm trying to keep them from drying out and burning. I'm trying a syringe on some and just dripping in some others. With the syringe i'm starting at the bottom of the carto and putting a little in, then raising up the syringe and putting a little more in til it starts to look slushy on top...then backing off on the syringe to soak up excess. also usually put the syringe down the air tube just for good measure and try to suck up anything that might be in there. When i drip fill a cleaned/dried carto i put approx 10 drops in, give it a spin, then put another 5 or so drops in, spin it again.
I just filled 2 brand new blank cool carts with about 25 drops each --with a spin halfway through. I'll try these out tomorrow and see if I still get the gurgling/leaking. in case I am overfilling i'll wait until they look dry on top before i try to top them off.
if i don't have an issue with brand new blanks, that'll tell me there's something wrong with my cleaning/drying methods....maybe there's still been water or vodka still in the filling and i just couldn't see it. ....
Again, thanks to all for your advice! this really is the best forum on ecf! And many thanks to snowdragon for the helpful video's and tips -- i'll get this mastered yet!

 

[keyzygirl]

Youll be fine,just keep trying and dont give up.It takes time to get it all right and once you do it will be awesome.Trust me.

 

[SnowDragon]

Well Kee, if jbmcdan is adding to cartos that have either water or juice still in them, then I agree. But as stated they are being rinsed out andsitting upside down for a day or two...so I'm guessing they are dry....just burnt. If burnt the juice is probably after running down the air/wick tube after 10 or so drops, when it should take a minimum of 20 or a max of 25.

If jbmcdan has syringe it will be easy to tell by simply holding a "dry" carto at angle and placing a needle to the cartomizer and drawing up on the syringe to see if any fluid comes up.

At least....that's what I'm going with....Next on V.S.I. forum members are perplexed as they chase down a gurgling cartomizer.

Oops, we posted on top of each other.....I'm betting those blanks are going to be just fine! No need to wait, you can try them right now, waiting won't make any difference. If you have a syringe, just do as mentioned and take one of your "dry" cartos and see if there is any fluid still in the base of them.

We'll get this right for you and like Keyzy said, "it will be awesome!"

 

[jbmcdan]

good point, mr snow --i'll try using a syringe to extract anything from some carto's that i "think" are dry to see if they really are dry. From the descriptions I've read of "burnt" carto's i think i may be burning a hole in the air tube as I vape...so I'll keep practicing and try not to run them dry. thanks again for all of ya'll's help!

 

[Laomi]

I just wanted to say..TY jbmcdan for the question. I too am having difficulty getting this refilling process down

Of course, TY to everyone who chimes in with answers.

I hope someday I actually get this down too...yeesh.

 

[Flowerlady-8898]

This is how I clean and fill mine.....

Cleaning Method
1- I first remove the little white caps, and place them into a empty water bottle, with some dish detergent & very hot water. I shake those several times, while I'm cleaning my cartos.

2- I throw all of my cartos into a pot, and fill it with hot water and boil them for 15 minutes.

3- After the 15 minutes is over with, I rinse the cartos, in a colander. Then do another 15 minute boil.

4- While the cartos are boiling, again, I rinse my little white caps, and put them back into the empty water bottle, with a little more dish detergent, and very hot water and shake them again.

5- Then I rinse everything, in the colander, after the second boil.

6- I grab some towels, and proceed to blow all of the water out from the top end of each carto. (Gives the lungs a good workout, in this process! LOL)

7- Then I stand each one up, on the top ends, and let them dry out for 48 hours.

Filling Method
1- I hold the carto at an angle, and proceed to drip my juice into the carto. (I do 5 drops on each side of the carto, by rotating the carto. In all I put about 20-25 drops, in each carto. I also watch as the juice goes in, to make sure that it's not just laying on top of the filler, but that it is definitely going all the way down the side. Sometimes on a brand new carto, you have to use the end of something to open up the sides of the filler, to help the juice go down. I use the end of a paper clip.)

2- After I have filled it, I hold the carto up to a light, and if I can see through it, it's good to go. If not, I use a tissue or paper towel, & blow the excess out, until I can see through it.

3- The I stick the .... plug in, and put the condoms on each end, then I roll them in between my hands, with the top end up, so that the juice settles in the bottom.

Did that sound perverted or what? LMBO
Hope this helps some.

 

[AG51]

6- I grab some towels, and proceed to blow all of the water out from the top end of each carto. (Gives the lungs a good workout, in this process! LOL)

I use the air from my husbands nebulizer machine to blow out my carts of water...I know it's 'cheating', lol, but the tubing for the nebulizer fits perfectly on the end of the carto and it just blows air when the machine is turned on. When it just blows air with no water spray coming out I go to the next cart. It's very quick this way..LOL..When he saw me blowing them with my mouth he laughed at me & said, "Come here red face, I have an idea..." Low & behold it worked !

 

[Rappel_Welch]

I use the air from my husbands nebulizer machine to blow out my carts of water...I know it's 'cheating', lol, but the tubing for the nebulizer fits perfectly on the end of the carto and it just blows air when the machine is turned on. When it just blows air with no water spray coming out I go to the next cart. It's very quick this way..LOL..When he saw me blowing them with my mouth he laughed at me & said, "Come here red face, I have an idea..." Low & behold it worked !

I'm not sure that there is such a thing as "cheating" in this arena. Whatever works, do it. Anything's better than being red-faced. lol

 

[AG51]

LOL, I guess you're right Rappel ! I should get one of those machines of my own just for my vaping stuff. LOL, it's small and has a carrying handle. Why not right ?

 

[SnowDragon]

This is how I clean and fill mine.....

Cleaning Method
1- I first remove the little white caps, and place them into a empty water bottle, with some dish detergent & very hot water. I shake those several times, while I'm cleaning my cartos.

2- I throw all of my cartos into a pot, and fill it with hot water and boil them for 15 minutes.

3- After the 15 minutes is over with, I rinse the cartos, in a colander. Then do another 15 minute boil.

4- While the cartos are boiling, again, I rinse my little white caps, and put them back into the empty water bottle, with a little more dish detergent, and very hot water and shake them again.

5- Then I rinse everything, in the colander, after the second boil.

6- I grab some towels, and proceed to blow all of the water out from the top end of each carto. (Gives the lungs a good workout, in this process! LOL)

7- Then I stand each one up, on the top ends, and let them dry out for 48 hours.

Filling Method
1- I hold the carto at an angle, and proceed to drip my juice into the carto. (I do 5 drops on each side of the carto, by rotating the carto. In all I put about 20-25 drops, in each carto. I also watch as the juice goes in, to make sure that it's not just laying on top of the filler, but that it is definitely going all the way down the side. Sometimes on a brand new carto, you have to use the end of something to open up the sides of the filler, to help the juice go down. I use the end of a paper clip.)

2- After I have filled it, I hold the carto up to a light, and if I can see through it, it's good to go. If not, I use a tissue or paper towel, & blow the excess out, until I can see through it.

3- The I stick the .... plug in, and put the condoms on each end, then I roll them in between my hands, with the top end up, so that the juice settles in the bottom.

Did that sound perverted or what? LMBO
Hope this helps some.

Just a suggestion instead of blowing out the excess juice trapped in the airtube out, simply take your juice bottle and apply a little pressure to the sides of it. Then hold your Carto upside down and place the dropper right into the airhole and release the sides of the bottle. The vacuum created will simply suck the juice right back into the bottle. It doesn't seem like 1 or 2 drops is much, but you know how that is Flowerlady when you figure you can fill 30+ cartos with a bottle of juice, that 1 to 2 drops can start to add up. Especially since it only takes 25 drops to fill a carto. That 1 extra carto might just buy you 1 extra day while stalking the postal carrier.

 

[keyzygirl]

That was really big.I felt like you were yelling at us.

 

[ThankU4Vaping]

A really big Snow! eeeek!

 

[SnowDragon]

hehehehehe

 

[AG51]