I'm entering into my third month of vaping. I've had a few setbacks since I've started. Between bad tanks, bad coils, and even smoking a few cigs since then, I can say that I'm learning a lot about this peculiar little habit of mine.
Yes, I've smoked since then. Had a few analogs back in January as a matter of fact. Happened when I stepped my nic down from 18->12mg. I've noticed since then that I'm hitting the vape a lot more, and sometimes it still doesn't satisfy me.
I'm still looking at my overall setup. My primary right now is an ITaste VTR with Panasonic 18650B Lion batt. I go back and forth between the included IClear 30s and a Pro-tank II. Honestly, I do have a preference towards the Iclear, but that is slowly changing as time goes on. I think for the future, I will be looking into a mechanical mod, perhaps a REO, or even something by Pdib. I like the idea of a bottle-fed system, and I can honestly say that after three months of trying I am fed up with the tankomizer systems. I've used carto's, tanks, carto-tanks, and they all leave something to be desired.
Discovering my vaping style has been a key issue. I didn't realize that there were different styles to vaping. Hotboxing, long-draws, short-draws, inhale/exhale, to just holding it in your mouth. I was a heavy smoker. I inhaled. Now that I have some lung power back, I like to stretch 'em out and go for the long draws.
I'll get to the DIY juicing in just a moment, but humor me. I want to tell you about the how and why of what got me there in the first place.
See, one of the things I hadn't considered in this whole equation for the longest time, was the e-juice itself. Up until recently, I'd been getting most of my stuff from a local brick and mortar. My fiancee and I loved their stuff at first, but it just seemed like the flavors went out of it after about a day or so. I tried a local mixologist and his stuff tasted better, but I found something about it to be a bit overpowering. I can't explain that to you, I can only say that it wasn't very smooth.
So, back to the brick and mortar for a few weeks, putting up with the same old juices. Then I found another vendor. Small time. I've tried a couple of his flavors and found them to be good for the most part. He makes his stuff fresh as you watch, so I know what's in my juice and that it's fresh.
Even so, the budget is tight. Very tight. I'm going through 7~9 mils of juice a day on my own. My fiancee makes a 10ml bottle last her a full week. I go through coils like crazy, and that only adds to the expense. I'm spending almost $35~40 a week now, just to vape. While it's still better than picking up a cig, the fact is that's just too much money for us to be spending at the moment.
I've been thinking on this DIY thing for awhile now. One of my friends had some extra components which she graciously gave to me. So now, I'm beginning to experiment with recipes.
Having the actual stuff here, seeing it, smelling it, mixing it for myself, I feel like I have a better understanding of it now. Well, maybe not. But there's just something about going through the process for yourself. Trial and error. Like in the kitchen, but I'm sitting at a desk instead. I've come up with a couple of passable flavors, but there's still a lot of fine-tuning to be done. Even so, I can already notice a serious difference in quality. My ProTank puts out some nice clouds now, I got stronger flavor. And it could just be my imagination, but it seems like my coils are lasting a bit longer. Only time will tell on that one.
As an experiment, I've decided to vape a pg/vg blend without external flavorings. Just PG/VG and nic at about 12mg. I wanted to get a sense of what the major components taste like, how they interact on the pallet, so that I can better discern my flavorings when I add them. I gotta say it's not that bad. Very dry, no sense of flavor. Very bland. But, it's passable. If I run out of flavors and get desperate, I know I can get by on this mixture. Plus, it'll help me to fine tune the individual components at a later time.
I'm using an ejuice calc as well. It does the job well enough to get me by until I get a better sense of measurements. I think eventually, I'll be able to look at that bottle and say, "it needs more of this." It's like working in a restaurant with standards. Once you make something the same way so many times, it becomes easier to eyeball it, see what it needs. Also helps when you're experimenting because you at least know what the base components should look like.
There is a whole other side to this DIY thing. As you've probably gathered, I haven't been well-satisfied with my other vendors' juices. There's always something lacking there, and I'm picky. When it comes to certain things I can get downright OCD. And apparently, that's the way ejuice is going for me right now. I feel like I can do better stuff right here at home, and that's what I'm going to shoot for. I have a couple of people who are interested in what I'm coming up with, and so I have a couple of guinea pigs to test on. (cue maniacal laugh)
So, there we are. With the help of a friend or two, I've solved two-thirds of my vaping costs. Maybe more than that. Now, all I gotta do is figure out the RBA thing and I'm set. Come on tax returns!
Yes, I've smoked since then. Had a few analogs back in January as a matter of fact. Happened when I stepped my nic down from 18->12mg. I've noticed since then that I'm hitting the vape a lot more, and sometimes it still doesn't satisfy me.
I'm still looking at my overall setup. My primary right now is an ITaste VTR with Panasonic 18650B Lion batt. I go back and forth between the included IClear 30s and a Pro-tank II. Honestly, I do have a preference towards the Iclear, but that is slowly changing as time goes on. I think for the future, I will be looking into a mechanical mod, perhaps a REO, or even something by Pdib. I like the idea of a bottle-fed system, and I can honestly say that after three months of trying I am fed up with the tankomizer systems. I've used carto's, tanks, carto-tanks, and they all leave something to be desired.
Discovering my vaping style has been a key issue. I didn't realize that there were different styles to vaping. Hotboxing, long-draws, short-draws, inhale/exhale, to just holding it in your mouth. I was a heavy smoker. I inhaled. Now that I have some lung power back, I like to stretch 'em out and go for the long draws.
I'll get to the DIY juicing in just a moment, but humor me. I want to tell you about the how and why of what got me there in the first place.
See, one of the things I hadn't considered in this whole equation for the longest time, was the e-juice itself. Up until recently, I'd been getting most of my stuff from a local brick and mortar. My fiancee and I loved their stuff at first, but it just seemed like the flavors went out of it after about a day or so. I tried a local mixologist and his stuff tasted better, but I found something about it to be a bit overpowering. I can't explain that to you, I can only say that it wasn't very smooth.
So, back to the brick and mortar for a few weeks, putting up with the same old juices. Then I found another vendor. Small time. I've tried a couple of his flavors and found them to be good for the most part. He makes his stuff fresh as you watch, so I know what's in my juice and that it's fresh.
Even so, the budget is tight. Very tight. I'm going through 7~9 mils of juice a day on my own. My fiancee makes a 10ml bottle last her a full week. I go through coils like crazy, and that only adds to the expense. I'm spending almost $35~40 a week now, just to vape. While it's still better than picking up a cig, the fact is that's just too much money for us to be spending at the moment.
I've been thinking on this DIY thing for awhile now. One of my friends had some extra components which she graciously gave to me. So now, I'm beginning to experiment with recipes.
Having the actual stuff here, seeing it, smelling it, mixing it for myself, I feel like I have a better understanding of it now. Well, maybe not. But there's just something about going through the process for yourself. Trial and error. Like in the kitchen, but I'm sitting at a desk instead. I've come up with a couple of passable flavors, but there's still a lot of fine-tuning to be done. Even so, I can already notice a serious difference in quality. My ProTank puts out some nice clouds now, I got stronger flavor. And it could just be my imagination, but it seems like my coils are lasting a bit longer. Only time will tell on that one.
As an experiment, I've decided to vape a pg/vg blend without external flavorings. Just PG/VG and nic at about 12mg. I wanted to get a sense of what the major components taste like, how they interact on the pallet, so that I can better discern my flavorings when I add them. I gotta say it's not that bad. Very dry, no sense of flavor. Very bland. But, it's passable. If I run out of flavors and get desperate, I know I can get by on this mixture. Plus, it'll help me to fine tune the individual components at a later time.
I'm using an ejuice calc as well. It does the job well enough to get me by until I get a better sense of measurements. I think eventually, I'll be able to look at that bottle and say, "it needs more of this." It's like working in a restaurant with standards. Once you make something the same way so many times, it becomes easier to eyeball it, see what it needs. Also helps when you're experimenting because you at least know what the base components should look like.
There is a whole other side to this DIY thing. As you've probably gathered, I haven't been well-satisfied with my other vendors' juices. There's always something lacking there, and I'm picky. When it comes to certain things I can get downright OCD. And apparently, that's the way ejuice is going for me right now. I feel like I can do better stuff right here at home, and that's what I'm going to shoot for. I have a couple of people who are interested in what I'm coming up with, and so I have a couple of guinea pigs to test on. (cue maniacal laugh)
So, there we are. With the help of a friend or two, I've solved two-thirds of my vaping costs. Maybe more than that. Now, all I gotta do is figure out the RBA thing and I'm set. Come on tax returns!
