Tried a new cart cleaning method, shows promise...

[NekoGurrl]

I've been rinsing my carts on and off, mostly to change flavors. Usually just running under warm water then blowing the water out thru the battery connector. I saw a post here that someone was using a baster to push/pull water thru the cart. A light went on.

I stopped at the hardware store and asked for a piece of flexible plastic tube that would fit over the cart, the clerk tried a couple then came back with a box of clear vinyl tube. I bought a foot of it for 59 cents. I took it home and chopped it in half, put one end over the cart then got a cup of hot water (spring water in a dispenser with a hot water spigot). Then proceeded to pull water in and out thru the cart by sucking and blowing. Got a lot of color out into the water. Dumped the water out, rinsed the cup and got some more hot water and repeated the process.

Once I blew out all the excess water I left the cart to sit for about 1/2 hour.

The cart took 32 drops to fill, and when I tried it, it tasted like new. This was a Hilton cart that I'd been using and abusing for 2 weeks, and was tasting nasty (yes I had rinsed it once a couple days before) and would normally have gone in the trash.

It can't revive a burnt cart, but it looks promising to me. We'll see how long this cart lasts from this point.

Edit: The tube inside diameter is 3/8" outside diameter is 9/16"

 

[Taryn]

Very innovative! Let us know how it goes!

 

[Mary Kay]

That sounds interesting! I think I will give it a try. Thanks!

 

[NekoGurrl]

I used this process 3 times yesterday, 2x to try to revive carts, and once on a 901 to get rid of a failed lab experiment. Yes the same process seems to work with 901/510 atomizers. The carts seem to dry a little better, but that could be because of the heat of the water. And since the tube is clear I can see each time I pull the water thru how clear it gets. It should work for alcohol cleaning as well but have yet to try it, I know it won't damage the tube itself, just don't want to inhale alcohol.

I've got a bag of cartomizers that have gone past the point where rinsing will work. Will try this method on some and see if it works as well as the first.

 

[pianoguy]

Interesting - thanks!

 

[Wildcard]

Heard someone talking about a turkey baster recently. Maybe you could attach that to the clear tube to reduce the risk of inhaling whatever cleaning solvent your using.

 

[davew]

Has anyone tried just tossing these things in the dish washer?

 

[NekoGurrl]

Heard someone talking about a turkey baster recently. Maybe you could attach that to the clear tube to reduce the risk of inhaling whatever cleaning solvent your using.

That was the thread that got me thinking this direction, I'm not worried about inhaling anything really. I realized I was using to short a tube so now am using one about 10" long, no worries.

Has anyone tried just tossing these things in the dish washer?

I'm not sure that they are rated dishwasher safe. Plus I'm very cautious with what I use for cleaning, and the batting in the carts may hold some residue from the cleaning detergent.

 

[davew]

I am thinking that I will toss a bunch in the silverware basket and run them by themselves without any detergent.

 

[mmcmusnret]

My first post here...

I flush and refill my much-used Canon printer cartridges once a year before spring hits, so I have a Tygon (clear plastic) tubing rig that I attach to our deep-sink faucet. I was in the middle of this process a few days ago when the light bulb appeared over my head. I took a couple of carto's that were near end-of-life due to really heavy draw, removed the cap and washer, and stuck each one a little ways up into the tube and held it there for 15 seconds or so, flipped it and backflushed it, repeated until I felt I'd done as much good as I could. The inside diameter of the tubing, perfect fit for the printer cartridges, is a little too big for carto's but I got a lot of flow out the battery-end hole even with the bypass leakage from the imperfect fit. It probably isn't as effective as 1) boiling water and 2) the superior cleaning action due to the rapidly oscillating flow of the suck-blow method, but it appears to be more efficient than holding under the tap. Attaching the rig is a minor pain...I wouldn't go to the trouble for a single carto, but I think this will be my go-to method for mass carto-resurrection.

Any thoughts from someone who knows the interior flow characteristics of a carto better than I do (I'm approaching my first month of VK use, so I'm a lurking newbie)?

 

[HzG8rGrl]

I am thinking that I will toss a bunch in the silverware basket and run them by themselves without any detergent.

There is a space in the dishwasher door by the detergent area that is for rinse agent. Make sure there isn't any rinse agent in that dispenser!!!!!!!

 

[NekoGurrl]

Update on the cleaning method. Changed to a longer tube about 8" long, better flushing and face further away so my glasses don't fog.

I have been working on DIY juice the last few days, and two poor 901 atomizer's has been flushed at least 10 times a day for the past 3 days. Each time they dry very quickly due to the hot water used, and one cup of water is plenty to clean both.

And that cart that was the first test subject? I've topped it off 3 times so far, each time 19-20 drops, still vaping strong.