Oh boy, I have a lot of questions

[nullvoid]

Greetings all. I've been using Blu for about eight months. I was initially in love with ease of use and taste, but I realized that I was spending a lot on cartridges (they seemed to go stale, taste awful, halfway through use an I would throw them away.) I was essentially using a cartridge a day, and at $12 for five, it wasn't a good deal.


I stopped at a place in the mall and got an Ego starter kit. The guy that sold it to me gave me no info how to use it. It's made of four pieces, the battery, atomizer, cartridge and some sort of cover shell thing if that explains which one I have. The salesguy opened it for me, blew out the atomizer, took out a cartridge and threw some cotton like material that was in it, away, added two drops to the mesh material in the atomizer and said I was ready to go. Later that day, twice, I put two or three drops directly on the mesh in the atomizer thinking that was how it worked. I'm worried I broke something.

After watching a few videos, I suspect that this was not correct. I can't be 100% sure because all the videos were reviews of the product, not tutorials.

At home, I opened another one of the wrapped carriages, it had a sweet tobacco sent in the mesh filter... And it hit me. This is likely where you put the juice! I washed the tobacco one, until clean, put it back and put a few drops of the red bull flavor I purchased. It was much better but still not perfect.

I here are my questions that I can't seem to find anywhere else, but after reading several of stickies, I may have answered some, but if I'm wrong, please tell me! They are indicated by the italics:
1) How many fills can I put in my cotton mesh thing in the cartridge before I replace it?
1.1) Where do I get mesh replacements if necessary?
1.2) Is it acceptable to "top off" in the morning with juice?

It seems like this is common?​

1.3) How long should a full cartridge last? It seems like it dries out very quickly, before the day is over, even after a 30 minutes of use total throughout the day.


2) How will I know when to replace the atomizer?

Burnt tase?​

2.1) The spartan instruction book says not to use vertically, does this mean I can't use the flat end to let it stand up on my desk?
2.2) Maintenance? It seems like I have lots of smoke juice everywhere when I take everything apart. If I take the cover shell thing off, there is leaking smoke juice coming from where the cartridge and atomizer. When I take the cartridge off, there is smoke juice condensation on the cartridge.


3) I get 2-3 very good hits, then all the following ones seem light, tasteless and lacking. The only way I can get back to the good hits is waiting for an extended period of time or immediately put another two or three drops in the cart. With blu, I could get good, consistent drags for as long as the battery was good. I'm really concerned about this one, cause I love nothing more than surfing the web and absentmindedly smoking for hours. It just feels like I have to refill the cart every hour or so, even with what I would consider is considerable light use.
3.1) If I keep going after 2-3 hits, I stop getting any flavor and start, instead, getting a really harsh burning feeling and essentially zero vapor.


My habits: I would wake up, use blu while reading the news. Go to work, vape during my entire two fifteen minute breaks, but rarely during lunch. At night, there's a good chance I'll vape while surfing the web, but it is either a lot or very little depending on how I'm feeling that day. When I smoked, it was maybe at most two a day. Since vaping is easier and tastes better, I do it more than smoke.


Thanks for the help.

 

[NeoLythic]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Sounds like you're using the cartridges, which unfortunately I'm not very familiar with. I think its okay to top them off throughout the day, but one of the drawbacks to those is that they don't last very long. Depending on how much you vape anyway.

There's definitely a learning curve with these e cigs!


This forum is awash with information and lots of knowledgble folk. Someone is bound to answer with more info on what you're using.

 

[nullvoid]

If others don't use cartridges, what do they use?

 

[Ladypixel]

I'm still using cartridges (although I am eagerly waiting for my eGo-T and my 510 with empty carts to show up). I'm not using Blu brand, but some weird generic that my husband picked up for me (automatic batteries, et al). Those are comparable to the mall-cart options, although the carts in the mall are ridiculous-expensive for what you're getting.

What the guy was doing (by the by, if your device looks like a cigarette in shape/size, it's not an eGo) when he dripped on there was priming your atomizer. It's a common practice. The 'filter' is your cartridge, and should be where the juice (aka e-liquid) goes.

Yes, you can totally refill your cartridges. Just put a drop or three directly into that filler material you mentioned. I also prime the atomizer's surface every time I refill. As I've been trying to avoid overfilling (because I discovered upon overfilling the cartridge once that juice tastes horrible when it hits the tongue undiluted without becoming vape), I tend to err on the side of less rather than more, but I've gotten it down to a fine science at this point. When the flavor starts greatly reducing, I add another drop or two to the filler material and re-prime my atomizer (I do not directly drip onto my atomizer, but instead very carefully just lubricate its surface, as my ecig doesn't have a sealed battery and I don't want the atomizer to leak onto the battery). If you do not know if your ecig has a sealed battery or not, the way you can find out is simple: do you have to push a button to produce vapor, or do you just inhale? If it's the latter, you do NOT have a sealed battery, so you have to be very cautious when priming your atomizer.

Cartridges are one option. There are also tanks that work with special atomizers so you have a lot of e-liquid in a single tank, as well as what's called cartomizers - cartomizers are effectively chambers which house both atomizer and the cartridge in one unit. It really depends on the make of the e-cig you've got as to what options are available.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ladypixel]

Oh, and one more thing: if you're using the same flavor over and over when refilling your cartridge, you should be able to keep filling it for a while. I've got one cartridge I've been refilling a drop or three at a time for a week now, and it still works just fine, so I have no clue how long I'll be able to keep refilling it. As I've got other ecigs en-route now, though, I may never find out.

 

[nullvoid]

I'm still using cartridges (although I am eagerly waiting for my eGo-T and my 510 with empty carts to show up). I'm not using Blu brand, but some weird generic that my husband picked up for me (automatic batteries, et al). Those are comparable to the mall-cart options, although the carts in the mall are ridiculous-expensive for what you're getting.

What the guy was doing (by the by, if your device looks like a cigarette in shape/size, it's not an eGo) when he dripped on there was priming your atomizer. It's a common practice. The 'filter' is your cartridge, and should be where the juice (aka e-liquid) goes.

Yes, you can totally refill your cartridges. Just put a drop or three directly into that filler material you mentioned. I also prime the atomizer's surface every time I refill. As I've been trying to avoid overfilling (because I discovered upon overfilling the cartridge once that juice tastes horrible when it hits the tongue undiluted without becoming vape), I tend to err on the side of less rather than more, but I've gotten it down to a fine science at this point. When the flavor starts greatly reducing, I add another drop or two to the filler material and re-prime my atomizer (I do not directly drip onto my atomizer, but instead very carefully just lubricate its surface, as my ecig doesn't have a sealed battery and I don't want the atomizer to leak onto the battery). If you do not know if your ecig has a sealed battery or not, the way you can find out is simple: do you have to push a button to produce vapor, or do you just inhale? If it's the latter, you do NOT have a sealed battery, so you have to be very cautious when priming your atomizer.

Cartridges are one option. There are also tanks that work with special atomizers so you have a lot of e-liquid in a single tank, as well as what's called cartomizers - cartomizers are effectively chambers which house both atomizer and the cartridge in one unit. It really depends on the make of the e-cig you've got as to what options are available.

Hope this helps!

I have stopped using blu in lieu of getting this although I've found that I can put my blu cartridges (or cartomizers?) on my battery! Weird.

I've probed these forums and found that my device looks exactly like an ego tornado. Button and all. Does that help?

 

[Ladypixel]

Helps a LOT. You should be able to drip directly onto the atomizer in that case (sealed battery, yay). However, if you're having too much leakage when you do that, you may want to opt for only one, maybe two drops of liquid onto the atomizer until you lose flavor. Direct dripping like this does, in fact, take a lot more maintenance, but many people seem to get better flavor out of it.

If you're using cartomizers, you don't actually need a separate atomizer at all, so if they fit on your Tornado battery, you -may- be able to use them there. If you're using the atomizer w/cartridge, however, you do need to try to keep your cartridge filled.

There's different variations on the eGo. I admit that most of what I've been studying up on (as I wait for mine to get here) is the eGo-T, or the tank-style, and the tornado's a bit different in operation, so other people may have a better concept of tips or tricks to use with that. I would say, however, that you should be able to direct-drip onto the atomizer, but that you should experiment a bit with filling the cartridges, too.

 

[Ladypixel]

I also highly recommend watching some of the YouTube videos out there. I went through a lot of "Doctor Vapor" YouTube vids (a link to his videos is: DoctorVapor's Channel - YouTube ) and watched his basic intro to vaping videos. He does, at times, use a tornado. Other videos are available, but they tend to reference specific questions rather than just a general intro.

 

[nullvoid]

Helps a LOT. You should be able to drip directly onto the atomizer in that case (sealed battery, yay). However, if you're having too much leakage when you do that, you may want to opt for only one, maybe two drops of liquid onto the atomizer until you lose flavor. Direct dripping like this does, in fact, take a lot more maintenance, but many people seem to get better flavor out of it.

If you're using cartomizers, you don't actually need a separate atomizer at all, so if they fit on your Tornado battery, you -may- be able to use them there. If you're using the atomizer w/cartridge, however, you do need to try to keep your cartridge filled.

There's different variations on the eGo. I admit that most of what I've been studying up on (as I wait for mine to get here) is the eGo-T, or the tank-style, and the tornado's a bit different in operation, so other people may have a better concept of tips or tricks to use with that. I would say, however, that you should be able to direct-drip onto the atomizer, but that you should experiment a bit with filling the cartridges, too.

Good to know that I didn't break anything by dripping directly on the atomizer. By what I gather, this the way to get the best flavors and vapor, but tedious for extended use. With that in mind, is it normal to have to constantly fill the mesh thing in the cartridge several times a day? It's actually about the same size as a blu cartomizer, shouldn't I expect about the same amount of life out of it (2-3 days with my use).

My kit came with several pre-filled cartridges with silicone caps. Do some people fill their own, cap them and switch out during the day?

PS: Thanks for being so helpful!

 

[elfstone]

Hello and welcome!

I'm sure people who are more experienced than me will help you soon.

I'm not sure what cartomizers the Blu uses, but your eGo will take what's called "510" cartomizers. You can go ahead and buy some blank cartomizers. You will be able to fill them with your juice. They perform the function of both the atomizer and the cartridge, they are easier to fill and use, and they are cheap enough so you can throw them away when the go bad. Watch this: A PBusardo Review : Boge 510 LR Carto Vs. Smok Tech 510 LR Dual Coil Mega Carto - YouTube

There are a lot of other options for the eGo, for instance what Ladypixel mentioned - atomizer-tank systems. Those employ a different type of atomizer with a little spike that goes into a tank that holds the juice (no filler material).

You can keep trying to do what the mall guy did. That would be called direct dripping, and a lot of people swear by it. Someone will be able to help you if you cannot do it right, but basically all you do is drip 2-3 dops of liquid directly onto the atomizer, use a cartridge with the filler removed as a tip, and that should last for a few drags, then you do it again. Check this thread: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...6-all-my-fellow-new-vapers-dripping-easy.html and this explanation video What is Direct Dripping? - YouTube

 

[Ladypixel]

I'll be honest: I don't have quite enough experience to say what's "normal" yet. With this said outright, I do know that the prefills have a certain amount of liquid inside of them that fits the manufacturer specs as to how much fits in there. The problem is that they don't tell us end users how much that is, so I can't give you an amount to work from. I can tell you that my husband (who uses a cartomizer system) can fit a lot more into his larger cartomizers than I can fit into my mini/cigarette-size cartridges, and so I'm regularly filling where he's more prone to filling up his carto and enjoying it all day long.

You can fill and cap off your cartridges and take them with you -- that's pretty common. But what I and my husband both tend to do at this point is to have one filled cartridge on-hand, capped off; one on the battery for right-now use, and a bottle of juice of our preferred flavor along with us. (He actually brings three sample-sized bottles with him and swaps out a lot more than I do, where I tend to keep one flavor for the day.) If I'm going somewhere where I don't think I'll have time to put a few extra drops into the cartridge, I just take a couple cartridges I've filled, along with an extra battery (your eGo shouldn't have the battery life issues that my minis have), and I'm generally good to go.

 

[nullvoid]

Hello and welcome!

I'm sure people who are more experienced than me will help you soon.

I'm not sure what cartomizers the Blu uses, but your eGo will take what's called "510" cartomizers. You can go ahead and buy some blank cartomizers. You will be able to fill them with your juice. They perform the function of both the atomizer and the cartridge, they are easier to fill and use, and they are cheap enough so you can throw them away when the go bad. Watch this: A PBusardo Review : Boge 510 LR Carto Vs. Smok Tech 510 LR Dual Coil Mega Carto - YouTube

This is probably exactly what I'm looking for. It looks like these refillable cartomizers reduce the mess and are way easier.
Now I just have to find a place to order some and wait. Stuff like this just can't be easy, can it?

 

[nullvoid]

I'll be honest: I don't have quite enough experience to say what's "normal" yet. With this said outright, I do know that the prefills have a certain amount of liquid inside of them that fits the manufacturer specs as to how much fits in there. The problem is that they don't tell us end users how much that is, so I can't give you an amount to work from. I can tell you that my husband (who uses a cartomizer system) can fit a lot more into his larger cartomizers than I can fit into my mini/cigarette-size cartridges, and so I'm regularly filling where he's more prone to filling up his carto and enjoying it all day long.

You can fill and cap off your cartridges and take them with you -- that's pretty common. But what I and my husband both tend to do at this point is to have one filled cartridge on-hand, capped off; one on the battery for right-now use, and a bottle of juice of our preferred flavor along with us. (He actually brings three sample-sized bottles with him and swaps out a lot more than I do, where I tend to keep one flavor for the day.) If I'm going somewhere where I don't think I'll have time to put a few extra drops into the cartridge, I just take a couple cartridges I've filled, along with an extra battery (your eGo shouldn't have the battery life issues that my minis have), and I'm generally good to go.

By the sound of things. I don't have a cartomizer. I have an atomizer and a separate mouthpiece that doesn't fill from the draw end, it fills from the other side with a mesh material. What your husband does sounds like exactly what I'm looking for, but it means I have to wait and order something else now as the mall kiosk does not have anything like that.

 

[elfstone]

It's actually pretty easy. It's a little overwhelming in the begining, but this too shall pass

You can take a look a the Forum Suppliers List or just google Boge LR cartomizers. Maybe someone knows cheaper sources, I bought from three different places so far, usually bundling with my juices to save on shipping. The last three places I used were MadVapes (they're out of stock), Vapor God and this: Crystal Clear Vaping

 

[crazybones]

I had a ton of questions about 4 hours ago before i found this site. Now the only question i have left is where i will order from thanks to all the helpful peple here

 

[dearme]

If you want to continue using cartridges until your cartomizers arrive, there is a mod using Pyramid Tea Bags (must be these, not regular tea bags) to replace the filler. They were emptied of tea, sealed end cut off, rolled into a tube, folded in half, and then stuck into the cartridge., folded end down. It held more juice than the original filler and was cheap to use and replace. There was a YouTube video you might search for. It might still be there even though cartridges are not widely used now.

 

[Coil]

You pretty much have a "drip" setup just with a cart instead of a drip tip. Cartridges are something that come with many kits and pretty much get tossed to the side. There's MANY different, "BETTER" options out there for ya

If you like direct dripping on the atomizer like you have been which is what I like doing when I use an Ego then buy a Drip tip. They're pretty in-expensive and come in all sorts of shapes, colors etc. to give your PV a personal touch.

BTW do you know if it is a 510 or 901 Ego? Should say on the box somewhere...

The burning taste sounds like you might be overdripping or your atty "atomizer" could be gunked up. If you have 2 of them try soaking one in a shot glass full of vodka overnight. Blow it out from the open end, let dry and try it out. If you don't have any vodka just blow out the excess juice in a paper towel/ napkin/ shirt etc... and drip 3 drops on the atty and let it sit for about 10 sec. Hit your ego and if it tastes bland add 1 more drop and you should be good.

Your best bet is to use a Low res. atty on your ego to get the best flavor and vapor production. You can pick them up for about $7 a piece. Well worth it.

*Also NAPKINS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND If you see all that juice on your BAT "battery" and your atty just get a napkin in the battery connection and dig it in there to get any excess out. Same with the atty wipe it down pertty good every once in a while to get a good connection.

You can also take a Q-tip and dip some over the counter alcohol on it and wipe the battery connection (NOT THE ATTY) and the charger terminal cross threads down to get any gunk outta there... Wipe dry and your good to go

Hope these help out. If not let us know so we can help ya fix your prob

 

[nullvoid]

If you want to continue using cartridges until your cartomizers arrive, there is a mod using Pyramid Tea Bags (must be these, not regular tea bags) to replace the filler. They were emptied of tea, sealed end cut off, rolled into a tube, folded in half, and then stuck into the cartridge., folded end down. It held more juice than the original filler and was cheap to use and replace. There was a YouTube video you might search for. It might still be there even though cartridges are not widely used now.

That's it, walking to the grocery store right now!

 

[nullvoid]

You pretty much have a "drip" setup just with a cart instead of a drip tip. Cartridges are something that come with many kits and pretty much get tossed to the side. There's MANY different, "BETTER" options out there for ya

If you like direct dripping on the atomizer like you have been which is what I like doing when I use an Ego then buy a Drip tip. They're pretty in-expensive and come in all sorts of shapes, colors etc. to give your PV a personal touch.

BTW do you know if it is a 510 or 901 Ego? Should say on the box somewhere...

The burning taste sounds like you might be overdripping or your atty "atomizer" could be gunked up. If you have 2 of them try soaking one in a shot glass full of vodka overnight. Blow it out from the open end, let dry and try it out. If you don't have any vodka just blow out the excess juice in a paper towel/ napkin/ shirt etc... and drip 3 drops on the atty and let it sit for about 10 sec. Hit your ego and if it tastes bland add 1 more drop and you should be good.

Your best bet is to use a Low res. atty on your ego to get the best flavor and vapor production. You can pick them up for about $7 a piece. Well worth it.

*Also NAPKINS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND If you see all that juice on your BAT "battery" and your atty just get a napkin in the battery connection and dig it in there to get any excess out. Same with the atty wipe it down pertty good every once in a while to get a good connection.

You can also take a Q-tip and dip some over the counter alcohol on it and wipe the battery connection (NOT THE ATTY) and the charger terminal cross threads down to get any gunk outta there... Wipe dry and your good to go

Hope these help out. If not let us know so we can help ya fix your prob

I guess it's good to know the mess is normal, although it's not exactly what I wanted to hear.

I intend on purchasing some cartomizers rather than using the atomizer I currently have and a filter thing after the advice I've gotten. I'm not usually a tinker-type, more of the I want it one way and I want it to work, but c'est la vie. This way I can get exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[Coil]

In a perfect world we all would. That's the sacrifice for cutting out the stinkies. Notice the Banner below. Like Atty Pop's said to me (A well respected member on the forums) Vaping takes talent. You gotta learn how to do it properly)

I will say this... "If you wanna vape and go" I just bought the Vmod and it is AWESOME! It takes a little bit of getting used to but for $100 to do everything you need to pretty much vape "effortlessly " its worth it 100% Vapage E-Cigarettes, E-Cigs, Disposable E-Cigs & Electronic Cigarette under Vmod.