When to refill a cartomizer?

[Dugz]

I want to make my cartos last as long as possible due to a tight budget. I would think that running them dry would tend to fry the wicks and otherwise bad things. I notice that when mine gets a bit under half full I start worrying about it and tend to refill it soon. Here's an example.

To me I think that it's time to refill. Do you all run yours right down to the bottom? This is a CE4 by the way.

 

[yzer]

The item pictured is not a cartomizer. It's a clearomizer.

I'm a carto user and don't use clearos, but I'd refill clearos long before the tank goes dry. It depends on how efficient the clearo wick is at low reservoir levels.

 

[ShayBabe15]

That's a clearo, my dear

So, do you clean it at all? Do you dry burn it once in awhile?<--that is a must if you want it to last a long time. Wash it about three times a week..especially if you use darker liquids. Dry-burn once a week.
You will get a nasty burnt taste, that's when you should refill it. If you're starting to get that burnt, dry, taste, refill. Your wicks wont get fried at this point. I've never had a problem with that.. I've never run into it actually. Don't worry about it too much..once it reaches one/fourth..You should add more.

 

[Dugz]

The item pictured is not a cartomizer. It's a clearomizer.

I'm a carto user and don't use clearos, but I'd refill clearos before the tank goes dry.

Interesting. The vendor identified it as a cartomizer, and they seemed to know what was going on. Well thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Dugz]

I haven't cleaned it yet. I do have another one, CE4+ with replaceable heads and wicks, as well as a Vivi Nova which I haven't used yet.

So far it is still making good vapor and tastes great. No point in messing with it yet. I think the one in the picture is mostly disposable, but I have spare guts for my other ones.

I have read about boiling them and such. I was considering soaking them in acetone myself. I have a small ultrasonic cleaning unit.

 

[ShayBabe15]

I haven't cleaned it yet. I do have another one, CE4+ with replaceable heads and wicks, as well as a Vivi Nova which I haven't used yet.

So far it is still making good vapor and tastes great. No point in messing with it yet. I think the one in the picture is mostly disposable, but I have spare guts for my other ones.

I have read about boiling them and such. I was considering soaking them in acetone myself.

The disposables still last forever if you clean them, so I really do recommend that. That way you don't have to worry about dirtying another one, you know?

As for boiling..I don't recommend that. It may be fine the first time, but your tanks will end up cracking. Soak them in Vodka(if accessible), or hot water does the trick just fine. I'm assuming you know how to dry-burn? When you do use your Viva Nova, all this applies as well. It really just makes for better taste and vapor in the long run. Especially, with darker liquids.

 

[Dugz]

The disposables still last forever if you clean them, so I really do recommend that. That way you don't have to worry about dirtying another one, you know?

As for boiling..I don't recommend that. It may be fine the first time, but your tanks will end up cracking. Soak them in Vodka(if accessible), or hot water does the trick just fine. I'm assuming you know how to dry-burn? When you do use your Viva Nova, all this applies as well. It really just makes for better taste and vapor in the long run. Especially, with darker liquids.

Wow! That was really helpful information. Thank you so much.

Yes I read how to dry-burn them. I've gotten my permit to purchase Everclear (lol), so I should be in good shape. Thanks again!

 

[ShayBabe15]

Wow! That was really helpful information. Thank you so much.

Yes I read how to dry-burn them. I've gotten my permit to purchase Everclear (lol), so I should be in good shape. Thanks again!

I've been using a disposable for a month, now

Oh dear lord..Yeah, Everclear will be fantastic. Just don't soak it too long, then..Just fill, shake, empty, repeat and rise.
Make sure the dab the wicks with a Q-tip or a paper towel, you want them pretty dry. Just air-dry the rest.
Best of luck You're welcome.

 

[KENNY V]

im a newbie However over heard this convo and wanted to make a point
as far as carto's keep them filled ALL the time JMHO they cant keep up with me. But thats me. They are all dry as far as im concerned. Maybe a tank when it set up right.... Now I have clearo and finially getting what I needed . However I need to use 2 at a time to stay with good flavor. ( I have a disposable one for the moment) emergencies man....

now as far as the clearo im not an expert but comon sense says ¼ tank time for refill juts like the cars gas tank..
and the real reson for writing was the acetone comment … DONT USE IT PERIOID if its plastic yure melt it if its glass or not . JMHO USE SOMETHING DIFERENT

acetone is for removing GLUE , nail polish some base paints nasty INKS too. Btw ..i used it when I used work in printing . Now u would think not sure but good old soap and hot water is fine. Someone correct me on the soap part. Perhaps a few drops of white vinegar would be a better substitute. As well.
I never did this but make sense maybe someone can correct me if im wrong that way ill learn the best way as well.

Ps whats the proper way to dry burnafter cleaning thanks

thanks

 

[ShayBabe15]

No soap, it will stay in the wicks. Making it taste funky and could potentially ruin the atty.
I wouldn't use vinegar either..the taste would stay. The good thing about alcohol is that the water will run it through. I've never had a problem with taste there.
I however do agree on the Acetone..bad..it might make you sick.

 

[akatina]

Ditto the acetone: don't use it! If it's not safe to ingest it's best staying far away from your clearos/cartos/attys/drip tips, etc.

Alcohol or hot water + time or agitation = clean gear

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Hot tap water to clean or better yet PGA/ Everclear. Washes the wicks, tank, base. etc and the dry burn cleans the coil....fries the gunk to ash and then rinse.

 

[KENNY V]

No soap, it will stay in the wicks. Making it taste funky and could potentially ruin the atty.
I wouldn't use vinegar either..the taste would stay. The good thing about alcohol is that the water will run it through. I've never had a problem with taste there.
I however do agree on the Acetone..bad..it might make you sick.

great yes agree I was only thinking / referring to tank not atto /coil yes makes all the sense.

So warm water or vodka will do the trick ayy?

However I need to ask the clearo and rest of parts can go in a bowl and soak as well ?

And again hows the dry burn go? A short burn prior to filling or something dif ??
thanks

 

[Dugz]

Yeah I didn't put enough thought into the acetone. While it evaporates very quickly and is a good solvent, it would probably destroy small o-rings and would certainly stress out plastic parts. I bet that a soak in pure grain alcohol in my ultrasonic cleaner for a few minutes would do a great job of getting gunk out of the atomizer.

Then I could do some tobacco e-juice shots when I'm done! (Just kidding lol)

 

[ShayBabe15]

great yes agree I was only thinking / referring to tank not atto /coil yes makes all the sense.

So warm water or vodka will do the trick ayy?

However I need to ask the clearo and rest of parts can go in a bowl and soak as well ?

And again hows the dry burn go? A short burn prior to filling or something dif ??
thanks

Yes, it will most deffinetly to the trick
Yes, the tank(even if the atty doesn't come out), the drip tip, silicone cap, wash the base. I really never "Soak" my tanks per-say. I just put hot water/vodka in it, shake it, empty and repeat a few times. Everything else you will want to soak.

Dry-burning-
After everything is clean, you will want to place your tank(this includes the atty[where the coil is]) on the battery like you normally would. Make sure that the silicone cap is off. You'll want to hold the button and run it for a minute, you'll see vapor come out. This just gets all the crud off. Do this a couple times, but don't do it too much. I usually do it three to five times. This also gets the wicks dry-ish. After you're done with that, rinse it one more time, air-dry and you are good to go.
**make sure that silicone cap is off haha**

 

[KENNY V]

Yes, it will most deffinetly to the trick
Yes, the tank(even if the atty doesn't come out), the drip tip, silicone cap, wash the base. I really never "Soak" my tanks per-say. I just put hot water/vodka in it, shake it, empty and repeat a few times. Everything else you will want to soak.

Dry-burning-
After everything is clean, you will want to place your tank(this includes the atty[where the coil is]) on the battery like you normally would. Make sure that the silicone cap is off. You'll want to hold the button and run it for a minute, you'll see vapor come out. This just gets all the crud off. Do this a couple times, but don't do it too much. I usually do it three to five times. This also gets the wicks dry-ish. After you're done with that, rinse it one more time, air-dry and you are good to go.
**make sure that silicone cap is off haha**

sounds all good but two more Q's

sorry but coming from Dry cartos ( yes with proper Ohms/ bat) had bad luck duds i guess

Anyway you said hold the button for a min ? That long ...... like more than 20 seconds?
that wont fry a coil or burn whats in a clearo????

and you mention silicone cap which is that the .. the washer on the tip and screw thread?
again not sure can ya please verify now i Im refereeing to the disposable clearo's so maybe they don't have a silicone cap??

 

[Dugz]

My battery turns off if you hold down the button longer than about 10 seconds, so I think you just zap it for a couple seconds until you see some smoke, wait a few secs, hit it again, etc. I saw an explanation somewhere about dry-burning with pictures.

This video looks good. The clearo even looks like mine. How to clean and dry burn a clearomizer - YouTube