Thanks Odyssey,
That's two for LeCig.
Sounds like you're going through the same process I am. Particularly with the cartos.
I'm currently having an issue with carto's however. I bought some blank D2's from azsmokefree.com. They're much harsher on my throat than the original Red Dragon cartos. Whatever juice I put in, it vapes way too harsh. Still searching for cartos that vape more like my original Red Dragon cartos.
The pre-filled cartos from Smoke 51 (aside from the high price) work
very well initially. They have a light hit with a ton of vapor. Flavor is
not strong... but not a bad taste with the regular tobacco.
The other flavors do not last as long. My first cartos were menthol,
and they dryed up/burned up fast. The vendor reps even admitted
they experienced the same shorter life span with flavored cartos.
My next step was to get some juice and try to keep the cartos
from drying out. Bought the juice locally from a head shop that
sells a 3-piece (looks like a 510).
But when using that juice in the Smoke 51 cartos, the filler
material won't breath. It gets clogged... still allowing the
inner wick and even the filler material to burn.
Washing the cartos did little to help.
After 4 cartons (five cartos each) I have noticed variations
in them. Some of them had an almost yellowish filler material
while other were white. Some looked matted while others
were loose and homogeneous.
In short, most of the Smoke 51 cartos worked great until
they started to burn. Only a couple of them were useful for
extended use and multiple refillings.
The process of trying to get more use from the 'stock' cartos
from Smoke 51 had me trying different juice mixtures with
various levels of VG added.
I don't know what was in the pre-filleds, but it seems likely
that they are high in VG (perhaps 100%) with a bit of alcohol
added as thinner. That would account for the sizzle sound
and high vapor.
The juice from the head shop is likely 100% PG... and those
carts definitely don't like high PG mixture. The propolyne
seems to clog that filler material faster.
In addition to those variations/problems I started to notice
temperature variations dependent on the level of charge
in the batteries. A fresh battery caused the cartos to get
hot quickly and create an off taste.
Sometimes that taste was so nasty I could not vape it
with a fully charged batt. The hot vape always came
with a harshness.
Once the battery voltage returned to normal (after several
vapes on a fresh cart), they cooled back down and the
flavor/harshness returned to normal.
Needless to say it was frustrating and the primary reason
I started looking for another source of batteries. I thought
a new batt might clear up the problem if it regulated the
voltage better.
Good news....
I found the problem with the batteries causing them to
get so hot.
The air hole were clogged.
I thought the lack of air flow was a problem with the
cartos. Some do flow better than others, but it was
the batteries actually causing the bigger problem.
After cleaning the holes, the temp cooled down and
these are vaping like a champ.
With the new blank cartos I'm using, this would likely
stand up against most any D1... except a HV with
and HR carto.
That's a lot of information, but most of it relates to
issues that could cause a harshness with your cartos.
Some suggestions:
1. Make sure the batteries are clean and that the holes
in the terminal end are not plugged.
2. Add some VG to your juice mix. It increases vape and
should reduce harshness (TH).
If those don't correct the problem with the azsmokefree, then
it could be that those cartos have low resistence leading to
higher temperatures and harshness.
I was trying to duplicate that original vapor from new Smoke 51
cartos, but have stopped trying. I think they engineered their
cartos to deliver a 'tobacco smoking simulation' so it would be
a much like smoking a cig as possible.
Since they are marketed to existing smokers, that approach
would lead to more sales.
I'm not trying to replicate smoking any longer. I'm going for
cool, flavorful vape in a carto that does not burn.
BTW... the cartos from China are working very well. Refilling
them regularly and not one has shown any signs of burning.
Sorry this was so long. There are soooo many factors that
affect the vape quality and I did not want to leave any out. :~)
