Introduction

[_Lee]

Hi all.


I've been lurking for a bit and decided to register and post up my experience and some questions.I am not a retailer, nor do I have any ties to one. This is not a paid ad or review, simply the voice of a frustrated smoking addict.


I've been a pack a day smoker for longer than I haven't and I'm sure the damage has been done. I've been tired of it for a long time, but the death grip has been relentless. Nothing I have tried has worked thus far. (patches, gum, meds, cold turkey, weaning off, etc) I just have not been able to get the monkey off my back. Maybe i'm just too weak. Maybe I feel it is unfair to those around me to suffer through my horrible moods when quitting. Whatever the reason, it persists.


I have had some experience with vaping over the last 4 years. It has been an on/off relationship; mainly off. I started with a gas station 3 piece kit. Everything about the experience was unpleasant and unsatisfying. I went back to analogs. I then tried SmokeTip, the little cigarette sized one, a couple of years ago. It was weak. Instead of buying a higher milligram, I shelved it and returned to my old friends, the analogs. They never let me down. I tried a couple others here and there, yet nothing satisfied. Again I returned to analogs.


Last month, a co worker was vaping at his desk and I inquired. He was using Blu and said he had not smoked since January. I was happy for him, but I was sure this was not going to bode well for me. The next day, he bought me one and brought it to work; the disposable. I was really surprized at how satisfying it actually was. I felt a little bit of hope creep back in.


After that, I started the massive information influx that is the internet. I was hitting youtube to watch reviews; hours upon hours. I scoured review sites and forums looking for as much info as I could get; real-world info from real smokers and ex-smokers. I talked to ther locals who had quit the habit and turned to vaping. My father-in-law had even started vaping. I'm proud to say he has not smoked since February. Knowing him and his habit, I knew it had to have improved. He was a 2 pack a day chain smoker. For him to be able to quit, they had to be satisfying.


I placed an order at Apollo for a disposable and ended up with a BOGO e-coupon. In the interim, i tried NJOY. The feel in my had was sensational, but that is where the satisfaction ended. It was quite harsh, and on par with other reviews, battery life was dismal at best. While waiting for my Apollo disposables to come, I was getting impatient. I decided to swing by this new store that opened up down the road; Lizard Juice. The sales girl didn't go in to a big schpeel. She simply showed me the products, explained the differences and listened to me. She then gave me one to try out. I was pretty satisfied. I ended up getting the Starter kit and the Outlaw (Marlboro Red equivanlent) juice. I upgraded the tank and atomizer as well. I'm still learning the terminology and ohm/volts and all, so excuse my illiteracy. I'll just link it here:


Battery : Electronic Cigarettes battery | E Cigarettes | Electronic Cigarette Batteries
Tank : Accessories : L-VOD Tank
Wick : Accessories : L-VOD Wicks


Throat hit is great and the taste I am really getting to like. It feels so much cleaner than smoking analogs. To be honest, I almost prefer it to analogs. I really have high hopes for this, but I am still anxious to try the Apollo disposable. The reason is simply the juice. Apollo says the disposable uses the same juice as the kits I would buy. (Marlboro Red equivalent)


Now that I've used this for about five days, I have had about 10 analogs. This in itself is a miracle! I do, however, would rather find a cigarette sized one that vapes like the one I have. Battery life is not a worry for me as I am a desk jockey. A pass-through would be an ideal battery for me.


I do not really know what kind of atomizer I have. Is it a tankomizer, clearomizer? What I would like to know is what cigarette sized e-cig can I use that will give me the same, if not more, vapor? I need the cigarette feel in my hands. I appreciate any guidance you can provide. I know the tank one I have has a higher volume capacity than a cartomizer, but I think I can live with that and the shorter battery life. (as long as the battery is a pass thru) I'm still clueless on matching up the battery to the atomizer/cartomizer/clearomizer, etc


Thanks for any help you can provide...


Sorry for the long read.

 

[thewrightstuff]

The setup is a standard ego/evod one. It is what I use, and it has been working well for me for almost a year. The only issue that I have seen in your links is the price. The tank is 15 bucks on that site, I get mine for about 5, the heads, which are 5 bucks on the site, usually retail for 2 dollars or less.

 

[Baditude]

Congrats on your current success, and also welcome to ECF, Lee.

Something you will need to figure out about batteries is that bigger is better. (yeah, "That's what she said!"). You will never find a smaller battery perform as well or as long as a bigger battery. An ego battery (larger) is always going to out perform a cigalike battery (smaller). Got it?

The ego battery and juice attachment you are using appear to be knockoffs of a Joytech ego battery and the Kanger Evod clearomizer. Ego is actually the name of a class of battery, not a brand name. Joytech and Vision are brand name ego batteries known for more consistancy and higher quality overall from the lesser names or knockoffs.

Same goes for juice attachments. The name brand products are usually first on the market, and then you see the knockoffs appear. Kanger makes the Evod (smaller) and the Protanks (multiple sizes with pyrex glass). Innokin makes the iClear 16 (smaller) and the iClear 30 (larger).

Some of these are top coil/top wicked and are filled by removing the top cap, and may provide a warmer vape experience. Some are bottom coil/bottom wicked and are filled by turning the device upside down and filling from below; these may provide for a cooler vape.

All clearomizers and cartomizers will fit on an ego battery. Ego batteries have both an outer ego thread and an inner 510 thread at the connector.

Here is a picture dictionary of the more common juice devices available for your ego battery:

Juice Devices

 

[kelli]

hi lee and welcome

i agree that the stuff you are buying has inflated prices, but that isn't unusual til you find out the in's and outs of buying stuff. there is a wide variety of vaping vendors and just as many different prices on things. mr. baditude will not lead you astray. listen to him, he has taught me plenty.

 

[_Lee]

I had a feeling I was paying more than I should. Cheap lesson I suppose. Looking at the online stores and not fully knowing the terminology by heart can be a bit unsettling when it comes time to click the Checkout button.

Thanks to all of you for the feedback. It is appreciated.

To get more vapor on an exhale, is it the carto-tank, the juice or a stronger battery that I need? Does it make a difference if it has a wick or without? (my current one has no wick)

 

[Sebastriel]

Nice to meet you _Lee! I'm new too and I know how hard it is to quit smoking tobacco, I tried the gum, the patch, never the meds like Chantix I had a friend who got suicidal taking that stuff. It was never really the nicotine but the inhalation and exhalation of smoke, which the patch or gum cannot mimic like vaping can. The flavors I've been vaping the most are Big Red gum and lemon lime. But next month when I get my disability check I'm going to try some flavors that look really good at delawarevapor.com they have their own and also ones called "Flavorz by Joe" that look and sound totally mouthwatering hehe. I wish I had some extra money to order some now but I'll have to wait till October . Anyway, so far my favorite setup is the eVic with a smoktech pyrex DCT atomizer. No matter how massive of a hit I take even on 5 volts there is no alteration in the tastiness

-Malazan

 

[_Lee]

I called Lizard Juice today. They tell me the L-VOD tank I have is 1.8ohm. The battery is a "custom made for us" 3.7. Is that ohms? resistance? I didn't ask as I assumed ohms. I'm too new to be making assumptions like that.

It makes it even more confusing as I look at fasttech and myvaporstore for a larger tankomizer (more capacity and more vapor), but how do I tell which ones will work with my battery? I would think if I got a low voltage one, the battery would burn it up. If I get one too high, the battery wouldn't give enough power.

Would an 1100mAh give more vapor than a 650? Is it the clearomizer/tankomizer more responsible for vapor production? What component do I look for to increase vapor?

 

[kelli]

i will get in trouble for overstepping my knowledge bounds here if i am wrong, but.....i think that the 1100mAh battery will just last about twice as long (10-11 hrs vs 6-7) so that shouldn't make a difference in the amount of vapor. i think you have to go to a higher voltage device to get more vapor. and now mr. baditude will correct me if i am wrong

 

[Hoofhearted62]

As a general rule or so I have heard the # of MAH for the battery is about the # of useful hours. 650mah would be 6-7 hours, 1100 mah would be 11 and so on...

 

[Hoofhearted62]

with my zmax v5 with a 18650sr battery I get about 500 or so hits before it dies. don't know the # of hours but it about ever 2 days before I have to change it. but I use 5 devices in rotation. 4 egos and the zmax,

 

[Baditude]

To get more vapor on an exhale, is it the carto-tank, the juice or a stronger battery that I need? Does it make a difference if it has a wick or without? (my current one has no wick)

Your Evod clearomizer actually does have a wick, you just can't see it. It is inside the metal cylinder inside the the Evod. All bottom-coil/bottom-wicked clearomizers are this way (ie. Kanger Protank).

Vapor production is a combination of multiple factors:

• E-liquid: higher ratio of vg will produce slightly more vapor than a lower ratio of vg.

• Voltage: higher voltage heats the juice at a higher temperature; possibly to the detriment of the flavor (diminishing return).

• Resistance: lower resistance heats the juice at a higher temperature; possibly to the detriment of flavor (diminishing return).

• Dual or multiple coils: Two coils (theoretically) will produce twice the amount of vapor, at the expense of battery life (more amperage draw from the battery).

• Efficiency of the wick material to feed enough e-liquid to the heating coil. (Poor wicking = dry hits or burnt taste or minimal vapor.)

• Surface area of the heating coil. More surface area + more juice vaporized = more vapor. (This is the principal in RBA/RDAs).

...as I look at fasttech and myvaporstore for a larger tankomizer how do I tell which ones will work with my battery? I would think if I got a low voltage one, the battery would burn it up. If I get one too high, the battery wouldn't give enough power.

Would an 1100mAh give more vapor than a 650? Is it the clearomizer/tankomizer more responsible for vapor production? What component do I look for to increase vapor?

The mAh rating only determines how long a battery can be expected to last during use. A 650 mAh battery puts out the same power as a 1000 mAh battery, it just won't be able to do it as long.

To determine what juice devices will work on your ego battery, first thing to consider is the connectors. Luckily, ego batteries like yours has both ego and 510 threading. Many of the mods have only a 510 thread. So a juice device that has ego threading (Evod) will require a 510-to-ego adaptor to work on a 510 thread mod.

Next thing to consider is the resistance or ohm rating of the heating coil in the juice device. Low resistance is 1.5 - 1.9 ohm. Standard resistance is 2.0 - 2.5 ohm.

The below chart is often helpful to visualize the relationship of voltage and ohms for e-cigs. Say your ego puts out 3.6 volts, so find that number at the top. Then look at the green block section below. Find the ohm rating on the left column and match the ohms to the voltage used. You can safely use 1.8 -3.0 ohms on your battery. Lower ohms will produce more vapor (and possibly harsher vape) at the expense of some additional battery life.

 

[kelli]

yes....eggsactly what he ^ said.

 

[jpwr25]

I called Lizard Juice today. They tell me the L-VOD tank I have is 1.8ohm. The battery is a "custom made for us" 3.7. Is that ohms? resistance? I didn't ask as I assumed ohms. I'm too new to be making assumptions like that.

It makes it even more confusing as I look at fasttech and myvaporstore for a larger tankomizer (more capacity and more vapor), but how do I tell which ones will work with my battery? I would think if I got a low voltage one, the battery would burn it up. If I get one too high, the battery wouldn't give enough power.

Welcome, Lee! The 3.7 is the output voltage of your battery. That voltage, applied to the resistance (ohms) of your atomizer will basically determine how hot your coil will get.

EDIT: I had typed quite a bit more here, but on second thought, read what baditude posted in a much more concise way above

 

[_Lee]

Awesome info! Thank you so much for putting it into terms I can understand!

 

[_Lee]

Update

I received my Apollo disposable e-cig. for what it is, it's a good disposable. After being on my eGo and eVOD, I now understand the differences in performance that Baditude was talking about. It is not an apples to apples comparison as my juice is 18mg and the disposable is 12mg. I would rate it a hair better than the Blu disposable, but not by much. considering the Blu is on every corner, I could use that in a pinch.

I did like the taste of the Apollo Tobacco juice a lot. Matter of fact, comparing the prices from Apollo versus Lizard Juice is no comparison either. For the cost of one EVOD and juice from LJ, I was able to order a eGo battery, new EVOD tank and the tobacco juice (shipped) for less. I did use the ECF discount code and received 20% off. I know the parts are cheaper at Discountvapers.com, but for this order I wanted to get the battery, juice and EVOD from the same place. Since I know I like Apollo's Tobacco juice and the price was great, it was a no-brainer.

I am hooked now.

I'm now looking into tanks with bottom wick. I would like a VV, but the Provape prices are a bit to swallow. Any recommendations on a good VV eGO battery and tank that won't break the bank?

 

[kelli]

personally i would recommend a brand name ego, like joyetech. i have tried some knockoffs and some are fine, but some fail really fast. joyetechs have always been good and lasted for a long time. in fact i am still using some i started with. the variable voltage ones will cost you around $20-30, depending on the mAh and vendor. for a bottom wick tank, i am trying to go to all glass. i think the juice taste better in them. i used to use kanger T3's (still do on occasion) but am graduating to protanks and mini protanks. you can get them on sale for less than $20. there are some other glass tanks in the under $10 price range, but i can't recommend them cause i never tried them. i have learned that in vaping like everything else, you pretty much get what you pay for.

 

[Sebastriel]

Has anyone tried Flavorz by Joe? DelawareVapor.com has a very interesting selection of their own and flavorz by joe. I'm broke so I only ordered a 10ml bottle of papa smurf ejuice (sugared blueberries and sugared strawberries and vanilla cream) all the other flavors had 10 or 11 reviews but papa smurf had 101 LOL! I should receive it in the mail on monday and I have a nice atomizer I haven't tried yet all ready for it lol. It's the short Joyetech ECA atomizer. I can't wait to try a new flavor I haven't tried any new ones in months and it's just been lemon lime and big red gum, although i have a ton of flavors, i spent a lot of money buying a bunch of 50ml bottles of flavors that sounded good and ended up with a giant ziplock bag of FAIL. lol. Anyway, the only thing i dont like about the eVic is the delay between pressing the hit button and when it actually starts to vape. I't shows how many seconds each hit is on it's LCD screen so you can avoid going over 10. But for a larger hit the delay makes pulsing kinda irritating lol. Next month I am considering buying a Lava Tube that I had once before but traded for an eVic. The Lava Tube has no delay and goes up to 6volts instead of 5.

-Malazan