Mini-pipe, Second Impression

[Walrus]

Ok... it's day two. The honeymoon isn't over, but the mother-in-law is tagging along.

I really like the mini-pipe. But I really want to love it more.

I have no issues with it's vapor, throat hit, form, or functionality. I don't think the shortcomings are part of the pipe itself.

It's got more to do with the batteries. Reviews I saw prior to purchasing were making claims like "screwdriver contender if not killer" and "six to eight hours on a battery." If the Screwdriver performs like this, I want to cancel my order now... but I don't think it does.

On a completely charged battery, I managed 4-5 hours. Hey, that's pretty good, right? Better than a 901... but hell, about the same as my pen. And here's the kicker: It takes longer than that to recharge the spare battery. Without fail, the battery in my pipe is dead before the one in my charger is green. The answer, you might say, is to have two spare batteries... but I say 'only if you have two chargers.' You pretty much would need to keep three in rotation.

Where can you get this type of charger? Probably in the same mythical place that you can buy extra batteries. Better yet, is there a speed charger available for this type of battery?

My last gripe (for now): I'm not sure if all reviews claim this, but one popular reviewer (who has lately become suspect) stated in his review that there is no cutoff on these... and that you could drag forever. He must have some pretty pathetic lung power. Maybe it's all the time I spent in hospitals sucking on one of those lung capacity thingies, but I reach cutoff every single time around 6 seconds, or just when I'm getting a good lung full. (I was going to put a comment here that was filled with innuendo about stopping just sort of satisfaction, but decided against it. Use your imagination.) It's not a deal breaker, but it was a disappointment.

Overall, it's still number one until I get my e-cigar and Screwdriver delivered. But then, it has to be. It seems that all three of my 901 atomizers all of a sudden don't work (and are being warranty replaced) and conversely, my pen-style batteries decided to go on strike (also being warranty replaced)... so unless I can MacGuyver a way into using an 801 atomizer on a 901 battery, I'm screwed into sucking on partial mini-pipe batteries until a solution comes along.

Your mileage may vary.

[ritalee76]

Call me tomorrow.. I have several extra 901 atomizers you can borrow

Don't want you limping around on half-ass equipment

[Walrus]

Originally Posted by ritalee76

Call me tomorrow.. I have several extra 901 atomizers you can borrow

Don't want you limping around on half-ass equipment

LOL, thanks Rita... you are my heroine. Supposedly, my e-cigar from Parked should be in the mail tomorrow. But you may hear from me

[ted26]

I use this charger with a metal spacer as they dont fit properly (2 hrs charge time), when taking a drag just hold off slightly to reset the timer and then drag again while shes still red hot

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251

And battery life depends on how much you vape and all i have found is that they hold recharge well unlike the penstyle, mine are as good as the day i got em (3 weeks).

4 hours is pretty good in this game.

[ApOsTle51]

Originally Posted by Walrus

so unless I can MacGuyver a way into using an 801 atomizer on a 901 battery, I'm screwed into sucking on partial mini-pipe batteries until a solution comes along.

drum roll...tadaaa

[Walrus]

Originally Posted by ted26

I use this charger with a metal spacer as they dont fit properly (2 hrs charge time), when taking a drag just hold off slightly to reset the timer and then drag again while shes still red hot

DealExtreme: $12.46 UltraFire 3.6/3.7V Battery Charger

And battery life depends on how much you vape and all i have found is that they hold recharge well unlike the penstyle, mine are as good as the day i got em (3 weeks).

4 hours is pretty good in this game.

Thanks! Looks good, what are you using for a spacer?

[surbitonPete]

I brought another battery charger and four batteries..you really do need to have the ability to charge more than one battery at the same time otherwise you can easily end up with no batteries charged...I think the mini pipe is great but I still have issues with atomizers not producing ton's of vapour for for very long for me....and all I can say is that I must be doing 'something' different to all the people who have atomizers that last for months ....but I have yet to work out what exactly it is.

[Walrus]

Originally Posted by ApOsTle51

drum roll...tadaaa

Should'a figured it'd been done. What kind of black magic did you have to do to make it work?

[EDO]

Pete are you overfilling your carts? I have noticed that the pipe vapes like crazy when you got the right amount of liquid. If you drip or over fill the cart...it chokes the atomizer. It seems to me the atomizer on this run much cooler that other 801 atomizers. So when filling I use a needle....fill the cart all the way up...then any liquid on top that is extra I soak away with a tissue. The way I fill it...the end result looks like a factory pre-filled cart.

Walrus....you really need an extra charger. I go through 5-6 batteries a day. I always have one in the chamber and one spare one on me at all times. I thought I vaped heavy but you hit the cut off every time...wow that is hard core. What Ted said about how to smoke it... is the way to go.

[surbitonPete]

Hey edo... I have no problems at all for a few days with a 'new' atomizer but for some reason after that the performance drops dramatically and I keep trying every method I read about or can think of to get them to work like new again but so far nothing has really succeeded. At the moment I feel baffled how so many people seem to manage to get months out of an atomizer.