Almost ready to pull the trigger

[needtoknow]

I have been obsessed with studying this site for about a month now and think I may have enough info to make my first purchase. I think my wife thinks I am having an online affair, so I better have something show up in the mail soon.

Here is my bio:
I have been smoking for the last 30 plus years. When I first started looking at this site my goal was just to replace my smoking at work. Since then I am excited that most people ended up quitting cigs all together. At work I smoke when ever I get the chance and I knock down a 100 light smoke in about two-three minutes in 10-12 drags. (yes I did count and time myself) I am not too worried about getting a PCC because I am never far from a power source. I do want to get somthing that does not require too much hassle to deal with at work because I don't have the time to deal with it and just want to get the NEED taken care of quickly. I used to smoke camel light 100's and almost 2 yrs ago I had surgery to get pollips removed from my throat that (thank god) was not cancer, but the doctor said that if I kept smoking that I would get throat cancer. After the sugery I went on Chantix and that worked fine for killing the effects of nicotine on my brain and I did not have any ill side effects, but I still just WANTED TO SMOKE.

Okay with that all said, I am pretty sure that I want to order a kr808 to be my first e-cig to start with. ( After I get the hang of it I might try a 510 to use at home) I just think that the cartomizer is going to do better for my at work needs. Now I am down to exactly which one to buy and where to get it. Here's what I see so far......

V4L has two different options:
$45 for the ultimate XL kit
$50 for the VKing value kit
both look to be about the same except for the case, and what is the "old style batteries" it said somewhere that they will last 8hrs?

Good Prophets
$44 for theirs with 2 chargers and 280mh battery

Ikenvapes
$40

Pure Smokers (they are also local, so I could probably avoid shipping)
$30 comes with 2 man batts but no cartos

Alt Smoke
$33 only comes with one battery

NHaler
$40 (one batt, 2 cartos)
$50 2 batts, 5 cartos

Cig Easy
$40 get an extra 10ml bottle of juice, but only comes with usb charger, and I would really like a wall charger (adapter is $8 more)

I am sure there is more out there and please let me know if I missed any so that my head will completely explode.

With that all said, I would like to know of these (and any other suggestions) who and what has served you best? I am still confused about a couple of other things.

1) batteries---Mega, old style, 280mh, and most don't say. Which one will best fit my current needs?

2) cartos-----pre-filled and empty seem to cost the same, why would I want empty for the same price as full?

3) I have read mixed reveiws on how many times you can re-use a carto, and how many puffs you can expect out of each one.(I do like the idea of different colors to have different flavors and not get them mixed up.

4) re-filling the cartos, my computer is very old so most of the videos I can here fine but they don't stream real well.

5) extra juice --- how much and what strength should I buy to start with?
In Don's post it said that I should probably use 16-18mg, but with my quick smoking habbits I think I might need stronger and maybe something to "cut it" with as later I am sure I will mix my own to save $$$ because I too am very cheap (or as I like to say frugal)

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to try to get this all out at once.

Lastly I would like to thank you all for your great info and continued support, I would like to give special thanks to LibertySF for helping to get me started at the very beginning. Don for his great post that I think is a must read for every noob. ( I just wish I had his wit)
And to DC2 and Fisch for their most recent technical help, as am now a little more computer and forum literate.

Please help me in my final (no e-cig) days, so my wife does not put me out of the house I have to get one soon.

 

[Sign-Man]

Looks like you did your homework well and can put a gold star on your forehead.

As far as vendors go, use any of the recommended vendors listed on this forum after looking over the vendor reviews forum.

 

[Dkrom68]

Pull the trigger before she does something about the affair

Cignot your Midwest Electronic Cigarette store. has great prices on the 510 also 35 and 5 shipping with super fast shipping and great customer service.

 

[Garnoch]

I don't have your model, so I can't really answer most of your questions, but I smoked Camel Filters for 12 years then switched to Camel Lights for the past 9 years. I am fine with 16-18mg juice. I've used both. I do seem to vape more than smoke though - it seems most people do.
I quit just over two weeks ago - the day my ecig arrived.
Good Luck!

 

[Raenon]

Sounds like you indeed did your homework!

Personally, I don't think that the 3 piece models are all that much hassle, but from everything I've ever heard of the Kr808's, they must be decidedly easier to work with (if slightly more expensive, but still far cheaper than cigarettes, so really that should be your comparison). Either way, Kr808's have a huge following, so they must do something right.

As far as getting empty versus filled- many people like to mix their own liquids. It's generally cheaper than prepackaged, and more to the point you get to decide EXACTLY what it will taste like when finished. If you can find prefilled for the same price and you enjoy the flavors, then you may want to go that route- but I'd still suggest getting liquid later on to refill. Cartomizers are expected to work for several rounds of refills at least. The V4L subforum has a lot of discussion about that as well.

To begin with though, you might just want to get small numbers of carts in many flavors. If you think you want to stick with tobacco flavors- try several, just because it's named after you brand doesn't mean it'll taste identical TO YOU. If you like mint or menthol at all, I'd also suggest you try that, even if you don't regularly smoke menthol cigs. There is a big following of menthol vapers here, and many who didn't care for menthol smokes now make it an everyday vape.
Beyond that, I'd also suggest getting creative. Personally, I carry 3 flavors with me everyday- menthol, a fruit blend (cherry+orange+pineapple) and a rotating tobacco/coffee/chocolate/vanilla (usually a blend of several of those, actually).

Don't forget, your taste buds will start coming back within a few weeks of quitting, so certain flavors and aromas will begin getting much more powerful. What seems wonderful on day one might be a flavor you can't stand by week 3. Don't invest too much in any one flavor until you feel SURE that it's a keeper

 

[tarkus]

Sounds like the kr8 is a good choice for your needs. They come in 3 batt lengths...shorties, standard and xl. Naturally the longer batt the longer the will last. Weigh that against the size. Longer = more bulky to carry and use. You will at least 2 batts to start.

With care you can refill each carto a number of times but you will probably burn a few until you get the knack for it so I would recommend you get at least 9 cartos to start if you are planning to refill. As far as juice a good idea is a sample pack of mutiple flavors. Probably a mid range strength about 18mg is a good start.

 

[OH Tommy]

By all means go for it! ... I narrowed it down to the same two choices as you ... I'm just started on the 510 & I'll be ordering the KR808D-1 very soon.

I'd go for the medium strength initially & take it from there. Maybe get a familiar flavor of what you've been smoking.

I'm enjoying the taste a whole lot right away, but the thing I like best so far is not having to feel like I have to smoke in a hurry & not having it burn up if I put it down for a few minutes!

Best of Luck, Tom.

 

[maxx]

I also read this forum for weeks. There is so much information, I almost talked myself out of the whole thing as being too confusing and too much trouble. Then I figured we aren't talking about a great deal of money here (especially when compared to analog prices), so it would be "OK" to make a mistake or two and the best thing I could do was jump in head-first and learn from mistakes. I went with the V4L Ultimate kit and don't feel I made a mistake yet. Not saying I will stay with it as I continue on, but I went simple and so far the strategy has worked. I will worry about cost reduction later with refilling and such.

 

[nneptune]

Pull the trigger before she does something about the affair

Cignot your Midwest Electronic Cigarette store. has great prices on the 510 also 35 and 5 shipping with super fast shipping and great customer service.

Cignot is an amazing company!
I ordered a kit on Saturday afternoon. Within an hour, I received an e-mail that it was shipped. It's Monday, and was at my door today! I ordered one manual and one automatic. I like the manual, while my gf prefers automatic, so a win all around!

Vapor Kings http://www.vaporkings.com, ships quickly, as well... I've found their models to have the best throat hit.

I ordered the joye 510 from both companies.

 

[keyzygirl]

I use V4L,the xlong kit is great and they have several different sample packs so you can try many different cartos much easier.but its up to you what you do!

 

[Ryum]

Good solid researching, I did the same thing. Links to the info I have found is in my sig. On to your questions

1) batteries---Mega, old style, 280mh, and most don't say. Which one will best fit my current needs?

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/joye-510/65055-battery-voltages-surprise.html
is a great source of "real" battery info. In general the consensus seems to be 510s are lower power, KR8 batteries do not last long. I ordered a passthrough as part of my starter kit, and will get a bartleby in case I want to make my vaping mobile.

2) cartos-----pre-filled and empty seem to cost the same, why would I want empty for the same price as full?

Cartridges, and cartomizers are 2 different things. I have seen about a dozen videos and across the boards cartomizers more time, or more steps to refill.
With a cartomizer I would buy pre-filled unless there was a much lower price for blanks. Example of that is
$1.50 per blank cartomizer is a much better deal then 5 prefilled for $10 in my opinion. I just depends on pricing.
For now I am personally going with 510 cartridges, and atomizers. The carts are super simple to refill, the 510 atomizer has a longer life span. That said I plan to try KR8 cartomizers.

3) I have read mixed reveiws on how many times you can re-use a carto, and how many puffs you can expect out of each one.(I do like the idea of different colors to have different flavors and not get them mixed up.

This does seem to be pretty subjective. I would also like to see what the community consensus is on this.

4) re-filling the cartos, my computer is very old so most of the videos I can here fine but they don't stream real well.

There are tons of videos, some use a needle, some use a screw, some use a hook, and so on. You basically take one sides protective plastic off, and take out the plugs then put drops into it.

5) extra juice --- how much and what strength should I buy to start with?
In Don's post it said that I should probably use 16-18mg, but with my quick smoking habbits I think I might need stronger and maybe something to "cut it" with as later I am sure I will mix my own to save $$$ because I too am very cheap (or as I like to say frugal)

The advice I got about juice strengths, is if everything is the same price. You can save money buy ordering the strongest strength in whatever flavors you like. Then after you receive those bottles you can dilute them. You can dilute them when refilling, something like 3 drops from the bottle per 1 drop of dilution, or get some empty bottles and cut the juice directly that way.
About being frugal, Wholesale & Retail Best E-smoking Supplier is a site you will probably want to check. They have low prices, and $3 shipping, but apparently it takes a month or more to get your order in. When resupplying in bulk, with proper planning I think buying from that place is the lowest you are going to get price wise.

Hope some of that helps.

 

[VapingRulz]

I went with the V4L Ultimate kit and don't feel I made a mistake yet. Not saying I will stay with it as I continue on, but I went simple and so far the strategy has worked. I will worry about cost reduction later with refilling and such.

You made an excellent choice. I love my VK and I do refill my cartos, which cuts down the expense of vaping dramatically - especially in comparison to smoking!

 

[needtoknow]

Thank you everyone for your help. I am between getting from good profit and V4L. I think the batteries on the V4L XL are better? Am I reading that right?

 

[sherid]

Thank you everyone for your help. I am between getting from good profit and V4L. I think the batteries on the V4L XL are better? Am I reading that right?

All of the companies that you mention are great. The advantage of V4L is that their warranty is great, and they always include a small gift, like a new cartridge flavor to try. They also have a huge selection of cartomizer flavors. Personally, I feel that the reason for going to the KR8's is to avoid the hassle of dripping and refilling constantly. I refill cartomizers a couple of times, but I continue to buy new ones. As for the new vs. old model batteries, I would go with the newer ones. The cutoff time is higher in those. Since I read that you inhale deeply and long, I think those would work best for you.

 

[keyzygirl]

I agree! New xlongs have 13 sec cutoff.