How Long Do The Cartridges Last?

[Brandon Acre]

I've read a lot of reviews on a lot of different sites, but I don't think I've heard anyone mention how long the cartridges really last?

I just bought a single disposable e-cigarette from a smoke shop in Manhattan. The guy said it got 500 puffs, which he said was the equivalent of about two packs of cigarettes. So I smoked it a bit on the way home, then I smoked it 3 or 4 more times for about 5 minutes each. And suddenly it was done! That was it! I would say I got the equivalent of about 5-6 cigarettes out of it. A long ways from two packs, even a long ways from one.

I think the one I got was a super cheap brand though. But can anyone tell me if the better brands give you anymore smoking per cartridge than this one did?

THANKS! I know all this is a bit subjective, but would love to hear what you all have to say.

[Christopher]

Any site that says each carto gets 500 puffs, is to be honest, full of you know what. Cartomizers will last about 4-5 days ONLY if you refill them with your own liquid. If you simply use them and toss them without refilling, you'd be lucky to get a half a pack of cigarettes worth.

[Brandon Acre]

Alright, I just went out and smoked a real cigarette... I averaged a puff every 8.6 seconds which gives me about 63 puffs per cigarette. I realize that's probably a little higher than most people but I'm pretty OCD when it comes to puffing! But even if I smoked at that same rate with this e-cigarette, and I smoked 5 times that would have been about 280 puffs. And I don't think I did smoke as many puffs as usual, I was definitely smoking it a little slower because I didn't feel the pressure to keep puffing before the cigarette burned out on its own. But even if I did smoke it at my normal rate, it seems I only got about half of what they said I should have gotten.

Christopher, in my one-time experience today, what you say rings true!

[Christopher]

Glad I could help And that is indeed a lot of puffs from a single cigarette. I used to get about 10 puff per. But I was a slow kick back smoker I suppose

[Tony_C]

Yeah, I had a similar experience with the cheap crap. Granted, I had read up some, and got one just to try it out, so I knew not to expect the advertised 500 puffs. I got about half a pack off mine.

If you want to keep vaping, I'd highly recommend an eGo/clone kit.

Reasons:

smaller cig style have short battery life 1-2 hours, eGo has 4 on the low end, up to 12 (1000 mah)

eGo has many options, adapters for other atomizers, can use low resistance.

size won't matter as much once you've used it. I had a 510, and ordered my eGo within a week. 510 is still around, as backup...but barely gets touched now.

Much of that probably means nothing to you now, but if you stick around, you'll learn and figure out what you need to be a happy vaper.

[Brandon Acre]

Thanks Tony, and yes I was going to say - you sound like you're speaking a foreign language to me! I have no idea what you're talking about!

I've ordered a single-smoke disposable from No. 7. I'm hoping the higher quality ones will smoke a little longer before they run out.

On this cheapie I bought today, I did really like the nicotine effect. In fact, the whole experience was far better than smoking real cigarettes. The nicotine buzz was much smoother and much more pleasant. So I'd really like to switch over to these. But I could only afford it if you get a little more smoking out of each cartridge.

[Tony_C]

Disposables are a bit pricey. you can get an eGo kit for around 40, and then just buy juice and cartomizers as needed. A pack of cartos runs ~ $8 for 5, and a 15 ml bottle of juice is $10 or so. 15 ml should last you about a week I'm guessing, some heavy vapers use 3 ml a day. The cartos can easily last 2+ weeks if you are rotating through all 5, and makes it easy to change/try new flavors. When you do decide to get a 'real' ecig, keep in mind that most of the throw-aways use 18 mg for nicotine strength.

[Brandon Acre]

Interesting Tony. Do you have a link you can send me to to look at what you're talking about. Thanks so much for all the info.

So you say most of the throw-aways use 18 mg of nicotine. How much do the ones you're talking about use?

This is what I bought online that I'm still waiting to receive:

http://www.no7ecigarettes.com/products/No.7-Tobacco-Disposable-500.html

I'm assuming it will be a little better quality than the one I bought at the store today. If I liked that one I was thinking about buying this starter kit from them:

http://www.no7ecigarettes.com/products/No.7-Micro-Cartomizer-Kit.html

And then using their refills:

http://www.no7ecigarettes.com/products/No.7-Micro-Cartomizers-%252d-2-Pack.html

Although I'm not even sure those refills are for the thing that comes with the starter kit! And I don't understand why they say there are two but the photo seems to show 8.

I'm just realizing how confusing it is to try to buy something on the web that you've never seen in real life! So I really appreciate your help.

Anyway, supposing I'm on the right track above, are you saying what you're recommending would be a cheaper way to go as far as refilling/replacing the cartridges goes?

[Brandon Acre]

Oh and one other quick question for you. The second link in my previous post... the one that goes to their starter kit - is that what you're calling a disposable? No, right? A disposable is like the one I bought at the store today, that once it was done you throw it out. Right?

[Tony_C]

No, if it can be charged, It's not a disposable.

This is the Joye 510:

http://liberty-fligh...oduct.asp?id=31

This is the eGo:

http://liberty-fligh...oduct.asp?id=40

*Note you can get the eGo kit (2 big batteries) for price of the SINGLE cig style battery of that brand, or 2x 510 for even less.

Cartomizers for them typically come empty, and you can fill your own. liquid/juice can be ordered with varying nicotine levels, from 0 to 36mg (highest I've seen as ready to use).

With the one you linked to, you get two already filled for $8, you get 5 for same price here, but have to buy liquid to fill them as well. 15ml will fill you up probably around 20 times (guesstimate) @ $10 a pop there. For the price you get a lot more usage.

Cartomizer:

http://liberty-flights.com/product.asp?id=72

liquid:

http://sweet-vapes.com/category/e-liquid/

Just one of many highly touted brands, the regular stuff(like what you see at libertyflights) is still rather decent.

Edited August 15, 2011 by Tony_C

[TroopX]

Pre-filled carts aren't your best option. Find some cartos and/or an atty and buy juice to fill them and you'll save more and enjoy more.

[Brandon Acre]

Tony, thanks so much for all the info. I really appreciate it. That's just what I needed to know, how much you get and roughly how long that should last. THANKS!

[Chainvape]

I only get (if im lucky) about a hour out of a standard cartomizer before getting a burnt/dry taste because I chain vape too much. Might want to look into ce2s or tanks. This is just my opinion, theres tons of people who love cartos, they make them in XL sizes, low resistance, high voltage, dual coil, tripple coil and probally other models that I aint heard of. I just dont like the chance of burning polyfill so I stick with atomizers and ce2s wich don't have any filler.

[Brandon Acre]

So, I got the e-liquid from No. 7 and it's working out great as far as price goes. I've been smoking it really heavily and one $30 bottle has already lasted 9 days and looks like it will go for at least one more, maybe two more days. So it's already down to about $3.00 a day!

I have to say though I don't find any of these cartridges or cartomizers to come anywhere close to a pack of cigarettes. Seems to me they're more like the equivalent to 5-6 cigarettes. I've been smoking roughly the same amount as when I used to smoke a pack to a pack and a half a day and I have to refill these 4 or 5 times a day. But still the cost is coming out way better than the $12 a pack we pay here.

They're so realistic though I still can't shake my old smoker's guilt! I still feel like I've done something bad to myself.

I took a couple of puffs off a friend's real cigarette the other day, after smoking these for awhile... and it was TERRIBLE. Awful! What a horrible taste and smell real cigarettes have. These are so much better than "real" ones!

Oh and it's nice to be able to between puffs, just lay them down on the table or put them in your pocket... no ashtray, no nothing. So clean!

So, I just wanted to say, thanks for all your help everybody. I appreciate the info on the e-liquids and how long they last vs. how much they cost. I think you got it about right.

Edited September 2, 2011 by Brandon Acre

[Tony_C]

Yeah, 5-6 cig equavalent seems about right, maybe a bit more. 30ml/10 days looks fairly average, seems most people vape 2-3 ml a day...I'm probably a bit less than that, 1-2 a day I would estimate.

I had a real cig the other night..."just to see" and it was terrible. didn't notice the nic, and that smell... wouldn't go away for hours.

[misplacedsooner]

i have an ego-t that should be here tomorrow. ive been smoking an off brand no name from a gas station. i have 2 bats i have to switch out often and the prefilled carts you buy in packs of 5...my question... when the prefilled carts run out can you add juice to them and bring them back in an emergency or to just take with you on a short trip across town??? ive saved a bunch just in case.

[Viper Ron]

In the prefilled carts is there like a filler material?