for all new vapors Giving up smoking

[AndriaD]

ROFL... I told my husband he has to outlive me, because he *could* manage to live without me, but I could not live without him for even one hour. He says he wants to die at 99, shot by a jealous husband. On the upstroke, presumably.

I ordered that Caterpillar today, when I ordered my Virginia. It was before 2, so it should be here Saturday. God I love that priority shipping.

Andria

 

[epicdoom]

you will like the caterpillar I have been vaping it all week and its fantastic, Best $10 I ever spent, Well except this one time in south east Asia. LOL JK I built mine Hot so I can get a very warm vape and lotsssssssss of vapor. I would say a good point on that unit with a single coil would be 1- 1.5 ohms. You have to try the stovetop coil if you want great flavor and exceptional vapor. the Diamond coil if you want exceptional flavor and great vapor. If you want a good mix of both a nice micro coil will get the job done.

 

[AndriaD]

you will like the caterpillar I have been vaping it all week and its fantastic, Best $10 I ever spent, Well except this one time in south east Asia. LOL JK I built mine Hot so I can get a very warm vape and lotsssssssss of vapor. I would say a good point on that unit with a single coil would be 1- 1.5 ohms. You have to try the stovetop coil if you want great flavor and exceptional vapor. the Diamond coil if you want exceptional flavor and great vapor. If you want a good mix of both a nice micro coil will get the job done.

I don't really know what those coils are, but I would go with exceptional flavor/great vapor, rather than the reverse; too much vapor kinda chokes me. But for the present, I'll try a plain ol micro single coil; I seem to be getting really good with those, and nothing I've tried with dual coils has tasted good to me *at all* -- just tastes kinda burnt (dual coil carto), or just odd (the nautilus).

I'm sitting here on tenterhooks right now, awaiting the mail... already saw "out for delivery" on the tracking page...

Andria

 

[AndriaD]

Got the Caterpillar! Like to never got it open, and then when we did (my husband had to help!) I saw it doesn't thread on, it's got o-rings!

It came with a dual-coil setup, which I hate, and it's wicked with silica, which I've found doesn't give nearly as much flavor as the organic cotton. But at least, disassembling the pre-made coils will show me how they attach to the posts.

I can't wait! MFS has been sending me some 3ml samples of some fruit flavors, and I've been wanting to try them, but 3ml doesn't go very far with tanks, and I didn't want to waste any. Now I have the perfect means to test them! But, we gotta go down the road to my aunt's for a little while, so I'll deal with the caterpillar when we get back; I hate getting interrupted when I'm in the middle of something interesting.


Andria

 

[AndriaD]

Maybe I do need a lower ohm coil for this. I made one that was 1.6 ohms, and it works, but slowly. guess I really do need to compress it, after it's mounted, it really speeds up the time to heat it up. but it kinda takes my breath away, to be honest. Maybe I need a longer driptip; remember, I do have asthma. Also I had to close the airflow completely, the only way I could really get a hit was with a lung-hit, and that's a problem, with asthma; mouth hits are kinda necessary.

When I get the 28ga, should be Monday, I think it will work a lot better. But I'll try one that's about 1.3-1.5 ohms and see how it does; there won't be many wraps, of 30ga, at that resistance, so I have no idea how it will turn out.

Oh, also -- what's the optimum height for the coil to be, off the deck? I'm pretty sure it shouldn't touch it, but seems like lower would let it contact more of the juice in the well?


Thx
Andria

 

[AndriaD]

This knucklehead driptip works pretty well, and looks sharp too, all the stainless. I just have to vape it a bit differently, or it really does take my breath away, literally, starts a coughing fit and I have to hunt down my inhaler ASAP. I have the Sigelei set at 8w, and it's not as slow now; when I first started, I started low, as I generally do with any new thing I'm trying, but at 6.5w it really was slow. I might need to drop back to about 7.5w though, to cut down some of the throat hit -- I thought the Kayfun was intense, but woah. That's what keeps triggering the cough and gasp.

Also, I started with my usual, the taste I'm most familiar with, across quite a few different devices, so I could judge it accurately. My regular Virginia has a fairly stout throat hit, which is one reason I like it, but I'm betting that won't be true of those fruit flavors, so I may like those flavors better with this, than my regular.

Andria

 

[epicdoom]

Howdy there, I see you got the Caterpillar. I try to keep the coil up at the height of the air holes so it can cool at its best. The cotton will wick from the deck no problem. Make sure you set the top cap down so the air vents are facing the coil directly, that provides adequate cooling of the coil. I had totally forgot about your asthma. You can go look at how to make those coils I mentioned on youtube rip trippers has the best vid's on them. The micro coil may be best for you though, as the others make some serious vapor.

This makes week 8 for me smoke free. I will be dropping to 5mg juice tomorrow down from 6mg shouldn't be any issues since its such a low drop. I have used my drippers pretty much since the start, but not often maybe once a day. I also never had them in the low sub ohm range till this past week. I am loving the drippers and dense vapor I'm getting from them. I am using my other units especially the kayfuns, but I'm finding the drippers get the satisfaction end of the deal faster, maybe because of the amount of vapor? Anyhow if all goes well from here on out I have 5 weeks left on Nicotine. The question is will I keep vaping no nic. juice. My answer to that is probably yes, I enjoy the vapor and flavors, I also don't want to give up the sensation of smoking yet. I do enjoy it greatly and its very calming and soothing to my soul.

 

[AndriaD]

Howdy there, I see you got the Caterpillar. I try to keep the coil up at the height of the air holes so it can cool at its best. The cotton will wick from the deck no problem. Make sure you set the top cap down so the air vents are facing the coil directly, that provides adequate cooling of the coil. I had totally forgot about your asthma. You can go look at how to make those coils I mentioned on youtube rip trippers has the best vid's on them. The micro coil may be best for you though, as the others make some serious vapor.

This makes week 8 for me smoke free. I will be dropping to 5mg juice tomorrow down from 6mg shouldn't be any issues since its such a low drop. I have used my drippers pretty much since the start, but not often maybe once a day. I also never had them in the low sub ohm range till this past week. I am loving the drippers and dense vapor I'm getting from them. I am using my other units especially the kayfuns, but I'm finding the drippers get the satisfaction end of the deal faster, maybe because of the amount of vapor? Anyhow if all goes well from here on out I have 5 weeks left on Nicotine. The question is will I keep vaping no nic. juice. My answer to that is probably yes, I enjoy the vapor and flavors, I also don't want to give up the sensation of smoking yet. I do enjoy it greatly and its very calming and soothing to my soul.

Yep.. for me the whole thing is about 95% mental habit/behavioral, and maybe 5% partial-replacement of nicotine -- I know I'm not getting as much as I did even from ultra-light cigs, but that's ok; no cravings, no withdrawal, so I think the 9mg/days and 6mg/nights are working really well for me. Thursday of this week will be 12 wks since I smoked the last one, and it's also my birthday, and I figure that's really a hellacious gift to give myself!

I will definitely keep that in mind, about having the air holes facing the coil, and having the coil at that level; it's hard to know for sure, the reaction is so immediate and violent, just awful coughing, but it might be the heat that's giving me fits. I had also considered that I might need to wait a bit longer for my lungs to clear out more; everything I've read suggests that at 3 mos smoke-free, your lungs regain the ability to clean themselves, and I've definitely noted an increase in coughing lately. I think the last of the tar is finally making its way out, that didn't leave when I was getting rid of the remnants of that awful cold. I might be able to deal with the intensity of the dripper a bit better after this is all out, and my lungs settle down again.

I should have my 28ga tomorrow, USPS willin and the creek don't rise so I should be able to make some even better coils for both the dripper and the kfl+; I find I don't have any issues at all, with coughing, with a 1.9 Ω coil in the kayfun, so maybe I just need some higher ohm coils in the dripper too, to keep them cooler, but well compressed so they're not slow to heat.

Andria

 

[MizMickey]

If you're new to vaping, find a low enough level of nicotine so that you can VAPE YOUR FACE OFF, or you're not going to find it satisfying!!! If you wait a long time to vape, you're going to start wanting A CIGARETTE! Vaping your face off is the BEST way to NOT have those cravings!!!!

Andria

I agree. Vaping tastes SO much better than smoking! I luckily found two flavors right off the bat that I just LOVE, which led to vaping a LOT more often than I smoked, so I got concerned with how much nic I was getting. So, I got some 6 and 0 juices in my fave flavors so I can "vape my face off" (n1 Andria!) while I am watching tv or playing xbox or whatever. Added benefit- when I feel ready to lower my nic levels, I can just mix the lower nic bottles with the 12 one in the same flavor and step down the nic as slowly or quickly as I like, in increments as small as I like. I cannot believe it took me so long to try e cigs, esp since I am not new to vaping at all (though this is the first portable vape system I like, as the others used plant material). Juice is better. In absolutely every way.

-Mickey

 

[AndriaD]

I agree. Vaping tastes SO much better than smoking! I luckily found two flavors right off the bat that I just LOVE, which led to vaping a LOT more often than I smoked, so I got concerned with how much nic I was getting. So, I got some 6 and 0 juices in my fave flavors so I can "vape my face off" (n1 Andria!) while I am watching tv or playing xbox or whatever. Added benefit- when I feel ready to lower my nic levels, I can just mix the lower nic bottles with the 12 one in the same flavor and step down the nic as slowly or quickly as I like, in increments as small as I like. I cannot believe it took me so long to try e cigs, esp since I am not new to vaping at all (though this is the first portable vape system I like, as the others used plant material). Juice is better. In absolutely every way.

Oh man, everytime I remember or see bits of that first post in this thread, I'm embarrassed all over again. Not by *what* I said, but by how I said it -- I believe everything I said is true, but as noted, I wasn't long out of bed when I posted that, and I am just not human or fit for human company till I've been awake at least an hour. I already apologized to epicdoom for being such a beeyotch, but let me just apologize to everyone who might read that post -- I am not usually like that!

I still think it's a bad idea to put off vaping, because it takes so long for nicotine to absorb from vapor; I realized pretty soon after I started vaping that it takes a concerted steady effort to get your nic levels to a point that feels comfortable, especially in the morning; although I find 12mg too high for regular use, that's what I start the day with, for about 45 mins or so, before I drop down to my 9mg/day level; it's the only way I can get past that "need a smoke right NOW!" feeling in the morning, to just sit there at the side of the bed and vape 12mg like a maniac for at least 20 mins before I even get dressed, then about 20 mins more after I come out to the kitchen, which gives me time to get my "regular" all setup and ready, if I hadn't done it the night before.

Tried some Apricot 12mg this morning, a sample MFS sent me since I buy so *much* ejuice from them, and that was really good! Think that'll be my morning vape for a while. I also cannot take throat hit in the morning without coughing up a lung, so the sweet/fruit flavors are really good to me then, since they don't usually have much TH at all. But the rest of the time... I gotta have that tingle or I'm just not satisfied. I don't know if that will change, the farther I get from smoking, but I kinda hope it will; if all this BS about flavors comes down from the FDA, it will be much easier to DIY the sweet/fruit flavors than to DIY a Virginia tobacco flavor I like. If the only ones they try to "ban" are the sweet/fruit flavors but they leave the tobacco flavors alone, I should be able to get by, but I like adding a little Oak Barrel Cider pipe sauce and Cinnamon Redhot ejuice to my Virginia, so I dunno.

Welcome, MizMickey! Vape on!!



Andria

 

[Merryhellion]

It was hard to read this, with all the missing punctuation, but why EVER would I want to wait and wait like that? I had to do that with CIGARETTES, they cost so blasted much; no way am I denying myself vaping when I can do it in the house, it DOESN'T cost a fortune, and the much longer time it takes for nicotine to be absorbed as opposed to how fast nicotine in smoke is absorbed! If you don't hit the vapor JUST AS SOON as you feel any need/want for it, you're going to find yourself having one hell of a craving that vapor takes a long time to assuage!!!!!

If you're new to vaping, find a low enough level of nicotine so that you can VAPE YOUR FACE OFF, or you're not going to find it satisfying!!! If you wait a long time to vape, you're going to start wanting A CIGARETTE! Vaping your face off is the BEST way to NOT have those cravings!!!!

Andria

I absolutely LOVE the vape your face off commentary! Hallelujah, someone who gets me to the core!

Deprivation games did nothing for me in the way of quitting smoking...rationing cigs was the most frustrating thing I ever tried, and it left me feeling resentful, with a tendency to oversmoke in retaliation later. Lowering my nic level for the times of day I used to smoke the most made a huge difference in cravings while vaping; I could rip at it like a mad thing endlessly, and just motor through without a cig trigger hitting me.

Hydration is also key, as some have mentioned here. Not only does it help with vaper's tongue and keeping your body happy, but if you are in an vape-unfriendly place, when you need the bathroom from all that fluid, VAPE YOUR FACE OFF IN THERE!!! It will help establish solid habit patterns that keep you feeling good.

Remember, vaping is not giving in to a cig. It is giving yourself the pleasure without the yuckmouth and coughing of lighting off!!! So pleasure yourself, and soon it will replace any urge to smoke. YMMV, but for me, it really helped.

 

[AndriaD]

I absolutely LOVE the vape your face off commentary! Hallelujah, someone who gets me to the core!

Deprivation games did nothing for me in the way of quitting smoking...rationing cigs was the most frustrating thing I ever tried, and it left me feeling resentful, with a tendency to oversmoke in retaliation later. Lowering my nic level for the times of day I used to smoke the most made a huge difference in cravings while vaping; I could rip at it like a mad thing endlessly, and just motor through without a cig trigger hitting me.

Hydration is also key, as some have mentioned here. Not only does it help with vaper's tongue and keeping your body happy, but if you are in an vape-unfriendly place, when you need the bathroom from all that fluid, VAPE YOUR FACE OFF IN THERE!!! It will help establish solid habit patterns that keep you feeling good.

Remember, vaping is not giving in to a cig. It is giving yourself the pleasure without the yuckmouth and coughing of lighting off!!! So pleasure yourself, and soon it will replace any urge to smoke. YMMV, but for me, it really helped.

^+10,000!

Ditto ditto ditto! I had to ration my smokes to a certain extent, they're just so expensive, and as my husband often observed, he's not made out of money. For me, the 12mg when I first get up, 9mg thru the day, and 6mg after dinner till bedtime works out great; since I started this regime, I haven't had a single one of those sharp lil stomach pains, or nausea, or any of those other nasty nic OD feelings, and since maybe my 2nd week as a non-smoker, no real cravings either. Though sometimes I would leap out of my chair like my fanny was on fire, and then wonder, where exactly am I going? I don't have to go outside to VAPE! That was all just habit/behavioral, though, and that's really been a much bigger hurdle for me, than actual physical dependence; 15-20 ultra-lights a day for the last couple years, so I don't think my physical dependence is really all that great. If I felt a pressing need to eliminate nicotine, as epicdoom is doing, I could probably manage it in a fairly short time, but I just don't feel the need to do so. Nicotine seems to affect me much as caffeine does, and just like with caffeine, I have to be aware of dosage and not overdo, or just feel wretched, but that doesn't mean I'm going to totally discontinue either -- unless or until I do feel there's a real need to do so.

Andria

 

[epicdoom]

figuring out what works best is the hard part I would take short little hits from the RDA trying to increase without overdoing it it takes some time to get used to that dense vapor least for me it did. I'd cough my head off, but after of day of forcing myself to do it, it was like nothing at all. I can now lung inhale deep, I'd say maybe 8-10 seconds. Any longer the vapor is so dense it gags me. I wouldn't try forcing it as I did Remember I said I'M A SIMPLETON. Take your time short little inhales that you can handle easily, your going for the flavor change ease anyhow so vapor isn't as important.
I bought 2 of the little Smok single coil drippers a few days ago and got them in today. There very small and would be fantastic on Ego units or any other pencil type mod. only thing I see that might be an issue is the drip tip is built onto the cover so if you build a hot coil your gonna get some hot lips. I could turn down a nice lexan or wood slip over tip not a problem, so we will see. I want to build this tonight and see how it fairs being totted around in a small zip lock and used throughout the day tomorrow at work. was very cheap and looks like its built very well I really like how small it is. I have another one similar to it that has changeable tip and it gets pretty hot being such a small unit and having a .4 Ohm coil. I think I will keep the little units at 1.2 -1.5 builds.
Smok Dripper RDA - MyFreedomSmokes.com
I like buying stuff to try out never know when or if an item will be the ultimate vaping exp. At $5 its worth it, even if I don't like it I can always pass it to a friend.

 

[AndriaD]

Well, tonight I tried doing it a bit differently. I took your advice about the coil being at the height of the air hole, and when I put the top on, made sure the hole was right in front of the coil. I made the coil 1.8 ohms so it's not so hot. And also, I made up a tiny bit of a mix that's lean on nic (for me), maybe about 5mg, but heavier than I normally vape on VG, to cut down some on the TH. The taste isn't exactly right since it's not my usual mix, but it's a lot easier to handle without coughing.

I think I need to get some plain VG, so I can cut my regular 6mg mix just slightly with the VG, to bring the nic to this 5mg, and soften the PG throat hit a little. Right now for plain base all I have is plain PG, or 100% PG 6mg plain nicotine. But I think a bit heavier on the VG and a bit lighter on the nicotine should help me a great deal with the dripper. It's all a little academic, since I didn't really get the dripper to use with my normal vape, but in order to taste new flavors easier. But I think with the 1.8 coil, it does help some, keeping it cooler. also instead of the stainless knucklehead, which only tilts so far, I'm using my black delrin knucklehead, and it tilts a great deal more, which kinda cuts off the air flow a little, lets less of the vapor get thru -- that seems to be helping a lot. I have the Sigelei set at 8w, but the knuck set at about 45 degrees, and that seems soft enough on my throat.

This sort of thing was what initially made me switch from VS lights to ultra-lights; it seemed that every hit just brought on cough-up-a-lung, so I had to get something that didn't hit my throat so hard. Up till now that hasn't really been much of an issue with vaping, but the TH from a dripper, when you're using high-PG juice, is just unbelievable.

I also think that as my lungs continue clearing, I'll have less of a problem with it.


Andria

 

[Cookie60]

I experience vaper's tongue quite easily. It sucks because I still have so many juices I never touched after using it a couple times. I'll try to go back to them, but as a beginner vaper I noticed I always want to try new flavors.

It's like vaping was just too perfect for quitting smoking so vapers tongue happens. After 10 days of being amazed at my newfound vaping and leaving cigs behind for the first time in 44 years, then it all tastes like crap. Dang.

 

[Cookie60]

I had a heck of a time making any[/]progress until I was willing to forgo that first cigarette of the day.

That has been the big step for me. First I managed to stop the after dinner cig, and now I'm not doing the first thing one. After a big 12 days of vaping, I'm down to two cigs a day! I can't believe it! And those two, honestly, taste absolutely terrible. Soon I will just take the plunge and see about going a day with no smoking at all and see how that goes. Two a day vs. 50-60, is a big accomplishment, for me and the only hard part is all there is to learn about vaping and all the fiddling around with the cleaning and mucking about with the equipment. Find that a bit tiresome.

 

[Cookie60]

Awesome if it works I say do it. The habit part is strong I catch myself putting things in my mouth like I'm smoking even take a drag of it lucky its nothing dangerous, usually my ink pen. I have many hobbies also, I build Large wooden ship models, ships in bottles, and RC airplanes just to name a few. keeps my hands doing something and my mind occupied on the task at hand, before I realize it its been hours since I last vaped to satisfy my nicotine needs.

I find I vape like there's no tomorrow as I read this forum!

 

[Cookie60]

Day 28 now - nearing the magic month.
Got through the no taste thing and have now settled on a Benson and Hedges eliquid mixed with a touch of fruity/woody pipe tobacco. Also got a few samples of other flavors for a bit of change eg cheesecake. They are OK for a change now and then.
Also upgraded to a 1300mah twister and an aerotank.

Today my kids and I poured the dried up tobacco I had kept just in case into the bin - I cannot see myself going back. The weirdest thing is for the first time ever I can smell people who smoke. I started at 13 so it is weird now getting a proper sense of smell. One habit I haven't quite kicked - when I go outside to vape at the office I keep reaching into my pocket for my lighter then getting a sense of dread when it's not there before realising I don't need it.

Difficult to say I wanted to quit - I enjoyed smoking and the rebel in me said no government will tell me what to do so all the legislation just made me a bit more of a hardened smoker. I think it was the cost, the kids hating it and knowing one day it might kill me even though I have had no smoking health problems (that I know of).
Now I prefer vaping although smoke/smokers don't bother me.

As to quitting yes that is my long term goal but I am not rushing. Stay on 18-20mg until completely sure the ciggies are behind me then reduce the level in stages. I have no stop date and right now tend to try and mimic my smoking routine with the vapes.

It would be tons cheaper then smoking IF I didn't keep finding new vaping gear to add to my wishlist ;-)

I think use it any way you want whether it is to give up completely or just keep vaping and cut out all the rubbish and health risks in smoke. I don't think nicotine in itself is the most terrible drug - that said I really wouldn't want my kids to start using it whether that be vaping or, even worse, smoking.

I think I'm right behind you! I'm right in the midst of a 'no taste thing', but I know that will end. I'm thinking just like you - and amazed at how good it is - well except for the no taste thing. Always a down side! Rats!

Best of luck to you

 

[AndriaD]

Hey Cookie, welcome!

Is it a "no taste" thing, or "everything tastes like crap" thing? The no-taste thing could be dehydration, it's amazing how oddly that will affect your sense of taste -- sometimes just drinking a lot of cool or cold water can help a lot. Or, vaping something with a really strong taste, like peppermint (Halo's Kringle's Curse is a really STRONG peppermint and really helps) or cinnamon -- but, you have to use a glass tank for most cinnamon, especially if it's cinnamon redhot rather than baker's cinnamon. The very best cinnamon redhot I've found is from Killer-Juice; not too sweet, not too hot, just about right.

If it's a tastes-like-crap thing, have you been using the same coil since you started? You may need to replace it, or dry burn it to get rid of gunky buildup that truly tastes nasty, a really burnt yucky taste. It came as a real surprise to me after about 2 wks with my first bottom-coil clearomizer that those coils don't last forever, and in fact I was very fortunate to get 2 wks out of my first one.

I vape the same flavor about 98% of the time, and I've had *very very little* incidence of the so-called vaper's tongue, and I struggle daily with hydration -- so much so that I have to drink powerade to prevent leg cramps. Also, many times if you eat something salty it really helps; maybe *because* eating something salty kinda forces you to drink water. I find I have to turn my wattage down a great deal after a meal, or eating much of anything, or the throat hit is so strong it chokes me; eating really brings back the flavor of vaping. For me, what seems to bring on a slight "numbness" to taste or throat hit is just vaping too frequently, one puff right after another; if I give it a couple minutes between puffs, my mouth doesn't get so accustomed that it just turns off.

Andria

 

[popeye331]

i find switching flavors for a couple days gets rid of my vapors tongue. and lots of water. just my 2 cents