Good evening, new member here, with a total newbie question.
Ive been addicted to nicotine for over a decade going between gum, cigs, losenges, patches and even Chantex. I recently discovered vaping and its fast become my favorite vehicle of nicotine goodness.
Two months ago I bought a vape on a whim after feeling bad about hiding cigarettes from my wife/kids. Its been eye opening to realize that I never considered vaping before, its absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately though, I bought a Smoke 220 which turns out: is a total piece of ..... Its leaked since the first day. Im now getting low ohms errors even without a tank on it. Tried all the fixes and help videos - Im just tired of it frankly. Ive also reading a bunch of bad reviews on it after actually doing research. Its still under warranty so Im covered there. (only vaping 2 months)
Anyhow, I know this gets asked alot here probably, but Im experiencing research fatigue and hope a kind soul can point me in the right direction:
I would like to buy a good vaporizer that works. I dont want it to leak. I dont want to have to upgrade its firmware with confusing directions and broken download links. I would prefer it didnt short out constantly. And lastly, Id like it to actually ******* work.
Maybe its fancy, may it isnt fancy -- I just need it to work. Thanks in advance.
There's a lot of opinions on vaping. It goes along with the saying "I am looking for a car that runs"... ask 50 people, and you're likely to get 50 answers.
I'm one that somewhat defends Smok..... Yes, I say somewhat. Smok has quickly become one, if not the, most popular brands out there. They have a wide range of products, and are continually releasing more. You're more than likely going to see tonnes of bad reviews on Smok products.. not necessarily because they're a bad product, but there's just so many of them out there. Smok's policy is to sell inexpensive practical mods, and they do that quite well. However, as a company, I don't see them as a bad company with horrible products, nor do I see them as the top notch company producing the top of the line gear either.
All companies can produce lemons. Evolve made one of their earlier chips that didn't have reverse polarity protection, and if someone put the battery in backwards, it would fry the chip. But I don't hold that against Evolve (the company that produces the DNA series chips). The industry is moving fast, and companies learn and adapt. Evolve now makes one of the top notch chips out there, but they charge a top notch price as well.
I have learned not to trust ANY company, whether it be evolve's DNA chips, or Smok's ecigs. I know of at least three people who use the same setup as you for a while, and they still use it to this day. The TFV8 is a known good design. The crown tank that baditude suggests is also a good one. What I would look at, is the availability of the coils. If you buy online more, then it shouldn't be too much of an issue, but if you decide to buy your coils locally, make sure the store carries those coils. IF you buy a mod, check out their return policy first. The one Baditude suggests probably has a better return policy on Smok. Chinese company's return policies are more geared towards protecting the company rather than satisfying the customer. They're also known for being the most affordable.
I would probably look for a second mod.. of another brand. Still get the alien 220 fixed, but use it as a backup. The issue you described sounds like you had a leaking tank that got into the connector and shorted out the board. I've seen many others have that problem, and I've experienced that myself with both USA and Chinese brands.. it's just a problem with the connector (known as the 510), and the center pin that is spring loaded. The center pin moves, it can allow juice to go through that moving part and possibly (like it did in your case, and mine) get on the electronics causing a short. Since then, I've decided to put a small heat sink between them. It does get rid of the 510's "spring loaded" functionality, but I've had ZERO issues since then.
What do I vape with... I have several mods depending on the time. When I'm out and about, I usually take my dual battery RofVape Warlock Z. It's a new mod for me, a bit quirky, but the only updated 2 battery mod I have. It's not one I'd recommend to a new vaper. I usually take a second single battery mod with it's own atomizer as a backup... either the SMOK Guardian III pipe if I feel like looking like a sir, or an Eleaf Aster which is a small but comfortable mod. At home, I have a 3 battery Wisemec Releaux RX200 simply because it has more battery life, and it doesn't tip over easily. Usually I put the other batteries in for a charge.
For the atomizers, I am into rebuilding my own coils, and rewicking (something I don't recommend to new vapers). It's cheaper, and since I have the Goblin series of atomizers down pat, I manage to get something totally leak proof that fits my vaping style. I vape a .6 to .7 ohm direct lung inhale but with a slightly restricted draw. I am not into chasing clouds, but more for intense flavor, which is what the Golbin excels at.