Getting very discouraged

[Ciele Edward]

I started on a M402 then moved to 510s. I got sick of constantly having to buy new batteries and atomizers (tried every cleaning method I found on this forum, nothing restored them to their hard-hitting glory). I was buying new batteries once a month.

So I ordered a Riva from The Vapor Room. I must say I am extremely discouraged at this point. I can't get a good throat hit from this thing. I followed the charging directions to a T. I've tried it with both LR and regular 510 atomizers and about...oh...15 different kinds of juice. Nothing. I don't know if that's normal for a Riva, but its a piece of junk.

So there goes more money down the tubes. I just want to find something that will give me the throat hit I want EVERY TIME. As it stands, I might get it every now and then, but rarely. This cooled off vapor isn't cutting it. I thought a Riva was supposed to be stronger, that's why I ordered it.

I haven't had a cigarette in months, but the way I feel right now, its a good thing that I don't have a pack stashed away somewhere in the house, otherwise I'd smoke it.

Isn't there anything out there that gives decent throat hit? The regular 510 is okay, but nothing special (and yes, I've tried all strengths of nicotine) HELP.

 

[thedudeabides]

Check the suppliers forum, there are 3 VERY nice boxmods available there that should do the trick. I too had issues with my EGO getting the throat hit I needed. That's now a thing of the past now that I have my Phidias!

The three worth looking into (although they are somewhat hard to come by due to being frequently sold out):

The Phidias - I own this one and love it, I use the 3.7v battery w/ an LR306 atty, hits like a truck.
The Ali'i (and Journeyman) from R&R manufacturing - ordered an Ali'i and am awaiting delivery, this is a bit more pocket friendly than the Phidias from it's looks.
The REO Mini - also looks very highly recomended, and if I hadn't invested in two other box mods I'd probably buy one (who knows, I still may!)

 

[uba egar320]

I always hated when my gear gave me crap. What strength juice are you using? I don't have that model, but might be able to be of assistance.

 

[uba egar320]

Check the suppliers forum, there are 3 VERY nice boxmods available there that should do the trick. I too had issues with my EGO getting the throat hit I needed. That's now a thing of the past now that I have my Phidias!

The three worth looking into (although they are somewhat hard to come by due to being frequently sold out):

The Phidias - I own this one and love it, I use the 3.7v battery w/ an LR306 atty, hits like a truck.
The Ali'i (and Journeyman) from R&R manufacturing - ordered an Ali'i and am awaiting delivery, this is a bit more pocket friendly than the Phidias from it's looks.
The REO Mini - also looks very highly recomended, and if I hadn't invested in two other box mods I'd probably buy one (who knows, I still may!)

Oh man can I vouch for the kaji journeyman. It's a monster as far as continuous vape goes. A little bigger than my screwdriver, but not to bad on size.

 

[Rosa]

The only thing that gives me a killer TH every time (killer as in rips up my throat - just like I want it to) is a really strong menthol. I wasn't a menthol smoker, but I like it in vapor form.

* you MUST use 100% PG for decent TH.
* menthol kicks it up a few notches (I buy a bottle of menthol flavoring from Totally wicked and add some to everything).
* people add 'clean' alcohol like vodka or everclear for an extra TH boost - just a couple of drops per bottle of juice, I think.
* some people say the cartomizers provide better TH.

What flavor juice do you use BTW? PG or VG? Strength? Vendor?

Good Luck!

 

[Pav]

Good suggestions already. PG juice at 18-24 mg nic is what I use. And cartomizers only here. I don't like the atty drip cartridge option. Sounds like you may be having issues with the cartridges in terms of juice getting to the atty. Like I said - cartomizers.

A cartomizer has the atty and filler material for juice in one unit. Much more hassle free and consistent in my experience.

 

[shanagan]

I have an ego, which of course is basically the same as your riva, and am not sure what problem it's giving you with throat hit - mine is consistent and strong.

Have you tried direct dripping?

 

[Saintscruiser]

I was getting to where I wasn't getting decent TH from analogs, either. I was cutting the filter down to half when I wanted something really strong. I was out of control, though, and was leery that just any moment, I was going to have lung cancer like my mom did. You know, John Wayne, and who doesn't like John Wayne, was smoking 5 packs a day....a carton every 2 days! Generally speaking, I'm doing rather well with the 510, (some TH's better than others) but I have back up everything. I learned that the hard way. I hope everything works out for you!

 

[banjo]

Almost all of us have initially experienced problems when we began vaping. Some of those "problems" grew out of our expectations that vaping would be just like smoking, which it isn't. As far as flavor & TH, the 510, for many here, is about as good as it gets, especially with LR510 attys. If you purchased your "15 different kinds of juice" from one supplier, you might try changing suppliers. I would suggest FreedomSmokeUSA. If you think the attys may be your problem, don't clean them. I blow my attys out once or twice a day, and they provide good service for months. I haven't "lost" an atty in the last three months. If you are concerned about battery life, I would suggest that you consider a mod that uses larger commercial batteries. I use a REO and a Phidias, both of which use 18650 3000mAH batteries that last me for 2 full days of vaping. They also provide more current to my attys so that they burn a lit5tle hotter. You could also use a mod like the Screwdriver MKII, which also uses larger, locally available, batteries. I use 510 & LR510 attys on all of my mods and get great service, vapor, flavor, and TH.

 

[Rosa]

Also: I just re-read and noticed you mentioned killing batteries too. Were you (are you) using automatic batteries? If so, two things: #1. don't. #2. sounds like you are (or were) drowning the batts. If you put too much juice it can kill an automatic battery AND make the PV very hard to draw on with reduced TH.

More info please....

 

[StormFinch]

If you want something stock and smaller you could always sell your Riva on the Classified and Swaps section and then pick up the high power 801; DSE-801 HIGH POWER Vaporizer It's a 7.4 device and although relatively new, so far I've heard good things about it. Sherid has one for sale as well, not sure if it's spoken for, but you can at least read his opinion on it; http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/classifieds-swaps/125319-dse-801-high-power-vaporizer-sale-trade-kr808s.html#post1949417

KR808s also give a warm vapor and I find them comparable to the light cigarettes I used to smoke. An XL battery can give you between 4 and 6 hours depending on how much you vape.

 

[Rosa]

FWIW: I use the same model as you (basically, but under a different name) and I get good TH.

 

[Ciele Edward]

I am thinking now that I just got a defective Riva. I bought it from the Vapor Room. One atomizer died within, oh...a few hours. Then, a day or so later, the first battery went kaput. The second battery died just now. That's less than a week. I am furious – but this partially explains the problem. I emailed the site owner and am currently waiting to see if he is going to do anything about it. I've only been vaping for a few months, but before I even started I researched absolutely everything. I like to think that I'm not green enough to kill an entire Riva starter kit in less than a week. I don't even think I could do that on purpose, much less by accident.

And Rosa, I'm sorry I didn't mention it before, but I wouldn't waste money on an automatic battery. I learned my lesson there VERY early on. My PT is automatic though, and it looks like I'll be stuck with that until cignot can get my new batteries to me to make up for this Riva mistake of mine.

As far as throat hit goes, I never had a problem until TrueSmoker stopped carrying the DK Tab juice. I have tried juices from all manner of different places and their juice is fantastic. It is, hands down, the BEST juice. DK Tab gave me a good throat hit at 18 mg. Sometimes too much to handle. Then they ran out. I've waited almost a month and they have yet to restock, so I'm scrambling around trying to find something to make up for it. That's why I bought the Riva. I'd have been better off setting my money on fire for entertainment purposes. I really, really hope they see fit to replace this kit. *sigh*

 

[Bozzlite]

Ciele, I was gonna suggest you order some new attys from a reputable dealer like Cignot. I first started out with two Egos and a week later I ordered two Rivas. I had a problem too with the throat hit, vapor production, and flavor from the Rivas. The attys were just too light of a draw and airy. When I replaced the original Riva attys with some spare attys from cignot, they improved greatly. On par with the Egos.

I don't regularly clean my attys (maybe every 2 weeks) but have never had any probs with them after 10 weeks of use. Same with the batts, no problems with Riva or Ego. Just dump those airy, easy draw attys and get some new ones.

 

[PoliticallyIncorrect]

Bear in mind that every part of a Riva kit--excepting the cone & charger--are disposables anyway. That said, obviously less than a week is seriously subpar, and a Riva should perform at least as well as a 510 (mine certainly did for me). If you were using LR attys that weren't part of the kit, my eyes would be on the batteries as the defective link in the chain.

Juice doesn't sound like the problem, but I agree with Rosa that a kick-in-the-... menthol helps. Here's the strongest I know of: https://strictlyejuice.com/index.ph...ducts_id=316&zenid=icv07rvh2nln386pfo3834jud2

 

[papako]

DONT DO IT... be strong...
u gotta check out the hello 016 battery (1300mah). use all your 510 atty's, carts, and driptips with this battery.
2 days of heavy vaping, sleep for 8hrs and vape the rest of the day. as long u charge batt every two days. maybe try some 36mg menthol or maybe a "variable volt mod"

 

[wv2win]

Throat hit is caused primarily by the warmth of the vapor and the nic strength of the liquid. So many of us have moved to 5 or 6 volt PV's because they provide consistent throat hit for 5-7 hours on one charge. Using 24 or 36mg strength e-liquid also helps. It's no accident that so many veterens use 5 volt PV's. Here is a good summary site which may be helpful:

Best e-Cig Mod List | e-Cig Mods Database

 

[The Rebel]

As far as throat hit goes, I never had a problem until TrueSmoker stopped carrying the DK Tab juice. I have tried juices from all manner of different places and their juice is fantastic. It is, hands down, the BEST juice. DK Tab gave me a good throat hit at 18 mg. Sometimes too much to handle. Then they ran out. I've waited almost a month and they have yet to restock, so I'm scrambling around trying to find something to make up for it.

Truesmoker isn't the only supplier to carry DK Tab. Try Best Electronic Cigarettes - Freedom Smokes Inc. or Electronic Cigarette Supplies & Electronic Cigarette Refills for Name-Brand Electronic Cigarettes! E-Cigs from LiteCigUSA. A lot of suppliers offer DK juices and there are always coupons to make their products more afforable. A master list of coupons or discount codes can be found here http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...tronic-cigarette-coupon-code-master-list.html

Don't limit your self to one supplier. There are plenty of well reviewed ones out there that carry the same juice you're looking for. Also, consider a mod in the future that increases the voltage to up the TH for you. I use the Ali'i that was mentioned earlier in this thread. It can be vaped at 3.7V using one battery and 6V by changing to a different batteries. At 6V the Ali'i will provide enough TH on a 24mg juice to rock your world. Good luck and keep at it. Analogs are soo 2009.

 

[Ciele Edward]

I was under the impression that a lot of sites carried DK Tab, but that it was different at each site. Is this not the case?

As far as the atomizers go, I was using cignot standard 510 attys after the original LR atty that came with the pack died. I've finally found an efficient cleaning method though, which pleases me. High pressure steam worked like a charm and restored the atty to almost new. I'm thrilled about that.

 

[Rosa]

I was under the impression that a lot of sites carried DK Tab, but that it was different at each site. Is this not the case?

As far as the atomizers go, I was using cignot standard 510 attys after the original LR atty that came with the pack died. I've finally found an efficient cleaning method though, which pleases me. High pressure steam worked like a charm and restored the atty to almost new. I'm thrilled about that.

Hooray!

I believe the DK tab will be the same no matter who you buy it from - not all juices are that way, but I think anything "DK" will be the same all over.