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cekte

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Feb 5, 2009
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Thanks. I will give it a shot. BTW give us a preview. What do you plan to say about the claim of 7 hr ultra 401 batteries?
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Lol, I knew Id get myself into trouble.. :p

Battery life can be quite subjective to the user. I would say it depends a massive amount on your 'smoking style' or history. Were you a very heavy smoker, and now a heavy vaper? Do you use it as more of a pacifier (I do so in testing..) or actually more as a cigarette (take 10-15 drags, set it down for a good while..)

When I review these batteries, I usually score and gauge based on draw count per battery charge, and cart. That gives a far more accurate picture of battery duration/life. (As the draw count should theoretically be much less subjective and more accurate than actual time of use)

Being said, its battery count is on par with other better performing m4 series designs. They do have some highlights.. more to come.

Word has it, that even higher mAh batteries are in the works as well.
 

ruuku

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Mar 21, 2009
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For the cart designs, I've noticed that all my recently purchased units/carts all come with the winged design. I bought an EVO from Ruggs off the forum, and received the inner cart that looks like the eHealth carts, a cylinder with two small, square intake ports at the end. I received some of the stick carts when I bought Rejoices' old Pilot.... I'm guessing that the stick design is the oldest, but I like these the best. It just seems to me that they hold the most juice, and have the easiest draw. The fact that you can top them off relatively easily is also a plus. The only thing that i don't like about them is the fact that they seem more fragile than the redesigns. If you push too hard reinserting the cart into the mouthpiece, the stick can bend.

Hey Cetke when you get your "ultra" batteries can you tell me how bright the LED is? I like the idea of the green LED, but the ones on my woodgrain batts are just too weak. Kaeo and i agree that having a bright LED is a definite plus, and I'm willing to sacrifice battery life for brighter lights... maybe i have ADD.....ooooo shiny :p
 
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FisherPal

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ruuku - I can answer your question about the green LED light. I just got my ultra M401 yesterday. I am pretty much a total newb at this and, as a result, have some questions, too. (I tried the 'search' feature but can't seem to come up with the right answers). As far as the green light goes ... well ... I find it is pretty weak most of the time but then, once in awhile, it glows pretty good. Now maybe that's because I'm doing some things wrong because I don't know why it only really lights up every so often. Must be the operator ...

My first question is about the batteries. I wish these manuals came with better instructions. When you are charging and the light blinks from green to red and back, does that mean that it's finished charging? I've read on this thread that you have to give this ecig several days to really break in and am hoping that's the case as I'm not getting a whole bunch of vapor yet. I charged my battery over night so it got it's full 8 hrs and more, charged the second one while I was at work. Is it a good thing it is flashing red and green? Is that normal? (God, I hate to sound like such an idiot!). It's just that the draw for a 4 hole atomizer seems pretty hard to get a good amount of vapor and I'm wondering if it is me or the battery or just needs to be broken in.

Also, I guess the only way to know that your cart is finished is by the taste? One thing I was glad to see was that there was hardly any ugly primer taste. Had a penstyle that I loved but the primer taste as first was ugly to get through. Anyway, it didn't seem like I had vaped that much today but the taste/vapor quality fell so replaced the cart. Doesn't seem to have made a significant difference.

As far as this 'dipping' thing goes ... can I assume that you just dip the bumpy thing and make sure you don't get any liquid right down into the coil part? How can you tell when the mesh has soaked up enough? Just by the drops you put in your contact lens case or whatever you use? I ordered the Tennesse Cured flavor of JC carts but can't say that the flavor is all that strong (again, maybe just need a few days to properly break the atomizer in as some people have mentioned).

I know I have a learning curve here as it is quite a bit different than my pen was. That had a nice easy draw and lots of vapor. Can't seem to get it to work properly now but that's a whole other story.

Many apologies for all the questions. I've read a lot of the pages of this thread but find that 55 of them is a bit overwhelming, lol. Thanks for your help everyone.
 

ccure

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Mar 29, 2009
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ruuku - I can answer your question about the green LED light. I just got my ultra M401 yesterday. I am pretty much a total newb at this and, as a result, have some questions, too. (I tried the 'search' feature but can't seem to come up with the right answers). As far as the green light goes ... well ... I find it is pretty weak most of the time but then, once in awhile, it glows pretty good. Now maybe that's because I'm doing some things wrong because I don't know why it only really lights up every so often. Must be the operator ...

My first question is about the batteries. I wish these manuals came with better instructions. When you are charging and the light blinks from green to red and back, does that mean that it's finished charging?

Well, I may help with this one about the Battery. It is normal to blink from green to red. It seems to be a protection of the battery for overcharge. So once the battery is full of charge, the led will be green, if you do not take it out of the charger, the battery will discharge a little to avoid overcharge, so the led will be back on red until it charge full again. i do not know if it is a function of the battery or the charger.

So, it is normal and it is a protection.
 

gatsby

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Apr 16, 2009
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I think you want to charge them a good 8 hrs the first couple of times no matter what the light does. I never trust those things anyway, but to confirm that is what mine does too. Also, one of the great things about the 401s is the exposed atomizer so no more dripping. Try dipping. I have an old contact case (two flavors) and I am all about the dipping now as I might have mentioned before---I hate carts.
You can check out the original dipping thread here:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/m-401-402-mini/8065-dont-drip-dip.html
 

Jah

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Apr 30, 2009
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Hello all. After reading the majority of this thread, I am about to make my first order.
I am purchasing two M-402 from absolutelyecigs.com

Do I have everything I need?

Battery - M-402 Battery - M-402
- Battery Color White with Orange LED

Battery - M-402 Battery - M-402
- Battery Color Black with Blue LED

Atomiser (2) - M-401 & M-402
- Atomiser Color Gold

Blank M401 & M402 Cartridges (Pack of 10's)
- Cartridge Color Brown

Blank M401 & M402 Cartridges (Pack of 10's)
- Cartridge Color Black

M401 & M402 Cartridges (5)
- Cartridge Color Brown
- Cartridge Flavor Marlboro
- Strength Medium - 12mg

M401 & M402 Cartridges (5)
- Cartridge Color Black
- Cartridge Flavor Marlboro
- Strength Medium - 12mg

Charger (USB + Main Charger)
- Model M-401 & M-402

(I will also be purchasing various e-liquid flavors from vapor4life.com)

Thoughts/Opinions on my first order?

Thanks in advance.

-Jason from Minnesota
 

ruuku

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Mar 21, 2009
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Fisher: Do you have any blue/orange led batteries to compare the green one with? I'm pretty sure that the LED would be the same as my woodgrain one... but i was just hoping for a green led that i could see during the day (and justification for buying a battery i surely don't need ;))

Well I have issues with the whole 8hr initial charge thing. There have been numerous threads on the forums about it, and thinking back to what the batteries are composed of, Lithium Ion, this is goes concurrent to what I know about them. Most believe (myself included) that the whole 8hr first charge came about (as a mindset) from early NiCad and NiMah cells. These were quite....primitive, and the batteries would develop a memory if it was cycled incorrectly. Thus the initial charge, discharge, charge cycle was necessary to retain battery performance over the course of a long time. Full charges were done through (usually) a primary quick charge, then a secondary trickle charge, to top off the cells. Eventually no matter how well you took care of the batteries they would still develop a memory, and performance would degrade accordingly. Lithium cells are supposedly "smart" cells that do not retain memory. Like every rechargeable battery they too have a "lifespan". These are measured in cycles. However, unlike NiMah or NiCad cells, LiIon cells can be cycled many more times before the cells start degrading, lasting longer (cycles) and providing a longer "runtime" .

Of course i see no harm in an 8hr charge, as the battery/charger does not seem to have a trickle function, and will cut off charging completely (iow not overcharge).

Jah: is there a reason behind ordering the batts/attys/charger separate, or is it just showing up that way? When you order the starter kit it comes with 2 batteries, 1 atomizer, 1 charger, and 5 carts... Wouldn't it be better to order 2 M402 starters for convenience if not for the carts and the extra charger? I would also tack on 2 extra attys... just to be safe... besides they're cheaper from Absolutely than any US Supplier...just my $.02

OIC: you want 2 different batteries, but only want 2 batteries!!! Doh'. Well anyway my comment still stands. If i were in your shoes (wait...that sounds weird...why would would you want to wear someone else's shoes... why would you DO that?)anyway... I would still order 1 starter, and if you wanted a different colored battery, order a separate battery. It would save you 5.00 on carts, and 2.00 off the charger, thus making the extra battery something like 5.00.... not a bad deal eh?

God my math is bad...had to edit for a second grade math problem.
 
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FisherPal

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Thanks for the battery info, ruuku. Mine must be doing that 'discharge' thing, I guess, which would explain the flashing back and forth. As far as the green LED goes, my penstyle had an amber LED and, when I was sitting at the computer, I could see it glow in the reflection from the screen when I vaped. No reflection at all in there from the green LED. However, that said, like I mentioned before, sometimes I get a pretty good glow from it (I can see it light up at the end when I look down on it). Again, give me a couple of days with this and I'll let you know if it just needed 'breaking in'. Just seem to be having a heck of a time getting consistent vape out of it but could well be 'operator learning curve'. LOL. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
 

ruuku

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Mar 21, 2009
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Fisher: Just to clarify, its not really a "discharge" but rather a monitoring phase. Basically with the red light, the battery is charging and when the green light lights up, its the system "checking" the charge of the battery. The rapid changing of colors tells you that the charge is almost complete...ie 98.5%->charge-> 98.6% ->charge... (not exact numbers btw). The system itself is not that intelligent (like laptops or cellphones), but considering its a 10.00 charger and a 12.00 battery (retail!) its certainly not bad.

Thanks for the info on the LED... My woodgrain LED seems to do the same thing though, in the middle of a draw is lights up pretty well, but its still pretty dim compared to some of my other batts.
 

kaeo773

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Mar 10, 2009
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I have 24 M401/402 batteries, and I think it's just luck of the draw with getting a good bright LED. I tend to use my red led's because they seem the brightest to me, I do have very few blue led's that are bright as well.

I would like to see a bright white led, so I can open my front door at night while vaping.
 

kaeo773

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Hey wait...Kaeo did you say RED?!?! The red LED on my eHealth was just about the only feature that i actually liked! Still waiting for someone to make a purple/black LED. IMHO that would look pretty cool.

Where by chance did you find the red LED batt?


sorry, I meant orange.
 
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