New vaper with a Smoke51 Trio; leaking problem

[rschauer]

I've been vaping for about 2 weeks now on a Smoke51 Trio I picked up at a local tobacco store. I had already read some less-than-stellar reviews for it, but I wanted to try something out before investing a large sum online. I got the Trio in a minimal starter pack (1 batt, 1 atty, 3 carts and a USB charger) for $20. I figured that was pretty reasonable, and it's the only thing I can buy refills for locally right now.

I'm waiting (impatiently) for my KR808 from SmokelessImage to arrive, but the postal service around here sucks lately, and now there's the holiday getting in the way as well, so I'm stuck with just the Trio for now. I haven't completely quit analogs yet either, as it wasn't my goal to do so right away, so I can wait. Mostly, the Trio is not too bad, apart from the seemingly very short cartridge life, but there is one major problem I'm having.

I'm on my 12th cartridge, and the current one is the second one that has been leaking through the mouth end. I've managed to figure out that one can't puff on these things as hard as an analog, or pointed upward; that isn't the problem. Sometimes it will leak even if I'm not puffing hard enough to trigger the battery, which can't be right. I couldn't find reference to anyone having this problem who wasn't just puffing too hard.

Am I still doing something wrong? Is there something I can do about it on these carts, or is it a common problem with all carts/cartos that I'll just have to live with now and then?

 

[jaz3370]

Unfortunately, I found tapping/wiping the end on a piece of tissue after a while is the norm for any cart/cartos i have had.

 

[JustaGuy]

Sounds like you're using cartos. Carto is one piece atomizer + cartridge, cart usually refers to just plastic juice container. Whether came prefilled or you fill yourself, sometimes they get over filled and juice comes out, normal. Usually, you can just blow into mouth piece end of carto and wipe off excess juice on battery end. Make sure batt end is clean before screwing back into batt. Spit juice out if got into mouth.

Vaping is not the same as smoking. First, never inhale into lungs directly, could cause throat and lung irritation. Take slow full drag into mouth, then inhale. No quick puffs, don't work well either.

 

[rschauer]

Thanks for the replies!

jaz3370: Yeah, that's what I've been having to do. I just find it very odd that it doesn't happen on every cart; to me, that indicates that neither the design itself nor my technique is at fault. See below for what I determined...

JustaGuy: the Trio uses separate attys/carts, not cartos. However, I think you're correct about the overfilling part. I decided to simply disassemble the cart (using a paperclip to pop the foam piece out), and dried out the inside of the cart with a tissue before reassembling. It's working much better now. No more leaking, and the draw is better too (there was sort of a slurping sensation before, like sucking the last bit of a drink through a straw).

It's unfortunate that this is just the nature of the beast, as doing this (even one time out of six) could get tedious, and I'd presume it's even more of a pain with a carto. But at least it seems to be fixable.

 

[JustaGuy]

Sorry, didn't know Trio meant 3-pc e-cig. Ah, atty + cart, now we're talking. I use Joye 510 carts all the time, with blue foam filling. That slurping sound could be condensation or juice getting into air chamber. The cart is actually made up of a juice and air chamber, typical carts have airways on the side of the juice compartment. Sometimes juice can get in there, just have to be blown out from mouth end. I also noticed extra vapor could stay in there at end of a draw and turn into liquid later. The way to avoid that is to let go of button before end of draw, thus all vapor is sucked out, if you have manual batt.

When I insert the cart, I do with it from the top so extra juice gets to atty not back into air chamber. That could flood the atty sometimes, but is another story.

Edit: many folks prefer cartos, but I'm fine with carts so far. cartos require maintenance too.

 

[rschauer]

That description seems to match what I saw when I removed the foam (which is in a little plastic retainer) from the cart. It looks like there is a set of ridges near the mouth end of the cart that prevents the foam retainer from being pushed all the way up to the hole. It sounds like you're saying the liquid sometimes gets into that gap between the mouth hole and the foam retainer, which makes sense to me now. I'm sure the degree of this problem varies with different designs.

Since cleaning the cart fixed the problem, I'm sure you're correct about the air chamber. I'm fairly certain it was actual juice rather than collected vapor, or it would be happening a lot more often, I think. Also, blowing them out didn't seem to make any difference; that might be due to these particular carts, though.

Unfortunately, I can't try shutting it off early, as I don't have (nor have I ordered) a manual battery yet. Just waiting to see how I like the 808 before I start ordering more stuff. I'm currently thinking I'll wait on the manual batt until I'm ready for something like an eGo. For now, I'm more interested in portability and convenience, but I'm sure there is a lot more gear in my future.

Thanks again for the info and tips.

 

[Kilroy]

Some systems are better than others. You didn't get beat up on the Trio. Just keep it going until Tuesday. Hope that you enjoy the Volt!

 

[wv2win]

You have an auto small cheap battery model. With those type of auto batteries, they are not strong enough or powerful enough to activate the battery and completely vaporize the liquid - thus liquid in the mouth.

You will have better luck with the 808 but it is still a smaller battery and it sounds like you stayed with the auto batteries unfortunately. Manual batteries are much better. Plus with the autos, when some liquid leaks into the battery since it is not sealed like manual batteries, it kills the switch and thus the battery.

If you decide to move to a better "beginner" PV, get a better manual battery model like the E-Power. Much better performance and much less frustration:

e-Power

Electronic Cigarette - Starter Kits - E-Power

Rule of Thumb: the more it looks like the real thing, the worse the performance.

 

[dormouse]

Separate carts used with attys - carts suck. They drop their juice with no warning or reason. All you can do is not overfill them.

 

[Boodle]

I started with the Smoke51Trio. You got a great deal. The 2-battery kit I got was $190 at the mall. They do sell cartomizers for the 51Trio. You can take off the atomizer and use a pre-filled cartomizer. They come five to a pack in different stengths low, med and high. Local smoke shops sell them for $10. That's pricey but far less than the mall's $20+ per pack of pre-filled cartomizers. I never got the cartridges figured out - they leaked in my mouth - eww. The cartomizers didn't leak and vaped reasonably well. Once I got juice I topped off the cartomizers (being careful not to overfill and kill the auto battery) and used a drip tip. That helped but the 51Trio didn't have enough umph for me after a short time.

The video link below saved the day for me when I had nothing but a Trio to vape. I'm convinced the tricks he shared at the end kept me from smoking cigarettes. Good luck. Hope your new kit arrives Tuesday and your 51 becomes an emergency backup you never need. Good luck!

Fifty-One Trio E-Cigarette Tips and Tricks - YouTube

 

[rschauer]

Thanks for the continued replies, all. As a newb, I really appreciate everyone's opinions! I have done a lot of reading up on the general facts, but there's no substitute for experience.

You will have better luck with the 808 but it is still a smaller battery and it sounds like you stayed with the auto batteries unfortunately. Manual batteries are much better. Plus with the autos, when some liquid leaks into the battery since it is not sealed like manual batteries, it kills the switch and thus the battery.

This is what I had gathered from reading. My original plan was to order the kit from Volt with 2 autos and then get a manual plus some extras elsewhere. But my plans changed, and I did not end up ordering a manual. As I said, I have a feeling there is more gear in my near future, and I definitely want to try a manual. The e-Power you linked to looks like an eGo clone; that's definitely a style I want to look into. I'm still trying to decide which would be more portable: one big eGo style, or two 808s in a PCC. We'll see how my experience with the Volt works out.

Rule of Thumb: the more it looks like the real thing, the worse the performance.

That's also been my general impression, but I've noticed that a lot of people think highly of the Bloog and Volt compared to other minis, which is why I went with the Volt. I really don't care if it looks like a real cig or not, I'm just starting out small and easy. I'm not afraid of the more complicated stuff, just don't want the hassle while I'm still in the process of quitting analogs.

Boodle: where have you found (locally) the cartos that fit the Trio? Also, thanks for the link. That video shows pretty much exactly what I ended up doing with my carts; it's good to know I was right.

 

[Boodle]

Boodle: where have you found (locally) the cartos that fit the Trio? Also, thanks for the link. That video shows pretty much exactly what I ended up doing with my carts; it's good to know I was right.

I'm in Vegas. There are several smoke shops here that sell a box of 5 cartomizers pre-filled for $10 for the Trio. I don't use the Trio but lend it out often to new vapers along with some juice and a drip tip. You can pop the tip off the carto and add juice as needed. You have to be careful. As you know, they're manual batts. The one good thing about spending $190 on my first 51Trio kit at the mall is there's a lifetime warranty on the batteries. I exchange them for free often. That's big since those batteries suck. Got me off cigs so I'm eternally grateful.

 

[JustaGuy]

That's also been my general impression, but I've noticed that a lot of people think highly of the Bloog and Volt compared to other minis, which is why I went with the Volt. I really don't care if it looks like a real cig or not, I'm just starting out small and easy. I'm not afraid of the more complicated stuff, just don't want the hassle while I'm still in the process of quitting analogs.

"Keep it simple" is great policy. What works for everyone may not be your best solution. Just use what you're comfortable with after trying things out. I went through 4 kits in my trial period, others more. Unfortunately, nothing in vaping is simpler than a Scripto lighter and a pack, but it is healthier. If you can cut cigs down from PAD to a couple or less, you're doing well.

 

[rschauer]

Unfortunately, nothing in vaping is simpler than a Scripto lighter and a pack, but it is healthier. If you can cut cigs down from PAD to a couple or less, you're doing well.

The simplicity depends on your point of view. Lighting up a stick is simpler than changing carts, but changing carts is done less often. Also, I don't have to worry about where I have to go to vape (not as much, anyway), what I'm getting ash on, who might be standing close enough to get burned, or what to do with the .... when I'm done.

I was at 1+ PAD until last winter when I cut down to 10-15 cigs a day. Since I started vaping, I'm down to about 6-8/day on work days, 2-3 on weekends (I work 4-day weeks, so that's 2 packs a week or less), and I'm very pleased with that. My short-term goal is to get down to 1-2 on any day. It's not as hard as I would have thought; the e-cig is a remarkable substitute. The key (for me) is to not try suppressing the really bad cravings for analogs this early in the game. If I try to deny myself the satisfaction of 1-2 a day, I'm likely to just get irritable and give up at some point. Once, a few years back, I did quit completely for several months by using the patch, so I know that I can do this with the help of a nic supplement.

Anyway, that's getting O/T. I appreciate all the help and support going around here. It really adds to the experience, especially since there are no other local vapers that I know of. :-(

 

[JustaGuy]

No pressure is a good thing. Many of us including me still keep some cigs around...just in case. Best of luck!

 

[rschauer]

My Volt came today. WOW, what a difference. The cartos are much more convenient, and the flavors are awesome. Now I just need to do some research regarding the batteries. I thought the voltages were the same, but I seem to get a much stronger hit from the 78mm compared to the 65mm. In any case, the problem I had with the Trio is both resolved and now unimportant. Thanks for all the tips, everyone!