Am I doing it all wrong?

[Binkstress]

Hi, folks:

My order arrived in NYC from Mt Baker in 48 hours! Yay! I still have two full packs of cigs! Wow! I'm a happy girl! But ...

There're no directions for my battery. Mariel at Mt Baker had emailed me that to use the Kanger EVOD 1600, I should press the button, and if that didn't work, I should press the button five times fast, and that'd work. That made the light come on, but when I went to smoke it, the light was off. It appears that when I want to smoke, I need to hold the button down. Is that right? That seems like a pain in my bottom.

Worse, when I smoke, I cough so hard, I cough a lung up. I guess getting the 24mg wasn't a good idea after all. There's a place nine blocks from here called "Smoke Shop," so I MAY be in luck, but I live in the hood, so my hopes aren't too high. Still, how badly can they mess up some plain juice? I guess I'll find out, because I need to water this stuff down. Right? Is that what I need to do? That's my goal; what am I looking for? Is I get plain glycerin, I'll water down the flavor. Am I looking for, say, some Blood Orange with no nicotine?

Man, is this device ever BIG. I'm very slender, and this thing is about the size of my forearm. And the Blood Orange tastes good enough to eat, but bloody hell; I've coughed up my liver after three hits.

Do do I need to turn this thing off somehow? It looks off, but do I need to press the button five times to turn it off? Since it doesn't come with any instrux, I have no idea whether it's sitting there killing its battery.

It comes with a sleeve that sits between the tank and the battery, but it doesn't fit snugly, so it rattles. I guess a better word is "jingles."

The medium-sized case I bought doesn't hold anything but the charger and the spare tank. Oh: I guess the coils will fit in there, too. Sure doesn't fit a whole kit like in the photo! I don't think this gizmo will fit in the clutch purse I carry around. (It's really small.) I'm gonna hafta buy a bigger purse!

So far, I'm not a happy vaper yet, but I'll get there. I hope I will, anyway! Thanks for some tips!

Binky

 

[Mellowbuzz]

Pressing a button is a pain? I don't get it.

It's not "smoking". It's "vaping". None of us here refer to it as "smoking".

Turn it on/off by pressing the button 5 times.

No you don't need to turn it off after every puff.

Probably not a good idea- 24mg is awfully strong. I don't know anyone who uses that much nic in their juice. I smoked a pack of full flavor a day for 20+ years and started out on 18mg....and it was too strong. Lower your nic level

Just buy new juice at 18 or 12mg. It would be easier than blindly mixing nic and pg/vg without having knowledge of what you're doing first.

 

[djsvapour]

Everyone I know coughed a bit. I coughed more than most...

The easiest way to help yourself is to learn (try to learn) to inhale only into your mouth first.

24mg isn't so crazy.. my wife uses 24mg and has learned not to cough, but still doesn't enjoy the general sensation.

Baby steps.

Oh - if you have a "beauty ring" you can probably twist it tight.

 

[roxynoodle]

You need to work on your inhalation technique. Long and light, not hard and fast like a cigarette. It takes practice.

 

[Clark Kent]

Water and Vegtable Glycerin are two different things, if you want to lower nicotine add VG, now if you want to thin this out, only use a little DISTILLED water. Do not use tap water. what kind of atomizer or topper are you useing? IF the juice is too thick, you wil get a burnt tasting hit. also the way you inhale will efffect your coughing at first. It takes a little time to not hit it like a cigarette. Good luck, stick with it and you will were you want to be in no time.

 

[Hitmetwice]

Hello and welcome, also, if your unit is one like in this video... Kanger EVOD 1600 ...it has an adjustable power option on it. Best to start at low power for a while.
Work your way up on power slowly. If it starts tasting off turn it back down a bit and you should be set.

Yeah, most of us coughed a bit at the start, the technique needed is different than smoking.
You'll be an old pro after a day or 2. All the best. Cheers.

 

[AngelicTomPetty]

I dont know much about the EVOD or anything like that, but one thing I can say starting out will be frustrating. You will spend lots of money trying to find the perfect gear that suits you while you are building up your knowledge about vaping in general. Do not get discouraged, vaping really becomes satisfying in the long run. Nothing feels better than being a non-cigarette user.

 

[jseah]

Binky,

Everyone takes a day or two to get used to vaping. The first time I did it, it made me cough as well. By the third day or so, I had gotten used to doing a slow and gentle draw and the coughing stopped. Did you order the 50/50 mix of PG and VG? If you get plain, unflavored VG with zero nicotine, it will cut down the tickle in the throat (the PG causes this) and if you mix it equally with your blood orange juice it will reduce the nicotine content from 24 mg down to 12 mg while increasing the ratio to 25 PG and 75 VG. However, this will also dilute the flavor as well.

I would also follow hitmetwice's suggestion to check the voltage setting on your battery. If you turn it down a bit that would also help.

 

[Das Auto]

I would lower your Nic level, for sure!
Also, it sounds like you may be a little intimidated by this! Don't be!! Just take your time. Watch some youtube videos on how people use your specific e pen. There are likely to be dozens!!
And remember, as said above, its not smoking and its not a cigarette. Don't treat it as such. Stop by that store near you and see what they have. make sure the juice is labeled what Ratio it is i.e 50/50 or 70/30 and how much nicotine is in it. (The ratio is the amount of Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin there is in the juice). You may want to start with HIGHER VG as that will be less of a "throaty" hit and less "coughing" may occur. Higher PG will likely give you a burning throat and make you cough.

good luck!!

 

[Cheechako]

You've got good equipment and good juice (maybe a little strong) so you're off to good start!
There is a bit of a learning curve with vaping, but soon you'll be blowing great plumes and
savoring that Mt. Bakers.
Good luck!

 

[Susan~S]

Inhalation technique with an e-cigarette

 

[jseah]

Binky,

If you are referring to the Smoke Shop on Fulton in Brooklyn, I don't think they will have any vaping supplies there. Looking at their Google+ page, it looks like they carry cigars, cigarettes, etc. Not sure how versed they will be with e-cigs.

Using the zip code of 11217,

https://www.vapeabout.com/vape-stor...AL&zipcode=11217&radius=2&find=Find+Locations

It looks like the closest vape store would be MoVapes Brooklyn located 1413 Bedford Avenue and second would be Beyond Vape at 229 Grand Street. I would think they would be more than able to help you out.

 

[Binkstress]

HitMeTwice (I don't even know you; i'd feel uncomfortable hitting you once!), because it comes with NO INSTRUCTIONS AT ALL, and I can't see any way to adjust ANYTHING, have you any clue how to adjust it? I'm a gear head, and even I can't see anything adjustable about this danged thing. It has a button on it, and that seems to be the extent of it! Why does it hafta be so inscrutable?

As for the rest of the messages, I'm thing to decipher them. I don't know most of what was said, though I really appreciate the effort! And my hopes were raised that I'll be able to use this thing; I'm feeling awfully discouraged (though if I really CAN adjust it, that'll help for sure.)

MellowBuzz, the button-pressing is a pain first because I'm not used to pressing a button to smoke, obviously, and when I started out looking at e-cigs, I saw "automatic' ones where I was lead to believe that I could simply smoke (as opposed to, if I remember correctly, manual ones, which required button-pressing. I'd hoped for an experience as close to tobacco cigs as possible. This is NOT like that at all. I have a giant, heavy device that doesn't fit between my index and middle fingers and requires that I depress and hold down a button.) (And makes me cough like a mother!) (Though the trade-off, when I get there, is that it's gonna taste great and allow me to smell like the fantastic, expensive cologne I wear and not like a disgusting cigarette .....)

Thanks, folks, for trying to help out a bewildered newb. I'm gonna keep examining this befuddling battery.

Binky

 

[RCHagy74]

If it is a Kanger EVOD 1600 VV, the bottom of the tube should be a knurled stainless disk. There should also be some very faint (to my old eyes) numbers, 3.2v-------4.8v. Try twisting the disc towards the 3.2. hit the button, drag into your mouth, then inhale to lungs. Small pulls at first. I only started lung inhales a month ago, they still catch me off-guard sometimes. Work your way up to the higher voltage slowly until you get a comfortable vape setting.

Now, the device, should only activate when the button is pushed. No push, no power, no activation. If you find a handbag large enough to carry it around in make sure you 5-click fast to turn it off. One does not want a device firing by accident, even if it has a cut-off.

Also, what topper/atomizer/clearomizer are you using?

Do not worry about the smoking thing for now. Took me a year of vaping to get my terminology straight.

 

[juggler86]

After 15mins you shouldnt even think of pressing it, it should just start happening. I just grab my mod and hit it dont even think about it.

 

[Binkstress]

Hey, RC, why doesn't one want a device firing by accident? What'll happen? Zit bad? Thanks also for the battery instrux. Out of curiosity, I turned it up to 4.4 to see what the smoke would look like. I took a hit (NOT intending to inhale it; I just wanted to see the smoke), and there was a tiny spark. That startled me. It shouldn't do that, should it? Seems as if I could damage my lip that way it I hadn't been surprised enough to snatch it away from my mouth darned fast.

An awesome forum member offered his phone number, I took advantage, and got alllll my questions answered. And all of you who said to take it easy with my inhaling and to go slow are right. If I take little baby inhales, I can do this. I'll work my way up to something more satisfying. Meanwhile, he's gonna take me to the store Saturday and help get me some stuff to both lower my nicotine content, lower my "throat hit," and up the amount of smoke ('cause I like that). I'll check out other favors while I'm there, too, 'cause I'm a massive cantaloupe and honeydew fan, so I'll see whether I like those.

Meanwhile, I'm on the verge of a small asthma attack (those first few hits did me in!) (I was sucking on this thing just like I do on the usual, cheap, crappy cigs I smoke, which is to say hard and deep), so I may use my inhaler and then try in earnest to smoke this thing gently. It suure is tasty! That was a big surprise to me. I wasn't expecting it to be very good. I'd thought it'd be reasonably pleasant, but I was expecting the juice to taste super-fake, the way anything grape-flavored does, you know? (You know how grape-flavored stuff doesn't taste remotely like grapes? Like 50 Cents's Vitamin Water flavor? I wasn't expecting anything close to blood orange. But this is REALLY CLOSE! It doesn't taste like chemicals at all. Surprised the poo out of me!)

RC, I have a Kanger ProTank 3, and unless everyone's blowing vapor up my ...., I made a good choice. It sure is a big puppy! I didn't want a plastic one, because I read those degrade when using certain flavors. Even though I'm not interested in any of them, I still didn't want any favors soaking into the plastic so that when I switch favors, I end up with Blood Orange creeping into my Green Apple, or worse, my tobacco flavor sticking around when I'm smoking White Tea. Eeew.

So I'm good now. Or I will be, as soon as I get to the store and get some stuff to lessen the nicotine and when I get the knack of inhaling. It's as if I'm fourteen all over again!

Thanks for all the help and support, folks; you're great! I appreciate you a lot!

Binky

 

[beckdg]

Binky,

If you are referring to the Smoke Shop on Fulton in Brooklyn, I don't think they will have any vaping supplies there. Looking at their Google+ page, it looks like they carry cigars, cigarettes, etc. Not sure how versed they will be with e-cigs.

Using the zip code of 11217,

https://www.vapeabout.com/vape-stor...AL&zipcode=11217&radius=2&find=Find+Locations

It looks like the closest vape store would be MoVapes Brooklyn located 1413 Bedford Avenue and second would be Beyond Vape at 229 Grand Street. I would think they would be more than able to help you out.

those should both be fantastic vape shops. i've ordered from both, i believe. and i'm down here in MD.

binkstress... as far as vape gear that gives a good output and has a battery life, what you have is definitely small. also, gauge your nicotine concentration on your own. if you feel woozy, light headed or sick, it's time to lower your nic. if you can't sleep at night or get night headaches, maybe lower your nic a few hours before bed. i've helped a fair amount of vapers make the transition to all levels of nic from 2mg all the way up to i have to make my own juice because nobody makes it with that much nic to satisfy me.

 

[RCHagy74]

I would say sparking is not good. Gently tighten everything down, the coil in the atty and the atty to the device (You want to be able to get things apart with your hands, not a pipe wrench!).

It could have have been static though. I know upstate where I am has been cold and dry, mostly from the forced hot air heating inside though My copper topper gives me an occasional tickle, though no spark that I have noticed.

Yes, a device continually firing can be a bad thing. Yours should have a 5-10 second cut-off though. I am just paranoid, so prefer to 'lock' it before storing in my pack and going about my business. If a device does get hot to the touch, stop firing and get some tech support.

I have no experience with the Pro-tank series, so someone else may be more help. I believe I recall reading you can get different resistance heads for it, which should give you a different vape. I always preferred glass attys myself.

Makes sure you keep some of your higher nic liquid! You may find lower nic does not satisfy. I am using drippers now and am going back up to 16-18mg. 12 and lower nic does not satisfy with out chain vaping and chain vaping no matter my pg/vg ratio irritates my throat. Get yourself a nice nic spread to find your sweet spot. You can always cut the higher stuff down later.

Also young lady, when meeting this stranger from the internet, to bring your whistle, pepper spray and always stay in public areas!

 

[bwh79]

[Edit: I see my wordiness has made me a bit slow to respond. I'll just leave this here, anyway.]

Button: Yes, you have to hold the button down while you draw. It takes some getting used to, but you'll get the hang of it soon enough. The 5-click on/off is so that it doesn't fire accidentally while in your purse or pocket, but there's no need to turn it off every time you set it down or anything. Further, the EVOD's button sits flush with the body, as opposed to some others that stick out a bit where this is more of an issue. I carry my EVOD in my pants pocket all the time, and have never had issues with it firing accidentally (that I've noticed, anyway. It's also got an 8-second cutoff [sometimes ten], so even if it does get pressed inadvertently it won't just fire continuously. But the option is always there to turn it off while carrying, if you want.)

Coughing: It might be that your nic is too high, or it might just be that you're not used to vaping yet. Like others have said, it takes a slightly different inhalation technique compared to cigarettes. Long and slow is the way to go, not short and quick like you're probably used to with the old-fashioned stinkies. It could also be the PG/VG ratio of your juice; PG gives a stronger "throat hit" and is said to carry flavors better, while VG gives less of a hit and weaker flavor, but produces more vapor and has a slightly sweet taste all by itself. I use 50/50, but they come in a wide range of ratios from 100% PG all the way up to "Max VG" (which is slightly less than 100%, usually around 85% VG since the flavorings themselves are usually PG- or alcohol-based.) If you have a high-PG juice, that could account for the throat-hit and coughing you are experiencing, as well.

Nic level: 24mg is pretty high, though. How much did you smoke, when you used to smoke? Some people equate 24mg=full flavor, 18mg=medium, 12mg=light and 6mg=ultra-light, but that doesn't take into account how many per day or anything, and many of us are puffing away on our vapes all day long instead of just when we can sneak outside for a smoke break. I used to smoke a little more than half a pack a day of menthol lights, and have been very happy so far with my 6mg juices. If you do want to lower the nic level of what you have already, you can either get some of the same (or complimentary) flavor in zero-nic and mix it half-and-half with your 24mg to make it 12mg, or you can pick up some USP glycerine from the pharmacy (look for it in the skin care aisle) and mix that in (and a little distilled water maybe, if the pure glycerine makes it too thick and syrupy. Or you can get propylene glycol [again, USP-grade only] from Tractor Supply or an animal feed supplier, to thin it down instead of the distilled water. If it's too thick, it won't absorb into the wicking material fast enough to keep up with your vaping, and you can get a burnt taste or "dry hit.") Yes, the flavor will be diluted some, but that may or may not be an issue; over in the DIY section, they'll tell you that adding too much flavoring can actually make it less flavorful overall. I don't quite get how that works from a chemistry standpoint, but I do know that right now I'm vaping on a tankful of unflavored DIY that still tastes just like the tiny bit of "Cinnamon Roll" juice that I had left in there from before. It's probably 10% Cinnamon Roll and 90% unflavored, but I can hardly tell the difference.

Adjustability: Yours is probably not adjustable. If it was, then the bottom end-cap would be a dial that twists back and forth, with markings that probably go from 3.2 to 4.8 volts. This is basically like a "volume control" that will affect the flavor and intensity of your vape. Turn it up, get a stronger, more flavorful hit; turn it down, and it's weaker flavor and less intense. You'll also go through more juice, and drain your battery more quickly at higher settings. If your end-cap does not move (or if it just screws off to reveal a micro-USB port) then it's not adjustable; instead it's probably a constant regulated 3.3 or 3.7 volts, or else simply outputs battery voltage which will vary from about 4.2v at full charge, down to 3.2-ish before it cuts off and needs a recharge.

Size: Yeah, they're kinda big. That's 'cause they've got a battery inside, there's really just no way to avoid it. You can get smaller, cigarette-sized devices (colloquially called "cig-a-likes," as in "cigarette look-alike") but remember that the physical bulk of any device is mostly taken up by the battery, so the smaller you go, the less battery life it will have and you will need to charge it more often. Also, even with the smallest cig-a-likes, they're still going to be much heavier than a regular cigarette so you probably still will not be able to comfortably hold it between two fingers like you're used to. Just something you're going to have to learn to live with, I suppose.

You might also appreciate something like the iStick 30w, if you don't like the big long tube of your EVOD; the iStick is not much bigger than a Bic lighter (without the tank attached) but still has a very respectable battery life of 2200 mAh which should last you all day between charges (mAh = milliamp hours, it's a measure of how much energy the battery can store and directly affects how long it will last between charges; your EVOD 1600 is 1600 mAh, so the iStick would be about 40% more battery life than what you've got now.) Another advantage of the iStick, besides the physical size and battery life, is that it is highly adjustable; you can adjust in voltage mode from, I think it is 2-8 volts in 0.1v increments, or set it to wattage mode and adjust from 5-30w, again in 0.1w increments. This makes it very easy to "dial in" your perfect vape (although the iStick uses buttons to adjust, and not an actual dial). It's not quite so brick-like as the "box mods" that some people use and should fit nicely in your hand, if you're okay with something that looks even less like a traditional cigarette than the EVOD (which is really more cigar-like than cigarette-like, in the first place.)

 

[Jumpin' In...]

Hi, folks:

My order arrived in NYC from Mt Baker in 48 hours! Yay! I still have two full packs of cigs! Wow! I'm a happy girl! But ...

There're no directions for my battery. Mariel at Mt Baker had emailed me that to use the Kanger EVOD 1600, I should press the button, and if that didn't work, I should press the button five times fast, and that'd work. That made the light come on, but when I went to smoke it, the light was off. It appears that when I want to smoke, I need to hold the button down. Is that right? That seems like a pain in my bottom.

Yes, you have to push the button to use it. There are still batteries that are actuated by by air pressure, but the only ones I know of are the "cig-a-likes", which are basically the same size and shape as a real cigarette. Halo still sells the "cig-a-like" G6, in either automatic (actuated by air pressure when you take a drag) or manual (button press) versions:

E-Cigarette Starter Kit G6 | Halo Cigs

I was about to order a G6 when I decided to start vaping, but several ECF members warned me off of them, not because they wouldn't work, but because of the disadvantages. Cig-a-likes - primarily because of their small size - have very poor battery life and very small e-liquid capacity. I was told that they would work, but that I would most likely upgrade in short order to a more powerful battery. After reading about "cig-a-likes" a bit more, I discovered that many people had to go through several batteries a day and either carried around chargers and/or multiple batteries, and also had to carry multiple eliquid cartridges which had to be filled each night.

I decided to follow the ECF members' advice and started with a Kanger EVOD Starter Kit. It had 650 mAh batteries, which in the very beginning lasted me almost a full day each. Once I got into vaping, however, I'd need two to get me through the day. I'm not sure which battery you have - the only 1600 mAh battery I see now have variable-voltage and are much bigger than the 650's I started with - but 1600 mAh should almost certainly last you all day without charging.

Worse, when I smoke, I cough so hard, I cough a lung up. I guess getting the 24mg wasn't a good idea after all. There's a place nine blocks from here called "Smoke Shop," so I MAY be in luck, but I live in the hood, so my hopes aren't too high. Still, how badly can they mess up some plain juice? I guess I'll find out, because I need to water this stuff down. Right? Is that what I need to do? That's my goal; what am I looking for? Is I get plain glycerin, I'll water down the flavor. Am I looking for, say, some Blood Orange with no nicotine?

Man, is this device ever BIG. I'm very slender, and this thing is about the size of my forearm. And the Blood Orange tastes good enough to eat, but bloody hell; I've coughed up my liver after three hits.

You have not said how many cigarettes you usually smoke a day, so it's really hard to suggest an appropriate nicotine strength. Even if you have stated it, it's to some extent a matter of personal preference and therefore a matter of trial-and-error. I can only offer personal experience here. When I started vaping I had already cut my smoking down to about 1/2 pack a day. I ordered e-liquid in both 18 and 12mg/l. 18 was just too strong for me - a couple of drags made me feel heavy-headed (almost dizzy) and gave me a light headache . Even 12mg/l was a bit much for me, although I have settled in with 12. I had no problems with coughing, but I have met people who have. I suggest you order sample bottles of 12mg/l and 18mg/l and try them out for yourself.

Yes, draw technique also is a factor in coughing. Start cautious. Slow, soft pulls at first.

Your tank is also a factor. Some tanks - especially some of the latest versions - produce a lot more vapor than others. I don't think you've mentioned what tank you're using. Some tanks have airflow control. If your tank does have air-flow control, try setting it at it's lowest flow and go from there. You'll just have to test it out, as there are many things that are in play - the amount of power you're using, the type of coil in your tank, the amount of air-flow the tank has, your inhalation technique - among a few.

Over time - speaking for myself - I've gravitated toward devices that produce a bit more vapor than my starter kit provided, but ymmv.

Do do I need to turn this thing off somehow? It looks off, but do I need to press the button five times to turn it off? Since it doesn't come with any instrux, I have no idea whether it's sitting there killing its battery.

You should probably turn the battery "off" by clicking it 5 times whenever you are going to put it somewhere where it might fire without you knowing it - for example, your purse or pants pocket. When it your purse, it could press against some other item and start firing without you knowing it. As you know by now, firing an e-cigarette generates heat and vapor, and you don't want it doing that in your purse. You should also turn it off if there are young children in your house who might get to it and press the button. You might also want to turn it off while charging.

If you just have it lying around in your house - assuming there are no children about - you don't have to turn it off. That way you just have to press the button to take a drag.

It comes with a sleeve that sits between the tank and the battery, but it doesn't fit snugly, so it rattles. I guess a better word is "jingles."

I use one of those "thread-skirts" at times. After putting your tank on the battery, try screwing the sleeve solidly up against the bottom of the tank. It should stop jiggling around and in addition should provide some extra support for your tank.

The medium-sized case I bought doesn't hold anything but the charger and the spare tank. Oh: I guess the coils will fit in there, too. Sure doesn't fit a whole kit like in the photo! I don't think this gizmo will fit in the clutch purse I carry around. (It's really small.) I'm gonna hafta buy a bigger purse!

Sorry - can't help you there. I'm a guy and usually keep my rig in my pocket when I'm out and about. I use an iStick, though - which. IMO, has a more compact form factor.

So far, I'm not a happy vaper yet, but I'll get there. I hope I will, anyway! Thanks for some tips!

Binky

Hope I've helped. Good luck and keep on trying!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions and I'll do the best I can to help.