Diacetyl and polyester, plus other vaping observations

[Inedia]

Hi everyone,
I am new to vaping, I'm in NZ so I have started with the hydro e cigarette menthol which I like a lot. I just got an e9 from china though, which I mainly wanted just so I could try some other flavours since I haven't seen too many in NZ, particularly not containing nicotine. I did some further research on the e9, and I found out that the cartomizers use polyester to hold the e- liquid in place. I contacted the website that I got it from, and they said it was safe, but I am doubtful about whether heating polyester and inhaling the result can be a good idea. What do you guys think?

I have also been wondering about diacetyl, which I understand is a component in some e-liquid flavours, but I don't know much more about it than that, and I'm wondering if someone can clarify the term, with particular reference to why I should be concerned about it.

I am really enjoying vaping so far. When I smoked my cat wouldn't talk to me afterwards (I think she thought I smelled bad) but now she will sit on me and cuddle up while I am vaping in bed, which is awesome.

 

[dormouse]

If you keep the carto damp then it will not singe. if you want to avoid diacetyl then research the flavorings being used or avoid all vanilla, custard, buttery, fatty flavors. Just vape tobacco and straight fruit flavors flavors.

There were 4000 chemicals in your cigarettes including diacetyl

 

[Inedia]

So are you saying that with polyester filler isn't dangerous at all? I don't know if this is right, but I've heard that polyester doesn't have to combust in order to release vapors, just heating it can be enough. But I'm happy to be corrected on this score because I miss my lychee vapes.

 

[x-smok3]

Hi Vrnda, I share your concern about the polyfill and have gone to the CE2 fluxomizer for that reason. I found that I like them better than the carts or Cartos so that was a big plus. I have heard many that say it can't be as bad as cigarettes; however I don't really take a lot of comfort in that. In short if you are uncomfortable with poly fill then I would trust your instincts. I don't really know who ships what to NZ though. You can always contact Gotvapes and find out if you are interested. The fact of the matter is that we can not be 100% sure any of this is completely safe, but then nothing is. I have done a lot of reading on both sides of the issue and frankly I feel confident that vaping is a relatively safe activity but no harm to minimize the risk if possible IMO.

 

[rolygate]

It's safe as long as you keep the cart well filled. The bridge and atty must be wet all the time. As soon as the vapour feels dry or the taste drops, refill. You only get 4 - 6 cigs worth out of a cartridge (cart & atty system) , or 6 - 8 cigs worth from a carto (cartomizer system). If it's a 3-piece then you have a cart & atty, a 2-piece is a cartomizer model. Cartos also need refilling (or throwing away) sooner than you might think.

Polyester is safe for this purpose because it's used in aquariums and fish are much more sensitive than us to the slightest amount of toxins. The woolly white batting is called fluval. Blue aquarium foam is better. The same stuff is used in cartos. Keep it wet and it's fine. Think of this kit as an electric kettle - you can't run it dry (or run it upside down).

Diacetyl is used in buttery, popcorn type flavors and will turn up in anything with a dairy, yoghurt, butter, coconut, cream type of flavor. There are substitutes but they might be just as bad, we don't know. The amount you inhale would be very small but if you want to be absolutely safe, stay away from those kinds of flavor. If you're young it might help, if you're old and have smoked for decades then you might as well enjoy it while it lasts

 

[bruiser]

Somewhere on here is a thread that lists vendors that don't use diacetyl.

 

[Inedia]

@ex smoke3 I was thinking of possibly importing a DSE901 and drip tip from cloud9 so as to avoid the polyfill because really it does make me uncomfortable. I wonder why something that has the seeming potential to be so dangerous is being used. If anyone has experience with this model I'd like to hear about it. I might eventually become comfortable with polyester being used fir this purpose, but only once I see some solid evidence that it's not going to give me emphysema, like commonly happens to those who work with heated polyester materials.

@rolygate I'm 23, so I'd like to do as little damage to myself as I am able to while continuing to enjoy my nicotine. Yes I know at sounds like I just want to have my cake and eat it too, but I really don't see why that shouldn't be possible in this day and age.

 

[frosting]

Drip tip sounds like the way for you go to then. Just attach it to your atomizer and there you go, no polyfill. If you really prefer carts then you could take the polyfill out and use something like Fluval foam material that is used in fish tanks you should be able to find at a petshop. It kind of looks like a sponge. I could not find exactly what it is made out of. The Diacetyl stuff doesn't bother me all much. Oh ya, I noticed my kitty comes around more often too

 

[JD1]

There's a lot of posts on the subject with the general consensus that moderate singing of the cotton blanket isn't harmful enough to count for anything. Most (all?) cartos have an inner cotton blanket and poly around that.

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...10-kr808-4081-etc-filler-type-cartos-572.html

 

[Inedia]

Thanks, that's interesting about the cotton centers, but when questioning manufacturers no one mentioned it. I know I feel a lot more comfortable thinking about cotton next to the heating coil as opposed to polyfil.

 

[adami]

I share your concerns and avoid anything with polyfill. I think diacetyl in e-juice is one of the stupidest things, butterlung is some bad news and in my opinion inhaling vaporized diacetyl can't possibly be safe. Even if it's just a tiny amount, you're directly inhaling it and the way I vape that would mean inhaling diacetyl constantly all day every day.

I'm also wary of acrylic drip tips and tanks after seeing the damage caused by some juices. I still use an acrylic drip tip sometimes but only with juices I'm reasonably certain won't damage it.

 

[Dalton63841]

I share your concerns and avoid anything with polyfill. I think diacetyl in e-juice is one of the stupidest things, butterlung is some bad news and in my opinion inhaling vaporized diacetyl can't possibly be safe. Even if it's just a tiny amount, you're directly inhaling it and the way I vape that would mean inhaling diacetyl constantly all day every day.

I'm also wary of acrylic drip tips and tanks after seeing the damage caused by some juices. I still use an acrylic drip tip sometimes but only with juices I'm reasonably certain won't damage it.

LOL Ironically I'm the opposite...After seeing the damage that some jooses do to acrylic, or even polycarbonate, I avoid those jooses. I'm relatively certain my lung tissue is less strong than polycarbonate tube.

 

[Inedia]

That's probably true. I'm shopping on cloud 9 at the moment and I was thinking of getting their vanilla, but I'm not sure if they avoid diacetyl when making their e juices, so do you guys think I would be safer with the menthol?