Guide me to an e-cigg!

[fwho]

I am new to the forums but was hoping that someone could point me towards a good e-cigg. I bought one before, and dont remember the name of it but it has a bull (Merrill Lynch style), and it was horrible. First off it seemed like the 1 pack cartridges lasted all of 20 puffs, the battery refused to stay charged, and around 3 cartridges in they started refusing to sit right. So I am finally willing to give it another shot, just hopefully not with garbage this time.

Anyways, I have been smoking Reds for about a decade now, between 1-1.5 pk/day. I dont really expect to totally replace that with an e-cigg, especially right off the bat, but I can begin a transition and hopefully save a few dollars in the process. Flavoring is not important to me, but I do want a good hit.

I know the local Sheetz (gas station) sells Blu, and that about sums my knowledge of e-ciggs. So, any advice or guidance is appreciated.

 

[newplague]

Welcome to the forum and kudos to you for wanting to cut down/quit. I'm not too familiar with all the new stuff out on the market right now, but I'm sure you'll get a lot of suggestions here soon.

 

[fwho]

Awesome, thank you!

 

[Baditude]

Welcome to the ECF forums. You came to the right place to get you started vaping and to quit smoking.

I'll advise you from the start that the cigarette sized batteries can be extremely disappointing. They are just too underpowered and don't last but 3-4 hours each before needing recharging. However, they can show newcomers that vaping can work to help them to stop smoking.

Most people who vape after stopping smoking end up purchasing a mid-level or intermediate size battery known as the eGo class of batteries. These are more cigar-like in length and diameter like the white batteries below in the size comparison photo with a real cigarette and two cigarette-size batteries. I recommend that you start out from the beginning with one of these.



I'll give you a link to a reputable vendor who you could put together a nice vaping setup and a list of gear to get.
AltSmoke.com | Personal Vaporizers | Electronic Cigarette | Ecigs | Your one stop shop!

Two eGo batteries. The second one is to use while the other is charging. This can be a single or variable voltage model; the choice is yours. A variable voltage model now might prolong the usefulness of your first set of batteries.

Appropriate ego battery charger. Optional usb/wall unit would allow you to charge your batteries from any wall outlet when not convenient to be at a computer port.

Two types of juice delivery devices:

A five-pack of single coil cartomizers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmk0Do16PUQ

And either three clearomizers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LPjcMZEhQk

or a mini-vivi nova tank. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYyHCEElcsU

E-liquid: Choose a flavor or two of your choice in 18mg nicotine strength. Plan on vaping 3-5 ml of juice daily and plan the quantity appropriately.

 

[fwho]

Thank you for the info. I am going to re-read it a few more times since I am not familiar with the terms, technicals, and lingos yet, but will def. check it out.

 

[Rapture]

how much money do u want to spend? Those cheap disposable and cartridge stuff are gonna get you off smokes. You need something as enjoyable or more enjoyable than cigarrettes. I would look into cartomizers and tanks. and a cheap variable voltage device such as the VAMO. For around 100 bucks you could get yourself a nice setup.

These prices are estimates and will be cheaper/more expensive at different sites.

VAMO - 50$
J-TANK - 20$ electronix stix*
BATTERY - 10$
CHARGER - 10$
BOGE STANDARD CARTOS 5pack - 6$ (Surevapes) free shipping
30 ML BOTTLE OF JUICE - 8$ (Mt baker Vapor)
Cartomizer punch - 5$
Filling tip - 5$

Cartomizers are disposable. Everything esle will last a long time. You would be buying cartomizers and juice to keep this operation going.

I was never fully satisfied with e-cigs until I got all the stuff listed above. Just be sure you research the topics of cartomizer tanks and how to properly fill them up first. They are very easy to fill but need to be done right. Youtube is your friend follow any tutorials and how to punch and fill a cartomizer. This setup works awesome for me and might or might not for you. Everyone is different. I now have like 6 tanks and 2 devices and a cig never crosses my mind. I would probably get 18mg nicotine for a nice hit like you were saying. Im pretty sure if you get all this stuff you will no longer care about smoking. Dont fool around with the little cheap stuff and just get right to the point. good luck.

 

[fwho]

Thanks, I was actually shying away from the $80 price tag of Blu but started looking at other starter kits prices and thinking about long run savings potential.

 

[Cyric]

I started out with a Volt X2 with Clearo's and T3 Bottom coils, and I use them every day. Much more portable than most mods.

Smokelessimage.com is also doing a St Pattys sale so everything is 23% off with Coupon Code LUCKYVOLT.

Grab you some liquid to throw in them and you are good.

Midnight Express on their site is a good Tobacco type flavor.
I also like Pipe Dream from Purevapes.com, and Boba's Bounty from Avejuice.com

For a pack to pack and a half I would start off with a 2 Strengths of Nicotine, one in 24mg for when you are really craving a cig, and 18 for your normal. It's worked pretty well for me and I've been off the stinkies for going on 3 weeks now.

As said above, I recommend atleast 2 Batteries. The X2 in 650 or 900 MAH ones are usually fine if you keep them on rotation. I use the bigger 1300 Mah but the are pretty big.

 

[fwho]

Congrats! and thank you.

 

[Baditude]

Thanks, I was actually shying away from the $80 price tag of Blu but started looking at other starter kits prices and thinking about long run savings potential.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the usual "starter kits" many vendors offer. There always seems to be something missing to make a nice setup, or they will include an off-brand or no-name device of questionable quality, and then you've unknowingly wasted your money on something you can't use.

The gear that I recommended above is commonly used, universally recommended gear and name brand equipment. You will not likely find all of that stuff in a typical kit. I recommended two types of juice delivery devices because they work differently and people tend to like one over another. Getting two types gets you started right out of the box to be able to start vaping immediately and acheive your goal to quit smoking.

 

[Cyric]

Anytime.

Also forgot, the cool thing about the t3 clearo's is that when they go bad you just replace the head for 2.99 or so before discount. So I ended up ordering 4 T'3s after all was said and done.

 

[jazon1]

think a ego spinner or twist or even a vamo if you dont mind something larger and a vivi nova or kanger t3 for an atomizer would be a good start for you, thos cigalikes you tried the first time are just a let down i dont know anyone that has been able to use one to actually quit without getting something better first.

 

[fwho]

Is the juice delivery the cartomizers, clearomizers, and tanks?

 

[fwho]

Honestly, there are a lot of new options presented to me, none of which I know anything about. So it might take me a bit to sort it all out. But as a random question, is it possible to buy the Blu kit, and then use other cartridges down the road?

Also, what creates the "hit"? Is it the voltage or the vaporizer?

 

[Baditude]

Honestly, there are a lot of new options presented to me, none of which I know anything about. So it might take me a bit to sort it all out. But as a random question, is it possible to buy the Blu kit, and then use other cartridges down the road?

Also, what creates the "hit"? Is it the voltage or the vaporizer?

The juice delivery systems include cartomizers, atomizers, clearomizers, and tanks. These are all explained thoroughly in the first article of the blog.

The Blu kit likely will have a different threading attachment that will not be compatible to other vendors e-cigs. That is how the company traps you into using their product exclusively. Not recommended.

The "hit" is a combination of the vapor itself, the amount of heat of the vapor (different voltages can adjust the heat), the strength of the nicotine in the e-liquid, and to a lesser extent the amount of pg (propylene glycol) in the e-liquid.

The battery supplies the power to the juice delivery device, which contains the e-liquid and the heating coil (sometimes referred to as the atomizer) to vaporize the liquid into vapor.

 

[Katya]

Kits are overpriced and not very good. If you don't have to have a cigalike, any eGo, Riva or eGo-C twist (Vision Spinner) are very good choices, but they are fat batteries.

Blu is OK, but not worth the price. It has a 510 connection, though, so you can try other 510 cartomizers/clearomizers on Blu batteries, if you decide to go that route.

Welcome a happy vaping!

 

[fwho]

Well thank you for all the help, I am def. going to continue looking into this until I find my first. Well second, but who can really count the first time anyways?

 

[Katya]

Happy hunting and good luck!

 

[hausmouse]

Honestly, there are a lot of new options presented to me, none of which I know anything about. So it might take me a bit to sort it all out. But as a random question, is it possible to buy the Blu kit, and then use other cartridges down the road?

Also, what creates the "hit"? Is it the voltage or the vaporizer?

Honestly if I were you I would seriously look over baditude's first recommendation. It's kind of a winning match up for beginners. A blu kit will not probably not last you long and may not provide you with adequate results to prevent you from smoking especially if you are stressed. I have I blu premium 100 in a drawer downstairs because if everything in the world goes wrong I can go to Walgreens and get cartridges. That's the only reason.
Baditude wouldn't steer you wrong. While the ego batteries are slightly larger they last longer which will hold the higher voltage with a more satisfying vape for longer and even more so if you go for the variable volt type ego But that is slightly more advanced. Remember if you go with the more advanced variable volt ego twist we can help you and there is a chart for recommendations.
The vamo I suspect would be too big and advanced for you and just turn you off to vaping right now. We're all here to help and hope you enjoy whatever you choose and there will be someone who can answer the questions you have on the device you choose

 

[Baditude]

Thanks for your support, hausmouse.

I know the first inclination is to go with something like a cigarette-size battery, I know, I was the same way. But after just two weeks of using my first setup that cost me some $60, I knew I needed something much better. I actually skipped the intermediate step and went to the advanced PV's or mods. But everyone here who has been where you are now are going to advise you to skip the Blu kit. Wise words are buy once, cry once, regret never.