Thinking about an Omega

[Mattnatti]

@Baditude, those are some sweet tanks on the SB. I haven't graduated into the Carto tanks yet or the rebuildables but I am sure I will get there sooner rather than later. It seems I am on a fast track. 9 days ago started off with a couple of twist batteries and have already added two SB's. I guess that is what happens with time off from work from a 2x bypass.

I was there Saturday as well. Hanging out with Rob and the crew. I guess maybe a new thread needs to be started for us local vapors as to who is going to stop by and when, so we could hangout.

 

[haproot]

Now I'm Jelly. I wish I could drop by and say hello. By all means, keep the pics coming! Gives me something to do while I wait for altsmoke to come back up.

 

[haproot]

Ok broke down and ordered. Got a silver vein SB with a kick. I'm stoked! Also snagged an EVOD for my ego twist. Thanks for the help guys! Appreciate the feedback.

 

[haproot]

Also need a couple 18490s, they were out of stock. Any suggestions on an alternate source? Or will they be available super soon?

Edit - Got batteries ordered. We're all good.

 

[Thalinor]

I am late to the party as usual, but figured I would throw in some long term field use of the Omega, SB (2x), and BB (both battery & usb pass mods).

Both my SBs lasted two years. They were both my "mostly go-to" devices. I had a black one, and after about six months noticed pitting around the top. Ejuice is the cause, and this has also happened to my black Omega and Black BB. The more you use the unit, the more the pitting happens. Eventually on black SB I had to sand the entire unit as the black was chipping off and making a mess. The BB and Omega have gotten less use so it has not been as bad on those units.

The BB pass has been nothing but issues. The USB cords are total garbage from China and just stop working in a matter of weeks. I am in my 30's and do not treat my stuff poorly; both USB cords look NEW but one is not working and the other you have to wiggle the cord. My BB USB pass had the plug part seated incorrectly from the start, so I am not sure if its shorting causing the issue. Alt smoke has been less then receptive sending it back instead suggesting I buy another USB cord stating "they are meant to be replaced for a reason". After two weeks? Right; ok then. Anyway, the BB works well with the battery, and the switch so far has not given me an issue.

The first SB again, died after two years. The switch is shot. My second SB was in chrome and did not suffer pitting but it seems the part that makes contact with the battery is coated brass or something? Two years of it rubbing against the battery every time the unit was screwed or unscrewed has warn the contact and exposed what again looks like brass. The first SB (1st gen) used a different kind of contact which was larger and did not wear down or scuff. The contact on the second SB is again the new updated one and now has about 4 mm round wear mark on the contact which I though was the cause of the unit dying, but if you press the switch in hard and to the side you can get the unit to fire for a few seconds so again, its the switch. They say its a 100,000 click switch but I have my doubts it made it half as many. The second effectively died around the same two year mark.

I am now using the omega as my daily vape device and because of the design don't have to worry about the switch wearing out. You have to get used to the design but once you do its not a huge deal. IMO not having to worry about the switch breaking is worth the hassle of not having a push button unit.

I have used every kind of tank, cart, atty, adaptor, etc you can think of on all of these units and rarely have any issues. On a few of the carts/tanks I have had to unscrew and reposition (turn 1/4 and then screw it back on) the unit to get the threads to long up correctly with the air hole in the cart, but so far no real air flow issues on any of these units.

You may think after all of this I have a negative view on altsmoke but you have to keep things in prospective. They sell an $80 ecig that for the most part is made well and will last you a lot longer then junk ecigs which may cost less upfront but nickel and dime you in the long run. I would not call them high end ecigs but for the price they are a great value for what you get and how its build.

Out of the many ecigs I have/or have owned, the best made one has been by Super T (The Precise) but you are paying twice the cost you would with an altsmoke unit. If I end up buying another altsmoke unit it will be to replace my black Omega with a non coated silver one. I don't see my Omega breaking like the SB's, but the pitting will eventually take over, I am sure of it.

I still recommend altsmoke to people looking for a mid-range ecig at a good price, in fact my buddy just picked up a BB after I recommend it and my sister got a SB. We'll see how long they last, but I expect the same issues I ran into with my units down the road.

Vaping since 2007. Using altsmoke since feb 2010.

First SB 02/2010 (Died 01/2012)
BB&Pass 05/2010 (Pass problems started 06/2010, never fully resolved)
Omega 08/2010
2nd SB 12/2011 (Died 04/2013)


Hope this helps and congratulations on your new SB! Enjoy the unit, she should treat you well if you treat her well, at least for about two years.

Edit: I forgot, you are looking for batts too.

batteryjunction.com

It's where most of the people selling batts on their ecig site get their stock; so I am told. Best prices, fast shipping, and huge selection. Then again in live in CT and they are right around the corner so I may be bias. Still, I have yet to find a better place to buy batteries.

 

[haproot]

Hey thanks man. Seems altsmoke is very good about fixing issues. I would bet that they would have a look at your switch for you. Anyways, vape mail today! And i just built my very first coil! And it works!

First attempt I coiled it four times.. Came out to 2.5 ohms. Reduced it to three.. Bam 1.6 ohms. Perfect for now!


Vapin it now!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[haproot]

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[Mattnatti]

While that is a thorough review Thalinor, may I add that any plating/PC will not last forever and all switches will wear out at some point in time. Having said that it does add to longevity the better care that is taken ie. Dust in switch from carrying in pocket and juice being able to lay on coating for longer periods of time etc. I am certainly not acusing you of this but just stating this as a example.
From what I understand and someone please correct me if I am wrong is that these switches are replaceable. It might not be free to do this to a say two year old SB but if I have been using this mod for a couple of years then it has developed character ( scratches, dents, chips etc. ) and is all from my use. If it has developed that patina/ character then I would probably invest in the new switch or have the mod rebuilt if possible.
I may be biased at this time as AltSmoke employees schooled me on Ecig's when I NEEDED to switch from tobacco and they are locally based as is the manufacturers of the SB products.

Thank you for the review. It was informative and it appears that you understand that nothing will last forever.

 

[Mattnatti]

Hey thanks man. Seems altsmoke is very good about fixing issues. I would bet that they would have a look at your switch for you. Anyways, vape mail today! And i just built my very first coil! And it works!

First attempt I coiled it four times.. Came out to 2.5 ohms. Reduced it to three.. Bam 1.6 ohms. Perfect for now!


Vapin it now!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Nice! I am skeptical about jumping into rebuildables now I will most likely make it there some time.

 

[haproot]

I see lots of experimentation in my future. This definitely brings a lot of flavor out. I don't think I've ever had this much flavor out of something, however the iClear 30 I just got comes close. But it's around 2.2 ohm so I need the SB with the kick to show up. I'm sure it'll come alive then. Thanks!

 

[Thalinor]

While that is a thorough review Thalinor, may I add that any plating/PC will not last forever and all switches will wear out at some point in time. Having said that it does add to longevity the better care that is taken ie. Dust in switch from carrying in pocket and juice being able to lay on coating for longer periods of time etc. I am certainly not acusing you of this but just stating this as a example.
From what I understand and someone please correct me if I am wrong is that these switches are replaceable. It might not be free to do this to a say two year old SB but if I have been using this mod for a couple of years then it has developed character ( scratches, dents, chips etc. ) and is all from my use. If it has developed that patina/ character then I would probably invest in the new switch or have the mod rebuilt if possible.
I may be biased at this time as AltSmoke employees schooled me on Ecig's when I NEEDED to switch from tobacco and they are locally based as is the manufacturers of the SB products.

Thank you for the review. It was informative and it appears that you understand that nothing will last forever.

Ya, I use an air can to blow out the switches and if I am out in public walking I use my Super T because its very small. The Altsmoke units don't go in the pocket, only the cup holder in the car, on the desk at home, or in my hand. I agree on the coating, but I put it up here for people who may be trying to decide which color to get. In my experience with a coated (Black) and uncoated (Silver), while the black looks better IMO, it will not last like the silver one will.

I have politely contacted altsmoke on all of these issues several times and never was offered an option to pay to fix the switch, pay to resurface the unit to fix the pitting, and they did not want to even look at the USB pass telling me to buy another cord. I guess when I keep ordering new units they have less incentive to fix the old ones? Maybe I should have been more of a ..... instead of polite; who knows. Again, I am not bashing altsmoke and still will recommend them to people looking for that kind of unit at that kind of price. Just know what you are getting into.

My Pure Smoke Protege [along with many other Protege's] had button issues and they ended up mailing out new buttons to every customer. While the new ones still sucked; its the thought that counted. The Protege never pit, the precise by Super T never pit, in fact only my altsmoke units have pitting issues. Then again, none of my other ecigs are coated and as I stated above the uncoated SB that just died has not had pitting issues. It's too bad they do not put a warning on the website regarding the pitting with the coated units, because there is NO WAY I am the only one having the problem. It seems to be exclusive to the coated altsmoke units.

Anyway, to beat a horse dead, I am NOT ripping on altsmoke. If I was angry, people would know it; working EMS/FD you grow a pair very quickly. I am just posting this for general knowledge and future customers to consider. If you want to make the switch from the garbage "semi-disposable" units [the ones most people start vaping with] to something with a replaceable battery and not break the bank; altsmoke is the way to go. Just understand the limitations.

If you are on a tight budget and do not want to have to replace the unit in the next few years, go with an Uncoated (silver) Omega. No button to break and no coating to chip/pit. Its not a pocket unit as it can pocket-fire a lot easier then then SB w/ its recessed button, but it WILL last longer and stay looking new for longer.

Then again, I just looked at Super-T's website and they have something like the BB (14500 batts) for $100. If you want a 3.7v 14500 unit I would take that over the altsmoke BB any day, especially for that price. But if you want something like the SB (123a/18650) you are looking at $160 and a few MONTHS of wait time. That's how it goes with the really high end units. Again, like everything else in life its about each persons budget, product availability, and what you need in a unit.

I am still holding out for a high end variable voltage unit with all the bells and whistles. The Joy eVic altsmoke sells has the best interface out of every variable voltage unit I have seen/tried but its kind of a piece of crap build wise. I can't bash Joy too much as they are spending boat loads of cash defending the ecig market in courts, but they have never been known for build quality. For $100 though it might be perfect for people looking to start off variable voltage vaping. I just hate spending money I don't have for crap that breaks in a year or two. Sign of the times I guess.

 

[Mattnatti]

Day one vaping....pro tank and T3's good flavor so I thought for a noob.

Day three.....iClear 30.......flavor is much better.

Day eight......bought a LR dripper.......flavor is amazing.

That is my story so far. I thinkI will just do research and learn about the rebuildables for a while. I might ask one of the guys at AltSmoke to rebuild one in front of me one day.

 

[Thalinor]

@ Haproot Just noticed the rebuild mod; it looks great. ; )

@ Mattnatti

Thanks for the advice on the serviceability of the switch. I popped out the black bottom cap from the Silver SB (New Style contact post; old style one is not easily removable as far as I can tell) and noticed the inside of the switch was haphazardly filled with hot glue mess, some of which had come lose and was free roaming its way around the inside of the switch housing. I am not going to comment further on what it looks like inside there but it does not reflect the rest of the units build quality. I am not sure if this was a rush unit or someone in training, but it was a mess. I cleaned up the hot glue mess the best I could and blew out the switch again; now its working as long as I firmly press on the spongy feeling button. Who knows, maybe the heat inside of my car melted the hot glue they used to hold in the button, which then leaked onto the switch contact? I just read hot glue melts @ 180+ F though so that does not seem likely.

I have read some people having a SB for 3+ years and no issues, some breaking after a year, and others having issues day one. Photos do not really help as I have seen a 3+ year old SB that took a tour in afghanistan getting beat to hell yet still is working great and others in perfect shape not working at all. Anyway, problem solved for now. Thanks again.

Edit: Its now cooking very well; even with the old style aluminum coil, not the new brass one they are using. Its nice to have the SB working again, the button does beat the bottom cap style on the Omega, but is just not as reliable. I tend to shy away from anything held together with duct tape or hot glue; at least they didn't use duct tape! ; )

 

[Mattnatti]

As with any product, you will get some that are lemons and some that are not. Some may last for many years and some may not. Service length depends on many variables. The pitting in your above pics does not look pleasant. I didn't see those before I made my first post on the subject.

Glad you were able to squeeze some more life out of you SB switch.

 

[haproot]

@ Haproot Just noticed the rebuild mod; it looks great. ; )

Thanks! I made a new coil already. The original was doing great but I like to play around. Tried two wicks on this one. Came out to 2.1 ohms. Not quite as strong but i can take slower draws. I might drill out the hole on the cap a little. The original coil started really hitting like a freight train tho.. Oof i might need to start going lower nic.

Good to know you can can get into the sb switch if need be. That is the only thing that turned me off about it. Mostly why I wanted an Omega. Thanks again for the feedback. Ill keep it in mind and especially I will take care to keep the sb clean. But it will be getting used in the real world for sure. I've managed to keep this Prodigy going for a long time and it's usually in my pocket.


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[haproot]

Day one vaping....pro tank and T3's good flavor so I thought for a noob.

Day three.....iClear 30.......flavor is much better.

Day eight......bought a LR dripper.......flavor is amazing.

That is my story so far. I thinkI will just do research and learn about the rebuildables for a while. I might ask one of the guys at AltSmoke to rebuild one in front of me one day.

Being out of the game for so long I'm just amazed how far vaping has come. I just learned about rebuildables recently lol.

Started with a blu kit.. It was terrible! I learned that very quickly. Then I got an Njoy cigalike. It was better. Then i got on the forums. Got a joye 510 kit. It was awesome, but cartridges sucked bad. Ego, Ego-T (abysmal!).. Fought with that stuff for a while then got the prodigy.. Vaped it at 6v for a long time.. But it really went through atties. Then one day carto tanks came out. What a god send. And was using those until i fell off the bandwagon for a while.. And now, wow there is a lot of stuff out there that works. Awesome!

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[haproot]

And props to altsmoke's shipping! They got my first order out fast. Shipping notification Monday and stuff is here Wednesday. And my SB may be here today!

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[haproot]

Gettin some time with the iClear 30 at work. Rockin it on an ego twist battery @ 4.4v. Performing very well! Man it makes me thirsty!


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[haproot]

Picture111

 

[cddz]

@ Haproot Just noticed the rebuild mod; it looks great. ; )

@ Mattnatti

Thanks for the advice on the serviceability of the switch. I popped out the black bottom cap from the Silver SB (New Style contact post; old style one is not easily removable as far as I can tell) and noticed the inside of the switch was haphazardly filled with hot glue mess, some of which had come lose and was free roaming its way around the inside of the switch housing. I am not going to comment further on what it looks like inside there but it does not reflect the rest of the units build quality. I am not sure if this was a rush unit or someone in training, but it was a mess. I cleaned up the hot glue mess the best I could and blew out the switch again; now its working as long as I firmly press on the spongy feeling button. Who knows, maybe the heat inside of my car melted the hot glue they used to hold in the button, which then leaked onto the switch contact? I just read hot glue melts @ 180+ F though so that does not seem likely.

I have read some people having a SB for 3+ years and no issues, some breaking after a year, and others having issues day one. Photos do not really help as I have seen a 3+ year old SB that took a tour in afghanistan getting beat to hell yet still is working great and others in perfect shape not working at all. Anyway, problem solved for now. Thanks again.

Edit: Its now cooking very well; even with the old style aluminum coil, not the new brass one they are using. Its nice to have the SB working again, the button does beat the bottom cap style on the Omega, but is just not as reliable. I tend to shy away from anything held together with duct tape or hot glue; at least they didn't use duct tape! ; )

I am the one who manufactures the Silver Bullet, BB, Omega, and Alpha. LOL not a lack of training. That hot glue you refer to is what i use to pot the switch in. I used to use a hard type epoxy(on about 200 units), until i had a couple of switches fall out from a fall. The hot melt has give to it and will take more of a beating. I know when you think hot glue, you think of your grandmother doing crafts with a small gun. Normally some parts would fall off the piece. I use an industrial hot melt gun that heats the "hot glue" to 400 deg f, LOL it ain't your grandma's craft gun. As far as yours having a piece falling away from the switch, i would be willing to bet it was discolored and covered in juice . As far as the 100,000 electrical contacts of the switch. Think about it, an average vapor will go through 2ml a day in juice, that equates to 400 plus switch depressions a day. With yours lasting 2 years that would equal approx 292,000 depressions of the switch, pretty decent performance . The biggest issue I have with the Silver Bullet is out of spec atomizers/cartomizers crushing the center post insulator. Some have male threads that are too long and will cut the insulator like a cookie cutter, others the center post is too long and will push the center post into the insulator. I have less than a 2% failure rate on my products, considering I have over 20,000 Silver Bullets in service, you will see some folks that have had issues. Most people will only post about a product when they are ...... off because it broke on them . Now, the pitting. These units are powder coated, they bake at 350 deg f, you ever measure the temp coming from an atomizer? The heat and liquid will penetrate the powder coat and cause oxidation(pitting). I stand behind my products and will always repair the regardless of what the user has done to them(short of crushing the tube). If you like you could have both of those units rebuilt, all new internal parts (Switch, connector,bushing,spring), that is if you can take the fact that "hot glue" will be used to pot the switch in. LOL Would it have made you feel better if the hot melt was a solid color?
Chad