Ok guys, this has to stop. I've been modding for 3 days now
... this is by far the best mod but it doesn't come without some trial and error (mostly error for me). My latest test with this mod includes the following.
I've been thinking about a way to keep this thing from leaking which has been my biggest problem. My second biggest problem has been the suction problem if I get a perfectly cut silicone cover. From the looks of it, this is the 2 major problems other folks are having. I do believe the silicone top from the existing carts is a good way to go (I didn't try the other kinds).
After reading through 40+ pages of notes and what people have hinted to and tried, I've tried something tonight that might (I say might because we've seen other "mights" before) work pretty good. It may not be perfect because I'm trying to work out the kinks (noted at the end), but read through this and I'm up for ANY modifications or ideas. So far, this is working fairly well.
This paragraph shouldn't be a surprise, just a recap:
Blue foam worked great for me by itself (thx eclipse), but it didn't have the exact same taste as this mod (this was better) and I kept having to replace the foam often. Poly-fill (the stuff that comes with carts or what you buy at Petsmart) works fine too, but you don't get the flavor or vapor production and only 1/4 of the cart ever gets used. Poly-fil seems to "hold" the liquids better (no leaks at all), but is a slow source. So here we go ..
This may be way overkill, but most of these mods typically end up that way anyway.
Step 1: Get your straw (I don't think mine is exactly 1/4", but it works) and cut it to about 15mm give or take 1mm like ScottBalls says. Place it in the bottom of the cart. This may take some trial and error because I didn't really measure it out exactly. You can always cut some more off.
Step 2: Take some poly-fill (probably can use what came in the original cart, but I use the Petsmart 100% polyester fish filter) and make a "string" out of it. I used my drill to hold one end and just spin the crap out of it over and over while holding one end to form sort of a yarn (on second thought, yarn might work pretty good)
Step 3: Form a circle or spiral or whatever you want to call it with the "string" and place it on top of the straw in a circle. This is what will keep it from leaking. The poly-fill absorbs the excess fluid around the edges but it's such a small amount it doesn't really stop the flow. If you can get it to only be on the outside, it would probably be best. I had some problems with this, but only tried once.
Step 4: Now put your silicone cover on (using the instructions ScottyBalls was). I ended up buying one of those rotary hole punches which works REALLY well on creating perfect holes in the silicone. I used the second from the smallest punch, but I'm about to try the third which is a little larger. With the poly-fill between the liquid and the silicone, it seems the atty should be able to actually fit inside the hole and not leak instead of sitting on top of it.
I think the overall goal will be to get the poly-fill to stay on the sides of the atty rather than almost covering the hole in the middle. That was my attempt with making it into yarn (which while typing this, I think I might try now). This way the atty touches the liquid and the poly keeps it from leaking out the sides. You should either get enough air on the sides of a non-perfect silicone top or if the whole is big enough for the atty to fit inside, it could get air from there.
So far, with the exact instructions (not the mods I've been thinking of while typing this) it works fairly well. The only thing I've noticed is it doesn't really "stay" wet while sitting on the table. I think when I make one with a bigger whole for the atty, this will resolve this problem. The poly-fill does seem to slow down the wicking to the atty, but again, I think it's the size of the hole which will be tested when I stop typing.
This is by no means "my idea". I got this from several posts from folks that have tried or thought of different things like this. I'm just throwing them all together. It's definitely not leaking and I definitely don't have "perfect" silicone cover which was my largest problem with this original mod. If I (or someone) can come up with an idea to get the atty more juice if my larger hole punch doesn't work, this could be a pretty sweet mod. The straw keeps the poly-fill from going any further down and it's just enough to create a barrier to keep it from leaking on the sides which is really it's only purpose.
I think it will be easiest to fill with a syringe which I've just ordered from the net. If I have any ground breaking ideas in the near future, I'll update. I'm kinda hoping some other folks can come up with a modification to this that would make it more efficient. It's easy to make since nothing really has to be perfect now, so that part is done.
Trying to come up with a name for this since everyone else has one. Since it's 3 layers I was thinking "Bottom Up Top Plug" ... but BUT PLUG didnt' sound very good 8-o. Maybe someone else will come up with something
Slyice
P.S. Sorry for no pictures, but pretty much everything is covered by other folks. The string/yarn part is the only new thing and it's pretty self explanatory.
