How to Smoke a Vape Cartridge with No Battery

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Powering a cart with a USB cable, or extracting oil to use in a pipe

Co-authored by Luke Smith, MFA

Last Updated: December 15, 2024 Fact Checked

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Using a USB Cable

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Extracting Oil from a Cart

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Video

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Tips

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Warnings

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Things You'll Need

Vape carts are one of the most convenient and discreet ways to consume cannabis, at least until your battery dies or you forget the pen at home and find yourself with just a spare cart. Don’t give up on that vape session just yet, though. We’ll show you how to hit a cart using nothing more than a basic USB cable and some household tools to tide you over until you get a new battery or pen. If that’s not your style, we’ll also give you a way to extract the oil from the cart to use in more traditional ways, so that none of it goes to waste.

Things You Should Know

Cut off the end of an unplugged Android USB cable (USB 3.0 or C), where the cable plugs into your phone. Use scissors to strip the outer casing of the wire.
Use nail clippers to expose 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of the black and red wires. Insert the end of the black wire into the hole at the base of the cart.
Touch the red wire to the metal on the outside of the cart, then plug the other end of the cable into a laptop to activate the cart. Take a pull, then unplug the cable.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using a USB Cable

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1
Cut off the phone-charging end of a USB cable. Make sure the USB cable is unplugged, first! Use scissors to cut off the end of the cable that you’d stick into your phone.^{[1]
X
Research source} Find an old cable you don’t need, since you won’t be able to use it again after this.
- For this method, the USB cable must be an Android cable (USB 3.0 or USB C). IPhone cables are wired differently and won’t provide the spark you need.
- Always practice caution when working with electrical wires. While not strong enough to cause serious injury, a live USB wire may still give you a bit of a shock if handled improperly. Never cut a plugged-in cable.
2
Trim away the rubber or plastic cable sleeve. With your scissors, make a shallow incision all the way around the cable about 2–3 in (5.1–7.6 cm) from the end you cut off, slicing through the cable’s protective sleeve but keeping the wires inside intact.^{[2]
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Research source} Then, slide off the end of the sleeve, exposing the wires inside.
- All USB cables have a red and a black wire. Your cable might also have a green or white wire, but these aren’t necessary for this method—use your scissors to cut them away.
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3
Use a nail trimmer or wire strippers to strip the black and red wires. One at a time, and with a more delicate tool, carefully pinch the coating of the interior wires, about 0.5 in (1.3 cm) from the end.^{[3]
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Research source} Then, pull the coating off the end using your nail trimmers to expose the bare wire underneath.
- To use wire strippers, place the end of the wire inside the smallest hole on the stripper’s teeth, then pull the strippers along the wire toward the end.
- Be careful not to cut through the wire itself! If you do, simply use your scissors to expose more of the wire further down the cable, then try again.
Find the small hole on the bottom on your cart, where it would typically connect to a pen. Feed the stripped end of the black wire into this hole, making sure that the exposed wire is as far in as you can. If you like, hold it in place with some electrical tape.^{[4]
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Research source}
5
Touch the end of the red wire to the metal on the cart. Take the exposed end of the red wire and touch it to any metal section on the cart itself. The base of the cart is typically made of metal, so that’ll do fine.^{[5]
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Research source} Now that both wires are connected, the cart will get power once the USB cord is plugged in.
- Be careful not to touch the exposed ends of the wire together, which may create sparks or cause a small shock.
6
Plug in the USB cable and hit the cart. Connect the intact end of the USB cable to a device like a laptop. As soon as it’s plugged in, your cart is activated.^{[6]
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Research source} Take a hit from the cart, then immediately unplug the cable to conserve your oil, since the plugged-in cable is continuously providing power and heating the oil inside the cart. Plug it back in when you’re ready to take another hit.
- Avoid plugging the cable into a wall charger, as these tend to provide a stronger electrical current, which may damage your cart, or even cause injury.
- If the cart won’t hit with this method, it probably has some electrical defect and can’t be hit at all. Extract the oil from the cart instead to use it in a pipe or a joint.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Extracting Oil from a Cart

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Before you can get at that precious oil trapped inside, you need to get rid of the mouthpiece blocking the way. Simply unscrew the mouthpiece on most carts to expose the top of the cart underneath.^{[7]
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Research source} If it can’t be unscrewed, try prying it off with pliers. If that doesn’t work, it may be time to get a new cart altogether.
2
Heat the cart with a hair dryer for 1-2 minutes. Place the cart on a flat surface and hold a hair dryer about 1 ft (0.30 m) away from it on low heat.^{[8]
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Research source} This heats the oil in the cart just enough to make it a bit looser and able to be extracted. Heat the cart until the oil flows easily.
- Alternatively, place the cart in a sealed plastic bag, then place the bag in a bowl of hot water for 5 minutes to loosen the oil.
- Note that some cartridges don’t have a cap with a hole keeping the oil in, and removing the mouthpiece may give you direct access to the oil. If this is the case, keep the mouthpiece on until it’s time to extract the oil.
3
Use a syringe needle to extract the oil from the cartridge. Push the lever of the syringe all the way down. Then stick the syringe needle through the small hole at the opening at the top of the cartridge, until the needle is touching the oil inside. Pull the syringe’s lever to retrieve the oil.^{[9]
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Research source} Shift it around a bit as you do to make sure you get every last drop.
- If your cart doesn't have a cap, skip the syringe and simply stand the cart upside-down in a small dish, like a medicine cup, to let the oil drip down and collect in the cup.
Now that you’ve freed the oil from your cart, use it any number of ways. Add a drop of oil to the dab nail on a bong (or just to a packed bowl) to smoke it, or add a drop to your hash when you roll a joint for an enhanced pull. Alternatively, add 3-4 drops to your recipes when making marijuana cookies or making weed brownies for a more intense edible.

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Tips

The best (and easiest) solution is simply to charge your vape pen, or to buy one with a working battery.

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Warnings

Never try to manually heat a cart with a lighter, since many carts are made of plastic and can emit toxic fumes when exposed to extreme heat.

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When working with live electrical wires, there’s always a chance for electrical shock. Work carefully, and wear sturdy gloves to avoid injury.

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