Veteran vapors tips for newbies.

[Fractious]

HI there,
I am very very new. havent purchased anything as of yet. but i seem to keep going back the the vapor 4 life site . with the vapor kings.. can any one tellme about this site and if there any good? is there a better site then this one? thank u

I have had my Vapor King for 4 days now and I will say its pretty great. :-) Because the Vapor King uses cartomizers (cartridges with atomizers in each one, made to be disposable) its a little harder to experiment with the mg strengths. I was 1 pack to 1 1/4 pack per day smoker for 16 years and the 36 is waaaay too strong, the 24 is way too strong and the 18 in also too strong. I thought I would need a higher strength because of my smoking history. Boy was I wrong. I haven't been able to vape quite as much as I would like because of it. I don't want to get used to the 18 (the only strength of the 3 I have that I can do at all) because I don't want to get addicted to the higher amount of nicotine. I vape throughout the day and smoke at night. Vaping is just not working for me right now because I can only take 3-4 vapes at 18mg or get buzzed on nic and I don't really like having a nic buzz all day long. The 3-4 vapes relieves the nic craving but not the smoking craving, its just not as relaxing.

Overall I would say the Vapor King has been good though, shipping was good (4 1/4 days from ordered to received) and Steve at V4L is pretty awesome, got extra juice and carts with my order in addition to a car charger, all for free. I will be ordering a 0 mg of juice so that I can cut the 36 mg I have. I am just not sure how to get my current carts emptied out to refill haha. Question?? If I sit there and vape away without inhaling will I still get the nic buzz? In other words is the vapor/vaping absorbed through the lungs only or mouth/lungs. I imagine that I will get some at least just because you can absorb nicotine through your mouth, I assume it will be the same, just not sure how much I will get. Guess I will just have to try it. I need to empty these carts some how. My next order will be 11 mg carts to test those out. Based on my feelings with the 18 mg I am sure the 11 will be good.

Anyway, to your question about the Vapor King from Vapor 4 Life, its awesome and easier than the traditional 3 piece (atty, batt & cart) versions because you don't have to worry about atties going out or filling/dripping if you don't want to. Price is higher going the VK route though (always a tradeoff huh?).

Take care,

Fractious

[Winace]

To help find/match your current nicotine intake there are many things to take into account. Now, bear in mind, these are all guidlines (an analog manufacturer can not tell precisely how much nicotine is in a smoke, let alone us being exact about it!). Strengths being listed are mg/ml (18, 24, 36 etc). A milliliter is about 20 drops, I say "about" because even this is a guidline depending on viscosity of the fluid, ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, and such.

Before I go too much further, I do have a background in medicine and chemistry, just trying to be helpful.

As far as nicotine in an analog smoke, your intake of the same cigarette will vary greatly compared to my intake. I smoke (did) Marlboro reds, 1.5 packs per day for 20 years. I inhale deeply, hold long, and smoke even part of the damn filter! I get maximum intake from an analog, I do not take much time between hits either. I did not smoke for the enjoyment (well maybe at first), but for the sole purpose of nicotine absorbsion. The general number I use for calculating nicotine is 1.2mg per analog. If you inhale deep and hold long it will be greater, if you do not inhale or hold at all it will be much less. Now, with this in mind, you also need to allow tolerances for pure volume distribution. Inhalation is the fastest means of absorbtion in the body, the contents of what you inhale with vapor and smoke are two different monsters. An analog cigarette has much more "junk" in it which diffuses the nicotine, so the concentration is much lower than vapor from juice (on an apples to apples comparison). Vaping is a MUCH more efficient means of nicotine absorbtion than smoking an analog. So, moving forward......

The combination of a crap-ton of variables in vaping makes each user unique. What works for you, may not work for someone else, do not get discouraged, it is a learning curve, I am just trying to lessen that curve. I do wholeheartedly believe anyone can give up analogs for vaping under the correct comination of variables. When I first started, I KNEW I was getting too much nicotine, but still wanted an analog! We'll approach that in a sec. You would most likely not find two users here that smoked analogs in the same manner (strength, flavor, inhalation depth, speed, etc etc), so you most likely will not find two vapor users of the same use habits.

There are many things you want to "match", or closely simulate, when converting from analogs. Let me give you what worked for me and that will give you an idea of the point I am getting at.

I calculate my analog intake at 1.5mg per smoke (most likely a touch less since smoking is less efficient than vaping), but this is a guideline! 1.5mg x 30 (pack and a half/day) is 45mg. Now, could I vape a mixture of 45mg/ml and vape just 1ml? Sure, but that would not cut it for me. You can vape 1ml pretty quickly. Let's use some round numbers and convert the 45mg/ml to 24mg/ml and use 2ml. I decreased strength and increased volume, yet the same (roughly) mg of nicotine. Now, using 24mg/ml juice and a volume of 2ml, this gives me roughly 40 drops (20 drops per ml) to vape in a day.

I have 40 drops of 24mg/ml. Now, matching the physical characteristics of smoking! This depends alot on your equipment. If you can replicate your smoking pattern that pre-existed and 40 drops lasted the day, great. If not, and you found yourself not vaping enough (not enough hits to match your old school style) you can cut the strength to a weaker concentration and just vape more often. If you find yourself sucking the thing all day and want to get rid of that, increase concentration and use it less.

This is a balance which needs to be found for your liking, not two people will be the same. You also need to account for "throat hit", this was my biggest obstacle at first. I needed more "harshness" or I did not feel my craving was fullfilled. You may need to take longer hits, or cut in a drop or two of alcohol, or any other suggestions on these forums to increase throat hit. It IS a factor in many peoples dependency on analogs.

For menthol smokers, flavor is a big factor. Many new people buy the pre-filled carts that just do not cut it, you need to experiment with menthol flavoring and strengths. The manafacturers ship cartridges with starter kits just to have something to ship with them. They most likely will not make the cut! The marketing statements of these carts are absurd also, one cart is NOT the equivelant to XX packs of analogs, for reasons mentioned above. One pack of Marlboro full flavor kings with my habit of smoking analogs gives me approximately 28mg of nicotine. Now, for a cart to hold a 1 pack equivelant it would have to hold 31 drops of 18mg/ml juice!!!! Ain't happenin! realistically, from the manufacturer, a cart packaged as high stength (say 18mg/ml) will hold 7-8 drops on a mini. You get 0.9mg per drop roughly, this would equate to that cart holding 6.3 to 7.2 mg of nicotine. The way I smoke, this is about 4-5 analogs worth (and I am erroring in favor of the cart manufacturer here, it is most likely less!).

So, you get a new starter kit, pick out a cart, and after a few hits you just don't feel satisfied.... It ain't you! It's just a combination that needs work! Happy vaping, hope this helps someone!

[Eric in AK]

Uh, I'm going to try to summarize. Check my math and feel free to correct me:

• There are 20 drops per ml of liquid.
• If you have 36 mg e-liquid, there are 1.8 mg nicotine per drop.
• If you have 18 mg e-liquid, there are 0.9 mg nicotine per drop.
• If you smoke Marlboro analogs, they are rated at about 1.1 to 1.2 mg nicotine per cigarette.
• Each drop of 18 mg e-liquid contains roughly the same nicotine as one cigarette.
• If you're vaping 1ml of 18mg e-liquid per day, you're getting about the same amount of nicotine as from a pack of Marlboros.

So, if you're vaping 18 mg e-liquid, count how many drops you're using to fill or top up your carts over the course of a week or so to calculate a daily average. That will give you an idea of whether you've increased, decreased, or kept the same amount of nicotine you were getting from your analogs....assuming you've quit the analogs, of course.

How much nicotine you're actually consuming is really a factor of how you vape, so this is just a very, very rough guide.

Again, if my math is off, please someone let me know or post a correction. I don't want to mislead anyone, including myself.

[Reboot]

I recommend against this. At first, at least. After reading many threads around here, I "knew" that I'd need a pile of batteries, and another pile of atomizers, and a pile of ways to recharge my batteries so I got a USB charger and an AC charger. And since I didn't want to use up all my batteries I got a USB passthrough, too.

And then I found out that I didn't like my choice for an e-cig. I find a PCC less-than-necessary because I am near some kind of recharging source all day long. And I didn't like my USB passthrough because the cable was annoying. And the USB battery chargers are so slow that I don't use it.


I recommend buying 2 batteries, 2 atomizers, and a charger. That's it for hardware.

Once you know that you are happy with your choice of e-cig model, THEN go out and buy all that stuff. But don't do it immediately.

Awesome, this is exactly what I just did earlier this week. Except, I got the PCC too...it was a good deal...I think...all that you said plus a PCC and 3 5ml bottles of e-juice for $85 with shipping.

[degnr8]

I have had my Vapor King for 4 days now and I will say its pretty great. :-) Because the Vapor King uses cartomizers (cartridges with atomizers in each one, made to be disposable) its a little harder to experiment with the mg strengths. I was 1 pack to 1 1/4 pack per day smoker for 16 years and the 36 is waaaay too strong, the 24 is way too strong and the 18 in also too strong. I thought I would need a higher strength because of my smoking history. Boy was I wrong. I haven't been able to vape quite as much as I would like because of it. I don't want to get used to the 18 (the only strength of the 3 I have that I can do at all) because I don't want to get addicted to the higher amount of nicotine. I vape throughout the day and smoke at night. Vaping is just not working for me right now because I can only take 3-4 vapes at 18mg or get buzzed on nic and I don't really like having a nic buzz all day long. The 3-4 vapes relieves the nic craving but not the smoking craving, its just not as relaxing.

Overall I would say the Vapor King has been good though, shipping was good (4 1/4 days from ordered to received) and Steve at V4L is pretty awesome, got extra juice and carts with my order in addition to a car charger, all for free. I will be ordering a 0 mg of juice so that I can cut the 36 mg I have. I am just not sure how to get my current carts emptied out to refill haha. Question?? If I sit there and vape away without inhaling will I still get the nic buzz? In other words is the vapor/vaping absorbed through the lungs only or mouth/lungs. I imagine that I will get some at least just because you can absorb nicotine through your mouth, I assume it will be the same, just not sure how much I will get. Guess I will just have to try it. I need to empty these carts some how. My next order will be 11 mg carts to test those out. Based on my feelings with the 18 mg I am sure the 11 will be good.

Anyway, to your question about the Vapor King from Vapor 4 Life, its awesome and easier than the traditional 3 piece (atty, batt & cart) versions because you don't have to worry about atties going out or filling/dripping if you don't want to. Price is higher going the VK route though (always a tradeoff huh?).

Take care,

Fractious

I would actually stay away from anything with cartomizers. You'll wind up spending way more than you would by buying stuff that can be reused more

[alexissalvador09]

idk what happened to it , i dried it overnight , washed it with water , wiggly and blowing it but it doesnt work at all i dont even get a small hit of vapor help me please

[HYDRO]

I am about 1 month into Vaping --- I was able to quit my 1.3 pack a day habit (Newports) immediately.... Although I have many tips on the buying process, its already been said & probably better than I can say it.... The basic principle is being an informed consumer & research the hell out of this before you make a decision/purchase...

TIP (1) Buy atleast 1 bottle of liquid with your starter kit / ECIG ... Starter cartridges are usually a basic tobacco flavor. Also being a new toy you may fly threw them & be stuck waiting on mailman to bring you some liquid.

TIP (2) Very 1st order should include ATLEAST 2 atomizers & 2 batteries... Trying out your new Expensive ECIG will NOT be fun if your one & only atomizer does not work for whatever reason... Same principle w/ batteries.

TIP (3) Re-Creating menthol Tip / Suggestion ... I've tried 3 "menthol" juices --- All 3 have been more minty than anything... This left me still having a "small" craving for the harsh/nastiness of analog cigs.... Heres "MY" solution --- I added a few drops of menthol liquid into my tobacco flavored starter cartridges... OMG, soooo tasty & good. This also cut the overwelming minty taste ... Of course once all 5 tobaccco starter carts are used up you will need to buy a tobacco flavored liquid & a menthol falvored liquid, then refill a cartridge using a few drops of each.....

I hope these tips help - I made newbie mistakes like jumping at the smoking everywhere 14day "free" trial.. Then found these forums & quickly researched models , prices, liquids, etc etc and then made my best informed purchase..... and guess what - It worked out LOVELY ...

3 weeks ago I ordered a 901 & 1 bottle of menthol liquid from DietSmokes.com - WHY ?
Under the DietSmokes thread I read post after post after post of Amazingly fast shipping & Amazing customer service by "Parker" the guy that runs DietSmokes -- He also has Video Reviews of all models he sells on site.... After all that info, I made best decision I could... Thats what makes these forums so informative...

PeacE,
HYDRO

[CrazyTerrie11]

I am about 1 month into Vaping --- I was able to quit my 1.3 pack a day habit (Newports) immediately.... Although I have many tips on the buying process, its already been said & probably better than I can say it.... The basic principle is being an informed consumer & research the hell out of this before you make a decision/purchase...


TIP (3) Re-Creating menthol Tip / Suggestion ... I've tried 3 "menthol" juices --- All 3 have been more minty than anything... This left me still having a "small" craving for the harsh/nastiness of analog cigs.... Heres "MY" solution --- I added a few drops of menthol liquid into my tobacco flavored starter cartridges... OMG, soooo tasty & good. This also cut the overwelming minty taste ... Of course once all 5 tobaccco starter carts are used up you will need to buy a tobacco flavored liquid & a menthol falvored liquid, then refill a cartridge using a few drops of each....
PeacE,
HYDRO

I have a sample of some of the most "WOW OMG, kick me in the back of the head, Menthol...you could NEVER confuse it for "minty". I never smoked menthol cigs when I smoked. I was one of those "snobs" LOL that would bum a smoke and if all they had was menthol i would keep looking...just cant handle it (no offense, to each his own i say) So PM me and I will tell you more. I would like to give it to you cause I cant use it. I have a 15ml bottle of 36mg. To me it makes me feel like Im smoking a menthol cig...

[CrazyTerrie11]

idk what happened to it , i dried it overnight , washed it with water , wiggly and blowing it but it doesnt work at all i dont even get a small hit of vapor help me please

Water in my experience has been a no no. I only use pure grain alcohol when absolutely necessary. Some use a mix of equal parts white vinegar and water but it took the paint off my atomizer a few times and killed them. At the end of the day I usually blow out my atomizers that I used and turn them upside down (battery connection up) on a paper towel and let then drain overnight. In the morning blow on them again, set on a clean spot of paper towel and if more juice drains out let it sit some more until nothing drains out. Its worked for me and I tried all kinds of cleaning methods and killed my fail share of atomizers. It you have an atomizer thats really gunked up you can soak it in everclear overnight (put some everclear in a small plastic tupperware type container with a lid and drop one in and gently swirl it around and then let it sit til morning. Take it out and blow the alcohol out and shake it like you would shake a thermometer down, kinda a wrist flick motion and since everclear evaporates quickly you dont have to do this for a long time. Just make sure that when you put your cart back in that for the first couple of puffs you DONT INHALE!!!!! The residual alcohol will hurt your throat..LOL and maybe that will bring it back to life..good luck!

[seminolewind]

Order several bats, several attys. I use 901 attys for 901's and my mods. All the attys I've had in 7 months have lasted 3-4 months. I do nothing cept blow them out if they gurgle, and clean contacts with alcohol and a q-tip. I use 2 attys till they don't work. Then they go in a baggy for some future use. When an atty gets hot, I stop immediately and let it cool. When I vape it dry, I stop immediately and refill, and wait a minute for the juice to reprime the atty. Hopes this helps