New-ish vaper

[msween00]

Hi all, I'm kinda new to the vaping scene.. I tried Blu cigs about 5-6 years ago when I first heard about them, was eager to quit smoking but hadn't had luck with other alternatives. Well, that didn't work out very well and I was back on analogs rather quickly. After a few more years, I was (and am) very eager to quit, so I decided to brush off my Blu pack and wound up ordering another battery because one of them had stopped functioning (I was surprised that one of them still worked flawlessly, actually). This really didn't work out well either, and in between puffs of the Blu I would grab a cigarette here, a drag there, etc. I did some research and found I could get some tanks to put on the Blu battery and get liquids and I thought this might be a better route. I found a local shop and decided to stop in. Well, I wound up getting a "real" e-cig because the guy demonstrated the pull of the Blu battery on one of their tanks compared to one of the batteries they had there for trying out flavors. I was convinced and wound up buying an "eGo Redux" kit. I haven't even wanted an analog since! Granted, it's only been a few days, but with the Blu and trying cold turkey, I never even made 8 hours. I've been reading through tons of posts here and doing all sorts of research, and I'm a little overwhelmed. I've been toying with the idea of picking up a variable voltage battery, I don't know if I quite need it though because I'm rather happy with the output of what I have. I did pick up a second redux tank for a second flavor, and it's a dual-coil one, the one the kit came with is a single coil.

So, I have two real questions. Firstly, this is the kit I bought, eGo Redux Kit Single Capapax Black - now, there on the website it says the battery is 650mAh, which fits inline with what I've seen other people mentioning, but the back of the box says it's a 900mAh battery.. so which is it? I'm fine either way, but now I'm a little curious.. Secondly, any tips or tricks anyone can offer? I don't know exactly what tips or tricks I'm looking for, but I know just by looking around that this community is a wealth of knowledge..

Thanks in advance!

 

[Iusedtoanalog]

Hi Msween, So First Welcome to the ECF.

If the package says 900mAh, then its likely that it is. That means to you a longer runtime than a 650mAh battery. The general rule of thumb is 100mAh will last for 1hour of moderate vape time. Your battery should provide you with about 9 hours of runtime with moderate vaping.That battery should serve you well. It should be unregulated, meaning fresh off the charger you will have about 4volts of output power, during most of its discharge time the battery should provide you with about 3.7volts and near the end it will taper down to 3.3volts and let you know its time to recharge it....

Tips and tricks......
1.Be sure you know the resistance of the device you are attaching to your battery. Lowest load advised for that size unit is 1.5Ω. Lower than that and you risk over working your battery and possible early deterioration of its lifespan.

2. Prepare yourself to get a backup battery and charger if you don't already own one. These are important parts and you cant vape without one of each of these that works. Nobody wants to sit and wait for the ~3 hours while the battery is charging to get our next vape.....

3. Get yourself a standard 510 atomizer and a drip tip, only for trying new flavors that will be finding their way into your rotation. This will allow you to test each one to decide if its worth putting in your chosen feed system. Search "510 dripping" here or youtube to get an idea of how to dip and test. There are some who still use this method full time for vaping because it provides one of the cleanest representations of the flavor in the liquid being dripped.

4. Pick up a package of Low Resistance cartomizers, they are a great backup feed device and on the cheap. A package of five usually runs about $7. The two that come to mind for easy to get and reliable output are Boge and Smoktech. Search "filling cartomizer" to see what you will want to know about getting them up and running.

5. Read and Read some more. Get yourself comfortable with all the options available. Liquid is very subjective and this is one of the most personal selections you will have to make. The ECF is a vast wealth of information. The e-liquid section can point you to most of the good vendors for liquid. There are many, many vendors and the members here are not shy about posting their experiences with them.

Congratulations on your success. Here's to much more. Good Luck. Happy Vaping

 

[StarDose]

If your current setup is working for you then there really is no reason to get anything else. Now after saying that variable voltage does open up more options and I do prefer it myself. I really do recommend getting a second battery which could always be a variable voltage like an ego twist or spinner. Having 2 batteries and a couple clearos is always best incase one stops working then you have a backup. Now progressing past your current setup could lead you down a very fun but expensive path. 10 weeks or so in and I'm at about $800 worth of toys and liquids and am still looking for something new lol.

Anyways keep it up your going in the right direction and came to the right place when you have questions.

 

[msween00]

Wow, thanks for the input. Very nice to know to watch about the resistance, I wouldn't want to kill my battery. I might wind up getting a dripping setup at some point, the place I'm getting my liquids from is local and has samples available, so I'll be certain I want to vape a juice before buying it. I don't know exactly what type of mix they use but it seems very nice for me and they have some nice flavors. I don't know if anyone here has heard of them as they're a local place, E-Six. Cartomizers kind of give me the creeps because when I was on my Blu, I kept getting burnt tastes, so I took one of the carts apart and found that the inner tube where the heating element was was partially burned, even with plenty of liquid still in the outer padding. This is another reason I wanted to get off the Blu. I've kinda just been carrying around the extra clearomizer with my other flavor in there. Going to try to get/make some sort of carrying system.. just realized my battery had an on/off function, took way too long to realize what "5 Click On/Off" meant lol.. I know I need a second battery for a backup.. would you suggest going for a VV and then using this one as the backup? Is there a very noticeable difference? I do also like the size of this battery and don't want anything too much bigger.. I could even go smaller, but definitely don't want to sacrifice battery life.

 

[StarDose]

A vv battery is longer then a regular ego at the same mah. They aren't needed but you can adjust the voltage to make the vape best for your personal taste. Without a vv device you would generally stick with around a 1.8ohm resistance coil on your clearomizer. Most coils that state the ohm are approximately its resistance and generally is close and with the vv you can adjust the voltage until it tastes right for you.

I think I said the same thing twice in different ways but you get the point XD

 

[msween00]

A vv battery is longer then a regular ego at the same mah. They aren't needed but you can adjust the voltage to make the vape best for your personal taste. Without a vv device you would generally stick with around a 1.8ohm resistance coil on your clearomizer. Most coils that state the ohm are approximately its resistance and generally is close and with the vv you can adjust the voltage until it tastes right for you.

I think I said the same thing twice in different ways but you get the point XD

Okay, so I should stay away from higher resistance clearos until I can crank the voltage up.

Oh, another thing.. how do I know when the atomizer in my clearomizer needs to be replaced? The guy at the store showed me how to replace it, and said how long it lasts depends on how I vape, and I have a bit of social anxiety so I just smiled and nodded.

 

[StarDose]

Personally I haven't had to replace a coil the past 10 weeks I've been vaping. I just rinse them in warm water and pulse dry burn the coils to clean them. Seems to work for me so far, there are more intense methods of cleaning if that doesn't work but haven't had to try yet. Basically if the vapor or taste/burnt taste isn't fixed by cleaning and dry burning the coil probably needs replacing. I use a few tanks and am.not just using the same one constantly aswell.

 

[Iusedtoanalog]

Okay, so I should stay away from higher resistance clearos until I can crank the voltage up.

Oh, another thing.. how do I know when the atomizer in my clearomizer needs to be replaced? The guy at the store showed me how to replace it, and said how long it lasts depends on how I vape, and I have a bit of social anxiety so I just smiled and nodded.

If you like the output temperature and flavor then, yes stay where you are in resistance. If you find it too hot then a higher Ω will lessen the heat, but it will also affect the flavor and amount of "hit" you feel.

You will know when its time to replace it (or clean it) by the performance. You will notice a difference in the flavor and vapor output, as well as the temperature will also be diminished. If it begins to taste off or burnt, even though the wick is wet, its time to clean or replace the head.

If you are comfortable with what you have there is no real need to switch up already. Yes variable voltage is nice but at an early stage the more simple you keep it the less struggles you will likely have. If you aren't "missing" something then I say just get a match for your current eGo battery.

The blu cartos are notoriously garbage, so hearing of one that is charred while having liquid is nothing new. Yes if you run any carto too dry it will scorch but the better ones from Boge and Smoktech are much better than the ones you are accustomed to. As an example I am currently using a Boge 2Ω that is five days old at 5.3volts and has been running through about 6-10ml of liquid per day, without being in a tank...... I expect that within the next few days I will need to replace it maybe Saturday or Sunday. I can tell when its time to replace it by how little liquid it takes to top it off. As the filler gets worn out it begins to accept less liquid...... But for about a week straight of vaping for ~$1.25 that's a pretty good value.

It's nice to have a store where you can try before you buy, so maybe a dripping setup could wait a little while. At least until you begin to branch out a little.

Smaller mAh batteries would reduce your time away from the charger so use your own judgment there. At least you will have some sort of backup.