Brand newbie comments, questions - 1 pack Cameler

[Id_walk_a_mile]

Thanks for this forum. Nice to find a site with (mostly) real honest people, vs. what you get when you google ecigarettes.

Got Sam's Club BLU starter for $54. That includes pack (no display screen or flashlight), 2 batteries, 5 carts, A/C charger box and adaptors. thegeekgroup youtube suggested red "flame" but only blue in this starter pack. (Package just says starter kit; barcode 8 59654 00204 1) (Incredible 30 minute primer by thegeekgroup by the way.)

Before use, charged battery 1 on USB while charging pack on A/C. (True flaw: doesn't fit car charger's mini-USB I use for phones; also doesn't fit car Garmin adapter.) About 20 mins. to charge battery; 40 mins. for the pack. I then started on basic tobacco (hard to read those little icons; don't know what I'll do in the dark). *Very* hard to draw, but not unpleasant. No visible "smoke" unless I toke reALLY hard.

The 5 pack BLU variety pack little box doesn't seem to indicate strength. The only hint is that the side of the box says 5 HIGH.

Conclusion so far: was close enough to my regular Camels to accept. So far it looks like a success, though I'm still on the first cart. Doesn't leave a flavor taste on tongue and in mouth like Camels, but feels okay. (Bonus, it "works" out of the box + 20 minutes, failure of which would have affected my acceptance.)

My next question is where to locally buy carts. (North Texas), and possibly juice when I'm motivated, depending on weekly cart costs. It seems like every single discussion talks about web purchases, but I intend to buy from stores unless unacceptably more expensive (with or without sales tax). By the way, the nearest Volcano location (same as BLU?) is a hike, in Oklahoma.

My immediate questions are:
1. Between tokes or "toke sessions" (stumbling on the paradigm shift, let's say between lighting ups?), how to store (which side up would preserve best)? If in the pack, is it better to store the pack upright? I guess the valve makes it no big deal, just wondering.
2. I assume you discard carts. when flavor is way down. At what point would unit be damaged by waiting too long? You know, if it's dried out - or whatever's the technically correct condition? [edit: Or do I keep them for refilling with ejuice? Need a primer, maybe a youtube on that.]

TIA for anyone driven enough to have read all this, and for any good feedback.

 

[Cloud Wizard]

Welcome to ECF. I never used Blu but did find this retail locator: Where to Buy blu eCigs: | blu eCigs Retailers

 

[rotku]

Welcome Mile, congrats on venturing into the world of vaping. The blu cartos can be refilled to save some money, but they are by no means permanent. Here is a picture of what they look like inside.

If you purchase some e-liquid you can carefully put some drops on the fiberfill part (Not down the hole in the middle). Once the fill material in saturated.. presto a new cartridge. This will allow you to vape at a fraction the cost of buying pre-filled cartos. With the money you save you will be able to upgrade to some more powerful devices with better delivery options. Eventually, improving from the cig-a-likes will give you a better experience and better your chances of staying away from tobacco. For now, if you are satisfied, keep it up. Good for you.

 

[Baditude]

Rotku gave some good info on refilling carts with bottled e-liquid. Another tip when refilling is to stick part of a wood tooth pick in that center hole to keep unwanted liquid out of there. Here's a video:



You won't be able to see what the juice level is in the metal cartomizers, so its a good idea to keep them topped off with more juice as you vape. Once the carto begins to have a stiff pull when you vape on it, it's probably time to discard it for a new one. Never allow a carto to go dry; it will burn the filler material and once that happens it is ruined for good. You can expect a carto to last you up to a week.

Darker, sweeter, and thicker juices will clog the filler faster and you'll get less use out of them.

 

[Id_walk_a_mile]

Genuinely helpful, useful responses (and a badassoramic avatar). Going to watch that youtube now. Maybe refilling is a snap; my experience with colorjet printer ink cartridge refilling was total failure (money down the drain, "never again!"ish).

wizard that BLU retailer link is perfect. About 700 hits on the area map!!

 

[mkbilbo]

My next question is where to locally buy carts. (North Texas), and possibly juice when I'm motivated, depending on weekly cart costs. It seems like every single discussion talks about web purchases, but I intend to buy from stores unless unacceptably more expensive (with or without sales tax).

Blu is easy. Walgreens, HEB, gas stations, everywhere. They're shoving their cartomizer packs and disposables all over the place. The cartos are cheaper, however, if you order direct from Blu and buy 4 or more at a time. Their website is: https://www.blucigs.com/.

That said, I started with Blu myself. Abandoned them in all of two weeks. I'll always have something of a soft spot for them because I started with them and had a huge drop in my smoking with them (literally 90% less smoking my first week). But they're overpriced and rather mediocre. I was a fairly heavy smoker and discovered I was spending as much on their cartridges as I had been spending on cigs. That was a big time deal breaker.

You see a lot of talk here about ordering online because you can get better quality for less cash. But if the Blu is working for you right now, go with it. You can read up on other systems and see if you want to make the jump to another set up.

By the way, the nearest Volcano location (same as BLU?) is a hike, in Oklahoma.

Volcano was like Blu. They and Blu had the same basic kit (not premium or anything, just the basic standard one) from the same manufacturer but Volcano discontinued it. Blu seems to be leaving the standard one too, moving to "premium" and such. Which kits aren't compatible with the standard, basic model.

If you really prefer brick & mortar, there are vape shops out there. North Texas covers a lot of territory (and I'm down here in CenTex anyway) so I dunno who's where. But I know the DFW area has a bunch. You can also check the Forum Suppliers section. I found several Texas vendors there when I first arrived.

Also, the Blu specific section is this way (gotta warn ya, us ex-Blus ain't kind to Blu ).

And there's a North Texas group too.

You have to reach 5 posts here in New Members (it's to catch spammers and such before they can escape to other sections ) before you can post elsewhere but you can read just about everything already.

Welcome aboard!

 

[elvenhippie]

i started with blu myself, but they left a bit to be desired. there's a big world out there for vaping, as evidenced by this entire subculture you've found here. blu's can be refilled a few times, but after heavy use the glue in the cartos starts to taint the flavor.

if you like the flavors, johnson creek sells the juice at cheaper than blu prices, for you to dabble with. the vea cartos they sell also work with blu batteries, if you can tolerate the maroon color. they are pretty good cartos, and are sold pre-filled and blank.

good luck, looks like the questions you actually asked have been answered by others.

 

[wandawag]

welcome and congrats.

 

[jj2007]

I'm new to all this as well, about a month in, and use EverSmoke, the cartridges are similar to Blu I think. I've been refilling them by filling the rubber cap half full and sliding the cartridge down slowly. My husband has a 510 basic starter kit, the cartridge end pops out like the video and those are super easy to refill too. Good luck!

 

[jj2007]

Oh! And my husband used to smoke Camel Blue and really likes Mt Baker Vapor's 555 ejuice.

 

[SouthernBliss]

The whole e-cigarette on the internet thing is really overwhelming isn't it? I had really wanted one for a while but just looking on the internet scared the bejezus out of me. I started looking over a year ago but had no idea who to trust. In the end I bought a fin set up from the corner market and wasn't really thrilled with the experience. Pretty sure that my little prefills were not strong enough and it didn't take the first time I tried. The second time I knew I was going to have to break down and order a set up. I waited for 3 months for someone I knew and therefor could trust to get kits in stock on his site but then deiced I couldn't wait any longer. I ended up here and saw some positive references for a couple of places. Picked one pretty much at random that had a coupon and braved it.

My original goal was just some blank cartridges and e-juice for my fin. But I found another start up kit that was pretty appealing price wise so I got that and some extra juice. The day it came I ordered a set for my son because I could actually "see" how things worked and trusted someone. I should at this point warn you that since then I have gotten a better longer lasting battery for both of us and am on the verge of adding a second longer lasting battery so that I don't have to worry about recharging. And also that once I really understood the huge number of flavors options out there I have been like a kid in a candy shop, and coffee shop and a couple of other shops.

I don't think that I had any idea how many options really were out there till I started reading the forums here. There is pretty much an option for anyone. If you found what works best for you first go then that is really wonderful. I know that here BLU is really catching on store wise and they have them in several of the quick mart type places so hopefully that will be an easy find for you once your actively looking.

I do think price wise your going to want to consider e-juice at some point rather than prefills. Once your comfortable with it all there are options that can be filled and last you all day so you don't have to fiddle with things. On the other hand it seems like for many that is half the fun. If you do start refilling or filling empty cartridges you might want to buy a couple of needle point tips. Mt Baker vaper sells them cheep and they really do make it far easier.

All that said. If BLU prefills is right for you don't change just because other people make suggestions and don't let yourself get overwhelmed.

 

[Id_walk_a_mile]

All great stuff, all. Not a dog in any of your posts Great courtesy here, and cautious delivery of advice. It's all accepted in positive context, and I'm grateful for each of your time to chip in.

I may have misspoken using the term "cart." based on the size of the reservoir in the youtube. (Newbies - whatcha gonna do? Look at the post count and take what I say with a grain of salt ) I gather from your comments though that the thin, smaller body of the prefilled BLU device can be refilled like the video.

I'll start with the prefilled BLUs for a while. I'll be honest, though, the convenience of prefills weighs strongly. However if Walmart and convenience stores are as expensive as equivalent Camel usage I'll wise up quickly to alternatives. I like the thoughts you've expressed and think I can quickly come to align with some of your strategies.

I don't want to single anyone out but special thanks for some of your extensive, information-packed and relatable experience-packed posts here. Thanks enormously. We'll see how things go and I'll be back.

BTW I fully approve of the 5 post rule. I also abhor spammers, the reason for the rule. Philosophically though, I'll graduate when it's the right time. Moreover, any ignorant statements I make in the playpen don't stain the grownups pool

 

[Id_walk_a_mile]

I really have a defect here. When I say "hard to draw" without creating a cloud, I mean, I have to suck literally as hard as I can for 3 or 4 seconds, and even hold thumb and index finger tightly against side to tighten the seal against my lips, and then makes only a tiny, nondense cloud. At least I have 4 other flavor cartridges to see if that's the culprit, but I'm wondering if this unit needs to be returned. This is not just an adjustment to something new; something's clearly wrong here.

I'll be offline until tonight so forgive my seeming rudeness if anyone replies.

 

[mkbilbo]

I really have a defect here. When I say "hard to draw" without creating a cloud, I mean, I have to suck literally as hard as I can for 3 or 4 seconds, and even hold thumb and index finger tightly against side to tighten the seal against my lips, and then makes only a tiny, nondense cloud. At least I have 4 other flavor cartridges to see if that's the culprit, but I'm wondering if this unit needs to be returned. This is not just an adjustment to something new; something's clearly wrong here.

In my experience, that's just Blu. Those little batteries just aren't that powerful. I was always blocking about half the air inlets trying to get better vapor.

One thing I can tell you. Automatic batteries like the ones Blu uses are triggered by air flow. The atomizer doesn't heat up until you're in "mid-drag". I got to where I would do a couple of quick, short puffs to cut the battery on, heat the atomizer, and then take a drag. It helped some.

But this is one reason the "cig-a-like" (as the ones that try to imitate cigarettes in form are often called) don't get much respect around ECF. You just can't pack a lot of power into small batteries.

 

[treborl]

Rotku gave some good info on refilling carts with bottled e-liquid. Another tip when refilling is to stick part of a wood tooth pick in that center hole to keep unwanted liquid out of there. Here's a video:

[...]

You won't be able to see what the juice level is in the metal cartomizers, so its a good idea to keep them topped off with more juice as you vape. Once the carto begins to have a stiff pull when you vape on it, it's probably time to discard it for a new one. Never allow a carto to go dry; it will burn the filler material and once that happens it is ruined for good. You can expect a carto to last you up to a week.

Darker, sweeter, and thicker juices will clog the filler faster and you'll get less use out of them.

Thanks for the video. I've been doing it wrong.