Straw mod: going brass

[jeffo]

Hello!

Nice forum here, I feel at home.

Got hooked into my 510, after 20+ years on analogs.

After the straw mod then....boy! Decent flowing vapor now! No more 5 puffs and dry vapor again! Really cool. Points to Opus who published! THANKS!

I was wondering: any benefits of using brass tubes? I tinker with R/C planes and have a couple of them around...wonder if anyone already used those. A bit more of work to get them into the correct shape but no big deal.

 

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

Hi Jeffo. Brass (and copper) can tarnish which forms a poisonous verdigris. Tarnish isn't something you want in your liquid/cartridge.

Plastic straws are so inexpensive. If you can't find small straws you can use inexpensive q-tip cotton swabs with hollow colored plastic bodies that are perfect. I use the swab to clean out my connections on my e-cig then cut off the cotton ends and save the center part for straw mods.

If you really want a more permanent straw from metal, consider a large surgical steel needle. You'll need to put something inside it before cutting it to keep from crushing the hollow tube and an angle cut to one of the ends can help it keep an airflow at the bottom of the cartridge.

The straw mod really is wonderful with standard cartridge filling.

 

[jeffo]

mmmm..that was exactly my concern. The tubes already are tarnished....
Gotta be some kind of steel as you mentioned. I only got bigger diameters of that, though.

I will try with Q-tips to see how they go.
I have a small bag of straw for "homemade" candy suckers, they are.135 inches in diameter, I guess that's ok too. Inner side is .122.

I was really happy about the vapor quantity after the mod...but after vaping for 30+ minutes.....the cart was empty!! Is that ok? It made the thing into a V8... : )

 

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

An empty cart is good! A dry atomizer is not! Keep a good eye on the cartridge to make sure you don't vape it too dry.

You can take a large darning needle or toothpick to poke the stuffing about to make sure that the liquid is going all the way to the bottom and eliminate any air pockets to get as much liquid into the cartridge as possible. It comes in handy to keep the filler from slumping down inside the cartridge as well. You want to keep it up at the top of the cartridge so it hits the bridge inside the atomizer to wick the liquid.

 

[jeffo]

LOL...I was wondering about the "mileage"... : )

But you're right! It was empty...used all the juice, which is good.

 

[FlyingPiper]

Thanks for the good tips. I've tried the PTB mode and it works better than the wooly stuffy that was in my carts before but I'm still looking for a more consistent flow. It's a hassle having to top off half empty carts because they don't wick all that well. Thanks again. I'll have to check out the straw mod.

 

[bsoplinger]

The zero fill mod (ZFM) is another that quite a few people like. There is a company that sells precut plug if you don't want to make them yourself.

 

[jeffo]

Gosh, I gotta get updated. PTB and ZFM.....

Searching the forums on them...

 

[Grenage]

You're right about the 'mileage', but it does lead to a vastly improved vape experience!

 

[jeffo]

You're right about the 'mileage', but it does lead to a vastly improved vape experience!

Allright...better performance...more fuel...makes sense!

 

[Hellen A. Handbasket]

Here are links to a bunch of them!
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/ask-veterans/93586-best-cart-mods-510-atty.html

 

[zoiDman]

Brass is an extremely reactive metal. I would not use it. If you want a metal "straw", why don't you use Stainless Steel (SS)? You can get SS small tubing at arts and crafts stores or at places like homedepot or lowes.

 

[jeffo]

Yep. I also suggested that some posts ago...when I started the thread I was looking to my brass tubes, already tarnished inside.

I guess SS is one of the most inert metals.