From Blu To Ego, A Cautionary Tale

[JonHitThingWithRock]

Hello everyone

I wanted to share this experience so that fellow noobs could hopefully learn from my missteps. So gather 'round kids, it's story time

So about 2 weeks ago, i ordered the blucigs starter kit along with 2 extra 5-packs of cartridges, not with the explicit intention of quitting smoking, just to see what the whole ecig thing was all about, essentially the idea was to use the ecig throughout the day so that i don't smell like an ashtray in my client's houses (i'm an in-home computer repair man). It arrived and all seemed allright, not particularly strong, definitely not in line with analogs, but enough to get me through the day until i got home and fired up an analog. I did some reading on this and other forums to learn more about this crazy vaping thing, learned a bunch, and decided to go for the eGo. In the process of making this decision, i also figured it'd be a good idea to get some more potent liquid, as the 16mg cartridges with the blu weren't strong enough, i ended up ordering a couple 16mg bottles and a couple 24mg bottles from vt (macchiato, exotic tobacco, dulcis and sweet dawn), also, a bottle of 1.6% (light) from puresmoker.com (the place i ordered my eGo from).

It arrived just the other day, i immediately opened it up, charged the battery and began testing some different liquids with the various cartridges and cartomizers i had, and something just didn't seem right. While all the different liquids tasted different, none of them really tasted good, in fact, they were all kinda gross, and the throat hit was what one might call violent.... I couldn't figure it out, the blu stuff tasted great... luckily, puresmoker gives you a random flavo, random strength bottle of liquid when you buy a kit from them, which just happened to be low nicotine (0.8%), so i figured i'd give that a whirl... and wouldn't you know it, it tasted just as it was supposed to, no harshness or coughing, nice, smooth and pleasant (it's banana flavored, which will unlikely become my top pick)

So i guess the moral of the story is, if you're coming over to the eGo world from the blu/green/volcano/smoketip world, don't use their cartridge strength ratings as a measure of what an eGo with liquid is going to be like, the eGo is a MUCH more powerful device. So what i'd do is pick a flavor that you're pretty sure you'll like, and buy one bottle of all the different strengths, and find out which one is right for you before you splurge on a bunch of different flavors. I'm now stuck with $45 of liquid that i can't use and will likely end up giving away, and a dwindling bottle of free liquid that will be gone before my low-strength liquids arrive.

I thought i might be able to re-use the blu cartomizers for this high-strength liquid, since the blu's low performance seems to offset the ferocity of the liquids, so i set about cleaning them out so the old taste would go away, but i made the mistake of taking the fill out, which wasn't too hard, the challenge came when i tried to put them back in..... not so easy, as it turns out.

So....... anyone want some free liquid?

Jon

[Beans]

Jon, don't ditch the liquid just yet. I too have a cautionary tale to tell......it is of a young princess who just couldn't smoke another cancer stick ever again...So she bought the greatest device EVER..GreenSmoke e cigs....Oh it was great but in the first 2 hours they died....Oh the sad princess thought for sure she was sunk, till she learned about the magical eGo wand promised to zap evil cigs away forever... So she ordered her eGo and VTsample pack and waited and waited. When her magic device arrived.., The princess was so excited until she vaped her golden liquid.. Low and behold "it was terrible" so she boxed up the juice up and hid it under her bed.

About a month later the poor poor princess was out of liquid. So sad and desperate she grabbed the dusty under the bed juice, loaded up her eGo and vaped...What do you know the princess taste buds were alive and she could taste and the juice....It was so good. No not good but great! Now the poor princess vaped and vaped and vaped till the golden juice was gone. Moral of the story...Your taste buds are dead, and storing your juice after it's travel is imperative. Why? I have no freaking idea, but letting it sit does change the flavor. Give it another shot in a few weeks. You see the BIG BAD FDA makes it hard for the princess to ever vape midnight ever again....So sad. and if you want to send it away...send it to the poor princess Beans!

[johns]

I love fairy tales

[kitsune]

The path to finding the 'sweet spot ' is always a bit bumpy. I'm glad you have found a good combination that is working for you

You can dilute your stronger liquids. you can buy pharmacy grade glycerin from any pharmacy. I got mine at walmart. Humco makes a product that is glycerine and is sold as skin protectant. I was hesitant about the product--the whole skin protectant thing threw me.

when I tasted it--it has the slightly sweet taste of VG and works great for diluting liquids. It will also dilute the flavor a bit, but will make it vapable.

[savanahrose]

Jon, don't ditch the liquid just yet. I too have a cautionary tale to tell......it is of a young princess who just couldn't smoke another cancer stick ever again...So she bought the greatest device EVER..GreenSmoke e cigs....Oh it was great but in the first 2 hours they died....Oh the sad princess thought for sure she was sunk, till she learned about the magical eGo wand promised to zap evil cigs away forever... So she ordered her eGo and VTsample pack and waited and waited. When her magic device arrived.., The princess was so excited until she vaped her golden liquid.. Low and behold "it was terrible" so she boxed up the juice up and hid it under her bed.

About a month later the poor poor princess was out of liquid. So sad and desperate she grabbed the dusty under the bed juice, loaded up her eGo and vaped...What do you know the princess taste buds were alive and she could taste and the juice....It was so good. No not good but great! Now the poor princess vaped and vaped and vaped till the golden juice was gone. Moral of the story...Your taste buds are dead, and storing your juice after it's travel is imperative. Why? I have no freaking idea, but letting it sit does change the flavor. Give it another shot in a few weeks. You see the BIG BAD FDA makes it hard for the princess to ever vape midnight ever again....So sad. and if you want to send it away...send it to the poor princess Beans!

That was so cute and thanks for the tip.

[JonHitThingWithRock]

Well i suppose i'll hang onto them, perhaps try the dilution thing, i'm seriously considering sending my blu back for the 30-day money back thing, i tried using it this morning, and after the effortless eGo, it's like a macdonalds shake, you have to use all your energy sucking to get anything out of it. The really sad thing is that the eGo was cheaper, and the free 6ml bottle of liquid is lasting longer than the 5 cartridges that came with the blu.

[steeldragon]

I started in December with a company where the couples kit was $140.00. The cartomizers were atrocious. I went through several companies before I found what I like, a Riva I am still experimenting with what liquids I like and what works for me. I am still not totally analog free but I know in my heart that there will be a day where I hit that perfect combo. In the meantime I will enjoy the savings I am getting. I haven't gave up yet and I have no regrets.

Paul

[JonHitThingWithRock]

The path to finding the 'sweet spot ' is always a bit bumpy. I'm glad you have found a good combination that is working for you

You can dilute your stronger liquids. you can buy pharmacy grade glycerin from any pharmacy. I got mine at walmart. Humco makes a product that is glycerine and is sold as skin protectant. I was hesitant about the product--the whole skin protectant thing threw me.

when I tasted it--it has the slightly sweet taste of VG and works great for diluting liquids. It will also dilute the flavor a bit, but will make it vapable.

so i got some glycerin, diluted some e-liquid down about 50% and it didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference, how much did you dilute yours down?

[kitsune]

50 % should be more than enough.

next--are you using it in cartomizers or atomizers??

if you are using an atomizer--you can blow it out, you might be getting some primer placed on the heating element for shipping.

hold the atomizer over a papertowel and blow through the battery end of the atomizer (can also use compressed air). Then I gently push the corner of a papertowel or kleenex into the open end of the atomizer and let it sit for a 15-20min or over night.

then reprime the atomizer with 4 drips of the liquid and vape---see if maybe that will help.

If you are using cartomizers--did they have liquid in them already or were they new??

[JonHitThingWithRock]

50 % should be more than enough.

next--are you using it in cartomizers or atomizers??

if you are using an atomizer--you can blow it out, you might be getting some primer placed on the heating element for shipping.

hold the atomizer over a papertowel and blow through the battery end of the atomizer (can also use compressed air). Then I gently push the corner of a papertowel or kleenex into the open end of the atomizer and let it sit for a 15-20min or over night.

then reprime the atomizer with 4 drips of the liquid and vape---see if maybe that will help.

If you are using cartomizers--did they have liquid in them already or were they new??

i tried both new cartomizers and clean atomizers, it seems like the vaportalk juice has a sort of bizarre treebark taste that the stuff from puresmoker doesn't, possibly the way they make it... who knows, either way, i should have enough puresmoker curtis' coffee medium nic (tastes to me like bacon popcorn) left to hold me over until my new low-nic liquids arrive, it's quite strong, but i'll manage. I think i'll set my vaportalk juices aside until i fully quit analogs and my taste buds return, and see what the low-nic flavors are like, i'd like to try the vaportalk ones in low-nic form, unfortunately, everything seems to be out of stock.

The journey continues....

Jon

[steeldragon]

That is the rough spot, finding the right liquid. I did notice when the taste buds aren't all what they are cracked up to be, I have had success with the fruit flavors. I got hooked onto Strawberry-banana combinations. Every cartomizer and atomizer has a different taste to it. Even as simple as using different cones and tips. The combination is endless. Don't get discouraged and keep on experimenting and it will suddenly hit you like a ton of bricks.

Paul

[JonHitThingWithRock]

That is the rough spot, finding the right liquid. I did notice when the taste buds aren't all what they are cracked up to be, I have had success with the fruit flavors. I got hooked onto Strawberry-banana combinations. Every cartomizer and atomizer has a different taste to it. Even as simple as using different cones and tips. The combination is endless. Don't get discouraged and keep on experimenting and it will suddenly hit you like a ton of bricks.

Paul

Yeah, i think you're right about the fruit flavors, cherry and banana taste like cherry and banana, but everything else tastes like either treebark, or bacon popcorn, or something just weird like that, i do have some vt swee dawn, unfortunately, it's 24 mg, so it's like fruity death, i might try diluting that one with a LOT of glycerin, see how it works.

Jon

[ancientpuffer]

so i got some glycerin, diluted some e-liquid down about 50% and it didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference, how much did you dilute yours down?

Jon, welcome!

I have to say, the ego isn't noted for being harsh at all, so I want to ask, have you tried a different carto/cart with it or are you using just one? How much are you putting in when you fill it? (8-12 drops is about normal to fill a new one) If you haven't completely saturated the filler material, you'll get a dry harsh burnt taste that will kill your throat. Just a thought.

One more thing, the sample you got, was it PG or VG? Its *possible* you're allergic to one or the other, how does the sample compare to the other juices you don't like?

Edited April 25, 2011 by ancientpuffer

[lovie]

i know every bodys taste buds are differant but i have been using vt juice from the start i have never tasted a bad one .some i like better than others .but never had any that had funky taste i really like the quality .my favorites sweet dawn ,midnight , grape .mentha . also they have a new store with lot of new flavors .i ordered peach .vanilla cant wait .i hope you find somthing you like .there are lots of venders out there .sweet-vapes , kick bass vapors and lots more.happy vaping

[Cheriepye]

Jon, don't ditch the liquid just yet. I too have a cautionary tale to tell......it is of a young princess who just couldn't smoke another cancer stick ever again...So she bought the greatest device EVER..GreenSmoke e cigs....Oh it was great but in the first 2 hours they died....Oh the sad princess thought for sure she was sunk, till she learned about the magical eGo wand promised to zap evil cigs away forever... So she ordered her eGo and VTsample pack and waited and waited. When her magic device arrived.., The princess was so excited until she vaped her golden liquid.. Low and behold "it was terrible" so she boxed up the juice up and hid it under her bed.

About a month later the poor poor princess was out of liquid. So sad and desperate she grabbed the dusty under the bed juice, loaded up her eGo and vaped...What do you know the princess taste buds were alive and she could taste and the juice....It was so good. No not good but great! Now the poor princess vaped and vaped and vaped till the golden juice was gone. Moral of the story...Your taste buds are dead, and storing your juice after it's travel is imperative. Why? I have no freaking idea, but letting it sit does change the flavor. Give it another shot in a few weeks. You see the BIG BAD FDA makes it hard for the princess to ever vape midnight ever again....So sad. and if you want to send it away...send it to the poor princess Beans!

You're my hero, Beans

[Eve-ie]

Hello everyone

I wanted to share this experience so that fellow noobs could hopefully learn from my missteps. So gather 'round kids, it's story time

So about 2 weeks ago, i ordered the blucigs starter kit along with 2 extra 5-packs of cartridges, not with the explicit intention of quitting smoking, just to see what the whole ecig thing was all about, essentially the idea was to use the ecig throughout the day so that i don't smell like an ashtray in my client's houses (i'm an in-home computer repair man). It arrived and all seemed allright, not particularly strong, definitely not in line with analogs, but enough to get me through the day until i got home and fired up an analog. I did some reading on this and other forums to learn more about this crazy vaping thing, learned a bunch, and decided to go for the eGo. In the process of making this decision, i also figured it'd be a good idea to get some more potent liquid, as the 16mg cartridges with the blu weren't strong enough, i ended up ordering a couple 16mg bottles and a couple 24mg bottles from vt (macchiato, exotic tobacco, dulcis and sweet dawn), also, a bottle of 1.6% (light) from puresmoker.com (the place i ordered my eGo from).

It arrived just the other day, i immediately opened it up, charged the battery and began testing some different liquids with the various cartridges and cartomizers i had, and something just didn't seem right. While all the different liquids tasted different, none of them really tasted good, in fact, they were all kinda gross, and the throat hit was what one might call violent.... I couldn't figure it out, the blu stuff tasted great... luckily, puresmoker gives you a random flavo, random strength bottle of liquid when you buy a kit from them, which just happened to be low nicotine (0.8%), so i figured i'd give that a whirl... and wouldn't you know it, it tasted just as it was supposed to, no harshness or coughing, nice, smooth and pleasant (it's banana flavored, which will unlikely become my top pick)

So i guess the moral of the story is, if you're coming over to the eGo world from the blu/green/volcano/smoketip world, don't use their cartridge strength ratings as a measure of what an eGo with liquid is going to be like, the eGo is a MUCH more powerful device. So what i'd do is pick a flavor that you're pretty sure you'll like, and buy one bottle of all the different strengths, and find out which one is right for you before you splurge on a bunch of different flavors. I'm now stuck with $45 of liquid that i can't use and will likely end up giving away, and a dwindling bottle of free liquid that will be gone before my low-strength liquids arrive.

I thought i might be able to re-use the blu cartomizers for this high-strength liquid, since the blu's low performance seems to offset the ferocity of the liquids, so i set about cleaning them out so the old taste would go away, but i made the mistake of taking the fill out, which wasn't too hard, the challenge came when i tried to put them back in..... not so easy, as it turns out.

So....... anyone want some free liquid?

Jon

Don't ditch those eLiquids just yet Jon! I started out with lower-nic levels too... your body adjusts in time and the low nic levels aren't enough to keep most people off the Analogs. So, for now... hang on to those... wait & see a mintue....