I don't mind at all. I'm not selling anything and I'd only recommend brands/models that are sold at a variety of retailers. The link I included in my original post is to discussion forums, not a retailer. Many suppliers do post there, but none are officially endorsed. It's purely an informational site.

Now on to your questions:

Depending on the eJuice (aka eLiquid) or prefilled cartridges you use, the taste may be somewhat similar to smoking, but it not exactly the same as smoking. This is actually a good thing because as your taste buds start to come back, you'll realize just how disgusting cigarettes actually taste.

Many juice suppliers have flavors that are meant to mimic different brands of tobacco. I haven't tried any of these as I quickly moved past the desire to replicate the taste of smoking. I got myself some fruity flavors and have been ordering sample packs from several juice suppliers to try out different flavors.

Again depending on the juice, the vapor may have a scent. It's not the nasty scent of burning tobacco though. I was pleasantly surprised when my wife blew out a cloud of vapor in the car the other day and I smelled a grape candy scent.

How long a refill lasts depends on many factors. First, how much you're vaping. Second which model you purchase and how big the cartridges are. Lastly, it depends on the strength of the nicotine in the juice. If you get a juice that's too low for you, you'll find yourself vaping more to get your fix. I was a light cigarette smoker. I settled on 12mg strength as my sweet spot.

The most common cartridge size (for model 510's) holds about 10-15 drops or approximately 0.5-0.75ml. The next most common starter model (KR808D-1) holds about 20 drops or approximately 1ml. This should be good for at least several hours of constant vaping. The newest - and in my opinion, best - starter model is the Joyetech eGo (also branded as Hello-016, Riva, and Tornado). eGos use 510 cartridges, but megas are available that hold 2.5ml of juice. For reference, I've been going through anywhere between 2-5ml of juice a day depending on how heavy I'm vaping.

There are a lot of companies out there selling inferior starter kits for a lot of money. It's mainly marketing. Don't get suckered. These cheapos produce poor vapor and have crappy battery life. Lots of people start with them, give up on vaping because of the frustration, and go back to smoking. I purchased one of these crappy kits for $150 before I found e-cigarette-forums, did more research, and got a good model. You can get a good quality starter kit for around $45.*

I mention all this because, if you get a good starter kit, you should not have technical problems. Certain parts, like the atomizer, do only last for a certain period of time before needing to be replaced, but this shouldn't happen for several weeks to a month at least and most kits come with two atomizers. If you take the time to clean your atomizers, they should last several months.

If cleaning them is not your thing, there are also disposable cartridges with atomizers built in that can be refilled. These are called cartomizers. Some people have been able to refill their cartos up to 40 times before the atomizer died. They are very cheap (about $1 a piece).

My recommendation for someone wanting to switch, would be to get the Joyetech eGo, mainly for the battery life. I have one of these with mega batteries (mine is branded as the Tornado). My batteries are lasting about 15-16 hours per charge. The standard batteries will last about 8-10 hours. The standard 510 batteries last around 2 hours, and the KR8 batteries last around 6.

If you're really interested in switching, I'd encourage you to follow the link in my OP to learn more about them before purchasing. Again, that is a link to discussion forums and not to someplace that's going to try to sell you something.

Hope this helped convince you to get more info and make the switch!

• There is one supplier that has a 40% off sale right now, making the 510 starter kit $30, but to keep with the theme of not recommending any particular supplier, I won't mention who it is unless specifically asked.