I don't know about other clearomiser type heating devices but the CE2 is a favourite of mine. To me it's superior to the egoT atomiser in heat and flavour by quite a way because the coil is at the top. The top coil also prevents flooding and makes it a lot easier to feed it yourself by holding it upside down for a few seconds.
The main drawbacks are:
- Older models have easily breakable casing. However the new ultimate edition claim to be break free but they are only in the smaller sizes. The XL size (1.8ml capacity) don't have these new tubes but you can easily cut your own BD 3ml syringe to fit these or buy one in metal.
- You need to take out the top cap and ring seal and use a syringe to fill these. With a 1.8ml capacity though, I find it's enough to take one or two of these out with me and I'm set for a day.
- You may need to snip or raise the inner seal a little for optimal wicking if you use thicker liquids. To me, a simple modification like that for a working tank system that can take even all vg is a godsend though. I just cut the seal slots into /\'s and it's never a problem to wick even my thickest liquids.
- They don't last forever. They are quite easy to clean, it's just a simple dryburn with the seals taken out and they are almost as good as new. I've had some CE2s last me for months at a time in use every day. For my useage I'd say they have about 50% - 75% of a good atomiser's lifespan if you take care of them.
- You do get condesation under the mouthpiece between the seals which eventually leads to a pool of liquid where you don't want it. I use a drip tip and this remedies the problem. If there is any liquid inside, I don't get it in my mouth. I find I can go about halfway through a CE2 xl before there's any noticeable liquid between the seals but it's just a case of either swabbing it out or waiting for it to find its way into the coil to vaporise since I use a drip tip.
One of the biggest pluses of the CE2 is price. They aren't very popular and some vendors have large stocks they're practically giving away. If you can get 5 CE2s for cheaper than an atomiser and they can last almost as long as an atomiser, then that's a realy good deal to me.
An alternative is the CE3 aka smokeymiser. It is also a clearomiser type with no filling but it is a bottom coil unit and will be a much cooler vape as a result. I don't have first hand experience with these but they seem like a pain to fill because you need tweezers to do it with to take out and put back in a little cork stopper.
The G4 is similar but it has no cork. The only G4 I ever used was pretty useless though and I wouldn't reccommend it.
For the ego, there is a cartomiser at I think 1.7ohms called the ressurector that is meant to be a very warm flavourful vape on the ego but I haven't yet tried one to comment further.
The ego mega dual coil cartomiser is also a very big filler type cartomiser. The one I have worked, it's flavourful but it's a very cool vape and didn't cut it with me because of that. A lot of people swear by them but I need more warmth to be satisfied. I think they hold somewhere around 4 - 5 ml of liquid which is also a bit much for me as a lot of that is just going to sit in the filler for the rest of its life.
For your cartomisers, you are correct. You need to keep them topped off with liquid or they'll burn. Once they have been burned, the burnt taste will always be there.
If you decide on a CE2 and need help in setting it up/advice on taking it apart to fill or cleaning, let me know in PM I guess or ask on the main discussion because I don't check in here too often lol
