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Smokey the Unbearable

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May 21, 2016
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I'm new here, and new to vaping.

I'm not a smoker attempting to quit, handle not withstanding. I'm a diabetic who is looking for a zero carb way to feed my sweet tooth. In the process of this I've found that vaping (0% nic) is a soothing activity. This is probably obvious from my previous statement, but I'm a flavor chaser, not a cloud chaser.

I'm a person who loves tech toys. I first got lightly involved with vaping because my daughter had a pack a day habit that was financed by me. I wanted two things from vaping, reduced cost and better health for her. That was 3 or 4 years ago.

Fast forward to today. Her first 18650 mod finally gave up the ghost. She was too sick to go to the vapor shop with me, so I went alone. I was trying very hard to not get interested in vaping as more tech toys to play with, so I had done zero shopping (I'm a serious feature shopper). I walked in and let the counter drone use me to clear some older inventory. I walked out with a VaporShark rDNA 40 W TC mod.

Two weeks later it died. So I made them send it back for a warranty repair, but so my daughter wouldn't be without (and insist on analogs) I let the counter drone push an X Cube Mini on us at a "discount".

When the VaporShark came back repaired I put a used tank on it that that was given to me by a friend. Well 3 days later the VS went belly up again. I went back to the store, pretty mad, but the receipt says "No returns" So I made them send it in again and they sold me a Kanger Kbox Mini, and and Top Tank Mini because we figured out that the tank was bad (but not that the tank was destroying the mods). It was a tough call because sometimes the tank would work, and sometimes not.

Well, being the total noob I am, I try to put the used tank on my new Kanger. It worked for about 3 days, and I really preferred the puffs I was getting from it over the Toptank Mini.

However, when the Kbox went belly up I finally got it through my head that the used tank (an eGo ONE Mega, but I'm not maligning Joyetech or any of the other manufacturers listed) was burning out my mods.

So the end result is that I have 2 mods out for repair, one Kanger Toptank Mini, and a Griffin 25mm with top airflow cap that was priced much too nicely (just under $30, including shipping) to pass up in the mail.

So that's my introduction to vaping. Hello everyone!
 

Susan~S

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Mar 12, 2014
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Hello and welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here!

A few helpful tips for you.

Priming a Coil

All new cotton coils have to be primed well with juice. If they are not primed well the cotton will burn. Once the cotton is burned the burned taste doesn't go away.

To prime the coil, drop 5-8 drops of juice right inside the coil (sometimes less/more depending on the size of the coil head), another drop of juice in all the holes on the side of the coil. I watch the cotton absorb the e-liquid and when it can't hold any more I put the coil in the base.
  • If Bottom Filling - Fill the tank and then screw the base back onto the tank.
  • If Top Filling (some tanks are top filled) - Screw the tank on the base and then top fill it.
Once you put the tank on the battery give it several unpowered primer puffs. This will make sure the wick is fully saturated.

Rule of Thumb

The rule of thumb for EVERY vape device you'll ever own is the same (when running in power or wattage/voltage mode). Turn your voltage/wattage down, take a few hits, bump it up, couple more hits. Repeat until you find your "sweet spot". If it starts to taste funny, gets too hot or tastes burnt, back it down. Different flavors will have different sweet spots so you just have to experiment.

The sweet spot is somewhere between the "vape is cool but not too cool" or "warm but not too warm". I like my fruits vapes cooler and my desert vapes warmer.
and a Griffin 25mm with top airflow cap that was priced much too nicely (just under $30, including shipping) to pass up in the mail.
The Griffin is an RTA (rebuildable tank atomizer). You have to wind and wick your own coils. There are no factory stock coils for it.

Information Resources for Your First RBA
  • An essential read and reference guide for someone new to rebuilding coils. Includes a multitude of useful links on battery safety, mod safety, coil meters, coil building, and the differences in the three types of RBA's.
 
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Smokey the Unbearable

Full Member
May 21, 2016
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Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

@Susan~S
The Griffin 25mm is my first researched purchase. There are factory Clapton coils available for it that I am considering buying here. If those aren't practical, I'll wind my own.

http://www.heavengifts.com/GeekVape.html?fpyde=--1-0-4-761-index

I have no pecuniary interest in the above link, it is posted solely for informational purposes. If posting this is a no-no mods please remove the link. I don't know who your approved vendors are yet.
 

Susan~S

ECF Guru
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Mar 12, 2014
16,937
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Mpls/St.Paul, MN
@Susan~S
The Griffin 25mm is my first researched purchase. There are factory Clapton coils available for it that I am considering buying here. If those aren't practical, I'll wind my own.

http://www.heavengifts.com/GeekVape.html?fpyde=--1-0-4-761-index
The link is to clapton wire. You still have to wind the wire (to make a coil(s)), install the coil(s) on the deck, check the resistance with and w/o the topcap (to make sure you don't have a short), and wick it.

In general, clapton wire has low resistance and takes a lot of power to fire it up (due to the amount of wire in a/each coil).
I have no pecuniary interest in the above link, it is posted solely for informational purposes. If posting this is a no-no mods please remove the link. I don't know who your approved vendors are yet.
You can link to any vendor, even if they are not an ECF approved supplier/vendor. Though HeavensGifts is an approved supplier is a very good.
 
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Welcome to ECF!

It sounds like by the time you get two working mods, you may have enough knowledge to open your own shop up! :D

Kanger sells a lot of mods. I do not own one, I'm more of a Sigelei guy and have had no problems with the 4 that I've bought. Knock on wood!!! :w00t:
 

Smokey the Unbearable

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May 21, 2016
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@Susan~S
So it is. Thanks for the correction.

I've also seen built Claptons and Fused Claptons for sale, not that I'm adverse to making my own after I buy a 510 Ohm meter. I worked in defense electronics for over a decade, and I'm a licensed amateur radio operator.

And thanks for the heads up regarding site policy and this specific vendor.

@Tommy-Chi
Thanks for the welcome!

I should have both mods back by the end of next week, USPS permitting. Definitely expect to have the VaporShark back by Friday, they seem to have a pretty consistent 2 week turn around. Kanger has been extremely responsive to my calls and emails, so I'm hoping to have that one back next week as well. The Kbox just feels very good in my hand.

I'm lusting after an X Cube Mini though. I really want a mod with the screen where I can see it while I'm holding the fire button.
 
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