New Member - need some advice

[nightshark]

Hi everyone!


I have been looking around this site for a few weeks and decided to buy the following from hoosierecig.


Boge 2.0ohm LR 510 cartomizers 5 pack
EGO Vision clearomizers 2.1-2.4ohm - Clear(Long Wick)
KGO kit 1100mAh by SLB


In retrospect I probably should have posted first to get some answers but it's too late.


I guess my question is how do I use the clearomizers and/or cartomizers?


Can i only use one flavor for each?


Is there a better option out there or what else am I missing?


I currently smoke half a pack a day of pall mall menthols and need to be pointed in the right direction as far as juice goes. Right now I am just using the little cartridges this kit came with. They are menthol and not the best.


I would really like vaping to get me away from the "analogs".


Thanks for the help!

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Hi and welcome to ECF.

In retrospect I probably should have posted first to get some answers but it's too late.

I hope you got a usb cord and wall adapter for charging.

I guess my question is how do I use the clearomizers and/or cartomizers?

Clearos- Hopefully they're the long wick clearos- fill tank and saturate wicks really good and vape- there's a break-in period of a couple of tanks. Soak in PGA every 2 days and let dry overnight.

Cartomizers- Key in vid below when pushing carto down into condom of juice is to do it very slowly

 

[Racehorse]

Boge 2.0ohm LR 510 cartomizers 5 pack
EGO Vision clearomizers 2.1-2.4ohm - Clear(Long Wick)
KGO kit 1100mAh by SLB

I'm a newbie myself, but based on what is recommended for newbies and having combed the new users forum for myself, and the fact that you purchased this, I'd say it appears to be a good newbie kit. There are a LOT of people who start out similarly and have great success.

You probably need to watch some YouTube videos on how to fill and clean this stuff.

Yes, one flavor in each of those delivery systems. PBusardo has vid to show how to boil cartos and refill, I probabably will just toss since they are cheap. There's also vids on You Tube about how to clean and refill the clearos.

Others like Ego Twists batts better than what comes with KGO system. IMHO, either or isn't going to make or break whether your quit analogs by starting to successfully vape. You can do a search on KGO and maybe read posts about their own little quirks, what people are doing with them, etc. which will help you "optimize" your experience.

You started, so congratulations. Now all you have to do is find some juices you like!

 

[Racehorse]

Vapoor, something I've been meaning to ask. If I do not use the condom method, how many "drops" do you put into the cartomizer?

Regular size:
XL size:

I copied it down and now lost it.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

My XL Smok Tech 1.7 aka the resurector takes a little less than 40 drops/ 1.8 ml.
20 drops= 1 ml.

Vapoor, something I've been meaning to ask. If I do not use the condom method, how many "drops" do you put into the cartomizer?

Regular size:
XL size:

I copied it down and now lost it.

 

[txtumbleweed]

That is a good setup to start with and will let you try clearos and cartos to see which you like best. I prefer the Vision 2 Clearos with replaceable coil heads myself.

If I was just starting I would probably choose the ego 900 mah VV Twist over the Kgo although the Kgo is a good battery the Twist will allow you to adjust the voltage to your carto.
You can pick up two 900 Twist batteries, two Vision 2 Clearos , two spare coil heads and a usb charger for 60.00 at DV.

 

[nightshark]

Which vendor is decent and has smaller sized flavors to sample?

 

[kalifornia]

the condon method is good, but if not used just keep dripping until juice starts pooling up at the top of the wick material. and take small draws at first in case you didn't get it all the way full. that should prevent any burning. good luck

Vapoor, something I've been meaning to ask. If I do not use the condom method, how many "drops" do you put into the cartomizer?

Regular size:
XL size:

I copied it down and now lost it.

 

[RickMc]

I have been looking around this site for a few weeks and decided to buy the following from hoosierecig.


Boge 2.0ohm LR 510 cartomizers 5 pack
EGO Vision clearomizers 2.1-2.4ohm - Clear(Long Wick)
KGO kit 1100mAh by SLB

...

You could have done a lot worse. You're off to a very good start, and I see that you are already getting answers to your questions about filling, etc. Enjoy the KGO - it's a good device!

 

[RickMc]

"Drops" isn't a very scientific measurement, but out of most juice bottles I find they usually will take about 20 drops for a standard carto and about 30 drops for an XL carto.

Don't fill all at once, do it gradually and let the juice wick through the filler before adding more. With practice you will get good with it, and be able to fill much more quickly.

 

[SeaBrz]

Soak in PGA every 2 days and let dry overnight.

Hi Vapoor Eyes - This is the first time that I have read this advice. Can you clarify? Totally soak both cartos and clearos?

Thanks

 

[Racehorse]

"Drops" isn't a very scientific measurement, but out of most juice bottles I find they usually will take about 20 drops for a standard carto and about 30 drops for an XL carto.

thanks Rick.

Drops isn't scientific, yeah.....either is the condom method ("fill it about 1/2 way, etc.")

What is the best thing to use to fill them that IS more exact? A needle? I need to start off using best method until I get the hang of the less scientific methods LOL

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

The soaking is ONLY for Clearomizers. I tried every method under the Sun to clean cartos and it's really not worth it IMO. Cartos you can drop in boiling water but it's very hit and miss and you have to dry them completely. Soaking the clearos it really depends on the version you have. The newer ones you just unscrew the bottom and soak in PGA.

Hi Vapoor Eyes - This is the first time that I have read this advice. Can you clarify? Totally soak both cartos and clearos?

Thanks

 

[ShogaNinja]

The KGO is the king of the EGO style batteries. It operates at 4.18v which is brought down depending on what you put on it. If you put a dual coil carto on there (not recommended) it will go down to 3.85v (IIRC). The original EGO operates lower than that. 1100 mah will last you probably 3-4 days at first for each one, especially using boges. After a month or so you'll probably be charging them every 2-3 days. You chose well. You may look into getting an EGO C Twist replacement battery (1000mah) in the future for a more versatile vape to add to your collection. They are on sale at Altsmoke.com right now, the cheapest I've seen. As for nic strength I would probably recommend 18mg but you may want to get a 5ml bottle of 24mg in case you need that extra kick (like if you feel the urge to go back to smoking). For those cartomizers and clearomizers you are going to need to use 70/30 PG/VG mix or more PG. Any more VG than 30% and you're going to have serious problems wicking and you'll get bad performance/dry hits. The Boges can handle 60/40 PG/VG but past that I do not recommend. The EGO Vision Clearomizer (aka the Stardust) definitely doesn't do well past 30% VG in my experience. KGO's take about 3-4 hours to charge. Make sure you charge it right away when you get it and read the instruction book on how to prime the batteries.

I am going to disagree on the basis that one only has a break-in period on Stardusts (EGO Vision Clearomizers) IF they have been soaked with flavored priming fluid. In that case, then yes, it does take a couple tanks to clear through that nasty 555 taste they use. You should always clean and dry burn your stardusts before you use them to avoid or lessen this break-in period.

If it is not primed with flavored juice then you will be able to get peak performance out of it right away if you wash it out and shake water in it like a thermometer. Shake the water out as hard as you can (it's all in the wrist!). Then put it on your KGO and dry burn it in like 10 second bursts until you can see the coil glowing red down the center pipe. Once it glows red burn it for about 3-4 seconds per burst and then repeat about 4 times after the first time it started glowing. Now, if you don't have the newest ones that can be taken apart you're going to have to dry that tank out because water and ejuice is not going to be a good combo. It'll dilute your flavor and your nic strength. I take a hair dryer and cover half the top hole with it and spin it every 5 seconds or so 90 degrees until it's dry (usually takes about a minute). Now you have a ready to go stardust. Wait for it to cool before you add your juice. Ignore the lines and just fill it up until it covers the wicks. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before your first vape and you should be good to go. You will have to repeat this process every 2-4 tanks worth of juice if you want to get the best vape out of those things. Don't worry about the wick, it's not flammable by the way. What dry burning does is it gets the buildup off the coil and also washing the wicks helps too.

Boge Cartomizers are pretty awesome. They're not the best vape in the world but they can be cleaned by boiling them for 15 minutes, and then I use an oral syringe (with a plunger) and stick them inside the syringe and pump water in and out about 50 times per carto. You'll also have to clean them every few days for peak performance. To dry them for immediate use set your oven temp to 250 degree fahrenheit and then bake them on a baking sheet covered in foil for 15 minutes, let them cool for 5-10 mins and then another 15 mins back in the oven. Don't worry, they'll be fine. I have reused the same boges since I started vaping and you can see that's over 5 months now, using this method. You can get an oral syringe like the one I described at walmart in the pharmacy section for around 2 bucks.

 

[Pappy]

Nightshark, that's a good kit you ordered. I prefer the clearomizers to cartomizers (but I prefer the Vivi Nova tank to the clearomizers).

I have used various methods of cleaning the clearos, but all I do now is rinse them out with hot water, shake the water out of it, blow through it to blow out any water in the center tube, refill it with juice, let it sit so the juice can wick up some, and then vape. If the clearo was giving me a funky taste, I'll dry burn it after I rinse it out, and then rinse again after the dry burn.

I used to let them dry for a couple of days. I have found that the only negative to refilling them before they dry is that the flavor is weak for the first few vapes. If you really want them dry, you can dry them with a hair dryer (but only on the cool setting, not hot).

 

[ShogaNinja]

The soaking is ONLY for Clearomizers. I tried every method under the Sun to clean cartos and it's really not worth it IMO. Cartos you can drop in boiling water but it's very hit and miss and you have to dry them completely. Soaking the clearos it really depends on the version you have. The newer ones you just unscrew the bottom and soak in PGA.

Vapoor Eyes Er, perhaps you have never used my method of cleaning them? It works VERY WELL, at least with Boges. I have since moved on to clearomizers so I haven't tried other brands. After several months one of them might die out of 10. I think I lost 2 out of 10 in 5+ months, and they're not lost they just taste burned so I stripped the black tape off them and put them in my junk parts container, right next to 5 Stardusts I broke in less than half of that time. Stardusts crack easily, the coils inside get messed up and create hotspots, etc... I hate Stardusts lol. They are the bane of my vaping existence. I did break one good one trying to take them apart, so let's call it 4. I got one on the verge of being retired right now though. The crack grows over time and then you start getting air through the tank and it bubbles when you hit it. This might be a blessing since the draw is as tight as (insert colorful metaphor here) but in fact it creates backpressure which draws the juice down the center post and into your battery's juice well which shorts it out. Then you have to clean it to get it working again. PITA! My silicone caulk dried out so I use hot glue to seal it but it's only a temporary fix. In the end it will give up the ghost before too long. This is the 3rd one now. And they say they don't crack... lol... that's why they sell replacement tanks for the new rebuildable stardusts, right?

I've had two mysteriously snap off at the top metal ring as well. Stardusts, I repeat, are junky for long term use.

 

[Racehorse]

Which vendor is decent and has smaller sized flavors to sample?

I got samplers from Heather's Heavenly, Virgin Vapors, and Johnson's Creek. (probably not the cheapest way to go but I wanted VG and organic, etc. )

The Johnson's Creek has a gorgeous presentation.......all glass bottles....plastic capped and then they put the dropper tops/pippettes into the box as well.

Besides them, here's my list so far of vendors I found that have sample packs: (a list like this would make a great sticky for newbies, IMHO. I went to many juice sites that didn't have samplers, and as a newbie, I need them!)

Vermillion River
Vixen Vapors
Mountain Oaks
Vaperite
VaporGod


please feel free to add to this.

I think vendors who don't offer samplers may miss out because I wanted to try Backwoods Brew for instance, no sampler unless i missed it, and as a newbie I am NOT going to buy a bottle of something I don't know if I'l like!)

 

[ShogaNinja]

I got samplers from Heather's Heavenly, Virgin Vapors, and Johnson's Creek. (probably not the cheapest way to go but I wanted VG and organic, etc. )

The Johnson's Creek has a gorgeous presentation.......all glass bottles....plastic capped and then they put the dropper tops/pippettes into the box as well.

Besides them, here's my list so far of vendors I found that have sample packs: (a list like this would make a great sticky for newbies, IMHO. I went to many juice sites that didn't have samplers, and as a newbie, I need them!)

Vermillion River
Vixen Vapors
Mountain Oaks
Vaperite
VaporGod


please feel free to add to this.

I think vendors who don't offer samplers may miss out because I wanted to try Backwoods Brew for instance, no sampler unless i missed it, and as a newbie I am NOT going to buy a bottle of something I don't know if I'l like!)

DarkCityVapor has some decent flavors (I really liked their mountain 555 and peanut butter chocolate flavors) and they are really inexpensive to purchase. If you buy a 5 pack of cartos he throws in a free 5ml bottle of juice which is win. I don't think you can beat his prices, but I haven't checked in a while since I DIY my juice now. It's $2.50 for 5ml and you can get it in any mix or strength you want. He even sells super high powered juice you can't get anywhere else (or he used to) past 32mg. Not that I'd recommend it. Even so, if he doesn't sell it on the site you can hit the chat button and Bill will make sure you get what you want.

Johnson's Creek's prices are about 25% higher than DCV's from the looks of it.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Vapoor Eyes Er, perhaps you have never used my method of cleaning them? It works VERY WELL, at least with Boges

Started with Boges but fell in love with ST 1.7 cartos. When I was using cartos I also used the Oral Syringe from WMT to clean with hot water and also to flush with air- was doing this last Oct. Just wasn't worth it as I buy my cartos in very large quantities as I supply about 100 people. Buy in bulk and wait for Super sale- last order/ sale was from HealthCabin.

Stardusts crack easily, the coils inside get messed up and create hotspots, etc...

Been using Stardusts for 8? weeks and no problems except had to adjust the airway tube on a couple. Now have 35 friends using the Stardusts and they love them except they eat up the juice and mute the flavor- I add extra flavor.

I did break one good one trying to take them apart, so let's call it 4.

Those are the old version- now using the new version with unscewable heads. As for the older version I welded an 510 adapter to a rod and put in vise- off in less than 10 secs. BUT re-coiling/ wicking was a waste of time .

The crack grows over time and then you start getting air through the tank and it bubbles when you hit it.

Newer plastic version doesn't have this prob. and the only leakage I have is when I chainvape and condensation builds up.

This might be a blessing since the draw is as tight as (insert colorful metaphor here) but in fact it creates backpressure which draws the juice down the center post and into your battery's juice well which shorts it out.

A few have been tight draw so I just modded them.

My silicone caulk dried out so I use hot glue to seal it but it's only a temporary fix.

There's a weld material that seals the plastic and evaporates completely- silicone caulk too toxic unless a specialty caulk is used= less toxic.

I've had two mysteriously snap off at the top metal ring as well. Stardusts, I repeat, are junky for long term use.

That should end with IMO. The ones we're using are just fine. Also tested the Vivi Nova and found no diff between the two except that the Stardust looks much nicer. Overall I rarely buy anything until issues have been resolved and I waited until they came out with the long wicks. Whatever works for you is fine by me. 30 yrs ago owned a small fleet of Dodge Ram pickups- greatest truck ever built...wouldn't buy one today as they are not worth the $$ and there are far better buys- very rarely am I loyal to any one product or manufacturer as things change so quickly.

 

[nightshark]

Thanks for all the feedback. This discussion raises another question. I have read if you are just sampling you just drip on an atomizer. Is this correct? It's overwhelming with all the different setups. If this is the case what is a good atomizer for the kgo?