Using the boiling method to clean MaxxFusion cartos

[zotzer]

okay, I have managed to review all of the photos without tossing my cookies. One thing I have learned with the clearomizers is that repeated 4 second dry-burns are a sure way to get rid of the burnt-on crud. I am going to attempt this with a carto, but the disadvantage is that you can't see what's going on in there. It usually takes about 6-8 four-second dry-burns to clear up the wires on a clearo, so will try it with a carto and see how it vapes afterwards.

If you have a manual battery, you could try this too, and dissect the carto afterwards for photos. My concern for a carto would be that the polyfill could singe, but if you keep the dry-burn bursts short, it might work.

 

[DeeLeeKay]

what I have done with the cartos is to blow into the mouth end of the carto while it is still on the battery. It starts the burn, but I do it with some juice in so as to not burn the batting. I do it a few times and it seems to work.

 

[fuzznut]

Soaked in ethanol 18 hrs, ethanol squirted through carto several times with syringe:

Soaked 18 hrs in mouthwash, squirted with syringe:

 

[fuzznut]

Well I couldn't get an ultrasonic cleaner today, so I will continue this madness in a couple of weeks.

 

[VanGogo]

I tried out the ultra sonic cleaner with vodka. It worked great! In less than 15 min I had 15 cartos clean and drying. I even had some with tobacco flavors that I didn't like that I blew out the juice flushed twice with vodka and also ran for 9 min in the cleaner. One still had a little tobacco smell left to it, but it did not affect the flavor of the new juice.

This cut the cleaning time by more than half over the boil twice method, and got them nice and clean. So I'll be sticking with this method.

 

[Crow79]

I tried out the ultra sonic cleaner with vodka. It worked great! In less than 15 min I had 15 cartos clean and drying. I even had some with tobacco flavors that I didn't like that I blew out the juice flushed twice with vodka and also ran for 9 min in the cleaner. One still had a little tobacco smell left to it, but it did not affect the flavor of the new juice.

This cut the cleaning time by more than half over the boil twice method, and got them nice and clean. So I'll be sticking with this method.

did you just drop the cartos straight in.. Or did you pop the oring and pin out of the bottom first?

 

[VanGogo]

I just popped them in with out the little mouth piece on the end.

Don't know anything about an oring and pin, where are they?
And would they need to come out?

 

[Crow79]

I just popped them in with out the little mouth piece on the end.

Don't know anything about an oring and pin, where are they?
And would they need to come out?

the oring and pin are on the battery end of the carto. They come off with tweezers, but if it gets clean with them still on there, then no worries.

 

[shooter59]

Hey Crow, anytime I have ever cleaned them, I just take out the rubber mouth piece. I don't know that taking the battery end apart would allow them to get any cleaner. The water(or cleaner) is still flowing through the hole.

the oring and pin are on the battery end of the carto. They come off with tweezers, but if it gets clean with them still on there, then no worries.

 

[Siciliansith]

anyone try something fizzy like alkaseltzer or denture cleaner just random thoughts lol

 

[Kembial]

Loving all the tech and pics approach, in here. I did a full-batch boil/vodka/oven cleaning a few weeks ago. I'm not sure how well they turned out, but my current carto is certainly acceptable.

There is one very important cleaning tip I figured out today, though. Pay closer attention to the BATTS! Those two teeny-tiny air intake holes are much more important than I had previously thought. I had previously just been giving them a good wipe with tissue once in a while, enough to see I was getting the more exterior gunk out. But, my newly cleaned cartos had been acting very hit-or-miss.

Some were DOA, refusing to vape. Some tasted burned, and I foolishly tried to vape them clear, destroying the silicon seal. A few performed well and lasted me the average week I would put a new carto through.

But, today, I killed a batt. I don't know how or why, but the rare carto will develop a deterioration in the seal. It will vape like an empty, but refill like it's full. This is because the juice just leaks out through the seal, and the carto never really fills up. I was stuck at work, and didn't have any other cartos on me until I was able to run home for lunch. So I was dumping juice in this thing way too often, but still vaping a non-stop empty taste.

Then BAM, no vapor. I was getting air-flow and batt lighting, but no heat going through at all. Once I was able to try other cartos on the batt, I knew I'd killed it. Once I took a closer look at the frustrating carto, I knew it had flooded my batt through the damaged seal.

I quickly took out my thankfully still-working batt and gave it a very thorough look over. Gunk I hadn't noticed before, and wasn't being reached by my simple wipings, had clogged those tiny little holes. I got a pin and started scraping away!

And holy cow, it's definitely made a difference. The liquid I had been puffing on all day without a care has suddenly thrown me back into nic-highs. The draw is obviously clearer, and the vapor is back on high. And though I had been convinced my batts were drawing to their end, dying much quicker than they used to, this partially-charged, newly-cleaned batt has lasted me longer than it had been when it was fully charged and dirty.

On the bright side, it's given me a definite reason to place a new order. I'm super excited to get my XL Green in.

In the end, dirty batts aside, after the standard boil-cleaning, the cartos that still worked, worked well enough for not being new. Hopefully cleaning the batt will have resolved the carto-killing issues.

 

[dmatrix7]

I also tried an ultrasonic cleaner with vodka, 5 3 minute runs then a quick warm up in the oven. Let them sit over night in a warm spot and in the morning they were good as new. I wonder how many cleanings I can get out of these cartos before they are totally dead. Going to do another round today on cartos and old clogged atomizers. So far, so good and haven't had a single dead one yet.

 

[maggiek]

I ran about fifteen cartos thru 3 - 3 minute cycles in an ultrasonic cleaner with pga - I still had at least 3 old cartos that were dead. i use thick juices so i think they are just eventually going to die, but this method may keep them working longer. Just saying that this is not magic. I expect cartos will all die eventually.

 

[emus]

Nice work Fuzz.

 

[VanGogo]

Good info Kimbial. Thanks!

I have found vaping takes a little trial and error learning especially if you are cleaning and refilling cartos. I'm still getting used to knowing when a carto is out or the battery is getting low. Or after refilling a few times knowing when to clean and start over. I've almost got it down. This tidbit will help too.

It's great that with a little tlc these disposable cartos can be recycled a few times even though they were never ment to be.

 

[redempti0N]

I have the best way to get a fresh cart, first I unscrew the dead one, then I throw it away, then I pop a new blank out of the blister pack and fill it

 

[Tracker II]

I have the best way to get a fresh cart, first I unscrew the dead one, then I throw it away, then I pop a new blank out of the blister pack and fill it

+1 from me.

I use one for a week or more and pitch it. At today's sale price that comes to about $75 a year. My time is worth more than all the hoops it takes to jump through to get it down to maybe $25 a year. But that's just me and I must say that I enjoy seeing what you guys go through to get the most out of your cartos. The pictures of the innards are especially enlightening.

 

[Kembial]

I've gone almost 4 months and saved over $300 bucks reusing the same 20 cartos. I'm glad I've just ordered more, though, since it's turning out that a LOT of my cleaned cartos are just too deteriorated to use anymore.

I don't know if it's from extended use, or my cleaning method, or complications from dirty batts, but I'm finding that the majority of my carto stock have bad seals now. They won't hold liquid and are probably flooding my batts, and taste empty even directly after "filling". Hopefully the very few vapable ones I have left will hold me until my order arrives.

 

[Tracker II]

I've gone almost 4 months and saved over $300 bucks reusing the same 20 cartos.

Hmm ... from looking at your numbers, it's seems to me that you probably vape much much more than I do as I only go through .5 - 1mg a day. If you (and others) vape significantly more than that, I can see where cleaning would probably be worth your time as you are going through a lot more cartos. As I said before, I can use the same one for a week or more just topping it off, so my annual cost is so trivial that cleaning them just isn't worth the effort.

One thing I think I will do after reading this thread is chuck my used cartos in a baggie. In a year, when I have about 50, maybe I'll take a shot at cleaning them on a day when I'm bored - or if not, give them away to anyone here who might want them.

 

[Kembial]

If you (and others) vape significantly more than that, I can see where cleaning would probably be worth your time as you are going through a lot more cartos.

If you look at my numbers, 4 months is 16 weeks. Not counting lost and suddenly-dead cartos, I'd say I'm running your 1/week average. The difference, really, is how much use the average carto is seeing in that one week. At the end of my week, even with cleaning, a carto is close to being trash.

With your usage, I'm thinking they could benefit a cleaning, and have another full round in them.