I bought a double-eGo kit a couple of weeks ago. It was AWESOME when I got it.
My vapor is WAY down at this point. I think the batteries are still good.
I've cleaned everything as much as it can be cleaned. I've been using the frothing nozzle on the cappuccino machine to clean out the atomizers, which would probably work great if I did it at the end of the evening and let them dry overnight. But NoooOoooOoo... I have to do it in a hurry when they're clogged, usually with a cup of coffee in my hand, so I jigger the battery button to dry them out. The attys are probably the culprit?
I've also been using the same cartridges and washing/refilling them. That's probably bad too, right?
But I do understand that no matter how much care is taken, atomizers, cartridges and batteries are replacement items. Sigh.
So now I do have to throw some more money at them.
Would one (or more) of you kind souls please take me by the hand and guide me on the progress trek? I would be much obliged. What's the cheapest and best next move?
First off, Welcome! Second, most all of us have been through this at some point. You are doing nearly everything right! Don't become discouraged. These things take little getting used to.
Low, tasteless vapor can be caused by many things but a big culprit is water in the atty or cartridge or both. I'm not sure if you are drying the carts out as well as the atomizers. If not, you need to. After rinsing out, the atomizers do need to have as much water blown out of them as possible before using. This is important for the carts too - its just a different process. You can't just blow air through them to dry them out. One way is to bake them at a VERY low temp (or sitting them in the beautiful SC sunshine works well too)... Shouldn't take more than an hour or so in the sun. Another way is how I do it... rinse the carts with some water. Then, using tweezers, I grab the filler material and yank it out. its a little rectangle in some carts. I rinse it again and then squish it in a paper towel or other type of towel until dry. I might do this a couple of times for really gunky filler. I also take a q-tip and swab out the inside of the cart. Then, I wad up the filler and cram it back in the cart with the tweezers.
The idea is to make the atty and carts as dry as possible before refilling with juice. When you think they are dry enough, refill the cart with maybe 4-5 drops of your favorite juice plus 1 drop on the atty. Exactly how much depends on the size of the cartridge. Plus, the really thick juice (the consistency of maple syrup) will require more frequent cleaning of this stuff. Thinner, more clear juices work a bit better for attys and cartridge methods...well, cartomizers like thinner juices better too. If all goes well, the first few hits might be a bit weak but it should come up to full vapor after 3 or 4 puffs. While its not necessary right now, Dormouse made a good suggestion about replacing the white filler with the blue foam stuff. I believe its is available at pet shops that sell aquarium supplies. Hopefully, this will get you back on track.
Now, cartomizers have been mentioned and they are easier to use and probably offer more "bang for the buck" in my opinion. A great, cost-effective addition to your kit. I recommend them as they remove some of the "fiddling around" that you have with carts/attys. Same rules apply though.
Thick juices gunk them up faster and they need to be first flushed out with Vodka or Pure Grain Alcohol then a good flushing with water and then blown dry or baked dry before refilling them. They hold a LOT more liquid though and can be cleaned and refilled, in many cases, dozens of times before they are shot. (start tasting bad etc.) It would be a good idea to pick up a 5 pack of cartomizers with a resistance of between 2.5 to 3.2 ohms. Standard Boge cartos are about 3.2 ohms and work well for many people. Its a good starting point. If you want to try the LR (lower resistance = less than 2.5 ohms), you certainly can but they will deliver a hotter hit on an eGo and the length of vaping time before the battery needs to be recharged will go down. Also, Some juices vape well with LR, others, I've found, taste and vape better at 3.2 ohms which is a cooler hit. YMMV
Hope this helps a bit!
