Upgraded from a 808 to Echo and having problems - advise please!

[Mookie]

Hi,
I started vaping a couple months ago on smoov and bloog 808's and gave up analogs within a week. I was very impressed after smoking a pack of Marb red's every day for 25 years! I was pretty happy with the 808's but still hadn't found carto's or many juices that I really loved. I am not technical in any way and like the simplicity of these systems. But......I wanted to try something with a longer battery charge and that could hold more juice.

I read lots of reviews on here and youtube. Found most of it pretty confusing as the very experienced vapers are technically way past me and speak a foreign language sometimes. I finally decided on the Echo 650 after reading so many great reviews on the echo thread.

Well I've had it for two days and have gone through four carto's and wasted lots of juice. The first one tasted burnt almost immediately. The second tasted ok but compared to my 808's the taste was very muted. The third carto I filled but nothing will come out of it - no flavor or vapor. The fourth carto tasted ok but muted and within an hour of vaping now also tastes burnt.

I have tried both dripping and syringe filling. I asked some advise from Echo users and was told I probably wasn't putting in enough juice. I'm a nurse - believe me I know how to fill a syringe with 3ml and how to properly use it! Plus two of the cartos that had that burnt taste I dripped a little more in them and a few drops leaked out of the bottom so they were obviously saturated. Also I tried sc and dc to see if that made any difference - it didn't.

Now I am wondering if I bought the wrong device, return it, are there better devices than the Echo, go back to 808's and try to just be satisfied with them, try something different totally, or am I doing something wrong???????

I am getting so frustrated and confused that I have been craving analogs for the last two days! I was really doing fine on the 808 and barely craving analogs and didn't have one for two months. No, I am NOT going to have one though!!!

I just want something simple to use, tastes great, has decent battery life, doesn't cost a fortune, doesn't make me look like a Marx Brother (sister actually), and doesn't require a degree in rocket science to figure out how to use.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TommyG]

Was the burnt/crap carto problem with cartos that came with an Echo kit?

Also, real sorry to hear you're having a bad experience with what should have been a nice upgrade.

 

[Mookie]

The 2 sc cartos came with the kit - 1 tasted burnt and 1 didn't work at all.
I bought 2 extra dc cartos - 1 tasted burnt and 1 tastes ok but muted.

 

[Mookie]

It sounds very strange but I actually get much cleaner/fuller flavor from the 808's. I just don't understand it.

 

[TommyG]

It sounds very strange but I actually get much cleaner/fuller flavor from the 808's. I just don't understand it.

That's why they make the different thread types, I want to check out a few different thread types when I get around to it.

I would suggest getting some 3rd party cartos, probably non DC as their more likely to burn out on an under fill, Boge makes some nice cartos, but plenty of companies do. What juice are you using? If the juice is too high in VG then it will either take longer to soak in, or not soak in at all, either could easily burn up a carto ( I usually stick between 70/30 and 60/40 for my PG/VG mix).

 

[Charlz]

Bum cartos certainly could have been the issue. Nobody over there owns stock in echo so you really have to realize that not a single person there would be vaping burnt, bad tasting. The first step to troubleshooting a big carto is making sure it's filled correctly. That wouldn't have been the end of it, just the first step. I'm an 808 guy to the core so I understand where you are coming from as far as flavor. There is always a learning curve when it comes to filling big cartos for the first time. I hope you find what you are looking for, Mookie.

 

[CMC]

ECHO cartomizers hold a little more than 3ml, I get sometimes almost 4ml in mine. I haven't had a problem with my DC, I've been running it a week without any issues. I hear that ECHO batteries sometimes need a battery pin adjustment to work with all cartomizer you throw at it. Or maybe you received a bad batch. I've only had my ECHO 650 for a week now but I haven't had an issue yet.

 

[acorn54]

i think you have just been buying poor quality equipment
i use the vapor for life xl 808's which have a long charge. i use them with the wow cartomizers from vapor for life.
the quality control is much better than other companies i tried. the product costs more but you get what you pay for with electronic cigarette equipment i have learned.

 

[Mookie]

I believe that so many people wouldn't be praising the echo if it wasn't a good device. That is why I wonder what is wrong. I know the cartos were filled. Well actually the first one probably wasn't. It was also suggested that I let them settle longer. I left one filled over night and that was the one that tasted ok for a while but the flavor was still muted and is now starting to get that burnt taste.

Unfortunately I don't know the pg/vg ratio on the juice I used.

Maybe I should go watch more videos to see if that helps. As I said I am terrible with anything technical.

I heard that the echo carto's lasted so long I only got 6. Maybe I should try different juices and see if that makes a difference. I was using Bloog juice and really don't know anything about it.

 

[TommyG]

Something that can easily cause muted flavor would be cartos with too high a resistance, if you know the resistance of the cartos that could also be helpful.

 

[Mookie]

i think you have just been buying poor quality equipment
i use the vapor for life xl 808's which have a long charge. i use them with the wow cartomizers from vapor for life.
the quality control is much better than other companies i tried. the product costs more but you get what you pay for with electronic cigarette equipment i have learned.

I've used v4l cartos and liked them. I would think that their 808's wouldn't have any longer battery charge than a smoov or bloog - which btw are good quality also.

It's hard to compare but I would probably consider myself a medium to heavy vaper and I get around 5 hours out of my batteries. How much time to you get out of the vpl batteries?

 

[Mookie]

Something that can easily cause muted flavor would be cartos with too high a resistance, if you know the resistance of the cartos that could also be helpful.

I'm using the cartos that came with the kit.

 

[Mookie]

Bum cartos certainly could have been the issue. Nobody over there owns stock in echo so you really have to realize that not a single person there would be vaping burnt, bad tasting. The first step to troubleshooting a big carto is making sure it's filled correctly. That wouldn't have been the end of it, just the first step. I'm an 808 guy to the core so I understand where you are coming from as far as flavor. There is always a learning curve when it comes to filling big cartos for the first time. I hope you find what you are looking for, Mookie.

Are you suggesting that I get more cartos and keep trying? I certainly don't mind if the problem is just a learning curve and worth it because people say an echo is superior to a 808. If so, what cartos would you suggest?

Or are you saying that you actually prefer 808's? If that is so, what cartos do you like?

 

[swedishfish]

I've used v4l cartos and liked them. I would think that their 808's wouldn't have any longer battery charge than a smoov or bloog - which btw are good quality also.

It's hard to compare but I would probably consider myself a medium to heavy vaper and I get around 5 hours out of my batteries. How much time to you get out of the vpl batteries?

I don't think it's the case that you have poor quality equipment.

I have an echo-e and and get an excellent vape with it.

I'd get an adapter and get some 2.0 cartomizers or 1.7 cartomizers. The echo cartomizers hold a lot of juice. They also have a lot of filler material to heat. They get a little better the longer you use them, but I still like the low resistance cartomizers better. The draw seems a bit hard to me.

Or try these-
IKV MEGA LR KR808 Cartomizer 2.0

 

[Mookie]

@swedishfish - could you please explain a little more. What would I need and adapter for? Is that to make the smaller carto fit the fatter battery?

Or are you recommending the IKV's? I've seen those before but was confused because they are called 808 but in the description it says it fits a 901. I also don't see how that would fit on an echo or is that the adapter you are talking about?

I'm sorry I am sooooo dense! I would really appreciate yours or anyone's specific recommendations. I don't understand how you make the smaller cartos fit the echo battery. Would I need an adapter for that?

 

[Mookie]

I don't think it's the case that you have poor quality equipment.

I have an echo-e and and get an excellent vape with it.

I'd get an adapter and get some 2.0 cartomizers or 1.7 cartomizers. The echo cartomizers hold a lot of juice. They also have a lot of filler material to heat. They get a little better the longer you use them, but I still like the low resistance cartomizers better. The draw seems a bit hard to me.

Or try these-
IKV MEGA LR KR808 Cartomizer 2.0

@swedishfish - could you please explain a little more. What would I need and adapter for? Is that to make the smaller carto fit the fatter battery?

Or are you recommending the IKV's? I've seen those before but was confused because they are called 808 but in the description it says it fits a 901. I also don't see how that would fit on an echo or is that the adapter you are talking about?

I'm sorry I am sooooo dense! I would really appreciate yours or anyone's specific recommendations. I don't understand how you make the smaller cartos fit the echo battery. Would I need an adapter for that?

 

[Warren D. Lockaby]

I don't think it's the case that you have poor quality equipment.

I have an echo-e and and get an excellent vape with it.

I'd get an adapter and get some 2.0 cartomizers or 1.7 cartomizers. The echo cartomizers hold a lot of juice. They also have a lot of filler material to heat. They get a little better the longer you use them, but I still like the low resistance cartomizers better. The draw seems a bit hard to me.

Or try these-
IKV MEGA LR KR808 Cartomizer 2.0

I just ran across this and have no idea if it applies here, but if so I note this battery requires cartos *above* 2.0 ohms:
650mAh ECHO Manual Battery for 510/eGo Black [ECHO] - $12.00 : Healthcabin Electronic Cigarettes - Wholesale and Retail-- I hope this isn't the battery the O.P. purchased.

 

[Mookie]

@Warren - thanks for the info but mine is slightly different. I've got the Echo auto 808 thread from cropduster. I've heard very good things about cropduster so hopefully I was given quality equipment.

 

[Warren D. Lockaby]

@Warren - thanks for the info but mine is slightly different. I've got the Echo auto 808 thread from cropduster. I've heard very good things about cropduster so hopefully I was given quality equipment.

Glad to hear that! I don't know anything about the Echo... just did a quick Google-via-ECF search and that was the latest thing I came up with. Anyway, question: do your KR808 batteries still work okay, and do you still have SR cartos for them? Also a suggestion: on the carto(s) that did nothing, it is possible the contact in the bottom of the carto is pushed up a tiny bit into it so it can't reach to make contact with the battery. (this is fairly common) If that's the case you may be able to use a paper clip or something, insert it slightly into the center hole of the carto's bottom contact, and gently work it out slightly until it makes contact. Good luck, and happy vaping! oh, and don't give up... it gets better!

 

[Mookie]

I'll see if I can figure that contact/paper clip tip. I'm still using my 808's and I only have a few bloog and wow cartos left for them. Am thinking of ordering more but then I started reading about the clearomizers (sp) and was intrigued and looking for info and reviews on those.