Sex, lies and cartomizers...

[B.Traven]

Okay, there's no sex in this thread, I just used that to get your attention and that's the lies part too; this is a only about cartomizers. Here's my question: does the resistance, and therefore the watts at constant voltage, of a cartomizer change over time, both as it heats up when you're using it and as it fills up with gunk with repeated uses? And if it varies, I think--but do not know--that it does, then do you have to vary voltage in both circumstances to produce the same result? Has anyone ever checked this. Does anyone even care about this nonsense?

And why am I spending more and more time on ECF every day, sitting at a desk littered with cartos, batts and now two kinds of chargers, and bottles of eliquid and upended little silicone caps and spots of ejuice all over my keyboard and everything else and even my shirt? Is there rehab for this? Does that pompous ... of a celebrity doctor on TV know about this? Is there a reality show about this yet? Hey, there's an idea... but first I gotta fill a few cartos so I won't have to interrupt my search. Yeah, that's ticket! Fill a few cartos and maybe check a couple of vendors for sales or new products...

btraven

 

[catoliver]

I'll be interested to see the replies on this thread. I just started using my first cartomizer that I got on Sat. night and I am in heaven! Seriously, the vapor and taste I've been enjoying has never happened with all of my clearomizers, mini novas or carts.

I think I'm in love. I can't believe it took me 3 months to give them a try!

 

[tj99959]

oh ya, gunk, heat, old age all effect the resistance.

 

[Lex0r]

From my experience when I used cartos, the resistance of a Carto will typically vary +/- 0.1 ohm. I believe that it drops when heated. I imagine that the drop or rise in resistance would not be noticeable if you are consistently at the same voltage setting.

 

[Binn]

You've got my attention alright lol

 

[elmattias]

I've never had resistance drop off on a carto...and cartos are my go to vape...however the draw will tighten up when they get gummy, you can attempt to clean the air hole under the threads to better your draw when this happens, but you may damage the carto if you are not careful

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

[B.Traven]

oh ya, gunk, heat, old age all effect the resistance.

Does it change the resistance enough to affect the "sweet spot"? Has anyone ever checked the resistance of the same carto over several refills?

btraven

 

[awsum140]

Yes, the title caught my eye, I'm a dirty olde man, LOL.

Keep in mind that I am not a physicist or metallurgist. Theoretically speaking the resistance of a "normal" metallic substance, like nichrome wire, will rise as it is heated as a result of the increased molecular activity caused by the heat. Exactly how much is a really good question and without setting up a major test setup I wouldn't want to venture a guess. I do suspect that it is not significant in relationship to how a carto produces vapor. Gunk on the outside won't directly affect the resistance, that is an function of the conductivity of the wire only, IE how well electrons move internally through the material. As a comparison, dirt on the outside of a garden hose has no effect on the water flow inside the hose. It may also rise to one degree or another depending on the "age" of the wire in terms of heating/cooling cycles which causes eventual crystalization, IE the wire becomes brittle, of the metal. Again, I don't think that in terms of the life of a carto it is a real concern at all.

Just my opinion, worth what you're paying for it, your results and mileage may vary, no warrantee or guarantee is expressed or implied.

 

[elmattias]

Does it change the resistance enough to affect the "sweet spot"? Has anyone ever checked the resistance of the same carto over several refills?

btraven

they don't effect the sweet spot because they do not effect the resistance. at all, they effect airflow, you need to get the gunk out of the airways to restore the original draw, if you are having issues with this, you could always try cleaning the air holes with a paperclip (carefully) if not, an overnight vodka soak and 24 hours of drying can clear out the airways.

 

[B.Traven]

Awesome140:

Thanks for the reply, but I'm not sure your garden hose analogy holds water, so to speak. Here's why: the wire is uninsulated therefore the gunk would be directly on the surface of the wire possiblyaffecting the resistance. In the garden hose analogy, the hose itself separates the water from the dirt, a different deal.

I think you're right though, any change is probably insignificant. But still, the higher voltage of my 4.5 volt passthru seems to produce more vapor in a clogged cartridge when I move off my 3.7 volt battery. Is it just burning through the cloggy bits, or what?

btraven

 

[grandmato5]

Yep, the ohms of a carto will sometimes change over time. That's why I love my VV devices because when this happens I can change the voltage to match the cartos ohms to use the carto over a longer period of time before its time to toss that carto.

 

[Baditude]

I have read somewhere here on ECF that resistance of an attachment can change during use, generally an increase in resistance. I couldn't point you to where I actually read it; possibly in the variable voltage sub-forum. Did anyone try using the search feature?

 

[yzer]

In my experience, the coils on cartomizers do not wear out. I use Smoktech LR 1.7 or 2.0 ohm single coils.

As far as I can tell after a year of vaping (6 months without s single puff from a cigarette) and constant cartomizer use: The coils don't wear out and the filler doesn't burn.

What happens to cartomizers that causes the user to change them out...

1. Heated liquid accumulates in the carto filler. Because most cartos should never be run down farther than 50% of the dry fill capacity this bad-tasting heated old liquid accumulates as long as the cartro is used. I can use an LR carto for about 15 ml of vaping before this factor forces me to change out cartos.

2. Cartos used beyond the rated heat range will taste burned. Use a maximum of 3.7V for LR cartos rated from 1.7 to 2.5 ohms. If you are using a cheap VV device, start with 3.2V on the device display and work up the voltage from there, avoiding burning the carto.

3. The more heavily flavored the juice, the faster the carto filler will start to taste foul.

 

[elmattias]

Awesome140:

Thanks for the reply, but I'm not sure your garden hose analogy holds water, so to speak. Here's why: the wire is uninsulated therefore the gunk would be directly on the surface of the wire possiblyaffecting the resistance. In the garden hose analogy, the hose itself separates the water from the dirt, a different deal.

I think you're right though, any change is probably insignificant. But still, the higher voltage of my 4.5 volt passthru seems to produce more vapor in a clogged cartridge when I move off my 3.7 volt battery. Is it just burning through the cloggy bits, or what?

btraven

i'm just pointing out that the analogy of water to electricity is perfect. it's how they teach electrical theory in engineering, in example:


volts=pressure
amps=flow
ohms=resistance (like a load in an electrical system would be a light bulb, or in this case a cartomizer....in water it would be something like a turbine generator or a valve of sorts)
watts=output (power with electricity, and gallons per minute in water)

 

[B.Traven]

elmattias:

What part of an uninsulated wire does the hose represent? The analogy was used in an exchange about the build-up of gunk on the surface of a wire changing the resistance. The build-up of dirt on a garden hose is not similar. The analogy would be appropriate if the wire was insulated, but the atomizer wires are not. In this particular situation, the analogy does not hold water. Q.E.D.

Not to mention the fact that wire itself resists the flow of electrons. A one-hundred foot piece of 12 gauge copper wire will, on an accurate enough meter, register more resistance than a one foot piece of the same wire, with no turbines, valves, light-bulbs, water-wheels, rubber duckies or other apparatus affecting the flow.

btraven

 

[B.Traven]

Bingo!

btraven

 

[flintlock62]

I'm disappointed about no sex! However, I'm too green to answer your question. I do think that degradation takes place which will affect resistance over time.

 

[B.Traven]

I'm disappointed about no sex!

Me too!

btraven

 

[catalystRKS]

Could this be why my vivi nova gurgles once in a while? I figured why clean it if I've been using the same liquid for the past 4 days.

 

[peraspera]

I haven't checked any cartomizers but the resistance of one of my Vivi Novas went up after I used it, rinsed it very well but before I dry burned it. After dry burning it went back to normal. I don't recall how much change there was but do recall being a bit surprised at how much it was, particularly since the coil wasn't all that dirty. The Vivi Nova only had two fills of light juice.

If it would amuse you to check your cartomizers yourself you can buy one of these, Cartomizer and Atomizer Ohm Meter.