Best way to get started with ecigs?

[want2quit2day]

Hi all,

I was recently introduced to the vapor type cigs and pretty interested. I've read until my eyes hurt but just get more confused. I have tried two set ups from friends. One was a tank style that just gets the juice dumped into and the other had some kind of filter inside. Neither of them impressed me much. Neither had much vapor to exhale and neither felt like cigarette smoke. Needless to say I wasn't very impressed with either of those setups.

Basically what I would like to know is:

1. which setup will give me a huge amount of vapor? I've seen some videos on youtube and these guys are really hitting it good.

2. Which set up is the easiest to use. Easiest meaning after the learning curve which setup is the least time consuming?

3. Which set up is the most reliable? It seems most of what I've read that there all pretty much junk, except for a few with good reviews. I want something that I don't have to constantly be replacing parts, batteries, etc.

Of the two I have tested from friends one was an ego battery that dies every month. One was called a Nova and needed the wicking head replaced after 4 or 5 days because the vapors get less and less as its used. I don't want something that needs parts replaced 3, 4, 5 times a month, if that makes any sense. That seems like a total waste of money.

These two people seem to be spending quite a bit of money every month and the setups dont seem to be that great. So what's the best way to attain what I listed above. Cost is not an issue and I think the starter kits would be a waste of time and money. I just need some solid advice on what set up will give huge vapor and is a reliable system. These are two most important aspects of this to me.

 

[xanderxman]

The vapor clouds you see on Youtube are an illusion. They are simply a camera trick for the most part. You will not see people out and about blowing such large clouds.

There are plenty of reliable setups out there and I do not feel that they are all pretty much junk. I have had two eGo Twists for over two months and have had a great experience so far. The $44 investment in BOTH batteries equates to 9 days of buying cigs, so I think I have already made out even if they die tomorrow.

As for the Novas, I replace the heads in mine about every two weeks and sometimes every 4 weeks. They do require a bit of cleaning on occassion to get that much use out of them but again, they are not as hard to use as you seem to think. The heads cost about $3 each so even if you change them weekly you are, again, saving more money than buying smokes.

You will get MANY answers as to the easiest setup to use. The veterans are using rebuildable atomizers and saving tons of money doing it. It is easy for them, once they get over the learning curve. I am saving tons of money using my Novas, even with replacing the heads every once in a while. I have found that a Twist with a Nova Mini gives me the performance I want and the ease of use I want. Clean them every other day and the heads last me a month. The Twists last over a day with a full charge before needing to be recharged. Overall this is a great setup for me and I am still a newbie.

I have no idea what to recommend for huge vapor clouds. That was never a concern of mine so I did not base my decisions on that factor. I wanted off of cigs and found something that worked rather quickly.

 

[DanFromIran]

I am very new to this too, I am curious to see what people answer because most of your questions are the same as mine.

I learned a couple of things though I will share. if I am wrong hopefully experienced folks will correct me.

for your first question the amount of vapor depends on a few things. first is the type of eliquid you are using. what percentage of PG vs VG it has makes a big difference. the second important factor is the atomizer (the bit that actually vaporizes the liquid). some atomizers have a higher wattage output than others that makes them create more vapor.

 

[xanderxman]

It is resistance in the atomizer. The battery puts out voltage and the atomizer has a resistance (ohms). Those two things work together to create a wattage. You can use this formula to figure out your wattage: volts*volts/ohms. The atomizer alone does not create wattage, nor does the battery.

 

[want2quit2day]

I am very new to this too, I am curious to see what people answer because most of your questions are the same as mine.

I learned a couple of things though I will share. if I am wrong hopefully experienced folks will correct me.

for your first question the amount of vapor depends on a few things. first is the type of eliquid you are using. what percentage of PG vs VG it has makes a big difference. the second important factor is the atomizer (the bit that actually vaporizes the liquid). some atomizers have a higher wattage output than others that makes them create more vapor.

Yes, this is what I need to know also. The set up I was trying for a couple days was an ego battery that didn't have any adjustment. My friend said there are different number wicks but didn't know what the differences are. She just said they were 1.8. I have seen these listed in a couple different numbers. Do you know what will happen using each of these on a battery with no adjustments? There must be a difference or they wouldn't be selling different size heads right?

 

[LouP]

There are indeed many different setups and many different styles of vapers. I think we've all had to deal with the learning curve to find what works best for us. In terms of the amount of vaper, DanfromIran, you are correct. A higher vg will generally create more vapour however, I think that the juice vendors out there have become very good at creating satisfying vapes in a variety of blends.

One of the things that helped me most when I was starting out was learning how to draw on a an ecig. It's different then a regular old stinky. I read a post somewhere on ecf that said you should draw for a steady, count of four and then exhale. It changed everything for me. Try it compared to a shorter harder drag. For me, I get tons of vapour!! Just like in the videos.

 

[xanderxman]

Using the 1.8 ohm head on a non-variable voltage battery is your best bet. There is a sweet spot of vapor production and taste in regard to wattage. You want to be around 4 - 8 watts. A non-variable voltage eGo battery provides 3.2 volts. Using a 1.8 ohm head creates around 5.6 watts. If you use the 2.4 ohm head on the same battery you will only get around 4.3 watts.

The eGo Twists that I have allow me to vary the voltage from 3.2V to 4.8V, which allows me to adjust the voltage output of my battery to better matchup with different resistance heads. I can create the same wattage on a 1.8 ohm head that I can on a 2.4 ohm head. The only drawback to non-variable voltage batteries is the inability to adjust voltage to match the resistance of your atomizer head. It is not an issue to use a 2.8 ohm head on a non-variable voltage battery, but flavor and vapor production will suffer.

If vapor production is a huge deal for you then I would suggest going with a variable voltage battery, like the eGo Twist, to allow you to adjust your voltage to create the ideal amount of vapor for you.

 

[CommaHolly]

be aware though, that the higher voltage you use on a variable voltage PV, the shorter your battery will last,,,,,you may not get 9 hours out of a 900 mah if you vape at a very high voltage compared to a much lower voltage,,,,,,

 

[nepatitan]

All very good answers and suggestions. But the main thing you need to know and I have read this forum for quite some time before realizing it. As much as vaping is amazing and the statistics from this site (obviously the site is still going stong because of it) show most do quit analogs. Vaping will never be like smoking, once you understand that it is different, that its not the same thing and vape enough to realize that its satisfying (just not in that stinky kinda way) it will be much easier for you.

 

[want2quit2day]

Whats a PV?

be aware though, that the higher voltage you use on a variable voltage PV, the shorter your battery will last,,,,,you may not get 9 hours out of a 900 mah if you vape at a very high voltage compared to a much lower voltage,,,,,,

 

[want2quit2day]

All good info. But I guess everyone is just as confused as I am pertaining to set ups. No real solid recommendations?

 

[juicejunky]

If money is no object I'll tell you my setup.


2 - REO VV Grand $194 each. Variable voltage bottom feeder, 100% guaranteed by the maker, extremely reliable despite my abuse.
VV Reo Grand

8 - 18350 batteries $7.60 each. I like to have 4 per PV, could get by with 6 if you are organized.

AW IMR 18350 3.7V 700 mah

2- Pila Chargers $44.95 each - backup plus I can charge 4 at a time.

Pila IBC Battery Charger

4 - HH.357 atomizers $21.99 each For VV I'd buy 2.0s or 2.5s, but I am now using up some 1.5s that work fine. 2 to use on the VV Grands and 2 backups. Might try the new rebuildables at some point, but these HH.357s last me a few months at least. HH.357 have excellent flavor and produce tons of vapor. More VG (vegetable glycerin) in your juice will produce more vapor, but I prefer a 70PG/30VG mix.

HH.357 Cisco Spec Hybrid 510 Atomizer - Avid Vaper

4 Cherry Vape Drip Tips $7.99 I like the Universal because it makes using the HH.357 atomizers easier because no hot juice in your mouth ever, but it's really a personal thing.

DREAM TIPS BY CHERRY VAPE



Lots of ejuice. I like BackwoodsBrew.net Casablanca and Dulce de Leche or make my own DIY juice.


Bottom feeders like the VV Grand don't look like traditional cigarettes so may not be the best for starting out, but once you no longer relate to cigarettes, nothing is easier than a bottom feeder. No leaking, easy to fill, easy to clean, and once set up lasts all day.


Good luck finding something.

 

[juicejunky]

Whats a PV?

Personal Vaporizer - another name for e-cig

 

[juicejunky]

One of the things that helped me most when I was starting out was learning how to draw on a an ecig. It's different then a regular old stinky. I read a post somewhere on ecf that said you should draw for a steady, count of four and then exhale. It changed everything for me. Try it compared to a shorter harder drag. For me, I get tons of vapour!! Just like in the videos.

So true, it's almost backwards from smoking. With vaping the slower you toke the hotter and more voluminous the vapor because it has more time to hang out around the hot atomizer coils.

 

[Racehorse]

WanttoQuit

I don't want to be one of those people always recommending Twists. I will say that even if you find something you like more they are great backups, which you need anyway. Most people I know bought genuine Joyetechs and are using them 6mos to 1 year later, so I don't think they are junk.

You will have to try tanks (vivi nova, stardust/visions) yourself to decide if YOU like them. Ditto on cartos, or punched cartos in tanks.

What others love, I hated, and ended up as a newbie with a bottom feeder.

You won't know these things until you try. I figure I made an investment to vape, and to stick with it, and learned over about 1-2 months what I liked and didn't like. I got other people started vaping, and they had very different opinions after their own experiments.

I would get an 1) ego-like set of batteries (kgo, ego, etc.) or a variable voltage ego/kgo/etc. 2) plus a clearo or vivi and 3) a few cartos

to see which I liked first. Then, move on from there.

If you want to spend bigger everyone seems to love their Provari. I love my little bottom feeder, a vmod or like juicejunkey said, a reo .

 

[rebuilder]

The vapor clouds you see on Youtube are an illusion. They are simply a camera trick for the most part. You will not see people out and about blowing such large clouds.

The cheapest way of getting those insane clouds is:

1x 3.7 battery/mod
1x bauway 306LR or ikenvape io6 atomiser (other atomisers may work but these I can at least guarantee)
1x 100% vg juice

Now this isn't a convenience item, dripping is not something many people can be bothered with but IF you want the simplest surefire method of getting insane clouds and the purest flavour/throathit experience you need 1 dripping atomiser in your collection to compare everything else to. Now as soon as you start looking at day day running convenience you start to run into other problems, every head has its own set of flaws whether its cost, initial setup hassle, day to day running hassle, sacrifice in flavour, sacrifice in vapour, etc, etc. There is no plug and play item that last for days without refilling, gives the ultimate flavour and vapour experience AND is cheap to boot, you need to pick the flaw you are willing to live with or test everything out and see for yourself how big an issue those flaws really are.

 

[SissySpike]

Most new comers including my self starts with something that looks like a cigarette, then we graduate to ego type stuff, and finally on to a Mod, APV, PV, a tube or box that uses rechargeable batteries. Id suggest skipping the first two and going for the Mod. For sure get a Variable Voltage, If you want quality reliability and builder support buy American. If you want to save a few buck and willing to settle for mediocre performance and reliability get a mid priced Chinese mod. I have every end of the spectrum. They all put power to the coil and make vapor some just do better.
Next a glass cartomizer tank IBTanked - Get Tanked With Us! My favorite cartomizer is a smoktek 4.5 oHm https://www.ecigcharleston.com/one-page-checkout.asp this is a good place to get them.
You have to punch a hole in them saturate the foam put it in the tank fill the tank with liquid and your vaping clouds like you see on youtube!
Someone said its not like smoking and that's true but you can get off of cigarettes by vaping. There is a lot to learn at first but your in the right place. Heres some more informational sights. The Guide To Vaping Electronic Cigarettes and eLiquid The Vape Book Good luck and Welcome!

 

[Hoodwinkmark]

My personal fav is the Ego. Battery lasy me like 12 hours, good vapor and totally realiable.

 

[mitsuhashi]

I'm not familiar with the newer tanks and clearomizers and mods and such, so I'll keep it simple from my experience.

The original (traditional) setup was 1) battery, 2) atomizer, 3) cartridge.
The setup I use is 1) battery, 2) cartomizer.

The cartomizer is the atomizer and cartridge in one, so you have the heating part (coil) inside the cotton-looking thing (polyfill). Saves a TON of hassle when you're new and when something feels wrong, you don't know whether it's your cartridge, your atomizer, or your battery. Look for Boge cartomizers, as they've been around a while and primarily sell the single-coil cartomizers, which you might want with a 3.7v battery. The dual-coil cartomizers you might hear about get mixed reviews on 3.7v.

Get a well-reviewed 3.7v manual battery (eGos, Rivas, whatnot) that's 650mah or higher so you don't lack battery power every 30 minutes. These will be the fat batteries, not the cigarette-slim ones. You might want to upgrade from them later, but I know lots of people don't feel the need for more. Plus, they're much cheaper than the variable-voltage ones, and you might not want to spend all that money up front.

For your juice, you'll want to go VG juices if big, heavy vapor is more important than stronger taste and throat hit. I love them myself, but filling new cartomizers and waiting for the juice to soak in can take a long time. PG juices will be quick and convenient but you'll get much lighter vapor.

Oh yeah, and uh.. when you vape, don't hold your battery up high or even horizontally. In most cases, you'll want the liquid from your cartomizer/cartridge/etc dripping downward toward your battery, so 30-45 degrees downward is good. And uh... don't drag too hard on the thing since you'll get juice all over your mouth -- just keep the battery button pressed and wait for the vapor to fill your mouth. I learned these the hard way!!

 

[SissySpike]

All good info. But I guess everyone is just as confused as I am pertaining to set ups. No real solid recommendations?

I missed this before I posted There are so many options and accessories out there its really a mater of preference personnel experience Its kind of like who makes the best truck Ford Chevy Dodge ? We all know Ford is hands down the best;-) but there are some who swear buy Chevy and several of the dreaded D word fans. Of course If you let the politicians lead you with misinformation and can sleep at night knowing your turning your back on your fellow Americans get a toyota follow the croud off the cliff.