What exactly does it mean that a device is a 510? I see everyone tossing out numbers in addition to brand names, but I have no clue what information I'm supposed to glean from those numbers, and didn't find it explained on the newbie pages.
Alex (or anyone else), could you possibly point me in the right direction for purchasing flat 510 carts? (And thanks for keeping it simple. Simple is really good right now.)
I've also seen some people talk about carts being larger or smaller and therefore holding more or less. Should all 510 carts hold roughly the same amount, or does that vary even among compatible devices?
There are many, many, many different names, but actually, there are not that many different devices on the market. 510, for example, is one type of PV, called Joye 510 when it comes out of the factory, that is sold under the names Dura, Titan, Zenith, Gorilla, Yeti and several more. (Although these days, there is another manufacturer as well that makes "compatible parts". They are, but the jury is still out on their quality.)
The most common ones are (and I sure forgot something here) 801, an older model, usually called "pen-style", the 901, similar to the 510, although not compatible, and two-part PVs like the KR808-D and the M40x. And then there are the minis, the size of a normal cigarette, but I have never bothered with them. Each one of those comes in half a dozen brand names at least, but usualy, what's in the box does not differ substantially from other brand names.
Hence, when an unknown name turns up, somebody will ask: "What type is it?" Or somebody says: "I brought a <fancy name>. That's a 901." and then everybody knows what they are talking about.
It's a bit as if McDonalds branded their hamburgers differently in each city: New-York-Burger, Chicago-Burger, etc. Still the same thing, essentially. Of course, some resellers will pack an extra battery into their boxes, others have better quality control (or so they say), and so on. But basically, a 510 is a 510 is a 510.
Carts: Basically, the smaller carts all take about the same amount of juice, or very nearly the same. The new mega-carts take allegedly double the amount, some say, it's only one-and-a-half times as much. But those have just been sent out, so I'd not buy one yet if I were new to vaping. Not many people out there yet who can help if there are problems with them. (Although I would not expect too many.)
As for where best to buy in the U.S., no clue whatsoever. I occasionally look into a US store, but prefer to buy either in Europe or in China. There are lots of people here who can help you with that, though. Check out the vendors section, too.