New Kid is frustrated with vaping

[new kid]

So I need to vent a bit here. I am frustrated trying to find something that just, well, works. I keep reading how some of things (Stardusts, Vivi Nova's, etc) work so great and are almost foolproof. Guess that makes me an "almost fool" .

Any ideas welcome, but mostly just venting to those that might understand. So many people here have been so helpful thought I would see if anyone had ideas.

Been vaping now for a few months, learning and trying stuff. At this point, my PV's are working for me:


EGO C - I got two when I started, mostly just sit there these days as backups. 650mah does not provide much vape time. Yet they are good backups

Ego Twist - no issues, quite a good vape but short battery life. Still use sometimes just for the form factor. It was my intro to VV.

Apollo VV Tube - works great but some of my tanks don't fire on it. They fire on my wife's Apollo VV tube, just not mine. . Still, better vape than the EGO twist when I need to go past 4.8.

ProVari - yea, joined the band wagon and dove in. Great unit, still a pain to set the voltage. I go through several tanks on it and every time have to set it and I always seam to go past the PU or PD setting


So, past the PV's is are my tanks, cartridges and clearomizers. This is where my frustration is. I usually vape with 2.5-3.0ohm "delivery systems" and run at 4.7-5.4v.

Dripping - This worked well for me at first. Lately all I seam to do is flood the atomizer. Tried a few different atomizers (bridged and bridgeless). Once you put in a strong flavor, have to clean them and wait for them to dry. Just too much of a hassle. Besides, I cannot drip and drive!

Tanks with cartridges - I have the DCT tanks and Valley Vapes poly pro tanks. The problem is I have become soured by the problems with Bogies. I got 5 bad boxes - $25 down the drain and now I am leery of cartridges all together. Heck, I almost ordered another 5 boxes before I realized what was going on. DTC work fine, vape good but I am lucky if I get 15ml off of one cartridge before the flavor goes. I have read about others, like the Phiniac, but since it uses a a cartridge I really don't want to mess with it --I don't trust them anymore.

Stardust Clearomizers 4+ - they vape fairly good but don't hold much and I have problems with leaking here an there. Mostly just not impressed with the vape quality and muted flavor. These were the first thing I got that worked well.

Vivi Nova (2.5) - I have 5..and they all leak at the top where the end-cap meets the air stem. Mostly notice it when I get liquid in my mouth while vaping. I also get a lot of dry hits and end up doing the wrist-twist to get liquid to the top. Multiple times a day I have to take them apart, wash the end-cap and put it back together. I have ordered 4 of the Mini tanks hoping the different form factor will help with wicking and may not leak or leak as much.

Phoenix Cartridges - Most awesome vape quality, leaks like a sieve. Surprising they run at a very low voltage (2.7 ohm vapes at 4v or its burnt). So I don't get that warm vape that I like. They are a bit of work to fill but not a negative for me with the vape quality. The leaking drives me nuts. If its not in use I have to put an condom on it to keep it from making a mess.

Trying to find a solution is driving me nuts. Yes I thought of giving up vaping and going back to analogs - but ... now way am I that desperate!

Thoughts or ideas? Or is this just vaping in the fast lane?

EDIT: At least I feel better after venting a bit ... and vaping some Plume Room Blueberries and Cream

 

[daniele25]

I'm so sorry to hear you're frustrated! I can definitely relate to most of this though. I have experienced just about every single one of the points you mentioned. One of the most frustrating for me, I think was the Phoenix CE3's...because like you said, the vape quality is definitely one of the best I can rememeber...but that was IF it didn't pour all of the juice out of the bottom in a matter of seconds. They are just too touchy for me with how they have to be filled..I was tired of hearing "its user error", etc. To me..if its that easy for their to be so much "user error", it's actually a manufacturer error. Nuff said on the Phoenix. Unfortunate, but it is what it is.

The stardusts...don't get me started. So inconsistent it wasn't even funny. I have about 20 of them...they work great for a couple days, and then they are close to useless...after cleaning, they vape a little better, but not good enough. So i gave up on those.

I moved on to the Vivi Nova minis recently...and I did not have high hopes, but honestly I have been beyond pleasantly surprised. Even after cleaning some of the heads, they work like new when I put them back on. I've found the best vape for me to be with the 2.4ohm heads on my Twist at around 4.4v. I haven't tried the full size Vivi Nova V 2.5 yet...I personally like the size of the mini and don't feel like I need to go much bigger. Hopefully when you get those you don't have any issues. I finally feel like I can put aside all of my other gadgets, and am completely satisfied with my Twist and vivi nova minis. When my Twist is charging, I just use them on my regular eGo. I plan to get a second Twist so I always have one charged and ready to go.

My second favorite right now is my eGo mini battery with the smoketech 22mm shorty cartos. (the clear ones tinted with color, not the stainless ones). Since they are so small, I don't get a ton of that filler taste like I do with most other cartos....and with the clear aspect, I can see when I need to top off, and avoid any burnt taste that way.

I'm not sure that really gives you any advice per se....but maybe a little bit of hope that you will find a better experience with the vivi nova minis? Hopefully someone can chime in about the leaking you have experienced with the 3.5ml version. I personally haven't run into that....but maybe someone else can help address that issue.

I know its definitely a challenges with all of these gadgets and gismos. Hopefully you find some resolution soon. Best of luck!

 

[dokebilee]

I use a Penelope (rebuildable atomizer) on a Ego Twist (1000mah version) for now until my GGTS arrives. You can't go wrong with a Penelope or Odysseus but the only problem is getting a hold of one since they are quite rare. Once you get one, they will give you a constant and quality vape, and no leaks 99% of the time, even if you hold it upside down or on its side. I haven't gotten any juice into my mouth with these things either. Absolute perfection in my opinion but then again, you have to anticipate some room for error.

Some of the things a Penelope/Odysseus offers,

- Almost impossible to leak
- Liquid control. Starting to feel some dry hits coming? Just twist the liquid control to allow more juice flow and you're good to go.
- Air flow control (with GGTS)
- No flooding (at least for me). The only time you might get some flooding is if you screw the top cap on really fast. So just screw it on slowly and you'll never get any flooding.
- Overall great flavor and throat hit (this one can vary depending on how well you make your coil-wick setup.)

The only thing that is a downer for me is that you can't see how much liquid is left in the tank but that is easy to remedy. You can either open the top cap to see if there is any juice left, or you can buy the clear tank made by a third party.

 

[Got-Ta-Go]

If someone is frustrated with setting voltage on a Provari, do you think they are going to be willing to accept the learning curve/ trial & error of building wicks and wire for Penelope?

BTW, I do agree with you about Penelope though for the quality of vape.

I use a Penelope (rebuildable atomizer) on a Ego Twist (1000mah version) for now until my GGTS arrives. You can't go wrong with a Penelope or Odysseus but the only problem is getting a hold of one since they are quite rare. Once you get one, they will give you a constant and quality vape, and no leaks 99% of the time, even if you hold it upside down or on its side. I haven't gotten any juice into my mouth with these things either. Absolute perfection in my opinion but then again, you have to anticipate some room for error.

 

[VegasVaporz]

To settle your provari issue.... You can just sell it to me hahah.

 

[Bronze]

I share your frustration. I'm six weeks into my vaping campaign and have found it to be a 2 steps forward, 1 step back process. I have had similar problems that you outline so completely. All I do is look back to the first week of vaping and realize I have made great strides. I didn't know I had all those problems the first week because I was enamoured with my new toy. But I had problems alright! It's like buying a new car. You don't mind the little scratches and leaky windshield until you have it awhile and then it's annoying. One day someone will find a plug and play technology so anyone can yank the thing out of the box and vape away with zero problems. Until then, it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Hang in there.

 

[Kevin King]

you need to learn "how much" juice the atty needs and you wont flood it. wen you get a new atomizer prime it first by dripping 5 drops in and let it soak for 30 seconds - 1 minute. then vape... next vape sesh drip another 2-3 drops. also, i strongly recommend checking out Ikenvape.com. the 901 1.8ohm atomizer is one of the best attys ive ever owned. you will need a 510-901 adapter to use on the provari. there regular 510 attys are phenomenal as well.

just be patient and figure out how everything works at its optimum performance. do research online, and "know" your gear. after that its honestly just a breeze. i drip exclusively on IKV 901s and hh357s. (avidvaper) on a provari, and a kicked telescope, also a twist occasionaly. i always have boge 3.0ohm cartomizers as well. never had a "bad" cartomizer either, never popped an atty. and i vape pretty hard, mainly mrsTs and rawr. i honestly rarely even use dripshields because if you dont over drip, and give the atty the amount of juice its suppose to get, then you will NOT get leaks. and you will be vaping blissfully daily, with no problem. if i can do it, then anyone can. i guess you could be corny and say "practice makes perfect"

 

[Kremppie]

swap your wife's Apollo...

 

[Bronze]

I was using some Kanger T2's and while they are nifty little perfomers, they had their share of annoyances too. Poor connection with battery, coils going bad quickly, tip problems, etc. I have since been trying a Mini Vivi Nova and I have had zero leakage and basically zero problems. Now, I've had them for only 5 days so the jury is still out. But so far so good. I'm really at a point where if I have to rewick the suckers every two tanks, then so be it. I'll just become an expert at rewicking. It's really no big deal and you can use cotton instead of the glass wicks that comes with the unit. I haven't tried cotton yet, but I hear it is awesome flavor and vape. So I just rewick a dozen or two heads at one sitting while I watch my teams lose and just change them out every 2,3,or 4 tanks. Or, better yet, I'll talk my wife into rewicking them. Women are better at that fingertip work than men and she doesn't mind doing stuff like that. Then again, she might tell me to stick it up my..... So instead of two feet forward, it'll be two feet up my rear. Just something to think about. You get a hurdle in your way, you have to be creative in finding a way to go around it. Keep your chin up.

 

[spraintz]

I would say you have a pretty dang good jump on the game if you have only been at it for a few months. I can say with near certainty the with more time you will find a setup/combination that is reliable, repeatable and "just works".

This does, however, come with a price. You will have to gut it out and go through some trial and error to create the best vape for your needs/style.

Looking at your list of equipment tried I would say you would be a prime candidate for a nice high quality, high end (not necessarily highest priced) rebuildable atomizer or rebuildable tank atomizer. This route can be a frustrating challenge for some and does have a bit of a learning curve but, this will give you an element of control over your vape that can't be matched. Just about every recommendation, tip, how-to regarding just about any rebuildable is available on this forum and with research of them you can easily learn the ways of the pro's in no time.

I went through about 6 months in the same boat as you, I eventually found the Prodigy V3 from puresmoker. Once I got it, I was vaping at 6v, dripping to 3+ohms atomizers and I had found my "go-to" rig and used it every day for over 2 years. It worked so well that I forgot I had signed up to this forum came back across it this year when researching rebuildables. I quickly ordered a Phoenix Rebuildable. I was shocked when I could actually custom make a perfect coil and wick that would work with my specific draw and vape style. I thought it was gonna be the last thing I would buy..................then I got a Provari It made that Phoenix shine bright. Then I did more diggin and heard about the SS mesh craze Now I am running a G-Tank-US rebuildable tank atomizer on the Provari and have the cleanest, heavy hitting, no dry burning, least leaking, vapor cloud makin system I have ever seen.

Both the Phoenix and the G-Tank took me a few days and a lot of forum searches to find the way to build em that suits me but I did it. Not only was I able to do it, with the effort and work that went into learning it, I have been able to easily set up my own methods for absolute repeatability when replacing a coil/wick so that it will "just work" every single time........I have never been happier.

Stay with it, maybe look at some of the better rebuilables and trust me you will find the magic combination eventually. See you on the other side...

 

[Debadoo]

Sorry for your frustrations.

When you fill the ce3s are you making sure that it's totally upside down, and that you pull the needle straight out while it's upside down? Also.....make sure you're getting all the air out of the needle before you fill it. I know that may sound like a duhhh thing.... but you'd be amazed how many don't think of this. I use a longer, larger bore needle to draw the juice into the syringe. Then I take the needle off, hold it plunger end down......flick it several times.... then depress the plunger til the juice is at the very tip of the syringe. Put the tiny needle that comes with it onto the syringe, then slightly depress the plunger til the juice comes out of that needle. Sounds like a lot, but it's quick. This gets as much air as possible out of the juice/syringe. Insert needle into the fill hole, turn upside down, fill slowly, pull the needle straight down and out (don't do it at an angle. Maybe I'm just lucky.....but I've never had one leak on me.

I haven't used cartos/tanks so maybe someone can chime in here, but I would think 15 mls through one carto would be pretty good. Or maybe I'm just way underestimating them.

With the vivi (which I love) you don't really have to wash out the cap......just pull the drip tip off and put a tissue in there to mop up the condensation/juice. You'll have this with most things from time to time, it's just the nature of the beast. I do this a few times a day whenever the flavor/th seems to be getting weak, or if I get any gurgling. Mostly it's condensation, but sometimes it will have some juice in it.

Dunno why tanks will fire on your wife's vtube but not yours if they're the same.

 

[new kid]

Unfortunately, my abilities to build anything are limited. Go figure, I work on watches a bit and I can put a new movement in and recalibrate an automatic watch. I may just have to give it try...if I can find one of these.

I use a Penelope (rebuildable atomizer) on a Ego Twist (1000mah version) for now until my GGTS arrives. You can't go wrong with a Penelope or Odysseus but the only problem is getting a hold of one since they are quite rare. Once you get one, they will give you a constant and quality vape, and no leaks 99% of the time, even if you hold it upside down or on its side. I haven't gotten any juice into my mouth with these things either. Absolute perfection in my opinion but then again, you have to anticipate some room for error.

Some of the things a Penelope/Odysseus offers,

- Almost impossible to leak
- Liquid control. Starting to feel some dry hits coming? Just twist the liquid control to allow more juice flow and you're good to go.
- Air flow control (with GGTS)
- No flooding (at least for me). The only time you might get some flooding is if you screw the top cap on really fast. So just screw it on slowly and you'll never get any flooding.
- Overall great flavor and throat hit (this one can vary depending on how well you make your coil-wick setup.)

The only thing that is a downer for me is that you can't see how much liquid is left in the tank but that is easy to remedy. You can either open the top cap to see if there is any juice left, or you can buy the clear tank made by a third party.

 

[new kid]

The ProVari is more annoying that frustrating. Circling a round the menu takes a few seconds (after the head smack of course). Seams like when I hit the button 5 times, some times it hit 5, sometimes four...gesh.

If someone is frustrated with setting voltage on a Provari, do you think they are going to be willing to accept the learning curve/ trial & error of building wicks and wire for Penelope?

BTW, I do agree with you about Penelope though for the quality of vape.

 

[dokebilee]

If you ever do get one, used or new, just message me and I'll help you as best as I can from point A to point B. If you can fix watches, using a Penelope or Odysseus will be a cake walk for you.

 

[LongHaul]

I totally understand your frustration I myself purchased 138.00 in cartomizers and things like that for my tanks and then I found my Reo Grand and it all changed I now have about 10 atomizers and my Reo and that is all I need. I will keep everything I bought but haven't used any of it and will use it as a back up.


Sent from my truck using 3 toasters a broken microwave and 6 rubber bands McGyver style......Chuck Norris aint got crap on me

 

[Butters78]

A lot of great advice here so just wanted to wish you luck.

+1 on talking about yourself in the third person that is awesome.

Jimmy has got some moves!

 

[Techwipe]

a lot of great advice here so just wanted to wish you luck.

+1 on talking about yourself in the third person that is awesome.

Jimmy has got some moves!

that's the guy! That's the guy that sidelined jimmy!

 

[skelley]

There are other cartos on the market besides Boge. You can even get a slim adapter and hit the 808/901 market up also.
Throw a good carto in a tank and roll on.
I'm liking my Phoenix RA at the moment, small learning curve on coil building, but once you got it down there isn't anyone to blame but yourself.

 

[Racehorse]

So, past the PV's is are my tanks, cartridges and clearomizers. This is where my frustration is.

Mine, too. Actually, I could be writing this exact post, if I haven't already. I'm not about to buy a vivi nova since I already own the rebuildable visions......very little difference here that I can see.

Dripping - This worked well for me at first. Besides, I cannot drip and drive!

VV Bottom feeder might be the thing for you.

 

[SABOTEUR]

I've said it before and I'm saying it again...

...the primary cause of vaper dissatisfaction is due to TOO MANY CHOICES.

YOU, my friend, sound like someone that spends too much time on ECF. You're like a car owner that purchases a new car every few week because he's heard about something "better". When did you ever set the voltage on a cigarette? Never. You stuck the darn thing in your mouth, lit a match to it and went about your business. We...notice i said "we" because I'm guilty as well... WE discover electronic cigarettes and lose our minds.

The TRUTH of the matter is
There
Is
No
Perfect
E-cig.

It doesn't exist.

My advice to you would be to decide which ONE of your many devices you can LIVE with and USE it.

Then give yourself an extended ECF vacation.

You'll be a much happier vaper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zm7DSTiOuk&sns=em