So in the interest of brevity. Whats the bottom line. I read up to like post 17 and backwards a few pages from the last. Can someone who has been a part of the thread give some up to date conclusions please?
This thing started mid 2009. And I just ordered 10 808 carto's from vaper kings. Are they safe??
Well, no one, including suppliers or manufacturers so definitely not consumers/members here, can tell you if any kind of carto is 'safe;' unfortunately that hasn't been tested and is not known. But it is fairly easy for them to end up burning their filler, so each must decide for himself if that would be safe or at least still safer than smoking. Everything is just (consumer) speculation, including this entire thread. It's not known whether atties are safe either, and there are even
some who think they are less so (speculation about primer liquid; metal leeching; composition of wick, coil or cart plastic that reportedly burn sometimes, etc. Those have also been discussed at length on other threads.) Then there's the juice & its various ingredients; we don't really really know if that's safe for vaping use either, etc. etc. But other than all that, I would sum up where we're at in THIS thread re '808-
ish' cartos as:
The new
'higher resistance' (i.e. higher ohm/cooler-operating; albeit does NOT translate into undesirable cooler vapor or anything) kind of 808 cartos have a reduced tendency to burn their filler or wick, and when it does happen the extent is less than with regular ones. If care is being taken not to vape them too dry, when burn or singe does occur, it's often just a little on the wick ('fabric' wrap). They also stay cooler on the shell, and IIRC use a somewhat better quality of materials inside.
Suppliers offering the higher resistance kind include Vapor Nine ('Turbos'); Nhaler ('Megas,' not to be confused with their 510 Mega cartos); and CigEasy ('Gold Label'). The latter does not have the easily-removable soft cap version of them yet. If you're worried about burning, you would be better off with those ones, tho I have no idea HOW much better off, if one is being prudent in both cases with keeping them topped off so they stay moist; not hitting/heating up the same carto too much without giving it a break; paying attention for any drop in vapor or flavor, etc. (Results vary a lot from person to person as far as how much burn or singe
may be present when they dissect their regular cartos. So far seemingly more so than with the higher resistance ones. And a few claim/feel carto burn can be avoided near-completely at will, but we won't get into that one now. A very hot potato.
) The typical ohm readings in themselves aren't
drastically different, but the operating efficiency itself has been improved in the HR type.
Note: Currently, for V4L's 'Premium' line two different kinds/resistances are actually used. One appears to be the cooler-operating higher resistance kind, but the other is actually low resistance, i.e. runs hotter than even regulars. I don't think there is a way to be sure which you will be sent, at least over any period of time, as they are making very frequent changes in general nowadays. The blanks IIRC are the low resistance kind (altho they may still be clearing out some blank, and prefilled, regulars). FYI the LR ones also run through juice and batt life faster.
Then there are also
GreenCigs, which are constructed more like a 'traditional' two-piece atty and cart system inside. Those are not known to burn, but drawbacks include that they are harder to open up, clean, refill; don't come in blanks; are more expensive; and taste is always subjective but some/many find the flavors bland and too limited. (Poster Yankee also thinks the draw is very hard, but that's subjective too, as I don't, and don't hear that frequently amongst GC 'complaints.') They require either special GC batts, or an adapter to use them with other batt types e.g. KR8. And availability isn't great. Nhaler and LeCig carry them tho. All that said, myself I really like them.
Currently some ppl on this thread are taking the
RN4081 carto model for a spin. It's also constructed differently inside than any of the 808s, and Yankee says it 'never' burns, and is easier to wash and refill than GCs (I think it can be said that no type is easier than 808s). He likes them better all-around, including the hit.
Availability isn't great for those either; I think three domestic sources and one Chinese source have been identified (all 'findable' not too far back on this thread). Prices are high at two and reasonable at two. (IIRC 4081 is also the model that Smoking Everywhere's ecigs are, which probably hasn't helped it gain footing, due to that company's reported questionable biz practices.) They come in tobacco and menthol and some blanks have been found too, but I don't think all the identified sources carry the blanks. These also require either their own batt style or an adapter.
A few ppl here are also trying to determine if the 4081 cartos available from the known sources really are all the same. So just keep watching this thread to find out more about those ones. The 'firmest' (most techy/engineer-y) report will come in once member Scottbee has used them for awhile and then 'autopsied' them. (He's just receiving them around now and will have a couple or few 'brands' to try, so it may be awhile before he posts much on them. Eventually he'll also be posting some results for Nhaler's Megas specifically, tho it's probably likely they're the same as the Turbos. For more exact details on the Turbos, see the Vapor Nine sub-forum, in particular their original announcement sticky.) I'm not sure how widespread the interest here is in the 4081 cartos yet, but who knows, they could turn out to be the long-neglected 'answer' to the burn issue that Yankee believes they are.
I'm sure I forgot something but dang, I did not
mean to get anywhere
near this far into it to begin with!! My new era of getting offline occasionally was officially supposed to dawn today!!
Ok so it was not in fact 'brief,' but briefer than reading 688 posts would have been! A little, anyway.
Oh also, if you ever do decide to take a stab at reading this whole thread again, it may be sufficient to just start at around March 2010. More had changed in the world of cartos around then, not sure if you'd find many useful suggestions in the older stuff (I never read it from the beginning either). If you want more info on the general 808 carto burn issue in itself, there are many threads on it out there. Might look for one in the KR808 subforum called "All my used cartos are TOAST!!" Appeared in March or so. Ok to skip the first few pages of that one too, it picked up later and then went on continuously til it was locked down.
