How to Fix A Clogged Delta 8 Cart
Clogging is simply oil blocking the airway of the mouthpiece so that vaporized oil can’t travel past. It’s easy to avoid and remedy but will likely require some change in your usage. The CCELL cartridges we use are some of the most forgiving cartridges when it comes to improper usage, but you will still need to be attentive to best practices to eliminate or reduce clogging. Here’s how to fix a clogged Delta 8 cart:
First:
TLDR: 3.2v+ (some swear by 2.4-2.8v, but we see slightly more issues at this setting). Preheat only if necessary, for the minimum amount of time possible. Draw lightly. Take <5 second hits. Clear the airway after hits. Clear clogs with a paperclip not heating/sucking methods.
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Heat: We ran internal tests and a poll that both showed heating at 3.2v+ (we capped at 4v) resulted in far fewer clogging issues than if you heat at less than that. The lower the heat of the oil, the more oil will condense on the mouthpiece's inner airway. That or it could also be that it’s not vaporizing all the oil and some is getting just hot enough to be sucked through if drawing too hard. Either way, using it at 3.2v+ seems to help the average user avoid clogs. However, it should be noted that a significant amount of individuals swear by lower voltage settings (2.4v-2.8v) which may be due to individual differences in usage, length of hits, preheating, etc.
Preheating: Preheating should be done at the absolute minimum amount possible. A couple of seconds and you should be good to go. Sometimes you only need to preheat the initial hit of the cartridge to allow the oil to saturate the coil but after that, the oil should fill into the coil behind itself and resaturate it after every hit.
How to Draw Properly: A lot of people suck on vapes like they’re trying to suck a thick milkshake through a straw. This, combined with excessive preheating, is the number one reason for clogs. Hit your cartridge evenly and lightly at the same time you’re applying heat. If you suck too hard on hot oil it’s going to pull the oil past the coil and into the airway causing clogs.
How to “Finish” a Draw: Let go of heat sometime before you end your hit. After exhaling the hit, go back and suck out the remaining vapors without applying any heat. This will help prevent condensation of D8 oil on the airway and delay clogs. This and sucking too hard are the top reasons why users experience oil coming out of the tip of the mouthpiece.
Length of Hits: Short and sweet 3-4 second hits are best. Again, the chasing of big Instagram-worthy clouds is going to run you into clogging issues. Taking 3 x 3.3-second hits > 2 x 5-second hits > 1 x 10-second hit. The longer you go, the hotter you get (on auto draws), and the more oil flows through and it leaves more vapor in the airway when you’re done.
Don’t Vape if Cart is Left in the Cold: This is especially applicable in the winter when cartridges get left in cold cars. When you vape a cold cartridge the air has to travel through a very cold mouthpiece and a lot more oil will condense on the inside of the airway. This is one of the quickest ways to get clogs and have oil at the tip of the mouthpiece. You should always try to bring carts to room temp before using them.
Maintenance/Removing Clogs: If you experience clogging, unwind a paperclip and insert it down the airway of the mouthpiece, past the actual mouthpiece, and swirl the walls. Remove the oil from the paperclip and continue until there is no more oil being pulled (this oil can be eaten like an edible). This is usually the only proper way to clear clogs.
Sometimes at the very end of a cartridge (only), you can help things by unscrewing the top of the cartridge. Unscrewing the mouthpiece of the cartridge early on can accelerate clogs/leaks.
If you preheat and suck hard to “pop” clogs, this can provide a one-session remedy, but you will have to clear it again next session and are just making things worse over time. Don’t do this. The same method that clears the clog, also means you are excessively preheating the oil and sucking too hard. This is the exact reason people get oil coming out of the top of the mouthpiece: overheating and sucking too hard over some time.
D8 is like dried super glue. There’s no other way to get it out of the top of a mouthpiece without sucking too hard and applying too much heat. So if you have this happening, it’s a surefire way to know that some usage changes need to be made.
Expectations: The average user type experiences a clog at some point in a D8 cartridge, but typically it’s seen at the halfway to 3/4 point (this is also common in D9 cartridges). That’s just because the average user is not willing to do all of the things above, all of the time, so it eventually catches up to them. But if you’re at least willing to do the minimum maintenance required (paperclip method above) right when issues arise, then it is usually a quick, lasting fix.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing that will fix the combination of overheating and “milkshake-level” sucking. A CCELL cartridge can minimize it, but even then it’s likely there will be issues at some point in the life of the cartridge. Hard pulls do not add anything to the vaporization process and should be considered necessary.