Help me decide on a new atty

[Tonyrat]

Hi everyone. I've been using 510's since I started vaping about 3 years ago. (Has it really been that long??) I started with the regular 510 attys, which lasted about a week each. I then decided to give the 510T tank attys a try, looking to save money on a longer lasting atty. I still use them for one particular flavor, for which they seem to work pretty well. But still, I get about a week from each before they burn out, so I'm not saving money there. (In fact, they're more expensive.) I then decided to try the 510 Dual Coil cartos given their much lower price per atty... and for one flavor in particular (blueberry cheesecake) they're AMAZING. For a day. Sometimes two days. Then they burn out.

Sure, I could rotate attys and make them seem to last longer, but I guess I just don't see the point of making 4 attys last 4 days over 1 atty that lasts 1 day. It's half a dozen of one and six of the other. (It's the same thing in the end.)

I've tried cleaning each of them with water, just draining, just blowing out, alcohol, etc., and don't find myself getting any more life out of any of them. I really want to get the costs down inasmuch as possible. That's where I need your help. I had wanted to stick to the 510 series of products because I like how thin they are and I'm "invested" in batteries, chargers, etc., but at this point, long term value is the most important factor, so if that means switching to a different atty/battery setup then maybe that's what I should do. (I'm willing to spend a few hundred now on a new setup if needed IF it will start saving me money in the end.)

So, given the following "requirements", if I could get all of your opinions on which atty is best for me (510 series preferred, but not requird), I'd be most appreciative.

Flavor Intensity Importance: 9 of 10
Vapor Production Importance: 9 of 10
Life-to-Cost Ratio Importance: 10 of 10
Size/Form Factor Importance: 6 of 10 (I prefer sleek/thin)

("Life-to-Cost Ratio" meaning how many dollars per day they'll cost - for example, if a $10 atty lasts 10 days and a $3 atty lasts 3 days, there's no difference since they're both $1.00 a day, where a $5 atty that lasts 20 days is $0.25 a day - a much better value.)

I truly hope you all can help me out figuring out which setup is going to give me the best value without sacrificing a quality vaping experience. If I won't find better than what I'm doing now, then I suppose I need to just suck it up, but if there's a more cost effective atomizer, I'll just be all giggles about it. (I'll also entertain getting a variable voltage battery like the Darwin if they're known to extend the life of atomizers, given that you can tweak their output.)

I should also mention that the rep at TW said that the higher the resistence the atty, the longer lasting they are... is that true?

 

[cskent]

Sorry, I don't really have any words of wisdom for you but I don't think a different battery is going to make a difference. Voltage is voltage afterall. I average around a month of use from an atty. SR, LR, or HV, it doesn't seem to matter. I'll get one that lasts 2 weeks now and then, and one that goes 3 months occasionally, but overall I'm averaging a month. Carto's I'll usually get a week or two before they start tasting funky.

I'd guess your problem is either technique or your choice of juice. If you're taking really long hits that could be a factor. If your juice is plugging things up that could be it too. Sorry I couldn't offer some real advice though.

 

[Retriever]

You might want to check out the HH357 atty. It is expensive but lasts a long time and gets good reviews:

Atomizers - HH.357 Cisco Spec Hybrid Atomizers - Avid Vaper

 

[Richie G]

Hi Tony. We are fellow alumni of '09 with very different results regarding the longevity of attys. Typically, I get 3 weeks from an atty, be it a true Joye or SLB, though I prefer true Joye. I buy my attys from Electronic-Ash but I have purchased them elsewhere with simlilar results.

As CSKent alluded to, there seems to be a technique issue here that is netting you such poor longetivity. When you say that you "only get a week or so" usage from an atty, what do you mean by that? IOW, does the atty refuse to fire up or is the performance so poor that you toss it and start anew? I'm curious if your normal style of vaping is to take long, consecutive drags as that is one of the few things I can think of that is killing your attys so quickly. Not only do I average 3 weeks from an atty, I *expect* them to last a bit more than that. It's only the rare DOAs and week-long attys that bring the overall average down to 3+ weeks.

That said, how much liquid do you vape per day? I'm at 2-3 mls per. If you're vaping 9 mls per day, maybe that's the where the difference comes in? I don't do anything care-wise out of the ordinary. I blow the atty out nightly, turn it upside down and let it drain on a paper towel. In the morning I give it 3 drops of e-liquid (usually 70/30 PG/VG) and then 2 drops thereafter as needed. I try to give them an alcohol bath at 2 weeks old but I usually forget to do that, so nothing too unusual here maintenance-wise.

Btw, the assumption here is that you direct drip? You're not using the old 510 cartridges, right?

I use standard eGos and two different VV mods at about 4.2 volts, if that helps narrow down this mystery. =)

edit -- it *is* true that higher resistance attys last longer than low ones. Reason being that normal attys (2.2 ohms for a Joye) dont burn as hot as LRs.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

I have been a long time 510 atty user--joyetech in particular. I recently tried ikenvape's io6 atty (built off of the 306 platform) and have nothing but praise for it. The flavor it produces cannot be matched IMHO... along with the vapor. I've been using one for about 3 weeks intermittently along with a tank/carto system I use, but I have read many accounts about its longevity.

You can check out ikenvape's thread for more info.

cheers,

p.s. I vape on a provari and a super-T precise plus.

 

[Tonyrat]

Hi Tony. We are fellow alumni of '09 with very different results regarding the longevity of attys. Typically, I get 3 weeks from an atty, be it a true Joye or SLB, though I prefer true Joye. I buy my attys from Electronic-Ash but I have purchased them elsewhere with simlilar results.

As CSKent alluded to, there seems to be a technique issue here that is netting you such poor longetivity. When you say that you "only get a week or so" usage from an atty, what do you mean by that? IOW, does the atty refuse to fire up or is the performance so poor that you toss it and start anew? I'm curious if your normal style of vaping is to take long, consecutive drags as that is one of the few things I can think of that is killing your attys so quickly. Not only do I average 3 weeks from an atty, I *expect* them to last a bit more than that. It's only the rare DOAs and week-long attys that bring the overall average down to 3+ weeks.

That said, how much liquid do you vape per day? I'm at 2-3 mls per. If you're vaping 9 mls per day, maybe that's the where the difference comes in? I don't do anything care-wise out of the ordinary. I blow the atty out nightly, turn it upside down and let it drain on a paper towel. In the morning I give it 3 drops of e-liquid (usually 70/30 PG/VG) and then 2 drops thereafter as needed. I try to give them an alcohol bath at 2 weeks old but I usually forget to do that, so nothing too unusual here maintenance-wise.

Btw, the assumption here is that you direct drip? You're not using the old 510 cartridges, right?

I use standard eGos and two different VV mods at about 4.2 volts, if that helps narrow down this mystery. =)

edit -- it *is* true that higher resistance attys last longer than low ones. Reason being that normal attys (2.2 ohms for a Joye) dont burn as hot as LRs.

Well, the way I hit it is the same regardless if it's a 510 standard atty or a 510T or a 510 carto. I just counted, and each hit is 6-7 seconds long, and about the same draw as I'd pull from a tobacco cig... if memory serves that is lol. Juice consumption depends on atty/juice combo. My blueberry cheesecake from TW in a dual coil carto @ 1.5ohm I go through probably about 10 ml a day which is insane. Other flavors using the 510T or regular 510, it's about 3ml. Not sure why there's a huge gap in juice usage - possibly the fact that the cartos are dual coil and low resistance??

Hope that gives you insight into my vaping style.

As far as maintenance - I've tried every which way to clean/maintain and it hasn't seemed to make any difference. One exeption, I've had good results making a standard atty last closer to two weeks if I intentionally flood it with juice and blow it out once a day. But if I use water or alcohol, they seem to die just as fast.

*EDIT* and I don't direct drip, I really hate having to top off every 2 minutes. I pretty much constantly vape, so I use my half-tooth teabag mod for standard attys, use the 510T's and cartos as-is. I also pretty much chain vape. All the time. Unless I'm sleeping. Then I dunno cuz I can't remember what I do when I sleep. lol

 

[Tonyrat]

SOLUTION FOUND: So I found a solution to my problem. I got myself a variable voltage battery and DROPPED the voltage to 3.3v from what my standard 510 mega batteries (3.7v) would give it. I am not getting quite as much vapor, but the difference isn't that bad (it's totally livable - only slightly noticeable) and the carto's are NOT burning out. Not sure how well they'll last at this point, will just have to try. Even if I get an extra day out of them, that's a big savings, and totally worth it.