So... not that I smoke, but what is the size comparison of these to an "analog"? Also, how do you clean these things? Finally, can you use any oil, theoretically, such as cooking oil/marijuana oil? I don't have an interest in these, but was just curious about them.
The average e-cig, like a 510, has three parts: 1. the battery 2. the atomizer 3. the cartridge.
When you put all three of these together, it is comparable to the circumference and length of a regular cigarette. It was meant to look like a cigarette. The problem with the ones that look like a regular cigarette is poor battery life. The batteries in them are small, so they only last a couple of hours before they need a recharge. The big battery mods like the ones I have, the battery lasts around 24 hours, but the mod is much larger because it has to hold a much larger battery.
Cleaning is dependent. The part where the liquid goes, the cart, is disposable, so after a few days to a week, you just throw it out and put on a new one. If you wanted to, you could boil and and let it dry, then re-use them. I just throw them out as they're very cheap. For the battery contacts, etc, you use rubbing alcohol. For cleaning the threads, you use Noalax.
I'm not sure how vaporizing cooking oil would work. Will cooking oil turn into a water vapor when you heat it? I don't know. Marijuana oil, or hash oil, well, there are are already vaporizers sold for those things that work off a similar technology, so I"m assuming the answer is yes to them.
