I did it!

[woolgrower]

Took the plunge and bought a Riva 510 - Carto Deluxe/dual coil from Liberty Flights! I also bought some Boge 3.0 Ohm cartos (basically all they had in Boge) and then the questions started in my head...was I stupid for getting the Boge cartos when smok Tech dual cartos come with it? Should I have stuck with those? Oh whatever, I bought them, they're coming, I'm sure its fine. I also got a variety of drip tips...although I'm not 100% sure why since I'm getting cartos.

So anyway, onwards and upwards to juices! I have some coming from LF too but just some RY4 and chocolate. I want some APPLE PIE!

Aren't ya'll proud??

 

[Boodle]

Yeah! You did it! You won't be sorry you have dual coils and boges. They're both great. Congrats to you!

 

[swedishfish]

You'll like both! You can never have too many cartos!

 

[dormouse]

Not stupid at all. Boge are the most popular cartos and great to learn on at 3.0 (won't singe as easily as you learn to keep them damp). I use the 3.0 ones all the time because I share them with my slim manual 510 and slim ecigs should only use standard resistance (what the 3.0 are). I enjoy the 3.0's, especially with the bit of extra heat on the Riva.

You should also buy a 510 atomizer for testing juice since you got the carto kit (best to get 2 atomizers - 2.5 ohms or so would be good). Test juices on the atomizer with a drip tip and also to vape ones that don't earn cartomizers. And put your favorites in cartomizers. Cartomizers are hard to impossible to clean, dry and ever have work well again. So I don't bother. I use a carto with the same or compatible juice until it doesn't work well any more then start a new one. I alternate vaping a contrasting flavor pair, and usually get 2 weeks out of the pair, often an extra week out of one.

Note - atomizers usually arrive with nasty primer on them like machine oil. * Blow out the atty into a tissue, drip 4 drops of liquid on the bridge /\, wait and let that soak in, vape that mostly off without inhaling. Repeat from * until the vapor tastes ok on an inhale.

---
How I fill a cartomizer (Vapor4Life for KR8 or Boge 510 for 510 which are all soft-cap w/ no inner seals and defined central air channel)

I use thin (20% or less VG) liquid or Vapor4Life WOW liquids, preferably clear liquids w/ no sediment

Filling a blank carto - I pop off the soft cap (unbent paperclip carefully in the mouth hole, not catching any wires or stuffing!). I hold some tissue against the threaded end hole. I tilt the carto and slowly drip 18 drops onto the inner wall of the carto so it slides down into the stuffing while I rotate the carto. Then I wait 15 seconds or so then I drip however many more drops the stuffing wants to soak up. Then I do clean-up. If it is leaking, I clean that up. Then I tilt the open end down into the tissue and puff hard a few times into the threaded end to clear any juice out of the central air channel (I want to see light through there). If it looks too wet above the stuffing, I gently touch a bit of tissue to the stuffing (otherwise that liquid will be gurgling or spitting in my mouth). Then since this was a fresh fill of a blank, I now let it settle. I lay the carto on different sides for 15-20 minutes. Then it should be ready to vape. If you use thicker juices than me, then you may need to let it settle longer.

As I am vaping - if the vapor gets a bit light or a bit dry or tastes bit off or the carto is getting unusually warm, I will take the carto off the battery, open it, add 6-8 drops or whatever it seems to want (I will either hold a bit of tissue against the threaded end hole just in case, or skimp on how many drops I add to make sure I avoid drips if I have no tissue). I check to make sure the threaded end is dry, give it a couple of puffs into the threaded end to make sure the air channel is clear, and continue to vape.

Note - it is easy for me to "open" my main cartos for adding juice because I replace the white end cap with a plastic or delrin drip tip (I get them at LiteCigUSA.net). So I can easily pull that out with my fingers when I add juice and it keeps my lips cool if the carto is hot.

 

[Mindfield]

Congrats! I think you'll be happy with that kit. And I'll say this: You can never have too many cartos. I've got 10 EMDCCs, 20 XL DCCs, and a handful of Bauway LR cartos, and I just ordered 5 packs of the Fluxomizer Deluxe. And if I like them I'll probably buy more still. It's like juice: There's no such thing as too much.

Well, I suppose there is such thing as too much juice if you go and buy more than you'll ever vape in a year or two, but you get my point.

 

[AttyPops]

We're proud of you wookgrower! Try em out, change em out... see what you like. That's how to find your preferred-vape-of-the-moment. Good Job.

Don't forget... some juices get better with age too, if they taste off at 1st. And shake the crap out of em.

Good Luck!

 

[woolgrower]

Wow dormouse, the light bulb went off when you suggested getting an atomizer for testing juices. I guess I thought you had to have a cartridge if you used an atty but if you just want to taste something you don't need the cart! I get it! Ah, I love it when I get it. Wonder if I can add that to my order real quick....I'll be back!

 

[Mindfield]

Wow dormouse, the light bulb went off when you suggested getting an atomizer for testing juices. I guess I thought you had to have a cartridge if you used an atty but if you just want to taste something you don't need the cart! I get it! Ah, I love it when I get it. Wonder if I can add that to my order real quick....I'll be back!

YEah, that's a great way of trying things out before committing a quantity to a cart/tank/carto (okay, seriously, we need a good collective noun for "things that attach to an atomizer which hold E-liquid"). Some people actually prefer to vape that way all the time -- called "dripping," and you can get drip tips for that purpose. It's purely a personal preference thing, but drip tip are handy when dripping for any reason.

 

[x-smok3]

Congratulations and good choices for all of them. Some taste better on dual and some on Boge. When you can find them the Boge 2.0 are terrific too.

 

[the_vape_nerd]

ahh the anticipation of the first starter kit

lots of people above have told you about the awesome part of vaping...and congratulations...vaping is awesome in a whole bunch of ways, but here's a few of the problems you will likely encounter

1. Cartomizer filling. There's an art to it. Don't get discouraged if you totally screw up a few of them. There's lots of advice here but you won't really understand the whole thing until you try it for yourself. Plan on wasting a few and spilling some juice all over your counter tops. Plan on getting a nasty mouthful of juice. Look at it all as an organic process. Once you get that mouthful of juice brother, you'll pay a lot of attention to carto filling techniques and you'll get better.

2. Your ego seems like a good choice and it will be for like oh a month or so, and then you'll want something else. Nothing against the ego at all, but whatever you buy on the first go round will never be enough.

3. The quest for the best most awesome juice will cost you lots of money, no way around it.

4. Some of the products you buy will suck. Others will amaze you.

5. Your kitchen is about to resemble a .... lab.

Good luck and don't give up easily. Once you learn some basics, the vaping process isn't that hard.

 

[dormouse]

I also use the plastic and delrin drip tips as a mouthpiece on plain stuffing cartos like Boge. The 3.0's don't get hot enough to need a mouthpiece but it is a comfortable smaller size and I enjoy the wider stream of vapor. I do not drip into the drip tip on a carto since the stuffing cartos I use all have a defined center air channel.

There are some gorgeous fancy handmade drip tips called swirl or twist drip tips - they won't fit in cartos.Their o-ring bulges out too much. I have been tempted to try a orthodontic rubber band instead of the o-ring on those.

BTW - if you try other cartos I would avoid SLB ones. They have an annoying inner seal and a loose blob of stuffing and no defined center air channel. IMO should be called work-once cartos.

 

[Mindfield]

I also use the plastic and delrin drip tips as a mouthpiece on plain stuffing cartos like Boge. The 3.0's don't get hot enough to need a mouthpiece but it is a comfortable smaller size and I enjoy the wider stream of vapor. I do not drip into the drip tip on a carto since the stuffing cartos I use all have a defined center air channel.

I'm planning on doing this too. The one thing I have learned to hate more than anything is the condensation on the inside of that rubber cap accumulating inside the hole and eventually popping, bubble-like, all over the outside of the cap and onto my lips. This is made all the more unpleasant when you've recently and accidentally bitten the inside of your lip enough to draw blood right around the usual spot you park the carto when you vape.

I know there's no way around condensation -- it's still a problem on the EMDCCs, too -- but at least a drip tip might make it a little less frequent and annoying.

 

[swedishfish]

I'm planning on doing this too. The one thing I have learned to hate more than anything is the condensation on the inside of that rubber cap accumulating inside the hole and eventually popping, bubble-like, all over the outside of the cap and onto my lips. This is made all the more unpleasant when you've recently and accidentally bitten the inside of your lip enough to draw blood right around the usual spot you park the carto when you vape.

I know there's no way around condensation -- it's still a problem on the EMDCCs, too -- but at least a drip tip might make it a little less frequent and annoying.

Best thing I ever did was get a drip tip for the EMDCC's. I really don't like whistle tips at all.

The only problem now is I have to get three different drip tips; one for the boge cartos, one for the echo-e and one for the EMDCCs.

 

[bobsyeruncle]

Good luck with your kit. Make sure you get your juice all the way down into your cartomizer, eh? Shake it good. Show it who's boss.

 

[Pamdane]

Good choice. You can use the different drip tips you chose to differentiate the juices you put into the cartos. They are also nice to have on cartos to keep the heat away from your lips.
Congrats.