First Post and Thank You To All plus Some Questions

[Burn_notice_fan_NY]

Good afternoon
The Background Story
Let me first state that my draw to e-cigs was simply the fact that I had a few interviews to go to and did not want to smell of smoke as most of the interviews were over an hour drive and I was a chain smoker while driving (I could probably go through 15-20 cigs in a three hour drive). In anticipation of the drive I decided to buy disposable menthol BLUs. I purchased one the night before and determined that I would be able to complete a drive after all without an analog. After finishing the interview and getting back into the car I realized that not only did my car not stink, but I could still smell the fabric softener on my clothes. I was impressed. On the way home, I swapped out to analogs and continued to do this for each interview. Finally I decided to purchase one of the starter BLU kits around mid summer as I had interviews lined up back to back. Eventually I began to rely heavily on the BLUs along with the analogs. After a while I figured that this was a ridiculous idea and attempted to stick to the BLUs more, except when drinking. Eventually the battery pack charger died on me and I returned to the analogs for good. Even though I was a lurker on this forum for a while, when my experience with BLUs ended, so did my lurking.

Finally, I decided to go to a local tobacco smoke shop in November of this past year. I inquired about ecigs again and mentioned my experience with BLUs. I asked about other alternatives that were similar to the cig shape and was pointed toward the Crown Seven Gladiator. I purchased the starter, along with some Encore 24mg menthol, as I figured it couldn't hurt.. even though I didn't think the shape was convincing enough to get me to switch. I used this similar to the BLUs but was impressed with how much better the taste was than the menthol BLUs. Come New Year's Eve, I acknowledged that this was foolish to smoke both a PV and analog. I made up my mind to ween myself from analog at the end of the night. Since the morning of January 1st, I have swapped primarily to the Gladiator... with the exception that I smoke one analog at night. Only one day have I not smoked an analog, which was last Saturday.

The Thank You
I have regularly lurked, again after time away, on this site and the various forums since January 1st. I have searched and found suggestions for e-liquids and learned more about the various products than I think I ever could at the local smoke shop (as it is primarily tobacco, incense and the typical head shop stuff with limited e-cig stuff). Yesterday I decided that I really didn't like my Crown Seven Gladiator and figured it would be my stepping stone. I took the plunge and researched a little more after reading another suggestion post and was convinced that I should purchase another kit from MVS. I ended up with the following: 2 X Vision Spinner 1300 mAh(blue), 1 Vision EGO Clearomizer 2.0 (clear), 1 Innokin iClear 16 (clear) and one replacement head for both cartomizers. I have also ordered the Halo Menthol Sampler. I know that will be happier with this and thank you all for the guidance and encouragement.. even though I know my kit doesn't hold ground in comparison to most of your kits. I eagerly anticipate my journey to quitting analogs and am happy to become a part of this community now

The Questions

For those that dropped analogs completely, did you do it overnight or over a transition period? If it was over a period, am I headed in the right direction? I remember the first couple days on the Gladiator and was going insane to smoke an analog all day, this is why I do have one still each day as I'm afraid that I will always yearn for the analog. However, I will say that the stench of a cigarette does turn my stomach now.

Is my new kit, in your opinion, a waste of money? Will it break down quick like the BLU did?

Do I need to steep the Halo menthols or menthol flavors in general? I am beginning to understand the idea of steeping and plan to start this, but am too eager to do this with the new e-liquids coming.

Is there another member in Central NY? PM me if you would like to discuss different things. I am the only ecig smoker I know in my area, except one friend that I am starting to get her to use a PV, and would love to meet other ecig smokers.

How soon is too soon to begin to decrease nicotine content? I am afraid of overdosing as I have strong cravings at times. I do attempt to smoke 6mg and 16mg menthols to avoid the cravings, but I do find myself switching back to the 24 mg juices periodically as the cravings become too much.

My Biggest Question
Do you ever plan to stop or decrease vaping in the future? Is this just a stepping stone in quitting smoking? I am fearful of replacing one addiction with another and am constantly worried about health risks or nicotine dependency for the rest of my life. I plan to eventually switch to zero nic but I don't know if there is a reason to continue to vape if there is no nicotine.


Thank you all for reading the entirety of this, if you did, and eagerly await the responses of more experienced people.

 

[Burn_notice_fan_NY]

I should also state that I was smoking about 30 analogs a day and had been smoking for 14+years.

 

[TheReign]

Took me around 2 weeks to kick the Stinks for good. Weening off slowly worked for me and it has for others as well. The cravings will go away eventually, my advice would be to try checking out some WTA juice like Aroma e juice. Don't know why or how but they have extracted whole tobacco alkaloids and it seems to help people with the urges and cravings involved with tobacco. Check that out and see how you like it.

I used to vape 6,12 then i went to 18. Found that after a little while it was a bit too much for me so I decreased it to 12mg, Me personally Im satisfied enough now with the 12mg after the 18 got to be a little too much. Steeping is up to you if you think the juice is too chemically/perfume tasting then yes I would try letting them steep for a few days at a time and go back and see how you like it then.
Heres a link for steeping techniques --- Steeping Advice

The vision spinner and the iClear16 is a great package and you will have it for a while, I had 1 before and thats what helped me start to get off the analogs.

The time frame when you will want to decrease is totally up to you, Your body will tell you when it is either too much or too little. You'll know by feeling it honestly, My body told me 18 was too much and I went down to 12 and now My body is happier Lol.

I honestly don't want to stop vaping, It's become more than a way to quit stinkies for me. I enjoy vaping as a hobby as well now and love tinkering around and messing with different coil setups and what not. It's become a lot more fun in the past month then it ever has. Sometimes for people it's not the nicotine dependency that keeps them vaping it's the motion of smoking/vaping or the feeling of inhaling and blowing it out etc.

I plan to keep vaping for a long time honestly. But thats just me

 

[Burn_notice_fan_NY]

Thank you for your quick response and I appreciate your insight. I have a question for you or any other member regarding the iClear16. When purchasing the replacement heads, what is the difference in the ohms? Which should I order and why?

 

[CreepyLady]

Thank you for your quick response and I appreciate your insight. I have a question for you or any other member regarding the iClear16. When purchasing the replacement heads, what is the difference in the ohms? Which should I order and why?

The Reign answered your first questions to a T, so I will just answer the additional one

Also - Welcome to ECF - glad you have come out of the lurking shadows!

Now - onto your question - Ohms are resistance. In the case that you are in with VV Spinner batteries on the way - you can really use any of them. You have the ability to raise and decrease your voltage and find the "sweet spot" either way. The idea is - if you have a fixed voltage device, in order to get optimal performance many like to stay around 1.8-2 Ohms. Since you can go past the 3.3 or 3.7 fixed voltage devices you can also try out the higher resistance heads. Some prefer the higher resistance for flavor. I kind of stay in the middle ground. I usually hang around 2.2-2.4 on my VV devices. My Reo is fixed so it gets 1.5

I hope that helps demystify it a little.

 

[TheReign]

Yepp^ That lady knows whatsup.

Not the least bit creepy to me!

 

[Burn_notice_fan_NY]

Thank you both for the replies, you both seem quite knowledgeable. Extremely anxious for the arrival of the product. Is there a setting you could recommend to increase vapor production and throat hit, or is it more dependent on the e-liquid itself? Any recommendations for a clearomizer/cartomizer, or honestly anything that will be considered the next logical step, that would still be compatible with the spinner?

 

[Bunnykiller]

first off WELCOME to ECF!!!

sounds like you are on your way to vaping nirvana...
I have been vaping since may(ish) of 2013 and steadily working towards 1 ciggie a day ( which I have gotten to from 2 PAD)
eventually I will give up the ciggie...dont know when but it will happen when it does...
its different for everyone...some quit the next day some keep the 1+ a day going, its not what everyone else is doing but what you are doing that counts.... even if its 1 less per day/per month ... you will know when its right.. dont let others influence you as far as your feelings are conscerned (sp).... consider vaping a transition from smoking to "non-smoking"....

 

[Elizabeth Baldwin]

Everyone is different. I quit the moment I tasted vaping. My husband Vapes now but it took him 2 weeks until finally the taste was gross to him. After tasting all the awesome ejuices cigs start tasting quite yucky!

I smoked for over 20 years, 2 pks a day and haven't craved one since I started vaping. I think its better!

 

[TheReign]

Thank you both for the replies, you both seem quite knowledgeable. Extremely anxious for the arrival of the product. Is there a setting you could recommend to increase vapor production and throat hit, or is it more dependent on the e-liquid itself? Any recommendations for a clearomizer/cartomizer, or honestly anything that will be considered the next logical step, that would still be compatible with the spinner?

It's kinda two things. Obviously the VG is what carries the vapor, PG for Throat hit and flavor. I'd say a 5050 PGVG blend is what you should start with, Right in the middle gives you good vapor and throat hit and flavor. If one or the other isn't enough for you then you can switch up the numbers as you see fit. The more voltage/watts you set your device on will also add throat hit to the mix. You'll find the perfect setting by Doing what the Lady above said for finding the sweet spot, Starting at 3 volts or so and going up till it starts to taste a little burnt, then go back down to find some middle ground that you like.

Depending on the cash you wanna dish out for your first setup on the spinner

My Aerotank was/is a great decision for a clearo IMO. Sealed 510 connection so no more leaky leaky, Air flow control which helps on the throat hit as well. or something like a Smoktech Cartomizer, Kanger products have always worked for me as well. As far as clearos and cartos come, Theres plenty out there, most I haven't used because i was Pretty good with my Kanger products and smoktech cartos. went straight to RDA and RTA from there.


Oh and juice recommendations for me would be

Mt baker vaper
Velvet Cloud Vapor
ECblends

Hope you find your perfect setup!

 

[davis0710]

Congrats and welcome to ECF! I have the vision spinner 1300 also. I've only had it about 10 days. I can't help you with the tanks as i have the evod smok rbc bcc. I think you have a good set up, it's working great for me. You can't compare the spinner to the blu. Cig a likes are junk. Here's how you figure out what setting with your spinner. Take your voltage. Say it's at 3.3 take that times the same number 3.3 then divide it by ohms coil you're using. Say it's 1.8. Take 3.3 x 3.3 ÷ 1.8 that will give you your wattage. Most people vape around 8 watts. That may help you out. Quit when you're ready and don't sweat it. Good luck and vape on!

 

[djsvapour]

Do you ever plan to stop or decrease vaping in the future? Is this just a stepping stone in quitting smoking? I am fearful of replacing one addiction with another and am constantly worried about health risks or nicotine dependency for the rest of my life. I plan to eventually switch to zero nic but I don't know if there is a reason to continue to vape if there is no nicotine.

I plan to quit vaping.
The replacing one addiction with another is kind of not worrying me. One will kill you, the other we hope won't.
If I ever got to 0% nictotine and still needed to vape to cure some (possibly nonsensical) need to carry out the action of vaping/smoking, I would do it.

 

[STiZzle2010]

Welcome to ECF and for taking the first step in quitting smoking! I did not read through all of the replies so please excuse me if I am repetitive.

Everyone is different and reacts to changes differently. Like you, I tried the disposable BLU's initially and they did not do anything for me. I was accustomed to smoking a least a pack a day for the past 13 years and to be perfectly honest, I love it! It took me a little while before realizing that I needed to make a change but when I did, I was committed!

I found ECF through Google and started doing my research. For me, I decided on an iTaste VV V3 starter kit that came with 5 iClear 16's. Along with this, I got some 24mg juice. I decided that I would stay away from the cig-a-likes as well as the tobacco/menthol flavored juice as I was looking for a new beginning.

The day my PV came in the mail, I set it up and started vaping. I immediately enjoyed the taste and experience more than I previously had with the BLUs and for the first time, I realized that I could do this. I was able to completely stop smoking cigarettes and focused only on vaping. I was surprised it was this easy for me and that I did not have the urge or desire for a cigarette.

After about a week, I dropped from 24mg to 18mg and changed over to KangerTech Protank II minis as I did not like tight draw or plastic tanks associated with the iClear 16. Now I am down to 12mg and will be dropping to 6mg soon.

So far it has been almost 2 months and I could not be happier! Everyone's goals are different. Some want to eliminate nicotine all together while others do not. I think it is important for you to set goals and work to achieve them. So far it seems as though you have been doing great and remember we are here to encourage and help you in anyway we can! Good luck!

 

[Grimwald]

I was a very heavy 3 pad smoker. I was actively trying to cut down with lozenges, gum, timers. I was so amazed at how well my first started kit worked that I completely quit in 3 days.

My wife, after watching my success, jumped right in. She was a 1 1/2 pad smoker. It took her a couple of weeks of a few a day to quit.

I started cutting back from 24mg as my body led me. If I had anxiety or sleeplessness, I cut down a little. After 18 months I using 7.5mg. I don't have any plans to stop vaping, but I think I could if I really had to.

 

[Bolivar]

Welcome to ECF. Glad you made the decision to quit cigarettes and join us.

I quit a pack/day + 40 year habit in one day. I haven't smoked a stink stick since I charged up my PV.

This is a great community with the nicest people you will ever meet.

Good luck on your journey into vaping.

 

[Burn_notice_fan_NY]

Thank you all for the advice. I really do appreciate it. I've been checking out each one of recommendations for e-liquids as well. In your experience, is there any place I should avoid purchasing liquid from? Places with excellent sampler options? Do you have a different carto/clearo for each flavor?

 

[Burn_notice_fan_NY]

Sorry for all the questions, just excited. One last one, for now... when I get my 2 new Vision Spinner 1300 mAhs, should I only use the one until it dies, then use the other? Do I alternate between the two and use each one until runs out of juice then recharge or should I just use one per day and recharge the battery each night?

 

[STiZzle2010]

Juice will vary for everyone as well. I personally do not like ordering juice online cause it is a 50/50 chance I will actually like it. I like to purchase juice locally that way I can try it before I buy it.

 

[Agamer]

Welcome and congratulations!! Now to answer the questions lol

I use my 1000mah batterys for most of the day and then charge it the next morning regardless of if it is dead or not.

I totally understand the forum creeping thing I did it for long enough that I can recognize some posters by their avatar without looking to see who it is lol.

As far as the dropping cigs I bought my vape kit when I had 3 cigs left and told myself I wouldn't buy any more. But the beauty of it is that you set your own pace goals are good but don't beat yourself up if you don't meet them just try and adjust if needed you will get there. Excluding this time I have tried to quit using gums patches and everything else and this was the easiest transition out of all of them in my opinion since you are in exact control of how much nicotine you get and when you get it while being able to keep the and to mouth motion of smoking.

I am lucky and have a good vape shop like 1 minute from my house so I haven't had to order online its just walk in and shop which is both good and bad lol.

 

[SPACKlick]

To answer the transition question I'm following this pattern

Smoke the last of my analogues alternating with vape (had about 18 left).
Then I just vaped for a week
A week later my throat felt odd and so I bought 10 cigarettes, smoked those and went back to the vape. Vape felt goood.
2 weeks after that I bought 10 cigarettes, I was intending to keep doing this doubling the length of time between small packs thing except that by now my taste has mostly returned and I hated the taste of these cigarettes and they made me feel ill.
Don't think I'll be using any more analogues.