So what works best for you?

[JenJen]

We all have our own way of doing things... thought it might be helpful for some of us seasoned vape vets to share with the newbies and let them know what works for us.


I go through a carto a day, but I do it using 2 cartos for 2 days. I always carry 2 xl batteries with cartos everywhere I go. I will take a few puffs off one, then a few off the other - this helps prevent the cartos from getting over heated and burning. Also makes it longer between refilling time too. Plus I kind of like having two different tastes going... I will change batteries as soon as I get home from work (before they fully discharge) and charge them, getting two fresh batts for the evening. I never let them go completely dead before recharging.

I buy prefilled cartos and will screw on 2 new cartos and enjoy with my coffee and computer time before getting ready for work. Before work, I will put the .... plug and condom on the battery end and then drop 6 drops through the mouth end and do the taryn spin. Then will put in a few more drops for good measure unless it appears to be over saturated. Now, the reason I wasn't initially a fan of the taryn spin (which uses the battery covers with draw strings to spin the juice down into the batting) is because it was a pain fishing the carto out from the bottom of it. So I cut the batt cover and sewed the end so that it is only about as long as the carto now - easy peasy to get it out. (You can also use duct tape lol) The taryn spin really does allow you to get more juice in for a longer lasting vape without topping off.

I basically use the same 2 cartos for 2 days just topping off or refilling them - then i put the cartos in a coffee can (with condoms and .... plugs put back in) to reuse in case of emergency and grab two new ones...

Along with the two xls and carts, I ALWAYS have my pcc and bat with 2 fresh cartos tucked into my purse just in case. I charge it once every other week or so it is always ready to go... yeah yeah, paranoid I know lol Just don't like to take a chance!

So how do you manage your cartos and batts?

 

[Redbone]

1 carto a day? Wish I could do that! I'm constantly toppin them off.

 

[jeffree]

Very similar to my own routine, JJ. Like you, I use two batts with cartos attached, and I change the batts at least twice daily so that they're always pretty fresh. That is, I rotate 4 XL batts in pairs so that I always have a pair in play and a pair charging. I carry the working pair around town in a great little leather case (found elsewhere) that perfectly holds two XLs (cartos attached) and an extra carto. Very cool. And, like you, I keep a few extra batts and cartos around (car, office) in case of an emergency, which has never yet occurred. Good to be safe, though, when cigs are the nasty alternative!

I don't refill, though. Never got hip to that although the time may come. At the moment, I'm using about 2/3s of two cartos a day, which I clean and store at the end of each day. Also like you, I figure I may need them someday. I use a fresh pair of cartos (say choco and mint) each morning, which perfectly start each day with full flav and potency. Can't beat that.

A toast to great minds that think alike!

 

[plantlvr]

I usually finish off a carto that i was using before bed [low nic] in the morning while getting ready for work. Once out the door i have a fresh Xtra long auto and new [higher nic] carto in my leaford lanyard. I happily vape away at work, then at lunch i come home to eat [ love being only a few miles from my job!] and repeat the morning process. At night i either use a shorty or Xtra long with lower nic.
On the road i take lots of batts, charger. PT and PCC. i'm with Jenjen on taking as much gear as i can
I don't drip much, but have lots of juice when I want to. i also have two full coffee cans full of used cartos just in case...

 

[JenJen]

You really should try refilling - it is super easy to do, just take off the batt, put on the buttplug and condom, take off the cap, tilt and drop, tilt and drop, (Tilt so you don't drop down the center) tilt and drop, tilt and drop, spin a few times , tilt and drop, tilt and drop, tilt and drop, recap, put back on the batt and pure bliss! Takes me about 2 minutes to refill 2 cartos and the savings makes it so worth it!

 

[keyzygirl]

I like the premiums.Truth is Ive been using anything I can get cheap enough from V4L.The sales have been a lifesaver!!I use 5v so they work well for me.I use 1 and top it off for a few days,stretch them out as long as I can!!

 

[phishtraveler]

I like to refill, too. I carry a black case with two standard batts and 4 carts, *PLUS* another white case with two more batts and four more carts! A bit overkill, I know LOL.

I like to vape the refilled carts out of my USB PT, because it goes through carts so quickly (higher voltage). So if I refll and then vape, its on the PT. Otherwise, I refill with condom method and then put them in the ammo case for a while. I filled one like this and stored it for about 3 weeks (forgot about it to tell the truth) but when I vaped it, it was really nice since it crackled like a new cart!

I mainly vape prefilled through the batteries. It makes me feel like I get more out of them for the money.

 

[samsmom]

I refill too. I buy a pack of cartos and if I like the taste then I buy a 30ml bottle of liquid to refill them. I just take the end cap off and drop at an angle all the way around in a circle until it is saturated. I put the cap back on and condoms on both ends and store them away until I'm ready to use them. I usually go thru 3 or 4 cartos per day and mostly use my USB PT as my work is at home on a computer all day. When I go out I take my PCC and my auto bat and usually take my EGO with an 808 adapter on it so I can still use my V4L cartos. I also use Vapornine's Turbo 808 cartos for other juices that I have purchased and they work great also. I think it's fun to line up all my cartos and refill them every night. I have not tried to clean any of mine yet but plan to in the future. I am all for saving money and don't throw anything away unless it is totally unusable! LOL I have yet had one to die on me and I've refilled them numerous times!

 

[maxx]

Before work, I will put the .... plug and condom on the battery end and then drop 6 drops through the mouth...

It's funny. An e-cig forum is the only place on the net where one can post something like that without either getting arrested...or stalked. LOL

 

[Hoppyy]

4 380mah xls 2 am/pm w crts the other 2 charging.
I refill
I also always bring 2 regular manuals with fresh carts, (18) everywhere I go cause theres always someone curious. They normally come home pretty dry. I just like to share a good thing, (PIF) its how I got started.
Lower nicotine at night or I'd have a problem sleeping

 

[bornagainst]

I generally only use cartos when out and about, but it's similar to Jens. I have two cartomizers going at the same time, two batts, and a batt in the PCC. However I tend to get about 3 days use out of one cartomizer before I toss.

 

[Mary Kay]

I set up 4 batteies with 4 different flavor cartos every night before bed. I vape them all day and sometimes need to recharge my extra long batts because I don't always start or end the day with new batts. I recharge as soon as the begin to blink.
When I am going to be on the road for a day I will carry extra cartos and batts in a plastic case and will use the Passthru in the car. I have been refilling my cartos weekly. I go thru at least 2 or 3 full carts a day when I am home. I don't tend to vape as much when I am on the road. (we have been moving from St. Cloud to Tampa..about a 100 miles one way.)
I have been using the condom style refill method without doing the Taryn spin lately. Works for me!

 

[Desertfremen]

Every freshly charged batt gets matched up with a fully filled carto preferabley one I've refilled since I can consistently fit 1.25mL of juice into a WOWcarto. All the batts I use are XLs. When the carto is dry the battery gets recharged and the cartos gets refilled. However, it more often happens that the battery blinks before the cartos is completely dry but that's okay since the XLs seem to go dead just a the right time to avoid burning the carto. I keep a rotation of 6 batts right now and may add more as more colour/LED combos come in that are really enticing me. Also, all batts are cleaned before attaching a new cart to keep flavour and draw at its best.

I usually run through at least 2 batts/cartos per day. As of late all I've been vaping is WOW Coffee 36mg. Yes, I finally found the flavour I can vape all day and night. I've gone through over 50mL and am still not tired of it. I still say that this is the old original CMF. I vape on one setup till it's done then move onto the next one I have setup. I must say I use only WOW cartos and have never had a problem with these cartos getting too hot either on a batt or the PT.

Now cartos. I usually buy pre-filled then refill. I've used blanks before too. As far as performance goes I've never noticed a difference between pre-filled and blanks. When I refill I Reverse Taryn Spin to empty the carto. Refill by dripping 35 drops into the carto Taryn Spinning when needed to get the overflow down into the filler. Then I take a paperclip and run it through the draw hole to align the atty, clean up the battery end and good to vape. When cartos stop taking 35 drops or the draw/flavour starts going weird it's time to clean the carto.

I easily get at least 30 refills out of a carto.

 

[jamvector]

After a year of vaping and no smokes, I am still very paranoid about having functional vaping materials on me at all times. Being rather OCD (as many of us appear to be), I always have at least two batts with "good" carts on me at all times. Typical pattern for me is as follows.

Morning, take two fresh XL manuals off the chargers (and put two more on), load with two fresh carts, vape them at home and on the way to work.
At work, I have two shorty manual batteries that have been charging overnight, and a small cache of fresh carts. I use these during the work day as they are more portable and less conspicuous (and don't fall out of my shirt pocket in front of people).
I leave these to charge at work and use my XL manuals again for the commute home - they usually last through the evening. At about 9pm, I switch from 24mg or 18mg carts to 8mg so I don't get too buzzed up before bed.
At bedtime, I exchange XL manuals with the ones that have been charging during the day. I have 7 newer XL manuals that I try to use evenly, and alternate at times depending on whether I have certain carto issues (some combinations work better than others, even with the adjustment of the center posts). I also have about 8 or 9 older batteries that I use on occasion or loan out at times.
In all cases, I have at least two flavors going; one is usually a fruity selection such as blueberry, grape, or apple-kiwi-strawberry, and the other cart is either Smilin menthol or Cool Menthol (sometimes Wowboy mixed with Dunhall or Parliament menthol). On average, I go through between two and four carts per day.

My favorite flavor is Smilin Menthol, followed by those mentioned above. My first 8 months vaping was with 24mg, I am now phasing down to 18mg (8 at night). I have used every version of V4L cart, but find the cool carts work best for me. I have used PT's, but don't like the cord, and find the batts to work very well. And of course, I have a regular manual batt that perpetually lives in my PCC with two spare carts that are always nearby in case of emergency.

I buy blank cool carts, and refill via drip 6 times (usually in batches of 20, between 15 and 30 drops per cart - takes about 1/2 hour once a week), then I put them in a tupperware container until boiling day. I like to work in batch mode, so about every three months, I will have accumulated a couple hundred carts or more. I boil then force-rinse with a syringe, blow dry and fluff with my air compressor, then refill as previously described.

 

[pianoguy]

I'm still paranoid, just like jamvector - you can't just go to the corner store to get more supplies, so I am always prepared for the worst. I carry 4 batteries in my jacket pocket, keep another in my desk at work (as well as a pass-thru and a USB charger) and have 3 more in the car along with a PCC. If we travel, I bring 2-3 chargers, a pass-thru and a Kensington Power Pack, and a USB car adapter if we're on the road. I have become very lazy - I just use the condom dunk method of filling/refilling, and give the carto a little shake. I have about 5 Cool Whip bowls full of cartos ready to be washed, gonna do that when I get a round tuit. I also often use a Wet Box with a carto - I'd love to see V4L come out with something along those lines. It isn't stylish like the V4L batteries, but it is very functional. I go through roughly 3ml of juice per day - sometimes more, sometimes less. I started at 24mg and am now using 4-8mg strength.

 

[MarciaSS]

I go through a about 3/4 of a carto a day. I like to have 2 different ones going, also, so it's really hard to tell exactly how much I use a day. My favorites are menthol and coffee flavors. Haven't narrowed down which of those are my favorites...there are so many to choose from!

We mostly fill our own cartos and it saves us heaps 'o money, unless we can get prefilled ones on sale for a good price. My husband vapes a LOT more than I do, but he was also a much heavier smoker. He uses 18mg and I use 4mg and 0mg. We both completely quit analogs with in 3 days of starting vaping!

 

[tj1100cl]

i'll wake up this old thread, since i like the topic and i don't see anyone described similar to my own method. i started with my VaporKing about 3 weeks ago i guess.

i use clove coolcarts at 11mg. they taste better than the wow clove, and they're purple vs. green, which i think looks better too. sometimes i peel the labels off altogether and wipe them down in alcohol.

i have the PCC and a favorite auto batt. that so far works awesome. i carry two cartos in it. i swap between them thru the day and keep the batt on charge in the PCC as much as possible.

that gets me through the work day. at night, i use the manual pass-thru plugged into my laptop. 5V is better.

on the weekend, i'll put the PCC on charge for the evening around 5pm to top it off, and put my primary auto batt on the wall charger at the same time. i'll swap in two new cartos and put the other two in the spent box.

every few days i'll grab the cartos from the spent box and refill them with TV Kretek 11mg using an 18ga bevel tip syringe. i fill them to soaked, then suck some back out with the syringe and blow out from the atty end. i try to do a dozen at a time. i wipe them all down with alcohol including the threads with Q-tip, double cap them and put them in tupperware in the fridge. that's my go-to box during the week.

my two primary goals are to A) put batteries on chargers as often as possible to maintain top-offs. these batts are not deep-cycle style. they don't want to be run to dead and they like to be full. the PCC goes back on charge overnight every night. i have never run out of power and i rarely carry a 2nd batt.

and B) don't vape the cartos dry and burn them. i swap between cartos when i notice a drop in performance. i don't think i've ever vaped a carto dry. so i'm not refilling so much as topping off repeatedly. i'll top off 4-5 times before i put in the retired box.

i carry one cigarette case, the PCC, with 2 cartos and one auto batt. i have enough full charge batts in a box, and refilled cartos in the fridge, to just maintain the stock of the PCC. i feel it's only as tedious as if i was a roll-your-own cig smoker, and the benefits certainly justify the 20-30 mins of sitting down to do refill and cleanup. i don't carry any juice.

i love this thing. it definitely made up for the wait while i decided which to get.