needin some help with making cartridges last.....

[cme2580]

Hey everyone, I am pretty new to this, but I do love this site! I saw your (Christpher) youtube about puresmoker.com, and I really thought it was informative. I was addicted to learning bout the diff. types etc before buying into it. Anyhow, I haven't had a real ciggie since over a week ago and overall, I am happy with vaping..........problem for me is that I go through cartridges like crazy! I keep reading that one should last at least for like 5-7 smokes for a mini, but I swear it is only like maybe 2 ciggies worth and I am already dry! I started adding juice to the cartridges, but still burns through it super quick. I have a DSE-901 from the e-wicked website........and I have only had it for a lil over a week, so I am at a loss here as to why this is not workin for me!! Any help would be soooooo appreciated.

Chrissy

[Christopher]

Unfortunately when it comes to cartridges it's hit and miss. Sometimes they last as long as 6-7 cigs and other times your lucky if you get a couple. Trust me I share your frustration.

You may have noticed that when you open your cart from the packet sometimes it looks really wet and other times it's just a little, this is due to the crappy manufacturing process over in China. You really have to purchase e-liquid. This then gives you 2 choices

Dry smoking: Placing 2-3 drops directly on your atomizer and then vaping. You DO NOT use the Cotton piece inside the cart when doing this.

PROS: Heavy vapor, great taste

CONS: May burn your atomizer out faster. (This hasn't been the case with me, but some have reported their atomizer died faster)

Fill Your Own Cart: Placing drops into the cotton stuff that's inside the cartridge until it's full. This really will last about 7 cigs.

PROS: You can still use carts I guess, wont burn out automizer as fast.

CONS: Can be messier

There are a number of sites that sell the liquid. Puresmoker is pretty good and so is Wicked E Liquid.

[cme2580]

I have been adding the liquid to the cartridges (from wicked), but still seems like I am missin something, does not last longer than 1 or 2 ciggies.....I put in 3-4 drops, is that enough? Seems full when I do that................

[Christopher]

OH you already have the liquid.

In order to fill the carts up all the way you either have to drip a couple drops and wait (about a minuted) then try and fill again until it's full. Or you can purchase a syringe to fill them. If it still drains fast then it's just how much you are vaping. You have to remember 8 -10 puffs is about the same a cig.

Also you will never get consistent vapor from e-cig, manufactures consider a tiny bit of vapor still usable.

Honestly I just drop on the automizer and smoke that way. I probably use 20 drips a day. Not really sure I've never counted.

[Sean]

Unfortunatly many of the companies, not all but, many of the companies out there state that a single cartridge is the equivalent of one pack of analogs, which as you have found out is inaccurate. I am sorry that you had to find out the way you have. Some do seem to last about 6-8 analogs though, but they are hit and miss. Something you can try for testing how long a cart lasts is count how many drags you take from it before it is done. I say this because an analog cigarette will give you, on average, between 10-12 puffs. So when carts are being compared to analogs the amount of puffs is how I compare them. You should be getting between 60-80 puffs per cart.

Like Chris stated though, there is also "dry" smoking and filling carts yourself. I prefer both of these methods over buying new carts. Here is why:

"Dry" Smoking:

Pros:

With dry smoking I get a great amount of vapor production and have never gotten any e-juice in my mouth.

Cons:

With dry smoking you will still have to "re-fill" or re-drip on your atomizer quite often.

Self Filled Carts:

Pros:

When you fill carts yourself you can gaurantee that they are completely full, they tend to last a little longer, and they come in any flavor that you have available.

Cons:

When you fill carts yourself you will sometimes get e-juice in your mouth, which tastes awefull and can put a lot of nicotine in your system.

Both of these methods are a bit more "messy" than just buying new carts and popping them on, but they will save you some money and should impove your e-smoking experience. You will notice that when you get juice on your hands, you can't just wipe it off because it will feel like it is still there. You have to wash your hands with soap and water, dry them, and then wait a minute and the feeling will go away. Filling the carts is more "messy" than dry smoking though, and it really isn't all that bad, I don't want to scare you away from trying this.

If you have any questions about how to do any of these methods, I am pretty sure there is a section of the forums called "tips and tricks" where you can get help with that. If you don't find it, then just post the questions here.

Good luck!!!

[Vacker1229]

I refill my carts with the syringe, i have about 30 carts cuz i kept buying the 5packs. I used to smoke about 35 analogs a day now i vape 7-10 carts a day which comes to about 3-6 analogs per cart. Yeah i see the ads for these things say "cart is 1-2 packs of cigs" that is a load of crap. I would say a 5-pack of carts is a pack of cigs. I also saw something on the Janty site that said not to vape more than 2 carts a day. Hmmm, too late now.

I have been marking the 50ml bottle after each bunch of refills i do. Mainly to see just how many refilled carts i can actually get out of the bottle so when it is done i will let you know. So far i am about 2/3 to 3/4 way through bottle and have filled 106 carts. I should mention at this point that I have the PeeWee/NPro/SuperMini/RN4081 which does not compare to the larger models.

Also I found a forum/you tube that talked about replacing the material in the cart with something for fish tanks from the pet store, I will research that this weekend and give you all my feedback. I do believe the material in the cart breaks down after x number of refills and won't hold the juice any more which will make it last a much shorter period of time.

I will be back and update this.

Edited March 6, 2009 by Vacker1229

[Christopher]

you must by talking about smokey joes forum *cough* ours is better Just kidding he runs a great site.

But yea the "cotton" inside the carts really don't deliver the juice very well. I was also going to looking into trying other materials perhaps we will look into this on one of our videos.

I really think the amount of liquid you are using is quite normal. I wouldn't change anything your doing, I just hope over time China or the United States will create an e-cig that is not only more reliable but delivers the juice better (sorry for the typos I'm a little tired at the moment)

[PoppaC]

I refill my carts with the syringe, i have about 30 carts cuz i kept buying the 5packs. I used to smoke about 35 analogs a day now i vape 7-10 carts a day which comes to about 3-6 analogs per cart. Yeah i see the ads for these things say "cart is 1-2 packs of cigs" that is a load of crap. I would say a 5-pack of carts is a pack of cigs. I also saw something on the Janty site that said not to vape more than 2 carts a day. Hmmm, too late now.

I have been marking the 50ml bottle after each bunch of refills i do. Mainly to see just how many refilled carts i can actually get out of the bottle so when it is done i will let you know. So far i am about 2/3 to 3/4 way through bottle and have filled 106 carts. I should mention at this point that I have the PeeWee/NPro/SuperMini/RN4081 which does not compare to the larger models.

Also I found a forum/you tube that talked about replacing the material in the cart with something for fish tanks from the pet store, I will research that this weekend and give you all my feedback. I do believe the material in the cart breaks down after x number of refills and won't hold the juice any more which will make it last a much shorter period of time.

I will be back and update this.

Funny, I just got on the forum today to ask some of the same questions being asked right now. You guys are right on time. It appears to me that with the carts being plastic that they are almost indestructable. I have been questioning, that if we just replace the material inside we would not have to replace the carts so often. Great, looking forward to your info Vacker1229.

[Christopher]

That almost true, one problem you will run into however is the carts not fitting.

When you first use a brand new cart it fits snug on the atomizer, however after using it for a week or so it will start to become loose. This is the same from all e-cigs. Some users have tried re-melting the carts with a lighter but I say it's cheaper and easier to purchase some more.

[Vacker1229]

So true the mouthpiece does get loose, that is another reason why i have so many. and i have actually cracked a few holding them with my teeth. and of course that causes leakage. Always good to have spare parts. So every so often i will replenish my stash of fresh mouthpieces with carts. I am off to work and at lunch I will pick up the stuffing material and take a good look at it. We have a microscope at work and I will scrutinize thru that thang. Also I have 2 buddies at the office who have just purchased Pilots from puresmoker and they too can take a look at this possible material. Extra opinions never hurt.

I'll be back online around 2ish with results. Hopefully some photos too if my camera charges in time.

[Christopher]

great I can't wait to see the results.

I'm also glad to know I"m not the only person who cracks the carts with my teeth, a habit from Analogs

[Vacker1229]

Well, I looked for the material and low and behold my local Petco did not have it. BUT I will check the other 2 big box pet stores in my area and the local tropical fish store. This stuff for carts is a polyester type material that is for scrubbing fish tanks but the info says it is very similar or exactly the material in carts.

Sorry folks no news yet, but if you knew me you would know this ain't over yet -- cuz i be relentless in most of my quests for info.

[Christopher]

Well keep us updated on how things go. I'm interested. If all works out well perhaps Sean and I will use the new material in one of our future videos

[Lightening]

I haven't tried the aquarium stuff for my carts yet but I was wondering if I couldn't just put them in some kind of holder and wash them in sudsy water, rinse ad dry. Hmmmmm. have to try it I guess Anyway, it's for sure that carts aren't worth a pack or even a half pack of cigs in my experience. Even the larger carts are only about 6 cigs I would say. My best ecig is my old NJOY and the first one I bought. I'm now buying replacement parts for it at puresmoker since I seem to burn out the atomizers really quickly. I drip my carts as I can't afford to use 5 carts a day. 2-4 drops and I'm good for a cig It really doesn't matter for me to do this several times a day since it only takes a few seconds (or about as long as it used to take to pull an analog out of the pack )

[Christopher]

You can wash your carts with no problem. Don't wash the orange/black outside with soap is it will discolor. However the white Cotton and the white coton holder can be washed with no problem.

How fast are you burning out your automizers? At the SLIGHTEST taste of burnt rubber you should add more liquid.

[bigsponge]

Hey everyone i am new to this forum and as i was reading the posts i seen the post regarding the fish aquarium material to use as the stuffing in the carts.I have a fish tank and i did'nt notice before but the material is identical to the white material used for the filter system in fish tanks with a built in filteration system.I had some extra material from my tank and i just restuffed a couple of my carts but i ran out of liquid, but as soon as i get my order delivered in a few days i will try it and post the results.Someone posted that it is the material used to scrub tanks but it is actually the material for the filter system, at least it looks exactly like the cart stuffing. I hope this was helpful.

Edited March 7, 2009 by bigsponge

[Christopher]

That is helpful! Let us know how it goes. I'd also like to know if the juice flows better.

Something to keep in mind though; If you cart gets low on juice be carefull not to burn the "cotton." I don't think you want that in your lungs!

[Royce]

That is helpful! Let us know how it goes. I'd also like to know if the juice flows better.

Something to keep in mind though; If you cart gets low on juice be carefull not to burn the "cotton." I don't think you want that in your lungs!

psssssh smoking cart filling builds character 

[bigsponge]

Hey everyone i am new to this forum and as i was reading the posts i seen the post regarding the fish aquarium material to use as the stuffing in the carts.I have a fish tank and i did'nt notice before but the material is identical to the white material used for the filter system in fish tanks with a built in filteration system.I had some extra material from my tank and i just restuffed a couple of my carts but i ran out of liquid, but as soon as i get my order delivered in a few days i will try it and post the results.Someone posted that it is the material used to scrub tanks but it is actually the material for the filter system, at least it looks exactly like the cart stuffing. I hope this was helpful.

Hey peeps this is a follow up regarding the fish tank filter for re-stuffing used cart stuffing.It worked out fine no problems with burning or anything,just make sure when you re-stuff then refill that you completely refilled the cart to the bottom by pulling out stuffing "carefully" and making sure the juice reached the bottom of the cart otherwise only the top half will be filled and cart won't last long.It takes some time for juice to reach bottom because material is new and not broken in yet.My brother also tried out some polyester material,its like pillow or cushing stuffing and that seemed to work good also.There is a video on youtube that shows how to re-stuff.I've noticed that all re-stuff material is usually made of polyester and make sure its flame resistant.Hope this helps.

[Vacker1229]

Yep, this is true. I did find the Fluval fish tank scrubber and yes it does look the same even thru the microscope. I have been using it for a few days. BUT I have noticed that I tend to get a lot of juice in my mouth and it is getting very annoying. I use a syringe to fill the cart from the bottom up to top but I still get juice. So I am thinking this stuffing is not holding it well, releasing too much on each draw. So I believe it is too loose in texture. I also have seen a couple of youtube re: pillow/comforter stuffing found in your local fabric store. That will be my next experiment. Due to various laws regarding what is called batting/fiberfill, almost all is flame retardant. Except for the ones coming from overseas - which brings up another point. Most non-flame retardent comes from China which is where most of our carts come from too. HaH so our carts may not be flame resistent. Hmmm maybe they do need FDA testing. Arrrgh, just can't win with this.

link to youtube tutuorial:

[Christopher]

That's why I started dry smoking. The whole cart thing was just getting annoying. Now I don't have to worry about juice in my mouth.

@Vacker: You need to report the youtube video with just the video ID. I know this way sucks but it's all we have for now.

[Vacker1229]

I refill my carts with the syringe, i have about 30 carts cuz i kept buying the 5packs. I used to smoke about 35 analogs a day now i vape 7-10 carts a day which comes to about 3-6 analogs per cart. Yeah i see the ads for these things say "cart is 1-2 packs of cigs" that is a load of crap. I would say a 5-pack of carts is a pack of cigs. I also saw something on the Janty site that said not to vape more than 2 carts a day. Hmmm, too late now.

I have been marking the 50ml bottle after each bunch of refills i do. Mainly to see just how many refilled carts i can actually get out of the bottle so when it is done i will let you know. So far i am about 2/3 to 3/4 way through bottle and have filled 106 carts. I should mention at this point that I have the PeeWee/NPro/SuperMini/RN4081 which does not compare to the larger models.

Also I found a forum/you tube that talked about replacing the material in the cart with something for fish tanks from the pet store, I will research that this weekend and give you all my feedback. I do believe the material in the cart breaks down after x number of refills and won't hold the juice any more which will make it last a much shorter period of time.

I will be back and update this.

I am back and have just emptied my 50ml bottle and the count is 199 cartridges refilled. I abstained from dripping from this bottle to get an accurate count. Hope this helps others, as I mentioned I am using a rather small cart from the PeeWee model. I still love the PeeWee and I love calling it a PeeWee :P In reality it is an NPRO

[Christopher]

Man that is awesome! 199 hu, well that's going down in the Smoketalk facts, from here on out, 50ml=199 carts. It would cost you $160 if you purchased the cartridges individually.

[Vacker1229]

I was so specific in marking the bottle and not necessarilly counting ml with the syringe. But loosely speaking by just marking the bottle with number of carts filled and the date - yes 199 peewee carts. Hope this helps others.

Ah but now I have just ordered 2 @ 30ml of the 36mg nicotine from Totally Wicked and yes I am going to cut my own with glycerin. WooHoo, saving $$. This thing has turned in to my very own personal "economic stimulus" Yee Haaaawwwww!!

Don't get me wrong I spent my morning refilling 24 carts, with the disassembling, sorting, cleaning, loading syringe, cleaning mouth piece, it goes on and on. Although I do have somewhat of a routine and it runs smoothly but I think alot of people won't want to dillydally with all this -- so they just drip.

Anyway my point being is -- this is a healthly alternative to smoking and a frugal one to boot.

[PoppaC]

Okay Vacker1229... Great stuff...... Now I see why you are so hard to beat in the Arcade..... I am really anxiously waiting on your research on the cart material..... what a difference that could make.....