New member here, overwhelmed by suppliers available (where to get first kit?)

[gravitygroove]

Hello! having wasted a really amazing amount of time reading bits of things here and there and looking at different sites i found this to have more information that seemed unbiased then places trying to sell me something, so here i am to inquire.

I am a long time social smoker (8-10 years between 2-5 smokes a day) and generally prefer a "natural tobacco" kind of flavor (nat shermans are a favorite, as were winston lights for a long time.) I generally don't like the marb classic flavor, but camel is not too bad (slight sweet, a bit less harsh feeling)

Having looked at some of the helpful faq threads here, i think i'd like to start out with a 510 style kit, but i don't mind a slight larger size then a regular smoke (like a 100's length or whatever) i may find the kgo/ego kit to be nice at some point, but i imagine it's probably more then i need for my level of smoking.

I would like a kit i can refill without needing a masters degree, (is a needle required?) cartomizers seem like a good bet to keep it simple, so i can refill 4 or 5 times and simply install a new one. Battery life is likely not too much of an issue for my level but a charging pack might be nice. I have no strong preference about manual/auto but from what i read manual is "safer" to refill so i suppose i'll have to get the hang of that.

The problem now becomes how the heck do i pick a 510 kit when there seems to be no real way to make sense of where to get it from or what the best deal is. The amount of suppliers and different "brands" for these kits is staggering, and i'm looking for a half a dozen good value suggestions.

I'm on a budget so the best deals are always a plus but a few bucks more for an assuredly quality starting kit would be ok with me.

Thanks to all those that read this and respond to help me get started!

-Erik

 

[TheBlueAdept]

Out of curiosity why a 510?

I agree for beginning vapers and low quantity smokers wanting to switch that cartomizers are simple and convenient and not too costly.

I recommend a KR808 system. Obviously from my Sig I'm a V4L customer.... I recommend you see their subforum here and others like Bloog and decide what seems right for you.


Sent from my phone; Please excuse typos / autocorrections.

 

[saltwaterbuff]

it seems the in canada its harder to find any e cigarettes here with nicitine and people have said that go here go there.
do you know of any places to find this kind of product in canada. thnks for your time.

 

[sailorman]

Honestly, in the smaller size you are asking about, the 510 is NOT the way to go.
The best mini-cigarette style e-cigs are 808 types.

I would definitely recommend a kGo, but if you absolutely have to have a cigalike, there is only one that I recommend, and i won't be alone.

The Volt from Smokelessimage.com They have charging cases available. Their batteries perform better than any 510 based cigalike on the market and their cartridges are refillable. Their service is great and so is their warranty.

I hate mini cigs, so I'll urge you again to get a kgo, but if you must have one, the Volt is your best choice. There are a couple other brands that perform the same, but they are the exact same battery and cost more.

The 65mm battery is 220mah and will last about 2 hours between charges. The 78mm battery is 380mah and will last about 3.5hours. The 78mm battery costs $1 more. A no-brainer. There is no 510 based mini cig that has that kind of run time.

You can get blank cartridges and a free battery also if you post your pic in their forum on this site. There are also discount codes for 15-16% off that someone will be around to give you.

Almost every veteran vaper here will recommend the Volt over any other mini-cig e-cig out there. Give it a few minutes and you'll see. We've all been through this a million times. Good luck.

 

[sailorman]

it seems the in canada its harder to find any e cigarettes here with nicitine and people have said that go here go there.
do you know of any places to find this kind of product in canada. thnks for your time.

Once you get 5 posts, you can ask in the Canada forum. Someone will PM you a list of nicotine cartridge suppliers and a vendor that handles the same e-cig as the Volt, under a different name.

Sorry, I didn't realize you were in Canada. You definitely want a kr808 system though.

 

[VapingRulz]

Ditto on the recommendation that you buy a 808 model of ecig. I had great luck with the VaporKing XL manuals from Vapor4Life; I used them for two years and still do occasionally, but my new fave is the KGO. You are a light smoker so I think an 808 will work great for you. The Volt is another recommended option. I've never tried the Volt but it's very popular.

 

[DedTV]

Best 510 kit I know of is KGO kit1100mAh by SLB
2 1100mah batteries, 6 pre-filled carts, 2 attys, and charger for $43.99 (and you might be able to find a coupon code to take an extra couple bucks off that).

If you're set on a mini cig-style battery though, as others have said, go with a Volt. I don't know of any 510 minis that come close to the Volts.
You can also get them in auto (most social smokers I know prefer autos) and their autos are sealed. Most of the 510 minis I've seen are not sealed and fry as soon as they get a little bit of juice or condensation leakage into the batt.

But I'd recommend going with something like a kGo or one of the Volt X2s. Battery life on the minis is quite poor (a quarter that of the kGo or the 1300mah X2) and it really sucks to be stuck with a dead battery. Or at least get a PCC so you can keep one battery charged while you're out and about.

I'd also suggest you get some juice that's around 6mg (or 0mg if you don't need the nicotine at all). Since vaping isn't "timed" by when your cigarette ends, Social smokers who switch to vaping tend to take drags off their ecigs more often than they do with cigs so you'll probably want as low a nic level as possible.
And be sure to try out flavors you think you might like just for the flavor rather than just trying to replace the tobacco flavor you tolerate best now.

 

[Bwana]

Completely agree with the KGO and Volt suggestions as well as Hoosier if you decide on the KGO. Brent has been very good to me and I will continue to recommend his services. For added convenience if you go with the KGO, pick up a couple of low resistance Vision Clearomizers.

If you think the hardware scene is overwhelming, (which it is) wait until you start trying to find your favorite flavors. Taste is truly subjective and I find I hate more super-popular flavors than I like. Also, your taste and what you want from vaping will change once you've done it for a while (hence the many kgo recommendations). It seems there is no magic bullet for landing on a daily vape. I've ordered tons and finally landed on a few I love, and that just seems to be the way to do it.

Hope you find your way easily. This is the place to figure it all out, but it can take a bit of time.

 

[gravitygroove]

ah- i had thought the 808's were not refillable and the 510's were, that was my sole reason for prefering one over the other. Well the price point for the kgo you posted (thanks Dedtv) is really compelling to try out, so i may just go that way.

What can you guys tell me about refilling the cartomizers or the easiest way to refill? it seems manual is important for this for the seal issue, but i have seen very little info on refilling, one involving injection with a syringe, seen no demos on dripping to refill a cartomizer, and now there are "clearomizers" which i do not know the compatibility or fill protocol for either.

 

[HclExpress]

+1 for the volt
a starter kit that includes 2 batteries and a pcc would probably be perfect, and they are fairly cheap.
Kgo would be wonderful also, but may be a little larger then you like. If you only smoked 2-5 analogs a day, i think the volt could keep up with you fine.
Good luck and best wishes

 

[TheBlueAdept]

You can fill cartos by several methods including syringe. Check out teamkr808's YouTube channel. Many good videos of filling and fixing cartos and batteries. I prefer simply dripping into the top of the carto to fill. If your juice is thicker you may need to spin a bit to use centrifugal force to help liquid get down into the bottom.

Http://www.youtube.com/teamkr808

Beware of sweeping generalizations like 'most veterans' as that is clearly rarely true.


Sent from my phone; Please excuse typos / autocorrections.

 

[gravitygroove]

Thanks for all the info guys. Defintely going to check out that youtube channel (subscribing!) and going to start with the volt with charging package (under 65 shipped) As i understand it the kgo and volt both use 510 threading and so parts are compatiable to some degree?

Any other suggestions for starting stuff i should aquire for use with my volt? Clearomizers? (these are just easier to refill translucent cartomizers correct?) replacement/blank carts? "juice"? What are some of the most popular sites to restock supplies once i have my first kit in hand?

ALSO, will someone tell me the difference between dual coil/single coil cartomizers and which ones and what resistance i would want for either the volt or the Kgo?

 

[TFish_Jax]

Clearomizers can be very touchy and quite a few don't work properly and can be leaky from my experience (although limited). When first starting out I'd stick to the regular cartomizers.

For E-juice, there are thousands of options. After spending quite a bit of money trying several different varieties from several different vendors my favorites come from Mountain Oak Vapors and Halo. Both have awesome customer service and are made in the USA. Of course, taste and finding the perfect juice is very subjective and different for everyone. Finding the right juice has been the most difficult part of switching to vaping for me.

 

[sailorman]

Thanks for all the info guys. Defintely going to check out that youtube channel (subscribing!) and going to start with the volt with charging package (under 65 shipped) As i understand it the kgo and volt both use 510 threading and so parts are compatiable to some degree?

Any other suggestions for starting stuff i should aquire for use with my volt? Clearomizers? (these are just easier to refill translucent cartomizers correct?) replacement/blank carts? "juice"? What are some of the most popular sites to restock supplies once i have my first kit in hand?

ALSO, will someone tell me the difference between dual coil/single coil cartomizers and which ones and what resistance i would want for either the volt or the Kgo?

The kGo uses 510/ego threading. The Volt uses kr808. They are not compatible, but you can get adapters for them cheaply.

With the volt, stick to cartomizers unless you get the X2 battery. There is a clearomizer for that one on the SI website. It will work with the smaller batteries, but it'll be kind of ridiculous. If you want to try a clearomizer, the Fluxomizer from Gotvapes come in an 808 thread and are more proportional to the cig-style batteries.

If you get the Volt, get blank cartomizers. As was said before, there are a few ways to fill them. The "condom method" always worked best for me and you don't have to sit there waiting for drops to soak in or mess with syringes.

Canvapes and Vapourus are two popular Canadian sites, but the folks in the Canada forum will know others.

You don't want dual coil cartomizers for the Volt or, IMO, the kGo. Dual coil cartomizers have two coils, each of them 1/2 as warm as the resistance would indicate. The most common ones are 1.5ohms, which is too low fr the Volt or any battery under 450mah. A 1.5ohm dual coil contains two 3ohm coils inside. They are best for higher voltage e-cigs, but people will argue about it. Regardless of that, don't use them on a Volt in any case. A cartomizer for the Volt should be between 2.4 and 2.8 ohms. The ones on the SI site are perfect for your uses. Horizontal coil Kangers. For a kGo, you can use any 510 carto with a resistance of 1.5 to 3ohms. I'd recommend 1.7 to 2.5ohms. Lower numbers burn hotter.

 

[jnnfrlsw]

I am pretty sure that the Volt and KGO do not have the same threading. You will need an adapter to use the same parts. Kgo is a 510 and a volt is a 808 threading. I am sure a Volt user will post and confirm its threading size.

Thanks for all the info guys. Defintely going to check out that youtube channel (subscribing!) and going to start with the volt with charging package (under 65 shipped) As i understand it the kgo and volt both use 510 threading and so parts are compatiable to some degree?

Any other suggestions for starting stuff i should aquire for use with my volt? Clearomizers? (these are just easier to refill translucent cartomizers correct?) replacement/blank carts? "juice"? What are some of the most popular sites to restock supplies once i have my first kit in hand?

ALSO, will someone tell me the difference between dual coil/single coil cartomizers and which ones and what resistance i would want for either the volt or the Kgo?

 

[sailorman]

You can fill cartos by several methods including syringe. Check out teamkr808's YouTube channel. Many good videos of filling and fixing cartos and batteries. I prefer simply dripping into the top of the carto to fill. If your juice is thicker you may need to spin a bit to use centrifugal force to help liquid get down into the bottom.

Http://www.youtube.com/teamkr808

Beware of sweeping generalizations like 'most veterans' as that is clearly rarely true.


Sent from my phone; Please excuse typos / autocorrections.

Also beware of people who recommend a product, then send you to a Youtube channel that is a series of commercials for that same product. I'll let you guess which one it is.

And if you look through this forum, you will see what "most veterans" recommend as the best mini-cig 808 kit. Hint: it's not the company that sponsors that Youtube channel.

If you want to use Youtube for advice and recommendations, stick to the vids that are not affiliated with a specific product. Youtube is a swamp of disguised commercials and marketing gimmickry.

 

[Fatmann]

you can hit up madvapes.com for some great kits and juices

 

[TheBlueAdept]

Also beware of people who recommend a product, then send you to a Youtube channel that is a series of commercials for that same product. I'll let you guess which one it is.

And if you look through this forum, you will see what "most veterans" recommend as the best mini-cig 808 kit. Hint: it's not the company that sponsors that Youtube channel.

If you want to use Youtube for advice and recommendations, stick to the vids that are not affiliated with a specific product. Youtube is a swamp of disguised commercials and marketing gimmickry.

You'll note in my first response that I said I was a V4L customer, yet told them to also consider Bloog, a competitor , in the same sentence. I theneven encouraged him to check out other vendors too. I didn't try to push the op to only one. While the videos are sponsored, they are showing techniques that apply to most tanks cartos and batteries (808 speaking) and I did not specifically endorse those videos for the product, I did it for the technique. Dozens of vendors resell smoktek, the op can choose where he wants to do his biz. If I knew of completely unbiased videos that obscured actual product and vendors I'd have posted that, but I don't.

I referred that link because it helped me personally not because I'm a shill for any vendor. And never did I claim what 'most veteran's' would recommend, which seems far more loaded with bias or agenda than my comments.

I invite anyone to read my comments and point out where I've acted in any inappropriate or biased way. I stand by my words.

Sent from my phone; Please excuse typos / autocorrections.

 

[sailorman]

You'll note in my first response that I said I was a V4L customer, yet told them to also consider Bloog, a competitor , in the same sentence. I theneven encouraged him to check out other vendors too. I didn't try to push the op to only one. While the videos are sponsored, they are showing techniques that apply to most tanks cartos and batteries (808 speaking) and I did not specifically endorse those videos for the product, I did it for the technique. Dozens of vendors resell smoktek, the op can choose where he wants to do his biz. If I knew of completely unbiased videos that obscured actual product and vendors I'd have posted that, but I don't.

I referred that link because it helped me personally not because I'm a shill for any vendor. And never did I claim what 'most veteran's' would recommend, which seems far more loaded with bias or agenda than my comments.

I invite anyone to read my comments and point out where I've acted in any inappropriate or biased way. I stand by my words.

Sent from my phone; Please excuse typos / autocorrections.

Sorry. I guess I was misled by the the ad banner, the equipment list and the coincidental sponsorship of vids on a website famous as a venue for infomercials.
As for "most veterans", I'll stand by that. It may be rarely true, but it's true for some things and when it comes to kr808's, it's demonstrably true. Just as most vets would advise against the Blu or Greensmoke, the Volt is, by far, the most recommended kr808 e-cig on this forum. I know V2 and V4L fans don't like it. I am biased, but I have no agenda. I don't even like mini-cigs and never recommend them unless there's no option. My bias is against all mini-cigs. I don't even know if SI has Youtube vids. There are plenty of non-product linked instructional vids on YT, so I never needed to find out. It's not bias or an agenda that makes me say that most veterans here recommend the volt as the best kr808, it's months and months of observation. After awhile, it becomes fairly obvious.

 

[gravitygroove]

I'm fairly certain down the road i will cave and buy the Kgo as well, the price is quite reasonable, and my girlfriend is trying to kick the habit as well, so two devices might be nice in the end. I would appreciate any further suggestions for places to get (808 threaded?) cartomizers at good prices, e-juice vendors people favor that have good selections and rates, and defintely some things i would need to get with the Kgo kit as well so i can make a list of what i will buy in the near future when i try that kit as well.

Also wanted to be sure i get the right size cartos in the future (808) where can i order those or get an adapter to use 510 with my volt?

Thanks again to so many folks being so helpful so quickly, it is rare on the net, and much appreciated!

-Erik