With their discreet, convenient, and nearly odorless characteristics… vape cartridges and all-in-one vapes aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, research shows it’s the second most popular product category in the US, capturing 23.6% of the total market share.
So, if you’re an aspiring vape brand or looking to expand your existing SKUs to include vape carts or all-in-one devices, this is the guide for you. Here, we’ll answer the question “How to fill vape cartridges” to give you a foundation and the most common mistakes to avoid to help you scale successfully.
Keep reading for our ultimate guide to filling vapes.
Get to Know The Different Vape Cartridges
Before we understand how to fill a cartridge with a syringe or automated machines, let’s get familiar with the various types of carts first. In today’s cannabis market, you’ll find a variety of vape devices. The most popular include:
- 510-thread cartridges: 510-thread cartridges are the most common and compatible with various batteries. However, brands may lose control over the temperatures at which consumers heat their oil.
- Disposable or all-in-one vape pens: All-in-one or “disposable” devices are another popular product. These devices come with the oil pre-filled and an integrated battery.
Beyond this, you’ll find varying cartridges or devices within each category. For instance, there are ceramic and metal atomizers to heat oil and varying mouthpieces or other characteristics that can make carts or all-in-one devices unique to one brand.
Even more, as cannabis concentrates evolve, so does the type of oil that you’ll find in vape cartridges, too. From distillate to live resin, rosin to live rosin, every plant extract, and even every strain and phenotype of the strain or extraction method can affect the consistency of the product to fill the cart with.
Next, we’ll discuss the importance of proper filling for consumer experience and brand success.
Why Proper Filling Matters
Filling your vape cartridge will directly impact two crucial factors affecting your brand’s success: customer retention or loyalty and your bottom line. Due to the precious nature of the cannabis extract you’re filling, operators need to minimize loss, preserve quality, and increase efficiency for filling carts or all-in-one devices.
If not done correctly, cart filling can affect the end-user’s experience and potentially negatively impact future sales. Accurate filling prevents leaks, ensures consistent dosing, and maintains the integrity of the oil’s chemical profile.
Overfilling can lead to clogging and waste, while underfilling may result in customer complaints. Using the right equipment and techniques also helps prevent contamination and preserves the terpene profile, essential for flavor and effects.
Moreover, precise filling practices demonstrate the utmost care and professionalism, building consumer trust. For cannabis brands, mastering this process is critical to standing out in a competitive market and maintaining a reputation for reliability and excellence.
To help, in this section, we’ll detail how to fill vape cartridges appropriately, meet consumer expectations, and improve output.
What You Need to Know On How To Fill A Cart
Filling carts precisely and adequately is a particular art. In this section, we’ll provide tips to help you achieve that level of mastery. Keep reading as we guide you through filling a vape cartridge step-by-step and then cover the most common mistakes to avoid.
1. Prepare to Fill Your Vape Cartridges
First, you’ll want to prepare the vape cartridge or device for filling. Begin by inspecting each unit for any defects or damage. Next, you’ll clean the work area thoroughly and sanitize all surfaces and tools with isopropyl alcohol.
Before you begin, prepare all the components like a chef and their mise en place. This includes organizing your filling equipment, including syringes or filling machines, and ensuring they are clean and calibrated. If applicable, pre-heat your cannabis oil to the recommended temperature for optimal viscosity.
2. Filling Your Cartridge
Next is where the magic happens. It’s time to fill the cartridges with the extract using an automated filling machine.
- Learn How To Fill A Cartridge With A Syringe Or Use A Dropper
Begin by filling the syringe or dropper with the extract. Insert the syringe or dropper tip into the cartridge’s fill port, ensuring it doesn’t touch the center post. Slowly dispense the oil along the inner wall of the cartridge, avoiding the central airflow tube. Fill to the recommended level, typically leaving a small air gap at the top.
If using a syringe, maintain steady pressure to prevent bubbles. For droppers, count the drops carefully for consistent filling. Pause occasionally to allow the oil to settle and check the level.
- Utilize an Automated Filling Machine
If you’re filling carts commercially, using a syringe or a dropper is clearly inefficient. It opens your operation to human error, but it’s also incredibly time-consuming to individually fill carts by hand. Hence, there is an increase in automated filling machines, like Vape-Jet, that precisely and efficiently fill carts for facilities across the US.
Vape-Jet offers operators an advanced user interface paired with cutting-edge software and a powerful central processing unit to automate cartridge filling. To fill cartridges, rather than using hand-eye coordination, the proprietary machine vision alignment system analyzes whole trays of vape cartridges, aligns the needle overhead, and precisely fills each one to the optimal level.
3. Reassembling
Carefully reassemble the carts by attaching their mouthpiece or securing other parts of the device or cartridge.
4. Prime the Vape Cart
On the consumer side, priming a vape cartridge after filling ensures optimal performance and prevents dry hits. To do so, first let the filled cartridge stand upright for up to 30 minutes, allowing the oil to saturate the wick thoroughly. Next, take a few dry pulls (inhaling without activating the battery) to draw oil into the coil.
When ready to vape, begin with short, gentle puffs at a low voltage setting. This gradual approach helps avoid burning the wick and allows the heating element to warm up properly.
As you use the cartridge, gradually increase puff duration and voltage if desired. Proper priming enhances flavor, prolongs cartridge life, and provides a smoother vaping experience from the first hit.
Mistakes to Avoid
Again, mastering the art of filling carts isn’t just about knowing what to do; it’s also about knowing what not to do. So, before you go, here are the top mistakes to avoid when learning how to fill a vape cartridge.
Overfilling
Overfilling is a critical mistake to avoid when filling vape cartridges, as it can lead to numerous issues affecting product quality and user experience. When a cartridge is overfilled, the excess oil can seep into the central airflow tube, causing clogging and impeding proper vapor production.
This not only wastes valuable product but also risks leakage, which can damage the battery or create a mess for the user. Overfilled cartridges may also experience pressure buildup as the oil heats, potentially causing the cartridge to crack or leak during use.
Furthermore, excess oil can flood the coil, leading to gurgling sounds, spit-back of hot oil into the user’s mouth, and uneven heating that affects flavor and potency. To prevent these issues, it is crucial to follow the manufacturer’s recommended fill line or leave adequate headspace (typically 2-3mm) at the top of the cartridge.
Using the Incorrect Liquid
As we mentioned earlier, the consistency of the liquid or oil you use for filling carts will affect its efficacy. So, using an incorrect liquid with an undesirable consistency is a mistake you’ll want to avoid. Using the wrong liquid or consistency can cause the vape cart to clog or “spit” by losing material from the mouthpiece, frustrating the consumer.
Can you fill a cart with a dab?
In general, extracts used for dabbing are not ideal for filling carts. Dabs are often thicker in consistency, allowing the consumer to pick them up on their metal dabbing tool and play on their rig of choice. This consistency is not ideal for filling a cart.
Not Priming
As a consumer, it’s always best to prime your vape cart or all-in-one vape device before using it. Again, as we explained, this helps enhance flavor, prolongs cartridge life, and provides a smoother vaping experience. If you believe your brand’s consumers are unaware of the benefits of priming, consider adding a blurb on your packaging or an insert to explain further.
Ignoring Safety Precautions
In any job, ignoring safety precautions is always a mistake. Safety should also be the top priority when filling vape cartridges. Always work in a clean, well-ventilated area to minimize exposure to fumes. Wear appropriate personal protective equipment, including nitrile gloves and safety glasses, to prevent skin contact or accidental splashes.
Lastly, be cautious of static electricity, which can ignite flammable terpenes; use proper grounding techniques when necessary.
How Vape-Jet’s Automatic Cartridge Filling Machine Helps
From what you’ve learned here today, you can see why “how to fill a cartridge with a syringe” is an outdated inquiry for cannabis brands today. In the fast-paced and competitive market, brands must stay ahead of the curve when it comes to technology to stay ahead of the competition.
Like those made by Vape-Jet, automatic cartridge-filling machines are ideal for learning how to fill vape cartridges efficiently and profitably. From fully automatic to semi-automatic vape filling and even dab dispensing capabilities, Vape-Jet is the premier source for AI—and tech-powered vape-filling solutions.
Learn more about the Vape-Jet difference, or explore even more vape resources and education. Ready to get filling carts? Get in touch with our team to begin exploring Vape-Jet for your brand.
