Discouraged :-(

[MinkeyG1]

Hi all

First post so apologies if it's in the wrong place

I so want this e-cig malarkey to work, but I'm really discouraged so far.

I'm nearly 60, and been a 20 a day guy since my teens. I'll be paying the price for that.

Mainly for health reasons, but to save money too, I decided to try the mini e-cig from Smart Smoker UK (newby so can't include URL).

Pretty good, when using with a fully charged battery and new cartridge, but within days I was buying another battery as the two with their starter kit only seemed to last a couple of hours. Then the atomiser failed. Not realising they offer a 3 month warranty of atomisers, I bought another, then that failed within a fortnight.

I emailed them. No response. I rang them, left a message, no callback.

I decided to try another model from another supplier, but as I'd 50 or so of the original cartridges left from the first one, I bought two more atomisers from Smart Smoker, just so I could use what I had left. Naturally, they've no problems handling sales.

Anyway, tried the Titan (510 ?) from The Electronic Cigarette Co, this time with a mega battery. Doesn't fit the existing chargers I had so more money on a new charger. Bigger cartridges, supposed to be an all round superior experience.

The atomiser failed within days. These folks offer a 28 day warranty, and I'm waiting to see if they respond.

I know there's various tips and techniques to prolong the life of consummables, but if I wanted to mess around with cleaning, bottles, and other bits n bats, I'd have taken up pipe smoking years ago.

I just want to charge it up, put a catridge in, and smoke/vape it, no messing around.

Have I just been unlucky, or is the hardware not yet sufficiently robust enough to last a reasonable period of time. So far I've spent more than I would have on "normal" cigs.

Any views appreciated, particularly from UK users who can suggest a device which looks reasonably like a normal cig, but importantly gives reasonable lifespan on batteries/atomisers.

Regards
Mike

 

[Midnight_toker]

Im very simular to you, and iv only been at this a little while.

The best results I have is a 510. Use a usb passthrough to power it when your at home, (save them batterys) I Also have a car cigerete lighter adapter that gives me usb in my car. So in the car i can (SAVE THEM BATTERIES)

Your then need a PCC case, so that when your out and about your batterys are being charged in your pocket.

Attys last a few weeks to a month for me, and I havent had to replace a battery yet.

Lastly dont go for carts, its a waste of money. You want to use liquid. Its not hard, its even easier than rolling a cig everytime you want one.

Search for the spring cart mod. This will allow you to fill your 501 cartridge with liquid and then be able to smoke for a reasonable amount of time, (5 cigs) before you need to put more liquid in.

Stick with it bud, even with all the bits you need to buy, its still cheaper and more heathly, and with winter comming, you can smoke in the warm!

MT

 

[dwillings]

I understand your frustration but one thing to remember is this is a new technology and it isn't perfect. Yes it is a little different from smoking "analogs" but just think of the health benefits. I've been vaping for 20 days now and I haven't picked up a real cigarette yet. And just so you know I used to smoke 1.5 to 2 packs per day. Here is the setup that worked for me:

1. JOYE 510 from Awesome Vapor
2. PCC (Personal Charging Case) from E Smokey Treats
3. Spare atomizers from Awesome Vapor
4. 24mg Grape Soda E Juice from Vapor Talk

E-Liquid is definately the cheapest and best way to go.

I hope this helps you and I hope you have a better experience in the future. Best of luck!

 

[CatVTTV]

Hi Mike,

I dont know if you did a lot of studying on this forum or not before you gave your ecig a try, but research does help a great deal.

I smoked for over 40 years, when I decided to give ecigs a try, however, after reading up on them, and viewing several videos designed to help newbies, I was prepared for the unreliability of ecigs, so ordered spares of everything..

Now after almost 8 months of not smoking, I have gone through my learning curve, and am a very happy vaper.

When we start out we all want a ecig that looks like a real cigarette, but that changes, and very quickly we move on to those who do not resemble one in any way. There are two reasons for that, one is the size restrictions, if the battery is small, the lifespan of that battery can be small also. The other is that we want to disassociate ourselves from smoking.

So what I am saying to you is this. Changing over is a learning curve, Vaping is not the same as Smoking, and you have to adapt to it, and this doesnt happen overnight.

Atomisers are not long lasting, and we as vapers are prepared for that, by always having a spare, but, when your vaping technique improves, so can the lifetime of an atomiser.

I seldom have an atomiser die on me these days under a 3 month period, but I have plenty of them, and I personally use different ones for different flavours. I dont fiddle about by cleaning them out constantly, I turn them upside down now and again on a piece of kitchen roll, so excess juice can run out, then put them back into use again, until they start to ease off in performance, then I discard them and use a fresh one again.

Devices, well there are many to choose from, and its impossible for one person to recommend one particular one, as we all like different things.

But we have some excellent UK suppliers. You have found TECC, but they have a sister site, Totally Wicked, and then there is iVapour, and e-cigs.co.uk, all of which can be found in the list of suppliers.

Others include iVapour-elixir, Smokejuice, Liberty Flights, and probably more, these are just those who have helped me get through the last 8 months.

Devices that use the 10440 battery, which is small, but not as small as a mini battery, will give 5 hours of use. bigger ones, give more usage, but start to look much bigger than a real cigarette.

Good Luck, and dont give up Mike.

 

[Cori]

You can save money from having to buy so many carts for your 510 if you drip onto the atomizer rather than filling up your carts. Much of what you put into those carts just gets wasted anyway...Just use an empty mouth piece/cart with no stuffing and drip 2 to 3 drops and vape away. I find I use less juice this way, and I don't get that funky taste you get with cartridges when the stuffing needs cleaning. Yuck! I also save my carts for when I'm out and about and dripping is inconvenient.

Batteries for your 510 will last you a long time...I have had one go bad in the past 4 months.

I go through about 2 atomizers a month plus the cost of my juice. I'm still saving money. As for cleaning..I never clean my atomizers as nasty as that sounds. I expect to use 2 a month so I don't even bother anymore. When the vapor drops off or stops I slap on a new one. 2 atomizers a month plus the cost of juice is still a lot cheaper than smoking analogs.

The most important reason to stick with vaping of course is your health. You're never too old to get healthier and you'll feel so much better, so whatever cost or inconveniences we have to bare, it makes it worth it. Hang in there.

 

[Sludge Van Diesel]

Any views appreciated, particularly from UK users who can suggest a device which looks reasonably like a normal cig, but importantly gives reasonable lifespan on batteries/atomisers.

The EVOlution (M401) from Intellicig (Electronic Cigarettes, Electric Cigarette, E-Cigarettes, E-Cig, E-Liquid ) ticks all the boxes above. My other half is still using one from March, my oldest one I've had since June. (Conversely my first 510 atty died after 3 weeks).

They real key to longevity is maintenance take care of your e-cig & it will take care of you. Regular cleaning of the atty (I usually flush mine through with vodka) & the threads on both the atty & battery are essential.

If you want any more info on the M401 in general or Intellicig (my favoured supplier) in particular, feel free to PM me.

 

[ckc]

Good morning Mike

Others have given you good advice, i think you just need to give vaping a bit of time. Get some new atties for the 510 and look into topping your carts up with liquid.......and take your time

Some atties don't last long...others last for ages,same with batteries but you will get there.

 

[Deschain]

Hi Mike, the attys really are the weakest link on e-cigs...as others have said, sometimes they last weeks, other times they last months...they really are random components!

Hope you can stick with this, it's a great substitute for smoking...you'll get answers for any questions you have here.


.

 

[keyzygirl]

Try 2 PIECE UNIT. I use the VK from vapor4life,check out the subforum and someone will help you,I have to go to work.

 

[Liz!]

I just started too, but I second the Vapor King 2 piece unit.

Is *is* a bit confusing and frustrating at first, isn't it? But to be free of foul smelling analogs ... so fantastic!

Good luck!

 

[Ghetto_Cowgirl]

I third the VK, however it is also known as a KR808D-1 model. Nhaler, Vapor4life, CigEasy...maybe Mist-Stix? Have them. It's a simple 2 piece design, screw on the cart and vape. That's it. You can always refill the carts, no messing around. Very simple to use

 

[Ez Duzit]

Minkey - If you haven't done it already, read the first 2 stickies at the top of the new members forum. I promise you'll be glad you did.

 

[enadrown]

Ditto to the two piece system, I use a 510 and love it, but I am laid off and have all the time in the world to shop for extra stuff juices, test everything, play and learn about my ecig. I keep thinking of other people I who would benefit from the e-cig but know they wouldn't have the time or patience to fiddle with all the 510 troubles and would need something more simple and straight forward to get the ball rolling and have a good go at it.

 

[Robert]

The 510 is a good e-cig The atomizer works good. Take your atty and put it on a 5 volt PV all you will really start to like vaping. The hit and flavor are soo much better at 5 volts.

A 6 volt PV is too high of voltage and will make your juice taste burnt. Look aroound there are 5 volt PV's starting as low as 50$

 

[fester]

I just want to charge it up, put a catridge in, and smoke/vape it, no messing around.

Mike

I'm betting a month from now you'll be posting about your new Silver Bullet, your diy liquids, and your versions of mods and such, look back on this, and laugh.

You may also laugh about the saving money part after going through every model PV and every juice flavor out there...just to make sure there's not 'something better.'

I was like you and it happened to me (no regrets, rather extreme joy as I now know that I'm a nonsmoker forevermore). Best of luck to you and enjoy the discovery.

 

[bladeangel87]

For complete ease of use, you could get a Chuck(lasts 4 days on 1 battery, 80$ including shipping and you have to buy charger/battery seperate, worth it if you have the money)/some other big battery mod like prodigy etc. and get a cartomizer adapter. Cartomizers just work, but a bit more expensive if you don't refill them.

 

[sherid]

Hi all

First post so apologies if it's in the wrong place

I so want this e-cig malarkey to work, but I'm really discouraged so far.

I'm nearly 60, and been a 20 a day guy since my teens. I'll be paying the price for that.

Mainly for health reasons, but to save money too, I decided to try the mini e-cig from Smart Smoker UK (newby so can't include URL).

Pretty good, when using with a fully charged battery and new cartridge, but within days I was buying another battery as the two with their starter kit only seemed to last a couple of hours. Then the atomiser failed. Not realising they offer a 3 month warranty of atomisers, I bought another, then that failed within a fortnight.

I emailed them. No response. I rang them, left a message, no callback.

I decided to try another model from another supplier, but as I'd 50 or so of the original cartridges left from the first one, I bought two more atomisers from Smart Smoker, just so I could use what I had left. Naturally, they've no problems handling sales.

Anyway, tried the Titan (510 ?) from The Electronic Cigarette Co, this time with a mega battery. Doesn't fit the existing chargers I had so more money on a new charger. Bigger cartridges, supposed to be an all round superior experience.

The atomiser failed within days. These folks offer a 28 day warranty, and I'm waiting to see if they respond.

I know there's various tips and techniques to prolong the life of consummables, but if I wanted to mess around with cleaning, bottles, and other bits n bats, I'd have taken up pipe smoking years ago.

I just want to charge it up, put a catridge in, and smoke/vape it, no messing around.

Have I just been unlucky, or is the hardware not yet sufficiently robust enough to last a reasonable period of time. So far I've spent more than I would have on "normal" cigs.

Any views appreciated, particularly from UK users who can suggest a device which looks reasonably like a normal cig, but importantly gives reasonable lifespan on batteries/atomisers.

Regards
Mike

Sell the 510 on the classifieds and buy a two piece e cigarette: Vapor King, GreenCig, k808-D1 WordPress Error is one place. E Cigarette, Ecigarettes, Electronic Cigarette, E Cigs is another as is Welcome to NHaler! The problem with atomizers is solved with a two piece as every cartridge has a built in atomizer. Read reviews of k808d-1 on this forum to see what I mean. Like you, I just turned 60 and smoked a pack a day since I was 17. I don't do that anymore. I have had nearly every e cig, including the ones you are using, but now use the VaporKing nearly all the time. I have been vaping since Jan. 2008

 

[sherid]

I don't know what that word press error is in my post above. I tried to fix it and it is still there. It should be LeCig at E Cigarette, Ecigarettes, Electronic Cigarette, E Cigs

 

[beckah54]

Mike,

Welcome to the forum and e-cigarettes. I know choosing the unit that works for you is an individual thing but the 510 is a good one to start with.

It appears that you are in the UK so I can't advise you on suppliers that will stand behind their products. There are a lot of UK users on the forum so I'm sure one of them can advise you about that. There is also the option of ordering from China, as I know the ones listed in the supplier forum are wonderful to deal with and honor the warranty on the products you purchase from them.

Mainly, I just want to encourage you to stick with it and find the e-cig that works for you. You won't be sorry.

By the way, it is more expensive than smoking when you first start but the expense goes down once you settle on what works for you and find a good supplier that will help you with problems.

Good luck to you and please don't give up.

 

[gooney0]

MinkeyG1,

My guess is that you are running the atomizer dry on the 510. This will shorten their lifespan quite a bit. My atomizers last at least a month, but aren't as effective after 2 weeks.

For the 510 here is what I do:

Pull off cartridge
Drop fluid in until its full.
Put e-cig back together, avoiding spills
When the taste changes and the vapor gets low repeat the above steps.

(If you refill too soon there is no harm. It just won't hold very much fluid)

Now if you want less hassle that that you may want to look into the 2 piece units others have mentioned. They are 50% disposable so you only need to charge batteries and screw on new cartomizers.

As others said don't bother with pre-filled 510 carts. They don't hold that much fluid anyway.

At this time, none of the e-cigs are as simple to use as real cigarettes, but with a small adjustment period you'll get good at it. There are many obvious benefits which make up for the hassle of batteries and refilling.

-Gooney0