How to Fill, Use and Clean a Vape Cartridge: Comprehensive Guide

by Martin B. · November 16, 2022

If you’re interested in exploring the world of oil vaping, buying a high-quality vape pen from a company like Rokin Vapes is only half of the battle. You’re also going to go through a lot of vape cartridges – maybe a large variety of cartridges from many different makers – and if you want to have the best possible experience, you need to know what you’re doing with those cartridges. A good vape pen, after all, practically operates itself. Knowing how to use a vape cart properly makes all the difference.

This is your comprehensive guide to vape cartridges. From filling and using a cartridge to cleaning it and eventually throwing it away, we’re going to cover everything here. Let’s dive in.

How to Fill a Vape Cartridge

The first thing you need to know about vape cartridges is that they come in two varieties: pre-filled and refillable. Although pre-filled cartridges do have a drawback in that they aren’t really reusable – we’ll discuss that at greater length shortly – they alsohave the convenience factor going for them because you don’t need to worry about filling them; they come out of the package filled and ready to use.

If you’re using a refillable vape cartridge, on the other hand, you’ll need to fill it with oil before you can begin using it. That’s not hard to do, but it’s much easier if you have a blunt-tipped syringe. They’re available at many shops that sell oil cartridges and other supplies for herbal vaping.

To fill a vape cartridge, you’ll first want to make a note of its capacity. The most common capacities for oil cartridges are 0.5 and 1.0 ml. Unscrew the cartridge and examine the inside. Although there are several different designs for vape cartridges, you’ll most likely find a narrow metal chimney in the center and a large reservoir around the outside of the chimney. Draw the correct amount of oil into your syringe and place the tip of the syringe in the cartridge’s reservoir – not the chimney. Dispense the oil into the cartridge and replace the mouthpiece.

When you dispense the correct amount of oil into a vape cartridge, it’ll look like the cartridge isn’t quite full. That’s completely normal; don’t attempt to overfill it. After filling the cartridge, wait about a half hour before you begin vaping. It can take some time for the thick oil to penetrate the cartridge’s wick, and waiting a while helps to ensure that you won’t get an unpleasant burnt flavor when you start vaping.

Use to Use a Vape Cartridge

After you’ve filled your vape cartridge and waited a while for the wick to become completely saturated, the cartridge is ready to use – and if you’re using a pre-filled cartridge, it’s ready to use right out of the package. In either case, you’ll start by connecting the cartridge to your vape pen and turning the device on.

If you have a vape pen with variable power delivery, the first thing you’ll want to do is set your device to the lowest available power level to avoid overheating the cartridge’s atomizer coil and burning your oil. If you find the flavor a bit too subdued, you can always increase the power – but start low.

To vape, you’ll either puff on the cartridge or hold your vape pen’s fire button depending on the device’s design. Although you’ll inhale and exhale the vapor in much the same way that you would cigarette smoke, vaping isn’t quite the same thing. There are two things that you need to remember in order to have the best possible experience.

• Start with just a puff or two until you’ve had plenty of time to gauge the potency of the oil you’re using. Remember that concentrates are much, much stronger than dry herbsand that using too much can be a very unpleasant experience.

• Inhale very gently when using an oil cartridge. If you use too much air pressure when vaping, you could actually suck the oil into the cartridge’s center chimney – and you definitely wouldn’t like the flavor.

How to Clean a Vape Cartridge

Generally speaking, vape cartridges aren’t really meant to be cleaned. You’ll usually just keep refiling a cartridge until you’re no longer happy with the flavor, and then you’ll throw it away. We’ll talk about that in greater detail shortly. If you have a cartridge that’s on its last legs, though – and you’d like to keep it going a little longer – you might be able to remove some of the residue in the cartridge by cleaning it.

When you clean a vape cartridge, you’ll lose all of the oil inside it – so wait until the cartridge is empty.

To clean a vape cart, unscrew the mouthpiece and immerse the cartridge in rubbing alcohol for several minutes. The alcohol will quickly change color as it dissolves the residue in the cartridge. Consider stirring the liquid to provide some agitation and help things along. After waiting a little while, remove the cartridge from the alcohol and rinse it thoroughly under running water. After allowing plenty of time for it to air dry, you can resume using the cartridge.

When Is It Time to Throw a Vape Cartridge Away?

The best thing about using refillable vape cartridges is that you can usually refill them several times before their flavor quality starts to decline. That’s great for saving money because it means that you don’t have to buy new cartridges as often as you would if you were using pre-filled ones. You can refill a cartridge as many times as you like until it stops working, or you’re no longer happy with the flavor.

If you’re using a pre-filled cartridge, on the other hand, you’ll generally need to throw it away when it’s empty. You can attempt to pry the mouthpiece off and refill the cartridge, but most pre-filled vape cartridges are designed to be tamper proof. If you attempt to remove the mouthpiece, the cartridge will usually crack.

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Martin B.

Ex-smoker, passionate vaper who loves to tell the world about the life-changing potential of vaping. Co-creator of Ecigclopedia with a background in Business & Finance. Prefers a dessert flavored vape and loves to innovate.