The anatomy of a 510 carto - filling question

[BoomBoom65]

As far as I can tell from simply looking at a regular 510 carto, it is made of a batch of filler wrapped around a semi rigid "tube" which appears to run from the top of the filler to the threaded end of the atty - the battery end. The tube has a wire in it which I assume heats up when the battery is attached.

If that tube does run through the middle of the filler and out the battery end then, to me, filling from the battery end does not make sense.

Adding juice drop by drop or even using the condom method from the battery end makes the juice run through the tube and then over the top into the filler? Or does the juice get into the filler through somewhere else? Maybe the be tube is not connected to the hole at the threaded end. I do not know.

Do I have the anatomy of a carto correct? I have one that is absolutely completely done and I am going to cut it open this weekend to see what I can see.

I ask this out of curiosity as well as finding the best possible method of filling a carto well AND keeping the carto alive as long as possible.

 

[FreakyStylie]

Check out this post:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...cartomizer-tear-down-ctd-read-comment-ty.html

 

[deback]

The tube in the middle of the filler is usually two pieces, so the juice can drain into the sides of the filler.

When I fill and refill cartomizers, I just drip directly into the filler from the mouth end. I don't wanna have to spend the extra time to clean the juice from the threaded end every hour when I refill a carto (and then some of that juice will end up drying on threads in the future).

I also quit using the rubber white end caps recently and use stainless steel (and also some metal) drip tips as mouthpieces (not used for dripping into the cartomizers). Now, when I refill cartos, I just put the clear rubber condoms back onto each end of the carto and store the refilled carto until the next day, when the juice has had lots of time to soak and mix into the filler.

I'm now spending very little time refilling cartos, compared to when I used to use the condom method to refill them and was removing and replacing the white mouth end plugs. Direct drip about 12 drops, sometimes 14 or 15 drops, into the fillers from the mouth end, no mouth end plugs to mess with, and that's it. I only use the condoms on each end to keep the air out of the cartos and to help keep the liquid fresh, until I'm ready to vape each carto.

 

[BoomBoom65]

That video was great. Pretty cool actually. I need to rummage through my tool box for some snips and such because I am determined to take one apart. Not necessarily to refil but to see what I can see.

But it does not have or show the small semi rigid tube that runs through the filler. That is what I was wondering about.

Is it two pieces and allows the liquid to disperse if filled through the battery end?

I have tried all sorts of ways to fill a cart and found the condom filling method to be the best for me and topping off with a few drops now and again.

I also take off the mouthpiece and use a drip tip for comfort.

 

[sashwa]

My question is - Which way is best a carto life - Filling from the bottom or filling from the top?

I think BoomBoom is talking about Joyetech 510 cartos where they have a fill port. With these cartos if you want to fill from the top, you need to use a syringe. But you can fill them by using the bottom condom method or filling them drop by drop thru the hole in the threaded end. If you bottom fill these then you don't need to pierce the fill port if you don't want to.

 

[BoomBoom65]

Actually I am talking about a plain anybrand that I have on hand carto for a 510. I pop off the top and look down inside.

There is a layer of white fluff/filler surrounding a tube of sorts with a wire coming out and bent over.

If you fill the carto, using the condom method, from the battery end watch that tube. Juice will come up to the top and flow over the edges into the filler. That can't possible be the way it fills all the filler is it? by over flowing?

Like deback said - maybe it is in two pieces and the filler is also getting saturated somewhere in between the end hole and the top of that tube.

If you fill with a dark juice and a fresh white fluffy carto you can see the juice come up and over.

Sort of hard to believe filling from the battery end is a good idea if this is the case. Again, I have no idea how or what the construction is but I am going to find out.

Sashwa! Get me my snips!

 

[deback]

That video was great. Pretty cool actually. I need to rummage through my tool box for some snips and such because I am determined to take one apart. Not necessarily to refil but to see what I can see.

But it does not have or show the small semi rigid tube that runs through the filler. That is what I was wondering about.

Is it two pieces and allows the liquid to disperse if filled through the battery end?

I have tried all sorts of ways to fill a cart and found the condom filling method to be the best for me and topping off with a few drops now and again.

I also take off the mouthpiece and use a drip tip for comfort.

The juice will drain into the filler if you fill from the threaded end, but it will take more time to clean off the threaded end (and expect some of that juice to stay on and around the threads and dry there). That's why I never fill cartos from the threaded end.

Regarding the condom method, why use the condom as a middleman? You're putting liquid into the condom and then into the carto. You could just drip into the mouth end of the carto (about 12 to 15 drops when refilling and about 20 to 24 drops when filling new cartos) and be done with it, with no mess to clean up, like you'll have when using the condom method.

 

[sashwa]

Ask the pugs, they had them last - something about they were gonna teach the cat a lesson.

 

[OldDragon]

Take a look at the ce2 carto's, the r4 has no filler and is easy to refill using a needle, and the ones i'm using have been going strong for the past 2-3 weeks. The regular carto's have filler material in them and only seemed to 2-4 fillups for me and had leaking problems.

 

[stubear62]

Moving to the Cartomizer Issues Sub-Forum with-in the Ecigarette Technical Issues Forum.

 

[BoomBoom65]

I personally find the condom method quite tidy and efficient if done correctly and the juice seems to be forced into the filler deeper where as, again in my opinion, dripping into a carto, especially a previously used carto, is time consuming. You have to wait for the juice to be absorbed by the filler.

I know it is just time and even can soak overnight very nicely but if I line up 5 cartos, fill each one using the condom method, give each one a nice wipe around, I am good to go for the day.

When I drip it in, if I do not wait long enough and it has not soaked deep enough it is very slurpy.

BTW - you were correct.


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That tube that I was seeing when looking into the carto from above is
1. not a tube at all but a dense wick
2. is two parts with the dense part at the top and a fluffy part at the bottom by the threads.
3. sort of encases the straight and coiled wire.

I can only assume by filling from the battery end allows the juice to be forced into the bottom fluff and up the sides of the carto, around the coil and wire.

I sliced that puppy completely in half, flayed it open and that is what I found.
I took pictures step by step that I will post if anyone is interested.

BTW this carto was used for several weeks and then flushed for possible reuse but I decided to gut it instead in the name of science.

EDIT: thanks for the move - sorry I posted in the wrong forum.

I am not complaining about this type of carto and would like to look into others that have been mention and I actually do use other types but I was extremely curious as to what was really lurking inside.

I took apart a computer one back in the late 80's and found a wonderful new passion

 

[BoomBoom65]

Forgot a very important bit of info - I used a dremel to cut straight down one side top to bottom and then did the same thing on the other side being careful not to cut through the wires. Then I used a razor blade to carefully cut through the fluff until I could find the tube that of course was not there.

 

[BoomBoom65]

I am not the best photographer as you can see but here are a few of the pics in order of deconstruction.

 

[BoomBoom65]

Last ones.

 

[deback]

Take a look at the ce2 carto's, the r4 has no filler and is easy to refill using a needle, and the ones i'm using have been going strong for the past 2-3 weeks. The regular carto's have filler material in them and only seemed to 2-4 fillups for me and had leaking problems.

Yes, cartos will leak when you overfill them. 10 to 15 drops is what you should drip when refilling, but usually 10 to 12 is about right, depending on how empty the carto is at the time.

 

[deback]

I personally find the condom method quite tidy and efficient if done correctly and the juice seems to be forced into the filler deeper where as, again in my opinion, dripping into a carto, especially a previously used carto, is time consuming. You have to wait for the juice to be absorbed by the filler.

It's really not time-consuming if you drip the way I do. I drip about 12 drops into the same spot at the mouth end of the carto, while holding the carto at a 45-degree angle. The extra liquid in that one spot forces the liquid to drain down and soak into the entire filler much quicker. This is the quickest way to refill and fill cartos. I've filled them every way possible, and I'm now using only this method, because I have to do things the quickest way when I get the same result.



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