i have an open question for everyone

[J_L_K_64]

so, i got a volt starter kit from smokeless image, it came with one battery, one 5 pack of cartos, and i added in a passthrough and an extra 5 pack of cartos, the person who packed it messed up and did not include the extra cartos and the battery so i had to contact customer service to get those


anyways long story short....


i am kinda switching back and forth between cigarillos and my passthrough/cartos, is that a bad idea? i've been having stomach aches since doing so, and kinda been coughing up mucus and such and wondered if it's because i keep going back and forth and wondered what everyone else thought about switching between them when someone first starts vaping



also, i have one of those assortment packs of cartos, should i just stick with one flavor until it's gone, or is it alright to be vaping different flavors each time i vape (usually every couple hours for about 15-20 minutes each "session")






also, i apologize if this is the wrong section, i thought it was most suited here

 

[1LastShot]

Ok let's see what I can do with an answer for you- anyone feel free to correct here....the switching back and forth shouldn't be an issue, as far as I know there are a lot of people that started out that way. My bro has been dabbling in the vape world but still uses analogs mostly, and he hasn't reported any issue with stomach upset or anything. Could it b your juices? As for trying several, that should also not cause any issues- I personally have several at this point an switch around fairly often. Hope that's a little help...

 

[J_L_K_64]

ok cool, that makes me feel a bit better, i do have a lot of stressers IRL and i'm trying to be in denial about them, but seems they might be effecting me more than i'd like to admit, lol

 

[Z_Ghost]

Been at this for 10 days now.
I still have part of a stinky in the morning and finish off what is left at bed time and vape all day with no side effects from doing that. I am trying to get my mind to realize that the vapor is so much better.
I also have 9 different juices here and 6 stardust tanks and I switch flavors all the time with no problem.

Hope that helps.

I did coughed up a bunch of old smoke crap the other day, but that lasted for a few hours and I felt so much better the next day.

 

[Jett1980s]

I would suggest just totally stopping analogs to be honest, and just let the detox process come along, I think by switching back and forth you're just prolonging the detoxing process, and if you have to use analogs then most likely the e cigarette that you're using isn't satisfying you to the point where you don't need analogs. I started out with the stronger/bigger devices and that totally satisfied my cravings and I stopped instantly, mind you I was a 2 pack a day smoker and smoked for 8 years. So in light of this, I would say that if you're a heavy smoker you might want to look for something stronger, but in any case I would suggest just fully stopping on analogs.

 

[J_L_K_64]

detox process? what?

and when i smoke cigarillos exclusively, i smoke maybe 10-14 a day; max, and have been smoking for about......14 years now........i feel so old now........

currently i'm using 1.8% nicotine content cartridges from the smokelessimage site and was thinking i might need to go one step under that to 1.6 or 1.4 or whatever it was, i am still trying to figure out what the conversion would be for me (which is the hardest part, i think)

 

[kiwivap]

Hi JLK. I'd say it's the cigarillos causing the problem. Coughing up mucus is a usually a symtpom of smoking or detoxing from it. I'd also suggest if there is a juice you like then buy a bottle and refill your cartos yourself. Its easy peasy to do. Here's a video:



For an empty carto use about 20 drops. Stop vaping a carto when it gets dry - or if you get a slightly burnt taste. You can still refill one after a slightly burnt taste - I've done it tons of times and they tasted fine.

There is also a refill method called the condom method, but it can be messier and I wouldn't recommend it starting out first time if you have Volt auto batteries - they are sealed but not completely juice-proof.

I don't think you need anything bigger right now - you would just be getting a battery that lasts longer between charges anyway, and as you said you smoked 10-14 a day so a couple of Volts should be fine right now. Edit: If you have the passthrough from SI then you have the X2 - right? You should be fine if you have that too. Those are what are called "fatt batts" in general vaping terms.

18% sounds ok - remember you won't be absorbing nic the same way from vaping as you were from smoking. It tends to be less absorption from vaping. I vape 12 mg now and that is still a good throat hit for me. The key is to vape as much as you need to, and drink lots of water. And yeah, prolly put down the cigarillos for good.

 

[J_L_K_64]

that leaves me a bit confused, can you refill the disposable cartos, like the volt ones?, or are they not disposable?

expanding on that, i don't really have a flavor i really like, but so far i have only tried out the smooth sampler from smokelessimage, and i'm waiting for my sweet sampler, and soon (end of next week) i'll be ordering the strong sampler, but i'm always open to try new things, most times, lol


and one kinda important question, a dry hit or dry vape, does that mean no vapor when i try to take a drag off it? or there is no flavor to it or what?

 

[j4mmin42]

I would suggest just totally stopping analogs to be honest, and just let the detox process come along, I think by switching back and forth you're just prolonging the detoxing process, and if you have to use analogs then most likely the e cigarette that you're using isn't satisfying you to the point where you don't need analogs.

I totally agree here. I found it easiest to quit analogs when there were none in the house, and no remnants/butts/etc lying around. The stomach pain may actually be a function of both the detox AND adjusting to the vapor- as someone with a sensitive stomach, i need to be very careful not to get any liquid in my mouth. Usually the pain is not anything to worry about, unless it gets worse over time and you develop other symptoms. Over time your body should get accustomed to vaping- mine did, and after 3 years (with a break in the middle), I don't have any problems with vaping to speak of.

Refilling cheap carto's is possible, but I tend to have better luck with the carto's from reputable suppliers ( I have no experience either way with the brand you mention). Nearly all NON-MOD, mass-market carto's are technically marketed as "disposable".

A dry hit, to me, would be when you don't have enough e-juice (if any)on your hearing coil, which is contained in the middle of the cartomizer. It results in a burnt-chemical-plastic taste, but that can vary from person to person.

 

[18SixFifty]

You might be getting dehydrated. This happens with a lot of people when they first start vaping. When you exhale some of that is water vapor from your own body. Drink lots of water and see if that helps. Also you are probably coughing up more gunk now than ever before. That is also typical for people when they first start vaping. If you make the switch entirely this will go away after a while. You will also start tasting and smelling things better.

It doesn't hurt to vape and smoke and change flavors as often as you like. I would also suggest going with a higher nic content if you are hoping to quit smoking all together. You are vaping at 18mg's that never has come close to working for me. I would have to vape non-stop all day long to have that work. I vape at twice that, 36mg's all the way, on top of that I'm vaping at around 4.2 volts and getting huge vapor with each drag. Over three years now since I had a cig.

So drink lots of water or Gatorade and consider upping your nic and cutting back or quitting the cigs if you can.

 

[j4mmin42]

You are vaping at 18mg's that never has come close to working for me. I would have to vape non-stop all day long to have that work. I vape at twice that, 36mg's all the way, on top of that I'm vaping at around 4.2 volts and getting huge vapor with each drag.

Yeah, forgot to mention that, too: I vape a bit lower than you do @ 12-15mg, but I chain vape; Also, I vape at 5v with long, 4-5 second drags.

Another thing I thought of- I've mentioned this multiple times today... the "555" juices seem to work really well to help kick the cravings for me (and many others). There are many, many other tobacco blends out there as well.

 

[kiwivap]

that leaves me a bit confused, can you refill the disposable cartos, like the volt ones?, or are they not disposable?

expanding on that, i don't really have a flavor i really like, but so far i have only tried out the smooth sampler from smokelessimage, and i'm waiting for my sweet sampler, and soon (end of next week) i'll be ordering the strong sampler, but i'm always open to try new things, most times, lol


and one kinda important question, a dry hit or dry vape, does that mean no vapor when i try to take a drag off it? or there is no flavor to it or what?

You can refill the Volt cartos. The number of refills you get seems to vary - I've refilled some of mine about 8 times. Volt cartos are very good - they are bottom coil. When the new CE3s arrive I really recommend trying them - they are refillable too, will last even longer and the taste is great from them.

Yes, a dry hit can mean no vapor - you shouldn't really get those from cartos tho. Unless the carto is pretty much empty and needs refilling.

 

[kiwivap]

Another thing I thought of- I've mentioned this multiple times today... the "555" juices seem to work really well to help kick the cravings for me (and many others). There are many, many other tobacco blends out there as well.

I have tried juices from other vendors and love some of them - but my all time fave is still SI 555. Love that stuff.

 

[Baditude]

The pre-filled cartomizers and blank cartomizers are the exact same thing, only the pre-filled cartos already have juice added. You can and should learn to fill blank cartos. It's cheaper and really not difficult to learn, only slightly time-consuming. Both the pre-filled and blank cartos can be refilled a few times; eventually they stop wicking the juice and get clogged, and need to be disposed of at that point.

Whether to allow yourself a few analogs while you begin vaping is entirely your own choice. There's no proven way which method works best. If you vape more than you smoke, eventually the cigarettes are going to become less satisfying and start tasting rather nasty, and you'll hopefully be able to not buy another pack once it runs out.

Years of smoking have damaged your taste buds, so many of the e-juices you try will seem flavorless or blunted. Once you stop the analogs altogether, the taste buds heal and your sense of taste will improve over time.

Nicotine is absorbed differently with vaping than smoking tobacco. Most of it in vapor is absorbed in the throat, mouth, and nasal passageways. So, knowing that, adjust your "smoking" technique to suck the vapor in like a straw into your mouth, before inhaling it.

Then, when exhaling, allow a fair amount to leave via your nose. Our sense of taste is greatly affected by our sense of smell. You'll "taste" a lot of the flavor of your e-juices via your nose. That's why foods seem tasteless when we have a cold or nasal congestion.

Hot vapor is dehydrating to the mucous membranes, so drink plenty of water.

You will never find an ejuice that tastes just like a cigarette, so don't waste money trying to find that, it doesn't exist. Instead, try to find an e-juice that you are happy with to use day in and day out - I believe this is a key to stay off of cigarettes. With that said, don't be afraid to try different flavors. Unlike the loyalty that we had to our favorite brand of cigarettes, there's hundreds of flavors available to provide a variety of satisfying flavors to vape.

 

[kiwivap]

It's easier to see it I think. Here's a video on how to fill them:



About 20 drops will do fine. There's also the condom method, which can be a bit messy.

Edit: oops, forgot I'd posted this already. Sorry.

 

[kiwivap]

Here's a video on the condom method. mr.outlaw has several good videos on Volts and X2s:

 

[zuzette]

I also want to point out - you said "i might be under more stress than I thought" - thats a worth while note! as smokers we got used to soothing our stresses with a particular method. a change from that method will be noticeable. it takes time to develop new habits and it especially takes time to retrain ourselves from one soothing method to another. be easy on yourself and be kind to yourself. what happens this moment is not the issue.
its the long term success you are after so just keep working towards it.
as a kid when you were learning to walk, if you fell down you just got up again and tried walking again. You didnt say to yourself "never falling is the key and so I can never fall again" you simply acknowledged that getting up again was the real key. and Ill just bet you can even run today.
keep trying, even if you stumble, its all good and you WILL get where you want to go!

 

[1LastShot]

that leaves me a bit confused, can you refill the disposable cartos, like the volt ones?, or are they not disposable


and one kinda important question, a dry hit or dry vape, does that mean no vapor when i try to take a drag off it? or there is no flavor to it or what?

-As far as I know virtually any cartomizer can be cleaned and refilled- yes they are "disposable", but we have had good luck in the past cleaning and filling/topping off cartos several times before having to toss them.

A dry-vape or hit can refer to 2 things depending on what is being discussed. 1) you can "dry-vape" an atomizer when cleaning it...that has nothing to do with a cartomizer though 2) When you don't have enough e-liquid in your cartomizer- you should notice the vape is not as "good" or strong at first, then if you keep vaping afterward you will get that unlucky drag that you will NOT mistake- it has a horrible burnt plastic taste (because you have just fried the carto filler). If this happens your carto needs tossed, don't try to refill it.

Also- yes, it is a good idea to just take that leap and switch over completely to vaping. You are indeed prolonging the natural process of your body ridding itself of the OTHER thousands of chemicals that are in analogs by continuing to go back and forth. HOWEVER! That being said, not everyone is able to just "switch" immediately. As my thinking goes, every time you vape instead of smoke, you are doing your body a bit of good. It seems you need to figure out why you feel the need to pick up the cigarellos instead of your e-cig sometimes, and how you can fill that void.

Good luck and keep it up!!

 

[Strigoi]

detox process? what?

You detox from cigarettes. I don't know what they put in those cigarello things, but cigarettes have thousands of chemicals in them that you get addicted to.

I also spent 6 months smoking (still a pack a day) while vaping quite a bit before I finally decided to put down the cigarettes for good one day.

 

[J_L_K_64]

Yeah, forgot to mention that, too: I vape a bit lower than you do @ 12-15mg, but I chain vape; Also, I vape at 5v with long, 4-5 second drags.

Another thing I thought of- I've mentioned this multiple times today... the "555" juices seem to work really well to help kick the cravings for me (and many others). There are many, many other tobacco blends out there as well.

i've been finding myself chain vaping as well for the past couple days, good thing i have a passthrough or else i'd be screwed, jumping between ecigs and my leftover cigarillos, and i have to say, the ry4 from volt seems to be my favourite, i always find my way back to it

Years of smoking have damaged your taste buds, so many of the e-juices you try will seem flavorless or blunted. Once you stop the analogs altogether, the taste buds heal and your sense of taste will improve over time.

i could swear i read somewhere that tastebuds replenish themselves every ten days or something, but yeah i can understand what you're saying

Then, when exhaling, allow a fair amount to leave via your nose. Our sense of taste is greatly affected by our sense of smell. You'll "taste" a lot of the flavor of your e-juices via your nose. That's why foods seem tasteless when we have a cold or nasal congestion.

lol that's how i smoke both my cigarillos and my vape, makes me reminiscent of my wilder younger days

Hot vapor is dehydrating to the mucous membranes, so drink plenty of water.

thanks for pointing that out, i have been noticing that i have been drinking noticeably more water throughout the day lately, lol, lik ei have been drinking i think a half gallon of water everyday for the past few days, when normally i'd drink about 1/4-1/3 of a gallon

You detox from cigarettes. I don't know what they put in those cigarello things, but cigarettes have thousands of chemicals in them that you get addicted to.

I also spent 6 months smoking (still a pack a day) while vaping quite a bit before I finally decided to put down the cigarettes for good one day.

those cigarillos, they are this-

apparently they might be classified as cigars, even though they have a cigarette style filter on them, but they're cheap and yeah, pretty rough on ya if you're not used to them or anything