Am I Doing This Right?

[Rusty S.]

Hello, everyone!

I've been lurking around the forum for quite some time. I want to switch to vaping, but trying to make sense of all of the information is like drinking the ocean. I think I've settled on what I want to start with, but I don't know if I've done it right. I was wondering if I could get some insight.

I have a shopping cart on Apollo's website, and I have a TGo battery, 2 CE4 clearomizers to match it, and a USB charger so I can charge it on my laptop.

Since I can only afford one battery, I just chatted with Apollo to find out if there's any danger to charging the same one every night, and they said it's fine.

I'm trying to do this on the cheap because I'm unemployed, and really can't afford to do a big start-up, but if I've missed any of the basics, I'd like your input. Thanks!

 

[ShayBabe15]

I LOVE APOLLO! Seriously, one of the best vendors and products for a regular PV device. You'll be happy
I have an Apollo Ego, with a 1100mAh batter and 6ml Titan. I love it.
I think you're getting a good buy. I haven't experience the TGo's..so I really can't put that much input on that. Although, the reviews it has on there(or online) should give you some information as well.
As far as the Clearomizers go, beware that they are prone to flooding once in awhile if you don't pay careful attention to first using. To make them last, you need to clean them about three times a week, that includes dry-burning once a week. I don't know if you know all the specs and tecs about how to maintain E-Cigs..if you don't let me or anyone else know and we can fill you in.
All in all, it looks like you're on your way. I'll send good vibes out to you for getting a job!

P.S..Amazon and E-bay usually have some decent prices on batteries, or starter kits..really anything you need.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I have no experience with Apollo's TGo, so I can't offer advice there. I'm not completely thrilled with the fact that the threads are non-standard, but at least they send you a converter so you can use 510 threaded items. I still might be inclined to go with a brand that's 510 natively like the eGo.

For starters, the 2 CE4's will do fine, although you may find that they're simply not the delivery device for you. For any juice holder, there's a group of people that love it and another equally loud group that hates it. This is the way it goes. My mother likes cartomizers and the occasional CE3 cleartomizer. I like my T3 tanks but work well with CE3 cleartomizers (and hate cartomizers).

Fortunately, except for tanks, the thing that holds the juice tends to be pretty cheap. Even most tanks aren't that expensive.

One thing you didn't mention is liquid, which you're going to need. I'd recommend starting with small samples and deciding on what you like, then placing a larger order. Keep in mind that as your sense of taste returns you may dislike what you liked last week (or even yesterday). That happened to me several times.

 

[patsfan1130]

Having only 1 battery is the russian roulette of vaping IMO

 

[Padre3210]

Just bought a starter kit at Virgin Vapor. Got TWO batteries and a bunch of atomizers and a charger for $44.00. Not many are lower than that unless you go Chinese direct. It is really nice to have 2 batteries, so one is always charged. If you switch to 100% vaping, you will save enough to easily pay for all the vaping toys you could ever want. One of MY first issues was cartomizer vs. tank vs. clearomizer .vs atomizer. The Virgin kit came with atomizers (to my surprise), and I kind of like them. You may want to try some different ones to see what you like.
I agree with patsfan1130 on the "Russian Roulette".

 

[Disconnect]

One warning, I would avoid charging any battery from a computer. If it is in-spec for USB it will be insanely slow to charge (500mw max) and if it is out of spec, it can blow the usb port or worse..

To keep things on the cheap, I can recommend our local shop's starter kit. Add juice (their selection is really limited but there are others..) and you are ready to go for under $20.

I can add my to the what-device debate:

• CE4, CE5: Nice devices to start with, for several reasons. They can be 'rebuildable' (replacable atty) or not. Attys are cheap, so you can keep using the CEx forever and just replace the atty periodically. They don't hold too much juice (1.6ml usually) so you can experiment with different flavors without having to fill a huge tank.
• Nova: Also pretty easy to deal with, super easy to clean and rebuildable. (Cleaning is just "take off top, take off bottom, wipe everything with paper towel"..) They tend to hold 3-4ml so they are better once you find a juice or two you like. Both the CEx and Novas feed basically the same way - cloth wicks sit down in the juice and pull it up to the atty.
• Cartomizers: I'm going to lump together one-piece and two-piece (cartridge and atomizer) The prefilled are great for low-maintenance simplicity. You can refill them or just toss them when they get dry, there is no messing with fluid, etc. OTOH you have fewer options and they are more expensive long-term than any refillable solution. (The cartomizers are basically what all the retail ones use, including Blu and N-Joy.)
• Tank Cartomizers: (Tons of devices are called "tanks" but I mean something like this, where you punch holes in a cartomizer and shove it inside) Very popular, and really smooth delivery, but much harder to clean. They consist of a cartomizer shoved into the middle of a fluid reservoir. The stuffing is kept wet by small holes in the outside of the cartomizer instead of refilling manually. That is what makes them so hard to clean - the stuffing is full of fluid. If you replace the cartomizer instead of cleaning it, they clean up just like the Novas.
• Direct Drip: Lots of fairly vocal pros swear by this, and it is a great way to taste flavors but I don't have the patience for it long-term. You take a bridgeless atty (the heater part of the two-part above, minus the mesh bridge - it looks like this) and just drip 1-2 drops at a time into it, then use it just like any other cartomizer until it is dry. Repeat as needed.

 

[vernhall]

I love Apollo too and have their Superior kit. Right now it's (and their other stuff) is on sale at 23% off so that makes their Superior kit Ego electronic cigarette just $69.95! And that includes 2 eGo 900mah batteries, 2 clearomizers, charger with wall adapter and USB connect, and a 10ml bottle of your choice of their juice. Heck of a deal for someone (like most of us) who's on a tight budget...

 

[ShayBabe15]

I love Apollo too and have their Superior kit. Right now it's (and their other stuff) is on sale at 23% off so that makes their Superior kit Ego electronic cigarette just $69.95! And that includes 2 eGo 900mah batteries, 2 clearomizers, charger with wall adapter and USB connect, and a 10ml bottle of your choice of their juice. Heck of a deal for someone (like most of us) who's on a tight budget...

That's exactly what I started out with, loved it so much!

 

[floatingtrem]

If you're only getting one battery to start, why not a 900mah passthrough? Lets you charge and vape at the same time.

 

[skoot]

Yeah, I would definitely try to squeeze in another battery, or a USB pass-through at least. I've been vaping 90% of the time for the last few days and I have two batteries- even then, it's a pain to keep them charged.

 

[rusty jones]

Also look into smartvapes.com for a starter kit may be another option as far as I know they have free shipping as well it might get ya started till you have more money for a vv (variable voltage) device

 

[Rusty S.]

You guys are AWESOME! Thanks for the input!

Question: I have a USB wall adapter that came with my MP3 player. Can I plug a battery USB charger into that, or do I need to pay $10 for Apollo's wall adapter?

 

[Disconnect]

You guys are AWESOME! Thanks for the input!

Question: I have a USB wall adapter that came with my MP3 player. Can I plug a battery USB charger into that, or do I need to pay $10 for Apollo's wall adapter?

That adapter should be fine. Make sure it says at least 750ma output on it.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Rusty S.]

Hi MorpheusPA - I am going to get my juice from MadVapes - inexpensive and well-rated.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Hi MorpheusPA - I am going to get my juice from MadVapes - inexpensive and well-rated.

They're mad, mad I tell you. MadVapes. Good choice.

You can use your charger if it has an mAh (milliamp-hour) rating greater than or equal to the USB charger that Apollo would send you. I use two off-the-shelf ones that are rated well above anything any other e-cig charger supplies. They work perfectly.

 

[Rusty S.]

I'll have to check Virgin Vapor out. Getting two batteries was too pricey for me at Apollo. The reason I wanted to go with Apollo was because they have a 1-year warranty, and one thing I've noticed on the forum is a lot of complaints about their setup giving up the ghost after a short period, and I really can't go out and buy new stuff all the time.

 

[Rusty S.]

Hi Padre!

I just looked at Virgin Vapor, and I love the paisley! Do they have a good return policy if it doesn't work?

 

[Rusty S.]

Just bought a starter kit at Virgin Vapor. Got TWO batteries and a bunch of atomizers and a charger for $44.00. Not many are lower than that unless you go Chinese direct. It is really nice to have 2 batteries, so one is always charged. If you switch to 100% vaping, you will save enough to easily pay for all the vaping toys you could ever want. One of MY first issues was cartomizer vs. tank vs. clearomizer .vs atomizer. The Virgin kit came with atomizers (to my surprise), and I kind of like them. You may want to try some different ones to see what you like.
I agree with patsfan1130 on the "Russian Roulette".

I'm having a hard time figuring out the technical stuff, too. Once I'm working and can afford to play around, I'd like to bump it up a bit. I really hope that because I'm so new to this, I'll be easily impressed by cartomizers and cheap juice. Maybe in a couple of years I'll shake my head while I'm working my Provari with a Phiniac tank, wondering how I survived. But, right now, I'll have to be content with drinking my wine out of the box.

 

[Pandora Wilde]

There's loads of really good advice on suppliers and equipment as well as what basics, but take it from someone who started with one kit (2 batts) thinking it would be all I'd need or use.

That's not what happened.

Since I bought my first set in October I've seen the need for a backup set and due to a mistake in trying to find tanks for set #1 I wound up with a 3.5 ml Vivi Nova, which needed a bigger battery to run at its best. Soooo, I have two sets (I consider a set 2 or more batteries that I can swap out when one runs down and use its match in the set to vape on while the other charges) and a nice big at-home rig that I need a backup battery for (at-home because I took it outside in single-digit weather and cracked it). One of the sets is also pass-thru so that's yet another backup if I happen to have my computer but not my backup batt.

I hear you on the limited income--I'm disabled so I can't fork out whatever I want whenever I want, but that went for tobacco also and this is still much much cheaper than tobacco, plus I get to keep my equipment til it dies. The catch in not having a matched set of batts for your favorite or best system is if one borks on you, you're stuck til someone sends your new batt, which was driving me back to tobacco every time it happened. With 3 systems, I can run the two sets all the time, run my big tank at home or when I'm volunteering, and everything has a backup (except the big batt, which is next month's equipment budget purchase).

For the tl;dr crowd: Always have a backup batt for the set, and a backup set for your favorite AT MINIMUM. Failure occurs without them.

 

[Rusty S.]

For the tl;dr crowd: Always have a backup batt for the set, and a backup set for your favorite AT MINIMUM. Failure occurs without them.

Okay, so what about this for a revised shopping list:

3 batteries
3 clearomizers
1 USB charger

It still comes to $49 at Apollo with their discount, so it's still in my budget, although I see some stretch marks showing up.

Thanks so much for the advice!