Chain Vaping and Carto Life

[Damian]

I've been vaping for about a month and I've kicked my PAD+ habit with the cigarette cravings almost totally gone. This forum has been my largest source of information; so first, Thank you!

If it helps answer the questions below, I have a KGO kit and am using an assortment of carto brands and I have one CE4.

I have two questions:

The first is about a concern I have that I'm vaping too much. I mean in order for me to prevent caving and bumming a smoke off someone I've had to keep vaping almost non-stop. I'll put it down for a few minutes, but if I'm watching TV or working, I'm taking a few drags every couple minutes. I've got 2 strengths of juices right now, 18mg and 12mg. My goal is to continue to ween myself off the nicotine content. So with that in mind, am I vaping too much? Is that what people usually mean when they say "chain vaping". I've got several different cartomizers that I use for different flavors because I haven't found a flavor that I can use all day before I need a change, so I'm really not exactly sure how much juice I go through in a day.

I can sense when I'm overdoing it a little - I get that queezy, shaky feeling and will put it down for a while, get a drink and a snack and come back to it later, but it's rare I push myself that far. Maybe once or twice in the past month.

The second question is about carto life. I've read the range of cartos lasting between a couple days and up to a month. I've had about 20 different flavors of juice and almost all of them have had their own carto dedicated to them. So I might go several days before I get around to using a carto that has one of my lesser favorite flavors in it. So for these less-used cartos, should I expect them to last longer because I am using them less? Or is the clock running on their lifespan just by containing juice? I'm having a hard time noticing that loss of flavor or performance that people describe when it's time to toss a carto.

Sorry this is so long. Thanks in advance.

 

[Orobas]

if you were a pack a day smoker you probably should have started with 24mg IMHO, you might be sucking on it less, then.

Cartos wearing out is more the result of whatever isn't vaporized "gunking up" the coil, not so much being soaked.

So yes, the cartos you're using less often will last longer.

 

[ShogaNinja]

Yeah the problem is you need to be vaping 24 mg for like a year before you start cutting down to 18mg and then 12mg. Know this.

 

[seanksean]

Very good questions, I'm fairly new to vaping myself and in the same position as you, can't seem to put the thing down and feel that I'm getting more addicted than I was before. Think I'm going to try time my vaping. Have a good 8 puffs every hour, look to get it to every 2 hours etc. Sounds a bit boring bit might be the way to do it.

 

[Damian]

Oh, OK. I was about to start getting all 12mg juice and continue to step down. Getting a higher nic content and vaping less makes sense, too.

I was smoking Marlboro Ultra Lights and a lot of vendors label the 18mg juice as "high", that's why I thought 18 would be a good place to start.

Thank you all!

 

[Audrey Brannon-Torres]

I have weened (such a funny word) myself down to 12 (sometimes 11)from 24 in two months. I smoked Marlboro Special Blend light 100's for several years now and I was a PAD+ person. I think that weening is subjective. Each person knows when it is right for him or her to go down in strength. This is totally my opinion. I also chain vape. I have since day one.

 

[Thomas Simms]

Hmmmmm... I started at 36mg(not recommended) when i first started vaping and still 2 years later im only down to 24mg and i still chain vape. i will chain vape for probably 10-15 min every hour. One of the reasons i use such high mg is because im ridiculously addicted to the TH. Anything less than 24mg seems like air to me unless im burning cartos everyday running LR's at HV.

 

[Audrey Brannon-Torres]

Thomas,
I have heard others talk about the TH with higher Nic levels. I personally did not like it but that is just me. I have also LOVE sweet flavors but some do not again personal preference. If you will indulge my ignorance for a second: I noticed your banner says you are a volcano ecig vaper...What is a Volcano? I am loyal to a company and will not change but the logo looks cool (I know I am a weirdo).

 

[gman1975]

if you were a pack a day smoker you probably should have started with 24mg IMHO, you might be sucking on it less, then.

Cartos wearing out is more the result of whatever isn't vaporized "gunking up" the coil, not so much being soaked.

So yes, the cartos you're using less often will last longer.

Hi there.
new to this all. but this was one of the items i was wondering about...
I smoke a pack of Marl Menthols a day. These are 9mg Tar, and 0.7mg Nic... what would be a recommended Juice level???

 

[gman1975]

Sorry for the double posting:

Another question..
How long do Cartos last... I guess its different for everyone, but would there be a way to translate this into: Vapes per day * length of each vape session, = number of days.
Trying to figure out how many Cartos to get...

Ordered a LT. But just realized that the add ons don't last indefinitely. so trying to bundle and all inclusive order...

 

[Debadoo]

Before you go load up on 24 mg nic, lemme ask a few more questions. First, congrats on kickin the stinkies for a month!!! First you said cravings were nearly gone, but then said in order to keep from bummin a cig you hit the pv almost constantly, so I'm a tad confused on where you are with the cravings. Higher nic may not keep you from vaping all the time. There were many things in cigs we were all addicted to, not just nic. When I jumped up to 24 based on advice here, I vaped just as much as on 16-18 mg nic. The only thing that made me hit the 24 mg nic maybe a tiny bit less was I couldn't stand the peppery flavor it gave the juice. (no one told me about that so I ordered several lg bottles of 24 mg nic). I can't stand black pepper, so that really stunk. I smoked PAD marlboro full flavor 100's for 35 yrs, but I don't need 24 mg nic. But each person is different.

What pg/vg ratio are you using? I find that I'm having a hard time getting that hard chest hit (throat hit) that I got with cigs, and that's what I'm craving more than anything. Higher pg will give you more of that. Also, how do you vape? I find I do much better with a long SLOW, (about 4 seconds) draw, hold it in my mouth just a bit, then a somewhat shallow inhale. If you do try 24 mg, I would start out with maybe one bottle of a fav flavor and just see if you vape less on it.

As to vaping too much, you said you rarely get jittery etc and back off if/when you do, so you're probably fine there. From comments I've seen, I think most of us vape pretty much constantly when we can. ie, not at work or something where it's limited. Chain vaping can be used to describe several quick consecutive...draw, inhale, exhale...in a row, but I think typically it's more like several draws and inhales before you exhale. Make sure you drink lots of water especially if you use a higher pg ratio.

Try to think about what it is you're wanting at that moment you grab the pv. Is it more physical or more psychological? Also do you prefer the filler cartos or the ce4? Is either one more satisfying than the other? This is just as long as your questions, but it's because there is no one simple answer that fixes everyone's issues. Higher nic may be just the ticket, it is for some folks, it's just not always the answer. Good luck!

 

[Thomas Simms]

Thomas,
I have heard others talk about the TH with higher Nic levels. I personally did not like it but that is just me. I have also LOVE sweet flavors but some do not again personal preference. If you will indulge my ignorance for a second: I noticed your banner says you are a volcano ecig vaper...What is a Volcano? I am loyal to a company and will not change but the logo looks cool (I know I am a weirdo).

Volcano is the company, i have been using their stuff alot i started out with their liq only because they had a mall kiosk about a half hour away. (i know im cheap, sue me hah) But recently i am using a lavatube(actually a vtube from apollo but same thing) Just wondering what company do you use? I am always jumping around, i really need a good solid supplier.

 

[Damian]

Hi Deb! Thanks for the help!

First you said cravings were nearly gone, but then said in order to keep from bummin a cig you hit the pv almost constantly, so I'm a tad confused on where you are with the cravings.

I just meant that as long as I'm able to vape enough, I can go down for smoke breaks with my friends at work and not be at risk of asking them for one of theirs. As long as I'm vaping I'm not missing the cigarettes. I think that if I forgot my KGO at home one day, or something I would have a very hard time getting through the day without having at least a couple cigarettes.

What pg/vg ratio are you using? Also, how do you vape?

I've been ordering 50/50 when available, some of the vendors I've been using don't have that so I've been getting 60/40. It's only in the last week or so that I've been able to discern the TH and recognize to what extent I like it. I've found that 18mg at 60/40 provides plenty of TH for me. I can now see that 12mg at 50/50 doesn't provide enough of a TH for me.

It sounds like I vape a lot like you do, 5-6 second draw, hold it, and often exhale through my nose because I read you can absorb more nic that way. I never exhaled through my nose smoking cigs because they stink so bad.

Try to think about what it is you're wanting at that moment you grab the pv. Is it more physical or more psychological? Also do you prefer the filler cartos or the ce4? Is either one more satisfying than the other?

I definitely think it is more psychological. I had quit using the gum before and I remember one of the things I had read was that you were supposed to say "in front" of your cravings. If you waited until the craving to start chewing the gum, it was usually too late because the gum couldn't satisfy you fast enough. I've kind of taken that thinking into vaping and it seems to have worked for me. I actually enjoy vaping, the flavors are good and I can do it inside. I usually only feel the physical need after I haven't done it for a while: after long meetings, after eating in a restaurant, after waking up, that kind of thing.

I have a slight preference for the cartos because they seem more consistent. Sometimes, if the clearo sits for a little while it takes a while before it starts producing much vapor. The clearo will leak just a little sometimes. The vapor production was great on the clearo at first, but it dropped off pretty quick - I've even cleaned without much improvement. But it is easier to fill the clearo and see when it needs to be topped off; larger capacity, too. I ordered one of the new Kangers with the replaceable heads, so we'll see how I like that.

Thanks again for your help, Deb. Your post helped me a lot.

 

[Ralikar]

You need to understand the nic % is the WRONG way to think of this!! Your total nicotine is nicotine/time. This is what gets people into trouble because the ECF tendency is to tell people to get high nic if they have some issue. You can hit a 36mg once in 5 min or hit a 12mg carto 25 times in 5 min. It's nic/time! As a former heavy smoke and vaper you should decide something now as you have two choices:

1) Do you want to treat it like a cigarette and take vape breaks every so often? If so get HIGH nic so you're satisfied. And take it out of your hand during breaks!

2) Do you like vaping and want to vape all over the place? If so get a LOW nic level.

You're developing new habits--if you set them now you can skillfully adjust. The problem is when people tell you to get high nic to satisy you and then you vape 24/7 and get a bigger addiction. Vaping is fun and it's real easy to like it a lot and get more clean nic than you were smoking. So set your habits now: nic/time is the formula not just nicotine strength!

Also, consider alternating strengths... I have a really heavy one for a treat and a light one for daily. When I go to parties and drink and chain vape I make an extra light one so I can vape all night. At work: vape high nic on smoke breaks, plan on cuddling on the couch and vaping for 2 hrs, use really low strength.

Nic/time! for the win!

 

[Debadoo]

Glad it helped. And Ralikar does make a very good point about different nic strengths at different times. I'm home most all the time, so I didn't think about that one. It really doesn't sound like you need 24 nic. Sounds like you're doing fine at 18. Some folks do use a lower nic at night before bed to rest better, but many don't need to.

For me I just couldn't deal with filler cartos at all, found that out really quickly, so switched to clearos. I've tried a few, and like several quite a bit, but haven't found the perfect one yet. Be careful with the Kangers. Not sure about the replaceable head ones, but I know several of these still use the plastic that can crack with certain juices. Sounds like you've got a great handle on vaping after just a month, so you're way ahead of the game! Good job!! And trust me, many of us would be reachin for a cig if we had to go all day without a vape. lol

 

[Orobas]

It's easy to start with 24mg and step it down if you're getting nic headaches from constantly chainvaping. but once you realize that vapor isn't going to have the same harsh intensity of a cigarette, and cigarettes start to stink to you, you'll start sucking with less intensity almost automatically. It is absolutely imperative IMHO that you get the nicotine you need from the word go until your taste for cigarettes vanishes, and then you can start to step down to lower nic levels.

Inevitably a new vaper wants to replicate the taste of a cigarette, and you might wind up sucking down 20ml of a tasty menthol juice per week before you have a revelation and wonder why you ever wanted it once you start to notice how much the inside of your car stinks, etc.

I agree with Ralikar to a point, but you have to get over the cigarettes before you can think about it like that. Nicotine isn't exactly a healthy substance, but *IN MY OPINION* it's probably one of the less harmful things in a cigarette.

If you have a local source it doesn't hurt to get a bottle at a time in different strengths you need until you find where you want to be.

 

[Suthrnbuckhunter]

I was a 2pad smoker when I smoked,and then went to dipping and was using just under two cans a day of dip.When I started vaping I was and continue to chain vape.Im not in the least bit worried about chain vaping.I was a heavy smoker and a heavy dipper.So now im a heavy vaper.I love my nicotine.It is a stress relief for me.Vaping is not giving me all the chemicals of traditional tobacco products so why shoilud I worry about chain vaping.I guess it is the realization that Im getting my nictotine in a much safer delivery system and so i dont even think about the amount of time I use my PV.I took the sugestion to start out high level nic,and it gave me headaches,(36mg)went to 24 and 18 in the same day,then to 9mg.At the present time I go between 9 & 12 mg in all my DIY and im happy as a pig in a tobacco field.I have no intention of ever going to 0 nic,but thats just me.And I will not worry about the amount of use,as it is something i enjoy,so why limit myself.Hope you can take something positive from this..Congrats on kicking the use of over 3000 chemicals..

 

[XIVChrissyVIX]

I took a different route than was suggested here to adjust to my chain vaping. I vape my fave non-all day juice at 24 mg a few times a day for about a half hour. The rest of the time, I vape 6 mg juices that are great all day flavors. If I don't have the convenience of switching it up in the day due to travels and such, I will tank a 12 mg juice for the entire day. In the situation of vaping with the smokers, that would be an ideal time to pull out your 24 mg. Then, when you are between those times of greatest desire, switch over to the lower nic.