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I second the Phoenix rba. Mountain Oaks vapor sell for $15 and they have wick and wire. Be prepared for learning curve. Easy way is to buy premade wick coil. Just Google it. I was where you are with flooding and carts messing up. Now all I will use is rebuildable. A Phoenix will hold 10 to 15 drops.
I've been at this for over a year, and am just now hitting my stride. Cartos in a big pyrex tank have been working for me for quite a while now. Don't let the issues with Boge's get to you. I used to use them, too. They suck now so just switch to another brand. Smoktech's have been working for me. If those start to go south I'll just switch again. If not cartos than something else will eventually get you over the hump.
Glad to see new kid getting some spirit back. Don't give up. I must say, the best adivice I have seen on this entire thread was from SABOTEUR (Post #20). It's some of the best advice I have ever seen on this forum and advice that I will be using as well. Most of the contraptions you listed are generally fine products. Stick to one and make it work. I wouldn't take a vaca from ECF though (as SABOTEUR suggests), but his sentiments are spot on if you ask me. You got a mini nova on the way. Hook that up with a Twist and stay put for awhile. That's my gig now and I have had very few problems. But regardless of what you use, stay with one of them. Rebuild your own heads, keep her real clean after each tank or two. Make her work and she'll respond in kind.
I've not tried the mini, but I love the big one, just got a new one in today. What beryl said that I've quoted is spot on!!
Like I said, take out the tip, mop with a tissue a couple times a day. I had my first big vivi for about 3 months before I experienced any leaking at all, and then it was only overnight, never while on my apv.
I know we can't all try everyting that comes out, but honestly there is a HUGE difference between ce4s (stardusts) and the vivi nova.
Oh, and Newkid, when you get your vivi. Try the long wicks as is....but if you find the flavor is muted, then try trimming them. I really like the flavor better with shorter wicks. Just under 1/2" just so that the wick touches the sides of the tank. I found that toenail clippers for some reason clipped them more cleanly than even my 30.00 scissors that are amazing scissors.
I do applaud you for trying to find the thing that will really trip your trigger rather than giving up. As someone else said, there is no perfect vape for most folks.......but that doesn't mean that we can't find the best for us. There are many things that we're not getting in vaping that we got in cigs as far as the things that satisfied us......so getting as satisfying a vape as we can to still those cravings is worth investing our time and dollars in. It's still usually cheaper than what we were spending on smokes. Hope the tips help on the ce3's. If they held more that would be my perfect thing I think.
Being new to vaping myself i have experienced the same issues you are having and i can understand the frustration. So far i have one of the big and one of the mini vivi novas and love them so much i have another mini coming tomorrow. I also have a few of the CE2 modular type and a stardust replaceable and a couple atty for dripping. I am going to delving into rewicking and coiling real soon. I have only had the big vn leak on me once and that was my fault did not tighten the bottom on all the way. The best thing i can say is stick with it and dont go back to the stinkies. Vape on.
Thanks to all for the support and advise. I went ahead and ordered a Phoenix rebuildable tonight. For the price its worth a shot. I am really encouraged about what I am reading on the Vivi mini's.
By the way, I see that discountvapers has the vivi mini's at 5.99 right now. Wish I had seen that before I ordered mine!
Oh, and just to clear it up, I not frustrated enough to give up! Last night all the little annoyances added up and I needed to vent and look for some alternatives.
Thanks again...now if those minis would just get here
By the way, I see that discountvapers has the vivi mini's at 5.99 right now. Wish I had seen that before I ordered mine!
Oh, and just to clear it up, I not frustrated enough to give up! Last night all the little annoyances added up and I needed to vent and look for some alternatives.
Thanks again...now if those minis would just get here
don't be frustrated. There are places that are cheaper, but when someone is that much cheaper sometimes there is a reason. There are a lot of knockoffs out there and they are not as good as gotvapes. A friend just ordered one for like 7.99 somewhere, and said it was awful. Not all of them are made by vision. I am beyond broke, but I stick with GV for that reason. I know what I'm getting.
Thanks to all for the support and advise. I went ahead and ordered a Phoenix rebuildable tonight. For the price its worth a shot. I am really encouraged about what I am reading on the Vivi mini's.
By the way, I see that discountvapers has the vivi mini's at 5.99 right now. Wish I had seen that before I ordered mine!
Oh, and just to clear it up, I not frustrated enough to give up! Last night all the little annoyances added up and I needed to vent and look for some alternatives.
Thanks again...now if those minis would just get here
Keep 'em clean new kid. I find I fill a tank, vape it down, top it off with another mL or so, vape it down then send it to the car wash for a good cleaning in warm water (should only take a couple minutes). Let her dry overnight, then give it a quick dry burn before putting it back in service. Depending on the juice, you can go longer. You'll learn with experience (which you don't get enough of on any one device when you switch around so much). Don't be afraid to rebuild your wicks after you become comfortable with it. You'll put in the most time and effort in the beginning, but as the days and weeks go by and you hop over one hurdle after the other, you will find your device will be far more reliable, predictable, and less time consuming. Your troubleshooting skills will sharpen as well. The mini nova is a fine device (as long as it is a genuine mini vivi nova and not a cheap knock off). You'll always have issues but they will be minor in comparison to what you have now. Stick with the Nova and you will be rewarded. It has worked for many, many people. It can work for you too.
And Debadoo is right. Stick with a good vendor like GotVapes and you wont have to worry about knockoffs. You can eliminate that problem from your list right off the bat.
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Good point Bronze about the cleaning. I also rinse mine again after I dry burn them to rinse off whatever ash, burnt taste there might be. Just blot the wick with a paper towel after rinsing, pop it back in and fill er up. Also you don't have to wait for the wick to dry before dry burning if you're in a hurry, it'll just take a bit longer since you'll have to dry the wick with the first several burns. I had one that I only had to do like two dry burns on (wasn't as dirty as I thought) so I thought, meh no need to rinse. Boy was I wrong!! lol
I just rebuild my ViVi nova once a week with cotton cheesecloth wick and 33G kanthal. When you get your Nova, go to rebuild section and find a rebuild thread. It will be the last Nova you have to buy, unless you lose it or crush it.
There are a few videos on youtube that are excellent. Looks fairly easy but definitely not for everyone.
thanks for the tip on the videos for new wicks. i still like the EC3 style the best, but not stoked with the 10-15% fail rate
I finally figured out what was going on with my dripping....
I have not dripped in awhile, since before I got my ProVari. Hum, I wondered what the ohms were on the atomizer I was using was. It was brand new, 2.5 ohm. Only used it a few times. Popped it on the ProVari to check it 1.5 ohms! I was not flooding, I was boiling it. No wonder I could not get it to work decently!
I also figured out the VV tube this morning, the center pin was pushed down. 10 seconds of tweaking..fixed.
Oh, and the ProVari menu... if I just slow down, works much better. I thought the presses had to be really quick to get into the menu.
The Vivi mini's should be here early next week, shipped a bit slower that I thought. And the Phoenix tank should be here soon as well. More I read up on it the more I like the idea.
Thanks!
I have not dripped in awhile, since before I got my ProVari. Hum, I wondered what the ohms were on the atomizer I was using was. It was brand new, 2.5 ohm. Only used it a few times. Popped it on the ProVari to check it 1.5 ohms! I was not flooding, I was boiling it. No wonder I could not get it to work decently!
I also figured out the VV tube this morning, the center pin was pushed down. 10 seconds of tweaking..fixed.
Oh, and the ProVari menu... if I just slow down, works much better. I thought the presses had to be really quick to get into the menu.
The Vivi mini's should be here early next week, shipped a bit slower that I thought. And the Phoenix tank should be here soon as well. More I read up on it the more I like the idea.
Thanks!
Got the Rebuildable today --- all I can say is WOW. This thing rocks. Flavor, vapor and TH far exceed anything I have used before.
Thanks, spraintz!
Thanks, spraintz!
I started out with this:
Phoenix Rebuildable Atomizer - Clone
Dude, $9.....I mean c'mon, it just doesn't get any cheaper than that to get started in the rebuilding scene.
This atomizer is great for learning coils on. It is a dripping type rebuildable but the "juice well" holds like 10+ drops to you would be dripping way less and it's great for switching flavors. The air hole on this style is on the side of the housing instead of in the threaded connector so the base and threads are 100% sealed. This also makes this thing quiet......I mean really quiet. There is no hissing, gurgling or popping sounds. It is also really hard to flood it out. and while not 100% leak proof it is waaaaay easier to manage......keep the air hole facing up and you won't leak from it.
If you can work on watch movements and can handle a set of tweezers then this atomizer will be a breeze. I did a coil change yesterday and it took right around a minute or so to do it.......good-to-go
Oh yeah, did I mention it, the resistance wire for making coils is around $9 for 100ft of wire? That's like 400 coils for $9!!!!
Idividual results may vary but my woman and I each get around 3 weeks or more on a coil
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