Self punched cartos

[oldjoe]

I have tried several different ways, nail-screw-plumbers tap, to punch my cartos for in tank use but it always swells the carto making it difficult, if not impossible, to move the tank over the swollen are for refilling the tank and even when the tank will slide up enough the swollen ares promotes leakage and juice waste.
Does anyone have any way to make a holes in cartos without deforming the carto or at least to minimize the swelling?

 

[Baditude]

Buy laser-drilled cartos. No deformity of the carto = no trouble assembling into a tank. Tool-punched cartos are also rough on the inner o-rings of your tank's end caps which can lead to tank leaking. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...nched-single-coil-cartomizers-cartotanks.html

I also highly recommend that you get a tank tool like this one to further protect your tank's o-rings:

 

[ppeeble]

I hacksaw mine. A 5mm cut across the carto with a junior hacksaw works perfectly with 50/50 juice. Remember to make sure to remove any roughness with a piece of 'wet n dry' paper.
Never had a problem with damaged O rings........

 

[VaperBart]

i feel your pain i had the same problem even with the Smoktech carto punch then it finally stripped the threads so it was useless. I got one of these its a QT-1 line tap valve used in the heating and AC industry.

This thing works great very very little deformation of the carto. i did drill a viewing hole in it to see my mark on the carto but its cast aluminum so it was pretty easy to do.

Quick-Tap 1/4"-5/16"-3/8" O.D.: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

 

[RaymondK]

I use the carto puncher with great success. No problem doing refill whatsoever. Once you get the nail touch the cargo, turn the screw clockwise 8 times (4 full circles), then counter clockwise to unscrew.

 

[oldjoe]

@ Baditude- the point is to get away from pre-punched and the higher cost. I have a tank tool.

@ ppeeble - I'll give that a shot. I have used a 3 sided file that was effective but I would prefer a hole.

@ cwho - Good idea. That would appear to encircle the carto and prevent distortion. Does the pin hold up?

@ birdieman - I've heard those don't hold up well. Maybe some are better quality that others?

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

 

[imind]

+1 for the quick tap cwho illustrated...great tool, never had and issue with it but have not had it long enough to comment on its longevity. i do believe though that the screw is replaceable.

 

[i_knick]

i just use a dremel multi tool and you can either drill or cut a slot into the cartos with little deformation

 

[r77r7r]

Cartomizer Punch

I've been using this one ^^^. It was discovered by a fellow forum member. There are links there for replacement parts.

Sometimes it's how you use your equipment. With the one above, I needed to learn to not overpunch. With the saddlevalve, I needed to resharpen often.

Or you can use a grommet tank. It doesn't care how mangled the carto is.-

Tanks - Mom and Pop Vapor Shop

 

[oldjoe]

I remembered I have a couple of Quick Taps. They're designed for tapping refrigerant lines and I always kept a couple in the auto repair shop for refrigerant work. I think I got them at a heating and cooling shop for about $5 but that was several yrs. ago.

 

[r77r7r]

I keep in mind that they were only designed to be used once, and on copper- not SS. So I would keep my SV sharpened and they worked well.

 

[AlB53]

went to Grainger thats near me, didn"t have the QT-1 but they did have a Supco bpv-31 that works the same way. only have punched 4 cartos withit so far, so good. $4.05 with tax
Al

 

[TarFreeMe]

Best one I've used to date: http://www.cloudsofvapor.com/store/127-new-at-cov/1054-siam-mods-stainless-steel-carto-punch-v2.html.

Double-punched 75 or 80 cartos with it so far and it's holding up just fine.