Thoughts from a n00b- (veteran advice requested)

[Midcoast]

So I had my last cigarette 6 weeks ago, the same day I decided to try this e-cig thing.
As I've mentioned in the few posts I've made to this forum, I smoked for 17 years or so, and been trying to quit for at least 15. As a clinical therapist, I recognize myself as a "natural born smoker"- low level anxiety and perhaps a genetic predisposition to addiction...

So anyway, that first day, I ordered a much-maligned (so I learned later) Greensmoke starter kit for probably way too much money. While I waited, I bought first a cheap Nicotek disposable from the local dirty cigarette shop, and then a $20 Nicotek rechargeable from a convenience store (later put through the wash in my shirt pocket)
I haven't smoked since. I fell in love with my Greensmoke when it arrived, and soon ordered a bunch of replacement cartomizers. I'd heard they are refillable, but found they had hard plastic plugs which by the time my swiss army knife had pried out, they were destroyed...
I soon learned my brother (who doesn't smoke regularly) had been gifted a huge bag of e-liquid of varying strengths and flavors and used cartomizers equipped with soft plastic plugs- I could now reuse my official Greensmoke carts.
Then my long battery died mysteriously after a month of use. I sent an e-mail to the company, started freaking out, because I needed both the long and short battery to get through the day- (well maybe not, but after a hurricane left me without power, I needed to know I had plenty of spare batteries...)
I bought another $20 Nicotek battery, learned I could refill those carts, and ordered a Joye 510 starter kit, 'cause everyone here says they're the bomb-diggity.

So anyway, Greensmoke sent me a replacement battery, no questions, I gots the Joye 510 manual batteries, and the Nicotek, and a pantload of e-liquid.

Here it is- The 510 kind of sucks. I use it, it produces a nice amount of mist, but gosh, the greensmoke gives me the nice throat/mouth hit I want, with TONS of vape- even the Nicotek is more satisfying. And this is with the same juice in each battery. Am I missing something?
And, even though I don't know any other vapers, am I being unduly influenced by the opinions of those on this forum? I find myself WANTING to like the 510, but, really, its kind of lame- its cool and black and has a blue LED- and yet it leaves me missing something... Is it just the Joye product? Cause, it seems sort of cheaply designed, too...

So, anyway, I love me some vaping, but I would appreciate some veteran thoughts to my experience-
Meanwhile, I'm off to the back deck (I'm still sent out there by my lovely wife, who is supportive, but still a bit suspicious) to blow some steam toward the stars...

Cheers-

 

[Levitas]

With your 510 battery, you could opt for a LR or low resistance cartomizer (2.0ohm) and that will give you a better hit and more vapor, but will reduce the amount of life of your battery (until the next charge).

Most people will recommend that you move up to the next step, which would probably be an eGo/Riva style battery. While they don't really have that cigarette resemblance as the 808's and 510's have, they give a much better battery life.

If you're adamant on keeping the cig style battery, try some LR cartos out (you can get some emptys and fill them yourself, or, some sites sell pre-filled, I do believe).

 

[donnah]

yea, the regular standard 510 battery with the colored tips are lame. Not very satisfying. If you are satisfied with the greensmoke then by all means, keep using it! Most of us start out small (510 batt or mall kit) and then work our way up. I've found that jumping levels (going right for the big boy toys) doesn't work that well because some of us (myself included) really need that learning curve. Unless you have someone right there showing you what to do and what not to do.. it's hard to skip right to the top. And yes the learning curve can be expensive but no more so than buying cigarettes. I didn't stop smoking right away.. I gave myself time to get used to vaping and all it's parts and pieces. (about 3 months) I started with a mall kit and went to a 510 kit, than an ego (which I still use with LR cartos) and now I use a variable voltage bottom feeder and some 3.7 box mods along with low resistance attys and boge cartos. I am pretty satisfied with the set up I have. But it took some time, trial and error to get there. It's a journey and I've enjoyed every minute of it!!

 

[4mehealth]

I'd recommend a Bloog/ Volt/ V4L/ KR808 model. I think (and this is my opinion) is that the 510 is lower in voltage. The 808's come off at 3.7V. This will give you a warmer vape.

That being said, if you do decide to go LR, please note that those will kill your cig sized battery. It's recommended that you go with at least 650mAh batt when paired with an LR carto.

Otherwise, step on up to a mod. Longer battery life(and cheaper to replace).

 

[Levitas]

That being said, if you do decide to go LR, please note that those will kill your cig sized battery. It's recommended that you go with at least 650mAh batt when paired with an LR carto.

I agree and disagree. It is recommended not to use LR with a standard 510, but, it has never killed one of my batteries yet. I have a Blu 510 kit and I've used nothing but LR (2.0ohm) cartos on it and they work just fine.

 

[donnah]

Liberty-Flights is where many of us go to for the eGo and Riva starter kits (I recommend the riva carto deluxe bundle.. it will give you 5 lr cartos rather than atomizers) be sure to click on the 20% off at the top left hard corner. they are out of stock on the riva carto deluxe bundle right now.. The Mega T Rex carto deluxe bundle is in stock and should do just as well. shipping is around $3

For our cartomizers.. crystalclearvaping.com is a great place to get cartomizers.. the 1.7 boge cartos 15 deal is hard to beat. shipping is free and be sure to choose your free drip tip! use code ecf5off for an extra 5% off.

If you use atomizers you either have to direct drip (which takes some practice at first) or cartridges, which most of us don't use. some do but they modify them. So for you, I'd recomment 510 cartomizers.

 

[fray]

I agree and disagree. It is recommended not to use LR with a standard 510, but, it has never killed one of my batteries yet. I have a Blu 510 kit and I've used nothing but LR (2.0ohm) cartos on it and they work just fine.

my 1.5ohm attys have killed every mini I put them on in a couple hours

 

[swedishfish]

With a cartomizer, I think you get a pretty good vape with the 510. I happen to like it better than a KR808 but if I was blindfolded I might not be able to tell the difference.

Everyone likes what they like though. The best one out there is the one you like. I use an ego but I really liked an Apollo disposable I got when I first started. That's what got me vaping.

LR does make a difference, at least to me. I know you're not supposed to but I accidently mixed up a box of SR and LR cartos and did use them on the 510. I don't recommend it, but my batteries are still OK. The boge 3.0 aren't too bad on the 510. Are you using carts or cartos on the 510. I hated the carts.

 

[Levitas]

my 1.5ohm attys have killed every mini I put them on in a couple hours

I have only used 2.0ohm cartos on my 510 minis, which work just fine, as I had said.

I think the OP is using cartos? Aside of the DC's and Resurrectors, are there even any cartos that go under 2.0ohms?

 

[swedishfish]

I have only used 2.0ohm cartos on my 510 minis, which work just fine, as I had said.

I think the OP is using cartos? Aside of the DC's and Resurrectors, are there even any cartos that go under 2.0ohms?

Mine were fine too.

 

[my4jewels]

Midcoast, I sent you a pm. We might be neighbors.

 

[Midcoast]

Thanks for the info-
Any thoughts on cartomizer vs 2 piece on the 510?
I'm not so much wedded to the cigarette resemblance as I am to the size factor- and I spose I need to take a little break on buying more equipment- I have five batteries now and I'd like to see some financial benefit from quitting smoking...
Tho I would like to find a way to convert one of my old man's pipes...

 

[morgan69]

If i was you i would move on to a Ego,they great.There is a learning curve but there is with everything but once you get the hang off it.Its so worth it.Ego batterys give you great battery life.

 

[Levitas]

Thanks for the info-
Any thoughts on cartomizer vs 2 piece on the 510?
I'm not so much wedded to the cigarette resemblance as I am to the size factor- and I spose I need to take a little break on buying more equipment- I have five batteries now and I'd like to see some financial benefit from quitting smoking...
Tho I would like to find a way to convert one of my old man's pipes...

Adding a cartomizer onto a 510 would be a 2 piece (the battery and the carto), unless you mean two piece as in an atomizer with cartridge on the battery?

Cartomizers are cheaper than batteries. I don't suppose you'd want to buy bulk, but Andrew at Crystal Clear Vaping sells them 15 for $20 Crystal Clear Vaping Or, you could try a single 5 pack out the next time you purchase juice or anything else that you already needed.

As for the old man pipe, that also can be remedied. Though, it's surely not cheap ePipeMods - Personal Vaping Devices with Style. Buy eCigs, eCigars, and ePipes online They're beautiful though!

 

[wizard10000]

At the risk of gross oversimplification,

Get three of these -

1100mAh KGO battery

one of these -

USB Chargers (select the KGO/eGo charger)

and one of these -

eGo Mega Dual Coil 4 ML Cartomizer LR 1.5 Ohm, 5 Pack

Now everybody's preference will be different, but this is where I ended up after spending several hundred bucks trying stuff out and am still pretty darned happy with the setup. One could do a heck of a lot worse

edit: As others have said the right PV is the one that's right for you. The KGO/EMDCC setup I recommended will hit about twice as hard as a 510 with a standard resistance atomizer and if you're using a 510 now should last you pretty much all day on one charge and one fill.

There are other setups that work just as well or better, but if you're attracted to the integrated look of a 510 this oughtta do it for you. But - again, what does it for me may or may not do it for you

 

[CES]

As Swedishfish says...you like what you like. If it's working for you then you don't necessarily need to buy anything new. If you're getting the throat hit that you need and not having huge cravings then perhaps you're where you need to be for the moment.

 

[Midcoast]

As Swedishfish says...you like what you like. If it's working for you then you don't necessarily need to buy anything new. If you're getting the throat hit that you need and not having huge cravings then perhaps you're where you need to be for the moment.

I guess that's it- I like the hard drag and throat hit on my GS that feels like a cigarette... The 510 is just too... gentle... for me right now...

 

[VapingRulz]

It sounds like you'd like a higher-voltage ecig. I like the 808D-1's from Vapor4Life in XL manual and I understand that the Volt is also a 3.7v and packs a punch. These are both slim battery types. If you want to go with a fat battery that will last longer, there is a wide variety of choices: IGo, KGo, BuzzPro, a box mod, E-Power, etc.

You may also want to tweak your e-juice a bit to get a high-PG level (80%+) and a fairly high nic level (24mg or more) for a better throat hit.

 

[Midcoast]

Hmmm... I may end up just getting another GS battery- after my disappointment with the the 510 (which does not appear connected to the battery, which dies quicker than my GS, but isn't awful, or nicotine strength, as I use the same juice in all), I can't see myself investing in another crappy system- I know the GS works well. Now to find the right juice dealer...

 

[Dingus]

Try some Smok Tech Dual Coil carto's. I would recommend the clear ones, since you see the amount of juice in them, and they're easy to take apart and clean, but the other ones vape just as well. I never got a consistently satisfying vape out of regular atomizers, but the dual coil carto's really blew me away. A pack of 5 costs about $10 (give or take), and you can probably order some when you're ordering juice, some juice vendors sell them.

I'm not sure how well they work with regular 510 batteries though, I use them on Riva's and on a small box mod.