Newb Info Overload! Reliability and value Q's

[xxJ6xx]

Little info on me just to start...
I'm a pack+a-day smoker (20-25 big name brand menthol SILVER cancer sticks a day)

Tried vaping over year or two ago as a means to kick the cigarettes, since I want to reduce the risks without giving up the nicotine. Got some slick looking black mini with a blue LED tip starter kit, and gave it a fair shot. Didn't feel the same, so I looked around (long before I found this site) and figured I'd try some better juice. Got Jane's Kick Vanilla and Abandon Mint, and it improved my experience a fair bit, but something was missing. Fast forward to the point where the batteries start dying...maybe a month or two after purchase. Wasn't well informed about the lifespan, or the differences of e-cigs, ect, ect. Anyways, the vendor I was purchasing the parts from had some serious issues with customs coming through Alaska, and couldn't get the things I needed. Also, at the time, my math was a little hazy on how this could save money at the same time as saving my lungs, so this vendor was within my price range, with parts and shipping. So, unable to get what I needed in a short amount of time, and not being properly educated as to what and how much I would need and how long they would last, I went back to the real things.

Recently, Smokers Friendly (local chain smoke shop?) started carrying some e-cig stuff, notably the Nicotex Metro. I also had enough customer credit with them to get a little starter set for only $5. So, what the hell, why not?
My old one was better than this POS.
Tried adding some of the juice I had saved, not much improvement.
Found this website and started reading....and reading....and oh-god-my-eyes-are-on-fire reading.
And now my brain hurts. I've been reading here and there on here for about 6 days or so (a few of them were before joining.)


I have a good idea what I want, I'm thinking something in the eGo series (or similar), or perhaps a VV mod that isn't as big as a Mag-Lite. I really don't want to waste money on junk, but not quite ready to spend ProVari-level dollars. YET.

My issue now, is related to vendors.
I would love to know which vendors are routinely best stocked, have the most reliable parts/products (given the model of e-cig), and are known for having great customer service (and warranties if possible) and speedy shipping (I live in WV, USA)
Also, not charging an arm and a leg for parts would be great too.
There seems to be a lot of differences in vendor prices.....and reading the review threads makes my head hurt since there doesn't seem to be any sorting or rating system in place for tracking vendors.

SO...little help?? I imagine word of mouth around here carries more weight than searching "highest rated e-cig" on Google.

Thanks for any input or assistance you folks can provide!

[TL;DR] I was a Vape Noob who had no info and screwed up. Please give me good advice on vendors.

~xxJ6xx

 

[imsoenthused]

For one of the best ego style options around at the best price anywhere:

14650 Stainless Carto Kit

Crystal Clear Vaping is the place to go for ordering more cartomizers

Crystal Clear Vaping

 

[Bawn]

dark city vapors has a great deal on the kgo.

SLB KGO Starter Kit

they have good prices for juice, cartos and the kit. DO NOT get a ego-t or ego-c. you will be on this forum asking "why does my ego-t taste like burnt plastic?" or "my ego-t is leaking why?". just save your self the headaches and stay away from any device using a cartridge tank. get a good solid battery like the kgo batteries, combined with some LR (low resistance) cartomizers and you will be pleased. its the best kit for a starter vaper. welcome to the forums.

either kit that me and imsoenthused posted will do you just fine.

 

[xxJ6xx]

dark city vapors has a great deal on the kgo.

DO NOT get a ego-t. you will be on this forum asking "why does my ego-t taste like burnt plastic?" or "my ego-t is leaking why?". just save your self the headaches and stay away from any device using a cartridge tank.

When you say cartridge tank, do you mean one of these?
http://altsmoke.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/170x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/c/dctank35_1.jpg
Or one of the small standard tip looking things?
Sorry, some of the terms are still a little confusing.

 

[Bawn]

you link doesnt work.
do not get these
Genuine Joyetech Ego T Tank Starter Kit - 1000mAh

Genuine Joyetech Ego C Tank Starter Kit - 650 mah

a dct is a not a cartridge tank. a dct is a cartomizer tank. its a plastic tube with a cartomizer inside, that is not what i am referring to.

 

[Hitmetwice]

When you say cartridge tank, do you mean one of these?
http://altsmoke.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/170x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/c/dctank35_1.jpg
Or one of the small standard tip looking things?
Sorry, some of the terms are still a little confusing.

Welcome to ECF, the above lnk doesn't work, but you may be wise to just
go with a standard battery with cartomizer to begin with no tanks.JMO.

CHEERS

 

[xxJ6xx]

Sorry about the bad link, i'll check them next time before posting. *grumbles at the internets*

Ok, so cartomizers are the all in one tips, with the filler and the atomizer (kind of like a coil running down the center), correct? The Metro that I have now has those. Seems easy enough to fill, but I worry about over filling. Not a fan of the flat rubber stopper with hole at the end. Oh well

Also, aside from what to buy, I'm more interested in who to buy FROM.

jtracc and imsoenthused, thanks so far for the input. There are too many vendors to sort through, just looking to get a bead on a few that are reliable.

 

[Bawn]

darkcityvapors is a good vendor i bought from them many times. cartomizers have the white filler in them and have a coil on the bottom usually. but yes you are correct.

 

[klynnn]

I am looking at the ego-c tank system while waiting for the twist to be on the market.

 

[elfstone]

I have a good idea what I want, I'm thinking something in the eGo series (or similar), or perhaps a VV mod that isn't as big as a Mag-Lite. I really don't want to waste money on junk, but not quite ready to spend ProVari-level dollars.

In general, the "forum suppliers" (there is a button up top linking to a page with all of them) are reliable and fair priced. To begin with, you got a few links to good vendors - CCV and Dark City. I'd also check out the ECF Electronic Cigarette Coupon codes - 1/10 - Your source for electronic cigarette discount coupons section that now replaces the old and hugely popular Coupon Code thread.

In terms of PV, you are already pointing toward an Ego-style and the choice is probably a very good one. It is in fact much simpler that it seems - it's made more complicated by manufacturers who want to get a little more sales by confusing a little bit.

I would go for at least 650 mAh batteries, maybe 1000+ mAh. And you should get at least two - either a kit that comes with two or a few batteries separately.

The next choice is between Ego versus Ego variants such as KGO or E-Power. The difference is mainly in voltage. The Ego is regulated at 3.3 V - this is perceived as a low voltage for most vaper, but the advantage is it doesn't really change as you vape. That said, for SLB KGO, I get very good numbers throughout the charge and it is what they call a "true 3.7V device". You'll start to care about the voltage soon enough, so give this some consideration. There are videos on YouTube proving the point about the very nice output of a KGO battery. Some believe Egos, if they are truly genuine Joyetech, are more durable; but the sad truth is that any sealed battery will eventually die, and they have a fairly hard limit of charges they can take.

On the other hand, the E-Power type is just like an Ego, but it takes generic batteries that you can swap out. That's a huge advantage, but may seem a little more complicated. In fact, it makes the whole setup somewhat more reliable, as you're less likely to find yourself out of charged PVs.

Next - the vaporizer itself.

First, there are cartomizers (units that both hold juice and vaporize it). There are many types and sub-types, but for initial purposes there are, again, two choices to make. First is filler vs. filler-less. The easiest to use and most reliable are the ones with filler material. The filler-less (such as clearomizers, CE3, CE45, CE4+, and their heftier counterparts) are traditionally more difficult to make work in a reliable way, but may have a better taste.

The other choice, to make it simple is "standard" versus "low" resistance. On a fixed voltage battery, basically, using a lower resistance cartomizers makes for more and hotter vapor, yielding a stronger throat hit. I'd try both. And I'd go for Boge LR cartomizers best bet for a reliable vape.

I won't touch the issue of dual-coil as my opinion is they are not good for 3.3-4.1 V range.

Second, there atomizers - simply heating units that vaporize juice. The juice needs to come from somewhere else. The easiest way is just dripping it from a bottle into the atomizers. You need to do this a lot, and there is a learning curve, but the advantage is in flavor - unbeatable by other contraptions, so far.

Everything else are ways to feed juice into an atomizers - tank setups, mostly, as the old cartridge method is deprecated. These are the Ego-C, Ego-T systems and so forth. These may or may not work for you - but please ignore the whole debate: even if you want to try them, they shouldn't be your only / main vaping setup as a beginner. They are just too fiddly.

Again, Ego-C, Ego-T and all that - it really refers to the thing screwed on top of the battery. It doesn't mean you'll buy a completely different PV. No. You don't need to buy an Ego-C kit now - you can use a "-C" atomizer-tank on your KGO or whatever if you later decide so. By the same token, if you do get an Ego-C kit, then if you hate the atomizer-tank setup you can always use cartos or whatever else with those batteries.

Lastly, about VV: while there are cheap VV options, I wouldn't choose them as a first purchase either. That's again, not because they don't work, but because they might give you headaches. And while later those headaches and the fiddling (finding the perfect atomizer, messing around with clearomizers, modding CE2s etc.) will actually become part of the fun, at the beginning they're not a good idea

 

[xxJ6xx]

Wow, thanks for the info elfstone, I appreciate it. I think I'm leaning towards an E-power at this point, since one of the things I never liked about vaping was having to rely on one specific battery, and throwing the whole thing away once it stopped holding a charge. The E-power sounds a little better in that respect. I'll let you guys know what I get, and how it goes.

Thanks again, and if anyone else wants to chime in, please do!
~J6

 

[miniapplecocoa]

@xx good luck with your adventure! I had no success with mini's either and boy am I glad I did not give up. Vaping is such a fun new adventure for me I feel privileged and excited.

@elfstone Thank you! Im really new to vaping and the advice and information you gave to xx was great for me too. I wish I had known about this forum a year ago and am glad I found it now.

 

[KentuckyRain]

@elfstone,, Thank you too for the advice given to xx. It really helped explain a few things to me and now I have a list written down with what "to" and "not to" order as a "beginner" I can certainly try the "not to" ones later as I gain more knowledge but your post really did help me a lot because I have been reading so much and been overwhelmed with learning, and it seems the more I learn the more I get confused, lol.

@ xxJ6xx, Thank you for starting this thread,,, I am/was going through the same experience as you and came across this thread that has helped me,,, I feel my anxiety calming down now

 

[ScatRD]

J6, welcome to the forums, it looks like you have a lot of good info and can now make an informed decision.

Elfstone, your quick and dirty FYI was outstanding! Kuddo's for typing it out!

 

[bnrkwest]

Welcome! A vendor I use is highdesertecigs.com Quality products, great service, I highly recommend and he has sales all the time. The ego types work well for longer battery life. They are a good step up before going APVs to VV types. Have fun! bnrk