Last Updated on February 5, 2016 by
Vaping Virgin Looks Beyond Prefilled Cartomizers!
When my personal choice for an e-Cigarette works it works wonderfully. Vaping with my “brand” has become a real highlight of my day because I find vaping relaxing, it relieves my stress, and it tastes great. Naturally, because of all these positives I have wound up vaping a lot more than I thought I would.
The other day I heard someone refer to her vaping as her replacement for a pacifier, and as it happens, that turns out to be a pretty accurate description for my own vaping. Luckily for us, the cost of vaping is about a third the cost of smoking dangerous, smelly, coffin nails called cigarettes. And like I said, when it works it works wonderfully.
There are times, however, when my e-Cigarette doesn’t work. For whatever reason I’ll run into a bad “cart” (cartomizer) that after all the tricks are applied, such as tapping, rolling, and warming, it still won’t produce the amount of taste or vapor that a properly functioning cart will. Sometimes, even with a perfectly working cart I just want more. More taste, more vapor. Damnit, I want to feel satisfied after vaping, don’t you?
So I began looking into tank systems and refilling my own cartomizers. Tank systems offer a lot more vapor, tanks are much larger and the batteries more powerful. Both the taste throat hit are heavier than you could ever get with a cigarette sized battery and a one inch cartomizer. A tank system is a great way to step up to a richer, more satisfying vaping experience. Or so I’m told.
As for refilling my pre-filled carts that I buy from my brand, I learned that there are plenty of people that do it. (Remember, I’m new to whole thing) Check out the videos on YouTube for proof that prefilled cartomizers are refilled all the time. Refilling a cart seems like a no-brainer since smoke juice in 10ML or 30ML bottles are much less expensive than prefilled carts.
Cartomizers are small metal tubes with a mesh/poly/cotton type filling and a built-in atomizer. To get an idea how much all this extra material inflates the cost of vaping consider that a pack of 5 blank cartomizers from Halo Cigs will cost over $8.95, while the same company sells a pack of 5 prefilled cartomizers for a couple bucks more. If you could reuse the cartomizers a few times you would see where a huge amount of money that is wasted on tossing out carts that run dry of the smoke juice but who’s atomizer remains very much alive.
Generally speaking, a prefilled cartomizer contains an atomizer that can last at least 5 times longer than the amount of smoke juice that comes with it will last. That means that if you could refill the carts that you normally throw away you could further cut the cost of your vaping by a factor of 5.
Now, I know that many of you have already decided that since you cannot, for the most part, buy the same smoke juice used in YOUR particular brand then refilling it with someone else’s smoke juice won’t give you the same taste or satisfaction. But is that true? I don’t think so.
As a smoker we get used to the brand we smoke and will not consider another. For myself, I smoked Winston Lights-in-a-box, period. If the place I bought my cigarettes only had Winston soft pack in stock I’d leave and go elsewhere until I could find the boxed pack. To me, and millions of others, the boxed pack tasted better. But it isn’t the same with vaping.
All the fine people that I have met since becoming a Vaper, vape more than a single flavor. Your “brand” comes in a tobacco flavor along with between 4 and 8 additional flavors and I don’t know anyone that sticks to a single one. No one vapes “just” the tobacco flavor, or the cherry flavor, or whatever, and that’s one of the reasons vaping is a much better experience than smoking ever was. Vaping a flavored smoke juice is a totally different experience than smoking a regular cigarette. Smoking a tobacco flavored cart and following that up with a Pina Coloda or Peppermint is a natural, everyday occurrence with people that vape. Chances are you’ve found 2 or 3 flavors with your brand’s selection and you switch off and on between them all the time.
In any case, it makes sense to save up a handful of empty carts and attempt to refill them with a similar flavored smoke juice. If you spring for some blank cartomizers (new carts that have no juice in them) you can even step outside the box you’re in and try some wild flavors, like banana-mango or strawberry-peach, the flavors are many and varied. Chances are you’re going to find some incredible flavors.
Yes, you might need to try a few e-liquid companies and a dozen tobacco flavors to find one that gives you the same delicious flavor experience that your “brand” gives you, but I’m told that e-liquid, when filled by you, at home, into an empty cartomizer, gives a more intense flavor and a much better throat hit, not to mention a higher level of satisfaction.
I’m going to spend the month of May testing out a few tank systems, a whole bunch of e-Liquid, as well as refilling my empty carts (which I’ve already begun saving up)… and as I progress through the various systems and smoke juices I will report back here and inform you of my findings. Which brands I tested, which flavors, which tank systems, as well as how well I enjoyed them, or didn’t enjoy them, and whatever other information I can glean from my experiences. In the end, perhaps I can save you a whole lot of time and money by finding out which tank systems provide the best vapor/flavor/battery life, and which smoke juice companies out there make the best flavors and produces the best vapor.
For this experiment, or “ a walk down the vaping path”, I’ve enlisted Wendy Bivona, the proud owner and operator of Premium eCigs, a store in Melbourne Florida (just up the street a hundred miles or so), who has also become a big contributor here at Spinfuel Magazine. Wendy will provide some testing equipment, some sample juices from a few different companies, as well as her guidance and training in the art of vaping. With Wendy’s help I’m hoping to bring back results that will delight and entertain my readers, even myself.
Hey, I’m always looking for ways to save money, especially in these depression-era times. If my empty cartomizers will last at least 3 more refills, if tank systems provide a better experience for less money I want to know about it. I have a feeling you do too.
I’ll report back in a week and let you know how I make out. After that I’ll report in as I progress through the many avenues that lead to the ultimate discovery. In the meantime, if you have any requests or any questions post them below in the comments.
As I publish this today, April 30th, 2012, Wendy and the design team are building Wendy’s corner of Spinfuel and she should begin her contributions this week. When you see a link on the homepage make sure to click it and take a look at all the wonderful information Wendy is bringing your way. Podcasts, video demos, tutorials, and a column of advice as well as a Q&A section, Wendy is going to become your #1 source for information in vaping.
Until next time,
John Manzione Editor
