Noob, just got my Blu. How can I make it better?
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I own the blu and the 510 with PCC. The 510's PCC does not come close in functionality to the blu pack, and telling someone that it performs the same function is a disservice.
The blu pack carries a complete e-cig, along with an extra battery and up to five extra cartridges and up to five extra atomizers. Moreover, it can simply store the extra battery, or charge it when necessary. It's a single, compact unit that stores everything one needs (assuming the blu's right for them, that is). You can open it one-handed, pop the blu into your mouth, take a drag or two, pop it back into the pack, close the pack, and put it back in your pocket very easily. It's very convenient when your other hand is occupied, say, while driving.
The 510 PCC carries one battery, one atomizer with a cart attached, and two extra carts. You have to take out the battery and the atomizer and screw them together before you can start vaping. Without an extra battery, once you run out of power, you have to stop and recharge that battery in the PCC (though this is typically not a problem, since the PCC is ALWAYS recharging the battery in it, which is both good and not so good, depending on how you look at it).
So basically, the blu pack carries your cig and extra parts, and can charge one battery while you swap it for a fresh one. The 510 PCC carries a couple of carts and one e-cig but you have to assemble it whenever you take it out to use, although at least you should always have a nice, topped-up battery when the time comes. But should your atty die, or your one battery, you're out of luck. The 510 PCC is a nice thing to carry ALONG WITH a complete 510, but not as a self-contained pack with everything you need.
I don't have time for a super-detailed post right this second, but will try to get to it later tonight. The blu is not for heavy smokers, and your main concern is going to be vapor and throat hit, a 510 might well be better for you. But the blu has a largely undeserved reputation for being woefully underpowered, when in fact if you use it the right way, it can be pretty startling for such a tiny device.
Quickly, the things that have made the most difference for me are:
1) Refill the stock carts with good liquid. So far I'm liking the Johnson Creek reduced-PG liquids best.
2) Restuff the stock carts with better filling. The difference when using the PET from Lipton Pyramid tea bags is astounding. It wicks the fluid faster and more thoroughly, and more fluid to the atomizer = more vapor.
3) Buy extra atomizers-- not because they die particularly often (I haven't had one die yet), but because they're cheap and you can use them to cap refilled blu carts and carry them in the pack that way. You can carry six different flavors and not worry about overlap, and you always have moist, ready atomizers when you switch flavors.
4) If you don't mind leaving behind the convenience of carts, you can try dipping (not dripping, as that's less convenient and more of a risk to your equipment). Carry the liquid of your choice in a contact lens case, and dip the atomizer wick into the liquid for a couple of seconds, then replace the mouthpiece and you're good for maybe a dozen draws before you have to dip again. This will probably yield the best vapor, but I stopped because carts are so much more convenient, and after the PTB mod, the performance difference was negligible.
A last piece of advice: the one thing you're going to hear most often is "return the blu and get a [510/901/Prodigy/etc.]." While that may in fact be the best move for you, depending on your habits, needs, and requirements, if you take some time to get to know the blu, you may well find that it performs very well when you treat it right. For reasons I still don't understand, the blu forum here is populated largely with people who seem never to have even used one, and this will become obvious quickly.
With Blu being the first e-Cig I bought, I have to agree with hxj that it's reputation here on this board is largely undeserved. Before I got my Blu, I did a bit of research about it and even with all I read here and other places, it was just so cool looking that I was willing to throw the money away to find out for myself.
After I received it, I charged everything up, got to looking at the carts and the infamous tin foil that covers them. Now a lot of the advice about these will tell you to remove the tin foil. So I opened up my first cart pack of cherry crush, put the atomizer in, twisted it enough to remove the tin foil part of the way and then removed the rest with tweezers. I took a drag and was instantly disappointed. Very little vapor, poor results.
Not wanting to give up right away, I tried another cart, left the tin foil in and followed the directions of putting a cart on and twisting the atomizer approximately a quarter/half turn. Whoa, instant gratification. Very good results, a 20x better vapor production improvement.
My first reaction was different cart, different flavor, different vapor production. Or bad cart.
To test this further, I took the tin foil I removed from my first cart and stuffed it back in there as that was the only other difference between the two. I went from almost no vapor production on the first cart to almost identical vapor production to the second cart.
Now I haven't done any of the mods yet, but the way my Blu performs today suits me just fine without any mods. If everyone had the same experience as me when I removed the foil from my cart, I could totally see and understand the frustration. The problem as I see it now is that if you aren't using it as designed you therefor get undesirable results.
My thoughts have turned from skepticism about the device and it's inconsistencies to the inconsistencies of the way people are using the devices. The mods could just be efforts to overcome these inconsistencies.
Yes, this is my first post. No, I do not work for Blu. I'm just tired of the Blu bashing from the ill-informed or improper use.
After I received it, I charged everything up, got to looking at the carts and the infamous tin foil that covers them. Now a lot of the advice about these will tell you to remove the tin foil. So I opened up my first cart pack of cherry crush, put the atomizer in, twisted it enough to remove the tin foil part of the way and then removed the rest with tweezers. I took a drag and was instantly disappointed. Very little vapor, poor results.
Not wanting to give up right away, I tried another cart, left the tin foil in and followed the directions of putting a cart on and twisting the atomizer approximately a quarter/half turn. Whoa, instant gratification. Very good results, a 20x better vapor production improvement.
My first reaction was different cart, different flavor, different vapor production. Or bad cart.
To test this further, I took the tin foil I removed from my first cart and stuffed it back in there as that was the only other difference between the two. I went from almost no vapor production on the first cart to almost identical vapor production to the second cart.
Now I haven't done any of the mods yet, but the way my Blu performs today suits me just fine without any mods. If everyone had the same experience as me when I removed the foil from my cart, I could totally see and understand the frustration. The problem as I see it now is that if you aren't using it as designed you therefor get undesirable results.
My thoughts have turned from skepticism about the device and it's inconsistencies to the inconsistencies of the way people are using the devices. The mods could just be efforts to overcome these inconsistencies.
Yes, this is my first post. No, I do not work for Blu. I'm just tired of the Blu bashing from the ill-informed or improper use.
I, to, just got my Blu starter kit and am having similar problems. I always produce a decent amount of vapor, but I'm only getting a throat hit on one out of every ten hits or so. I appreciate this forum and everybody's help, but posts like the folloiwing:
only help so much. I can follow it right up to the words "paper clip" and then I have no idea.
People on this forum tend to use a lot of acronyms and inside language. I'm jut a guy who ordered a product and doesn't know how to use it. I have no eperience with E-Cigs whatsoever and I'm coming off a pack-a-day habit.
Could somebody explain exactly, and in lamens terms, what I should do to produce a more consistent throat hit? Dripping and tea-bagging mean absolutely nothing to me without a description. Failing that, could somebody provide a link to this "510" everybody seems to be talking about? The vaporkings.com link didn't really yield any results for me.
Thanks.
only help so much. I can follow it right up to the words "paper clip" and then I have no idea.
People on this forum tend to use a lot of acronyms and inside language. I'm jut a guy who ordered a product and doesn't know how to use it. I have no eperience with E-Cigs whatsoever and I'm coming off a pack-a-day habit.
Could somebody explain exactly, and in lamens terms, what I should do to produce a more consistent throat hit? Dripping and tea-bagging mean absolutely nothing to me without a description. Failing that, could somebody provide a link to this "510" everybody seems to be talking about? The vaporkings.com link didn't really yield any results for me.
Thanks.
PTB is short for Pyramid tea bags, a Lipton product. Those tea bags are made of PET plastic, a material which works very well as stuffing in e-cig carts because it wicks liquid better than the standard polyester filling and doesn't scorch as quickly in most devices (though that's not a problem with the blu). You can buy a box of Pyramid tea bags, take one out, cut along the seams with scissors, dump the tea, wash and dry the PET, and then roll and/or shred in any of a zillion ways to stuff the cart. The easiest is to cut a long strip about twice as wide as the blu's inner cart is long, then roll it up tighter in the middle and looser toward the outside, fold it in half, and insert it into the inner cart with the folded bit on the bottom. At some point I hope to put together a detailed set of instructions for a method I've found to work very well with blu.
Dripping refers to applying a couple of drops of fluid directly to the wick of the e-cig's atomizer instead of using carts. (After dripping, you cover the atomizer with an empty mouthpiece and vape away for maybe ten drags, at which point you have to drip again.) With the blu, I don't recommend this, as the automatic battery can be damaged by fluid leaking through the atomizer if you apply too much fluid or miss the wick. The blu is instead much better suited for "dipping," which refers to dipping the exposed atomizer wick into a small amount of fluid (I keep some in a contact lens case, for instance). Some e-cigs, like the 510, have atomizers with recessed wicks, so dipping isn't possible, but the blu is practically made for it. However, I do this rarely, because carts are more convenient for me, and I'm often vaping on the move. (The PTB modification makes carts work almost as well as dipping anyway, in my experience.)
As for buying a 510, they're in lots of places. I got mine from InnoVapor. Personally, I'm ambivalent about it. The pros are that it puts out a TON of vapor and has great throat hit; the cons are that fluids don't taste as good (due to the higher atomizer temperature), the equipment apparently doesn't last as long (ditto), I am not crazy about having to press a button every time I draw, it's much bigger than blu and too big and heavy to keep in my mouth (and the manual battery means I couldn't vape it no-handed anyway like I do with the blu when both hands are occupied), the PCC (personal charging case, sort of like the blu Pack) doesn't hold a full e-cig so you have to take out and screw together parts every time you want to vape, etc. Overall, I'm spending a lot more time vaping the blu.
Lastly, to increase vapor and throat hit on the blu, I can make a few suggestions which may or may not help:
1) Take long, slow, gentle draws. You will get lots more vapor if you give the atomizer time to create it and add it to the air you're inhaling before you suck it all away.
2) If you look at your blu right where the battery and atomizer come together, you'll see four holes where the air comes in. You can cover one or more of those with your fingers while drawing, and you'll get more vapor at an increased temperature. This may shorten the life of your atomizer, but I often do this and haven't had an atomizer die yet.
3) Refill your carts with a better liquid. I personally don't trust blu's liquids, and instead use Johnson Creek reduced-PG (propylene glycol) blends. The reduced-PG liquids have more vegetable glycerine in them (VG on these forums), which produces thicker vapor, and they're available in different nicotine strengths, so you may want to go to a higher strength to increase throat hit. (Of course, you do so at your own risk.)
4) If you direct-inhale (draw the vapor directly from the blu into your lungs, instead of into your mouth and then down), you will probably get more throat hit. I personally hate to do this, though.
5) I find I get more throat hit on the exhale if I draw a mouthful vapor, inhale, hold while drawing a second mouthful, inhale, and then slowly exhale. Your mileage may vary.
If none of this satisfies you, a 510 will give you throat hit and clouds of vapor, but the upkeep and annoyance factor seems higher (at least for me), so it's a question of priorities. If you can afford to try a 510 and keep your blu, that's obviously the best of both worlds, and you can decide which to use when. For me, the blu is my mobile, everyday, using-my-hands-for-things e-cig and I pretty much only bring out the 510 if I'm just sitting around reading or watching TV.
Hope this helps. Maybe someday I'll have time to put together a whole guide and post it...
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Sorry for the double post, but when you say refill the cartridges, I just want to make sure I understand. So I'd buy liquid, paper-clip out the little clear plastic dealie in the plastic filter-looking thing, then fill that with something else?
Pretty much, yeah. Here's a page with photos I found:
Can you refill blu ecig cartridges? | Electronic Cigarette Forum
This assumes you're not going to try replacing the polyester filling with Pyramid tea bag PET yet. And I still got far better results just rinsing and reusing the filling that comes in the blu carts than I did using new blu cartridges, so you should still see improvement without making the jump to PTB.
Another useful resource: the InnoVapor user's guide video for the 510 is actually very helpful for general technique and tips for refilling any e-cig cartridge: Video : InnoVapor, The Finest in Personal Vaporizers (Fourth video down, though I bet the EVO guide would be just as helpful-- simply haven't looked at it)
Do NOT overfill the inner cart-- start light, maybe 3/4 of the way full. Your atomizer wick is going to be poking right into that cart, and if you fill too close to the top, it will overflow into the mouthpiece and you'll get liquid in your mouth when you draw.
BTW, make sure you don't get nicotine liquid on your skin. Wash it off immediately if you do. I use zero-nic liquids, so I forget to tell people this. (Liquid in the mouth doesn't bother me either, for the same reason.)
The more I experiment with the Blu, I believe that to increase vapor/throat hit, it really is a pressure issue within the device itself. It needs a stronger low pressure area in the cartridge to make the draw slower and longer. Your 2nd point helps to provide that higher low pressure space within the cart. Also, there are two holes on your atomizer. Make sure these to not line up with the holes on the battery.
I'm not sure how much the new wicking material would help. The reason I think this is that just using the standard cart with the standard fill, you can take off the cart and touch the atomizer with the tip of your finger. You should see a small amount of the liquid bleed off on to your finger. That suggests there is more liquid on the atomizer than it can absorb and that it is getting more than the amount necessary for a proper vape. If you don't, then it may be another issue.
On a personal note I do like the Johnson's Creek liquids as well. I think they are just generally better overall in flavor and I know what's in them.
Well, what I've found is that the wicking material makes a big difference in how often you can hit the blu and get good vapor. With the standard polyfill, I'd get three or four good hits and then vapor production would fall off dramatically, but if I put it aside for a couple of minutes and tried again, I'd have another couple of good hits. My interpretation is that the liquid isn't feeding to the atomizer quickly enough to keep up with the rate at which it's vaporizing the fluid.
Once I switched to PET, I found I can hit the blu as often as I like and don't see the vapor diminish appreciably unless I'm REALLY hitting it constantly, until I run the battery down or empty the cart. (Since the PET wicks so well, the carts really do empty out, instead of 1/3 of a cart's worth of juice sitting locked in the bottom of the cart.)
One thing I found super helpful was to switch to 306a cartridges! They hold way more liquid, have an extra rubber piece in the end to keep juice out of your mouth and a rubber plug for the top so they don't leak. Much better quality and performance then the stock carts and they fit the Blu perfectly. Refill those and you'll get way better vapor, throat hit and flavor. I find adding a little gylcerin to my juice helps with vapor too.
This brings up an interesting point, actually--has anyone tried 306a carts with blu atomizers? The 306a carts are nice; they don't hold a LOT more liquid (about a drop or two, in my experience), but I do like the matte black and the rubber end. The downside is that the inner cart is black instead of clear like blu's, so it's not as easy to see when you should stop filling.
As for adding glycerine, if you use thin liquids, then yes, it can really helps thicken things up and add vapor. I've taken to adding ECOpure Gold to certain Johnson Creek flavors, as it adds body and vapor without cutting the flavor as much as straight VG would. (If you add a nicotine ECOpure, then obviously it wouldn't dilute your nicotine level either.)
Never mind, since I have a slew of blu atomizers and a number of 306a carts, and a side-by-side comparison of a blu atty and a 306a one revealed similar dimensions, I decided to answer my own question by just trying it out. So far, it's working quite well. If no problems develop, I think this may be my new setup.
As far as Blu attys with 306a carts - other than a slightly different draw it works great for me. I prefer the blu's only cause they're cheaper. Oh and a little easier to dip/drip with. Also I use a syringe to fill'em. You just poke it down to the bottom and fill till you see the liquid come to the top.
The heck with dripping and perhaps damaging your battery or having to blow out your atomizer, start dipping instead it's cleaner, faster, easier. I fill a contact lens case with 10-15 drops in each side one flavor in each side. Fill just enough so that when you dip your e-cig in it only the atomizer gets in the liquid. Leave it for 5-10 seconds, tap, replace filter tip minus cart and vape away 10-15 hits, repeat when flavor or vapor subsides. You will never ever ever dry out your atomizer using this method provided you don't vape it dry repeatedly.
I prefer my m410 at this point over my 510 but I think it's a matter of getting my 510 broken in a bit more. I hate the battery life of the 510 and no way could it make it as my go to E-cig running around the during the day. The Dragon that I have is great for that, the M401 battery life is clearly superior and nobody would argue that at all. The 510 is a great vapor producer without a doubt and it is a good E-Cig but the battery life really is atrocious. As for the good price on your Blu, just about any supplier or affiliate can meet or beat their price with complete kits that have everything the Blu has and more. The Dragon that I got from Truesmoker.com came with it's own case and 2 complete M410 Dragon E-Cigs for under $60 shipped. If I was in your shoes I would look at one of the styles mentioned as a backup or replacement for your Blu.
I prefer my m410 at this point over my 510 but I think it's a matter of getting my 510 broken in a bit more. I hate the battery life of the 510 and no way could it make it as my go to E-cig running around the during the day. The Dragon that I have is great for that, the M401 battery life is clearly superior and nobody would argue that at all. The 510 is a great vapor producer without a doubt and it is a good E-Cig but the battery life really is atrocious. As for the good price on your Blu, just about any supplier or affiliate can meet or beat their price with complete kits that have everything the Blu has and more. The Dragon that I got from Truesmoker.com came with it's own case and 2 complete M410 Dragon E-Cigs for under $60 shipped. If I was in your shoes I would look at one of the styles mentioned as a backup or replacement for your Blu.
But it doesn't seem to come with a PCC. So it's not "everything the Blu has and more."
Not that I won't get a 401 (probably more like a 403) one of these days, though.
Return it and get a 501.
That will improve it 1000%
You mean a 510. And you're wrong.
(Yes, I do own and use both. But I use the blu a lot more.)
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