Newbie here. Not yet an e-smoker, Need help!

[wazzup592]

Well I figured before asking any questions, I'd introduce myself. My name is Jeff and I have been smoking since I was about 15 years old. Next month I will be 19. Anyways, I have been researching E-cigs for about a week now and WOW, I had no idea there was this much too it. I'm looking for a good starter e-cig for a good price. I am looking to buy an apollo because the extreme kit or whatever is 49.99 shipped free. Everybody here has all these crazy numbers and stuff and I wondered if there was a good cheap brand for starters. I almost bought a v2 but the customer service people were really unhelpful and then I read about them always being out of stock and I want my ecig NOW. So anyways, if an apollo ecig is good, then let me know. If you can suggest a better one, then that would be even better. I want to stay away from the 3 piece design and stick with the 2 piece setup for ease of use. I don't plan on upgrading but if you can suggest a good combo that will be appreciated as well.

Also before anything else, I have been reading about ecigs soon being banned and things of that sort, but from what I read it was the way they were marketing them, not the actual e-cig itself. I mean you can't have unregulated nicotine liquid forever. If there is a timeframe for e-cig life, I would like to know, but the e-cig is something I really wanna get because well, just because

Sorry if my first post was nooby and maybe annoying, but the ecig world is something new to me and I'm here to learn!

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

 

[LFC]

Hi Jeff and welcome to the forum. You have definitely found the right place for advice, this is a superb community with very experienced members, which I am not, but I've crammed quite a lot of experimenting over the last few months

I am not familiar with the Apollo kit, but I am sure someone will be along shortly who is. Most newbies seem to stick to the 510 models or the 808D models. I started with a Joye 510, then moved up to a Riva 510 from Liberty Flights and I love it. The great thing about the 510 and 808D's is that parts, accessories and supplies are easy to come by, with some other models it can be difficult to get replacement carts etc. so hoping someone will advise on if this is the case with the Apollo.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy the world of vaping.

PS. There are many vendors that have discount codes for ECF members so it's worth checking the vendor you are going to buy from on the list at the bottom of the main page, could save a few bucks.

 

[cskent]

Hi and welcome to ECF. I looked at the Apollo website and they don't say what their product is compatible with. That in itself is enough to make me want to stay away. At $49.95 for a basic starter kit, and $12.50 for a pack of cartomizers, their prices are kind of high. You can get a much better unit for less elsewhere. You don't say how much or what type and brand you smoke and that information would be helpful.

If you're wanting a 2 piece and smoke less than 1/2 pack a day try a KR808. Vapor4Life-Because it's your life - E-Cigarettes/Smoking Alternatives carries this one. Their prices are kind of high but they have lots of options for juices and cartomizers. Litecigusa.net KR808d-1 also has it and it's a lot cheaper here.

If you smoke more than 1/2 pack a day you'll probably be happier with a bigger battery. Try Electronic Cigarette - Starter Kits - Riva 510 and order some Liberty-flights 510 cartomizers to make it a 2 piece. This has a much larger battery so 2 batteries will last all day.

There's lots more options and I'm sure others will chime in their opinions soon.

 

[Erfmann]

I don't know apollo either...vapor4life is a popular reputable vendor for 808 kits and cartos, if you decide to go with 808.
510 is good unit too, and I've heard a lot of good things about liberty flights...whichever you choose, keep in mind that the cartos can be refilled, so you may want to look into some liquids as well. Overall it's cheaper to refill them a few times...the battery life should be 2 to 4 hours between recharging, depending of course on how often you hit it...
Welcome to ECF, and keep us posted on your choice, and how you're doing, or if you have more questions...good luck.

 

[dormouse]

I also advise against buying random model from "name" company. I advise to buy a known model with manual batteries that has blank cartomizers and adapters available.

The recommended 2-piece is KR808D-1 w/ manual batteries (see LiteCigUSA.net) which is also sold by Vapor4Life in colors.
The "name" rebranders usually sell a near-twin but incompatible model

 

[wazzup592]

Im looking at the riva now on liberty flights, Am I going to need to keep buying atomizers and stuff all the time? how long does an atomizer go before it starts to get gunked up? Like 1 cart, or 3 or what?

 

[Chuck Gnarly]

Atta boy, read my other comments in your other thread too.

Good luck Jeff, but you don't need it!

 

[wazzup592]

I did read it which turned me on the the riva. I don't know if Im ready for all this cleaning of atomizers and making my own liquid lol. Im looking at the special edition riva. It comes from the UK though?

 

[Chuck Gnarly]

No, they have an office in San Diego. You're all good. And you don't really *need* to clean, just blow out from the top into a tissue. Not difficult at all and you'll get the hang of it. Actually, nothing to get the hang of!

 

[Chuck Gnarly]

And no need to make you're own liquid. There's a difference between DIY mixing etc, all that hard stuff, and just buying great pre-made juice from vendors.

The difference is with pre-made juice, it comes in bottles that you can then use to fill carts, cartos, drip with - as opposed to prepackaged items with the juice already in it (significantly more expensive). It's basically like - you can buy a car with the gas in it (expensive), or buy the car and the gas separate and refill it as often as you need (cheaper and better/tastier mileage). Or something.

 

[dormouse]

if you take are of attys they could last for months. But most people get tired af atty+cart and instead drip on attys and alternately fill blank cartomizers and use those.

Did you say how much your smoke? And what kind of cigs? Full strength? Lights?

 

[Rosa]

Here's a review:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ws/151301-apollo-e-cigarette-review-blog.html

Plus, I believe they are a forum supplier.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...64524-naming-contest-apollo-e-cigarettes.html
Good luck!

 

[SLO-Vap]

Hello,

See my recently posted experience. I am very much a newbee. Like you, I researched like crazy. Simple, not too expensive (about $80 with everything you need), and all you need is juice. The Ego-T. I am sure some will praise it and some won't. My experience is too short yet to be valid, but I am loving it. No carts, no dripping, just vaping. From a "theoretical" perspective this is the way to go. At least to start.

Whatever you decide on, it has to be better than analogs.

SLO-Vap

 

[washvap]

Welcome, I highly recommend the new ego-t type b. It's really awesome and very low maintenance in terms of dripping and such

 

[pandatera]

Hi Jeff,

You can pic up a Riva 510 kit and a pack of Boge 510 cartomizer. That way you will have a 2 piece set up. You can still use your atomizer that came w/ your standard kit for trying out new flavors.

 

[Bebbo]

Welcome, I highly recommend the new ego-t type b. It's really awesome and very low maintenance in terms of dripping and such

Hi Washvap, sorry to disturb, is Cignot the only supplier eith ego-t type B by now?

 

[hairball]

Hi Jeff and welcome. You are better off buying the Riva kit from liberty-flights. Atomizers can be finicky but most of the time not. Cleaning them is really easy. Just run hot water through them, let dry overnight, prime with about 5 drops and vape. V4L gets alot of good reviews on their kr808d-1 kits as well but I can't comment on them (never owned one). However, I like their premium cool carts but pre-filled can get expensive. Buy some juice(various strengths and flavors in 5ml bottles), a Riva kit, and a couple extra atomizers and you'll be set. You may want to get a box of cartomizers also.

 

[whatmonkey]

Hi Jeff.

I'm a noobie too, and like you came very close to making a kneejerk purchase before realizing I might want to look around a bit more.

I posted a page or two of my first 1.5 weeks with ecigs at the link below -- but it all relates to the KR808D-1, which is all I have experience with. So far you don't seem to be leaning in that direction, but here's a link anyway.

On the topic of juice, and if cost is an issue for you --

If you get a model that uses a cartomizer, or an adapter to use cartomizers, you'll find that prefilled cartomizers are significantly more expensive than buying empty cartomizers + the juice of your choice and filling them yourself. The math looks to me like they might still be cheaper than cigarettes, but I'm not entirely sure. Filling yourself it becomes dirt cheap. In any case you can reuse them some number of times. I find filling myself to be really easy (you do have to get the hang of it, but it's not bad), and I like that I'm not limited to the flavors and juice makers who I can find with prefilled.

As someone else noted you can make your own juice, but from lurking here I don't think a large percentage of people do that.


Here's most of my impressions after 1.5 weeks with a KR808D1 from litecigusa.net: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...082-wow-kinda-overwhelming-3.html#post2953389

 

[Vapor Pete]

Jeff,
Welcome to the ECF. Heres my advice in a nut shell:

Avoid 3pc ecigs until you're up and running. There is too much (imo) that can go wrong and thus actually turn you away. Heres how I started 2 years ago and havent changed... get a kr808-D 2pc ecig. People have said vapor4life. Yes, reputable supplier.. but over priced, sorry. Cigeasy.com has been my supplier and his prices are good. Get some juice. I get mine from goodprophets.com. All thats left is for you to decide what flavor you like. Oh, grab some extra carts too. I think cigeasy sells starter kits for around $35 and carts for $7.99 a 5pk. PM me if you have any other questions, or if I can be of any further assistance. Good luck!

-VP

 

[wazzup592]

I ended up getting the Riva-501. It is a 3 piece system but once I start getting the hang of it ill be able to decide if I wanna go with the two piece setup. I smoke regular menthols at about 6 at least and up to 10 cigs a day. I also order 8 5ml liquids including flavors, menthol, menthol tobacco, and coffee and another one I can't remember. the starter kit comes with 10 cartidges so that will be good for a while I suppose. I want to keep this esmoking as good and cheap as possible, so I'm thinking if atomizers suck, ill use the cartomizers and just refill them a few times till they die. I don't wanna be spending 20bucks an atomizer every few weeks. If i can refill cartomizers only 3 times each, i'd say its better than relying on a 3 piece atomizer. The cost would be about the same and i'd say it would be more convienient. Just a question, when refilling carts, is it ok to fill them all at once, or will they dry out? Like fill a few at a time rather than right before I vape them.