Why pre-filled carts last longer than re-filled for me?

[viachy]

Hello guys,

I`ll say it again, every day new questions come in my head unanswered.... I`m not sure it will take for me to become experienced... I hope this time will come soon as I`m sick of asking these boring for you questions...


When me and my GF first got the Evo-s with the pre-filled carts we needed 1-1.5 carts per day (per person) - THE MOST! As I took one filter out of the pre-filled cart I noticed it was really soaked with liquid, it was really nice shaped - like there was maybe 0.5ml liquid in each one of them..and

Since I started re-filling them we use started using maybe 4-5 carts per day....each cart lasts just several hours and it becomes dry, with maybe a few drops left in it but I cant really vape that...I just take a fresh one...

I use the dripping method - nicely take the dry filter out, fill the cart up to to 3/4 and then replace the filter back, push it down and up several times, and it becomes really moist again. I`m sure that I cant put more liquid than that.

And still in maybe 2 hours the most I`ll need a new cart (same for my lady - she uses 4-5 per day now as well). And we vape as much as we are used to....the carts just last less time...

What could be the reason for that since I`ve read posts in the forum and everybody says that it should be the opposite - re-filled carts should last longer than pre-filled ones..?

I`d be happy if there is a logical answer for this... as I am also worried about the amount of nicotine that we get per day. We`d like to lower the amount instead of increasing it...

I understand that used carts filters are not as good as brand new ones... but could that be the case here...?

 

[Jim Davis]

I have a bunch of EVO's, but haven't used them yet. I'm refilling my RN4081 carts, and I use the same cart for a month or so. The last cart I changed cracked, so I threw away the outer sleeve, and saved the core (after washing) I use about 15ml of juice a month.

Something is wrong. How often do you refill them, and why do you discard them when they become dry? Can't you keep refilling?

 

[viachy]

I do refill them - every 2 days - I have 25 black carts and I only refill them as I like them more, I have a total of 75 filters.

But that is not my point. I just refilled 10 filters with about 2mil liquid. (I do not cut it with PG yet as I ordered 18mg strength and I think it is okay for me....cutting with PG is another topic)

So,
From my experience since I started refilling 2ml liquid will last me for 2 to 3 days max so that makes it :

20ml per month - min
30ml per month - max - so it is either close to you or double.

See, I cant do the exact math here as I just received the liquid about a week ago and I started using it.

and something here is really wrong, because I think I get more nicotine now but feel just like I did with the pre-filled carts

My original question was why I used to need 1 - 1.5 carts per day from the pre-filled ones and now I need 4-5 carts.

I refill the carts to the maximum.

Is the problem in the atomizer or the filter material of the carts?
Is it the consistency of the liquid? (maybe the liquid of the pre-filled carts is thinner or thicker - not sure about that)

Sometimes it looks like the liquid would vanish from the carts that I just refilled several hours ago. They will not be dry, but still they will not last me for more than 2 hours of vaping.

Ahhh, I need information. Have been searching different threads for hours and still it is all dark here..

or I should let it go and just use as much as it goes as soon as I feel okay.
As I said I`m currently on 18mg strength and I feel great since I stopped smoking.

I noticed that there are so many questions regarding the nicotine content and liquids and so on since I joined that I`m going crazy.

The sad thing is that I`ve read so much information and for some reason nothing clears it up for me unless a sraight answer from an experienced member....

Please help me understand what I`m doing and what I`m getting into...

p.s. since I received the Evo I have not even wished to drag from a cigarette as soon as I have it around me...it is much better than the analogs

 

[Ramblin]

I don't think I ever got 2 hours of vaping from an original cartridge. The way to find out for sure is to buy a few new pre-filled carts and compare them. Two weeks is enough time to develop different vaping habits. Maybe something has changed.

 

[Videonut]

I noticed the same thing with prefilled. I looked at the ingredients of my original carts and noticed they had some glycerol mixed in.
I'm thinking that the glycerol is making the liquid a tad thicker and so it wicks slower.
Just a guess, so I've added some VG to my mix, about 20% to see if it makes it last longer.
Here's the breakdown from Farsee which makes the rn4081(smokestick)
No.
Main Ingredients Name
Content
FEMA/CAS No./CoE

1
Tobacco Essential Oil, Virginia
<5%
Natural From Tobacco

2
Tobacco Absolute, Virginia
<5%
Natural From Tobacco

3
Tobacco Absolute, Burley
<5%
Natural From Tobacco

4
Orient Tobacco Absolute
<5%
Natural From Tobacco

5
Nicotine (from Tobacco Leaf)
<1-3%
Natural From Tobacco

6
2,3,5-Trimethylpyrazine
<1%
3244/14667-55-1/CoE735

7
2,3-Dimethylpyrazine
<1%
3271/CoE11323

8
2,5-Dimethylpyrazine
<1%
3272/CoE2210

9
2-Ethylpyrazine
<1%
3281/CoE2213

10
2-Acetylpyrazine
<1%
3126/22047-25-2/CoE2286

11
4-(2,6,6-Trimethylcyclohex-2-Butene-4-ONE)
<5%
3420

12
BETAIONONE
<2%
2595/FDA172.515

13
LINALOOL
<2%
2635/000126-90-9

14
MENTHOL
<2%
2665/000089-78-1

15
METHYL BUTYRIC ACID(2-)
<2%
2695/000116-53-0

16
ROSE OIL, BULGARIAN, TRUE OTTO
<2%
2989/008007-01-0

17
Vanilla extract
<5%
008024-06-4

18
Octalactone (gamma-)
<1%
104-50-7

19
Undecalactone (gamma-)
<1%
104-67-6

20
PURE WATER
<20%
7732-18-5

21
PROPYLENE GLYCOL
>50%
2940/57-55-6

22
GLYCEROL
<10%
2525/000056-81-5

 

[ApOsTle51]

2 reasons.

Viscosity of the Liquid . as mentioned before , the thinner the liquid , the quicker you'll go through it.

Carts Wicking abilities. After a little use , and it doesnt take much , the cart material that makes contact with the atomizer bridge , looses the efficiency of its ability to wick properly due to the polyester fibres becomming more compressed and not allowing a good flow of liquid to the atomizer.

If you fill a brand new blank cart with liquid and fill a pre-used cart with the same liquid the blank cart will perform better and release more of the stored liquid. you'll tend to find that if your refilling old carts that you top up more frequently because it won't wick as much of the cart contents as the new one would.

 

[ZambucaLu]

Some people say they have to turn the cart around as the liquid at the top never really wicks down.

But maybe you're not using enough to begin with. I mean, I use 3-4ml a day....you use 1 or less? No wonder they don't last...lol

And have you tried other filler materials as discussed throughout the tips and tricks section?

Lu

 

[MrKrinkle]

Just a thought but is it also possible that after the initial break in of the atomizer they do tend to perform better and burn a bit more liquid faster while getting a bigger drag means burning thru more E-Juice

 

[ApOsTle51]

Mr. Distributor , 11 posts all irrelevant , all spread over the forum ..all spam ...Lu , Dig out the ban hammer

 

[rsngfrce]

Mr. Distributor , 11 posts all irrelevant , all spread over the forum ..all spam ...Lu , Dig out the ban hammer

Ahh... you beat me to it! A race to 10 posts!

 

[viachy]

I see,

so I`ll try a few steps.

- add 20% glycerol and see how it goes
- try different filter material - later
- take it easy

I have not tried different filter material yet as the original has only been used a few times up to now

Thanks for the tips guys, It is much clearer now.

 

[WiηgC¤mmαηdεя]

I noticed the same thing about the prefilled carts from intellicig, I use Johnson Creek e-liquid and saw i was going through it faster. When I checked on the contents of the Evo carts I found out that they contain:
PROPYLENE GLYCOL (Approx 50%)
GLYCEROL (Approx 8%)
PURE WATER (Approx 18%)
VANILLA (<5%)
MENTHOL ( Approx 4%)
LINALOOL
Since I use the PG formula of JC I add one drop of Glycerol to my carts at the end of filling. Then I cap them for use the next day. I find they last longer this way.
*edit* you updated while I was looking up the info from Intellicig on their carts -- LOL

 

[ZambucaLu]

Mr. Distributor , 11 posts all irrelevant , all spread over the forum ..all spam ...Lu , Dig out the ban hammer

Well, let's put it this way...probably won't see him around again

Lu

 

[SharonLM]

I am so glad you asked this. It is confusing and I'm finding the same thing. I'm getting better hits from the pre-filled and not sure why. However, upon searching this forum (and that can take a long time and get confusing), one thing that helped me was making sure my battery was well charged.

I'm using a 24mg strength e liquid (from Instead) and still not getting the hit I want. I have those white super e-cigs from Instead, Totally Wicked and Smooth Smoking. They are all interchangable.

This morning I used a filled cartridge (I filled) and hit was good for two draws and then almost no hit.

Changed to a fully charged battery, same thing, hit was good for a few draws and then almost no hit.

Changed to a pre-filled cart with the fully charged battery and had a few more good hits, then poor quality hits.

Is it me? I'm really wondering if I'm developing poor drawing habits.

I had started a thread this morning asking almost the same thing, then saw your thread. Yours is better worded..LOL

Awww well, back to researching this forum.

 

[usamare]

Definitely let us know if adding VG helps, as I've wondered about this as well.

For the topic itself, here is my official response, which the OP seems to already be on top of

Something to keep in mind is that when someone first starts with an e-cig, it's operation is foreign to them, so every puff gets a lot of conscious thought (more attention = more satisfaction). As they get used to the operation, muscle-memory starts building up, and the device takes less and less analytical thought to be operated (think of driving a car with stick-shift).

There's a very good possibility that your actually taking more puffs now than when you first started, or even just more effective puffs. If that's the case, then the danger is of increasing nicotine tolerance. This should be avoidable by calculating the total amount of nicotine you process in a given day, and lowering the strength of the e-juice you use to always stay in the desired consumption range.

If each cart holds about .5 ml, and your using 18 mg per ml, then one cart is about 9mg of nicotine.
Four of these is of course, about 36mg per day consumption (about one pack of strong cigarettes). Since there's no tar, it looks like a very good use of the e-cig. Since 6 carts per day would amount to a pack and half of analogs, that shouldn't be anything to worry about. If you start going over that, then start cutting the strength of your juice, and recalculate how many carts are acceptable to stay in a safe nicotine range.

Be safe!

 

[viachy]

Hello guys,

I do not add VG to the liquid anymore because I lose flavor (and it does not solve the problem with the frequent refills) and I do not want that... I just use straight 18mg liquid..

Could someone advise me with refilling and topping up the Evo cartridges...

As time goes by I have to top up more and more frequently. It takes a lot more time now to refill or top off liquid than I`m actually vaping...

I am not sure why is that, but I have to take the inner cart out, wipe it (a lot of juice on the side), top up, adjust the filter with the paper clip, push the cart back in.... vape for about 5 min, then I have to do the same thing again...

It gets really annoying, especially when I`m out, not at home and all of my friends asking me why is it so complicated... and they seem to be right...

Any help here?

p.s the same thing happens if I refill the carts with 6-8 drops... i honestly do not get much more vaping from that....It`s basically almost the same vaping experience as when I top up.... the filter gets dry just in 5 minutes the most....

 

[SharonLM]

viachy: I didn't have quite the same problem with the carts, but got tired of them for a variety of reasons. Now all I do is drip. Much, much easier. You may have to drip just as much, I'm not sure, but it still seems much easier.

 

[Angela]

Evo user here. I did have a few problems when I started out getting the hang of re-filling. My technique wasn't good and I wasn't getting a satisfying vape out of my re-filled carts. Yes, washing the filling helps considerably, but I found out that my problem was 'air bubbles', and from what you say about the carts appearing dry after leaving them for a while makes me suspect that may be your problem too. (Also by what you say about 2ml equating to 10 carts - meaning that you are only getting a very small amount in each cart).

You may find that in time your technique improves (try leaving them stood upright for a while before you cap them off - you may find that the liquid will soak down into the cart and you can add more in. You could also try using a syringe - I prefer the blunt ones for inket cartridge re-filling - and fill from the bottom). Everybody finds the way that works best for them. For me, I have found a completely different way to re-fill. This works for me, but doesn't for everyone. I use a contact lense case, put a little liquid into it, place the cart filling material into the liquid, then use a paper-clip to re-stiff the cart with the filling.

From what you say about the amount of liquid you are using, I wouldn't worry about your nicotine intake, it may well be it's just the number of carts has increased because there isn't as much liquid in them.

FYI, there is a poll on here somewhere: the average daily use for people is about 2ml.

 

[kenb54]

ApOsTle51 said it first, the wicking ability of the cartridge stuffing degrades over time. I believe it is from the heat of the atomizer scorching the stuffing and not allowing it to absorb as much liquid and not allowing transfer to the atomizer. Your cartridges still have alot of juice in them, it just doesn't get to the atomizer. I have switched to the lipton pyramid shaped teabags. They are made out of nylon and seem to withstand the heat and wick better. You could also try the cartridge mod where a stir stick is cut and inserted in the cartridge, that allows it to empty better. I tried it and it did seem to work, just not as well as the tea bags.

 

[viachy]

I see, so is there a tutorial somewhere around here showing how to use tea bags....as a filter material...


p.s. I just wonder... it looks like that people are happy with the Evo, and with me problems arise every day and it gets more and more annoying...