29 Mar 2014

And Then It Gets Steamy….

In conjunction with my newfound vaping ‘hobby, I see Dick Puddlecote has an interesting post.

Along the same lines, I was intrigued in the recent news that a ‘study’ had found that, and the BBC fills in for me. ‘There was a sharp fall in the number of children admitted to hospital with severe asthma after smoke-free legislation was introduced in England….. a study showed…..’ No, really, and the New Scientist is right in there so it must be so, right?

Then I ran into a quiz relating to this ‘new study’ which pretty much nails the ‘new study’ to the ceiling.

How am I getting on? Absolutely tickety boo. In fact I’m just about ready to move on from, and I apologise for the vapour tech talk here, a cig-a-like to a tank system. Why? Well, with the cig-a-likes there seems to be, to me, a slight lack of consistency in the cartomizers, or as we vapours cleverly call them, carts, or the little brown tip lookin’ thingies you screw onto the white cigarette lookin’ battery bit.

Very rarely, one in a pack of three and even rareraly, all three in the same pack, can be a tad over harsh and sand my throat. When you consider the price I pay plus the real rereralalaty of this, it’s no big deal but that’s the reason for looking at various tank jobbies.

Wish I could find one that didn’t look quite like something Dan Dare should be aiming at the Mecon all the same….

Enjoy your weekend. Don’t forget the clocks come Sunday.

Quote;  David Bowie.

“I can ask for cigarettes in every language.”

8 comments:

Ripper said...

If I may offer a pointer or two here Mac, as a vaper who has used the tank systems (quite a few) for some time now, most of the tanks suffer with internal leaks or wicking problems. The best tank I have come across to date has been the Kanger Tech Protank 2. It suffers none of those problems.

http://www.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/products/tecc-branded-goods/tecc-pro-tank-ii-by-kanger-product.html

However, the Protank 2 does have one problem. The draw is so tight that you can't get a decent drag out of it. It has prompted the sellers to add a note to their website. Quote:

"When using the Protank II you may, on certain devices, find the draw a little tight. This can be simply rectified by turning the atomizer head a quarter or half a turn anti-clockwise, this will allow you to optimise the airflow for your chosen power unit."

That is rubbish. The atomizer has a small seal around the base, and if you screw the atomizer in *properly* the seal swells out and blocks the air intake path. If you follow their advice the atomizer leaks because it isn't screwed down. In other words, a design flaw. So, I had a look around and found this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kanger-AIRFLOW-CONTROL-VALVE-for-Protank-Aerotank-aspire-mt3-evod-coils-/291113550043?pt=UK_Collectables_Tobacciana_Smoking_LE&var=&hash=item43c7b840db

My Protank 2 is now the best tank ever. I have it on a Tornado eGo-C Passthrough battery and use 1.8 ohm atomizer coils. You would love it.

I also have one of these:

http://www.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/products/tecc-branded-goods/tecc-vtr-kit-and-e-liquid-product.html

And my other toy has large breasts.

Mac said...

Ripper, thanks for the first-hand information, it’s appreciated, and I’ll most definitely be checking out the links you’ve provided as I’ve spotted quite a lot of ‘leak problems’ comments on many different brands.

Have you tried this one? Gets good reviews on their site - but don’t they all??
http://www.ukecigstore.com/e-cigarettes-starter-kits-innokin-itaste-express-vv-black-replaceable-kit.html
As for the Wicked range, any idea how this one shapes up?
http://www.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/products/e-lectron-m-products-products.html

There are a couple or three c-cig shops in my town now, proper shops, not those shops on a wheelbarrow you see in the arcades, so I’ll be looking round them pretty soon to see what they have to offer as well. Advice, such as you’ve provided, is the key to the door marked ‘Success’ Is it not?

Ripper said...

The square Innokin I haven't tried myself Mac, but a guy at work on the opposite shift had one. He constantly complained about leaks in the tank and getting mouthfulls of raw liquid. Then he snapped it off at the neck one day when he had left it in the chest pocket of his overalls.

I started out with the Totally Wicked stuff after growing out of the cig-alikes and some of their stuff is good quality, especially batteries. However they don't make a tank with a design good enough to prevent internal leaking, 'bubbling' when you take a draw and getting liquid in your mouth, so I have moved to TECC products. TW are distributors for TECC and you will notice that TECC stuff is just built better - nichrome instead of plastic, pyrex tank glass instead of plastic etc. It feels more solid and generally doesn't suffer with the same problems as the Totally Wicked. When I take a draw from the TECC Protank 2, all I get is the crisp crackle that you would get with a real fag, and plenty of vapour and flavour. You just can't beat the Totally Wicked liquid though. They have their red label liquid down to a fine art.

Don't, whatever you do, buy an Electron S or M. I tried an Electron S tank - it holds very little, leaks like a good 'un and tastes vile. On top of that, atomizers are only available at 2.4 ohms so on an eGo battery there's not much vapour. I still have the tank, cleaned out, new atomizer and boxed up. If you e-mail me an address you are welcome to it, free. But its a tank that requires a variable voltage battery.

Obviously, if you are looking for perfection, variable voltage is the way to go, preferably also with some means of adjusting the airflow (the electron s has this, but what I recommended to you in my last comment is excellent for all round use. The VV e-cigs, although the best, can be rather cumbersome to carry with you when out. I find the Protank 2 on an eGo battery perfect for slipping in my pocket at work and also for vaping whilst driving. I can't change gear with the VTR in my hand, and its as heavy as a breeze block!

In short Mac, you don't need to buy a kit - you can mix and match tanks to batteries. The batteries have a standard thread called a 510, so all you need to know is if the battery and the tank have 510 fittings. Most do.

There are quite a few types of eGo battery, I chose the passthrough because its capacity is a good 1000mAh and you can use it whilst charging, plugged into a USB port on the PC. There is even a VV eGo called the Twist, but all the eGo batteries except the passthrough have to be screwed into the charger, which means having 2 batteries. Hope this all helps you in your choice.

Mac said...

Ripper, once again many, many thanks! I believe I’ve got your recommendations together and I’ll put a post up, pointing to your comments, and some photos that may be of help to passers-by. Shout loud if I’ve got it wrong......
Your offer of some kit is most generous but your time given to putting these comments together to help me is sufficient, way more generous and, for this, I thank you very big.
I have a bunch of Gamucci carts but I believe these have a 510 connection so I’m guessing should be usable, possibly needing a cross-over, with the new 510 battery.

Ripper said...

It was my pleasure Mac. The Gamucci carts are of the cig-alike variety. The cig-alikes only have a small battery and work on a lower voltage than the refillable tank e-cigs. Therefore I wouldn't recommend attaching one of these carts to an eGo battery. They work at a fixed 3.7v (except the Twist which goes up to 4.2v). It is likely that the only thing you would taste would be burnt liquid.

Think of e-cigs as being in 3 categories:

Cig-alikes (starter and disposable kits - E-lites, Gamucci)
Refillable/rebuildable Tanks (eGo)
Variable Voltage (the big boys - eVic, VTR)

You can mix/match tanks between the second two categories, my VTR will also take the Protank, but I have to lower the voltage. On the other hand, although the eGo battery will take the 30S tank from the VTR, its not powerful enough to get a good vape.

Mac said...

Once again, many thanks. I see what you mean about the Gamucci carts vs batteries. I have to say Gamucci worked for me and I haven’t thought about interfacing with nicotine via a flammable substance since day 1 - and as their carts are available at £3.99 for a pack of 3 {equivalent to 120 cigs? For me, I’d say it’s closer to 90} at those B & M stores, I have quite a stock. I may well vape my way through this stock and then take the plunge and the plunge will definitely be the purchase of the kit you have arrived at through trial and error, research and that you obviously enjoy.
Let’s just hope ‘they’ don’t ‘win’ and regulate e-cigs into oblivion. Although I fail to see how ‘they’ could justify banning a probable life saver. To me that'd be akin to banning life-jackets on cruise ships.......

Ripper said...

As far as I can make out, e-cigs won't be banned altogether. I think they intend banning liquid flavours, the nicotine content will be reduced to useless and rebuildable/refillable tanks, among a few other things such as liquid capacity set at 2ml max. This, to them, just leaves the cig-alikes with their pre-filled carts. When/if this crap comes in, I'm going to have a huge stock of liquid and atomizer coils, and when that runs out, I'm back on the tobacco.

However, there's a new kid on the block - not an e-cig, doesn't use liquid and not a real fag, so its going to circumvent all those silly regulations. I've got the popcorn out at the moment, it will be interesting to see what transpires.

http://www.ploom.com/pax

Mac said...

I feel this is very, very unfair. Don’t you think the righteous have enough on their plates right now?
Popcorn? You hear that? Is it popcorn or righteous heads popping under the stress? Time they chilled out with a burger, a Bacardi and legal-aid and a smoke.....