Stardusts - How to maintain them and adjust airflow and help fix tight draw

[ShogaNinja]

It's not a perfect fix. Apparently you need to get a 510 cone adapter to get a real good draw out of them (they are about $2.49 on madvapes) but I know a lot of people suffer from this problem and here's a semi-fix until you get a cone adapter. Moving the center post with any success is going to take some good tweezers or a set of

small needle-nose pliers. I did it to mine and it helped a little but like I said, it's a semi fix. The real problem is that the tank sits too closely to the battery posts and there's no solving that without removing material (via gouging or drilling) or simply getting the cone adapter. If you use these often it would be more time-effective to get the cone adapter. If anyone has a better solution than this video does without using a cone adapter PLEASE share.

Maintaining the CE4+ Stardust cartomizer - YouTube

 

[cool breeze]

Thanks for helpful video link.

If one is not in any rush, is there any significant advantage to the cleaning method shown in the video vs. simply unscrewing the tip, rinsing them in hot water and letting them air dry for 24-48 hours? Is dry burning really necessary?

 

[Foxman]

I rotate mine and don't wash them but once a week. I'll wash one out and use another for several days.

 

[Maestro]

A dry burn once in a while is a good idea to get rid of the gunk on the coil that a rinse won't remove. I don't recommend that the center post be pulled down to improve air flow. If you move one end of the post, the other end moves with it and that's the end that makes contact with the tip. If the tip doesn't make good contact with the silicone cap, you're going to get leaking. Try using a file on the skirt and making the little notches a bit bigger.

 

[Cheechako]

I don't get a very good draw on the Stardust with my Kgo as the notches on the battery itself are not well defined, where as on my Ego the draw is fine...think I'll hit the notches on my Kgo with the jewelers file a tad bit.

 

[northpole]

I like the stardust for not leaking.

 

[ShogaNinja]

I don't get a very good draw on the Stardust with my Kgo as the notches on the battery itself are not well defined, where as on my Ego the draw is fine...think I'll hit the notches on my Kgo with the jewelers file a tad bit.

I would not recommend that because if something newer and better comes out you may inadvertently ruin your KGO to everything but Stardusts. I pulled on the post and it helped a little but I think what really needs to be done is to take a dremel or something and cut a small slot on the inside of the stardust where it connects to the battery (the walls where the tank and the metal ring meet). This however would weaken the structural integrity of the tank. Although this wouldn't cause a leak or anything it could make it impossible to take apart without cracking and ruining the tank and I definitely wouldn't do it to one that hasn't been taken apart before. As I understand it the more you take them apart the easier it is to do. Estarra - YouTube Estarra on YouTube (RockinRobbieSF here on ECF) has some great vids on how to take them apart (make sure you look at the taking the stardust apart PART 2 as that is the better method before you try it. As for me I finally got mine broken in after having an all day terrible tasting vape experience with too stiff of a draw. Now it's still stiff but at least its starting to taste decent. The vapor production isn't too shabby but I feel like I'm sucking on a McDonald's milkshake with a regular sized straw instead of the huge ones they give you lol. It's also disappointing to go through twice as much juice. Man these things eat it up!

The only other thing I can think of is maybe if I can get a small washer that's conductive and somehow attach it to the bottom of the stardust (inner cylinder) but if it touched the walls it would short out and I have no idea if that would just not work or be bad for your battery (or your face!). Seems like the only safe and sure solution is to get the dang 510 cone adapter.

 

[Andante51]

Just to throw another opinion out there on this issue of the tightness of the draw of the Ego Stardusts / Visions on KGO batteries, for anyone thinking of pursuing that combination -- I much prefer their performance on the KGO over the EGO. I have been vaping about 5 different Stardusts on both KGO and EGO batteries for the past month. (My previous experience over the past 5 months included using EGO-T's, then Boge and Smoketech skinny cartos on EGO and KGO batts, then the big EMDCC cartos on KGO's.)

Although the draw seems just a tad airier to me with the Stardusts on the EGO, my priority is how much of a throat hit and vapor production I can get in the same amount of draw time. I rarely want to invest more than 4 seconds in dragging mode, and with that same drag time I get a much better throat hit, as well as more and thicker vapor with the KGO's than with the EGO's. I have to drag at least another two seconds to get as good an experience using the the EGO's. No doubt this also has to do with the higher voltage of the KGO's. Even a 3 second drag on the Stardust/Kgo combination delivers a darn good hit, but on the EGO 3 seconds is very wimpy.

When ShogaNinja referred to the cone adapter, I figured he meant the 510 to EGO adapters I use on a VV box mod. So I slapped one of those between the Stardust and the KGO, and the draw didn't feel any different to me. It also made the e-cig longer (a big negative for me), and not nearly as attractive; more like something that was cobbled together, whereas the Stardust and KGO go together seamlessly, with the two chrome ends lining up smoothly as they are the same size. Even without the adapter, when you put a Stardust on an EGO battery, their sizes differ where they come together (the Stardust chrome ring being larger) and then you have what I find an quite unpleasant feeling when handling the unit of feeling the sharp edge of the Stardust, as well as it not looking as nice. I like to put my thumb on the junction of the two while dragging and pushing the button, and want a smooth surface under my thumb, not a two-level surface with a sharp ridge.

As with many things related to vaping, I think this is an issue folks may feel quite differently about, depending on their priorities, past experiences, etc. For what it's worth, I love my KGO-Stardust/Vision combo.

 

[Rimau]

In general my opinion of the stardust is: so-so. They don't leak, but the flavors are not great, there is a bit of an off taste, they are prone to dry burns, and all in all, not nearly as good as a CE-2 rev5 XL, as far as carts go.

That said, my first stardust was giving dry burns all the time and had a really hard draw. I took it apart and cut a small v to give the wick some space and when I put it back together, in the last push upwards to set it, I put in the mouthpiece so that I could get a good fit and no leaks. Pushed it up so that they touched, and when I took a hit, the draw was much much better and I seldom get dry hits. Still don't like the flavor though.

I am using it on an ego-t batt. My second stardust had a great draw right off and dry hits are rare, so it is working great without any modifications. I have 2 more unopened, but will not be buying anymore. I am moving over to the ego-c setup instead.

Hope that helps.

Saludos

 

[Maestro]

I have an ego c and the atties are collecting dust. Except for the cracking tanks, I love the stardusts and much prefer them over the ego c. With the c I had dry hits, leaking, etc. I would prime it, move the wick in, move it out, and generally fiddle with it constantly. With the stardust I just fill and go.

I had some juice that hurt my throat and I added some VG to it to soften it. I did find that chain vaping on that juice caused some burnt hits with the stardust because the VG made it too thick. I just added a bit of vodka to thin it, shook it, and no more problems.

 

[Kyi]

I just ordered a kGo myself not too long ago and also picked up some Stardusts. I usually drip because I don't like filling up an entire carto with juice and still having to top it off, plus something about the taste of them just bothers me.

I'm really excited to try these Stardusts, but I'm worried about the mixed reviews. People either love them or think they're cheap and have bad flavor. I have heard many have gotten a tight draw using the kGo with Stardusts, is there any way to fix that without messing with the battery itself?

Also, would you recommend dry burning it right out of the package? I'm guessing they don't easily burn out like cartomizers or something? Btw, I am paranoid about when my atty's/cartos die, all of my atomizers still work and I have no idea how to tell if they are bad/broken/burnt. Also this thing about certain liquids causing the Stardust to crack... worried about that. How the heck am I suppose to know exactly what to avoid with some of these flavors?

 

[rookbartley989]

I have not tried this but as soon as my new Stardust gets here I will. It seems to me if the skirt is the issue, why not just carefully drill a small hole or two in the metal bottom skirt. That would keep it simple and not mess with the looks or feel (sharp edges or scuffed finish). As far as taste goes, never load one with BWB Casablanca! I did that not knowing and before I knew it, I had vaped almost half a bottle in one sitting while playing WoW. I was soo ashamed of my gluttonous actions and now I have to order more already!

Ron -

 

[Rimau]

Revising my review of stardust. Better than so-so, but I hate to have to fiddle with new equipment. I took my second stardust, cleaned after one fill was used, filled, vaped, cleaned... repeated 4 times. Now it is much better but there is still something off in the taste. I pulled up the top spike/rubber piece when I soaked it and used the mouthpiece to set it back in place. I wanted to let plenty of vodka get i and around the wick. I took apart the first one to cut a v to help with the hit and burning, and it doesn't leak! Usually with CEs, once you take them apart, they start leaking, surprizing enough, the stardust was taken completely apart and was fine. I think the outer ring on the bottom helps with that.

I have a couple of Ce-2 rev 5 XLs that wold burn no matter what and I had to just toss into the parts bin for repairs, but at $9 for 5, it's not that big a deal, but the stardusts at $5 each, I am not too accepting of factory imperfections. I'll probably unwrap the other two and see if they are as good as my second one.

 

[ShogaNinja]

In general my opinion of the stardust is: so-so. They don't leak, but the flavors are not great, there is a bit of an off taste, they are prone to dry burns, and all in all, not nearly as good as a CE-2 rev5 XL, as far as carts go.

That said, my first stardust was giving dry burns all the time and had a really hard draw. I took it apart and cut a small v to give the wick some space and when I put it back together, in the last push upwards to set it, I put in the mouthpiece so that I could get a good fit and no leaks. Pushed it up so that they touched, and when I took a hit, the draw was much much better and I seldom get dry hits. Still don't like the flavor though.

I am using it on an ego-t batt. My second stardust had a great draw right off and dry hits are rare, so it is working great without any modifications. I have 2 more unopened, but will not be buying anymore. I am moving over to the ego-c setup instead.

Hope that helps.

Saludos

You should go to youtube and look up GrimmGreen. He did a review on the EGO-C and called it a fail. Not that he likes the EGO-T but many people consider it to be devolving instead of evolving. I would really recommend you do your research before you commit to that!

I had funny taste too when I started my first Stardust so here's what I did to fix that. I wash the thing out with water (shake it!) and then since I lost my pliers I can't take them apart so I took a hair dryer and put it halfway over the top and dried it out quite nicely. Now I don't get the funny taste on new stardusts. Once I had it dry by the way I dry burned it until it glowed red ( in like 4-6 second bursts) and then once it glowed I did it like 3-4 more times and stopped. After a good dry burn another go with the hair dryer may be necessary. If you get dry hits I found that taking tweezers and pulling up the metal cone and silicone cap and then reseating it by driving it down with the drip tip helped considerably. Even so I do get more vapor out of a BOGE cartomizer than a Stardust but the flavor difference is substantially muted and I prefer the taste of a Stardust.

 

[ShogaNinja]

I just ordered a kGo myself not too long ago and also picked up some Stardusts. I usually drip because I don't like filling up an entire carto with juice and still having to top it off, plus something about the taste of them just bothers me.

I'm really excited to try these Stardusts, but I'm worried about the mixed reviews. People either love them or think they're cheap and have bad flavor. I have heard many have gotten a tight draw using the kGo with Stardusts, is there any way to fix that without messing with the battery itself?

Also, would you recommend dry burning it right out of the package? I'm guessing they don't easily burn out like cartomizers or something? Btw, I am paranoid about when my atty's/cartos die, all of my atomizers still work and I have no idea how to tell if they are bad/broken/burnt. Also this thing about certain liquids causing the Stardust to crack... worried about that. How the heck am I suppose to know exactly what to avoid with some of these flavors?

Yes, wash it and dry burn it in 4-6 second bursts until it glows red on the coil. After it glows do it again for few second bursts an extra 3-4 times and then let it cool. Use a hair dryer to dry out the tank (put it halfway over the hole so that you create a windtunnel effect) without taking it apart. Don't worry about unseating the silicone cap either. Silicone can withstand up to 500+ degrees fahrenheit and I can tell you with confidence that your coil is not getting that hot.

About the draw the only way to loosen it up is to either adjust yourself , take a small needlenose pliers and pull out on the bottom center post (don't mess up your threads!), or get a 510 Cone Adapter or sometimes just called a 510 to EGO or 510 to 510 adapter but make sure that it has good looking notches on it that are deeper than your KGOs notches. Some for sale have only 2 deep notches while others have up to 4 shallow notches (which is the same as your KGO). You want deeper notches but do please note that it's going to destroy the sleek look of your KGO with that extra piece on there. Also note that your stardust screws into the cone threads of your KGO so any adapter you get wont work unless it has the same connector your battery has (complete with cone threads). RockinRobbieSF recommends Empire Mods as a supplier, and I can tel you that madvapes has one for cheaper. I haven't ordered mine yet so the choice is yours, just be careful and really look at the pictures and read before you buy!

 

[Kyi]

One of my Stardusts has started to leak. Well.. more like, I get juice in my mouth sometimes and it's not very pleasant. The draw also seems drier. Anything I can do to this this? I am using a kGo, and I really wanna get more of these Stardusts, but I don't want to run into problems like this all the time. Can someone tell me if the longer wicked ones are a vast improvement from the short wicked ones? Also, does anyone know a site that sells the colored versions of the longer wick ones? I tried Healthcabin but the Paypal is in Chinese and something went wrong when I tried to pay so... I dunno. Oh and one more thing... are the LR ones a lot better than the SR ones? Those are what I am using now. Thanks.

 

[Maestro]

Sometimes you get some seepage in the center tube and get juice in your mouth. It will also run down and get into the air channels. Blow hard through it into a napkin to get the juice out and then wipe the connector and threads with a kleenex.