Vaping woe :-(

[Feuille]

Well my Egos used to last ~8 months, now am having to bin them after 2 at best. When new, a charge does not last as long as with the older ones of the same make and model (all verified genuine).

Rubber parts, etc., also not the issue - as stated in previous posts, these have been replaced many times, as have the entire tanks and all other parts. tanks were never an issue in the past, but multiple brand new ones now are. Ditto atomisers. Ditto everything.

 

[Feuille]

Tried rebuildables back in the day (can't recall what kind) and found it ok, but strictly for home use - they are too big & ugly to be toting around. Maybe there are smaller ones around now - shall have a look.

Will probably have to go for some kinda box mod that I can pop a 18650 into, but ugh. Also very big and clunky. Also, are 18560s and similar ok to take in cabin luggage on aeroplanes (at time of writing at least and obviously I'd check with any relevant airline & airport first)? Guess I could use them when not travelling and use something basic for when I am.

 

[Feuille]

Thanks for the suggestions all <3

 

[lil_buddy]

From where are you buying stuff?

 

[daviedog]

Tanks/power heads have gone to the 'dogs' in the last few years.
You'll be better off upgrading..

 

[RainSong]

Tried rebuildables back in the day (can't recall what kind) and found it ok, but strictly for home use - they are too big & ugly to be toting around. Maybe there are smaller ones around now - shall have a look.

Will probably have to go for some kinda box mod that I can pop a 18650 into, but ugh. Also very big and clunky. Also, are 18560s and similar ok to take in cabin luggage on aeroplanes (at time of writing at least and obviously I'd check with any relevant airline & airport first)? Guess I could use them when not travelling and use something basic for when I am.

There are lots of small RTAs and mini mods now, definitely more choices than just clunky boxes. Over in this thread you'll find lots of people who can make recommendations, just ask for what features you're looking for Tootle Puffers, Part Three! (The Sequel of the Redux)
As far as traveling, of course check with your specific airline at time of travel but I've read lots of stories of people traveling with their vape gear with no trouble.

 

[Smoke_too_much]

Squonk devices have a small juice bottle in the mod that you can squeeze to add juice to the coil of what would otherwise be a RDA.

 

[Feuille]

From where are you buying stuff?

Various. Mostly use the UK sites of Aspire & Eleaf (who now seem to sell Joyetech, but I used to buy direct from Joyetech in the past). Alternatively UKecig.com in London and their B&M store, Taklope.com in France, or a Dublin B&M outlet of an Irish chain that I've forgotten the name of.

Liquids from Giant Vapes or UKEcig.com

All items have been verified as genuine. I guess it isn't so hard to pop a clone into a legit box, but these suppliers have decent reputations and seem to be doing well.

 

[Feuille]

There are lots of small RTAs and mini mods now, definitely more choices than just clunky boxes. Over in this thread you'll find lots of people who can make recommendations, just ask for what features you're looking for Tootle Puffers, Part Three! (The Sequel of the Redux)
As far as traveling, of course check with your specific airline at time of travel but I've read lots of stories of people traveling with their vape gear with no trouble.

Shall have a look. Bearing in mind I find a Nautilus mini to be a huge, clunky ugly thing.

 

[Feuille]

Squonk devices have a small juice bottle in the mod that you can squeeze to add juice to the coil of what would otherwise be a RDA.

Omg that sounds like doom on legs. I mean, it could be ok in a hookah vape situation, but to carry? *shudders*

 

[lil_buddy]

Various. Mostly use the UK sites of Aspire & Eleaf (who now seem to sell Joyetech, but I used to buy direct from Joyetech in the past). Alternatively UKecig.com in London and their B&M store, Taklope.com in France, or a Dublin B&M outlet of an Irish chain that I've forgotten the name of.

Liquids from Giant Vapes or UKEcig.com

All items have been verified as genuine. I guess it isn't so hard to pop a clone into a legit box, but these suppliers have decent reputations and seem to be doing well.

I mean maybe you were getting old stuff. A lithium-ion battery loses capacity with age regardless of whether it has been used. O-rings will degrade with age regardless of whether they have been used.

 

[Feuille]

I mean maybe you were getting old stuff. A lithium-ion battery loses capacity with age regardless of whether it has been used. O-rings will degrade with age regardless of whether they have been used.

True, though the rubber all seems good and boingy on opening. Much of the stuff I use is decreasing in popularity, however so could be sitting on shelves for longer?

So, question is, do the 18650s (or similar) have a tendency to degrade whilst in storage also? If so, is there any way of being confident that they'll be any younger on purchase/have better longevity? Egos are WAY cheaper than a 18650 from a good brand, so whilst replacing them frequently is irritating and wasteful, at least it is cheap. If, however, 18650s have a strong possibility of better longevity, they may be a better bet.

My other issue with 18650s and the smaller/weaker variants is they all seem to need huge devices (the smallest Provari, for instance, is inappropriately huge in my view & similarly the smallest box mod I've found to date is ok for home use and JUST about ok for non-social out of the house use).

 

[tazzle]

Have you looked at any of the "Pod" systems?

Pod Mods: Which One Are You Liking the Most?

These are small, thin, light, self contained ... might be worth considering. A video comparing some of them is here, just to get an idea of what they're about.

 

[Feuille]

Aye, am VERY attracted to those, and had a list of which to buy (since deleted it in a fit of feck-it-imma-smoke-and-get-ALL-the-cancers-and-go-to-Switzerland-for-euthanasia).

Issue is, none will ship to the EU (though for the next few months they DO remain legal to buy in the EU) and none of the parcel forwarding companies I've found to date will accept vape gear (plus they charge ~$50 to send one teeny parcel, so it would require waiting to build up a lot of US purchases to make it worthwhile and/or to split cost with local friends.

I do, however, have some friends in the US who vape and who *might* be willing to arrange forwarding for me.

Bought rolling tobacco today. Was great. No leaking. No sickly stench. No sweet ick taste. No stained clothing. Cancer omnomnom!

 

[lil_buddy]

True, though the rubber all seems good and boingy on opening. Much of the stuff I use is decreasing in popularity, however so could be sitting on shelves for longer?

So, question is, do the 18650s (or similar) have a tendency to degrade whilst in storage also? If so, is there any way of being confident that they'll be any younger on purchase/have better longevity? Egos are WAY cheaper than a 18650 from a good brand, so whilst replacing them frequently is irritating and wasteful, at least it is cheap. If, however, 18650s have a strong possibility of better longevity, they may be a better bet.

My other issue with 18650s and the smaller/weaker variants is they all seem to need huge devices (the smallest Provari, for instance, is inappropriately huge in my view & similarly the smallest box mod I've found to date is ok for home use and JUST about ok for non-social out of the house use).

All li-ion batteries degrade in storage. I imagine eGo's use the cheapest (not highest quality) batteries they can find. Unfortunately, the loose li-ion battery market is not really... reliable... meaning you never really know if you are getting what you actually paid for. At this point, I see buying vape gear as a gamble. It's a grey market that's not really regulated and you can't sue these companies in China.

I love eGo's and use them all the time. For me, the charging mechanism breaks before the battery actually become useless. I've been getting these, they have the year printed on them...
$7.38 GS eGo II 2200mAh Rechargeable E-Cigarette Battery - yellow at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

 

[tazzle]

Feuille, where are you? I have had the certain feeling that at least some of the pod system options *will* be available in EU, since they satisfy all (that I can tell?) of the actual EU directives ... though different countries are handling things in different ways, and have different restrictions. I've put off buying one of these for now, opting instead to spend money on my "stash" stuff, because I felt so sure that these would be on the table after TPD, and I could try them out later. If you've already checked that out for where you are, you obviously know better than I do, but I'd hate for you to not to have this option if it's possible.

 

[lil_buddy]

If it makes you feel any better I got 2 bad battery chargers in a row (diff brands and sellers) and a totally inaccurate resistance tester in the past month.

 

[Feuille]

Weirdly, yesterday I had zero leaking and my batteries were lasting a decent amount of time. It was lovely!

No mess, no tank refilling and FAR less battery changing.

At some point in the evening I noticed that part of the rubber seal at the base of the Nautilus mini was poking outside the glass/metal join. Gonna try to replicate this to see if it works ongoing.