Introduction to Electronic Cigarettes
(note: I wrote this for the Disney Message Board, under legalsea; I decided to cut and paste here, so ignore my opening statement; on Disney I wrote for people utterly ignorant of e-cigs; here, of course, the opposite is true; I would like to know of any blatant errors: now, to the essay):
There was another thread about electronic cigarettes (a question about them), but it has sunken so low that I decided to start one dedicated to this marvel.
I am still a novice in this area, but I have some thoughts.
Many people, like me, will start up with the Npro e-cigarette, by a company called njoy. They are easily available (Amazon, for instance), the e-cigarette looks exactly like a real cigarette, and the cartridges are easy to use.
Before we go further, an explanation: all electronic cigarettes have three components: the battery (which will look like the smoking part of a cigarette, i.e., the white part; indeed, on most models the ash end will light up (blue or red) as you drag on the cigarette, to show that it is working); the atomizer: this is the heating element, located between the battery and the filter; and the filter end, which holds the cartridge that has the juice in it.
So, for all models, you place the filter part into your mouth and drag on it, which causes the atomizer to heat up, causing the liquid to vaporize. The liquid is made up of a type of glycerin (like that you see at plays, when they make fog), flavoring, and nicotine (of varying strength). Some e-cigarettes make more vapor than others.
Anyway, many newcomers (like me) start with the Npro by Njoy. Pluses: easy to use. When you receive you must charge up the battery (usually 2-3 hours, if that) then screw in the atomizer onto the battery, then slip on the filter onto the atomizer. It makes adequate smoke (vapor), and tastes pleasant. You may buy replacement cartridges for around $3.00 each (or less) and each cartridge will equal around 10 cigarettes.
Cons: the cartridge is very small; after it is exhausted you may recharge it by dripping two or three (but no more) drops of e-liquid into the small cartridge, and thus enjoy some more smoking (about 2 cigarettes worth). Plus, the Njoy does not produce very satisfactory vapor, or much of a hit on the throat (smokers will know what I mean), due to its being a two hole model (see below). The battery tends to get weak after a few hours of even occasional usage. The weaker the battery, the weaker the vapor.
However, the Npro is a very good introduction to e-cigarettes, and serves well as an occasional puff during your workday. I am glad I have my Njoy.
A person whom enjoys the Njoy will, however, start thinking if there is a better e-cigarette. Well, yes, there is.
Now we get into the depths of electronic cigarettes. If you go to forums dedicated to these devices you will run across 801 and 901 models.
I have an 801 model. This is quite a bit longer than the Npro cigarette, and does not look like a regular cigarette. The 801 (called DSE 801, just like the 901 is called the DSE 901) looks rather like the old Hollywood Starlets would have smoked (using the long plastic filters). Long and elegant.
The 801 has a longer, hence longer lasting, battery. It also has the atomizer (as all do) which is itself rather long. You screw the battery into the atomizer. You then have a third piece, the filter, which is duck billed in appearance, and which contains the cartridge. One look at the cartridge and you realize that it will hold 10 times the amount of e-liquid than the Njoy model. Hence, longer smoking time before the battery or the juice wears out.
Plus, the 801 model is a four hole model. To explain: all electronic cigarettes have tiny holes in them to allow air to enter into the atomizer and thus provide the vapor (or smoke). The more holes, the more vapor. The Npro is a two-hole model, while the 801 has four holes. Thus, the 801 produces more vapor. Not as much as a regular cigarette (called analogs; it took me a while to figure this out), but quite adequate (sorta like if your analog was partially wet).
You may, of course, purchase new cartridges for the 801 model that are pre-filled with the e-liquid. However, you may also buy blank cartridges, into which you may drip your own e-liquid (see below).
To sum up: I love my 801 model. I can drag on it all day with good, not great, vapor.
My third model is what I will call the Red Dragon, after the supplier (buyreddragon.com). The Red Dragon is different. For one, it looks just like an analog cigarette. Secondly, it has only two parts: the battery (the white part of the cigarette) plus a combination atomizer/filter.
With all other models you have a separate atomizer from the battery and filter. You use the atomizer for however long it holds out. Hence, my atomizer on the Npro has lasted, thus far, three weeks, while my 801 atomizer I have only used for a week. Once the atomizer goes out (no longer provides the heat necessary to vaporize the e-liquid) you must purchase a new atomizer, which can be expensive.
The Red Dragon is different: the atomizer is built into each and every filter. When you buy the Red Dragon you get two parts: the battery and the atomizer/filters. You simply screw on an atomizer/filter onto the battery, and you are good to go. The atomizer/filters cost (so far, as I have found) around $3.00 each, but each lasts for about 15 to 20 cigarettes worth.
Plus: the Red Dragon gives truly great vapor, just like a real cigarette. They taste very good, too. The high nicotine filters do the job. Great throat hit. The only real con: at $3.00 per they are rather expensive, yet I feel worth it.
I gave a Red Dragon to my brother-in-law, a chronic, heavy smoker (indeed, he rolls his own due to the price). At first he scoffed at the idea. Within two days, he admitted he preferred the Red Dragon to the real thing. One reason: he works at his computer a lot. He was in the habit of lighting up a real cigarette, taking a puff, and then putting it in his ashtray, where it would sit and emit smoke until he remembered to reach and take another drag. He estimated that he got 3 or 4 drags off a real cigarette before it had burned down to the filter. Now, with the Red Dragon, he can puff, put it down, and forget about it for 10 minutes until he is ready for the next puff.
Cons: The Red Dragon is not easy to recharge with e-liquid. Using a toothpick or such you pry off the small filter (as I will call it) wedged in the very end of the filter (the part that goes into your mouth). You will then see a small hole with a wire, surrounded by cotton. Drip very carefully onto the cotton, not the wire (which is part of the atomizer). Two drops at most. My brother-in-law can do it, and so his Red Dragon atomizer/filter will last quite a while. I recently dripped into the hole then took a drag of flaming liquid. I did not smoke anything for the next hour.
Now, a few words about e-cigarette brands I DO NOT own, but have read about.
The 901 (often called DSE 901, much like you will see DSE 801) is another four hole electronic cigarette. The difference: it is somewhat small than the 801 (hence not as long battery or e-liquid charge), but it looks more like an regular cigarette. On the 801 the battery is slimmer than the atomizer; on the 901, the battery and the atomizer are the same circumference.
Many e-smokers swear by the 901. They say that the atomizers are more consistent, and it gives good vapor. I do know that the cartridge is smaller than the 801 (although still much bigger than the Npro, which is tiny).
The screwdriver is another type of e-cigarette. I do not have it, nor know much about it. It is supposedly the king of e-cigarettes. It is much bigger than any other e-cigarette, because, in part, it uses ordinary AAA (I think) batteries. Plus, to start the atomizer to heat up, you literally push the button, hold it for a second, start inhaling, then release the button. I have seen pictures. It is not what you would take out on a date to a bar to impress people.
E-liquid: people whom smoke electronic cigarettes quickly found out that buying new cartridges that are pre-filled is very expensive. Hence, companies have sprung up to provide nicotine-charged liquid to recharge your spent cartridges.
All electronic cigarettes are made in China. Every single one. Yet most e-liquid is made in the USA. Good.
Anyway, models like the 801 and 901 are very easy to recharge. Pull out the mouthpiece from the filter part, and you will see a small sponge-like material. Take your bottle of e-liquid, and drip onto said sponge. Re-insert, and smoke.
The serious vapor (one whom smokes only e-cigarette) will talk about injecting the liquid. When I bought the sample pack from the Johnson Creek Smoke Company I received, not only ten different flavors of e-juice, but a syringe.
Now, being a Type 1 diabetic, I am familiar with syringes. However, I wondered why a syringe was included with my supplies. Here is why:
If you drip, then you are simply dripping a drop at a time onto the spongy material, and waiting for it to be absorbed. This does work, but it does not fully saturate the filter-material (or sponge) of the 801 or 901 models. Hence with the syringe, you plunge the needle into the filter-material to the base then, while slowly drawing the needle out, you administer the e-liquid, hence fully filling up the filter-material.
I have used the syringe. It does work, but it creeps me out. So I drip.
I am open to any and all questions. I have not proof-read, so forgive spelling or grammar errors.
(note: I wrote this for the Disney Message Board, under legalsea; I decided to cut and paste here, so ignore my opening statement; on Disney I wrote for people utterly ignorant of e-cigs; here, of course, the opposite is true; I would like to know of any blatant errors: now, to the essay):
There was another thread about electronic cigarettes (a question about them), but it has sunken so low that I decided to start one dedicated to this marvel.
I am still a novice in this area, but I have some thoughts.
Many people, like me, will start up with the Npro e-cigarette, by a company called njoy. They are easily available (Amazon, for instance), the e-cigarette looks exactly like a real cigarette, and the cartridges are easy to use.
Before we go further, an explanation: all electronic cigarettes have three components: the battery (which will look like the smoking part of a cigarette, i.e., the white part; indeed, on most models the ash end will light up (blue or red) as you drag on the cigarette, to show that it is working); the atomizer: this is the heating element, located between the battery and the filter; and the filter end, which holds the cartridge that has the juice in it.
So, for all models, you place the filter part into your mouth and drag on it, which causes the atomizer to heat up, causing the liquid to vaporize. The liquid is made up of a type of glycerin (like that you see at plays, when they make fog), flavoring, and nicotine (of varying strength). Some e-cigarettes make more vapor than others.
Anyway, many newcomers (like me) start with the Npro by Njoy. Pluses: easy to use. When you receive you must charge up the battery (usually 2-3 hours, if that) then screw in the atomizer onto the battery, then slip on the filter onto the atomizer. It makes adequate smoke (vapor), and tastes pleasant. You may buy replacement cartridges for around $3.00 each (or less) and each cartridge will equal around 10 cigarettes.
Cons: the cartridge is very small; after it is exhausted you may recharge it by dripping two or three (but no more) drops of e-liquid into the small cartridge, and thus enjoy some more smoking (about 2 cigarettes worth). Plus, the Njoy does not produce very satisfactory vapor, or much of a hit on the throat (smokers will know what I mean), due to its being a two hole model (see below). The battery tends to get weak after a few hours of even occasional usage. The weaker the battery, the weaker the vapor.
However, the Npro is a very good introduction to e-cigarettes, and serves well as an occasional puff during your workday. I am glad I have my Njoy.
A person whom enjoys the Njoy will, however, start thinking if there is a better e-cigarette. Well, yes, there is.
Now we get into the depths of electronic cigarettes. If you go to forums dedicated to these devices you will run across 801 and 901 models.
I have an 801 model. This is quite a bit longer than the Npro cigarette, and does not look like a regular cigarette. The 801 (called DSE 801, just like the 901 is called the DSE 901) looks rather like the old Hollywood Starlets would have smoked (using the long plastic filters). Long and elegant.
The 801 has a longer, hence longer lasting, battery. It also has the atomizer (as all do) which is itself rather long. You screw the battery into the atomizer. You then have a third piece, the filter, which is duck billed in appearance, and which contains the cartridge. One look at the cartridge and you realize that it will hold 10 times the amount of e-liquid than the Njoy model. Hence, longer smoking time before the battery or the juice wears out.
Plus, the 801 model is a four hole model. To explain: all electronic cigarettes have tiny holes in them to allow air to enter into the atomizer and thus provide the vapor (or smoke). The more holes, the more vapor. The Npro is a two-hole model, while the 801 has four holes. Thus, the 801 produces more vapor. Not as much as a regular cigarette (called analogs; it took me a while to figure this out), but quite adequate (sorta like if your analog was partially wet).
You may, of course, purchase new cartridges for the 801 model that are pre-filled with the e-liquid. However, you may also buy blank cartridges, into which you may drip your own e-liquid (see below).
To sum up: I love my 801 model. I can drag on it all day with good, not great, vapor.
My third model is what I will call the Red Dragon, after the supplier (buyreddragon.com). The Red Dragon is different. For one, it looks just like an analog cigarette. Secondly, it has only two parts: the battery (the white part of the cigarette) plus a combination atomizer/filter.
With all other models you have a separate atomizer from the battery and filter. You use the atomizer for however long it holds out. Hence, my atomizer on the Npro has lasted, thus far, three weeks, while my 801 atomizer I have only used for a week. Once the atomizer goes out (no longer provides the heat necessary to vaporize the e-liquid) you must purchase a new atomizer, which can be expensive.
The Red Dragon is different: the atomizer is built into each and every filter. When you buy the Red Dragon you get two parts: the battery and the atomizer/filters. You simply screw on an atomizer/filter onto the battery, and you are good to go. The atomizer/filters cost (so far, as I have found) around $3.00 each, but each lasts for about 15 to 20 cigarettes worth.
Plus: the Red Dragon gives truly great vapor, just like a real cigarette. They taste very good, too. The high nicotine filters do the job. Great throat hit. The only real con: at $3.00 per they are rather expensive, yet I feel worth it.
I gave a Red Dragon to my brother-in-law, a chronic, heavy smoker (indeed, he rolls his own due to the price). At first he scoffed at the idea. Within two days, he admitted he preferred the Red Dragon to the real thing. One reason: he works at his computer a lot. He was in the habit of lighting up a real cigarette, taking a puff, and then putting it in his ashtray, where it would sit and emit smoke until he remembered to reach and take another drag. He estimated that he got 3 or 4 drags off a real cigarette before it had burned down to the filter. Now, with the Red Dragon, he can puff, put it down, and forget about it for 10 minutes until he is ready for the next puff.
Cons: The Red Dragon is not easy to recharge with e-liquid. Using a toothpick or such you pry off the small filter (as I will call it) wedged in the very end of the filter (the part that goes into your mouth). You will then see a small hole with a wire, surrounded by cotton. Drip very carefully onto the cotton, not the wire (which is part of the atomizer). Two drops at most. My brother-in-law can do it, and so his Red Dragon atomizer/filter will last quite a while. I recently dripped into the hole then took a drag of flaming liquid. I did not smoke anything for the next hour.
Now, a few words about e-cigarette brands I DO NOT own, but have read about.
The 901 (often called DSE 901, much like you will see DSE 801) is another four hole electronic cigarette. The difference: it is somewhat small than the 801 (hence not as long battery or e-liquid charge), but it looks more like an regular cigarette. On the 801 the battery is slimmer than the atomizer; on the 901, the battery and the atomizer are the same circumference.
Many e-smokers swear by the 901. They say that the atomizers are more consistent, and it gives good vapor. I do know that the cartridge is smaller than the 801 (although still much bigger than the Npro, which is tiny).
The screwdriver is another type of e-cigarette. I do not have it, nor know much about it. It is supposedly the king of e-cigarettes. It is much bigger than any other e-cigarette, because, in part, it uses ordinary AAA (I think) batteries. Plus, to start the atomizer to heat up, you literally push the button, hold it for a second, start inhaling, then release the button. I have seen pictures. It is not what you would take out on a date to a bar to impress people.
E-liquid: people whom smoke electronic cigarettes quickly found out that buying new cartridges that are pre-filled is very expensive. Hence, companies have sprung up to provide nicotine-charged liquid to recharge your spent cartridges.
All electronic cigarettes are made in China. Every single one. Yet most e-liquid is made in the USA. Good.
Anyway, models like the 801 and 901 are very easy to recharge. Pull out the mouthpiece from the filter part, and you will see a small sponge-like material. Take your bottle of e-liquid, and drip onto said sponge. Re-insert, and smoke.
The serious vapor (one whom smokes only e-cigarette) will talk about injecting the liquid. When I bought the sample pack from the Johnson Creek Smoke Company I received, not only ten different flavors of e-juice, but a syringe.
Now, being a Type 1 diabetic, I am familiar with syringes. However, I wondered why a syringe was included with my supplies. Here is why:
If you drip, then you are simply dripping a drop at a time onto the spongy material, and waiting for it to be absorbed. This does work, but it does not fully saturate the filter-material (or sponge) of the 801 or 901 models. Hence with the syringe, you plunge the needle into the filter-material to the base then, while slowly drawing the needle out, you administer the e-liquid, hence fully filling up the filter-material.
I have used the syringe. It does work, but it creeps me out. So I drip.
I am open to any and all questions. I have not proof-read, so forgive spelling or grammar errors.
