What I have works. (photo/info in post) I want something that operates the same but better.

[borockster]

This unit seems to be relatively unknown on this board. It is sold at most all Murphy USA stores. It works but after talking it over with some folks on the noob forum it seems I am destined to failure due to little or no parts availability.

Here is the website: Buy 21st Century Electronic Cigarettes Now! - CB Distributors, Inc.
Here is a pic of the unit I have:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Here is what they say about it:
21st Century Smoke™ Express Kit - Menthol

The 21st Century Smoke™ Express Kit contains: 2 Menthol Express Disposable Cartridges with Self Contained Atomizer, 1 Rechargeable Battery, and 1 110 AC Wall Charger. Each Menthol Express cartridge lasts for approximately 300 puffs or approximately the equivalent of 15-20 cigarettes. The Rechargeable Express Kits are the most affordable way to satisfy your nicotine cravings. For customers who prefer the disposable electronic cigarette but want a rechargeable, it’s the only way to go. Compatible with all 21st Century Smoke™ batteries.

Price: $21.99

3 refills (cartos?) are $7.19
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I am looking for something that operates with the same convenience but with parts availability and a wider variety of flavors. The unit does not have to look like an analog as long as it's not too big. I carry it in a shirt pocket at work. Any help would be greatly appreciated. BTW...The guys in the noob forum were awesome. They gave me some excellent advice upon which I am following up.

 

[JustMeAgain]

This unit seems to be relatively unknown on this board. It is sold at most all Murphy USA stores. It works but after talking it over with some folks on the noob forum it seems I am destined to failure due to little or no parts availability.

Here is the website: Buy 21st Century Electronic Cigarettes Now! - CB Distributors, Inc.
Here is a pic of the unit I have:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
Here is what they say about it:
21st Century Smoke™ Express Kit - Menthol

The 21st Century Smoke™ Express Kit contains: 2 Menthol Express Disposable Cartridges with Self Contained Atomizer, 1 Rechargeable Battery, and 1 110 AC Wall Charger. Each Menthol Express cartridge lasts for approximately 300 puffs or approximately the equivalent of 15-20 cigarettes. The Rechargeable Express Kits are the most affordable way to satisfy your nicotine cravings. For customers who prefer the disposable electronic cigarette but want a rechargeable, it’s the only way to go. Compatible with all 21st Century Smoke™ batteries.

Price: $21.99

3 refills (cartos?) are $7.19
<><><><><><><>

I am looking for something that operates with the same convenience but with parts availability and a wider variety of flavors. The unit does not have to look like an analog as long as it's not too big. I carry it in a shirt pocket at work. Any help would be greatly appreciated. BTW...The guys in the noob forum were awesome. They gave me some excellent advice upon which I am following up.

Hi borockster,

The good news is you have avoided the mistake so many beginners make - myself included - of insisting that it MUST look like a cigarette and then trotting off to the mall and buying a ridiculously overpriced but inferior functioning model.

What you have looks like a 'try me' deal, so you've given it a whirl without dropping $100.00+ and are wisely looking for something better.

I would recommend a KR808d-1 which is also a cartomizer/battery model, keeping with your need for convenience and is I think is probably the same size as the one you have. The KR808 is definitely 'shirt pocket' friendly.

There are many vendors here who offer the kits, but replacement cartomizers are usually sold in boxes of five for about the same price as they're selling three, give or take a dollar or two, and offer a huge variety of flavors to choose from. They also sell the liquid so you can refill your cartomizers. Even though cartos are advertised as disposable, most everyone does refill and some people are able to use the same one for days or even weeks. There are lots of threads at ECF that offer ways to clean and refill your cartomizers.

Be wary of anyone who advertises that their brand will last the equilvent of "X number of cigarettes" or "X number of puffs". It is impossible to know this because the mileage one person may get can vary widely from another. Those kind of promises are a red flag and are typically used by less than reliable/trustworthy/honest sellers.

Also, you will need - at the very minimum - two batteries so you have one available while the other is charging. You probably already know that it's not much fun to be pacing around waiting for the light to turn green.

I went to the link in your post and their price for the 'super starter kit' - which has two batteries -is $109.95. There are many vendors here at ECF that offer a two battery kit for around $45.00-$60.00, and extra batteries are easy to find for $15.00 to $18.00 compared to $39.95. You also have the added benefit of being able to read up on other's experiences regarding customer service.

Many also offer great sales from time to time, so keeping an eye out and stocking up during the sales can really make a huge difference in cost on both hardware and liquid.

Also, you might consider ordering an extra battery, giving you three since there is always the chance of one dying.

You are already on the right track - you just need to find the right retailer rather than those who are into price gouging

Good luck!

 

[Kent C]

There is no 'perfect ecigarette'. Any model has people who either can't operate it, don't clean it, clean it too much, or the model itself has design flaws or the nature of the design:

-Small battery that you have to charge frequently - creates a problem that has various other hardware solutions that add to the price - passthroughs, PCC (on the go chargers), or just buy more batteries and carry them with you.

There are larger battery ecigs - eGos (and their clones) and mods - tube and box mods. They have batteries that last much longer - some are pocketable and some aren't.

-atomizers and cartridges (and now tanks) - these are parts of a three piece ecig that heat and store the ejuice.
-cartomizers - these have the atomizer/coil and the filler or tank as part of one unit - a two piece ecig.

The problem people can have with cartridges is getting the filler in the cartridge to wick and to take full advantage of the space for ejuice. The problems people can have with cartomizers is the taste of the filler and because the coil and filler are in one unit - the burning of the filler materials used and the subsequent burnt taste. There are solutions for each of these problems.

A rather new development is tanks that are used instead of cartridges or in place of the filler in cartomizers - where there is no filler to burn and no filler in cartridge to inhibit filling and wicking to the coil. There have been some problems with the tanks as well - but I think it's a good development that works well now and can be improved upon in the future.

Coils in atomizers and cartomizers have different resistances that results in either more or less wattage when combined with batteries. For the most part - more wattage = more vapor. But more wattage - depending on the type of ejuice - strong or light flavors - can affect the flavor - strong flavors are sometimes enhanced by more wattage and some lighter ejuices are destroyed by more wattage - enough wattage will destroy all flavors. So the ohm rating of atomizers and cartomizers is something that you have to experiment with to find what suits your tastes in flavors and in throat hit.

One new three piece kit - the eGo-t has the 6.5 hours of battery before charge and if you get the B style of atty and tank, you can get 4 hours of vaping without refill - again, ymmv according to use. You can get (or will be able to get) that kit many places, but here's one:

https://www.cignot.com/product_p/kit-ebt-all.htm

You can also put on the eGo batteries - other atomizers and cartridges than the tanks:
https://www.cignot.com/category_s/59.htm

or cartomizers:
https://www.cignot.com/category_s/65.htm

Either those or any atty/cart combo or cartomizer (including tank cartomizers/tankomizers) that have the 510 connection.

With an adapter:
Adapters

any "510 to x" adapter... you can also use other models attys and cartomizers.

While at present, the 510 connection has more choices, there are bigger battery models with the 901 and KR8 connections for a variety of attys/carts and cartomizers. And you can use "x to 510" adapter to use 510 attys and cartomizers - although with the length of the adapter the transition to something like an eGo-t tank will look a bit odd although it will work.

 

[DonDaBoomVape]

JustMeAgain and Kent have described the two models I always recommend to a new vaper: the Kr8 and the 510-based fat batt. I'll just draw your attention to outstanding examples of each:

• The two-piece, cartomizer-based Kr8 is the simplest e-cig with the largest selection of prefilled cartomizers, especially from Vapor4Life. [Get on their mailing list to be notified of their frequent 20-35% off discount codes.] The Bloog MaxX Fusion is the best (and most expensive)* Kr8 (or any mini or super-mini) e-cig I have ever vaped. It has received many glowing reviews, including my own. The kit that I have is the Mini PCC Starter Kit (using 220 mAh short batteries). It costs $90 bucks.

* Not including the mass-marketed rip-offs that JustMeAgain warned you about. The Bloog is pricey, but not a rip-off. It's worth the few extra bucks IMO.​

• The fat batt is the most significant development in vaping since that e-cig was invented. The eGo was the first and continues to lead in innovations and enhancements. Due to Kent's largess, I have just started using and enjoying the new eGo-T (e.g., $79 starter kit from Cignot). The least expensive (high quality) alternative is the Riva. Liberty-Flights sells a two-battery/two-atomizer 750 mAh Riva-510 kit ("Lite Bundle") for only $30 (after clicking on the 20% Discount icon in the upper left corner of their webpage). For $5 more, you can get the "Special Edition", which has a somewhat higher voltage battery (providing greater intensity to the vape).