Priming punched cartos to avoid flooding?

[pesky_human]

So I got my Provari and IBTanked OCD tank in the mail a couple of days ago and have been doing trial and error in order to get some nice consistent vapor. Thanks to those of you who chimed in to my thread last week to recommend this gear. The Provari and the IBTank are very well built and I think will be a good option for my needs going forward.

I have watched a few videos and done copious amounts of other research and have run into some uneven results so far. I am hoping that someone here might be able to point me in the right direction.

I filled the tank by dripping down the inside wall with the long filler tip installed on the carto around 2/4 of the way up the tank, without covering the top of the carto, pushed the carto through the top of the tank, and then started priming the carto. I did the whole drip on the inside wall of the carto / rotate / drip / rotate, wrist shake to settle the carto with a total of around 25-30 drops of juice. The video that I watched indicated that once you have fluid barely coming out of the bottom of the carto, then it is properly primed and ready to vape. I followed that instruction, dried off the thread side of the carto, installed on the Provari and tried to vape.

Essentially, I got really weak vapor and the gurgling started pretty heavy. After a few pulls, I could tell that the carto was obviously flooded, removed the tank and carto from the mod, and there was a ton of juice on top of the battery contact. I cleaned off the carto and the mod, re-installed the tank and have since been getting what I would call uneven results, ranging from pretty good vapor production to almost totally dry pulls to just random flooding for no apparent reason. It's really weird. It will go for a few minutes and start producing some nice vapor, and then out of the blue, it's a gurgling mess.

My only prior experience vaping has been with atomizers and once I got used to priming LR DC atties, I had very consistent results with them on my Precise Plus mods. This is my first go around with cartos and I just think that I am doing something wrong in the priming process. I am willing to completely start over, and I have a couple of extra cartos that I can try from scratch if need be. The cartos that I am using are the 2 ohm XL cartos with the two little pre-drilled holes for feeding juice.

Can anyone point me in the right direction as to how to properly prime this kind of setup? Thanks very much in advance. You guys are a great resource and I feel like I am on the right path, but just need a little direction.

 

[zapped]

Sounds like youve lost prime. Double check the top and bottom cap on the IBTanked and make sure its seated all the way. You can also unscrew the tank from your mod/battery and blow through it forcefully into a napkin or the sink.

I think sometimes carto tanks will develop an air bubble inside the carto which can lead to this kind of frustrating behavior. Doing a combination of one or the other or sometimes both will fix this problem for me most of the time.

Try those and post back here and if it doesnt work we'll try to figure it out.

 

[bnrkwest]

Just hold a tissue or paper towel under the carto end and gently blow out any excess. I always fill my cartos before I but them in a tank. If they are pre punched just put some tape over holes. Let sit about 15 mins after you put in the 20-30 drops, then put in tank, fill tank, gently blow out any excess before putting on APV connection. Good luck! bnrk

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Essentially, I got really weak vapor and the gurgling started pretty heavy. After a few pulls, I could tell that the carto was obviously flooded, removed the tank and carto from the mod, and there was a ton of juice on top of the battery contact.

Sounds like the cartos is full BUT not fully saturated. There's no way around it- you have to fully saturate the carto filler before placing in the tank. You can either use the condom fill or drip drops into the carto (place a round toothpick in the airway) and thermometer shake. Put a few more drops in and thermometer shake again. Do this 3-4 times as it ensures gravity is forcing juice down to the bottom of carto. Do the therm shake outside. Blow excess juice into tissue and vape. Having a non fully saturated carto in a tank upsets the pressure level and flooding and/ or dry hits can happen.

 

[narcolepticltd]

I'd definitely go with the condom method for filling. It sounds like you've done your homework though. Not sure if you've watched this (long) video as pbusardo, but definitely worth watching through the whole thing as it's all well presented:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEXmwnvl0gs

What type of cartomizers are you using?

 

[MxChino]

I would recommend the condom fill method. I've never had any problems that way.

 

[pesky_human]

Sounds like youve lost prime. Double check the top and bottom cap on the IBTanked and make sure its seated all the way. You can also unscrew the tank from your mod/battery and blow through it forcefully into a napkin or the sink.

I think sometimes carto tanks will develop an air bubble inside the carto which can lead to this kind of frustrating behavior. Doing a combination of one or the other or sometimes both will fix this problem for me most of the time.

Try those and post back here and if it doesnt work we'll try to figure it out.

Thanks for the response!

So to clarify - I should drain the juice from the tank, remove the carto completely, and then blow through the carto to get rid of excess juice?

 

[eratikmind]

With my IBTanked tanks, I use the condom method to fill them. It's a fine line between the carto being saturated properly and being flooded. Time and experience will remedy the said issue.

If a carto happens to be flooded, I raise the tank upside down (drip tip facing the ground), making sure that the e-liquid is below the carto hole(s) and lightly blow through the drip tip, while the 510 end is covered with a napkin.

If, for whatever reason, the carto is under saturated, I disconnect the tank from mt PV, remove the drip tip, and place the tank into the original "thingy", with I received the tank in. Then I take the cap and screw it down to the shut position. this will re-prime the carto, as bubbles will come out of the hole(s).

- Andy

If

 

[zapped]

Thanks for the response!

So to clarify - I should drain the juice from the tank, remove the carto completely, and then blow through the carto to get rid of excess juice?

Nope! Keep the juice and the carto in the tank and just blow through the carto forcefully. ...make sure you remove it from your mod first.

Then make sure you have the carto fully primed....remove the drip tip and add juice until it looks slushy.

I like to use the Taryn spin.....get a bandana or even a shirt and place the tank into the middle and whirl it around a few times.

The centrifugal force generated will force the e-liquid down into the carto.....keep doing this until it wont take any more liquid and stays slushy looking.

Then gently blow through it one more time to get rid of excess juice that may have went down the center hole, screw it onto your mod and enjoy.

 

[Baditude]

So to clarify - I should drain the juice from the tank, remove the carto completely, and then blow through the carto to get rid of excess juice?

No, if you are trying to resucitate the (flooded) carto that's in the tank, just remove it from the Provari. Turn the tank upside down so the drip tip is pointing to the floor and the air bubble inside the tank is now in the bottom part of the tank where the carto holes are. Blow air forcefully through the drip tip.

You are attempting to blow any juice out of the center air hole, yet you don't want to draw more liquid into the air hole from the cartomizer filler. This is why you want the juice fill holes in the carto to be in the air pocket of the tank while you do this.

Quite often a flooded carto must be considered a loss and a new carto will be required to start the process over. Save what juice is left in the tank by emptying it into a container. Prep a new carto and then put it part way into the tank and fill the tank. I only fill my tanks 80% full; more can cause the carto to occassionally flood.

I've written a cartotank tutorial in my blog. I use the drip from the top, toothpick, and thermometer shake method. It is described step-by-step in the blog. There is also a video demo included.

You'll also find some other articles pertaining to cartomizers and cartotanks. You can access the blog to the left by clicking the number by Blog Entries under my avatar.
___

There is admittingly a learning curve with cartotanks. Most of us have gone through it, but in the end those of us who stick with it are extremely pleased that we did. Not all methods will work for every person, and we all have our little niche steps that end up working for us. Keep at it and you'll find what works best for you. You'll be glad you did.

 

[pesky_human]

Ok I inverted the tank to expose the holes in the carto and blew through the carto to clear the tube. It's producing pretty weak vapor at 3.6-3.9 volts. I am not getting any crackling at all...

 

[pesky_human]

Thanks Baditude. I will check out your blog entries and video. I am definitely going to work through the tank method. It is basically ideal for my needs mobility-wise. I know that once I get it sorted that it will be good for me.

 

[Crocky]

I am very new to cartos and ended up purchasing the "plunger" after seeing it used on a you tube video, and I have not had a single issue....yet....knock in wood . It saturates the carto nicely and you pull back on the syringe to get access out. Another ice thing is you can completely clean a carto using it as well. Not sure how many times you would use it for that but I have used it at least once when it was still in good condition but was tired of the juice. I believe I got it from myfreedomsmokes. Just google e cig plunger if you are interested and it should show you the results. I have never used the condom method but lots of folks do and sounds like it is just as easy as the plunger I got. I only purchased it as I wanted everything to be as easy as possible. Now I am playing with where and how many holes to give me my best vape . Anyway, just a suggestion. As mentioned before, Baditude has some great blog entries on cartos

 

[pesky_human]

Thanks Zapped. I am going to order some more cartos and try a couple of these methods to see what works best. It seems like there are also around a dozen different configurations as far as cartos go. Slots, punched, drilled, 2 hole, 3 hole. It's a bit confusing. I need to do some more searching to see what people are thinking about the different styles.

 

[zapped]

No problem man thats what were here for.....Im not Baditude by a long shot but I try any way

 

[pesky_human]

No, if you are trying to resucitate the (flooded) carto that's in the tank, just remove it from the Provari. Turn the tank upside down so the drip tip is pointing to the floor and the air bubble inside the tank is now in the bottom part of the tank where the carto holes are. Blow air forcefully through the drip tip.

You are attempting to blow any juice out of the center air hole, yet you don't want to draw more liquid into the air hole from the cartomizer filler. This is why you want the juice fill holes in the carto to be in the air pocket of the tank while you do this.

Quite often a flooded carto must be considered a loss and a new carto will be required to start the process over. Save what juice is left in the tank by emptying it into a container. Prep a new carto and then put it part way into the tank and fill the tank. I only fill my tanks 80% full; more can cause the carto to occassionally flood.

I've written a cartotank tutorial in my blog. I use the drip from the top, toothpick, and thermometer shake method. It is described step-by-step in the blog. There is also a video demo included.

You'll also find some other articles pertaining to cartomizers and cartotanks. You can access the blog to the left by clicking the number by Blog Entries under my avatar.
___

There is admittingly a learning curve with cartotanks. Most of us have gone through it, but in the end those of us who stick with it are extremely pleased that we did. Not all methods will work for every person, and we all have our little niche steps that end up working for us. Keep at it and you'll find what works best for you. You'll be glad you did.

Man - I just read your blog entry and that is exactly what I was looking for! Very helpful. Thanks.

 

[pesky_human]

As of this morning, I was still getting the random flooding, but over the last 10 hours or so, everything has been fine. I would still like to get more vapor production, but I am pretty happy with the performance of the tank overall. I have ordered some juice that is a bit heavier on the VG. I am looking forward to starting with a fresh carto and the new juice to see what kind of clouds I can get.

I also need to hook up a filling syringe. Is that something that I need to order from somewhere online or is it something that can be bought at a non-vape local store. Do they sell that sort of thing for crafts at Walmart or something?

 

[pesky_human]

So yesterday evening I started from scratch, as I kept getting inconsistent results with the first carto that I know now was flooded beyond repair. Following Baditude's instructions, I was able to properly fill a fresh carto using a toothpick in the air hole, and install in my freshly cleaned tank. I got everything assembled and it works PERFECTLY! I am getting the best results I have ever gotten, by far. The flavor and vapor are totally on point. I am getting the right crackle and everything is consistent.

I never thought this would happen, but I have been without a cigarette for more than 3 days now and all of my cravings have been disappearing, even first thing in the morning and after eating, which were the ones I was most concerned with.

Thanks to everyone for your help, and have a great weekend.

 

[Baditude]

Following Baditude's instructions, I was able to properly fill a fresh carto using a toothpick in the air hole, and install in my freshly cleaned tank. I got everything assembled and it works PERFECTLY! I am getting the best results I have ever gotten, by far. The flavor and vapor are totally on point. I am getting the right crackle and everything is consistent.

Glad to hear of your success!

I don't proclaim my methods to be the best or the only way to do it, but they have worked great for me. The point is to find what works best for you. Some vapors prefer the condom fill method and some prefer dripping from the top. I prefer my methods in my blog because you are able to begin vaping right away; no need to let the tank "settle" and no need to blow the carto out and possibly get juice in your mouth.

If you are comfortable with a particular method but are still having issues, consider altering your vaping technique. Slow down, take slow longer pulls.

There are minor differences in carto brands. Smoktech's have a less dense filler, so they may flood more easily. Boge's have a denser filler, so they may wick slower and may lead to dry hits or a burning taste. If having issues with a particular carto, switch brands.

 

[DaveP]

The best way I've found to prime and saturate a carto. Let it sit in the cap for at least 30 minutes. Pinch the punched holes and blow it out into a paper towel before installing it into your tank. Then, fill the tank from the top while holding it at an angle so the juice runs down the sides of the glass. A syringe helps to get around the carto.