Lavatube Noob Thread - ??? about LAVATUBES and Accessories for them...Post your questions here....

[orachel]

Can I ask a favor, ya'll?
Can anyone with a stainless/chrome vtube from apollo AND a boge carto check and see if the boge works on your stainless? I've got a buddy who can't get boge to work on hers... no airflow. I have no issues with mine and boge (though I HAVE discovered that boge won't work on mine with the 3.5ml tank cone, and the 510 to 510 sealed shorty adapter... no air flow), so just wanted to double check. She's getting weird info from customer service and just want to make sure this isn't a widespread issue. Again, boge 3.0 standard 510 carto size works just fine on my stainless with no adapter (and won't work with an adapter) so just wanna make sure that's the standard, and it works for you guys as well. Thank you SO much!
rachel

 

[Errol]

Well, I'm extremely upset. After pondering why it was taking so freaking long for my carto to fire with the tank, I decided to pull it apart. This is what I found

I guess it's because I was new to using it, and I didn't drip anything into my carto before I used it. Orachel, where is a good place to get some cartos. I prefer a pack of 5 or something, also, what's a good site for really tasty juice. I'm about to run low on that too.

Oh, and my other carto is the same way, upsetting..

There are several ideas on how to best keep from burning your carto and IMO the only way to be sure your coils are submerged in niquid is to make sure the carto is full before you ever fire it. Just make sure you fill the carto until you can see niquid on top of the filler. I like to use a syringe and fill it slowly near the bottom all around the center hole

Errol

 

[Bmays]

Can I ask a favor, ya'll?
Can anyone with a stainless/chrome vtube from apollo AND a boge carto check and see if the boge works on your stainless? I've got a buddy who can't get boge to work on hers... no airflow. I have no issues with mine and boge (though I HAVE discovered that boge won't work on mine with the 3.5ml tank cone, and the 510 to 510 sealed shorty adapter... no air flow), so just wanted to double check. She's getting weird info from customer service and just want to make sure this isn't a widespread issue. Again, boge 3.0 standard 510 carto size works just fine on my stainless with no adapter (and won't work with an adapter) so just wanna make sure that's the standard, and it works for you guys as well. Thank you SO much!
rachel

I've ran boge 2.0 with and without tank and had no problems. I may have used a 510/510 though. Hmmm, have to see when I get home.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[orachel]

Yeah, we figured out why hers isn't working. Her stainless has a pin with no split in the top, so when it goes into the carto, cuts off ALL airflow. That's definitely the issue. So crossing fingers Apollo will just send her a new pin, so she doesn't have to send back the whole thing, and then she'll be all set. But thanks! Just wanted to make sure hers was the anomaly that wasn't working with boge, and not that mine was odd that WAS working with boge. WAS a surprise that boge didn't work with 3.5ml tank cone or 510 to 510 connector to tighten airflow, though! I was sure I'd checked that, but might have not... so any of you who use boge, if you want to tighten up airflow, a 510 to 510 shorty connector 'UNSEALED' might be your best bet.

 

[williegntx]

Well, I'm extremely upset. After pondering why it was taking so freaking long for my carto to fire with the tank, I decided to pull it apart. This is what I found

I guess it's because I was new to using it, and I didn't drip anything into my carto before I used it. Orachel, where is a good place to get some cartos. I prefer a pack of 5 or something, also, what's a good site for really tasty juice. I'm about to run low on that too.

Oh, and my other carto is the same way, upsetting..

I've done the same with a couple of Resurrector cartos myself and finally figured out it was best to get some juice in there first. My impatience...

That could have done it. I always fill my carto up before I put it in the tank. I recently came across a new way to "prime" the carto for the tank and it has worked well the few times I've done it....

Put a new carto in the tank. Fill the tank up with juice. Then take one of those plugs that are in the condom on a carto and plug the battery end of the carto up while it is in the tank. Put a drip tip on the other end and take a deep draw on it several times. You can literally see the juice sucking into the carto. Refill the tank and you're good to go. Just be careful not to take in too much as you could flood it. If you do then blow out the center of the carto.

That may be the best and quickest way to get juice in there to start vaping right away...to he!! with patience.

Sometimes I will get a slightly dry hit with my DCT and I know I've been hitting it pretty hard so my easy fix for that situation is...I remove the drip tip and slowly slide the tank up on the carto until a little of the liquid spills into the carto. Be careful not to go too fast with the sliding or it will flood, that also works with initial wetting of the carto but you would need to wait a minute or two before vaping.

 

[apuck]

Rachel or anyone that knows, I just got my Xtar charger today, and the instructions are terrible. It has a switch that has 0, .5, and 1, on it. What is that supposed to be set to for charging 18350s and/or 18650s???

 

[o0StatiK]

I'm so excited! Just ordered some Boge 2.0 XL cartos. And referred a sample pack from the vapor room. As well as 15ml of cinnamon Danish swirl and cake batter $70 investment is hopefully worth it!!!!!!

Thank you Orachel for the advice and recommendation

 

[Bmays]

Yeah, we figured out why hers isn't working. Her stainless has a pin with no split in the top, so when it goes into the carto, cuts off ALL airflow. That's definitely the issue. So crossing fingers Apollo will just send her a new pin, so she doesn't have to send back the whole thing, and then she'll be all set. But thanks! Just wanted to make sure hers was the anomaly that wasn't working with boge, and not that mine was odd that WAS working with boge. WAS a surprise that boge didn't work with 3.5ml tank cone or 510 to 510 connector to tighten airflow, though! I was sure I'd checked that, but might have not... so any of you who use boge, if you want to tighten up airflow, a 510 to 510 shorty connector 'UNSEALED' might be your best bet.

Oh my, there's no way to resolve that without sending the whole unit back as the pin ...'y is soldered onto the board. Hmm, Thats weird. Musta been right before that Chinese Holiday that they took for like two weeks.

 

[orachel]

Rachel or anyone that knows, I just got my Xtar charger today, and the instructions are terrible. It has a switch that has 0, .5, and 1, on it. What is that supposed to be set to for charging 18350s and/or 18650s???

oo

K... good question! So sorry I haven't posted that for you guys till now!

XTAR WP2 II charging settings


0 - Use '0' setting ONLY if you want to charge something via the usb port on your WP2. In order to do this, you must have a charged battery IN the first charging port (far left w the cord on the L hand side of your body). The charger will 'feed' charge from the battery into your usb device. I use this for passthrough, plus comes in really handy when you're using the charger in the car, and need to charge usb devices. You CANNOT charge something via usb while charging batteries in the channels, though, I don't believe.

Main Settings for charging batteries...

.5 - This delivers 500mA to your batteries. This is the slower setting, but it also what I recommend for regular use. Its charges slow and steady, yet still MUCH faster than cheap chargers. NOTE... it is VERY important that you not charge your batteries at a higher setting than they can handle. Any batteries under 70mm can be charged at the .5 (500 mA) setting. 500 setting works for all batteries.

1 - This delivers 1000mA (1A) to your batteries. VERY IMPORTANT... never charge anything at a setting higher than it can handle. In other words, if you have 2 900mah 14500 batteries in the channels, neither of those is equipped to handle 1000mA, so you MUST use the .5 setting. This is why its safer to leave it on .5. BUT if you're ever in a hurry, and need to charge 2 1600Mah 18650 batteries, each of those are capable of holding over 1000mA, so you could use the higher setting. Just remember to switch it back! 1000mA setting works ONLY for batteries over 1000mah each.

Hope that helped! Again, I'm not a battery expert, but when I got my WP2 I asked a few people, and they said those rules above are for safest charging possible. I honestly just leave mine on the 500Ma (.5) setting for just about everything unless I've got a 'backlog' of batts to charge. Then I'll do the very largest capacity ones (18650s) at 1A setting.

 

[orachel]

Oh my, there's no way to resolve that without sending the whole unit back as the pin ...'y is soldered onto the board. Hmm, Thats weird. Musta been right before that Chinese Holiday that they took for like two weeks.

Oh bummer. lol Yeah, I was pretty proud of my goofy non-techy self for figuring that one out. rofl Definitely was some out of the box thinking for me. I know thats silly cause that's probably the first thing you techy guys would have thought of, but I couldn't figure out why both of our pins were going in the bottom of boge 510 connection, and only hers was cutting off airflow. I got there eventually, though. I know they were considering just 'living with' the problem, but I really urged em strongly to get it fixed, since there's no way to vape regular 510 cartos (other than maybe with a 510 to 510 unsealed connection, didn't have one of them to try... but the 510 to 510 sealed and the 3.5ml tank cone just made the problem worse with mine) with that pin being solid. Definitely a bummer, though, esp since they won it as a prize, and don't wanna give it up for weeks to be fixed. Crossing fingers they send out a new one first or something, so its less of a hassle for them.

 

[Bmays]

Without seeing it I'm not sure I woulda figured it out myself. I would have assumed user error. Bad assumption for people to make I admit, folks are not all dumba$$'s out here

 

[apuck]

Rachel to the rescue yet again. Thanks.

 

[orachel]

o0static! Good for you! Hoping the boge 2.0s treat you well. They're one of my very fave cartos, and can be had much much cheaper in the future by bulk (25 of em for $23 at surevapes.com in the 'mix and match boge deal') if you decide you like em. I've not heard much about the cake batter, so crossing fingers on that one. BUT everyone I've ever heard of loves cinn danish swirl, so that's a very good bet. I'm counting the seconds myself... all but out of Cinn danish, and my new bottles won't be here for a few days, so I'm 'white knuckling it' till they show up. lol I NEVER let myself run out of it, I just planned badly this time. lol And guessing between that and the sampler, you'll find at least a few 'all day vapes' that will keep you very very happy while you play around and hunt for other juices you like. That's the goal... just to get 2-3 flavors that you LOVE that make you happy all the time, and then when you find others you like, its just 'icing on the cake' so to speak. Takes a lot of the 'desperation' to find new flavors off the table when you're already enjoying your all day vapes. And then, just check the 'flavors of the week' every mon or tues, and when the flavors you love come up on $10/oz sale, just grab a few of em. I pride myself that I've used TVR all but exclusively for my all day vapes for about 9-10 mos now, and have yet to pay full price for a bottle. lol LOVE their FOTW, weekender, and '3 bottle' deals. And even with my 100% VG (which costs $1 more for the glass dropper bottle) and a single flavor shot, never pay more than $13.60/oz after their 10% off coupon code, so I don't feel guilty about buying my juices. I used to use an $18/oz place, and every month I felt guilty buying juices. Now that's just me with my tight budget, so if you guys are loving pricier juices and can afford em, that's fabulous! I just couldn't, personally, so was thrilled not to have to give up good quality to get my juices cheap.

Speaking of finding new juices, I just got some fab vape mail today! First off, got my black shiny 'ovale v8' vv unit from DiscountVapers - Your source for savings on electronic cigarettes and accessories, Go-go eGo, vGo ($30)... Omg, SOOO happy with this sucker! So darn cute, and shiny, and wipes clean with a tail of a tshirt. Few people said there's don't fit well together, but mine is rock solid, adorable, and the vape is outstanding. Maybe better than my stainless lt, vapewise, even. Its just more 'intense'. I believe it uses PWM to make the vape feel 'hotter', and the flavors come thru REALLY well. Anyone looking for a cheap backup, or a unit that lasts longer battery wise than a LT mini, or even an inexpensive entry into vv, killer device. There is a kit avail, but personally, I'd suggest the AW IMR 18350s (uses 2 of them, side by side... cheapest at RTDvapor but you can usually get them at discountvapers, he's just out now), and the Xtar wp2 II charger with it (usually cheapest at 310 vapers, but you can get it at discountvapers inexpensively, though you will need 2 extra spacers for 50 cents to charge 2 18350s). Ends up about $10-20 more than the 'kit' price, but you get much longer life, longer lasting batteries, and a charger that will take care of any mod batteries. K... so seriously, thrilled I got this device! Juices taste really good on it, and looks adorable with the black 'knucklehead' tip on one of my 1.7v resurrector/rejuvinator 'mini/super shorty' cartos. Can't wait to get the shiny black apollo tank for it, cause it'll look really cool, but thats something I'm not in a mad hurry for since I have the chrome one, now.
Discount Vapers 'shiny black' V8 Ovale (also in rubberized black and white and shiny white) w black 'knucklehead' revolving tip

Plus, got my Alice in Vapeland goodies! First of all, cutest packaging EVER! 18ml plastic bottles have adorable little charms on them, and everything is wrapped sooo cute, down to the AiV box its shipped in, and personalized note. I got tasters of most of the flavors, and they all smell great. Only ones I've tried so far (keep in mind these are TOTALLY unsteeped, just got them an hour ago, after sitting in arizona summer heat for a day) are the Sweet Tease (supposed to be a sweet tea flavor) and Black and White Cookie (supposed to taste like Oreo). K... LOVE both of these flavors! The Sweet Tease is WAY more complex of a flavor than i expected! Not just 'liptons' iced tea. Its got very elaborate high and low notes... definitely get that small 'bite' of good black tea, but also getting a sort of citrus thing that really lingers in the mouth, similar to an iced tea with lemon slices. But then there's some sort of complex note in there I can't quite place... Hyacinth, maybe? Or some sort of a floral citrus blossom? Delicious, whatever it is. I've been looking for a good tea vape, and can't wait till this is avail in 30 and 60ml bottles. The Black and White Cookie is outstanding! Its unsteeped, so right now I'm getting more of a fresh deli homemade 'black and white' cookie, rather than oreo. Thinking that might change as it steeps, though. Very very creamy vape, but it doesn't have that 'sickening sweet' aspect when you just lick oreo cream, its much more subtle than that... more like a buttercream or fresh whipped cream, maybe? And you, oddly enough, do get that tiny crispy aspect with the chocolate. Not just getting 'chocolate' flavor, but chocolate wafer cookie, somehow. Reminds me of those 'wafer cookies' you get in a pack with strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. The chocolate in this tastes just like those wafer cookies. YUM! Thrilled I got 15mls of this. And thrilled I have 5 more flavors to try! Next up is 'Cupcake City'. But anyone on hunt for good flavors, their '$11 5 flavor sampler (minus 20% off coupon 'howdy') is a killer one to try, cheap. And highest recommends on the Black and White Cookie and Sweet Tease.
Plus, anyone who ever needs to buy a vape gift for a new vaper you love, or good vape buddy... How gorgeous is THIS? And didn't even show you the personalized note... really amazing. Cute lil charms n everything. Definitely made ME smile.

 

[apuck]

I got vapemail today too. I also purchased an Ovale V8 from DV, and agree with Rachel it's a beast for the price. It is a tad on the cheap side, the little plastic "tit" on the battery cover was either broken off or I broke it off when first opening it, but it stays on the back without it, so I guess no big deal. It comes with a 510-ego adapter which is nice too. It will never replace my SS Vtube though, not even a close comparison.

I also got an Apollo tank which is quite a bit larger than I thought it would be, about 2.5 times the size of a Stardust. It is a little bulky on the tiny Ovale, but makes the Vtube look like some kind of 1960s space rocket which is cool. It is super easy to use, fill, and change out cores. Flavor and TH are also pretty good.

I got a Vivi Nova too. This unit is the same size as the 5ml DCT but its better made and a lot prettier (especially if you go with one of the metal tubes). Filling is easy but hard to tell how much you have in (with the metal tube anyway), changing heads is a breeze as is complete dis-assembly.

Downside on both tanks, I get NO airflow on the Vtube without using an adapter. I'm using a 510-510 shorty for the Vivi, and a 510-ego for the Apollo. I'm kind of upset that I need one with the Vivi, because it is visible and makes it stick up. Not as big of a deal with the Apollo because the skirting covers it.

I ordered an Xtar WP2 II charger too, and love it. It is a zillion times better than those cheap pieces of poo that come with the kits. Solid unit great charging time, and I don't feel like I have to stand over it waiting to put out a fire. It comes with 2 spacers but I ordered an extra set so I can charge 18350s.

Rachel: Give us an update on your Alice order once it has steeped and whatnot. I almost placed an order with them, but wanted a couple of reviews first.

 

[orachel]

I sure will, apuck. Here's the thread where people are talking about Alice in Vapeland... tons of reviews there, too.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...uice-grand-opening-coupon-thread-gotonew.html

So sorry your cover thingie broke! I tell you, I had to WRASTLE the battery cover off back first time, but now it slips open and closed rather easily. Only thing I'm having an issue with is getting batteries in it without bending down the negative pole 'springs'. Worried if I bend them down too much, they'll break. So yeah, its not a unit that's gonna last forever, but I love it now, and would be amazed if I didn't get a year or so out of it. Would be nice if they adjusted how the batts go in the unit... maybe a bottom that slips off and on instead of a back would be better. But for $30, ridiculous good deal.

Glad you're liking the xtar. Best vaping $ I ever spent, I think. And really interested in direct comparison between Vivi Nova and the Apollo after a week or so, if you have any thoughts. I was ready to get vivi, but then heard some back to back major troubleshooting issues with it (NOT my forte, at all), so never did. Like the apollo e2 a lot, but having some issues with thick 100% VG (but alice in vapeland 100% VG is thin, so crossing fingers that will work). But now am hearing some much more positive reviews on the Nova lately, so revisiting it. BTW, did your 510 connections screw in ok on the Nova? A friend of mine had really bad ones, wouldn't screw into any pv, but he did get it onto a 510 to 510, so been vaping em that way and enjoying it.

Ok, stupid idea, but humor me and try it. Try the 3.5ml tank cone with the vivi nova instead of the 510 connector. I know it makes NO sense that this should work, but it does for a friend of mine. His nova won't vape unless he has an adapter, and for some crazy reason the 3.5ml tank cone works just as well as the 510 to 510 shorty (and you can't see it nearly as much.. doesn't raise the tank like the 510 to 510). Noone can figure out why this works since the 3.5ml tank cone restricts airflow when down that ego connection, but for some crazy reason it seems to. I know 2 people using the 3.5ml tank cone with the nova on the stainless LT, so its worth a shot. Would look better for ya, at least. lol Actually, someone here pointed this out first, and then a buddy mentioned exactly the same issue the next day. Just one of those vaping mysteries.

 

[apuck]

Yes a battery compartment on the bottom would be the way to go. Putting the batts in was kind of pain in the rear for me too, I didn't have to bend the springs but had to kinda put the batts in crooked and then fiddle with them.

Agree on the Xtar too. Best money I've probably spent on gear. I absolutely recommend it to anyone that uses "mod" batteries.

My take on Vivi vs. Apollo so far... Vivi wins. First I think it is more attractive, and a little better quality (doesn't feel as cheap as the Apollo) vape-wise fairly equal with the Nova just a hair ahead. I also like that the heads are interchangeable with the rebuildable Stardusts (which I have also been using). Downside on Vivi is it is hard to tell how much juice is in it if you use one of the colored metal tubes. I have been using a toothpick to dip in and measure the fill for now until I get used to it or find another method. As far as the threading I didn't have any issues but I went ahead and screwed it into a bunch of stuff for you. I tried several eGo batts, the Vtube, Ovale, a LT, and several adapters like the 510-510 and 510-eGo. I didn't have any issues at all with any of them, it screwed right in. Now on to the 3.5 cone... WTF???? Ok, I first tried it and the draw was still incredibly tight, but then I loosened the cone just a smidge (about 1/8 of a turn if that) and BAM, works great. Like you said it makes no sense as the cone usually tightens the draw, but whatever, I'm really happy now because the tank doesn't look so darned silly on that extension. Great tip as always, thank you.

 

[orachel]

Good grief! So danged weird, right? rofl I don't know WHY it works, just really glad that it does. But odd, cause there is no reason on earth that it should possibly improve airflow to the tank. Totally befuddling to me, but you're now the 3rd person who verifies that it does work, which is so darned strange. lol

And ok, definitely have to get a vivi tank. Something about this most recent revision must have improved things significantly. And I figured as 'hefty' as the apollo/e2 is, and as light as the vivi looks (doesn't look great to me in photos, but do love those metal sleeves) that the e2 would look much nicer in person. Was definitely nicer than the earlier vivi's, cause I've seen those in person, but the newer ones seem like a whole other ballgame. Thanks for the review! Oh, and assuming your 510 connections aren't weird, where did you get yours? Wanna make sure I get exactly the same one, and not one of the earlier models.

 

[apuck]

I got the Vivi from Eric at DV, but got the heads and metal tube from Gotvapes. When I placed my order with GV I asked for long wicks and I got short ones anyway, so I just ordered some others from Sweet-vapes (along with some colored rebuildable Stardusts). I haven't tried the short wicks yet, but I know from the Stardusts that I prefer the longer ones, and don't even understand how the short ones will work for crap in the Vivi, since they won't even touch the sides.

 

[The Hill Giant]

Ok. Here's a noob question. Thinking about picking up a lavatube mini for stealth purposes. This will be my first mod. I don't want to drop a lot of cash in case I don't like it any more than what I have currently (Ego Twist).

Anyway, on to my question. Can you guys direct me to a vendor (or multiple vendors) that carry the lavatube mini and sell the parts individually, or at least have the ability to piece a kit together? I don't need all the crap that comes with a starter kit, so I'm hoping I can save a few bucks.

 

[apuck]

Ok. Here's a noob question. Thinking about picking up a lavatube mini for stealth purposes. This will be my first mod. I don't want to drop a lot of cash in case I don't like it any more than what I have currently (Ego Twist).

Anyway, on to my question. Can you guys direct me to a vendor (or multiple vendors) that carry the lavatube mini and sell the parts individually, or at least have the ability to piece a kit together? I don't need all the crap that comes with a starter kit, so I'm hoping I can save a few bucks.

Apollo sells the Vtube, which is the same as an LT 1.5 or Lambo and they have a 30% off code running currently. They also have the only stainless steel version made, (which was a limited edition run of 1000). They also warranty for 1 year, which is longer than any vendor that I am aware of. Amazing customer service too. You can order the unit, batts, and charger by kit or by piece.