Requesting some help - carto tanks

[Jfaria1891]

ok so iv had top coils like the vivi
some BCC like the evod/protank
some RBAs Igo-l and some clones

i have never used a carto
<- total carto noob

there are a ton of carto's out there i get the l/r and s/r thats self explanatory as far as dual coils ok they have 2 coild whats the benefits and whats the difference when punching them? do u recomend a dual over a single?

and then their are tanks. which seem pretty straight forward but yet they range from $10-$100 am i missing something? and how do you know which cartos go with what tanks is there a standard?

im not fond of the idea of having to replace cartos as i rebuild everything so it just seems like an added repeating expense.. thoughts?

id be interested in trying one because who knows i might love them, but i dont wanna break the bank on one to possibly not like it.

haha i have that total noob facepalm feeling i had when i first started vaping and iv been putting off asking this in fear of sounding like a total derp XD

as always thank you in advance for your replies

 

[Jp20]

I personally love cartos. Though I havent made the leap into rebuilds. but They're simple. I bought a couple clearos like the t2 and vivi nova, But they made me mad. I would go through a coil in about a day and a half and buying replacements was annoying because those are popular styles that every company makes there own version of, and theres about 50 different heads. So some didnt fit on mine. If you want to just try a carto tank buy a cheap one. I got the Poly pro from HDV and its about $12 or so, its awesome, all the juices i put in dont crack it or anything. Or my favorite is the ravens nest from gotvapes. it looks classy and is also about $12 or $13

 

[Baditude]

I've not been a fan of clearomizers from day one, but having said that I must say the most recent bottom coil clearomizers (ProTank & Evod) come close to my favorite juice delivery device - the cartotank. I've had excellent to not so good experience with a couple of AGA-T2 RBAs - when operating at optimum level nothing compares to them, but I have found them to be fiddly, inconsistant, and time-consuming.

Once you get down the methodology of filling and assembling a cartotank correctly, they can be the most dependable and consistant delivery device you own. They provide more flavor than any clearomizer or clearotank. The actual tank plays only a small part of the total package; finding a quality cartomizer of your preference and learning how to fill it properly is the real secret to cartotank satisfaction.

A cartotank can be re-filled multiple times on the same cartomizer. Once the carto starts to have a stiff pull, it's time to replace it. Typical use will be about 20 - 30 ml of juice. Darker and thicker juices may get less. I figure I spent $5 - $6 a day on smokes, paying $2 for a cartomizer that will last me 1 - 3 weeks is a bargain.

I prefer single coils over dual coils. I found absolutely no benefit to using dual coils; they will give you a burnt taste if not kept properly wet and will drain your battery faster than a single coil. Using the proper ohm cartomizer for the voltage settings that you use is a must.

I prefer using the laser-drilled cartos over hand-punched cartos. A hand punched carto will invariably be deformed by the carto punch tool, from being perfectly round to somewhat oval in shape. Forcing a deformed carto through the inner o-rings of a tank's end caps can put unnecessary wear and tear on the o-rings, leading to a leaky or loose tank, and they are not the easiest things to replace. Using laser-drilled pre-punched cartos totally eliminates this problem, and in my experience a two-holed prepunched carto wicks juice just as well as hand-punched cartos.

A tank accessory tool is an absolute must IMHO. Not only will it help protect your o-rings, but will make assembling and filling your tank much easier and faster. The best that I have found is the Slap Yo Moma tool from Big Daddy Vapors. A PBusardo Review - Slap Yo Mama Multi-Purpose Adapter - Big Daddy Vapor - YouTube

You don't have to spend an extreme amount of money to get a quality, nice-looking tank. But I wouldn't waste my money on a $12 tank, either. My favorite tank is the pyrex IBTanked cartotank. IBTanked - Get Tanked With Us! I have 12 of these in various sizes. These are a high quality tank that won't break the bank - you can get a complete tank setup for about $25.

I've done a review of these tanks for my blog:

E-Cigarette Forum - Baditude - Blogs

My blog includes instruction on how to pick the right size tank for your setup. It also has a cartotank setup guide (with video demonstrations) and a large list of online vendors that sell pre-punched cartomizers for cartotanks.


Matching the right length cartomizer with the length of tank you choose is important:



Choosing the correct resistance (ohm) cartomizer for the voltages that you will use is also important:

 

[volume control]

I second ibtanked, i just got mine today and its beautiful. Just go to the caps, then select the cap color you can, then select Complete in the drop down for the entire setup

As for cartos, I prefer prepunched, and use these boges currently. Precut hole is perfect

BOGE 510 LR PrePunched Cartomizers

 

[The Ocelot]

I am a disciple of Baditude. I have both 19mm standard and XL IBtanks. They are my favorites. My preferred cartos are laser punched Smoktechs.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I am also a disciple of Baditude. However, I work on a budget, even though I'm an employee at a vape store. Although I have access to pyrex tanks, I still find my go-to carto tanks to be the piddly Smoktech polypropylene gen. 2 tanks. I would LOVE to dabble in Ibtanked, but honestly, and this is embarrassing, their website is kind of confusing to me. And truth be told, I did use a pyrex carto tank for my HHV Dragon's Fire, and I could somehow taste the difference between the glass tank and the polypropylene tank. I switched it from the glass tank to the plastic tank. Individual taste is weird like that.

Suggestion: read Baditude's blogs. He is the premier carto tank guru on the forums, and his advice comes highly recommended.

(I feel like I've gotten to know you, Bad, but I still picture you as a wizened Jedi in robes).

(Ocy, I prefer the Smoktech laser-drilled cartos, too, but only because I've only used Boges and Smoktech, and I prefer the "looser" wrapping of Smok's cartos. They work extremely well with Boba's. I get almost two weeks out of my Smok cartos with Boba's, no lie.)

 

[Myrany]

For tanks I am loving the 5 pack of plastic DCT tanks I picked up off fasttech for about 12 bucks a pack. I bought one pack of each the large and small size. Just throw out the cartos that come with them. The tanks are quality the cartos are not.

I also just recieved my SMOK Pyrex DCT tank from Sure vapes and I gotta tell you I love this thing ($12.99). I took a gamble and just ordered 2 like this from fasttech we will see how they do when they arrive ( about $6 each).

I find I am using tanks and protank 99% of the time. I only use my small clearos for on the go vaping and even then I have started hauling tanks around with me since I got some small ones.

 

[Rocketpunk]

I find it oddly satisfying when a noob vaper ascends from the clearo to the carto tank. Most are not ready. It's a rare treat to meet someone who understands the, well, art that comes with carto tanks.

I think there was a thread recently asking if veteran vapers still have bad days. Yes, they most definitely do. But there's something I have to admit, and this is weird: since I learned how to properly prime and fill a carto tank, I have had zero, zilch, nada, not one iota of problems with my carto tanks. It makes it difficult for me to help people on the cusp who are sick of clearos but aren't quite there yet with carto tanks. I can sense their desperation to figure these things out, but I constantly hear horror stories about flooded cartos, burnt cartos, end caps popping off, etc...

It makes it hard for me to troubleshoot. "If you only did what I do...!" But I have absolutely no idea how I have almost zero problems with carto tanks...

 

[Myrany]

I find it oddly satisfying when a noob vaper ascends from the clearo to the carto tank. Most are not ready. It's a rare treat to meet someone who understands the, well, art that comes with carto tanks.

I think there was a thread recently asking if veteran vapers still have bad days. Yes, they most definitely do. But there's something I have to admit, and this is weird: since I learned how to properly prime and fill a carto tank, I have had zero, zilch, nada, not one iota of problems with my carto tanks. It makes it difficult for me to help people on the cusp who are sick of clearos but aren't quite there yet with carto tanks. I can sense their desperation to figure these things out, but I constantly hear horror stories about flooded cartos, burnt cartos, end caps popping off, etc...

It makes it hard for me to troubleshoot. "If you only did what I do...!" But I have absolutely no idea how I have almost zero problems with carto tanks...

As a relative newbie (only 3 months in) I have only had 2 problems with carto tanks.
1. Was a boge F17 carto tank that shipped to me with bad orings. THe silly thing was constantly sliding up and off the carto. Fat drip tip fixed it until I got ahold of better orings for it.

2. At first I had real problems with dry hits since I use thick liquids. The prepunched boges were not letting enough liquid in. SO I got a punch and started adding a hole. It took me a bit of fiddling to figure out how big a hole to put in so I did have a few flooding problems (too big a hole). Now that I know what I need for what I vape it is a no muss no fuss deal.

 

[zapped]

I agree with everything said in this thread by Baditude, Ocelot and the others with the exception of the recommendations for IBTanks.

Its true their price is hard to beat but Ive found both Valley View Vapes and Phiniac.com to produce better tanks. The end caps and the glass are both thicker at the above mentioned vendors and as a result will last longer.

I bought two IBTanks in a classifieds trade a few months back and both of them broke within a month of use. Part of this is due to the ends of the tube not being fire polished.

Valley View is just a tiny bit more than IBTanked for their premium pyrex tanks.

Phiniac is quite a bit more but is also the toughest tank Ive used out of all three and also has the most customization and personalization options.The glass and end caps are the thickest of the three and the glass also goes through a special annealing process that makes it harder than standard pyrex tubes.

I just broke a tank I purchased from Phiniac over a year ago.The fault was mine.I dropped it so much it developed a tiny stress crack that eventually broke. Up until that point it looked as good as the day I bought it and performed flawlessly.

Upon hearing about my problems, Moorea (aka Jennifer and her husband Chris) took time to explain to my wife what had happened, answer our emails and even sent me a brand new replacement tank free of charge. You'd be hard pressed to find better customer service anywhere.

 

[Baditude]

I agree with everything said in this thread by Baditude, Ocelot and the others with the exception of the recommendations for IBTanks.

Its true their price is hard to beat but Ive found both Valley View Vapes and Phiniac.com to produce better tanks. The end caps and the glass are both thicker at the above mentioned vendors.

Valley View is just a tiny bit more than IBTanked for their premium pyrex tanks.

Phiniac is quite a bit more but is also the toughest tank Ive used out of all three and also has the most customization and personalization options.The glass and end caps are the thickest of the three and the glass also goes through a special annealing process that makes it harder than standard pyrex tubes.

I just broke a tank I purchased from Phiniac over a year ago.The fault was mine.I dropped it so much it developed a tiny stress crack that eventually broke. Up until that point it looked as good as the day I bought it and performed flawlessly.

I was so mad that it broke that I blamed it on a juice that I was trying.

I won't deny that Valley View Vapes makes nice tanks. I happen to own three of them myself. However, the pyrex tanks Ray offers are limited to just one diameter size (25mm or 1 inch), which may not be a viable option for someone using a slim eGo battery.



Phiniac does make a Skinny Phinny which is an option for slim batteries, and of course the regular diameter tanks and two tank lengths. They offer the most customization of their pyrex tubes of any manufacturer, since IBTanked only does custom painting periodically.

Although I wasn't using my Phiniac tube with the supplied end caps, but with caps from Hoosier Vapes, my prized (and most expensive) Phiniac-Elegance hybrid tank developed a hairline crack and now leaks juice.



IBTanked offers three diameters of tanks (19, 22, and 25 mm) and two tank lengths (standard and XL) for the most variety in tank sizes of any pyrex cartotank manufacturer. They will soon be offering a third option in tank length, the "halfling" which will use the super shorty cartomizers.