First three days...

Lucutus

lo all,

I was gifted an eGo starter pack with CE4's last week with some silk cut dekang juice and made it the first three days off the 'analogues'. \o/

I'd been curious about vaping and was going to make the trip down to vapefest to try it out, but didn't get it together in time to head down. raging now!

Tried before to give up to no avail, always fell down during the first few days. I don't see myself smoking again if this continues to work out.

I ordered a few juices from e-smokeireland.eu that arrived today, strawberry lemonade, vampires kiss, ectoplasma and cigarrillos, tried a few of the fruity ones, vampires kiss is like smoking a stinger bar, strawberry lemonade is nice... seems to be melting the wick in the CE4 though! Might just go with the tobacco flavours for now as a daily vape.

My thanks to all the posters on here and after some reading from you I've a better understanding of the different kit involved and already looking to upgrade, so, I've a couple of questions to those 'in the know' who have tried them all:

Variable volt battery, is it worth it, make much difference?

Kanger V2, Vivi Nova V3 or Vision Ego V3?

Already looking enviably at the Provari and lavatube!

Can I drip into a CE4? how exactly does that work?

Turned a couple of others onto it who should be ordering their 'newbie kits' (thanks sept09baby) shortly from wingnut, I've two kits to order for mates who, frankly, I feel I owe it to.

Anyway, thanks again all, will be back with more newbie questions later.

grindle

Lucutus wrote: »

... strawberry lemonade is nice... seems to be melting the wick in the CE4 though!

It's not melting the wick, it's just congealing and caramelising on the coil and wick - the coil and wick can be washed/burned clean if/when you feel like taking it apart.

Lucutus wrote: »

Variable volt battery, is it worth it, make much difference?

Yup, to me anyway. If you're a slut for throathit and vapour, and want to find a flavour's sweet spots, or you want to use dual-coils effectively, it's the way to go.

Lucutus wrote: »

Kanger V2, Vivi Nova V3 or Vision Ego V3?

The Vivi allows any drip tip to be used and doesn't have a skirt (used to make devices suit eGos), so it can be used on any device without a 510-eGo connector, but you'll need a thread cover if you're vain about the look of the eGo.

Lucutus wrote: »

Can I drip into a CE4? how exactly does that work?

Not unless you modify it.
I've seen an enterprising individual's photo where he's removed the tank from his Vivi, dripped onto the coil/wick and placed a straw over the silicone cap above the coil head. Pretty clever.

krissovo

Variable volt makes a huge difference for me, so much so it changes the characteristics of the juice once you dial in the sweet spot. different juices taste different depending on the power you put through them.

Not much between a kanger or a mini vivi, I personally prefer the mini vivi on a ego battery or the long wick "big" vivi on a mod. Haven't tried the vision ego. The juice has a better taste in the kanger but the vivi is most consistent.

The provari is a great bit of kit but the only real difference between a ego twist is consistency. I still get satisfying vapes, just need to tweak the voltage a little on the twists. However I love it to bits, it's a real quality piece of kit that looks like a super model.

Lucutus

thanks grindle,

so if I go with an Joyetech Ego-C Twist and a Vivi Nova V3 with replacement heads, I have a bit more flexibility to tweak and get a better vape?

Another question about the heads, should I get a selection to try in terms of ohm?

re: dripping, that modifying you mentioned sounds like fun... I guess I was really just asking about the advantages of it, how it;s done etc. looks like I could just lash a few drops down the top of the mouthpiece here, but I reckon I'd just end up with a mouth full of fluid

Lucutus

krissovo wrote: »

The provari is a great bit of kit but the only real difference between a ego twist is consistency. I still get satisfying vapes, just need to tweak the voltage a little on the twists. However I love it to bits, it's a real quality piece of kit that looks like a super model.

*must not take out credit card*

grindle

Lucutus wrote: »

thanks grindle,

so if I go with an Joyetech Ego-C Twist and a Vivi Nova V3 with replacement heads, I have a bit more flexibility to tweak and get a better vape?

Another question about the heads, should I get a selection to try in terms of ohm?

re: dripping, that modifying you mentioned sounds like fun... I guess I was really just asking about the advantages of it, how it;s done etc. looks like I could just lash a few drops down the top of the mouthpiece here, but I reckon I'd just end up with a mouth full of fluid

You'll have more flexibility, definitely, and you'll enjoy your juices more.

For a Twist, the 2.4ohm heads'll run the full spectrum of useful wattage (4.3-9.6 watts)

If you use the 2.8ohm heads, at 4.8v, you'll tip over 8 watts and your battery will last a bit longer.

If you drip down the mouthpiece of a clearo, it'll drip right down to the battery connector, which could (would, eventually) kill your device - be wary.

The advantage of dripping with a short wick in a Vivi? It'd last for a few puffs, then you could change the flavour pretty effortlessly.

You'd have to be very sparing with the liquid though, making sure you were only just wetting the wick, and not dripping down the air-passage.

Lucutus

Hi grindle,

So the 2.8ohm heads, at 4.8v on a twist and the batteries will last longer, with a flexibility to adjust downwards if needed. Cool.

Does anyone have a preference for the mini vivi nova's over the full size aside from the look?

I'm thinking this whole world of vaping is just there to spend money on and be explored

Anymore tips for the newb?

Luc

grindle

Don't buy too much of one juice when starting.

Remember to clean your connector threads regularly.
Some do it daily, some do it weekly, some never do it, but wherever there's a hole connecting liquid to a battery, there's gonna be a little bit of leakage at some point. Even if it's a minuscule amount, it can build up and one day you'll be looking at your battery like an inbred.

Make sure to look at smokers with a kind of pompous sneer. Just study your non-smoker friends to perfect this.
Fake cough if they don't look ashamed. That'll do it.

Buy backups! Something always breaks. Always. At the most inconvenient time.

Get used to saying "No, not weed." and "No, nicotine doesn't cause cancer." a lot if you go out much.

DirtyBollox

grindle wrote: »

Don't buy too much of one juice when starting.

Remember to clean your connector threads regularly.
Some do it daily, some do it weekly, some never do it, but wherever there's a hole connecting liquid to a battery, there's gonna be a little bit of leakage at some point. Even if it's a minuscule amount, it can build up and one day you'll be looking at your battery like an inbred.

Make sure to look at smokers with a kind of pompous sneer. Just study your non-smoker friends to perfect this.
Fake cough if they don't look ashamed. That'll do it.

Buy backups! Something always breaks. Always. At the most inconvenient time.

Get used to saying "No, not weed." and "No, nicotine doesn't cause cancer." a lot if you go out much.

Like me right now with my kangers, on a friday, when i'm heading away for a week on sunday!

grindle

DirtyBollox wrote: »

Like me right now with my kangers, on a friday, when i'm heading away for a week on sunday!

Gah! There's a guy on Reddit called Re-DOC who makes metal tips for the T2.
He's US based, but it seems to fix the chipping/cracking/leaking problems some people get.

Lucutus

grindle wrote: »

Don't buy too much of one juice when starting.

10ml and taster packs for the foreseeable till I find one I really like!

grindle wrote: »

Remember to clean your connector threads regularly.
Some do it daily, some do it weekly, some never do it, but wherever there's a hole connecting liquid to a battery, there's gonna be a little bit of leakage at some point. Even if it's a minuscule amount, it can build up and one day you'll be looking at your battery like an inbred.

^^ lol, just checked both batts there and there's a thin layer of liquid in the connector plate... just a wipe with a tissue or a couple of drops of water in there?

grindle wrote: »

Make sure to look at smokers with a kind of pompous sneer. Just study your non-smoker friends to perfect this.
Fake cough if they don't look ashamed. That'll do it.

big attitude adjustment required there to build up a self righteous persecution mode

grindle wrote: »

Buy backups! Something always breaks. Always. At the most inconvenient time.

Point taken, thanks DirtyBollox for driving it home. next order will include spares for everything.

grindle wrote: »

Get used to saying "No, not weed." and "No, nicotine doesn't cause cancer." a lot if you go out much.

The question I was afraid to ask on a public internet forum!

[SIZE=-10]"Does nicotine cause cancer?" Of course![/SIZE]

One could buy a PAX for the likes of that...

grindle

Lucutus wrote: »

^^ lol, just checked both batts there and there's a thin layer of liquid in the connector plate... just a wipe with a tissue or a couple of drops of water in there?

Kitchen towel, or a cotton bud. Cotton bud dipped in vodka cleans lots of crap off.
Don't pour any liquid on your battery!

Lucutus wrote: »

big attitude adjustment required there to build up a self righteous persecution mode

Can't even persecute properly. Tch.
*sneer*

Something like that, yeah.

Lucutus

grindle wrote: »

Can't even persecute properly. Tch.
*sneer*

Something like that, yeah.

lol, served. thanks.

chacal

So 1.8, 2.4, 2.8 ohm heads.. Can I get some insight on best practice in relation to resistance and voltage? Thx

Calibos

My research indicated that the 2.4 ohm heads were the ones to go for. So I ordered a spare pair. A week or so in with my twist and mini vivi, I tried the 1.8 ohm heads and kicked myself. I felt it was a much better flavour at the same wattage as the 2.4 heads and nicer again at a higher voltage and associated wattage but then Again I do like a very warm vape. My theory as to why it was nicer even at the same wattage is the the coil isn't as tightly wound(shorter). I reckon the centre of the wick never gets much juice whereas with the 1.8 it does so more volume of juice is getting vaporised with each vape.

grindle

chacal wrote: »

So 1.8, 2.4, 2.8 ohm heads.. Can I get some insight on best practice in relation to resistance and voltage? Thx

1.8ohm@3.2-4.1v=5.7-9.3watts

2.4ohm@3.5-4.8v=5.1-9.6watts

2.8ohm@3.8-5.2v=5.2-9.7watts

Under 5 watts wouldn't be a vape to me. You'd have to toke for god knows how long and there'd be next to zero throathit.
Above 8watts, fruity juices start getting caramelised quickly, after 9, you'll start feeling the limits of juices, though some seem to bump a little higher.

Dual-coils get more complicated.

chacal

Thanks all.. Just seem to get a little more punch from lower resistance with the voltage corrected to deliver same wattage across the three different heads.. No idea why but think I'll just have to stick with the lr

grindle

Low resistance might use thicker guage wire, which'd mean more surface area, which means more hit/vapour.

Do the LR coils on the Vivi use one less coil, or thinner-guage wire?

Certainly a theory that works with twisted wire, anyway.

chacal

Will have to do a comparison

grindle

Do please, mine are ripped apart!

Lucutus

Started the thread because I wanted a better vape, I didn't know I would be exposed to physics and home enthusiast electrical engineering as a result.

here's a handy tool for us

Mouse over the resistor for the wattage, right click to change values.

Show us a dual coil there grindle!

grindle

Lucutus wrote: »

Show us a dual coil there grindle!

Like this.

That's a goooooood 14 watt vape. Lovin' me sum o' dat!

...and despite how awkward it seems in words, it's easier to explain in words than showing on a circuit sim.
If I hadn't learned the basics before, I'd look at that simulation going "Naaaah.... That's magic or something... *ignore*"

Lucutus

grindle wrote: »

Like this.

That's a goooooood 14 watt vape. Lovin' me sum o' dat!

Nice... I've a way to go before I get to try dual coils out, think I'll keep it simpler for now.

grindle wrote: »

...and despite how awkward it seems in words, it's easier to explain in words than showing on a circuit sim.
If I hadn't learned the basics before, I'd look at that simulation going "Naaaah.... That's magic or something... *ignore*"

Aye, it's good to just pump in the values and see the result though!

grindle

*eyes crystal ball*

You'll have a rebuildable within three months.

*nods sagely*

Ooh, within a week if you buy a clearo!

Yusssss, I was right!

*fist-bump*

Just not the same when you're fist-bumping yourself.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

grindle

Like this?

Lucutus

(fist)bumping the thread after three weeks off the straights.

Last thurs/fri was tough enough, a combination of a juice flavour I didn't really enjoy and battery malfunction made it difficult to look at the smug satisfied faces of other smokers.

Made it through with a refill of el toro, a fresh battery and the vivi nova... \o/

Another n00b question: Where can I buy wick and wire? what's the best for a 2.4 Ohm coil etc? I want to have a go at rewicking and recoiling this vivi before I go and buy something else shiny and expensive.

grindle wrote: »

*eyes crystal ball*

You'll have a rebuildable within three months.

*nods sagely*

Ooh, within a week if you buy a clearo!

Yusssss, I was right!

*fist-bump*

Just not the same when you're fist-bumping yourself.

Aside from appreciating help and the foresight, I think I hate you for being right grindle.

grindle

HAHA! Sorry...



Wick, I'd go for the cotton pad method, wire, I've got gazillions of.
If you want to try SS mesh I've got that too, but to spare yourself from 10 minutes with a normal lighter just to oxidise the stuff, you need a chef's torch/blowtorch/jet lighter.

How much of what do you need?

Lucutus

lol, poor kid!

enough of both to try it out and compare with the stock heads really.

I want to find out if it's:

1. better for vapor, TH and flavour

2. too much hassle

3. fun

can you hook a brudda up?

krissovo

4. All of the above

grindle

Lucutus wrote: »

lol, poor kid!

enough of both to try it out and compare with the stock heads really.

I want to find out if it's:

1. better for vapor, TH and flavour

2. too much hassle

3. fun

can you hook a brudda up?

Better everything, especially with the SS.

Not too much hassle. Slightly less hassle than recoiling the Kanger.

Fun? Maybe... If fun is anything like frustration, it's fun. More rewarding and tastier, definitely, but you'll have to see if it's worth it for you I guess.

PM your address.

Lucutus

Wildo, thanks grindle!

Lucutus

Got the bits in the post today, thanks grindle.

tried the preoxidised SS mesh with a coil of the wire twice, although I had plenty of juice in there, I reckon both times I got a hot spot on the coil near the mesh and then it stopped firing, the wire broke itself off just beneath the coil and it lost it's connection.

in my enthusiasm, I'm now down a tank in work, so I need to nurse this kanger T2 through the rest of the day...some more careful examination and rebuilding needed later at home I think...

Green Hornet

Thats the problem with SS mesh..it's a pig to get it right without hot spots near the positive terminal.

grindle

You only got it today? That's about a week!
Maybe small letters disagree with postean's bags, sorry.

The legs from the coil to the battery end have to be very straight and tight, but without kinking the wick. One thing that helps is having the legs doubled and twisted tightly up to the coil, as that'll concentrate the heat there...
After that it's about balance and shape.

If you get frustrated, just use cotton pad instead of the SS, or take a tiny amount of the cotton and roll it very lightly around the SS where the coil goes.
Voila, all the wicking of SS, very little of the drawbacks of cotton (extreeeeeemely thin layer!), and zero hotspots.

Lucutus

grindle wrote: »

You only got it today? That's about a week!
Maybe small letters disagree with postean's bags, sorry.

Aye, wasn't in a rush and hardly your fault, no apologies necessary m8, thanks for sending them on.

grindle wrote: »

The legs from the coil to the battery end have to be very straight and tight, but without kinking the wick. One thing that helps is having the legs doubled and twisted tightly up to the coil, as that'll concentrate the heat there...
After that it's about balance and shape.

If you get frustrated, just use cotton pad instead of the SS, or take a tiny amount of the cotton and roll it very lightly around the SS where the coil goes.
Voila, all the wicking of SS, very little of the drawbacks of cotton (extreeeeeemely thin layer!), and zero hotspots.

Will grab a pack of cotton pads on the way home and try those suggestions. I think heating up the wire beforehand might help things.

Lucutus

First one done with cotton pad and 4 turns in the coil, looped the 'legs' over on themselves and twisted them up...

...works very well, maybe it's the satisfaction of knowing I put it together myself, but I actually think it's better all round.

going to vape the rest of the few drops of eden I put in there and try the SS mesh in the same way...

Lucutus

ok, this whole thing is a bit hit and miss, eh? :P

an hour later, three attempts and no joy. the second try worked for about 1 minute and then started burning. Each time, I seemed to get one wrap of the four actually 'firing' (glowing) when testing with a couple of drops. other premade heads seem to have all 5 or 6 wraps in their coils glowing okay.

Must be doing something fundamental wrong here...going to try another cotton pad one to make sure I didn't totally fluke the first one, (which broke when I took it out)

grindle

Well, there's no way to bodge a cotton pad wick besides having the positive & negative legs touching off eachother, or the positive touching the tube's wall.

With SS you've got a material that's pretty much designed for heat-transference and conductivity, so if there's a weak link it'll show straight away.
Having one coil lit up could either mean that that coil's not making sufficient contact with the wick, or that it's a smidge too close to another coil.
Seriously, 1/10 of a mm might be all it needs to be tweaked for a perfectly even glow to show. I've tipped coils slightly apart to a level my eyes couldn't detect - but then the coils glowed evenly, so something happened.

Lucutus

Aye, the second cotton pad wick and coil works just as well as the first... can't see it glowing or anything, just a load of vapour, which I can only assume is a good thing. I'm going to fill up the tank, bring it to work tomorrow and call the evening a win overall.

I'll give the SS mesh another go after the patience meter refills, that should be sometime next week...

Appreciate all the pointers and help.