The life "and death" of a cartomizer. The question of PG/VG mix and sweet juices.

[Leroy]

I've heard a variety of things about what will affect the longevity of cartomizers but I'm not certain if there's a consensus. On the most recent Vaporcast the boys seemed to imply that the longevity of a cartomizer had a lot to do with whether the juice was sweet or not. I'm not even certain how juices are made "sweet" since I know there isn't any sugar in them. I understand that VG is sweeter than PG in general but I've had some very sweet PG dominant juices. Others have implied that the viscosity of a juice matters, meaning that VG heavy juices tend to flow more slowly and hence don't keep the coils of a carto as wet as they could be.

I've personally tried wonderful juices that would kill a carto in a day. They were tobacco, not particularly sweet and a 50/50 pg/vg mix.

Firstly, what makes a juice sweet? and will my dessert addiction give my carto a coronary?

Second, how much does PG/VG mix matter? Will slow and steady win me a race to a burnt carto? How much PG do I need to grease my wheels?

Or, do all these things mater and how much?? Are there any juices which seem to be the exception.

PS. I'm using SR 510 Boge cartos at 5-6 volts.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I've heard a variety of things about what will affect the longevity of cartomizers but I'm not certain if there's a consensus. On the most recent Vaporcast the boys seemed to imply that the longevity of a cartomizer had a lot to do with whether the juice was sweet or not. I'm not even certain how juices are made "sweet" since I know there isn't any sugar in them. I understand that VG is sweeter than PG in general but I've had some very sweet PG dominant juices. Others have implied that the viscosity of a juice matters, meaning that VG heavy juices tend to flow more slowly and hence don't keep the coils of a carto as wet as they could be.

I've personally tried wonderful juices that would kill a carto in a day. They were tobacco, not particularly sweet and a 50/50 pg/vg mix.

Firstly, what makes a juice sweet? and will my dessert addiction give my carto a coronary?

Second, how much does PG/VG mix matter? Will slow and steady win me a race to a burnt carto? How much PG do I need to grease my wheels?

Or, do all these things mater and how much?? Are there any juices which seem to be the exception.

PS. I'm using SR 510 Boge cartos at 5-6 volts.

Hello.
I am thinking the 5-6 v is more of the culprit than the ejuice. At that high of v, maybe more of a pg blend will work better with light colored juice. The darker colored juices tend to clog cartos quicker. sugar is not added, some vendors use a sucralose mixture such as this one.
BlueMist Vaping Supplies

I personally use the Sr Boge cartos. Some like the smoktec.
good vaping.

 

[kdwycha]

I recently got my first 100% full VG juice, well bobas bounty and gorilla juice. I placed them in Smoktech 1.7ohm mega dual coil cartomizers. I was worried they would only last one to two days on my KGO. It is now 9 days later and still good to go. No offputting taste, no burnt taste and same draw. I do top off the cartomizers with about 12 drops 2 times a day to keep them wet but not gurgling which I think helps. Excited to see how long these last before I have to toss them.

 

[xer0trigger]

The mix and the flavor of juices killing atties is largely a myth from what I've found. As long as you're using high-quality juices that don't have a lot of random junk in them (i.e., not just PG/VG and flavoring) you'll be fine. Thicker, darker juices do tend to gum the coil up quite a bit faster, but it's nothing a cleaning can't fix. I've been on the same two atties for several months, now that I found my preferred cleaning method.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

The mix and the flavor of juices killing atties is largely a myth from what I've found. As long as you're using high-quality juices that don't have a lot of random junk in them (i.e., not just PG/VG and flavoring) you'll be fine. Thicker, darker juices do tend to gum the coil up quite a bit faster, but it's nothing a cleaning can't fix. I've been on the same two atties for several months, now that I found my preferred cleaning method.

Cleaning attys is fine. he was talking cartomizers. ever try to clean a cartomizer? ugh....haven't had any luck with that.

 

[hairball]

Firstly, what makes a juice sweet? and will my dessert addiction give my carto a coronary?

Vg, sucralose that some vendors add, and EM are you "sweet" culprits. No it won't give your carto a coronary.

Second, how much does PG/VG mix matter? Will slow and steady win me a race to a burnt carto? How much PG do I need to grease my wheels?

I vape all of it and it depends. 100% VG is best used in a cartomizer tank with slits cut in it. Haven't had a carto go south on me yet using this setup. Also, the tanks are great for HV vaping.

Or, do all these things mater and how much?? Are there any juices which seem to be the exception.

Since you vape at higher voltages like I do, and you like cartomizers, I highly suggest getting an inexpensive carto tank and giving it a try. I vape at 6V all day everyday and love the tanks. Since high voltage tears through the juice faster, this may very well fix your "killing" issues. I can vape just about any color and pg/vg mix for weeks on end before swapping out a carto. The tanks keep your cartomizer wet at all times. kalamazoovaporshop makes a shorty tank for boge and they also carry a taller DCT for dcc's or the XL boge.

2 vendors seem to kill my cartos in 2 days no matter what, but it's because they extract their stuff straight from tobacco leaves. Tiny particles get caught in the filler and well...death...kinda like sucking a golf ball through a garden hose...LOL. Primevaping and want2vape kill mine but I love their stuff so I deal with it.

 

[Leroy]

Well, I'm starting to see a pattern emerge here. I wasn't going to say anything since I love the juices so much but Vaperite direct tobacco juices are the only juices which have really just shot my cartos in the heart. Being so good though, getting two days out of a carto and another day after cleaning, was worth it for me for those fantastic juices. He has since offered higher PG levels in his mixes and those did tend to work better. I suspect that some trace plant sugars might be involved but I'm not a chemist and this hunch is in no way informed by any authority on the subject.

So I'm getting that at least some of these things, at least, mater a little. Perhaps I'll try some juices that are not super sweet, are 80/20 pg/vg, and clear or almost clear to see if there is a difference. Now commences the testing...

 

[Warren D. Lockaby]

Just a thought... you *might* want to get a couple of good quality dripping atomizers & drip tips if you don't already have some for treating yourself to juices you love that are just too hard on your cartos. Attys clean up a lot better & with proper care should last a good long while. I'm using a couple of IkenVape, an io6 1.8 Ohm & a 510 1.5 Ohm (only at 3.7 volts) that have been going strong for over 4 months. If nothing else, they're the best way I know to find out how a juice is supposed to taste at whatever resistance/voltage combo you're using. I've also been reading great things about the HH357 attys from Avid but haven't tried 'em myself. Of course you'd need higher resistance stuff, and dripping isn't for everybody (I'm retired so I can get away with it )

Happy Vaping!

 

[kdwycha]

By the way..... My Smoktec 1.7 mega dual coil cartomizer with bobas bounty 100% Vg bit the dust and started tasting like open ... today after 9 days so I filled a new one and tossed the old. I am pretty satisfied with 9 days vaping for under 3 bux for one of those

 

[Leroy]

By the way..... My Smoktec 1.7 mega dual coil cartomizer with bobas bounty 100% Vg bit the dust...

Yeah, I don't think I'd ever complain about 9 days out of a carto. It's an odd thing. I purchased some Smoktec resurrectors "1.7 ohm" that were punched with flanges for a tank and every single one has had a tight draw in or out of a tank... very odd. I may drill out the air intake a little on the threads to see if that helps.

Also, I wonder if a ceramic atomizer could be built like a cartomizer with stainless steel batting? That would be interesting. Might last a long time as well.

 

[imsoenthused]

Only thing I've noticed is that the color of the juice directly affects the lifetime I get from them. A dark juice will kill cartos fast, clear juices don't. I have some flavors that will routinely kill cartos in 2-3 days, and others that will last 2 weeks or more, and it all seems to come down to how dark the juice is in the bottle.

 

[Frank NJ]

This pas weekend I tried cleaning out a few cartos. First boiled them for 10 minutes with distilled water then baked them in the oven 225 degrees for 20 minutes. Worked great and using them without any issues.