Eeek. Total Newb.

[Waxxiii]

O

Hi and welcome. There's nothing wrong with an iStick/Nauti combo. That's usually where I recommend new vapers start, albeit I would have suggested the 30 watt or 40TC over the 20 watt model, if you had asked, because it provides more room to grow. If what you have is working for you, you don't need anything else. (If you just want something else-- we call that disease "shinyitis" around here-- welcome to the club and we're going to have a lot of fun!) I do recommend having some backup gear in case your main breaks down. Another, slightly more powerful, iStick would serve this purpose admirably. If you like the mouth-to-lung hits you're getting from the Nauti, get another; maybe a bigger one so it will hold more juice if you're away from your stash a while. Another tootle puffer tank (low watt, MTL) well thought of is the GS Air. If you think you might like to try subohm (more and warmer cloud) and direct lung hits, a good place to start is the Kanger Subtank. It has a wide variety of coil values available and will do both MTL and direct lung, depending on how it's set up, plus has a RBA deck if you ever want to try building. Your iStick 20 is underpowered for subohm work. If you want to try the Subtank, the iStick 40 or the Innokin Cool Fire 4 is a better choice. The Subtank also comes bundled with the Kanger subox mod, and this device is what I would recommend if you wish to move into removable battery mods (I personally prefer them, but others disagree). So having said all that-- I talk too much too-- let me add it's hard to advise you about new gear without a better understanding of what you want it to do. There is much to learn in this; all these recommendations I have made were done for a reason, but I haven't mentioned what these reasons might be. I can talk about this stuff all day, so like or quote this post so the system will notify me, and I'll come back to the thread.

I must have been doing the right research because the devices I have in mind are the Kanger Sub and Inokkin Coolfire. I also looked into the EVic. What are your opinions on that? It is obviously super gimmicky but I really want a puff counter on my next mod. I'm sure I'll probably tire of it after I find out how much I'm vaping but I do kind of want that included. If none of the best devices don't include it, I could live without it, but...

I do wish I had gone for the 30w. I did SO much reading before I bought a set up and I had decided on either the istick 30w or 40w. I could just about afford the online price but I was impatient and ended up at a vape store and was a little too short on cash as they were more expensive.

What tube mods would you recommend? I want something I can take out and not worry too much about getting bashed about.

I've just started reading into sub ohming and definitely want a box mod that gives me that option.

Thanks for the advice so far.

 

[EBates]

Dry hits have been known to result in hissy fits and sulking, so watch out.
To avoid dry hits:
Always prime your coils before firing. A few drops of juice on the new coil and about 5 minutes soaking in the tank before vaping.
At the first sign of 'off tasting vapor' do a couple of dry puffs (not firing your mod) will bring juice to the coil and avoid a dry hit.
Dry hits are the result of a dry or under saturated wick. Taking dry puffs can and/or decreasing the tank's airflow can increase the flow of juice to the wick.
High wattage and long draws may result in dry hits

Hopefully one of the suggestions above will get you squared away.
Good Luck

 

[braveminion]

The evic is what I'm using with my kangertech tank. It's a great combo. The shop I got mine in did the software update for me that pushes it up to 75w before I took it home, but it looked very simple. It is being 'donated' to the OH as well though. I've just ordered the smok cube 2 cause I love the firing mechanism and all the pretty colours you can choose for the lights. I may have a problem lol


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[Waxxiii]

Can I ask, when I press reply at the bottom of someone's comment, does it show up as a general reply? Do they know that my reply is directed at them?

Anyway, re the advice from suprtrkr. I had read about this during my quest to fix my mod so I did everything you mentioned except dropping a little e liquid onto the coil. I didn't want to eff it up since I bought only one coil (money issues.. *shrug*). I figured that if I did get a few dry hits it would right itself after being soaked in juice after a day or two. I'm on the third day now and still getting dry hits. It's the vaping equivalent of Russian roulette.

 

[braveminion]

It's just a general reply.

I think dry hits can cause dry hits, the cotton burns and then always leaves a burnt taste. If that is the case a new coil is the only way to rectify it.


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[Waxxiii]

Hello and welcome to the forum @Waxxiii. Glad to have you here!

If newbs come to ECF, they are directed.

If you are interested in learning more about e-cigarettes (and all the parts and pieces) below are some blog posts by ECF member @Baditude that I highly recommend for someone new to vaping.

• A Good Starter's Setup for a Beginning Vapor
• Advancing Up the Vaping Ladder with Egos and Mods
• Proper Terminology - Is it a carto, a tank, or what? A Guide to Juice Attachments
• Something Safe for Cinnamon and Citrus Flavors
• Beginner Video Playlist

Here are a few more links from New Members Information <= Link covers many topics. Here are two of them:

• The Three Main Types of Ecig
• Vaping Slang and Acronym

Nicotine

A "general guideline" for nicotine concentration in e-liquid to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. If you are subohming (resistance under 1.0Ω) cut these nicotine levels by at least 50%.

06 mg = 10 cigarettes or less
12 mg = 20 cigarettes
18 mg = 30 cigarettes
24 mg = 40 cigarettes

eLiquid/Juice

PG = Propylene Glycol - the "flavor carrier" of e-liquid. A secondary source of "throat hit", but not as strong as the nicotine concentration. Some people have a sensitivity or even an allergy to PG. It's very thin.

VG = Vegetable Glycerin - the "vapor maker" of e-liquid. Used as a sweeter in many food sources, and also as a skin emollient. It's very thick. Often labeled just "Glycerine"

PG and VG are often used together in different ratios in e-liquid. For example, a 50/50 PG/VG ratio. Many juice vendors offer a range of different ratios as far as PG/VG.

Thanks for the info . I'm definitely going to look up Baditude.

 

[Waxxiii]

Forget my question regarding how the replies are viewed. I notice that if I directly reply I quote the poster, right. If I was on my laptop maybe this would be obvious put my inadequate iPhone screen makes it less obvious.

I have a quick question. If you are unsure which nic level you should be using and are stuck between two, would you go for the lower or higher? For example the guidelines give you a rough idea that if you smoke 10, go for 6mg and for 20 go 12mg. So, if you smoked somewhere in the middle (15ish.. obviously) which would you opt for?

 

[braveminion]

Probably start with the higher and work your way down. That's what I did. Started with 24mg nicofresh stuff. Now on 3mg stuff like hodges home brew and wick liquor


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[suprtrkr]

O


I must have been doing the right research because the devices I have in mind are the Kanger Sub and Inokkin Coolfire. I also looked into the EVic. What are your opinions on that? It is obviously super gimmicky but I really want a puff counter on my next mod. I'm sure I'll probably tire of it after I find out how much I'm vaping but I do kind of want that included. If none of the best devices don't include it, I could live without it, but...

I do wish I had gone for the 30w. I did SO much reading before I bought a set up and I had decided on either the istick 30w or 40w. I could just about afford the online price but I was impatient and ended up at a vape store and was a little too short on cash as they were more expensive.

What tube mods would you recommend? I want something I can take out and not worry too much about getting bashed about.

I've just started reading into sub ohming and definitely want a box mod that gives me that option.

Thanks for the advice so far.

well, we're on the same page The Evic is a good choice too; I would have mentioned it in a deeper dive on the subject if you hadn't. It comes in the VT or VTC models, one of which is fixed battery and the other removable, but I can never remember which is who. These units are usually bundled with an Evic tank; it works well enough, and has a variety of coils, but it is generally conceded there are better tanks available. Still, it would give you the option of trying different setups, like the Subtank, and this would point you in the direction you want to go. It also gets you into the Temp Control regime for a test. Some like it, others don't. If you are considering a removable battery mod, I feel like the Sigelei Mini Book (40 watts, Ni200 TC) or the 75TC (75 watts, Ni200 TC), as well as the Cloupor Mini Plus (40 watts, Ni200 TC) or the Smok Treebox (75 watts, Ni200TC, natural wood body) all offer better quality than either the Subox or VT at much the same price. These latter are not usually bundled with a tank; you'll have to know what you want, or start with a Subtank and work from there.

As to tube mods... I don't know of a good one I'd like to recommend. The best, IMHO, are pure mechanical mods; but I don't recommend these to new vapers or those without good coil building skills and a solid knowledge of Ohm's Law and battery safety (all of which can be acquired here for free, just not quickly). I really do recommend new vapers stick with regulated mods until their knowledge base grows. One tube mod, unregulated, I feel comfortable recommending is the eGo One. It is not, IMO, top quality gear: fixed battery, unadjustable, subohm only. I mention it because it is one I have considered for myself for the purpose of beating up, losing or breaking, rather than damaging a much more expensive piece of gear. It's not a lot cheaper than your iStick/Nauti, but nothing compared to the price of dropping an SX Mini/Squape combo overboard on a fishing trip ;-) You'll have more questions; keep going, I'm not tired.

 

[Waxxiii]

It's just a general reply.

I think dry hits can cause dry hits, the cotton burns and then always leaves a burnt taste. If that is the case a new coil is the only way to rectify it.


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I'm pretty sure the cotton isn't burnt since I'm getting dry hits maybe 10% of the time. I guess I'll see how I go with the next coil.

Anyway, I want to say thanks to everyone for making me feel super welcome here.

 

[Waxxiii]

well, we're on the same page The Evic is a good choice too; I would have mentioned it in a deeper dive on the subject if you hadn't. It comes in the VT or VTC models, one of which is fixed battery and the other removable, but I can never remember which is who. These units are usually bundled with an Evic tank; it works well enough, and has a variety of coils, but it is generally conceded there are better tanks available. Still, it would give you the option of trying different setups, like the Subtank, and this would point you in the direction you want to go. It also gets you into the Temp Control regime for a test. Some like it, others don't. If you are considering a removable battery mod, I feel like the Sigelei Mini Book (40 watts, Ni200 TC) or the 75TC (75 watts, Ni200 TC), as well as the Cloupor Mini Plus (40 watts, Ni200 TC) or the Smok Treebox (75 watts, Ni200TC, natural wood body) all offer better quality than either the Subox or VT at much the same price. These latter are not usually bundled with a tank; you'll have to know what you want, or start with a Subtank and work from there.

As to tube mods... I don't know of a good one I'd like to recommend. The best, IMHO, are pure mechanical mods; but I don't recommend these to new vapers or those without good coil building skills and a solid knowledge of Ohm's Law and battery safety (all of which can be acquired here for free, just not quickly). I really do recommend new vapers stick with regulated mods until their knowledge base grows. One tube mod, unregulated, I feel comfortable recommending is the eGo One. It is not, IMO, top quality gear: fixed battery, unadjustable, subohm only. I mention it because it is one I have considered for myself for the purpose of beating up, losing or breaking, rather than damaging a much more expensive piece of gear. It's not a lot cheaper than your iStick/Nauti, but nothing compared to the price of dropping an SX Mini/Squape combo overboard on a fishing trip ;-) You'll have more questions; keep going, I'm not tired.

The absolute weirdest thing is that just yesterday I asked the guy at my local vape store to put aside the eGo one for me whilst I went away and read up on it. It seems like a solid choice for an back up mod. Super simple. The store has it on offer for £22 so it's a ton cheaper than my istick/nauti. I paid £55 for that. Perhaps that is a little too much but originally it came as a kit with the GS air.

Back to the eGo one. Is it a mech mod? What really is a mech mod? I've heard that term around but it's the one thing I've not read up on.

I'm encouraged regarding the box mod discussion since I have looked up and likes nearly all of the ones you mentioned. I've not looked into the sigelei mods nor smok though. I'm not keen on the idea of the wood body. I like bright and shiny which is why my istick is wrapped in colourful vinyl .

So, if you HAD to recommend ONE only as my next box mod. What would I be getting?

 

[suprtrkr]

Can I ask, when I press reply at the bottom of someone's comment, does it show up as a general reply? Do they know that my reply is directed at them?

Anyway, re the advice from suprtrkr. I had read about this during my quest to fix my mod so I did everything you mentioned except dropping a little e liquid onto the coil. I didn't want to eff it up since I bought only one coil (money issues.. *shrug*). I figured that if I did get a few dry hits it would right itself after being soaked in juice after a day or two. I'm on the third day now and still getting dry hits. It's the vaping equivalent of Russian roulette.

if you hit "reply" the post shows in the thread so everybody can read it, but the system also lets the person you're replying to know you have, so they know to go back and look. That's probably bad news about the coil. Coils have three parts: wick, heating element, and some structure to hold them and screw into the tank. A "bad coil" can mean any of these parts are damaged/destroyed. On the structure, it's usually the seals that fail; then the tank leaks. If the wire (heating element) breaks or burns in two, it stops working entirely and some mods won't even try to fire it because the can't read the resistance (the resistance of a broken wire is infinite/absolute; it will not pass current at all). If the wick is damaged, it either won't wick juice or gets burnt by the wire, usually both. There's no fix for it short of replacing the coil entirely or the wick. What happens is dry hits and foul taste. That's probably where your problem lies.

 

[EBates]

I'm pretty sure the cotton isn't burnt since I'm getting dry hits maybe 10% of the time. I guess I'll see how I go with the next coil.

Anyway, I want to say thanks to everyone for making me feel super welcome here.

Try closing down your airflow a little that should cause the tank to draw more juice to the coil.

 

[AndriaD]

Can I ask, when I press reply at the bottom of someone's comment, does it show up as a general reply? Do they know that my reply is directed at them?

Anyway, re the advice from suprtrkr. I had read about this during my quest to fix my mod so I did everything you mentioned except dropping a little e liquid onto the coil. I didn't want to eff it up since I bought only one coil (money issues.. *shrug*). I figured that if I did get a few dry hits it would right itself after being soaked in juice after a day or two. I'm on the third day now and still getting dry hits. It's the vaping equivalent of Russian roulette.

Yes, when you hit reply to a specific comment, it shows that comment as a quote.

Actually, if a dry hit is bad enough, it *can* ruin the coil or wick; it kinda depends on the wick material -- if it's cotton, it's usually toast; silica can stand up to heat better and may not be totally ruined.

Andria

 

[suprtrkr]

The absolute weirdest thing is that just yesterday I asked the guy at my local vape store to put aside the eGo one for me whilst I went away and read up on it. It seems like a solid choice for an back up mod. Super simple. The store has it on offer for £22 so it's a ton cheaper than my istick/nauti. I paid £55 for that. Perhaps that is a little too much but originally it came as a kit with the GS air.

Back to the eGo one. Is it a mech mod? What really is a mech mod? I've heard that term around but it's the one thing I've not read up on.

I'm encouraged regarding the box mod discussion since I have looked up and likes nearly all of the ones you mentioned. I've not looked into the sigelei mods nor smok though. I'm not keen on the idea of the wood body. I like bright and shiny which is why my istick is wrapped in colourful vinyl .

So, if you HAD to recommend ONE only as my next box mod. What would I be getting?

The eGo One is not a pure mech mod, although it functions similarly. A pure mech is nothing more than a battery holder, a fire button, and an atomizer connector. They are completely without electronics and often built without even wires, using the metallic body of the mod itself as the current pathway. They are always removable battery, unlike the eGo One, and have no onboard charging facility, or much of anything else. We started using them, back in the day, because regulated mods were then limited to 15 watts or so, and coils above 1.5ish ohms. They were then the only way to get more power. This is no longer true; now regulated mods are more powerful, and always were easier to use and safer. They can be finicky: voltage is (semi) fixed by the battery's charge state so the only way to change power (watts) is change the coil. Power applied to the coil is greatest on a fresh battery, decreasing with every puff as the battery discharges. Some of us still like them, despite all the trouble of using them and the increased risk. Simple is heautiful, and building a mech so it vapes well is a challenge.

The eGo One is not such a tool. It's fixed battery, has an onboard charger and at least some safety circuitry. However, it is not regulated. You can't set the power on it, and the "strength" of the vape varies with battery charge.

If I have to pick one, I already did: Kanger Subox. This is very nice gear, real versatile, and will help a new vaper figure out where their vape lies. It's also powerful enough to be useful as a backup if you later move on, and removable battery so it isn't trash after the battery goes (and they do, the weakest link). That said, if it's shiny you want, look at the Sigelei Mini Book. I bought my woman one for Christmas, a red one, and she wet herself

 

[Waxxiii]

Probably start with the higher and work your way down. That's what I did. Started with 24mg nicofresh stuff. Now on 3mg stuff like hodges home brew and wick liquor


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How long did it take you to step down?

I've been vaping for about a month now. I started on 18mg and currently use between 8mg and 12mg depending on what strengths are offered by the different vendors. The reason I asked is that 8mg seems just right for me now but most places offer 6mg or 12mg, not the 8mg. I'm unsure which I should go for.

 

[braveminion]

It took me about 4/5 months to get down to 3mg.

If you are already working your way down, I'd go for 6mg rather than going backwards. Sometimes I miss the higher nicotine but personally I find the improvement in taste and the variety of options (a lot of which are only available in low nicotine) worth it.


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[suprtrkr]

How long did it take you to step down?

I've been vaping for about a month now. I started on 18mg and currently use between 8mg and 12mg depending on what strengths are offered by the different vendors. The reason I asked is that 8mg seems just right for me now but most places offer 6mg or 12mg, not the 8mg. I'm unsure which I should go for.

If you buy 2 bottles of 12 and one bottle of 0, all in the same flavor, mix them together and you'll have 3 bottles of 8.

 

[LouisLeBeau]

Hi @Waxxiii and welcome to the ECF Forums. I am SO happy that we have @Susan~S with her wonderful bank of links for new vapers! Thank you Susan, you are AWESOME!

Tanks are often, by nature, problematic. They are very convenient and hold a lot of juice so once you go through all the trouble of making sure your coil is good, and the tank is full, you are usually set for the day (or many hours anyway). My first advice for vapers though, is to have backups for your backups. Extra batteries, an extra mod, and an extra tank or two all ready to go. Sometimes difficulties strike at VERY inconvenient times, and it is VERY nice to just grab a different battery or tank and deal with the issue when it is more convenient for you.

The tough thing about vaping vs. smoking is you can't just pop into any gas station and get your "fix", although that situation is improving quickly. So get yourself spares, and have em ready to take over for your fallen soldiers!

Good luck dear, we've ALL been in your shoes, so no question or problem is too small to ask or have addressed!

 

[juskiddin]

Forget my question regarding how the replies are viewed. I notice that if I directly reply I quote the poster, right. If I was on my laptop maybe this would be obvious put my inadequate iPhone screen makes it less obvious.

I have a quick question. If you are unsure which nic level you should be using and are stuck between two, would you go for the lower or higher? For example the guidelines give you a rough idea that if you smoke 10, go for 6mg and for 20 go 12mg. So, if you smoked somewhere in the middle (15ish.. obviously) which would you opt for?

You could start with the higher % of nic and if you find you're getting too much of a buzz you could lower it.
Or, what I did and still do is sometimes mix equal parts of 2 different strengths. For example, I'll sometimes mix 50% 12 mg and 50% 6 mg. 12 + 6 = 18 and divide that total by 2; giving me 9mg. Sometimes that's just right...depending on what I feel like
You know; you may be in the mood for mellow (like in the evening) so 6mg might be good. Other times, for me in the morning, I want more of a kick so 12 mg works. Midday, midway. ..add 'em both together and Bingo! - 9 mg is just right