I'm Overwhelmed

[smoke11]

Please help me out there if you can...Am totally overwhelmed by all the products out there and really need to quit smoking.Love the E-cig concept,but not quite sure where to start.Living on a budget so I would like to start with something simple to see if I'll enjoy! Any help would be greatly appreciated

[fran1959]

Welcome, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, there are a lot of choices. Most of us recommend an Ego, you can get a starter kit that includes two batteries, so you charge one while using the other, the battery life is very good. In addition to that you will need some cartomizers or cartridges and some juice. It would probably be smart to start with 12 - 18 mg. for your first choice to see how you do with that.

There are a lot of vendors on our list and they are trustworthy sites. You can also search for discount codes on the internet so you might get a few bucks off. Hope this helps.

[smoke11]

Thanks for the info,looks like a lot of vendors out there who would you recommend

[Jeffb]

Try out the Vapor Talk store. Chris is agreat guy with awesome customer service. http://www.vaportalkstore.com/products/Joye-eGo.html

[smoke11]

Thanks man will do

[jen_haynes]

I 2nd the motion for the Joye Ego Tank Kit. I bought mine at myvaporstore.com, but you'll find cheaper supplies at the VT store. I plan on buying any replacement parts or extra batteries at VT. So far I'm not in need. It's working out well. I would recommend what worked for me: 24mg of nicotine juice to start off with just to get off of the cigarettes. There's something in them other than nicotine that keeps us addicted & the first two weeks are the most uncomfortable, but tolerable.

The first juice I purchased came from VT choco java & I also picked up a tobacco flavor from myvaporstore called Kamol. Now I'm ordering from sweet-vapes.com. Excellent service & I'm digging the tea juices. There's a huge learning curve to it, but if do the research & pick up the kit -- you should be good to go.

On a personal note, As a former smoker of 25yrs, smoking a pack a day, I am very happy in making the switch. I have little desire to return to traditional cigarettes.Good luck in your journey!

[Jackal3]

For those new to e-cigs you should first ask yourselves how much a day regular tobacco cigs do you smoke? Half pack? 1 pack? more?

There are myriad e-cigs on the market including the mini-ecig (the ones that look like real cigs), pen styles which are typically longer versions of the minis, mid sized battery versions like the eGo, T-rex, Leo, Lea, and any other in the 650mAh to 900mAh battery size, and then there are the much higher versions, or "fat batts" that range from 1000mAh to 1300mAh in size.

Typically a moderate to heavy smoker will use about 100mAh of battery life per hour. This is needed to be considered when thinking of purchasing batteries. The mini-ecigs are between 90mAh and 280mAh. This would mean that each of those batteries last between 1 hour and 3 hours before needing recharged (for a moderate to heavy user). Pen style batteries are typically 180mAh to 280mAh (some higher?), so these would last the longer part of 3 hours each. An eGo or Lea or Leo will last the average user about 6-10 hours, while a fat batt will last 12-16 hours. I'm a heavy vaper, and an 800mAh Leo lasts me about 10-12 hours, whereas a 1300mAh eGo knock off lasts about 16 hours.

E-cigs come in a variety of forms, such as the 2 part type that include a battery and a cartomizer. The cartomizer is a tube filled with tightly wrapped cotton that holds the liquid (e-juice). In the center there is another small tube with a wire. That wire acts as the heating element that when activated, flash vaporizes the liquid held in the cotton to produce vapor. Cartomizers (most) can be refilled fairly easily by popping the top off and dripping the liquid inside the cotton. Some cartomizers (certain brands) are one piece, and do not have that removable top. The down side to cartomizers is the small size and minimal liquids they hold. Thus you'll sometimes see (depending on what brand you buy) "mega-cartomizers" or "XXL", referring to a larger size holding more liquid. Lately there are even "Dual Coil Cartomizers", meaning there are two wires (with small coils in each) that act as heating elements, creating a good deal more vapor (and flavor). Another down side to cartomizers is burning tastes. This occurs when the cotton inside becomes too dry and yet you continue to use it. It eventually chars the cotton and that taste is near impossible to get rid of it.

The three part e-cigarette involves a battery, atomizer and a cartridge. The atomizer is typically cone or cylindrical in shape. The cartridge is a small mouth piece with a hollow tube of cotton (or foam) wadding which holds the liquid. The cartridge gets inserted directly into the atomizer so that the cotton just barely touches the atomizer. Activating the battery heats the atomizer and the 'bridge' which sits just over the actual atomizer. The bridge is really what touches the cotton from the cartridge, and its job is to heat up gently and wick the liquid down to the atomizer. Often, as the cotton inside the cartridge becomes dry and overheats it will shrink, resulting in less wicking action. This can, and often results in the atomizer not getting enough liquid and it, too, overheats and pops or dies. Atomizers can be expensive, but provide far more vapor than (most) cartomizers, and far more flavor from your liquids as well. It is said the larger the atomizer the better the taste. It is also said the higher the voltage the better the taste and vapor, but we'll get into that later.

Another more recent (this year) three part e-cig is the "tank" system. It involves a battery (of course), a "tank" atomizer and a "tank" cartridge. Now the typical tank atomizer is just like a regular atomizer, except that it incorporates a tube in the center rather than a bridge. This tube is designed to poke into a small hole in the bottom of the tank cartridge. In the tube is a small cotton or other fiber wick that helps wick the liquid to the atomizer below. The tank cartridge is simply a small mouthpiece with an attached tank to fill and hold the liquid. Tank atomizers provide a rich, thick vapor (most do), however for some reason the flavor is often diminished. Tank atomizers (early versions) often leaked as well. Depending on the manufacturer, most are unreliable, in my opinion, but still fun to try out. Tank atomizer/cartridges can be found for for any size/style e-cigarette now a day. At this point, being a new member, and a registering supplier, I don't think I can give my opinions on brands (at least not yet and not in this sub forum). You'll have to do your own research on these.

Lastly there are box units and mods. Well... maybe we should talk about these once you've tried the basics first. Mods can be expensive, and use a variety of batteries, from 3.0 v on up to 7v, from 400mAh on up to 3000mAh.

For now, I hope this information helps you take the next step: Reading reviews on brands BEFORE you purchase.

[BradatVaporSupplies]

^Great first post.^

[Jackal3]

^Great first post.^

Thank you sir. I'm new to this forum, but not the world of vaping.

I'd like to add that just because the mini-ecigs are smaller in mAh size, do not let that discourage you. My wife and I got off tobacco via Kanger KR808D-1 units (180mAh size). We just had to have 6 batteries each to get through a day (or most of one), and had portable recharging cases for them. It was about a month or two later we decided on bigger battery versions. Less charging hassle, more power. Even though now I'm using 800mAh to 1300mAh size batteries, I still occasion to use 180mAh mini ecigs for shopping, restaurant, and other public venues where I prefer to keep my vaping discreet.

[ebonwings628]

I got an egoT Tank (the bigger one that holds a bit more than 2ml in the cartridge) from eDragonfly cigs. i don't know if they are a knock off or what but they had good reviews, however, the customer service was terrible. i bought a deluxe starter kit and it didn't come with the manual/directions which it clearly stated that it included on in the kit. i called them and asked if they could please send me one, i mean, its not like i wanted a free battery. the dude tells me he'll see if he can find one around the office, but otherwise, there was nothing he could do. i had to call back about 5 times before i received literaly and crumpled and folded 4 page fold out. with barely the basics. anyway, then i started looking around more and found out that most stuff were Joye knock-offs from China. Great. so i totaly feel you. so i went to thevaporshoppe.com, its base is in orlando and since i saw good reviews and orlando is an hour drive from my house, i thought, well this is great. but i got it mixed up with this other orlando company that has a real store there where you can try brfore you buy and they have a thing from Joye on their site stating that these were real Joye products, Joye has only 3 distributors in the USA, it being one of them. anyway, i can't for the life of me find that site again, which is why i ordered from the first site i mentioned. I callled in my order, BIG MISTAKE! the guy left out one of the numbers on my Po box. i was supposed to get it a lil over 2 weeks ago, i got it yesterday. all my great e lliquid from pinkspot vapors tastes burnt, only their stuff works. now they did refund my money and sent me a free battery and ten full cartridges of menthol (although they didn't make the trip) most of them had no juice left, others only a third full. my origional order was for 2 atomizers (they only had the 1.1ml kind) and a 5pack of cartridges (empty) that had soft bottoms to stop leakage (they work great) rather than the old hard bottomed ones which would leak once the liquid went below the line of site in the atomizer.

good luck, do your research, even with all the trouble they are well worth it in the long run

lindsey

[Jackal3]

Those few US distributors of Joye products (bought direct from Joye) paid large sums of money (via merchandise purchases) to be those sole distributors. Other vendors who sell "genuine eGo" most likely bought from those few distributors (at less a profit margin). I know, I tried to buy from Joye back when I started my biz. They immediately directed me to those other resellers.

Be wary of "eGo" vs. "genuine Joye eGo". The genuine is supposed to be just that. Others MAY be knock offs. That's not saying the knock offs aren't as good, but you get what you pay for. I personally have 5 different brands of knock offs. 2 of them work flawlessly/correctly, 3 have buttons that stick, don't charge right, etc.

[smoke11]

Thank you all for your educational and very informative replies,I feel more comfortable knowing that I'll be better informed when making my purchase !