my take on the e smoking scene in general..

[kismetcapitan]

I'm having decent performance out of the Janty Kissbox as well, simply because the giant atomizers seem bulletproof (I clean them ultrasonically) and I drip them. But mostly they see infrequent use, which probably goes a long way in explaining why they haven't failed (well, the auto switch died quickly, but the big advantage to the Janty is the manual switch anyways).

my SD is my main portable. With a supply of chargers and CR123a batteries strewn at work and home, I'm able to fully remove analog cigs from my life yet am still nicotine dependent. So I guess I'm a smoker who doesn't want to quit yet am utterly sick of filthy smoke stinking up everything including my lungs.

I suppose the biggest improvement in e smoking is using manual switched devices. With penstyle atomizers and dripping, you need to have the atomizer on for only two seconds out of a 5-6 second draw. The inside fills up like a miniature bong.

I have a USB passthrough and one of those APC USB batteries. I don't like iPods due to the cables for the headphones, and USB passthrough is just as bad. It does seem to fire the atomizer cooler, which is better for longevity and eliminating harshness from an overburn, but is less intense in vapor.

I did figure out why topping off carts seems to wear off in effectiveness - the wool gets kind of "oversoaked", or dirty with some kind of residue. One of the suppliers of 901 atomizers that I got as spares supplied them with a new cart design I hadn't seen before - it's one piece, and the port for sucking air is only on one side, and the mouthpiece is thinner. I stuffed it loosely with wool and use it as my only cart, switching out wool as needed.

I "recover" e-liquid from old wool - put any wool from a cart with liquid still soaked in, then use a syringe body to press out all the juice. You can recover quite a bit.

Anyways, the things can be made to work. I've been following the top-off instructions for the SD but have been trying to stretch cart wool too long, which led to performance drop-off. I just figured out the fresh wool thing. I've been pretty lucky with atomizers - my originals are still as strong as a fresh one (just tested last night) and the two originals have been going a month.

[Vaporista]

I wish Trog would update this thread with his take on the direction the e-cig is heading. A couple of observations he made are already happening. The sellers are getting unexpected shocks as the demand picks up. When I say sellers I mean the big companies like NJOY and at least in these parts TWISP which is a company which sells Janty products under their own label. In the bricks and mortar stores where these two giants of the moment battle for shelf space amongst other newcomers- and there's a rash of those down here all with slick marketing materials and presentation all regurgitating the same old drivel- but the the giants have given guarantees and that's got to hurt their bottom line. I can't tell you how many piles of attys and batteries I've seen sitting in the reject boxes of stores waiting for the sales reps to exchange these according to guarantee. Matter of fact, due to costs of these things like 801 attys and Janty attys I'm not ashamed to admit I've become a dumpster diver of sorts and I've scored many a time. You see, the people buying NJOY products are not explained how things work at the point of sale. They get given a fancy yellow box with an even fancier price tag and off they go to work it out. Now most of these get vaped a couple of times and shelved as the owners continue to prefer tobacco or they get sent back to the store with defective attys or batts pretty quickly. And guess what, the sellers (NJOY) haven't made allocation for spares in most places so the defective part goes into an "awaiting collection" box or bin and I've fished out attys where people have done the damnest things. They forget to remove the rubber cart covers which get lodged in the atty and it doesn't work for them or the filler material will work loose and sit on the atty, dry as hay because the customer doesn't know anything about drops or cannot figure out why on gods green earth his new cart is not working. But no worries... It's the guarantee you see. Bring it back and get another unit. So apart from me having a dumpster diving early Xmas collecting and reviving perfectly good attys with the help of nothing but a pair of tweezers and sealed lips, I reckon I've had a relatively inexpensive 801 experience compared to what it could be. Now NJOY is getting rude calls from the store owners - get those spares in stock.
But this has not being happening. The sales reps who work on a commission basis are not earning anything from NJOY to replace defective parts so they head for the beach, the pub, anywhere but the stores. This is something that was not expected- the rate of returns- and it's growing daily as more people turn to e-cigs. I spoke to one store owner and he's been waiting for 3 weeks for spares. He placates his customers by giving them another kit sometimes and then complains that he is out of pocket and it the Giants cannot get their act together he doesn't want their products. True the money's good when everything's new but the consumables and the guarantees are the giants achilles heels. Personally I've been waiting a couple of weeks for replacement attys from the giants and their reluclance to live up to their end of the deal is disturbing, and no, the ones I recovered in dumpster diving adventures don't count. as for the next big trend, I predict the age of the Cartomizer will begin.

[trog100]

the cartomizer began over a year ago vaporista.. a chinese lot called loong totem came out with them..

from a marketing point of view they shot themselves in the foot..

normal kit $90 dollars.. lets split it up.. 30 dollars for the battery.. 30 dollars for the atomizer.. 30 dollars for the rest of the bits...

cartomizer idea... 90 dollar kit... 5 dollars cart come atomizer.. 30 dollars for rest of the bits.. whoops.. 55 dollars for the battery..i found it kind of amusing to be honest...

they finally went out of favour when the enclosed heater coil was found to burn the plastic filler stuff that surrounds it..

i can see the current versions going the same way..

again its the customers fault .. instead of buying lots of the cartomizers as they are supposed to they are reusing them and topping up with liquid.. leaving the sellers to pick up the un-financed dud battery bill...

the customers are trying to figure out just why the sellers are saying no battery warranty if dripped..

i keep meaning to update that piece.. but the main thing that has changed is the age of the screwdriver (e smoking devices that stand on their own feet) and its offspring has been established..

the next interesting bit is how many western mod makers survive the arrival of the chinese screwdriver clone..

the mis-selling goes on and the customer and seller seem as clueless now as they were a year ago.. the age of the over long guarantee that dosnt reflect the true life of the product seems to be on the way out tho... still active in S/A from what you say..

the age of the no warranty buy cheap multipack atomizers seems to be coming in.. this makes sense as the return merry go round is very expensive and time consuming..

the SLB factory first copied Ruyan.. now they copy us.. a claim to fame in one way.. a bloody nuisance in another.. he he

oh... liquid is now part of the normal scene.. ultimately i would like to see it all move towards.. no nicotine no drugs simply exotic flavored liquids.. smokey bacon to errr whatever can be dreamed up... nicotine can be sneaked in (quietly) for us too late to be saved addicts... he he

trog

ps... a "people" comment.. some are now saying the manufacturers and sellers are at fault for not taking enough steps to get "official" approval for e smoking.. the majority seem to be saying "where can i get the cheapest deal".. people just being people i suppose.. he he..

[trog100]

our Governments (UK) latest desire..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kigWw...layer_embedded

trog

[robertlins]

The SD will always rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!