Cartomizer
By Tom McBride
My boss, John Manzione, came into my cubicle a couple of weeks ago and handed me a package. In the package was a collection of syringe’s, fittings, and blunt needles. He told me the products together formed the product name of “The Plunger”. He said, “You fill your own cartomizers more than anyone here, this review is for you. Give it a go.” I told him I would, and after several days of use, what you see below is my hands on experience with ‘The Plunger’ by myfreedomsmoke.com
“Buy it. You need it. You know you do. It works. It’s 25 bucks”.
That’s it, good night and have a safe tomorrow…
That one single sentence was actually the review I handed in, thinking it was both funny, and pretty damned accurate. $25 for a complete kit that will ‘fill, refill, and clean’ just about every single cartomizer and cartridge on the planet? What else can you say? It works, buy it. Done.
But There Is More…
Okay, there are more things I can say, but they actually didn’t come to me right away, and perhaps they should have. Watch me as I find another 1900 words to say about The Ultimate Plunger .
Three (3) versions of this Kit are sold by My Freedom Smokes, but only one kit does it all. I reviewed The Ultimate Kit, which sells for $24.95, a price that, admit it, just about any person that vapes can afford.
Those of us that buy cartomizers usually pay $8-$12 for a 5 pack of Boge (or other) cartomizers. Having the right tools that will fill, refill, and clean those cartos is one of the most important accessories you can have. It’s the biggest no-brainer since our decision to switch to electronic cigarettes over tobacco cigarettes.
Patent-pending!
Although some of the parts contained in the Ultimate Kit are parts anyone can buy online and at some pharmacies, a couple of the pieces are so unique and so useful, yet unthought-of-before-now that My Freedom Smokes is seeking to patent it. And they’ll win the patent because it is indeed a unique product and does such an amazing job.
The piece I’m talking about is the one that looks like a ‘screw on top, (Luer Lock Bottle Cap) that is screwed into a bottle top on one end and then attached (by slipping it on) to the end of a cartomizer. You push on the plastic bottle and liquid is forced up and through the top and directly into the carto without leaking, and completely soaks the cotton-like material in the cartomizer. It’s fast, but more importantly, every fiber in the carto is soaked with the smoke juice. No messy dripping, no needles plunging into the material, and no waste. It’s a simple idea, and a great one.
What it is…
The Ultimate Plunger Kit includes three syringes from the regular kit, as well as 2 x Special Plunger Fittings, a Luer Lock-to-510 Thread, 5 x 1″ Blunt Luer Lock Needles, 1 x Luer Lock Bottle Cap – 15mm, 1 x Luer Lock Bottle Cap – 20mm, 1 x 15ml Dropper Bottle, 1 x 30ml Dropper Bottle.
With an adapter you can clean 510, 801, 901, KR-808 (Halo Cigs Cartos!), as well as all atomizers. You read that correctly, with the ultimate kit you can now clean atomizers better than you ever could without it, causing your atomizers to work at the peak performance far longer than you might have thought possible.
The only negative side is the packaging. We received a package that did not have a User Manual inside, and no indication that you could find directions for use on their website. In fact, there was nothing in our package that indicates that myfreedomsmoke.com is where the kit is sold. If this is the actual retail package and not an OEM package, then the company should think about printing up a manual and imprinting some of the pieces with their logo or name.
I have had a bit of experience filling cartos with a needle bottle, but as far as cleaning a carto I had zero experience. I usually tossed them despite knowing that most cartos can be refilled 3, 4,5, and even 6 times (Johnson Creek Vea cartos can be refilled up to 12-14 times!). When John tossed me the package I looked at it all day, trying to imagine how it would be used. Then I visited the website, watched a YouTube video, and then finally realized how easy it truly was to use each piece.
Filling a Cartomizer
- Fill your syringe with the proper amount of smoke juice for the cartomizer you want to fill. .7, 1, 1.1 or even 1.6 or more.
- Attach the carto-injector (that cap I mention above) fitting to the syringe.
- Fix the cartomizer to the other end of the injector cap and then slowly inject the smoke juice into the cartomizer until it properly filled.
- Keep the cartomizers attacked while you wait for it to be completely soaked.
- Detach the carto, put the carto “condom” back on, and store until needed
(note* Read the Halo Cigs review to learn about these cool hard plastic carto boxes that fit 5 cartos with condoms. These will make a perfect storage box for your newly filled cartos. And remember, allowing a carto to sit for a day will enhance the performance and the flavor of the smoke juice.)
Cleaning a Cartomizer
- Attach the carto-injector fitting to syringe.
- Attach cartomizer to other end of fitting.
- Place the mouthpiece end of the cartomizer under water and pull water through the cartomizer. Use a medium-sized bowl or a filled sink, your choice. But the water should be very clean.
- Push and pull water back and forth through the carto several times until it appears to be clear water going in and out. You should see no colored juice at all for at least 2 or 3 of the push and pulls.
- Remove it from the water and blow air back and forth though the cartomizer several times to remove the excess water. I usually blow on it a few times, shake it around a bit.
- Un-attach the cartomizer and let it sit for a few hours so that it dries completely. Any water left in the carto is diluting the smoke juice or it could even allow for mildew to form if left for a week or more.
How Much And How Often
This is a personal preference of course, but I’ve found that for my vaping needs I will set aside about 2 hours over the weekends and set up all the cartomizers I want to fill, clean, store, and use for the week.
The first time you do this you will want to use all NEW cartomizers. You can find cartomizers, such as the Boge 510 (most popular size and brand) at several price-points so do a google search before you buy. Any reputable company is fine, but right now ProVape, the makers of the best VV PV on the market sells Boge 510’s in black for 8x 5-pcks for $60 USD. Unless I was buying $500 worth from China, this was the best deal I could find. That’s not to say that if you have a few friends that also vape that you can’t pool together a $500 order and get your cartos for under 50 cents a pack.
Using a new set of cartos gives you a fresh beginning for using the Ultimate Plunger kit. Your first “set aside” will be to simply fill all your cartomizers, a total of 8-days of approximated use. After filling them place the condoms back on to prevent leakage, and then store them in the box they came in, or better yet, use the Halo Cigs carto box or some other “proper” box for storing filled cartos. I’ll mention this once more time, allowing your newly filled cartos to sit for a day in a cartomizer (this even holds for clear cartridges that contain no cotton mesh), will let the flavor soak in, and the taste and vapor are enhanced making a much better vaping experience over a using a freshly filled cartomizer.
The Next Weekend
If you adopt a ritual of refilling and filling once a week you’ll have saved the cartomizers you used during the week (I have a small box on my nightstand where I toss the spent cartos). You’ll start by using the kit to clean all your cartos and ready them for refilling.
Since cartomizers can be “safely” refilled at least 3 times you will always be adding new cartos to the mix, and tossing the ones that won’t perform again. I know this sounds a little “anal” but I use a felt pen marker and make a single dot for each time the carto has been filled.
Because the cartomizers that had to be cleaned need to sit several hours before using them again (to dry out), you might want to clean them in the morning and then refill them that evening. I know it sounds complicated but once you do it a couple of times it will seem really easy. For me, it’s an hour in the morning and an hour in the late afternoon, usually on Saturday.
The only thing you’ve added since the very first session is the cleaning aspect. The rest of the procedure is the same as the first, fill, condom, store. Done.
Experimenting
There is a movement happening in the US, and probably in Europe as well, it’s a move away from Chinese smoke juice and the adopting of purer, safer, and better-tasting American Made smoke juice. (July is Spinfuel Juice Reviews Month) so you should always consider experimenting with new juice companies and new flavors. Using the Ultimate Plunger will make this process easy, and fun. American Made smoke juice is priced only slightly more than Chinese juice but very much worth the extra dollar for a 15ML bottle. And when you are refilling your own cartos the way they “should” be, the cost to experiment is very inexpensive when compared to buying pre-filled cartos. For me it’s become my favorite hobby.
In Conclusion
I can’t believe I typed 1700 words about a pack of syringes and needles and caps, but when you get into it there is a lot more to say than I thought. John was right to toss back the first review with his usual “make it better” remark. I’m glad I did.
I like The Ultimate Plunger pack so much that I am planning on buying several of them as the perfect gift for my many friends that Vape. If you know someone that uses mini-eCigs and throws away spent cartomizers you might want to sit him or her down and demonstrate how easy it is to save hundreds of dollars a year refilling their own cartomizers. If they tell you that the pre-filled cartos are the only ones they like to vape, they surely haven’t been exposed to some of the new American Made juice out there. Coach them, teach them, and expand their experiences, so that they too can know some of the wonderful flavors out there. Before you know it, you’ll be trading your experiences with juice companies and juice flavors. That’s the hobby of vaping, and it’s a terrific one to be “in to”.
Nothing on the market right now is better for filling, refilling, and cleaning cartomizers, atomizers, and cartridges than The Plunger by My Freedom Smokes.
Tom McBride (edited by John Manzione) with contributions by Julia Barnes.
Here’s a cool little video that show The Plunger in Action. Watch and learn….
