It’s seems wasteful to throw away vape pen cartridges after you use them just one time. Why not refill them if they can be refilled, but how to refill a vape pen cartridge?
After you’ve invested in some refillable vape pen cartridges, you’ll be able to add more oil whenever you need to. It’s an easy process and one that can be accomplished in just a couple of minutes. You don’t need any special tools, either other than a syringe and blunt needle to make it easier to avoid spills.
All you should have ready is the refillable cartridge, the actual cannabis oil that you want to use, a syringe with at least a .5 milliliter capacity, and the vape battery. The syringe can be a metal ones or one of the disposable plastic ones, such as a medical syringe.
Step 1
Fill the syringe with up to a 1 milliliter of the cannabis oil. Take care to choose an oil type fit for vaping so the the viscosity is right, and this will make refilling easier too. Some syringes don’t have that large of a capacity, but your cartridge will not take an enormous amount of oil either. Do be careful to know exactly how much oil a particular cartridge will take. There is sometimes an indication line which you should not go over when adding the oil.
Step 2
Unscrew the flattened metal top of the vape cartridge. Set it aside and make sure it doesn’t roll off the table you’re using. Underneath and inside the cartridge, you’ll see there is a narrow opening down into the filling area. Some cartridges will have a center post and you will need to add your oil carefully between the post and the innerwall of the chamber. This when you will realize that the syringe is very useful.
Step 3
Next, take your oil filled syringe and hold it vertical, with the tip of it pointing straight up so you don’t drip oil. Most of these syringes come with a special applicator tip for precise dripping and some will have a cap to stop leakage from the applicator between use. This is a small piece of plastic that fits over the tip end of the syringe. Press it snugly in place. It fits just like a pen cap.
Step 4
With the applicator tip on, hold the vape pen or cartridge in one hand and upend the oil syringe to start adding oil. Instead of pouring the oil into the narrow opening discussed in Step 1, you’re actually going to inject the oil into the empty space of the middle of the vape pen around the center post. You don’t want any oil to drip outside the cartridge, so take your time and don’t rush.
As a side note, some vape pen users suggest to lightly heat the vape pen cartridge first, so that when you do add the oil, it runs smoothly down the sides and prevents it from becoming sludgy. However, heat causes cannabis oil to degrade much faster, so if you do this, don't over heat, or warm the cartridge too much. Only heat the oil if it’s very thick and not moving at all, or only heat it if it’s fresh and you know you’ll use it within a short period of time.
Step 5
Pressing the back of the syringe, slowly release the oil into the vape pen. It is a deep brown in color and has a viscous quality to it, so it won’t pour like a regular liquid. When you add it slowly, you’re filling the vape pen cartridge evenly. As you finish it up, make sure that you don’t spill any oil outside the cartridge. Hold the syringe steadily.
Step 6
Most vape pens have a 1 ml capacity, while the syringe might have a .5 ml capacity. If that’s the case, then after filling it, you’ll have to wait for the oil to finish going into the rest of the cartridge. However, if the capacities for both the vape pen and the syringe are the same, then naturally, you’ll finish filling the cartridge and allowing for the oil to settle as into the lower recesses of the cartridge as you do.
Step 7
Screw on the flattened metal top of the vape cartridge down firmly so it’s in place.
Step 8
Once the oil has settled down to the bottom of the vape pen and where it needs to be, that’s when you can take the bottom protector off and screw the vape pen on to the vape battery, same as a diposable cartridge.
Step 9
Set it vertically, with the battery on the bottom, and give it a few moments to let the coils get saturated with the cannabis oil. Then it’s ready to use.
Step 10
If you’d like to transfer oil from one vape pen cartridge to another, you can also use a syringe to do that. Using the applicator tip on the syringe, suck up the oil in one cartridge and follow the steps above to transfer it to the new vape pen or cartridge.
Easy Oil Changes
This outlined process is simple, easy, and, with the right tools available and care, it can be accomplished in just a few minutes. You might want to invest in several refillable cartridges so you can fill a number of them in one exercise.
If you do fill a number of cartridges to have ready for use, you might want to think about the Cartsdom Roulette to safely store you cartridges, especially if you have a set prepared for travelling.
As a general tip, make sure you clean out the syringe with each use. Cannabis oil is a natural product made from the flowers of the cannabis plant, so it can degrade and form a sticky, wax-like substance that’s almost impossible to get off the interior of the syringe. Wash the syringe out after each time, so that it’s ready to refill the cartridge again.
Another general tip worth mentioning is to clean and maintain your pen and cartridges regularly before refilling. This will give you the best operation and the most from your favourite oil. There are a number of videos out there to show you how to clean the parts of your pen but we chose this one from HoneyStick:
Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. He loved to vape. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
what does full spectrum mean for cbd?
Full spectrum CBD is often called a full or whole plant extract. In a full spectrum extract, the oil goes through the cannabinoid extraction process and filtration, however, none of the cannabinoids or other compounds are removed. While full spectrum CBD does have THC, it does not contain enough THC to get you high.
Informative.
I cannot get enough of my my cbd salve!
Sharing this with grandparents.
Although many oil vape pens are labeled by flavor or effect, some focus on cannabinoid concentration. Aside from the typical high-THC product that most pens offer, some manufacturers offer products containing elevated levels of cannabidiol (CBD). High-CBD pens may or may not contain added flavors, but they do guarantee a ratio of THC to CBD that can range from 2:1 all the way to 20:1 and greater. These types of pens offer great wellness benefits for those looking for CBD in an easy-to-consume product.
I loved your blog post.Much thanks again. Awesome.
Hey Willa, Thanks for sharing and the nice compliment, and for sending the article on to your roommate. Cheers!
How do you heat the product to get it to flow?
Hi Appyman, Thanks for the question 🙂
If you are having trouble getting your oil to flow when refilling a cartridge, try to gently warm the vape pen cartridge so that when the oil hits from the syringe it will flow quickly and smoothly into the chamber. I don’t recommend heating your bottle of oil as heat will shorten the life of the remaining oil that you haven’t used. If you are using a syringe, you could also try gently heating the reservoir chamber of the syringe too. This should fix the problem, if it’s oil based.
If the issue is using a dab pen or one suitable for wax or shatter then it’s very different
The key with the solids is to take a tiny amount of shatter, about the size of a small seed, and place it carefully in the coil chamber on the side against the ceramic bowl and not on top of the coil. You need some air space in the heating chamber so you shouldn’t pack it.
For wax, it’s the same deal but use your tool to ball-up a small amount of wax, about the size of a seed and place it in the chamber in the same way as described before. Now you are ready to attach the mouthpiece attachment, press the heating button as per the direction for the model and take a hit.
One of the annoying issues with vape pens is the residue build that occurs after a time. This can be annoying to try and clean out. A great video demonstrates a neat way to clean your coil back to a pristine condition. You can check it out in the article above.
Hi Tami, Please contact me via the contact form on the main page and this will come to me directly via the website email. Thanks
Very helpful post..! thanks for sharing.
i am a mm patient and would like to refill used cartridges with oil distillate syring. Its thick out of syringe and i can’t get it to fill. Any suggestions on how to get it to flow down into cartridge? Thank you. Email is rvbvanassoc@aol.com
Hi Dennis,
I just sent you the details reponse copy that I wrote for another visitor on the same topic. Just a point with your thick oil. You may have to (slightly) heat your oil to get it to flow better. Note the advice to invert your cart after filling, if you do heat the oil. I don’t like heating cannabis oils as this can degrade their potency, but having said that, you probably don’t need to heat the oil very much, just warm it. You may have issues with oil gumming up your cart though, but I did put a video on cleaning cartridges at the end of the article.
As an alternative, there is another product called “The Cut” that you can use to cut your oil that is relatively new, is being championed as totally safe to use and better than other agents such as PEG PG and MCT, and this maybe another way around the problem for you.
I wrote about this in response to another comment request on making your own distillate oil from flower:
I am going to suggest a product and a dilution. I have no affiliation with the company and product I will suggest, but I will give you the link for their product. They specialise in pure terpenes for cutting CBD oil as an alternative for PG, VG, MCT etc.
The suggested information on dilution is: Highly-refined terpenes that are greater than 98%+ in purity, such as those extracted by LabEffects, are incredibly potent aromatic hydrocarbons. When it comes to terpenes in product formulations, a little goes a long way. You only use .5%-3% in sublingual products such as tinctures and 5%-12% in vape products, respectively. So 5% to 12% would be equivelent to 5ml/12ml terpene oil to 95ml/88ml uncut CBD oil extract.
Lab Effects go on to say about their product: The ‘Holy Grail’ in cannabis product formulation sought after for so many years, was finding a terpene with a very subtle or non-existent aromatic/flavor profile so it could be used in higher concentrations as a pure and natural cutting agent, eliminating the need for all other common and risk-prone product diluents. The Cut™, is that ‘Holy Grail’. A flavorless and scentless pure terpene that you can use as a diluent without overwhelming or harming the consumer.
I suggest using their terpene product to cut your distillate. As stated, I have no affiliation or connection to Lab Effects, but what they have developed may well be the best answer for all home producers of vape juice that wish to avoid using PG or VG. I would suggest contacting them for further information, and check out their website. They are in Colorado. Here is an article on their website specific to your enquiry: https://labeffects.com/buyers-beware-diluted-terpenes-could-be-turning-your-toke-toxic/ In this article they are looking at cutting agents in other terpene products that can be toxic in comparison to the product they produce. Again, I suggest contacting them if you want to know more.
I hope this might help you. I will send these response to your email to make sure you don’t miss them.
Best regards
I am a mm patient and I want to refill empty vape cartridges with distillation oil thst comes in a blunt syringe. I can’t get the oil to flow into the glass tank. Its too thick. Where can i get the long blunt needle used in the video. Or any suggestions how i can get it to flow essier to bottom of tank
Hi Dennis
Sorry for this incredibly late reply, but please see the answer to similar problems that I gave to Luke in reponse to the same article. Copy below:
Hi Luke,
Thanks for the message and I apologise that I have been late responding.
I am sorry to not yet have a better video explaining the steps, and if you are like me and have struggled to fill a vape cartridge in the past without a syringe, you will know that this can be awkward and messy, and can mean potentially losing some of your oil.
The opening of a cartridge is very small, and even using a dropper it is difficult not to lose oil down the outside of the cartridge tank, especially if the cartridge design has the center post to get around as this makes the space between that and the cartridge wall very narrow. I was forever sucking CBD oil of my fingers and wiping it from the outside of the tank when I got my first vape with a refillable cartridge chamber. Wasteful! The key is to get a syringe with a blunt 15 gauge fill needle to make filling easy. These are cheap and you can pick up a pack of 10 at Amazon for around $6:
Amazon example to check: Syringe with a 15 gauge blunt needle for refillin a cartridge.
Finally, to give you a very visual guide on filling a cartridge chamber with a syringe, here are two videos I have located that cover both filling a cartridge with a center post, and without a center post. Note the special tip about inverting the cartridge for a few hours if you heat your oil slightly, to make it run better for the fill. I prefer not to do this personally as heating your oil prematurly can degrade its potency, but some oils can be very thick; so I take the point that this may be sometimes necessary.
How to Fill: Transpring A4 Ceramic Vape Cartridge (an example with NO center post) –
https://youtu.be/TgZKffhLbNE
How to Fill: Transpring A3 Glass Vape Cartridge (an example with a center post) –
https://youtu.be/bD6ACtDcGSQ
Please not also that you must not overfill a cartridge and this means not filling it to the top. There is sometimes a max-fill line on the glass body of the cartridge as a guide, or they will tell you that you how many mls you can fill the cart with. Your syringe will have a milliliter gauge on the side, so for example, if the instruction for the cart is that it only takes 1ml, then fill your syringe to the line on the syringe body for 1ml, or what ever the amount is advised that you can add, then there is no way you can overfill you cart.
Thanks again for the question and wishing you the best for the future! Take care 🙂
I like the step by step instructions. But, I am a visual learner. I got excited when I saw you had a video. The video is just a fancy slide show of the written out steps. SHOW me what the hell it is you’re doing please. I dont know the terminologies either, so a visual of what you’re using would be splendid.
Hi Luke,
Thanks for the message and I apologise that I have been late responding.
I am sorry to not yet have a better video explaining the steps, and if you are like me and have struggled to fill a vape cartridge in the past without a syringe, you will know that this can be awkward and messy, and can mean potentially losing some of your oil.
The opening of a cartridge is very small, and even using a dropper it is difficult not to lose oil down the outside of the cartridge tank, especially if the cartridge design has the center post to get around as this makes the space between that and the cartridge wall very narrow. I was forever sucking CBD oil of my fingers and wiping it from the outside of the tank when I got my first vape with a refillable cartridge chamber. Wasteful! The key is to get a syringe with a blunt 15 gauge fill needle to make filling easy. These are cheap and you can pick up a pack of 10 at Amazon for around $6:
Amazon example to check: Syringe with a 15 gauge blunt needle for refillin a cartridge.
Finally, to give you a very visual guide on filling a cartridge chamber with a syringe, here are two videos I have located that cover both filling a cartridge with a center post, and without a center post. Note the special tip about inverting the cartridge for a few hours if you heat your oil slightly, to make it run better for the fill. I prefer not to do this personally as heating your oil prematurly can degrade its potency, but some oils can be very thick; so I take the point that this may be sometimes necessary.
How to Fill: Transpring A4 Ceramic Vape Cartridge (an example with NO center post) –
https://youtu.be/TgZKffhLbNE
How to Fill: Transpring A3 Glass Vape Cartridge (an example with a center post) –
https://youtu.be/bD6ACtDcGSQ
Please not also that you must not overfill a cartridge and this means not filling it to the top. There is sometimes a max-fill line on the glass body of the cartridge as a guide, or they will tell you that you how many mls you can fill the cart with. Your syringe will have a milliliter gauge on the side, so for example, if the instruction for the cart is that it only takes 1ml, then fill your syringe to the line on the syringe body for 1ml, or what ever the amount is advised that you can add, then there is no way you can overfill you cart.
Thanks again for the question and wishing you the best for the future! Take care 🙂
Warm the syringe in your hand if you have a pair of insulated gloves put one on and slip it in side for a few minutes. Works for me
Thanks for your insight and suggestion Ronnie