Reusing blank cartomizers?

[Flying Mystic]

When I've attempted to boil and reuse blank cartomizers they never seem to taste very good and definitely don't produce quite as much vapor. Any advice on how to remedy this?
I'm now getting about there days from a MEGA LR cartomizer from ikenvape.com even with toping them off throughout the day.
I'm OK with only getting three days out of them. Just wanted to know if it was possible to getting a few more days using a different technique for cleaning?

 

[imsoenthused]

You can find some other threads about it around, supposedly the best way currently is with an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner you can pick up cheap at walmart with some kind of cheap alcohol like vodka as a cleaning solution. I don't have one, but I personally have tried boiling and honestly found I got better results with just soaking them in vodka overnight and then letting them dry out in the oven.

 

[cookiebun]

I think most people don't give their washed cartos time enough to dry. I put mine in a toaster oven at 225 for an hour and then put them aside for a month before trying to use then again.

 

[Flying Mystic]

Thanks. I'll try the alcohol method and see if it works for me. Also look for an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner.
I was just a little confused when I heard people getting two weeks out of there cartomizers. Sounded too good to be true.

 

[MissP]

Yup... if they are working after cleaning, but just low in the vapor production... then they were still damp in the middle. I dry mine in the oven... you really want to do a fast dry to avoid mold growing in the centers. PV is a anti bacterial, but water is not.

 

[Luther]

I have tried the ultrasonic and the boiling methods and had some success. To be honest, I just find the juices that work best with cartos and I get 1-2 weeks or more out of a carto. I think that makes them a pretty good deal as is.
At about $2.00 apiece, I think I have gotten my money's worth.
I reward myself with a new one.

 

[zoiDman]

When I used filler type cartos, I found that boiling them sometimes locked in the burnt taste just like hot water locks in a stain.

Had better results by soaking them in cold water.

 

[dormouse]

I don't feel like screwing with cartos that may or may not taste/work well after I put juice in them. I always tell people not to count on washing/drying cartos unless they have successfully done it themselves because many people do not succeed. I tell you, I would not even attempt it with those SLB type cartos with the loose fat pad of stuffing, no central air channel and an inner seal. That stuffing gets compressed and boggy just from a couple of days use.

I don't use cartomizers frivolously. For my blank cartos, I only put in juices I know I like and know I want to vape for weeks. I can get a week or more use out of each carto which is 3 weeks or more out out 3 cartos I alternate. That is about $6-8 cost over 3 weeks and I don't really care if I can clean them.

 

[Andyhrn]

Just trow them away. There are too many "bad" things involved (small particles from burned metal,burned filler and fiberglass tube (cancerogens) etc.).

 

[WomanOfHeart]

I just rinse my in the sink under hot water until all of the juice and smell comes out of them. I let them dry for at least two days before trying to fill them again. If they don't work like the should after that, I just toss them. They're cheap enough to replace.

 

[hairball]

Rinse in hot water, boil them for 15 minutes, use an ultra sonic jewelry cleaner for 4 cycles. Rinse again and shake afterwards. Place in food dehydrator overnight on high (mine has the top circulating fan on it). Ready to use.

 

[swedishfish]

I've never had luck washing them and wasted a lot of juice trying. I just throw them away now. I do get more than three days out of one though.

 

[swedishfish]

Get yourself an echo cartomizer. Supposedly they can be filled 100 times. I don't have one, but that's what they say.

 

[Flying Mystic]

I feel like the hassle of cleaning them outweighs the benefit of saving money. If I can figure out how to use them for a week or more then I definitely feel I got more then my money's worth.
I did have a concern with mold and deteriorating fibers that could come about as a result of cleaning and reusing them for too long. Which I'm sure are not good for your lungs.
The issue is, even with topping off the cartomizers, after about three days they seem to not be working quite as well. The flavor changes, which I wouldn't say is necessarily a burnt taste and there's not as much of a warm throat hit regardless of the juice I'm using. I'm just confused about how some people are getting a week or more out of their cartomizers which out washing them.
Any thought's on this?

 

[swedishfish]

I don't think you'll get mold or bacteria in a used carto. Nicotine is a bacteriocide. You might if you wash out a carto and it's damp.

My cartos seem to last longer if I use 3-4 cartos, alternate them then refill then as opposed to topping off the same carto. They seem to last me a few weeks.

What kind of juice do you use? Is it 100 VG or dark juice?

If I could clean them and they'd actually work I'd do it, I just have no luck at all.

 

[Flying Mystic]

Right now I'm vaping mostly light juices like Honey Beez and Dulsis which I think are 70% pg 30% vg. This seems to be a a good mix for cartos. Darker juices with higher vg seem to not work as well in cartos.
I'll try the method of alternating a few cartos at a time.
Not sure why this would work better than using them until they're longer working. Do you have any ideas of why they would last longer if alternated?

 

[Clinton]

The only time I need to clean a carto is when I tried a flavor in it I don't like. Then I use the 'Turkey baster' method. I take one of the rubber "condom" caps that come on a new carto, cut a hole in the closed end, and use black electrical tape to tape it to the end of the turkey baster. Then insert your carto to be cleaned (minus white end cap) and flush water through. I use hot water, which I run into a bowl in the sink, so it's constantly being replaced by fresh hot water, and I keep flushing for about a minute. Then I turn off the water, drain everything out of the turkey baster and carto, and with the carto still attached, I squeeze the bulb on the baster sharply several times to kind of 'sneeze' the excess water out of the carto. After 2 or 3 days they can be refilled with a good juice.

 

[Clinton]

Right now I'm vaping mostly light juices like Honey Beez and Dulsis which I think are 70% pg 30% vg. This seems to be a a good mix for cartos. Darker juices with higher vg seem to not work as well in cartos.
I'll try the method of alternating a few cartos at a time.
Not sure why this would work better than using them until they're longer working. Do you have any ideas of why they would last longer if alternated?

The only reason I could see they would last longer if alternated is because they're not used while you're using your other ones

 

[bassworm]

I have had the same carto on my battery now for going on 3 weeks, and it was one that got a boiled water cleaning. Granted I am a bit OCD about ensuring the batting is moist, and of the 5 cartos I started with in February, I am down to approximately 2 - I am a minimal too moderate vape-er ( ..vaper ? ) though.

 

[Flying Mystic]

Thanks Clinton. I've tried the turkey baster method. And just as I thought, the cartos last longer when you alternate them because, you alternate them
I think I'll try boiling them and then let them dry for longer. II was only letting them dry for at most a day and a half.
Bassworm, what kind of cartos do you use?