Simple and embarrassing atomizer question

[underice]

Ok, I've gone over the forums and did the Google thing but I think my question is so basic that no one covers it.

How do you use an atomizer? There's the bridge onto which you can drip, I get that. Then there's the cartridge with some filler in it. Does that act like a cartomizer...the filler is soaked with e-liquid which is then inserted into the atomizer section and pressed against the atomizer itself?

Or do you fill the cartridge up and the filler just delivers it to the atomizer (while you get a mouthful of e-liquid)?

I'm dripping on a KGo and it works fine but it takes constant refilling. When I soak the filler in the cartridge, the e-fluid doesn't really seem to get delivered to the atomizer very effectively. The filler gets pushed into the cartridge and the fluid doesn't seem to soak into the front of the filler (nearest the atomizer) as it gets used.

Sorry for the sub-newbie question...but it feels like I'm missing something, or atomizers are too much trouble.

 

[Ladypixel]

The cartridge acts like a carto, yes. It's been my experience that I refilled cartridges a LOT while using them. The 510-type cartridges I got initially, I was told to put ten drops of liquid into, then prime the atty with a drop or two, then use them. They worked... but they sure weren't as good as the tank systems I've come to enjoy now. Carto works better than cartridge for me, at least. But the perk of a cartridge is that they're already in the house, so if I want to vape a lot of flavors in a given evening, and don't mind blowing through cartridges, there they are. (I haven't done it yet.)

 

[underice]

Ok, thanks. It also seems like the atomizer cartridges are easier to clean and re-use. So that's the trade-off. Shorter time between refills, inefficient e-fluid delivery (when not dripping) but easier to change flavors. Also, the atomizer/cartridge combo has better TH and flavor much of the time, but using them is fidgety and a mess.

 

[Warren D. Lockaby]

From my limited experience with atomizer/cartridge setups the cartridges are 'way more trouble than they're worth, at least to me. For flavor I love dripping a few drops (usually 3) directly on a good atty, vaping until the vape/flavor begins to fade, then dripping 2 or 3 more drops. Obviously this doesn't work well when out & about so then I use cartomizers. I like Smoktech XL 1.7 Ohm single coils (aka "Resurrector" from Crystal Clear Vaping) and Boge 2.0 Ohm cartos. Some folks like tanks; I haven't tried them, and there are other options available I haven't tried. For the cartos though, the Smoktech XL hold almost twice the juice as the Boge and is a little hotter. Both are very good cartos, IMO.

Happy Vaping!

 

[ukeman]

Ok, thanks. It also seems like the atomizer cartridges are easier to clean and re-use. So that's the trade-off. Shorter time between refills, inefficient e-fluid delivery (when not dripping) but easier to change flavors. Also, the atomizer/cartridge combo has better TH and flavor much of the time, but using them is fidgety and a mess.

As far as i know, a cartridge is NOT part of an atomizer.
I may be wrong but cartridges are almost obsolete... most either drip or use cartomizers, and to tell the truth i am not exactly sure why I just went straight to dripping - and I never liked the way cartos affect the flavor. If i do use a carto it's in a tank which keeps it wet all the time.

Dripping is the purest form of vaping because there is no filler in the way of straight flavor of a good e juice. It has a learning curve that is basically simple, just takes time.

1. matching resistance of (the coil in) the atomizer to the "true" voltage of the PV.
2. knowing the juice: pg/vg ratio and ingredients.
3. Knowing how much juice to drip and when.

Basically I'd suggest following the advice of other drippers as to what atomizer they use with which PV or similar PV. Like W.D.L.'s suggestions. There are many to choose from.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[underice]

Physically they are not part of an atomizer but it seems like they are used together. For example, the atomizer(s) I use came with 6 pre-filled cartridges. Not cartomizers. If I leave off the cartridge and drip, I'm sucking on an open tube which has the bridge of the atomizer at the bottom of it. Seems like they are used as a mouthpiece if nothing else.

 

[underice]

I like Smoktech XL 1.7 Ohm single coils (aka "Resurrector" from Crystal Clear Vaping) and Boge 2.0 Ohm cartos.

I have a set of those as well....I like them very much. I'm still trying to work out the best way to vape. Dripping is really good but only while I'm at the desk and don't mind getting everything sticky.

 

[ukeman]

those are one way of getting them, which i haven't seen in ages... just because I haven't been looking for those.
If you go to any well known vendor of PV's and accessories, most likely you will not see these. Atomizers come with a plastic tip/cap that is invariably tossed and replaced with a Drip Tip.
THere are oodles of drip tips styles; in fact it has become almost an art form in some corners.
My favorite for dripping are made out of Pyrex; so the juice drips down very fast and doesn't come back up into your mouth as most delrin ones do.

Physically they are not part of an atomizer but it seems like they are used together. For example, the atomizer(s) I use came with 6 pre-filled cartridges. Not cartomizers. If I leave off the cartridge and drip, I'm sucking on an open tube which has the bridge of the atomizer at the bottom of it. Seems like they are used as a mouthpiece if nothing else.

 

[Ladypixel]

I will dispute ukeman's view on this slightly, if only because finding cartridges is surprisingly easy for me even now. That said, cartomizers are far more prevalent on the ECF vendors' websites, likely because of the capacity of a carto (it holds a LOT more juice) and because of the simplicity factor (less refills = less mess = less cleanup). I would imagine that as time goes on, cartomizers will in fact fully replace cartridges. But at the moment, as there's still people using cartridges, they're still commercially available.

Lessee... oh, yeah. A little note here: never directly vape off the atomizer. That is a great way to burn the heck out of your lips. Always use a drip tip! I'm assuming you already know this, but because of how you phrased one of your responses, I figured it didn't hurt to reiterate it.

Cartridges are a smidge easier to clean and reuse, but only barely. Cartomizers have the perk that because you're not putting on/taking off the wicking material all the time, you have no chance of snagging the filler on the atomizer, and thus it will have a little more reliability. That said, if you're careful with how you put on/take off your cartridges, even this isn't an issue. But if you ever see a bit of that wicking material/filler stuff attached to your atty... take a pair of tweezers and pluck it off gently. Otherwise, you get the wonderful flavor of burning filler, which tastes like... well. It's not real pleasant. (And that's one of the major reasons I abandoned cartridges, too.)

Um... I'm reaching the end of my helpful tidbits for this particular moment in time, but I hope those random bits help a little. In the end, cartridges are in fact completely functional, if there are some rather significant payoffs to switching to a different method. They'll work 'til you're done with them, and then you can move on from there or order more, as you prefer.

 

[Bullmastiffguy]

Diffrerent situations call for diffrent setups. Sitting around I dont mind to drip, sometimes I like mixing up the flavors during the night so I have a few different cartos, as the atty will no get rid of all the previous flavor.
Just remember variety is the spice of Vape.. lol

 

[ukeman]

Sorry if i gave the impression ... but i said they are "almost" obsolete, which leans towards, as you say cartos "replacing cartridges", and since that's the case, thus the info on dripping.
IMO there are more folks using cartos (at home) vs dripping because it's easier, but because drippers feel the taste is better than cartos we do go through that rather lengthy learning curve (which includes lots of trying different atomizers and PV's and set ups).
I've settled on one flavor (with a couple variations added occasionally); Snickerdoodle.
But when I was trying different flavors I would use a non tobacco menthol type juice to seque between flavors ... use the menthol after a certain flavor (menthol goes good on top of just about any flavor), vape that for a while, and then after a few sessions, start a new flavor. It might not work for all flavors but it does with quite a lot.

 

[LucentShadow]

I keep my carts around for backup, I suppose... The liquid in the bottom never seemed to want to wick out for me. There are quite a few things you can do to modify them, though. Check the sticky in this forum, if you haven't yet:

Cartridge Mods

I've done the straw mod and blue foam mod, which worked fairly well once I got them perfected. The blue foam tastes like crap if you don't wash it really well.

The new direction that carts have gone is 'tank' style. Probably originally inspired by the great SCOTTYBALLS' Zero Filler Mod, it eliminates most of the poor wicking problems, as well as the taste of the filler.

If you like carts, you may want to try a 510-T atty and a 5-pack of 510-T carts. I'm not sure what company made mine, but they work well. Mine had silicone plugs in the end, which is not as the original Joye ones were AFAIK. I think they are this XL version:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/atomizer-reviews/183420-510-t-xl-tanks.html

I also like this mod for atomizers:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/atomizer-mods/221377-stainless-steel-doughnuts-dripping.html

It basically uses stainless steel (some use titanium) mesh as wicking material, packed right into the atty.

 

[underice]

I'm wondering if the KGo I bought was missing a piece, it doesn't have a drip tip. It just came with some cartridges. That may have contributed to some of my confusion.

Oddly enough, I'm finding myself dripping when I'm working at my desk. It's easy and I get to change flavors on the fly. I never wold have thought I'd be doing that as I read about others dripping. Sometimes I'll put some liquid on the filler but not always. But I use the cartridge as a drip tip (assuming the two are different pieces of hardware).

I still don't think I've stabilized into a real routine yet though. I have a feeling when it comes time to reorder I'll just buy some SmokeTech cartomizers.

 

[sailorman]

I'm wondering if the KGo I bought was missing a piece, it doesn't have a drip tip. It just came with some cartridges. That may have contributed to some of my confusion.

Oddly enough, I'm finding myself dripping when I'm working at my desk. It's easy and I get to change flavors on the fly. I never wold have thought I'd be doing that as I read about others dripping. Sometimes I'll put some liquid on the filler but not always. But I use the cartridge as a drip tip (assuming the two are different pieces of hardware).

I still don't think I've stabilized into a real routine yet though. I have a feeling when it comes time to reorder I'll just buy some SmokeTech cartomizers.

You need to get a proper drip tip. A drip tip can stay attached to the atty and you just drip straight into the hole. That's pretty tricky to do with the little hole in a cartridge. A drip tip has a larger hole and a wider bore, so you can just drop a couple drops straight out of your bottle without taking it off the atty. I gave up on cartridges about a year or more ago and went to dripping exclusively. Now I'm back to the clearomizer, cartomizer, tank systems, hunting for a lazy man's way to get that dripping taste.

 

[Blood_of_Adonis]

I'm trying the Bonut mod right now, which basically turns your atomizer into a Stainless Steel cartomizer. The opposite of that would be the Stainless Steel wool or mesh (pipe screens for the latter) inside of the cartridge. I haven't tried that one, yet. The Bonut mod is decent, but I imagine I could make it better with some tinkering...

I've tried the Straw mod, and the Spring mod. Both, to me, either separately or combined seem to work well, initially, and then revert back to the hit-and-miss nature of he poly filler regular cartridges come with. I have yet to make the plug mod without it leaking massively.

510-T is my atty of choice. The only downside is that the caps on the carts get stretched kind of quickly, which leads to leaking in my pocket. BOO! (i've only used the XL, non-joye carts, though, which I've only heard bad things about.)

I've yet to find a cartomizer that suits me. I've only tried the Smoke Tech 2.0 Dual Coil, though. I'm going to try the 1.7 next.

 

[underice]

I probably was unclear, I take the cartridge off, drip and then put it back on. I wish they had put a drip tip in with order but maybe they are not standard options.

I just got 4 new (to me flavors) and started them all off by dripping. 2 were great, one passable and one I doubt I'll use again. Oddly enough the last is the RY4 from BackWoods Brew, I'd heard so much about it that when I saw them available I grabbed a bottle. Turned out it's not the flavor type I like...

In any case, I'm guessing I'll settle into just using the Smoketechs for vaping and dripping for trying new flavors out.

 

[ukeman]

underice, you can pretty easily sell the unwanted juices in the classies; especially BWB juices... at least enough recoup some funds; or you can do PIF thread ... just saying.

as for a drip tip; you can get delrin d/t for very little, but imo most d/t's tend to get juice hung up ... or back up ... into your mouth. The best are pyrex; plain or color, from like Theecig.com or there are fancy ones which are not cheap.

best to take note of what you like... I've spent lots of time and money sampling so so many juices from different vendors and thank heavens ended with 2 or 3 that i love.

 

[juicejunky]

I probably was unclear, I take the cartridge off, drip and then put it back on. I wish they had put a drip tip in with order but maybe they are not standard options.

I just got 4 new (to me flavors) and started them all off by dripping. 2 were great, one passable and one I doubt I'll use again. Oddly enough the last is the RY4 from BackWoods Brew, I'd heard so much about it that when I saw them available I grabbed a bottle. Turned out it's not the flavor type I like...

In any case, I'm guessing I'll settle into just using the Smoketechs for vaping and dripping for trying new flavors out.

Let that RY4 steep for 2 weeks and try it again. If not wait 2 more weeks and try a 2nd time. At that point if you still don't like it sell or trade it. I didn't like it until week 4 the first time, then it became a favorite. Since it is so hard to get, you might as well at least try it at it's best. It will be a good lesson on how steeping changes a flavor. The tobaccos in general need steeping, BWB RY4 more than most.

If you end up liking attys way more than cartos, you might look into bottom feeders or some type of tank system as your next PV. Cartridges are more trouble than they are worth. Get a good drip tip and drip--less messy and you get to the point you can do it without thinking.