When I first started posting here on the ECF forums, it was with the mindset of chasing clouds. I didn't realize that's what I was doing at the time, but essentially, that's what it was. I was dissatisfied with my MVP/PTII combo for various reasons, one being a lack of cloud.
In the past week or so, I've posted a few threads with differing topics, and I've been lurking in other threads. I've scoured the net, visited a few vape shops online, just to get a better idea of what was out there. I've also tried a number of different things on my current setup, with mixed results.
Somewhere along the way, I came to realize that in chasing clouds I was losing out on flavor. Now, having said that, I'll admit that my taste buds aren't very sensitive. What tastes good to you on one level may require some tinkering on mine.
I've tried different juice brands, different mixtures of the same flavor in terms of PG/VG content, I've tried running my coils at various resistances, playing with the settings on my MPV. So far the process has been daunting, and often left me feeling disappointed.
I've come to understand now that chasing the cloud is only one part of the picture. There are other parts to this equation. I now understand why people get into RBS and build their own mods. Certainly, some of this is far more advanced than I am willing or able to get into. I don't have an impressive array of tools at my disposal, so, it's mostly going to be pre-built mods for me, if anything.
However, I am getting more interested in some of the RBA side of things. Rebuilding my own coils seems to have a certain attraction. Plus, the expense that it would save me in the long run, especially since I'm already on such a limited budget, is certainly helping me to move in that direction.
So, in addition to experimenting with DIY juice, I will revisit the idea of RBA coils. I am currently running a cartotank right now, but I still have my PT II to play around with. Who knows? I might breathe some new life into the PT, and I might start using it on a more regular basis again.
One thing I have noticed with my new cartotank, is that the tip that it came with has a wider intake on the bottom. This seems to allow for better airflow for those longer drags that I like. I just can't get this from the stock tip that I've been running on the PT II. I haven't seen anyone even talk about this. Where airflow is concerned, all I've seen so far, is airflow around the 510 connection, drilling those out. Heck, just going to this tip with a wider airflow, and leaving the beauty ring off of my battery seems to have increased airflow, and therefore me fog output. Not by much mind you, but the devil is always in the details, as they say.
I think, really, before I get any further into cloud chasing, I'm really gonna have to reevaluate that battery. For the original purposes that I got it for, which was for a longer charge, more than anything, it has served me very well. I never have to worry about carrying around a charger, or whether I'm gonna run out of power while I'm out somewhere. The MVP II really is a road warrior in that regard, and I am by no means knocking on it. The fact that it just happens to come with VV/VW was kind of a bonus, although that in itself has led to so many other questions and tinkering.
I don't like complication. I used to sit around and fiddle with things when I was younger. I was always curious about how something worked. Play with this setting, get this result. But what happens if I do THIS? That kind of thing.
As I get older, I find that I like simplicity. I don't have the time or patience to sit here and fool with this or that, trying to find out what something does purely for its own sake. I still recognize that there is a certain reward that comes with that. No question there. I still like to fiddle here and there.
But for me, vaping is as much a means to an end as it is a point of fascination. At the end of all of this, I still do it for one reason: to stay off of cigarettes. In that regard I have been successful, so I can say that vaping is worth it, regardless of what results that I get. Not something I can say for a lot of other things.
I'm willing to do DIY juices, and RBA coils. In fact, as a man who drives a school bus for a living, I'm looking ahead, towards summer, and realizing that it is going to more likely be a "have to" rather than a "would like to". My fiancee and I need to have tight control of the finances if we're going to survive the summer. Yeah, I'll get another job... but that takes time. More than it used to. So, until then, I am constantly looking for new ways to save a buck. Juice and coils have turned out to be the two most expensive components of vaping, and so doing these things myself, taking the time to learn and fiddle with them, would be to my advantage in more ways than one.
Eventually we will stop taking in the nic altogether. We're stepping down to 12mg/bottle as of January. Come Feb we might go down to 6. By summer we'll be at ZERO. That will be one less chemical that I will be putting into my body each time I pick that tank up. If I stick with the tankomizer, versus the cartotank, then I can run 100% VG with no problems. Have done this once already and did okay with it. That's one less chemical, and less cost over the long term if I DIY it. So, there are options there.
The day is coming I think, when I will put the vape box down for good. I don't know when that will happen. Getting past the physical side of the addiction is one thing. The psychological side has its own issues to overcome, and as we all know, that is far more difficult to deal with. I enjoy the pleasures of vaping, no question there. But for me, it's about more than just quitting smoking. I've been chained to a bad habit for most of my life, and when I set out on this venture, it was with the mindset of giving up that habit. Vaping, for me, started as a way to deal with the physical side of it over the short term, until I could figure out how to deal with the psychological side of it.
Even so, I have become convinced that vaping is the future. There will come a time when there will be more ex-smokers than ex-alcoholics. I believe that will be a fact some day. We, as vapers, have something that no other type of addict has. A SAFE alternative that can help us to at least wean ourselves off of nicotine, the thing that got us addicted in the first place. How many ...... addicts can say that? Not a one I think.
And speaking of ...... for just a brief moment here... I've often heard it said that a nicotine addiction was about the same as a ...... addiction, in terms of how the addiction works, and even what you feel through withdrawal. And that is why it is so important that the culture of vaping continues to evolve, to stand against those who would take it away from us. Big Tobacco still makes a ton of money from keeping us addicted, and so I can imagine board room meetings where people are discussing ideas of how to stop this so-called vaping thing. It's happening right now, and they have the ear of the government.
I will stop vaping at some point. But I will always be a believer in safer alternatives. I mean, we have Planned Parenthood, condoms, airbags in cars (which are known to cause injuries)... so what's wrong with someone practicing safe vaping? I mean, just because a few of us weren't taught how to be considerate of others, doesn't mean that the minority that runs this country should have the right to take it away from us.
Anyway... getting off topic here...
I would like to get an FZ20D, a big box mod like I've seen on Rip Trippers. Or perhaps a BilletBox. but, in truth, those things are out of my reach. By the time I could save up the money for one of those, I could have quit the habit altogether, and purchased myself a Google Nexus 5 phone. Or maybe a second vehicle, so I can at least get myself back and forth to work. There is always something better than can be spent for, but it's a matter of priorities at at this point.
If nothing else, I have learned a lot about vaping in just a short week. The culture of it, the gadgets and materials involved. There is so much to learn. I could spend weeks, months, years, and I would never learn enough. And to be honest, there are other ways that I need to be spending my time. I have a dream that I had put aside years ago, and it's come time to pursue it once more, see if I can make a writer of myself. That takes time, commitment, and a relentless devotion to the craft. But I will still be studying and researching the wonderful world of vaping, at least until that day comes when I no longer pick up my MVP II.
Happy Vaping!
In the past week or so, I've posted a few threads with differing topics, and I've been lurking in other threads. I've scoured the net, visited a few vape shops online, just to get a better idea of what was out there. I've also tried a number of different things on my current setup, with mixed results.
Somewhere along the way, I came to realize that in chasing clouds I was losing out on flavor. Now, having said that, I'll admit that my taste buds aren't very sensitive. What tastes good to you on one level may require some tinkering on mine.
I've tried different juice brands, different mixtures of the same flavor in terms of PG/VG content, I've tried running my coils at various resistances, playing with the settings on my MPV. So far the process has been daunting, and often left me feeling disappointed.
I've come to understand now that chasing the cloud is only one part of the picture. There are other parts to this equation. I now understand why people get into RBS and build their own mods. Certainly, some of this is far more advanced than I am willing or able to get into. I don't have an impressive array of tools at my disposal, so, it's mostly going to be pre-built mods for me, if anything.
However, I am getting more interested in some of the RBA side of things. Rebuilding my own coils seems to have a certain attraction. Plus, the expense that it would save me in the long run, especially since I'm already on such a limited budget, is certainly helping me to move in that direction.
So, in addition to experimenting with DIY juice, I will revisit the idea of RBA coils. I am currently running a cartotank right now, but I still have my PT II to play around with. Who knows? I might breathe some new life into the PT, and I might start using it on a more regular basis again.
One thing I have noticed with my new cartotank, is that the tip that it came with has a wider intake on the bottom. This seems to allow for better airflow for those longer drags that I like. I just can't get this from the stock tip that I've been running on the PT II. I haven't seen anyone even talk about this. Where airflow is concerned, all I've seen so far, is airflow around the 510 connection, drilling those out. Heck, just going to this tip with a wider airflow, and leaving the beauty ring off of my battery seems to have increased airflow, and therefore me fog output. Not by much mind you, but the devil is always in the details, as they say.
I think, really, before I get any further into cloud chasing, I'm really gonna have to reevaluate that battery. For the original purposes that I got it for, which was for a longer charge, more than anything, it has served me very well. I never have to worry about carrying around a charger, or whether I'm gonna run out of power while I'm out somewhere. The MVP II really is a road warrior in that regard, and I am by no means knocking on it. The fact that it just happens to come with VV/VW was kind of a bonus, although that in itself has led to so many other questions and tinkering.
I don't like complication. I used to sit around and fiddle with things when I was younger. I was always curious about how something worked. Play with this setting, get this result. But what happens if I do THIS? That kind of thing.
As I get older, I find that I like simplicity. I don't have the time or patience to sit here and fool with this or that, trying to find out what something does purely for its own sake. I still recognize that there is a certain reward that comes with that. No question there. I still like to fiddle here and there.
But for me, vaping is as much a means to an end as it is a point of fascination. At the end of all of this, I still do it for one reason: to stay off of cigarettes. In that regard I have been successful, so I can say that vaping is worth it, regardless of what results that I get. Not something I can say for a lot of other things.
I'm willing to do DIY juices, and RBA coils. In fact, as a man who drives a school bus for a living, I'm looking ahead, towards summer, and realizing that it is going to more likely be a "have to" rather than a "would like to". My fiancee and I need to have tight control of the finances if we're going to survive the summer. Yeah, I'll get another job... but that takes time. More than it used to. So, until then, I am constantly looking for new ways to save a buck. Juice and coils have turned out to be the two most expensive components of vaping, and so doing these things myself, taking the time to learn and fiddle with them, would be to my advantage in more ways than one.
Eventually we will stop taking in the nic altogether. We're stepping down to 12mg/bottle as of January. Come Feb we might go down to 6. By summer we'll be at ZERO. That will be one less chemical that I will be putting into my body each time I pick that tank up. If I stick with the tankomizer, versus the cartotank, then I can run 100% VG with no problems. Have done this once already and did okay with it. That's one less chemical, and less cost over the long term if I DIY it. So, there are options there.
The day is coming I think, when I will put the vape box down for good. I don't know when that will happen. Getting past the physical side of the addiction is one thing. The psychological side has its own issues to overcome, and as we all know, that is far more difficult to deal with. I enjoy the pleasures of vaping, no question there. But for me, it's about more than just quitting smoking. I've been chained to a bad habit for most of my life, and when I set out on this venture, it was with the mindset of giving up that habit. Vaping, for me, started as a way to deal with the physical side of it over the short term, until I could figure out how to deal with the psychological side of it.
Even so, I have become convinced that vaping is the future. There will come a time when there will be more ex-smokers than ex-alcoholics. I believe that will be a fact some day. We, as vapers, have something that no other type of addict has. A SAFE alternative that can help us to at least wean ourselves off of nicotine, the thing that got us addicted in the first place. How many ...... addicts can say that? Not a one I think.
And speaking of ...... for just a brief moment here... I've often heard it said that a nicotine addiction was about the same as a ...... addiction, in terms of how the addiction works, and even what you feel through withdrawal. And that is why it is so important that the culture of vaping continues to evolve, to stand against those who would take it away from us. Big Tobacco still makes a ton of money from keeping us addicted, and so I can imagine board room meetings where people are discussing ideas of how to stop this so-called vaping thing. It's happening right now, and they have the ear of the government.
I will stop vaping at some point. But I will always be a believer in safer alternatives. I mean, we have Planned Parenthood, condoms, airbags in cars (which are known to cause injuries)... so what's wrong with someone practicing safe vaping? I mean, just because a few of us weren't taught how to be considerate of others, doesn't mean that the minority that runs this country should have the right to take it away from us.
Anyway... getting off topic here...
I would like to get an FZ20D, a big box mod like I've seen on Rip Trippers. Or perhaps a BilletBox. but, in truth, those things are out of my reach. By the time I could save up the money for one of those, I could have quit the habit altogether, and purchased myself a Google Nexus 5 phone. Or maybe a second vehicle, so I can at least get myself back and forth to work. There is always something better than can be spent for, but it's a matter of priorities at at this point.
If nothing else, I have learned a lot about vaping in just a short week. The culture of it, the gadgets and materials involved. There is so much to learn. I could spend weeks, months, years, and I would never learn enough. And to be honest, there are other ways that I need to be spending my time. I have a dream that I had put aside years ago, and it's come time to pursue it once more, see if I can make a writer of myself. That takes time, commitment, and a relentless devotion to the craft. But I will still be studying and researching the wonderful world of vaping, at least until that day comes when I no longer pick up my MVP II.
Happy Vaping!
