Help with e juice concentration?

[Jumpin' In...]

I've been researching e-cigs for the past few days and have decided to give them a shot.


I'm leaning toward ordering a Halo G6 starter kit with one auto and one manual battery. I'm thinking Halo as they're primarily a juice company that sells hardware - and they advertise that their juices are manufactured in the USA using all USP and/or FDA approved ingredients. (Rightly or wrongly, I try to stay away from Chinese foodstuff anyway if there is a reasonable alternative available. I've seen too many reports of toxic additives being found Chinese goods…)


I'd like to order more stuff (a sampler pack and tanks) to take advantage of the free shipping, but I really don't know what concentration of e-juice I'll end up using so I guess I may just have to do an exploratory order.


So here's my current situation. I currently smoke about 1/2 pack of USA Gold King hard box (generic) a day. I thought they were lights, but I don't see anything on the carton so I guess they're full strength. I don't smoke in the house and try to limit my cigarettes to one every 2 hours. I "slip", but don't beat myself up over it. I almost always end up smoking between 8 and 11 cigarettes a day. I've been doing this for maybe 2 years now. Before that I was probably smoking 1 to 1.5 packs a day - for more years than I care to admit. I cut down over time by slowly increasing the time between cigarettes, but I've been stuck at 2 hours for a while now.


I realize that the way I smoke may change with e cigarettes. I'm wondering whether I'll smoke more often - but take less drags - or whether I'll be able to stick to my current schedule -- or whatever. When I smoke a cigarette now I make full use of it -- probably about 7 deep drags -- but there's no such limitation with an e cigs, so I have no idea what I'll end up doing in practice.


Anyway, the Halo Starter Kit comes with a 5 pack of carts and I'm thinking of going with 18mg of Tribeca, plus an order of 5 carts of 12 mg Tribeca just to see what strength of e juice I will use going forward.


1. I'd appreciate any suggestions or insight any of you might have regarding what strength of e juice I should order. I believe Halo's runs 6, 12, 18 and 24 mg (at this point I don't have the gonads to even think about 0 mg).


2. Should I in addition order small bottles of each strength or should I see how it goes first?


3. For planning purposes it would help if I could get a rough idea of how long a cart should last compared to cigarettes. (E.g. a cart is roughly equivalent in puffs to a pack of cigarettes.)




Heh. I want to try the Shamrock juice - I'm a sucker for mint/chocolate anything. =) But first things first...




Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. I can't guarantee that I'll follow any advice or suggestion posted, but food for thought is always helpful, imo.

...and congratulations for creating and maintaining such an active and vibrant community!

 

[Train2]

First, GOOD LUCK!
A couple comments -
Your choice on juice strength seems reasonable - try a little 18 and have some 12 for immediate backup if it seems strong. You can even blend them for something in between, if that feels right.
I'd like to suggest you consider one other option though. The Halo equipment is good - but
a) It's proprietary - you can't shop around for different attachments, or bargains on it
b) The G6 is something that MANY vapers start on, quit cigarettes with, and then VERY QUICKLY outgrow - we end up wanting a longer battery life, and the volume and cleaner taste of something that you just pour juice into - a "clearomizer" or "tank".

So here's a thought - go ahead with Halo for juice. Their juice is expensive, but good.
But MAYBE think about a startup set like this (same kind of thing here, but he's only got yellow and purple in stock I think), for the same kind of money...it will last you longer and vape better!

 

[Jumpin' In...]

Thank you Train2.

I will take a look at those. I was thinking that it would be good to have a small unit anyway -- so my wife doesn't freak out when I pull out a cigar-sized unit at the local mall -- but you may be right and it would certainly be nice to have a larger capacity unit for use at home. Probably less hassle, less maintenance and cheaper in the long what with the replaceable parts? I'll definitely give that Ego unit some consideration. (Just in case you didn't already know, they now sell "mini tanks" for the G6 units - I guess they're disposable after a few uses though.)

Even if I decided not to get a larger unit now I'm pretty sure I'd get one if this whole vaping thing works out for me.

How do these things hold up in the front pocket of a pair of slacks or jeans? Pretty durable even with the tanks?

And thanks for your thoughts on the e juice issue.

 

[Train2]

I started with batteries that look like cigs - most people do, then go bigger - just trying to save you that step! LOL.
But I DO understand!
I carry mine (even that bigger EGO) in a shirt pocket - but you can put it in jeans. You want to know how to "turn it off". With many models that means clicking the button 5 quick times. THen 5 more, and it's "on" again.

The weak point is the juice! Where it screws on, it can break - so you don't want to sit on it... Then again, you don't want to sit on cigarettes either.

Enjoy vaping!!

 

[WarHawk-AVG]

I might direct you to the library..wealth of knowledge...I believe it covers this for you there

The ECF Library

 

[Visus]

1. I'd appreciate any suggestions or insight any of you might have regarding what strength of e juice I should order. I believe Halo's runs 6, 12, 18 and 24 mg (at this point I don't have the gonads to even think about 0 mg). Always start high then over the next few months as you vape more lower your nic mg. As the vaping bug gets in you it will be in your hands constantly and high nic mg will be to high then..


2. Should I in addition order small bottles of each strength or should I see how it goes first?
If your on a budget Halo is expensive and geared toward people who dont come to ecfforum. For better juice and gear look around here and ask more questions

3. For planning purposes it would help if I could get a rough idea of how long a cart should last compared to cigarettes. (E.g. a cart is roughly equivalent in puffs to a pack of cigarettes.)
A cart will last roughly 65 puffs some up to 100 puffs but then you can taste the filler and coil burn as it gets lower in juice

If you can afford a halo system its pretty good and not a noob system or starter per se' but again its no different then going buying a blu or njoy at the gas station, no huge savings there just a reputable company cost expenses for being reputable.

BTW they probably/may source their nic juice from China just about everyone who sells nic juice does, China has a cornered market on nic extractions. It may say 100% USA but there are only like three that truly extract here in USA and we keep them busy and they run out of nic juice all the time.. YMMV

Good luck, research post here and you will find what you want most definitely

 

[OlDogNewTricks]

For your 'starter juice', I went with 18mg/L or 1.8%. Many call this 'full flavor'. About a month in and I am looking on lowering it to 12mg/L or 1.2%. I find that I vape far more than I smoked. The 1.8% gives me mild headaches if I vape it too much. Also, stay hydrated! Vaping dries you out. I cannot stress that enough.

 

[Jumpin' In...]

I was off browsing through the "Who is your favorite e-liquid vendor" thread and the "Alice in Vapeland" website so I lost track of this for a bit. The juices at Alice's sound "ono" as we say here in Hawaii. Alice's was open too -- too bad I don't have anything to use those juices with yet. Well, like I said earlier, "First things first...."

Train2: I understand where you're coming from and "Thanks" once again. I will give it some thought. Being able to carry a unit in my pants pocket - along with all the other stuff I have in there (keys, phone, iPod Touch, coins) without having to worry about breakage would be ideal. I was thinking about carrying around those skinny G6 units and I thought "maybe I need a cigar tube or something to keep from breaking it - especially if I put a tank on it". Heh. I can go for several hours without smoking without too much of a problem, so originally the Halo G6 case was attractive. I thought I could at least leave it in the car whenever I go somewhere. (OK, now I'm rambling...) Anyway, you obviously get the drift of where I'm at. =)

WarHawk-AVG: Wonderful link. Thank you. I will go through the "Wonderful World of Vaping" series - hopefully within the next day or so, beginning now. (Man...talk about info overload. LOL) Hopefully after I get through that I can comfortably make some decisions and finally jump in.

Visus: Given what is posted on their website, I doubt Halo sources their ingredients from China, but who knows? Part of what started me off on this journey was I saw a Blu starter kit at the local CostCo. However, when I started reading up on vaping, Blu seemed not to be very highly regarded (not to mention that they're now apparently owned by one of the big tobacco companies). I also read about the FDA testing of juices several years ago so I ended up looking toward Halo. I figure that if I'm going to "Jump In", I want to give myself the greatest chance of success without hurting myself, so I don't mind spending a bit of $ if required. Thanks for your thoughts on the matter! Much appreciated.

 

[Jumpin' In...]

For your 'starter juice', I went with 18mg/L or 1.8%. Many call this 'full flavor'. About a month in and I am looking on lowering it to 12mg/L or 1.2%. I find that I vape far more than I smoked. The 1.8% gives me mild headaches if I vape it too much. Also, stay hydrated! Vaping dries you out. I cannot stress that enough.

Thanks for the post, OlDog. Can I ask how much you smoked per day before hopping over the fence to Vapeland?

I've read about hydrating when you vape. I find that interesting, as you're supposed to be inhaling water vapor - at least partially - aren't you? But I'll be careful to hydrate. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Samtron]

it's been 105 days for me smoke free. just wanted to say good luck, smoking sucks.

if you like throat hit, and i'm hoping you'll have a different experience from me...menthol is the way to go.

as for mg? i reckon, and i'm only new too, but start at 18mg...and if you're vaping without stop maybe higher...but cut down slowly and after you've made a smooth transition to vaping.

anyway you'll appreciate vaping after a while...no ashing, no stink, tastes better, your chest clears up...awesome...

 

[cramptholomew]

I'll jump in here and add to what Train was saying. Almost ALL of us started with the small batteries. We were used to cigarette size. Anything bigger and it "might be uncomfortable", or "it'll look ridiculous", or "I'm not ready for that yet". As I've read stories around here, and personally relate to MOST of what I read - almost no one stayed with the cigarette sized PVs as their primary vaping device for them to be worth the expense. They DID get most of us off cigarettes, but they were almost always upgraded VERY quickly. A lot of people still USE the small batteries when out-and-about, but most have moved on to larger capacity batteries and various styles of *mizers. Personally, After I had gone the V2cigs route (cig-a-likes), and I was ready to upgrade, I STILL bought the smallest variable voltage eGo batteries I could find (Vision Spinner 400mAh), because I was hesitant to buy anything "big and ridiculous looking". I didn't want to be walking around with a "lightsaber". Well, 2 months later, and what do you think I own? A telescoping mech mod, an Innokin SVD, 2 650mAh eGo Twists/Spinners, a 1300mAh Spinner, and the original 2 400mAh Spinners that I bought at first. The SVD and the mech mod are smaller light sabers, but lightsabers nonetheless.

There is also the consideration, as Train stated earlier, about being tied to Halo's hardware, since they use a proprietary connection for their batteries/tanks. 99% of the gear that's available uses a 510 or eGo threaded connection, for which the variety of devices is practically limitless. If you're not one to fiddle with things, or learning the myriad customization options available as too daunting an undertaking, then Halo is definitely a solid platform, it's just restrictive, and you'll probably end up buying something else soon enough.

I'm only sharing this, because, like Train, I want to help you avoid pumping the amount of money into this as most of us have at the beginning. Do I wish that I never spent that first $70 on the V2 system when I started? Sure do. It would have been nice if I didn't consider a big battery as a negative. It would have saved me a good amount of money...

 

[Jumpin' In...]

Samtron:

Thanks for detailing your experience to date regarding the strength of your juice! It helps to know that I'm probably not too far off-track in my thinking (guessing).

Train2 and cramptholomew:

I really want to thank you two for voicing your opinions that I should skip the cigarette look-alike phase and purchase something a "step up". To be honest, I was a bit disappointed at having to examine yet another branch of the hardware tree; I was really a bit anxious to jump in. I'm really glad you both took the time to suggest that I re-examine my purchase and to detail your reasons for doing so.

Because of the two of you, I somewhat grudgingly tried to push my need to "just get started" to the side and started taking a more serious look at the somewhat larger units you are both suggesting. To my surprise - assuming I'm correct in my assessment - I discovered that the kind of hardware that you seem to be nudging me toward is NOT ALL THAT BIG! If I keep to the smaller batteries it looks to me that the total size of the eGo/Kanger evod unit is probably not a whole lot bigger than an old fashioned fountain pen. On top of that the "reviews" I've come across pretty much universally agree that these units will result in a better overall experience for the uninitiated (ahh -- I'll say it: "Noob like me").

And to all those who might come across this thread and are thinking "small" like I was, this is a great read: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...8093-choosing-e-cig-my-process-hindsight.html/. I found that piece of wisdom while reading over the 6-part "Wonderful World of Vaping" series in the ECF Library section of the forum.

So I am now convinced that I should go with something like a setup that Train2 linked to in his post - which is basically 2 eGo 650mAh batteries, 2 Kangertech EVOD tanks and charging accessories.

So one more question: Is there anything else - besides those plus some spare EVOD replacement heads, maybe a third EVOD clearomizer and e juice - that I should consider getting along with my initial order? (I'll probably still order the Tribecca juice from Halo to start off with - probably a small 7ml bottle each of 18 and 12 concentrations just to establish a baseline.)

Well maybe one more: Should I go with a bigger battery? (To tell the truth I don't really want to unless it results in better flavor or throat hit or whatever...)

Thanks again everyone for all your help with this!

 

[crazypam]

I stopped smoking Aug. 15, when my daughter sent me a starter kit(ego). I thought, that since I only smoked Ultra lights, that I should go with the lower ejuice. After 2 weeks of going crazy and .....y, my son told me to get a higher nicotine. My first puff of the 18mg. Instant calming down, and I am not puffing at all the time. I am just happy that this is really working for me. Good luck and keep on vaping.

 

[Amberina]

I think that you should definitely take the advice and go for the upgraded unit. You are correct about the size. I have a Volcano Inferno and with the tube tank it came with it is about the size of a sharpie pen (My Inferno is the same size as just about any eGo type battery). Also, the different battery sizes on those types of batteries usually just mean a longer battery life in between charging.
Like just about everyone else, I also started at 18mg, however I was a pack and a half a day smoker AND I smoked Marlboro reds. I was told that if I smoked less than this I could have started out at maybe 12mg, but to have some 18mg on hand if I needed a little extra for any bad cravings that I got during the transition to vaping. I can happily say since the day I bought my first e-cigarette kit (August 17th!) I have not had even one analog cigarette. I do have a craving from time to time, but my e-cigarette takes care of that easily!!!
Good Luck!!!