New with lots of questions!

[Oestaira]

First off...hey everyone! *waves*
Now, onto the long list of questions. A friend of mine bought me an electronic cigarette as a gift and I've been using it for a couple of weeks and absolutely love it. I've only got a few problems A. Cartridges drying out B. Battery not holding charge well. C Price vs. quality of the particular brand I have.
Ultimately...what I'm looking for is an affordable back up...good (but not insane amounts) of vapor, good but not harsh throat hit, size and 'feel' of a real cig and ease of use and reasonable price. I'm a light smoker, generally camel lights or marly lights about half a pack a day. I know, I gotta be picky about it.
Was also wondering if it's possible to buy liquid online to refill my cartridges with? The brand I have is designed for replacement when they're empty, but in the interest of saving money, can't I just buy liquid and do it myself? And if so what liquid would people recommend?
I'm really hyped up over the prospect of switching completely to e-cigs and am finding more and more things that are no longer an issue with the e-cig rather than conventional cigarettes. I absolutely love the premice. I just need to find a good affordable method.

 

[BiteMe]

Wow... that IS a long list!
OK.... first things first.
Welcome! Glad you could join us!
Yes... there is a ton of liquid out there for refilling your carts. What you can do, is look in the index page (home) and go to the forum about liquid, or simply look at the thread titles and head there. there are too many things to take into consideration to tell you one juice or another right now.
Next, a replacement or back up e-cig is going to be just as tough as buying/choosing your first one. (Yeah, i remember you got it as a gift) My own personal choice (and I don't want you to think that I'm trying to influence you) is a Janty Dura. Good vape, nice but not radical throat hit, and reasonable to buy. (I think they are about $58.00 for the whole kit)
Carts drying out. Are you putting covers on them? Or are they simply out of fluid?
Battery not holding charge. How long does it seem to last you? About 2-3 hours the way I vape is about normal for me if I'm hitting it pretty good.

Hope this helps!

 

[Oestaira]

BiteMe--No, really, bite me (j/k, couldn't resist) I'll definitely look into the liquids. Been doing a bit of surfing. As far as cartridges drying out I'll slip the cartridge onto the atty and within a matter of hours it's dry. Whether or not I'm vaping. Might have something to do with living in god awful Texas, not sure. I've not heard good things about this particular brand regardless. I've also had a few 'dead' cartridges that only get maybe 5-7 cigs of vape on them before they're dry.
I've looked at the Duras and they seem interesting. Any links for good suppliers? That seems to be the biggest issue as, ironically, the better supplies and brands seem to be more 'underground'.

 

[Elendil]

Instead of spending $50-$60 on a "decent" ecig. Take a look at the Lite Vaper. For $75 you can get a vapor monster with a battery that will easily last 8 hours and are inexpensive to replace. THe kit comes with 2 batteries so you should be good for awhile. I don't know your current model of ecig, but with the Lite Vaper you will need to supply your own atomizer (either 801 or 901).

Here is the link: Zi Moshi Home

Of course you could step up to the big boy league and get a screwdriver. (See my sig for a picture) I cost about $150 but it is da bomb..........

But if money is a concern the Lite Vaper is an excellent value.

 

[Elendil]

BiteMe--No, really, bite me (j/k, couldn't resist) I'll definitely look into the liquids. Been doing a bit of surfing. As far as cartridges drying out I'll slip the cartridge onto the atty and within a matter of hours it's dry. Whether or not I'm vaping. Might have something to do with living in god awful Texas, not sure. I've not heard good things about this particular brand regardless. I've also had a few 'dead' cartridges that only get maybe 5-7 cigs of vape on them before they're dry.
I've looked at the Duras and they seem interesting. Any links for good suppliers? That seems to be the biggest issue as, ironically, the better supplies and brands seem to be more 'underground'.

5-7 cigs worth of vape is excellent. All the advertising that says 1 cart = 1 pack is all B.S. anyway. If you have a 901 atomizer you can use the Dura carts they hold more juice than the "standard" 901 carts.

 

[Oestaira]

Elendil--I am so not getting that serious with it. The 'screwdriver' looks like something I'd get arrested for lol. My current one is 'smoking everywhere' and I'm thus far unimpressed. The janty dura looks like a safe bet. I don't want to get into anything insanely complicated. The most cartridges and mixing and liquids and atomizers and batteries and all that none sense I have to fuss with, the less likely I am to actually switch fully to e-cigs. I'm such a lazy ho.

 

[wv2win]

Instead of spending $50-$60 on a "decent" ecig. Take a look at the Lite Vaper. For $75 you can get a vapor monster with a battery that will easily last 8 hours and are inexpensive to replace. THe kit comes with 2 batteries so you should be good for awhile. I don't know your current model of ecig, but with the Lite Vaper you will need to supply your own atomizer (either 801 or 901).

Here is the link: Zi Moshi Home

Of course you could step up to the big boy league and get a screwdriver. (See my sig for a picture) I cost about $150 but it is da bomb..........

But if money is a concern the Lite Vaper is an excellent value.

Good advice, as always, Elendil.

 

[Elendil]

Elendil--I am so not getting that serious with it. The 'screwdriver' looks like something I'd get arrested for lol. My current one is 'smoking everywhere' and I'm thus far unimpressed. The janty dura looks like a safe bet. I don't want to get into anything insanely complicated. The most cartridges and mixing and liquids and atomizers and batteries and all that none sense I have to fuss with, the less likely I am to actually switch fully to e-cigs. I'm such a lazy ho.

Trust me, when you get going on this, you will get serious about it, because it is fun........

You said you you purchased a smoking everywhere brand. I bet you spent $100+ for it. I seem to read a lot of reviews on here that have problems with that brand. The good news is you have started vaping. You are well on your way to getting analogs(reg cigs) out of your life. I would recommend watching these videos by Spikey. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...2-new-updated-comprehensive-intro-vaping.html I did when I started and this is top notch helpful info.

As long as you stick with a "traditional" looking ecig ie. the 901 you will have battery concerns. The batteries just are not big enough to last any good length of time. The maH rating on the battery is the key to the length of time the battery will produce sufficient power to give you nice vapor and throat hit. The single battery that powers the Screwdriver is about 800maH. THe LV has a battery that can be around 2400-3000mah.

Even the penstyle ecigs (801 models) will suffer from short battery life. Once you know that vaping is for you you will do well to invest in a "mod". These are units like the screwdriver, LV, Prodigy, and GG. You will be much happier and likely to stick with it using one of these units.

While the initial cost is higher, the ongoing costs are much less. My wife uses a traditional 901. SHe is happy with it, but easily goes through 5-6 batteries a day. Eventually these batteries will go bad and need to be replace. at $8-$12 a pop (say $10) it will cost $50-$60 to get her a supply of batteries. That is almost the cost of an LV and almost half the cost of a screwdriver.

Lastly, the most important point is performance. You buy ecigs to satisfy your need for nicotine and to give you the same satisfaction that you get from smoking analogs so you can successfully kick the habit. The $$ invested to insure that happens is money well spent............

 

[Alanae]

If you have read the forums you'll already find that the most popular models are the DSE901, M401, and the DuraC. So I'd look into these first. I have the M401 and so does my husband and we both only use 2 batts a day.

 

[Shadowdr]

DuraC's are very nice but got wiped out quickly, could be hard to find a kit. As a backup it will most likely replace your other as your primary and that will become your backup. I have an N-Pro that I wanted a backup for after getting five batteries an extra attys. I still use both but the N-Pro is now the backup. Manual batteries are great and last twice as long but charge in half the time. Cart is much bigger but I still refill several times daily because I am so used to it.

 

[wv2win]

Trust me, when you get going on this, you will get serious about it, because it is fun........

You said you you purchased a smoking everywhere brand. I bet you spent $100+ for it. I seem to read a lot of reviews on here that have problems with that brand. The good news is you have started vaping. You are well on your way to getting analogs(reg cigs) out of your life. I would recommend watching these videos by Spikey. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...2-new-updated-comprehensive-intro-vaping.html I did when I started and this is top notch helpful info.

As long as you stick with a "traditional" looking ecig ie. the 901 you will have battery concerns. The batteries just are not big enough to last any good length of time. The maH rating on the battery is the key to the length of time the battery will produce sufficient power to give you nice vapor and throat hit. The single battery that powers the Screwdriver is about 800maH. THe LV has a battery that can be around 2400-3000mah.

Even the penstyle ecigs (801 models) will suffer from short battery life. Once you know that vaping is for you you will do well to invest in a "mod". These are units like the screwdriver, LV, Prodigy, and GG. You will be much happier and likely to stick with it using one of these units.

While the initial cost is higher, the ongoing costs are much less. My wife uses a traditional 901. SHe is happy with it, but easily goes through 5-6 batteries a day. Eventually these batteries will go bad and need to be replace. at $8-$12 a pop (say $10) it will cost $50-$60 to get her a supply of batteries. That is almost the cost of an LV and almost half the cost of a screwdriver.

Lastly, the most important point is performance. You buy ecigs to satisfy your need for nicotine and to give you the same satisfaction that you get from smoking analogs so you can successfully kick the habit. The $$ invested to insure that happens is money well spent............

Again, very well said and well explained.