What's Your Technique For Cleaning Cartos?
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I'm curious about this too. Not necessarily because I'm cheap (which I am but I prefer to call it frugal) but because I was recently given a couple dozen new cartos by a friend who hated their flavor. (Don't blame him, the juice is disgusting.) Anyway, he didn't want to bother with them so I now have them.
Unfortunately they're filled with a gross 'tobacco' flavor and I just want to get as much of it out as possible. Doesn't have to be perfect, I'll refill them with some unflavored, high-pg (for minimal vapor) juice and plan on using them with a tiny 350mAh ego battery for stealth vaping.
Unfortunately they're filled with a gross 'tobacco' flavor and I just want to get as much of it out as possible. Doesn't have to be perfect, I'll refill them with some unflavored, high-pg (for minimal vapor) juice and plan on using them with a tiny 350mAh ego battery for stealth vaping.
IIRC from chemistry classes. Alcohol does not dissolve sugars, caramelized or not. Hot water can to some degree but since im a noob to cartos, i can not say if it will or will not help. IMO once you have caramelized sugars in a carto fiber material, its mostly there for good. Its not like a cotton shirt you can throw in a washing machine and agitate it with soaps/detergents.
I think if you just didn't like a juice and want to flush it out of a carto, then hot water followed up with some PGA (Everclear) is the best chance you will get reasonable results. PGA will speed up the drying process also but vodka would be my next choice IF i wanted to clean one. The higher the proof the better IMO. Some flavors though will likely always linger and if the coil has accumulated some carbon, then you are probably fighting a losing battle unless you absolutely need one to get by.
I get plain unpunched XL 1.7ohm single coil cartos for $1.39 at Elite VaporWorks. They have an online store but they are not far from me. Frankly i don't mind paying a tiny bit more and support a local business when the customer service is good. I just stocked up on them since the price was as good or better than i found online. At that price, i have to wonder if cleaning them is worth the effort unless it is out of necessity or you just enjoy tinkering.
I think if you just didn't like a juice and want to flush it out of a carto, then hot water followed up with some PGA (Everclear) is the best chance you will get reasonable results. PGA will speed up the drying process also but vodka would be my next choice IF i wanted to clean one. The higher the proof the better IMO. Some flavors though will likely always linger and if the coil has accumulated some carbon, then you are probably fighting a losing battle unless you absolutely need one to get by.
I get plain unpunched XL 1.7ohm single coil cartos for $1.39 at Elite VaporWorks. They have an online store but they are not far from me. Frankly i don't mind paying a tiny bit more and support a local business when the customer service is good. I just stocked up on them since the price was as good or better than i found online. At that price, i have to wonder if cleaning them is worth the effort unless it is out of necessity or you just enjoy tinkering.
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My bad - I guess just the constant flushing with the warm water is what is working. But I swear the cartomizers seem "fresher" when I add a little alcohol. But what do I know! lol!
Has anyone tried isopropyl alcohol or acetone? Both will evaporate quickly and leave no residual chemicals.
That sounds like a really bad idea. Rubbing alcohol isn't preferred either. 90+% is the preferred liquid.
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I don't see why. As long as the fill material doesn't react with acetone (some synthetic materials do) it is an effective solvent and evaporates clean. Your body natural produces acetone, fyi. The only consideration in my mind is whether the fill material is solvent in acetone. Not all plastics are. Polyester fill would melt, but I don't know what carto fill is made of.
Isopropyl seems more suited to the task and is readily available in 91% at your local pharmacy. Again, no health hazards involved provided that you allow it to evaporate fully.
Isopropyl seems more suited to the task and is readily available in 91% at your local pharmacy. Again, no health hazards involved provided that you allow it to evaporate fully.
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When I was a teenager, my friends and I had this one buddy that would always bum smokes from us, never buying his own. We had fun with it, making him do very ridiculous things to get one. Things like:
"Raise your arms while standing on one foot, hoot like an owl 3 times then scream 'I am the Night Fury! Fear my nipples!'" This would usually take place in a public venue, such as a shopping mall or a park.
True story, verbatim in fact a couple of times.
Point is, most of the offered methods seem akin to this; not to that extreme, but maybe a little on the "watch what I can get these idiots to do" level. Of all of them the following two seem the most plausible:
The above would take a bit to clear an old flavor, but would probably do it more effectively than a plunger or any other toilet cleaning instrument.
I've actually considered the following as well, with the alcohol anyway. It dries almost immediately, taking any residual moisture along with it (Best way to remove water from your ears in my experience). There's no odor after it dries either.
As for the acetone, you'd be able to tell fairly quickly if it was going to melt the filler.
I think it's worth noting that once vinegar dries there is no residual odor. Provided you use distilled vinegar and not something silly like apple cider vinegar that is.
"Raise your arms while standing on one foot, hoot like an owl 3 times then scream 'I am the Night Fury! Fear my nipples!'" This would usually take place in a public venue, such as a shopping mall or a park.
True story, verbatim in fact a couple of times.
Point is, most of the offered methods seem akin to this; not to that extreme, but maybe a little on the "watch what I can get these idiots to do" level. Of all of them the following two seem the most plausible:
The above would take a bit to clear an old flavor, but would probably do it more effectively than a plunger or any other toilet cleaning instrument.
I've actually considered the following as well, with the alcohol anyway. It dries almost immediately, taking any residual moisture along with it (Best way to remove water from your ears in my experience). There's no odor after it dries either.
As for the acetone, you'd be able to tell fairly quickly if it was going to melt the filler.
I think it's worth noting that once vinegar dries there is no residual odor. Provided you use distilled vinegar and not something silly like apple cider vinegar that is.
it's been a couple years now since I was trying to rejuvenate carts. a method I used was to place them in a ultrasonic cleaner for several minutes using vodka. I had a fairly high success rate. when the cart would become too constricted I put it in a coffee cup full of vodka (the cheapest vodka I could find) and let it soak standing up. after several carts were soaking I would need to replace the vodka due to it turning brown from the eliquid. after that I would put them in my ultrasonic cleaner for a couple 8 minute cycles. after that I would blow thru the 510 connector hole into a paper towel then stick them thru a piece of cardboard with premade holes. I have a fan I can position straight up and would put the carts over the fan to dry. the vodka dries fairly quickly. then would let them sit for a couple days before reusing them. I didn't like the idea of using water because of the possibility of bacterial growth in the fibers. this seems labor intensive but each step only took a few minutes. I quit doing it because I started buying carts in coops at a much cheaper rate and didn't want to bother.
As soon as Fastech gets around to stocking cartos, hopefully cleaning becomes obsolete entirely. Of course there are still people that don't know any better now that are paying waaay to much.
Buy Surevapes and quit cleaning.
Buy Surevapes and quit cleaning.
I wonder if hydrogen peroxide would be effective in combination of any of the methods? Ive got one that is still vaping but its getting tight. Ive been pretty careful not to let it get too dry and burn. I might try it just to see if it works good enough to make it worth the effort.
I'm surprised this one hasn't already been tried...the oxidation from it would probably help release PG and VG from the fibers (think Oxyclean, same concept and chemical almost). I would try it by itself at first and see how well it does. If you mix it with something else, I'd suggest vinegar. It is one of the most effective cleaners/deodorizers/disinfectants known to man. The reaction between the two would be similar to that of vinegar and baking soda, which is used to treat carpet stains.
Oxyclean is what gave me the idea after reading the MSDS. Some of the ingredients are not needed for this application and others can be changed for safer alternatives such as sodium hydroxide can be swapped out for calcium hydroxide IIRC. Its only about 2% of the solution depending on which version you check. Calcium hydroxide is considered to be nearly non toxic and already used in the food industry. Its used it quite a few food preparations such as hominy and pickles.
Read the Oxyclean MSDS and see what you think. IIRC i looked at the "Baby" version. Im not saying this is THE cleansing agent but a non toxic version might be chemically superior to just water and PGA flushing. I AM NOT SUGGESTING ANYONE USE REAL OXYCLEAN.
Sorry about the caps, i just wanted to make sure no one gets the wrong idea or intention of my post.
Guys, the biggest culprit in carto, or any device, losing output and flavor is the gunk building up on the coil. That gunk is probably a polycarbonate of some sort or another caused by the carbon/oxygen in the PG, VG and flavors with sweet flavors being more prone to creating that gunk. I don't know of any cleaner that will "cut" that gunk, and I've tried some stuff, like acetone and lacquer thinner, that I sure wouldn't want to vape and it never even touched it. The only reliable thing I've found is heat, dry burning, and that's tough to do with a carto. Even with a dry burn I usually "chip" the remainders off with a dental pick to make sure I get as much as possible, and that's with devices where I can get to a coil, definitely not possible without a whole lot of work in a carto.
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I think these are the cheapest around. I bought 100 last February and still have some left. I calculated I was getting 5 days use before the flavor starts waning and the draw gets tight. I can only remember getting one dud so far. Oh yeah, I use Boge xl single coil LR 2.0 ohm 2 hole. They have better flavor than the smok tech I had been using. Also, I started DIY and my recipes don't clog carts nearly as quick as vendor liquids I think due to vendor using higher flavor percents.
I think these are the cheapest around. I bought 100 last February and still have some left. I calculated I was getting 5 days use before the flavor starts waning and the draw gets tight. I can only remember getting one dud so far. Oh yeah, I use Boge xl single coil LR 2.0 ohm 2 hole. They have better flavor than the smok tech I had been using. Also, I started DIY and my recipes don't clog carts nearly as quick as vendor liquids I think due to vendor using higher flavor percents.
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People clean cartos? As stated above, the carto goes "bad" due to a buildup of gunk on the coil. Unfortunately, the only part of the coil you can access is the inner part in the airpath. The outer part in the polyfill is inaccessible.
But, for the inner part, you can use pipe cleaners. Usually found in the craft section of Micheal's or Walmart.
But, for the inner part, you can use pipe cleaners. Usually found in the craft section of Micheal's or Walmart.
That's almost exactly what it is, though a lot more refinement is needed than that possible inside a cartomizer. Another way to put it would be to say that it sort of caramelizes. There's also damage caused to both coils and fiber due to thermolysis. That's not to say a bit more life can't be squeezed out of them than would normally be possible by cleaning them.
Yes, they are cheap and all of the wise advice for just chucking them is well received. That has no real bearing on my personal curiosity as to whether or not there's a proven way to extend the life of them though. Besides, even if they were only a quarter each, wouldn't it still be prudent to clean them once or twice before discarding them if there were a simple way?
Most can afford to buy new ones, but given an opportunity most would also save money when able. The self-made rich don't get to be that way by tossing aside money, they are the ones that stop to pick up a penny.
No, Oxyclean wouldn't be my first choice either, it's just similar in the way it reacts to organic material as hydrogen peroxide. I plan to test the H2O2 and vinegar idea when I get near the end of my current cart's life. Will it completely rejuvenate it? I'm certain it won't, but given the fact that both chemicals are extremely cheap and readily available in most households I think it's worth a shot.
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I think the short answer for cleaning the polyfill is not to use anything you wouldn't eat, drink or inhale normally. Anything else is probably too dangerous. I know is I get a lung full of Oxyclean dust I sneeze and cough, not something I'd want to vape my way through.
When I used cartos I'd boil the every two weeks or so, 20 in rotation, then spin them out with a little sling I made out of 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings, kind of like a sling psychrometer. That got them dry enough for almost immediate use. I normally got about a month out of a carto that way and still have about 20 sitting in my vape box, just incase, you never know.
When I used cartos I'd boil the every two weeks or so, 20 in rotation, then spin them out with a little sling I made out of 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings, kind of like a sling psychrometer. That got them dry enough for almost immediate use. I normally got about a month out of a carto that way and still have about 20 sitting in my vape box, just incase, you never know.
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