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The E cigarette Information Center Introduction: Getting started in a sea of confusion: Atomizer/Cartomizer/Clearomizer:
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No one size fits everyone.. but you should know that the most common thread guage (yes, the numbers represent a thread setup.. nothing more) is 510. You can't loose by using this number to guide you in buying hardware. It has the largest support base and availability. It is also the most trouble free because of certain design aspects but I say that and you should know the 510 family of equipment is vast but in many cases applies to the other thread setups... I leave it up to you. Between your e-juice flavor and quality there is your atomizer/cartomizer/clearomizer. Just to begin with I suggest a standard 'Carto', generic or Boge makes some decent 'Cartos'. Carto/Cartomizer: These just look like black screw on cylinder deals... you can find them listed as 'Carto' or Cartomizer on any e-cig website worth buying from. They are also inexpensive but most of all for beginners they are fairly decent performance with easy refilling. The only negative is 2 parts. 1. The polyfill inside that holds the ejuice can burn up.. not like it is a fire hazzard but it breaks down if you have a manual battery (who doesn't?) and run your carto dry. Once that happens, you get a burned taste that does not go away. 2. When you re-fill these... it is fairly easy but you can also easily flood the thing and then you have a small mess. The problem with this is... if (not a problem with most 510 batteries as they are sealed) a lot of batteries like standard Kr808, they have a hole in the battery mount and leaking cartos will end up destroying your switch contact and hence your battery. It's pretty upsetting so watch how you re-fill your cartos! Atty/Atomizer: The next step is to buy at least one atomizer (the 'cartridge' is separate from the atomizer component) because these have a flavor quality that is generally considered to be most favorable. The limitation is the 'cartridge' which is generally some sort of sponge like material, foam that holds the ejuice so it can be absorbed and vaporized by the atomizer. Many people love atomizers but hate the cartridge so they will 'Drip'. A long tube like but generally contoured 'drip tip' is purchased for a dollar or two that can range from stainless steel to derilin, acrylic, glass... what's important is that you can easily drip 3 drops into the large open bore which gives you a few good hits before you drip some more. The flavor/taste factor is the modivation for this otherwise inconvenient behavior. Ce2/Ce3/Clearo/Clearomizer/or some variant of the clearomizer name: The Clearomizer is a unique design that still fits into the basic carto theory but removes the stuffing that would normally hold ejuice and uses a sort of a storage tank. Not to be confused with a tank (will cover that next) as these (IMHO) offer the widest range of functions with the least limitation for flavor and vapor output. Ce2s/Ce3s are my favorite because it is fairly easy to re-build the coil and reassemble them on a regular basis. Not only can I ensure a new coil when I don't like the performance of the one I have been using but I can adjust the resistance of that coil as well. I think you should try a 5 pack of these because while they do have some drawbacks (like possibly leaking, the Ce2 tubes will crack, the Ce3 tubes will not) but they offer the best of both worlds (carto/atomizer) as they hold a lot of ejuice (the xl ones do.. get those, not the standard size they are way too small to make it worth using one) and they preserve very well the falvor and vapor capacity of the atomizer. These are your 3 basic entry level options and you should give them each a try to understand how they perform so that you can grow from there later on if you wish and have a basis to gauge the more exotic devices out there. What people don't like about Clearo designs: You need a syringe with a blunt needle that comes provided with each 5 pack (the needle, some are soft, some are stainless). Many sellers offer a syringe for $1-2. You should get one of these or you can not fill your clearo. Buy a Ce3 to start out. They are really the latest incarnation of the clearo and the biggest issue was the tubes cracking. These new Clearos have a nylon tube rather than the older acrylic ones that 'always' ended up cracking at the base. The only reason the Ce3 may be a problem is the slightly higher outside diameter.. it will not fit inside of your Ego style battery cone so you will have to either get used to not using it (it's just for looks really) or do what I did and remove about 4mm from the top of the cone so that they can fit the new Ce3s. Tank Systems: Tank systems come in a wide, wide variety... I don't like most of them because the design (IMHO) doesn't have the flavor that you get from a carto/atty/Ce2/Ce3 variety. The upshot however is that they tend to be very easy to load... rather than a cartridge with foam inside to hold the ejuice they are just a 'tank' that you re-fill and plug into your tank atomizer. Why don't they have the same flavor? The way that these designs typically deal with having a tank they end up using a wick that draws ejuice from the tank onto the coil rather than from the tank into the coil by capillary action. This means that the fine vapor is passing through a wick that is removing a lot of the heat and fine vapor before it leaves the chamber. You do get consistent vapor output with the ease of a tank that you can pour right from the bottle into the tank and close the tank. It's easy. Other varieties of atomizer designs: This is a new industry and new designs are always being developed. No one setup is right for everyone so at this point there are as many reasons for development as there are reasons for owning one type over another based on what you like to get out of your setup and how much you want to pay for it.
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All photos content are copyright(c),2011 Karl K Reinhart |
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Free distribution without alteration (and include a source link to this site) |
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