Mega noob questions; patient vapor vets, need your advice

[MartinStatic]

Long time smoker, just tried a few disposable ecigs, and while I enjoyed them a lot, each was almost the price of a box and only lasted about 2.5 days.

I sat down today with full intent on learning everything before investing in a decent kit. But the more I read, the more questions I had, and the more i realized I didnt know anything.

First up is, I thought there was just the battery and then the cartridge (which would be the only thing I would need to buy on a regular basis). But then I see liquids, people refilling a cartridge with liquid, saying that you can use the cartridge 2 or more times befoere disposing. I'm jist confused about which parts are disposable, refillable or both.

2nd question is a straight up 'what should I go for' that fits the following criteria?

Decent shipping to both UK and the Netherlands

PCC and a usb charger

Something good for long journeys

Im sorry for making this post, I'm sure you're all sick of these, but I didn't expect to get so confused, and when it comes to quitting smoking and dropping $70+, I don't want to waste time and money making mistakes that could have been avoided by simply asking.

Thanks in advance, hope this helps other newbies too.

[mse12]

Welcome to VT. First off the cartomizers that screw into the battery are disposable but can often be refilled many times before there is significant flavor loss. There are so many options to screw into the battery. You have atomizers, cartomizers, clearomizers, etc. They are all basically disposable after some use. Now, to your second question I'm not sure about shipping. As far as most people here we will recommend an ego "style" setup this will be a larger battery than you are used to but it has many benefits. The biggest benefit is the life cycle of the battery. You can get some that will last several hours to ones that last all day long. It's a trade-off though for battery life vs looks. I would recommend something like an ego and tank of some sorts either carto or vivi nova for "long journeys" as they typically last me most of the day before needing to be topped off. I know this is very generic advice but I hope it helps somewhat. Happy vaping.

[SonjaWi]

I'm still a noob myself, but I researched the whole issue for about 4 weeks before diving in.

You can always just buy the battery and prefilled cartomizers. Cartomizers are cartridges that have the heating coil built into them. Most of the commercial prefilled systems, like v2, or blue, work that way. Prefilled cartomizers, however, might sometimes come already half dry, because they might have been stocked for a while.And they only come in a limited selection of flavors.

So, the next step is to buy an empty cartomizer, buy some e-juice, which is the liquid that goes inside there, and do it yourself. I was a bit hesitant first because I thought this will be quite a task to do. In my few days I have been doing this I must say its not at all a nuissance to me - it becomes more of a nice "ritual" that I do in happy anticipation of my next vape hit. The easiest way is to take out the mouthpiece and drip the liquid in the white filling material of the cartomizer. The advantage is: you are in control of the flavor, of the fill level (no dry cartomizer if you monitor how much you vape) and you save money, as a five pack of empty catomizers runs usually somewhere beteen 5.99-8.99$ and e-liquid for 30 ml about 10-15$ and 5 prefilled cartomizers run about 9.99-12.99$.

Cartomizers, at some point, have to be tossed, though some people clean them and get more use out of them that way. I have been using one Cartomizer since I bought the system pretty much continually and it's still working fine.

So, this is the 2-piece type of equipment, like the kr808.

Then, there is the 3-piece type of equipment, where you have the battery, the atomizer, and then a cartridge/tank/clearomizer. That means the heating coil is outside of your tank. Again, from time to time you have to toss the part that holds the e-liquid, or "rebuild" it, that means some people put their own wick in the tank and reuse the tank - that's way too advanced for me though. And the atomizer needs to be replaced from time to time too.

And even the battery is not forever, so at some point you have to buy a new one, just like your cellphone battery runs old, the e-cigarette battery does to.

As to how long the batteries last, the indication for that is the mAh. Mine are 280, and they last me about a whole day, but I have only been a half a pack a day smoker before. The higher the Ampere-hour usually the bigger the battery gets as well.

I am unfortunately not in Europe and have no idea what supplier could get you a decent starter kit, but maybe somebody else can chime in for that. I have the Kr-808D, but most people here prefer the 510 Ego, it seems. However, there are also adapter screws available, if you buy one system you are not "doomed" to stick to it forever .

[Jeffb]

Liberty Flights has a huge selection and they have an operation in the UK. http://www.liberty-flights.com/products.asp

[MartinStatic]

Thanks for the feedback, I dont like the idea of playing with liquids just yet, so I've settled on a V2 kit now. Just weighing out what I need vs prices vs what the starter kits offer. Thanks again! I'll post here when I get it and give a run down for others in the same boat

[MartinStatic]

Ordered from the uk (buv2cigs.co.uk) on friday,arrived here in holland tuesday, free delivery.

Got the ultimate kit (4 batteries including the 'power cig' that powers off usb) and am delighted. Absolutely awesome, ill be a happy bunny. Now to find a netherlands or other european retailer of carts...