Is the Vision Stardust Clearo total garbage or is it just mine?

[luciddisconnect]

I was really excited to have received three vision ego clearomizers in the mail yesterday from sweet-vapes.com. These were to standard resistance 2.5 - 2.9 connected to a 1100 mah KGO battery.

Since testing them out I've entirely changed my tune. They were easy to fill; I used an e liquid syringe so avoid spilling any niquid down the center tube. Twist down the drip tip, make sure the o-ring is still on. Everything should be good.

Wrong. It took a while for the wicks to soak up juice. Initial hit quality was weak. Gradually it got stronger. Then it stopped connecting with the battery. Turns out it was leaking out around the connection to the battery.

Watched a review on youtube and realized that you have to tilt the thing back to really soak the wick next to the atomizer. Figured that I'd just gotten a leaky one and emptied out the first one; filled another one to use in the morning.

It worked fine on the car ride into work. Was getting good vapor and flavor so I figured that it had just needed to soak for longer. Then went outside for a vape midday to discover that clearomizer #2 was also leaking all over my battery.

What the Hell?!

I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong here. Do they leak if you store them lying down? It seems like the most obvious point for it to leak would be the connection between drip tip and clearo. Or could it be the liquid that I'm using which is 100% VG from Virgin Vapors. It also seems like it's more prone to leaking when you hit it facing downwards. I dunno.

So far I'm thinking these things are garbage and I just threw away $18 after shipping and I'm more than a little miffed. The fact that you can only get good hits when it's tilted upwards would almost be enough on its own to turn me off. Arghhhh!

[asha23]

In my opinion they suck. Dry hits. No vapour. Stupid short wicks. Muted flavour. But that's just me. Many people love them.

[Nomoreash]

I bought 2 of them and leaking wasn't an issue with mine but I didn't like them much. The draw was stiff and flavor was muted.

[kellie]

I like Stardust but prefer the long wicks. Too me sounds like they are over filled. I did that once when I first got them

[luciddisconnect]

There's no way I overfilled them. Filled initially to exactly the 1.6 ml line. Then they leaked after a while. Then I cleaned it up with tissues, etc. Then they leaked again. Kept leaking the whole way down to the .4ml mark. I guess they're broken. In any case the device seems too problematic to me to be worth fussing with. I've got some new cartos coming in a few days so I'll be trying my luck with a new product. I guess I shouldn't be impatient in searching for the right thing. It's tempting to buy a bunch of one kind of carto to complete my setup. I'm starting to feel like I've been burned once too many times with e-smoking gear though.

One thing I can say about analogs: The manufacturing quality was always perfect. One pack of overpriced sickly death-sticks which are guaranteed to work with just a lighter. I never once bought a pack of cigarettes that were missing filters or broken in half.

[skelley]

I never had any that leaked out of the bottom..
I also wouldn't say that I hated them as they are the reason I started searching for something better than a carto.
The negatives outweighed the positives, so I moved on to CE2's and now I am enjoying the newer CE3/CV3's.
The draw was to tight; the shell cracked like crazy which would then start leaking and I'm over the whole 'tilt to vape' deal.
The top coil design also would wick certain parts of the juice faster/sooner, leaving the bottom half thick and nasty.

[Forkeh]

They work fine for me. But yeah, you still need to store them vertically. That little gasket cover that covers the wicks, isn't completely liquid tight, or it'd never wick. Therefore, if the clearo is stored on its side, inevitably it will leak.

Tilt to vape isn't a big deal for me. Always had to do that with standard clearos anyway.

[Clovery]

Are they the stardusts with the long wicks (the new version)? I have a few of those from sweet-vapes and 2 out of 3, the top metal bands were loose. This caused the silicone seal underneath the metal band to become dislodged/loose and then caused really poor draw and leaking. (I'm not talking about the o-ring that goes around the mouthpiece, or the rounded "cap" that goes over the top of the metal tube inside the actual tank part.) If your top metal bands are loose, try pulling the whole thing off (with the mouthpiece on). Look underneath the metal band, there should be a flat silicone ring, like a gasket, beneath it - it needs to be seated flat. Once you get it in the right position, use a bit of super glue to affix the metal band in place. I figured out this was the problem with mine and it's worked well for me.

Don't give up on vaping just because you don't like a particular piece of hardware - there are so many options out there. I am a fan of the stardusts, but I also really like these phoenix flux clearos and the V2 vivi nova.

[MonsterTKE]

One thing I can say about analogs: The manufacturing quality was always perfect. One pack of overpriced sickly death-sticks which are guaranteed to work with just a lighter. I never once bought a pack of cigarettes that were missing filters or broken in half.

Well, by all means, go back to smoking. Cause comparing a paper tube with plants rolled up inside is totally equivalent to batteries, micro-controllers, switches, tanks, atomizers and liquid.

I havent had much of a problem with Ce4s, other than occasional condensation leaking and slightly muted flavor.

It seems that I have some juices that are great in a clearomizer, not so great in carts or Ce3s, and I have some juice that is good in a cart but not a Ce3 or Ce4, then I have some that arent good any way but dripping. So it is a matter of having a bunch of stuff around and figuring out what works well with what.

[luciddisconnect]

Well, by all means, go back to smoking. Cause comparing a paper tube with plants rolled up inside is totally equivalent to batteries, micro-controllers, switches, tanks, atomizers and liquid.

The analogy was more about quality control than comparative anatomy. I've got an Ipod from three or four years ago that still works great, holds a charge, and I can play tilt action marble video games on it. Are you telling me that people can invent a device like that but they can't invent a leak-free liquid heating tank. Apparently, though, my experience is the exception rather than the rule.

Yes, I'll be dabbling with other carto / clearo systems. Not terribly happy about wasting what little spare cash I have though.