Wow, thanks for the information and advice guys. I actually thought no-one had replied yet but it turned out I'd forgotten to subscribe to the thread, as the forum defaults to no notification on threads I start/post in (in common with most other forums I've joined but I still get caught out!). So it was a very pleasant surprise to see so many replies when I checked, what a great community you have here
It is a great forum. I don't think there's a topic in vaping somebody around here isn't expert in. Several somebodies.
So it seems the Ego-C isn't really recommended. I wasn't sure if it was more or less the same as the Ego, which I had seen a lot of recommends for, but I presume it's not if it has wicking problems, as I doubt the Ego would have ever been so popular if it had those.
Well, be careful of the naming conventions, they're a little... screwy. The batteries I use are often called "eGo-C" even though I'm using Kanger EVOD clearos with them. I see Vapoor posted a pic showing the whole "eGo" thing over this way:
Vapoor eyes er.
And that's the important bit. The "eGo" style (or standard) is about the screw threads. An eGo-C
kit uses a tank which very few people are impressed with (I've used them myself, didn't have much leakage but I wouldn't go back, my EVOD is much better). Still, the batteries have eGo threads so you can slap nearly any eGo or 510 widget you want on them.
So do watch for that "eGo" designation. It's widely supported and you've got a lot of options.
I might be able to scrape by with one battery as I'm at home a lot, so perhaps if desperate could use it whilst it's plugged into the charger (depends on whether it can work like that, using the input power if the battery is flat, or if the battery has to charge before it will work) and can obviously charge it overnight when I'm asleep but it does seem more sensible to have at least two batteries.
Two batteries are pretty much a "must". The only ones that work while plugged in are called "pass through". Good option if you're at a computer a lot. They charge while you're not using them, run off the USB power when used and plugged in, and you can unplug and they run off the battery while you're out and about. There are few things more frustrating than having your battery die and you don't have a back up handy. Trust me.
Now I dunno who in the UK/EU area would carry these but there are inexpensive little widgets that run just on USB power like this:
Variable voltage 510/eGo USB passthrough
I had one and used it until it fell over dead. eGo threaded so they fit any 510 or Kanger or whatever I have that works with my batteries. I bought a cheap little wall adapter from Amazon:
AmazonBasics Wall Charger with USB Outlet (2.1 Amp Output) and could vape like a maniac watching TV or whatever in the living room while my batteries were charging.
Ah, here's the UK version:
AmazonBasics-Wall-Charger-Outlet-Output. And I'm sure they're all over the place. Same thing you'd used to charge devices like Apple iPads. The important thing is the "amp" rating. Vape widgets pull some amperage so if you wanna run a little pass through, get something that can handle around 2 amp. Which is usually what iPad chargers (not iPhone nor iPod but iPad) are capable of.
So that's one way to go where you wouldn't have to use your batteries while at home. I gotta get another. I wore mine out. It lived in the living room for when I got off the computer (home office stuff here) and settled in to watch a show or two (like QI, love QI... don't ask me how I get it this side of the pond... I just do... it's... magic... Santa Claus does it).
It's not clear if the kit includes the drip tips but maybe they're built-in to the clearomizers?
Dripping and clearomizers are two different "worlds". You don't have to worry about that. The EVOD is "all in one" and really easy to use. It's just turn upside down, unscrew bottom, tilt slightly (so you don't get the juice down the middle air tube), squirt juice in, screw bottom back on, screw back on battery, vape.
I actually just refilled mine while typing the above sentence. Took all of something like twenty seconds or something trivial.
"Dripping" is preferred by some advanced vapers for the taste. It's something you can try later if you care to. The kit you're looking at is ready to go soon as it arrives. Even the batteries will be (okay,
should be) shipped with a partial charge (something about lithium ion they have a better shelf life with a partial charge... I dunno, chemistry something or other).
Also, does anything show the battery level, as I think that would be quite useful, for my sister at least?
Not on those. There are batteries that do that. Have displays and other widgets. But they cost more. That's one reason you want to have backups. Have a fully charged one ready to go to back up the one you're using.
Which reminds me, the "bottleneck" potential if you're going to share is the kit will have only one charger. Two people, you'd want two chargers. The vendor Chrissie linked to has them. They're not too expensive. Then again, you're starting to talk about essentially buying two kits anyway. You may want to just "bite the bullet" and get two instead of trying to share.
Remember, if you stick with "eGo", you can mix-n-match a ton. If it turns out, oh, you like EVODs and your sister doesn't, she can give you her EVOD parts. You can swap around easily. I was just thinking, four batteries, two people, one charger... that could be a pain in the neck.
I'm slightly concerned that maybe the 650mah battteries in that kit will be inadequate, particularly as mkbilbo has said his brand new 1100mah ones only last him 6 hours (and it does make me question the honesty of Uniqbuy if they're lying about how long their batteries will run for!)
Uniqbuy is being... optimistic (being kind here
).
The
rough rule is 100mA per hour. So a 650 should last about 6 hours. An 1100 should last around 11 hours. A light vaper may get a lot more time. A heavy vaper (like me) gets quite a bit less. It is on the dishonest side to advertise a high "run time" for a battery because it depends on the vaper. You won't know how long you get out of a battery until you settle in to your own personal vaping habits.
The EVOD kit company sells the clearomizers for £3.49
Evod Clearomizer SS - Clearomizers the heads for £1.75
Evod Coil Head 2.2 ohm - Accessories and 1000mah batteries for £9.99
Kanger Evod Battery 1000 mah SS - Batteries & Chargers
I think this £3.49 Ego charger is compatible (it says Ego charger in the starter kit description anyway)
Fast Ego USB Charger - Batteries & Chargers so for two batteries, 1 charger, 2 clearomizers and 5 heads that would cost £39.20, which is £10 more than the starter kit and doesn't include a nice gift box (which doesn't matter as it will probably get discarded once the e-cigs are in use anyway) so it's just a question of whether it's worth it, or if I could get a kit with 1000mah batteries for less elsewhere. It just seems a bit daft to buy the kit and then find I need to spend another £19 getting two 1000mah batteries if the 650mah ones are inadequate.
Well, now you're getting an idea of what to get, browse around a bit. We have a list of vetted suppliers in
Forum Suppliers. There's a number of UK vendors listed. And these are ones known to the forum and their customer service is monitored.
You could shop around and see what you think. But the kit Chrissie pointed to looks to be a good starting point. You might also just want to go ahead, jump in, get experience on how this all works for you, and get a better idea of what this vape thing is all about. Then you'll have a clearer idea of what to get. And then can really save money by shopping around. I spend very little these days. I went three months this year buying absolutely nothing. Compared to smoking, I'm saving an absolute truckload of money.
The "start up" can be sometimes a little steep but remember you're buying durable equipment. Unlike cigarettes that are meant to be destroyed by being burned up. I'm pretty hard on my batteries but didn't have to start replacing any for at least six months. I have a bunch of Vision clearos and all I've had to buy with them are some $3 coil heads when they burn out. And they last quite a while. Haven't measured it but it's some number of weeks or months. I'm not replacing them every day nor every week. And I don't do as much "maintenance" as some. I rinse 'em out once in a while. Probably could get longer use out of them if I did a little bit more but, come on, a $3 part? Meh. (In fact, the prices have dropped, one of my regular vendors just cut to $2.50 in packs of five).
But once I got oriented and knew what I was doing? My costs fell like a rock. My start up was as expensive as smoking. My routine costs run 90% less. Literally. I checked. I spend a
tenth of what I was spending on smoking.
So while it may seem kind of pricey upfront, the long run savings can be huge. Yeah, some folks here turn it into a hobby and love buying all the new gadgets. And if they're having fun and it keeps them away from smoking, great. But if you're on a budget (like me, it's bad tight on the money front right now), you can vape on way less than cigs cost. Way less.
