Some questions about getting "bang for my buck" out of my KR-808

[KongsRevenge]

Hi all! I'm brand new to posting here (been lurking here and there for a month or so) and I was hoping someone who knows more than I could answer a few questions for me!

I use a KR808 battery, and I've been really enjoying it for the past few months. I am a full-time graduate student, which of course is like the definition of poverty, so I am trying to get the most for my money. That in mind...

1. What sites do you all recommend ordering from? I'm looking for extra batteries, cartomizers, and maybe even a USB passthrough. I tend to place small orders, so sites with free shipping are awesome. I currently order my cartomizers from bluegrass vapor, batteries from electronicstix- sadly, my battery supplier seems to be moving away from the KR808. Any thoughts? I'm relatively new to vaping so I don't know what suppliers to use for various things.

2. For liquid- I use freedomsmokeusa for my "high quality" stuff, and strictlyejuice for my "everyday" stuff. I *love* freedomsmokeusa, but they're a bit expensive for me to buy from every day. strictlyejuice has been good- free shipping on all orders over $10, which I like- but I'd like to find some higher quality juice that won't break my bank. Again, any thoughts?

3. Finally, does anyone have any good tips on getting more life out of my batteries? I already found out the hard way that I shouldn't leave them on the charger overnight- I have seen a major reduction in battery life from a couple of them after doing this. Also, I seem to have damaged one of my manual batteries while trying to clean it- I think I got some rubbing alcohol inside of it (it's not completely sealed) and now it will work sometimes and sometimes it won't. Another one of my manual batteries is working fine, but I don't get a good "draw" out of it- i've noticed that the air-flow holes near the threading of the battery seem smaller than on my other batteries- anything I can do to fix this without breaking the battery?

While I'm at it, I know that some e-cig cartridges/chargers/batteries are cross-compatible. Does anyone know if there are other models of batteries/cartomizers I can buy that will be compatible with my KR808?

Ok, that's all I can think of...thanks in advance for your help! I've been really amazed by the degree to which the people on this forum help one another!

 

[kellogg]

I get my supplies from vapor4life or goodprophets. I have had my batteries for several months and haven't had any problems with them. If you hold the battery down when cleaning you shouldn't have a problem getting fluid inside.

Most vendors have sales on a regular basis. Sign up for their mailing list and watch their forum here on ECF to catch the sales. it is a great way to save some money.

You can buy adapters to use different batts/cartos/atom.

 

[o4_srt]

make your own eliquid....I vape about 10 ml's per week, costing me around $1, because I buy in bulk.

 

[nubee]

make your own eliquid....I vape about 10 ml's per week, costing me around $1, because I buy in bulk.

Ditto! MyFreedomSmokes has DeKang premix, in volume, very inexpesive and DIY supplies to cut even that cost down.

Totally Wicked has flavor concentrates you can mix to 30ml nic base (or more/less) and you're on your way.

 

[Hygroscopic]

goodprophets.

I normally don't roll completely into fangirl mode, but have to vouch for GP. They have been absolutely fantastic. When I grab any 901 or 808 supplies, GP is my go-to supplier lately. As far as support goes, Rob is great. I rarely if ever will contact support with general questions. So getting a response, and response time is a huge way to win customer service points.

Tasty Vapor is excellent on flavors and price. At 15 for 1 oz (30ml) of nic juice and a 2 oz (60ml) no-nic doubler for about 10 USD to dilute down and make juice last. Also their specials are a great way to grab some juice on a budget.

Edit: I can co-sign on FSUSA. I split costs with a friend who orders from there.

Manuals and threads (along with autos and V4L coolcarts not fitting) make sure the threads are clean. If there is a lot of dirt or a carto doesn't fit sometimes a quick once over of an SOS pad around the threads and a wipe up of a paper towel will have it fit better. Incorrect fitting cartos can cause draw issues.

 

[DocWyatt]

Dekang is CHEAP - however you get what you pay for. Madvapes has like 50ml of it for $11. Personally, I do not like Dekang on any level - but I get the college poor thingy. Been there, done that.

 

[brianburgos91]

Yea im a college man myself so I feel your pain lol. Definitely try out V4L, great discounts and great service. About the compatible batteries I hear that 901 threads work with the kr808's so you can give those a try. Also they have adapters that you can use to connect kr808's to 501's and what not.

 

[TypeOholic]

I got my first kit from myvaporstore.com. I think they have some of the best prices for KR8 hardware. Their batteries are 280mAh, choice of auto or manual for $12.50. If anyone knows a cheaper place, please let me know as I am in need of a new battery or 2.

For cartos, I just got Premium and CoolCart blanks from V4L. They are both significantly better than the regular cartos that came with my starter kit. The Premium give more vapor and run hotter. The CoolCarts are exactly what they sound like. Cooler vapor but less vapor as well. There may be cheaper places to get similar cartos but I like these too much to go back to the basic, cheaper cartos.

I also got juice from V4L but I did not care for it. I have ordered juice from vapornine but I have not received it yet.

I would suggest keeping an eye on the vendor forums. There are a lot of sales and promos that get posted there.

Good luck.

 

[DocWyatt]

Yeah, that is another point to save money.... Anytime you order from a vendor on here make sure you do a quick search and see if any new promo codes...

 

[KongsRevenge]

Thanks for the helpful replies, all! I ordered a USB passthrough from goodprophets and I'm really excited to try it out!

A couple of followup questions based on some things I'm reading here and elsewhere:

Can anyone confirm that the 901 batteries are compatable with KR808 cartomizers? If so, would those who have tried both recommend the 901 over the KR808? Barring that, what is a good battery that I could find an adapter for that you would recommend?

A question on cartomizers: someone said something about certain cartomizers being better than others; how do I know which ones are best? Most sites just sell them as KR808 cartomizers, with no info that differentiates one from another.

Also- if a battery is listed as 280mAh....what does that mean? I'm assuming it refers to power output...but what is the effect of increased power output?

Lastly...does anyone know of a way to get a battery back into shape if it isn't holding a charge well? I left one on the charger too long and now I get maybe 30 minutes of vaping out of it (used to get almost 2 hours).

Thanks again to everyone who has been helpful thus far! you guys are great!

 

[salukijean]

puresmokers has kr808d-1 batteries for 11 bucks each. The juice from Vaporbomb is a good deal too. 30ml for 14.95. Both places shipped fast.

 

[TypeOholic]

Can anyone confirm that the 901 batteries are compatable with KR808 cartomizers? If so, would those who have tried both recommend the 901 over the KR808? Barring that, what is a good battery that I could find an adapter for that you would recommend?

>> The Kr808 batteries will work with 901 atty and carts. The 901 batteries will not work with 808 cartomizers. This is because the 808 batts have air holes near the threads of the battery while the 901 uses air holes in the cart itself. An 808 carto on a 901 battery will not have any air holes.

A question on cartomizers: someone said something about certain cartomizers being better than others; how do I know which ones are best? Most sites just sell them as KR808 cartomizers, with no info that differentiates one from another.

>> V4L, vapornine, CigEasy and a few other places sell the better cartos. V4L calls them premium and they also have CoolCarts. Vapornine calls them turbo. CigEasy calls them Gold Label. I don't have all the details about them but I am using the V4L premium and CoolCart and they are far superior to the generic cartos that I ordered first. There are lots of threads about these cartos. See this thread for price comparisons:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-v9-kr808d-1-cartomizer-price-comparison.html

Also- if a battery is listed as 280mAh....what does that mean? I'm assuming it refers to power output...but what is the effect of increased power output?

>> 280mAh is the capacity, not the power output. For KR808 batteries, the output of a fresh battery is 3.7 volts if I am not mistaken. The 280 mAh means it is what most places call a standard battery. The mini 808 batteries are 180 mAh and the XL batteries are either 320 or 380 mAh I think. Basically, the longer the battery is, the longer it will last between charges.

Lastly...does anyone know of a way to get a battery back into shape if it isn't holding a charge well? I left one on the charger too long and now I get maybe 30 minutes of vaping out of it (used to get almost 2 hours).

>> If the battery is not holding a charge it may just be dead. I have read that leaving them on the charger for too long will do that but it has not happened to me yet. The only thing I can suggest is to completely kill the battery as in vape it until it stops giving any power. Then, let it sit for a few hours and try it again. Do this a few times and you will notice that it will give you like 1 or 2 puffs after sitting for a few hours. Once it stops giving you anything, put it on the charger for a full charge. My USB charger normally takes about 3 hours before the LED changes color. I would say leave it on there for 4 hours. If that doesn't work, I'm not sure anything will.

Good luck!

 

[Zurd]

Thanks for the helpful replies, all! I ordered a USB passthrough from goodprophets and I'm really excited to try it out!

You seem to be very focused on the hardware, so I'd say go DIY eliquid first, I just did it 2 weeks ago already, it do cost about 100$ for everything but I already calculated I have enough juices for at least 6 months! Then you'll be able to start saving and be able to buy the hardware much more easily

 

[TypeOholic]

I just found a blog that deals with the subject of different premium cartos. It is from a member of ECF named Belletrist. Here is a link to the direct page:

KR808D-1 Cartomizer Reference Table

I hope that helps to clarify what I said before about different types of cartos.

I am bookmarking that page for myself. Good info.

 

[Springbird]

I use V4L Cool Carts on my PT as I find it runs too hot with anything else. I use V4L premium carts on my KR808 batteries. You can also find info on cleaning cartomizers to extend their life (You Tube, cleaning cartomizers). Check out the DIY subforum. Lots of info on DIY (read the stickies first) and some very nice people if you have questions.

 

[KongsRevenge]

Type0- thanks for the detailed responses! Much appreciated, that answered a lot of the questions I had. Based on that first thread you linked, I ordered some of the Gold Label cartos from CigEasy. I'm really looking forward to getting to compare them against the generic cartos I've been using. I tried your suggestion with my dying battery and it seems to have helped some. The battery is lasting longer, though it still feels like the output isn't what it should be (kind of feels like vaping on a battery that will go out soon). I've heard that freezing batteries sometimes works, so I think I may try that.

One question that this discussion has brought up: what does it mean for a cart to "burn hot"? are there advantages/disadvantages to carts burning hotter or cooler?

Zurd: You're right, I am a bit overly focused on hardware at the moment- the main reason being that I'm pretty happy with the juices I've been getting, and I feel like I know much less about hardware than I do juice-hence the preponderance of hardware questions...though I have actually been contemplating going the DIY juice route in the future...I've been hesitant to try it thus far because, quite frankly, I'm afraid I'll screw it up! How has your DIY experience been thus far? Have you felt like the quality of your homemade juice was comparable with the juices you can buy pre-made from suppliers? Was it pretty simple?

Springbird: Thanks for that info! I'm going to try cleaning some of my generic cartos myself to practice so that I'll know what I'm doing when my good ones get here!

 

[KongsRevenge]

Oh! Thought of another question that I had: Are all KR808's that I see from various suppliers alike? Aside from differences between lengths/power capacity, manual vs. automatic, etc...I ask because I have noticed that some of my KR808 batteries have been noticeably better than others right out of the box (I have 6 in all, though 2 are not fully functional at the moment). It looks like the threading is slightly different on some of my batteries, but I could just be imagining things.

 

[Zurd]

Zurd: You're right, I am a bit overly focused on hardware at the moment- the main reason being that I'm pretty happy with the juices I've been getting, and I feel like I know much less about hardware than I do juice-hence the preponderance of hardware questions...though I have actually been contemplating going the DIY juice route in the future...I've been hesitant to try it thus far because, quite frankly, I'm afraid I'll screw it up! How has your DIY experience been thus far? Have you felt like the quality of your homemade juice was comparable with the juices you can buy pre-made from suppliers? Was it pretty simple?

My DIY has been quite good, I really wish I should have started sooner, I would have save more, I'm really cheap. Up to now I've found one flavor that I really like, LorAnn's Tropical Punch and I've found out you can buy it in bulk very very cheap on the company website, so I'm even more happy.

Quality is pretty much the same, most suppliers's eliquid taste really good, well we have about the same ingredients, so no wonder there.

Yes, it's extremely simple, just plan a few hours of research, read all the stickies in the DIY subforum, here's a heads-up, note this, I found out that only arcticvapor.com, xtremevaping.com, greenhouseone.com and healthcabin.net (China) sells liquid with nicotine, they pretty much have all the same prices : Cheap

 

[TypeOholic]

"Burning hotter" will produce more vapor and stronger throat hit in my limited experience. The vapor itself also feels warmer and the carto can feel warm to the touch. Although a better term for this might be "running hotter" since "burning" a carto is a whole different issue. Some people have complained that the cartos that run hot also tend to burn the filler material inside which causes a bad taste. I myself have never had this happen but I keep my cartos pretty wet all the time. Maybe I will try and burn out one of the prefilled cartos I got as a free sample. lol

As long as a battery says it is kr808 compatible it should work. I'm sure there are slight manufacturing differences in batches of batteries but as far as I know, all KR8 batteries are made by Kanger. Someone can correct me if I am mistaken about that. I would also be interested if anyone has information about 1 battery being better than another as far as build quality.

 

[o4_srt]

though I have actually been contemplating going the DIY juice route in the future...I've been hesitant to try it thus far because, quite frankly, I'm afraid I'll screw it up! How has your DIY experience been thus far? Have you felt like the quality of your homemade juice was comparable with the juices you can buy pre-made from suppliers? Was it pretty simple?

Easy DIY base recipe (20% flavoring, i like it strong)

8 mL VG (or PG), including nicotine base
2 mL flavoring (I use this for standalone flavors, such as apple, or chocolate)

As far the 8 mL of PG or VG, use a calculator. In most calculators, you enter your base nic (the strength you buy), target, and it tells you how much plain VG/PG to use and how much nicotine VG/PG to use.

sample recipe (I use 60 mg VG based nic juice)
1.33 mL nicotine juice
6.67 mL PG/VG
2.00 mL flavoring

if you can measure, you can DIY. It really is simple, and cheap. I am spending about 10 cents per mL by buying in bulk, which amounts to around $1.40 a week. It's even cheaper if you purchase larger quantities.