Uhoh - blown Leo carto

[pir123]

Hello

I seem to have ruined my leo cartomizer (not the DC/LR one). I just filled it, as usual, and got a little liquid in the center hole, and used a paper clip (exactly as I've done several times before) to clear it out, and now it seems totally dead. No sizzle, no vapor, no nothing

I'm thinking maybe I damaged the wire in the center hole? Is there any recovery from that? I'm thinking not, since there's no way to open the thing up.

Help?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Jimi D.]

Time for another one. Next time just blow out the juice..

 

[bobalex]

You might try tweezing up the center post on the carto. It's my "last gasp" measure I always take before tossing.

 

[pir123]

Yeah, I guess I wrecked it. I never seem to have any luck just blowing them out, there's always still a bit left in there... I guess I'll just have to be more careful when filling. I'm ordering a small guage syringe with my next order to help with that.

I'll try a post-mortem dissection and see if I can learn something more from my mistake (as well as squeeze the juice from the cotton...

Thanks guys.

 

[DragonXIII]

pir123.

Now that you have killed it, may I suggest you take a hacksaw and cut the outer casing all the way around near the bottom and the slide it off the filler. (Or if that is two much effort, take a pair of heavy and sharp wire cutters and rip it down one side),Then unwrap the filer to reveal the coils and insulators etc.

I did this with my first dead / clogged carto and learned a lot about the construction of these things.
That is why I always 'cringed' when someone would say they ran a wire or paperclip up the center to "unclog" it.


Steve J

 

[pir123]

Thanks Steve, I'll definitely do something like that, as I'm curious about the inner workings, and I've learned my lesson. No more paper clips inside, and thankfully, at 3 bucks a pop, not an expensive lesson

 

[DragonXIII]

Just wanted to clarify, (Thanks bobalex for the PM.) I do use a wire to "un-clog". I use a bread tie, strip the plastic off of it about half way and fold the plastic coated end to make something to hold onto. Then I run the thin wire up through the carto. The thin wire of a bread tie will bend if it hits something rather than ripping right through like a thick paperclip would. And the coils don't always line up in the hole. I was cringing about paperclips for that reason only. I have used paperclips before. But now I use the bread tie just because it "Feels" safer to use.
After you see the innerds of a carto you should see why.

Steve J

 

[pir123]

Ah, Ok, thanks for the clarification Steve. I was using a pretty thin paperclip, but it was stiff. I even whittled down a toothpick to be paper thin to use for that too, but was concerned about leaving splinters in there... I did notice that the paperclip would sometimes not go through, about 3/4 of the way down (I guess that's where the coil is) and I would have to (very gently) fish around for where the tube continued... I guess that was probably where I went wrong. I can see using a malleable wire would be a good idea. I had actually thought of the bread tie (great minds think alike!) but never actually used one. Thanks again for the tip! I still haven't pulled the carto apart, weekend project I hope.

I'm starting to like the LR/DC carto more now (I'm using it a lot more since the other one died) I guess maybe they work better after they're "broken in". I'm not getting as much "harsh" in the vapor and the flavor is better than it was. I'm still fiddling with the atomizer. I get fantastic taste and smooth vapes from it when dripping, but then there's the inevitable dry or bad-tasting vape, which kind of ruins the experience.

 

[bobalex]

I guess maybe they work better after they're "broken in". I'm not getting as much "harsh" in the vapor and the flavor is better than it was.

Initially I noticed the DC/LR cartos gave me this kind of performance:

Throat Hit, Vapor, and then ... Flavor. After awhile Flavor caught up with, and finally overtook, Throat Hit. Then ... there's nothing like 'em.

 

[pir123]

Ok, so I pulled apart the carto today. When I pulled out the cotton to recover the juice, the wire came out with it. I was surprised to see that it's such a simple device, basically just a wire attached to the casing that comes up, then goes back down the tube, with the end of the wire wound into a coil in the middle of the tube, wrapped in a little "blanket", which I presume wicks the juice from the batting toward the coil. I''m assuming that the coil needs to touch the bottom of the tube, which perhaps it wasn't doing anymore after my tom-foolery with the paper clip. The coil was also totally encrusted with black carbon, and the "blanket" around the coil was totally blackened.

I'm curious why the wire needs to come up and then go back down like it does, perhaps that helps with wicking?

I think I'm going to try the new Leo Pro tank cartomizer with the 510 adapter. Or I might just get the leo pro battery, so I have a third unit as a backup. I'll let you guys know after I try them.

 

[DragonXIII]

Pir123,

You should see the inside of a dual coil carto. LOL

The wire has to make contact with the two battery "posts" POS and NEG. One being the casing base (NEG) and the other being the center post / air tube (POS). The center post is insulated from the casing base with a rubber grommet.
The wire and coil make a circuit between the two. (Kind of like a light bulb with the Coil being like the filament)

NOTE: The center post may look like it has 'Slots" in it like a screw head. Never turn the center post. (even when cleaning the overflow with a paper towel.) The center post will turn freely but will break the wire soldered to it.

The wiring and the coils are all supposed to be lined up so they don't short circuit and also have air flow, Plus wick the juice from the batting. And the coil has to sit out there in the middle of the batting.

And the bad part of all this is the basic premise of wicking.
The coil gets red hot and there is not much way to keep the batting and pretty much anything else from burning when in contact with it. So there is not much way to prevent the eventual clogging of a carto because the coil gets caked over with the "carbon" of burnt batting and baked on juice.

The only way to make them last longer (In my opinion ) is to clean (boil) the carto at the first signs of inhibited air flow.
You may have to 'time it' with the batting drying out enough that you don't waste a lot of juice when you boil/clean and not burn up the batting before you do.

But then again, they are "disposable"

I hope that answered your question.

Steve J

 

[pir123]

You should see the inside of a dual coil carto. LOL

I'm sure I will, soon enough! Since, yes, I realize these things are consumable. I'm still curious how long these things will generally last for me. I'm still getting the hang of the whole thing. I'm enjoying the atomizer more now, it seems to perform much better than it did at first, and I've got the knack now for "dripping", and the dc carto is still going strong. I'm at three weeks now. Woo!

I've also discovered that the atty I have doesn't seem to like 100% VG -- it works good for a puff or two, but then I invariably end up getting yucky vapes, but if I use PG or a 50/50 blend the atomizer performs well.

Thanks for your thoughtful response.