Refilling RN4081 Cartomizers / Burned Filling Material

[j3ffr0]

Greetings,

I hope everyone is enjoying a nice afternoon. I am new to this forum and new to vaping (11/29/10). I am using an RN4081 PV with cartos.

I have done some research on the forums about refilling them, but only recently did I discover the post about burning them:

Burning Cartomisers? Dangerous?-510/Kr808/4081...etc filler type cartos in Ecigarette Technical Issues; Originally Posted by Katya They don't burn, however, they taste burnt. Funny you should say that, as it reminded me ...

When I first received my e-liquid, I thought I would be able to refill some of the used cartos that I had been vaping up before my supplies arrived. I noticed the burning taste in some of them, and I pulled several of them apart to reveal that the filling material was burned.

I apologize if this question has been answered in that post, but I was only able to sift through about 40-50 pages of it.

Is this the reason that it seems like most seasoned vapers are not using the cartomizers?

Is there a way to reuse these cartos without burning through part of the filler material?

If anyone has any other tips or links to other posts please reply.

Thanks in advance,

- j3ffr0

 

[WomanOfHeart]

The way to avoid burning the filler material is to refill at the very first hint of a burned taste or a decrease in vapor production. Once the filler is burned you either have to replace the filler or throw out the carto.

ShanB has an excellent tutorial on how to tear down a cartomizer, clean or replace the filler and put it back together again here:

Cartomizer Tear Down

 

[Yippykiyea]

I also saw an excellent youtube on boiling used carts. I think I would try that before tearing them apart.

 

[CES]

I use Kr8 turbo cartos, cool cartos and smokestick RN4081 cartos. (kr8, riva and 4081 batteries). The trick is to keep the cartos wet. You'll get to a point where you notice the vapor drop and change in flavor, before the burnt taste. If you get the burnt taste you've let them get too dry. It's ok to fill before you think that you have to.

The SS 4081s are pretty burn resistant in my hands, and i do pretty well with the kr8s. I run anywhere from 4-6 mls through the kr8 cartos and somewhat more through the SS 4081 cartos. IMO it's not worth boiling and washing. All clog eventually, even if they don't burn. if I'm able to reuse a disposable item a number of times i figure that's a win, and I'm not willing to try to push them all that far

It's worth doing a little more reading on that thread- you can skip towards the end, and there may be other threads in that cartomizer issues section that has a condensed version of what seems to be the most burn resistant at the moment.

 

[j3ffr0]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I should be okay for awhile now that I have the supplies to keep 'em wet.

I guess that will buy me enough time to do some more research (I've got at least 16 new cartos and ~40ml of e-liquid on hand, now).

I'll definitely follow up on all the suggestions!

 

[clyde2801]

Interesting teardown video...seems like a PITA to do with a $2 disposable carto.

BUT, can you replace the filler with some blue foam when you rebuild it? If you can come up with a never ending carto, it may be worth the effort.

 

[j3ffr0]

Yes, looks like a PITA. I think I've burned about 7 cartos already (not including the originals). Even when I detect the difference in taste it's too late. It could also be the variations in voltage. Perhaps I should at least add a few drops when starting out on a new battery.

I've got some 510's on order along with a 510 PV. I've heard the 510 cartos are easier to refill.

The RN4081 cartos I got from AZ Smoke Free seem like they would be to hard to tear down, and for < $2.00 I think I'll scrap them. They weren't as easy to tear apart as the N-Joy 2N1 cartos were ($13.95/5 at local retail store). I'll be browsing 510 carto threads, now.

/out

p.s. I just refilled an RN4081 with about 20 drops and it's doing good. I guess anyone reading this thread for RN4081 carto refilling should definitely make sure they are topping off the cartos. I would suggest keeping 3 or 4 totally filled up, that way you can switch to a full one the minute you get a decrease in vapor. Even if it's because your battery is low, you'll at least be able to refill the carto later, without taking the chance of burning it.

I'm not sure if you can fill it too much. I think I had a couple of bad cartos, or I "flooded the atty" in the carto. Not sure if that's possible, but again...for < $2.00 you can't get into too much trouble.

 

[Jmitchelliv]

A good rule of thumb I've found for the 4081's is to fill every time you need to charge a battery. With the frequent recharges that the 4081's need, if you follow this rule, you ought to never burn out a carto.

 

[JD1]

Yes, looks like a PITA. I think I've burned about 7 cartos already (not including the originals). Even when I detect the difference in taste it's too late. It could also be the variations in voltage. Perhaps I should at least add a few drops when starting out on a new battery.

I've also researched the burning cartos because I burn them up quickly. I think it's the way I vape as I usually take three or four puffs in quick succession, wait a while, then three or four more. What ever the reason, they start the popping noise from the get go, and when they're popping, they're burning. The odd thing is, whenever I post something like that, a fair amount of people will be quick to assure me that they do not burn. But I know better, because I've torn two of them apart and they look just like some of the pictures floating about, where others have torn them apart to see for sure what's going on.

From my research and verified by my own use. The inner 'blanket' material is thought to be cotton. Whatever it is it DEFINITELY will burn. If it is cotton, the fumes are probably not harmful, and I think some folks must like the bit of charcoal taste it adds. lol. The outer material is thought to be poly which melts, but it's far enough away from the coil that it shouldn't be effected. When it does melt, the fumes are considered to be harmful. There is another material used in attys and some carts that does not burn. When I first get a new atty, one of the first things I do is remove the few strands of wicking material right underneath the bridge. It doesn't burn, but it does 'gunk up' and becomes hard to clean, and the atty seems to wick just fine without it.

If you want to see some of this, load the video from ShanB and move the slider out to 2:16 and stop it. Now look for black spots. Follow the wire to the right until you see the white material covering the wire, then right at the end of the white material you'll see a black spot. That's where something has burned. Now follow the wire to the left all the way and you'll see a brown spot. Now look down and just slightly to the right of the thumb and there's another spot where it's burned. Now move the slider out to 9:51 and you can clearly see a burned spot at the top of the filler material. Actually that carto is in great shape, you should see one of mine. lol.

The only carto that I know of that uses only non burning material is the E2. If you move the slider on this vid out to about 0:20 and play it to about 0:35 you can see it in action. The way I use this carto is just like you see it in the video. In other words I take out both plugs, drip down the side of the ceramic, cut about one quarter inch off the bottom of an empty cart and use it as a mouth piece. I never try loading more that ten or twelve drops because I don't want my juice to 'cook'. lol. And I ofter pop the cart off and refresh with two or three drops. Very close to dripping when done that way. Vape on. JD

 

[j3ffr0]

Thanks, JD1 and JMitch...

I think that's sound advice to refill when swapping batteries (you should have spares). Unfortunately I ruined my first battery because I'm a noob and I was dripping into the top of the cartomizer without carefully checking it before connecting the batt'ry. Time to get a manual battery.

Here are a few other helpful threads related to this topic:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/cartomizer-issues/146140-high-quality-4081-cartomizers.html

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/vapor4life/47584-my-refilling-trick.html

Also, anyone coming across this may want to check out the cartomizer issues sub-forum

p.s. I've also read about the popping, but I believe it can also be the juice getting vaporized. I'm getting that sound on some nice wet cartos. Keep 'em full, folks...

 

[Jorge22]

I use mostly X Power cartos (and a bit of 510 double coil or LR with an adapter, but not that much, just sometimes with coffeee after meals) and what I notice is some liquids wear the cartos down more than others. For example, I love the Dekang Flue Cured but it definitely goes away faster than other liquids I use, namely the Prime 15 or a few I make myself - the Tuscan Reserve from FA, for example. It starts tasting a bit like cotton or whatever it is. So, there I go again, and pour about 10 drops or so before it's already full - notice that I've been able to fill some X Power cartos with 40 drops and almost 60 on occasion (really). So, it 's a bit of a drag but that's the way it is. I use a couple of cartos during a week and move on to the next.

 

[ujack71]

The Better Way To Smoke - Cartomizer Drip Tip for RN4081 i find these are best, last longer and taste better