Vaping on a Budget

[Premium Parrots]

For the skinflint low-res clearomizer contingent:

http://www.smartvapes.com/Bauway-LR-...htm?Click=1624

I picked up a half dozen of these. Compared to the iclear 16 the clearomizers in the link are crap. I think iits worth the xtra $2 to buy the Iclears. just my opinion tho. I gave have of them to my buddy and I'm keeping 3 just to try out new flavors. The one thing I really noticed tho is that the tips come off pretty easy. Bummer as I spilled some juice on my pants. They are cheap as hell to buy tho.

I have about a dozen Iclear 16 clearomizers here. These really do the job for me.
really short cheapo VV battery & clearomizer that I bought for about $14 is freaking great for on the go. Fits in my front pants pocket and I don't have to worrry about it breaking. I'm ordering 3 or 4 more for my friends. Use an Iclear 16 on it and it doesn't get any better, especially at that kind of price.

[Paco]

Paco you're right that clearomizers all do the same thing but some types may be disassembled and others cannot. The CE4s, the most common type, cannot be disassembled but they can be rinsed and cleaned out a few times until they stop working or get so crudded up they start to taste bad and must be thrown away. CE4s are generally the cheapest as well and FastTech usually has the cheapest of the cheap prices. The milli-amp-hour (mah) ratings indicate relative usage duration of course and there are a few differences among the large number of units available but they all have the same type of connector and basically do the same sort of thing. Variable voltage settings, the resistance of "atomizers", and the size and type of batteries are things that will sort themselves out as a new vaper explores the vast and complex world of the electronic cigarette.

Normally the larger the battery the more adjustability it will have but regardless they do not have the flexibility that more advanced units have. This is not a problem for the beginning vaper really. Typically available retail juices will usually work fine in any sort of battery/clearomizer combination but the choice of juices is the knottiest issue for any new vaper. Just as with snus a good deal of casting about and sometimes frustrating trial and error is usually needed to find something that works to help one stay off the cigs and has an acceptable taste profile.

It is a very nice and highly laudable gesture for you to give your friend a starter kit but he/she needs to be fairly well motivated to stop smoking for vaping to have a chance at ultimately working out well for them. Younger folks who are not yet experiencing the negative physical effects of smoking frequently do not have the level of motivation that breeds success so I would not be too disappointed if your friend does not take to it with enthusiasm. At least you would be giving them a leg up in their starting phase compared to how so many start out which is with the many overpriced and underperforming types of "cigalike" versions that disappoint so many people and can actually hinder the progress of a prospective vaper. Vaping is not an exact substitute for smoking but like snus is rather a far safer method of nicotine delivery that must be approached on its own terms. If they perservere they will find that vaping can be a very rewarding and pleasurable activity in its own right but getting a beginner past the initial stages is anything but a slam dunk. Good luck.

From everything I read FastTech has the best prices and decent service but delivery times can be as long as a couple of weeks. Their free shipping helps take a bit of the sting out of that issue though. As always questions are welcome.

Awesome, even if he basically throws it out I'm only out about $30 really. $9 for the ecig plus 5 CE4 at $1.5 each for $7.5 and the local shop has 10ml liquid for $5 each so I'm gonna get him 3 different kinds. He smokes Newports and they make their own copy cat one so that is one I'll be getting him. I'm really gonna try to push him along and get him to give it a fair shot but if it fails at least I tried. Thanks for the info. My only real last question is as Faylool said I know these don't have the voltage customization as the higher better made ones but I'd still really like to know if they have the 3 click setting to change from green to blue to red as at least that will give him the option for more vapor. The one for sale here http://www.myfreedomsmokes.com/e-cig...k-starter-kit/ shows this function in the video and basically I'm just wondering if the fasttech one here http://www.fasttech.com/products/1411/10001733/1346100 would most likely have the same function. As far replacing the wicks on the clearomizer I'm not worried about that for him now as I'm going to buy him 5 extra CE4 clearomizers so he can just toss them when they die and worry about buying ones he can fix later on if he likes it. Thanks again for all the help.

PS His BDAY is in August so the slow shipping shouldn't be a problem

[Darwin]

The FastTech version to which you linked may have a variable voltage setup but it's impossible to tell from the usual awful FastTech spec section. The batt is supposedly an 1100 mah version whereas the Freedom Smokes version is a 650 which may be a good thing however the battery "specs" show an "output" of 4.2 volts and an "input" of 5 volts which must actually be the specs for the charger and not the battery. Since the specs are so confusing it would probably be best to stick with the Freedom Smokes version despite the smaller battery capacity and the higher price. It's still pretty darn cheap for what you get.

[Premium Parrots]

Yea I love the short battery. I have to order 4 more.

I agree about the lack of specs on the chineze sites. I don't mind paying a bit xtra to Freedom smokes to know what I'm actually getting and it is VV and works quite well for me on the medium setting.....I also prefer to get it in like 2 days instead of 3 weeks.

[Paco]

Good stuff maybe I'll just convince my roommate to order a backup from fasttech because the 1100 I linked to looks exactly like the one he currently owns then I can see if it has the variable voltage before ordering. I've got 2 months so it might be cutting it close to order one and then wait for it to come in but I'm really thinking that it probably has the same function as the one from freedom smokes is a cheap Chinese version also they just do a much better job at describing it. That voltage they listed on FT is definitely for the charger. Thanks for all the advice I know it's only $6 more on freedom smokes but I really want him to have the 1100 cuz if it dies in 4 hours I think its less likely he will use it and I'm not about to buy him multiple batteries lol. Anyway all the advice is very much appreciated.

[Faylool]

If the description under battery type says fixed than tat means is unregulated. No 4.2 volt vaping. The result will be decent vaping for the first 1/4th of battery life then get frustrating and then die. If you dont want to pay for three voltage levels then recharge as soon as it starts getting frustrating. These kinds of batteries like being topped off. I will add that if you do buy the more expensive 3 voltage settings capability you will also be getting consistent voltage thru to the end of battery life. No slow drop off of power. I recommend this. I have a couple minis I keep. My fixed batteries I have no use for. Bad memories. Frustration during an already frustrating time trying to switch over

[Darwin]

You are correct Fay about small batteries but much bigger sizes like 18650s are another matter. I have two 3.7 mods, a Bolt and a Squire, and I can vape for many hours, most of a day usually, on them before detecting any fall off. If Smoke Revolt came out with a 26650 Squire I'd be all over it.

[Faylool]

Yes Darwin. It's important to distinguish between unregulated ego type batteries and mods that take batteries but I STILL have two kicks because I myself just need that extra voltage to avoid frustration but not when it's a Pyrex tank and low reserve cartomizer because they just do great 1.7 ohm.

[Darwin]

Yeah I try to stick with lower than 2 ohm res heads on my 18650 stuff for good performance and I have no duration issues at all. I have a 1.5 Smoktek atomizer and when I use it on my 650 eGo it will suck the battery down pretty fast, in a couple of hours, and I'm not a heavy vaper at all. Haven't felt the need for a Kick yet but either of the two mods I have will take one so I might consider it in the future.

I can clearly tell the difference between the 1.8 heads and the 2.4 heads on my Vivi Novas but that said the CE4 clearos I have, which I assume are in the 2.4 ohm range like most of them, work just fine on the 18650 Squire mod I recently acquired--no issues at all--and do not seem to affect battery life very much. Big batteries, regulated or not, make up for a lot of other potential variances. Portable? Not so much maybe but way better in every other way.

[Paco]

If anyone cares the code CPASTE13SPRING at fasttech no longer works as I was making out a practice order to test it. If anyone has one that works let me know or if I find one I'll post it. Gonna place that order for my Cuz soon.

[Darwin]

Interesting. I made a mock order just last week and that code was still working. Vapor Joe was still using it last Saturday. Surprised he hasn't commented on it yet.

[Paco]

I read on another forum for batteries or something that it became invalid on the 7th.

[Premium Parrots]

If the description under battery type says fixed than tat means is unregulated. No 4.2 volt vaping. The result will be decent vaping for the first 1/4th of battery life then get frustrating and then die. If you dont want to pay for three voltage levels then recharge as soon as it starts getting frustrating. These kinds of batteries like being topped off. I will add that if you do buy the more expensive 3 voltage settings capability you will also be getting consistent voltage thru to the end of battery life. No slow drop off of power. I recommend this. I have a couple minis I keep. My fixed batteries I have no use for. Bad memories. Frustration during an already frustrating time trying to switch over

this is exactly correct ^^


I just finished checking the entire fastech site and those short cheap 3 voltage level batterys are not there. While fastech does not do a good job of describing their items they always mention if it is a VV voltage battery. I have 3 more of the 3 voltage ones on the way from Myfreedomsmokes for some friends. My wife uses one and I use one for on the go. But I use my Itaste VV at home. Its really nice being able to adjust the voltage on any of these units.

[Faylool]

http://www.whitestagvapor.com/sigele...one-pre-order/
There is a kick typ$19.99 should work great.

Yeah I try to stick with lower than 2 ohm res heads on my 18650 stuff for good performance and I have no duration issues at all. I have a 1.5 Smoktek atomizer and when I use it on my 650 eGo it will suck the battery down pretty fast, in a couple of hours, and I'm not a heavy vaper at all. Haven't felt the need for a Kick yet but either of the two mods I have will take one so I might consider it in the future.

I can clearly tell the difference between the 1.8 heads and the 2.4 heads on my Vivi Novas but that said the CE4 clearos I have, which I assume are in the 2.4 ohm range like most of them, work just fine on the 18650 Squire mod I recently acquired--no issues at all--and do not seem to affect battery life very much. Big batteries, regulated or not, make up for a lot of other potential variances. Portable? Not so much maybe but way better in every other way.

[Paco]

Come to think of it maybe I should just get him one of these

http://www.fasttech.com/products/1411/10004043/1301301

one of these

http://www.fasttech.com/products/141...ing-cable-19cm

and 5 of these http://www.fasttech.com/products/0/1...mouth-atomizer

I was going to get him 5 extra clearomizers anyway in case the one that comes with it breaks in a couple of days. Sure I'd be spending $20.83 for the battery, charger, and 5 CE6's but I'd be spending

$9.04 for this http://www.fasttech.com/products/1411/10001733/1346100

and $9.60 for 5 extra CE6s. The only difference would be the extra $2 and one less clearomizer right? Any thoughts on whether that battery would work with that charger? And what the heck is the difference between the EGO-V and EGO-T anyway? I know it seems like I'm splitting hairs at this point but I really would like him to have the 1100mah battery and after what you said Darwin I don't want him to get frustrated with the non voltage variable. Plus money is really tight for me but I'm still trying to do right by him.

Edit: It was Faylool that said that not Darwin but you know what I meant.