Wholesale Cartridge Resource

If you have come across our site, you likely are pretty familiar with what vape cartridges are, however the specifications that make different models unique are important to know when choosing one to package your oil with. Getting the right cartridge is a significant step that shouldn’t be minimized, and maximizes the quality of your product with the end user. You don’t want to ruin all of the work that has gone into making your product and developing your brand by putting it in a unregulated, leaky, or low quality cart. We have seen that result in angry customers, dispensaries recommending competitors, and huge loss in profits.

Finding a dependable and trustworthy source for wholesale vape cartridges is just as important. Cooljarz has been in the business of making the best vape cartridge filling machines, so we know a thing or two about cartridges through experience. We worked with our preferred wholesale vape cartridge supplier, O2VAPE, to compile a complete resource and help you choose the right cartridge for your brand. For information on their sourcing services see their wholesale vape page.

Our vape cartridge resource will help you answer the following questions:

• Cartridge Primer: What are vape cartridges and what are they used for?
• Features and Specs: What are the different types of cartridges?
• Safety: Why is a well controlled supply chain important?
• Risk Mitigation: What are some things I need to be aware of before choosing a cart?
• Cooljarz Recommendation: Where should I start my search for a reputable wholesaler?

What Are Vape Cartridges?

Vape cartridges are broadly compatible vessels that are used to hold a liquid, extract, distillate or oil, that when operated properly, heat the substance to a proper vaporization point, allowing a user to inhale the vapor without burning a substance to a point of combustion. The majority of these vape pen cartridges utilize a 510 thread design which is compatible with a wide variety of 510 batteries. However, this almost universal connectivity does not mean that every cartridge is going to work well with every substance, or with every battery. When choosing a cartridge, it’s important to understand the different types, levels of quality, and specs that will work best with certain viscosities, and with different battery voltages. Choosing the wrong cartridge for your batch can cost you significant money in product loss, and cause you significant value in brand perception with a bad end product.

Here are the important features and specs you NEED to know.

What’s the difference between vape cartridges?

O2VAPE provided a bit of history on how the design and technology in oil vape cartridges over the past 7 years. Learn more about the advances and how to choose the right specs.

The Beginning Of 510 Carts:

Initially, the standard was wicked plastic cartridges utilized a carbon fiber, cotton or fiberglass wick with an exposed heating element. These are often housed in plastic or poly carbonate sleeves and were extremely low quality and prone to leaking from the plug and from the connection point. Filling them was very difficult due to the small openings and they were easily burned out by any battery higher than 3.3 volts.

Plastic Cartridge Considerations:

• Carbon Fiber/ Fiberglass Wicks
• Plastic or poly carbonate sleeve
• Low quality vapor
• Prone to leaking
• Avoid these for packaging, Not worth the savings

Improved quality with glass 510 carts:

The next upgrade to oil vape cartridge technology was an improvement in the outer housing, 510 connection, tip, internal seals and tip fill design. This improved the look and feel and allowed manufacturers to more easily fill the cartridge and moved to safer, higher quality materials. The more sturdy design lead to a decrease in breakage and the improved tip closure system reduced leakage rates resulting in an overall higher quality product with a better product perception by the end user.

However, these were still restricted to lower voltage batteries and the risk of burning out due to the heating elements which used cotton, fiberglass or carbon fiber wicks and external heating elements.

Wicked glass vape cartridges are still popular and work well with lower voltage batteries and many work well with filling machines, however, it is important that customers understand the limitations of battery voltages and that extractors pair these with the right batteries when selling kits. It is also important that extractors are choosing the right “internal hole size” with these carts.

Glass Cartridge Considerations:

• Carbon Fiber, Cotton or Fiberglass Wicks
• Improved Glass Casing and Chrome Tip
• Easier to fill
• Use only with lower voltage batteries
• Lower leakage/ breakage rates
• Use only when providing proper voltage battery

Ceramic Cartridges: Vapor quality game changer

As of 2016 a big improvement to cartridge heating element technology improved the quality of the end product drastically. By utilizing ceramic core heating elements cartridge manufacturers were able to improve taste, reduce burning and increase the ability to choose a cartridge that is exactly right for your oil viscosity and terpene profile.

Features such as varying internal intake hole sizes allow best performance with a broad range of oil viscosities. You will want to consult with the wholesaler to ensure that you get this specification right. Other upgrades are also available such as variable airflow carbs, larger capacities and 510 to magnetic adapters are all options, creating maximum compatibility. These are also able to work with a range of 3.2 volts up to 4.8. We personally recommend lower settings for enhanced flavor, to each their own though, as these cartridges are able to handle higher voltages without burning out. An important thing to consider is that some “ceramic cartridges” may still utilize external coils. Look for internal coils where the ceramic element is the only thing in contact with the oil for the optimal end product. The final recommendation we have is to spring for a thicker glass sleeve. We see thin glass sleeves on cheaper options that snap easily, leading to poor customer reviews and dispensaries recommending other products even if the oil is superior.

Ceramic Cartridge Buying Considerations:

• The best quality vapor available
• Ensure recent heavy metals testing is completed
• Confirm heating element is internal rather than external
• Look for thicker glass sleeves
• Choose the right internal intake hole size
• Consider Variable airflow models
• Best used with variable voltage 510 batteries

Ceramic Disposable Vape Pens

A final option to consider is a disposable vape pen. Sometimes referred to as a vape stick, prefill battery or single use vape pen. These were historically poor quality and had an extremely short shelf life, leading to product losses and upset customers. There are now rechargeable versions with improved ceramic cartridge technology, child safety features and a better look and feel. These versions are definitely worth considering as a method of packaging your oil in a ready to consume way that is super convenient for the end user and can increase your total profit margin.

Disposable vape pen considerations:

• Ceramic heating element is available
• Choose rechargeable feature for added shelf life
• Decide if child safety features are necessary
• Opt for a higher MAH to avoid batteries dying before oil is used
• Creative branding options are available out there

Safety: Finding a good source for safe vape empty vape cartridges

The most popular is not always the best in our opinion. The most well known manufacturer and distributer of Ceramic Cell cartridges has experienced issues with quality and with heavy metal toxicity within the past year (2018). This is somewhat common with poor supply chain control and lax pre market testing. Metals such as lead, cadmium or mercury have also frequently been found in products coming from exporters at the low end of the price ranges on alibaba and dhgate as well.

Having toxic levels of these heavy metals leaching into oils as the cartridge begins being used is irresponsible and would put your company a risk of getting pulled off shelves, or in potential legal jeopardy. We recommend ensuring that thorough safety testing has been completed and is available to you, and that you are getting the exact cartridges that were tested. Ask your distributor for test results.

Risk Mitigation: What are some things I need to be aware of before choosing a cart?

Choosing a cartridge that is high quality mitigates your risk in myriad ways. It also increases your brand perception and your customers satisfaction. Choosing the wrong cartridges can lead to wasted product that leaks, doesn’t hit well, doesn’t work with certain batteries and can taste horrible. It can even lead to legal problems if the carts don’t pass FDA approval. We said it earlier and we are going to reiterate, make sure you have legitimate lab testing results on the model cart you are looking to purchase prior to ordering 50,000 of them.

The last thing is to have a very high level of confidence in your wholesaler when sourcing. This should require quality control and a QA process in between the manufacturer and the product getting to you. Branding options that will help your product stand out and not look cheap when it’s ready to fill. It also means experience with customs, pricing and order cycles.

Wholesale Vape Sourcing: How can I find a dependable and trustworthy seller?

We refer our customers directly to O2VAPE who are one of the leading vape pen product wholesale sourcing specialists in the states. Since they have proven over time that they represent their clients effectively. The cartridges that they provide are extensively tested and they publish their results publicly on the site. Prices are always fair and with consideration to tariff markups we are seeing with some companies, they are often times lower. They offer a wide range of options and they seem to have the latest features before the market catches up. Additionally, they approach the sales process with a consultative direction that ensures each customer is getting the right product, even if it means talking them into something less expensive. They also have low minimums on branded and wholesale vape cartridges. The final thing that we have seen is that O2VAPE normally operates with a turnaround time that is close to half that of other major distributors. We’ve gotten fantastic feedback form our clients experiences with their customer service, quality and level of attention that they provide to their clients. If you have questions we recommend you reach out to them at https://o2vape.com/vape-pens-wholesale/ and please let them know where you found them.

If you need containers for your vape cartridges please checkout our 68mm vape cartridge tube container. To learn more about our vape cartridge tubes and pre roll tubes, checkout this blog.