info overload...

[sweetz]

Just as we do everywhere else on the forum, we're giving lots of conflicting info The toughest part is, all of it is great advice!

From what I can see of the threads here, and of the vaping community here in total, is that people tend to be one of three types. If you accept this basic premise, then you can quickly tell which type of vaper you are likely to be.

1. skinnies, 510 or 808-1, either ciggy lookalikes or not
---This is for those who want the feel/experience to be most like smoking was, or who want the convenience of blending in. You'll likely have more than one battery to keep up, but that's half the fun! They're very easy to use and refill, and usually cheaper than the other two options both in start up and maintenance costs.

2. eGo/Riva type fans (most use cartomizers but some do prefer the tank/atty combo)
---These users are usually those that want the most battery for the buck without looking TOO strange. Plus it's very versatile to change between dripping and cartos. Mid-range start up cost, but maintenance cost is low.

3. Modders, who love the outlandish, the high powered, the variable, the special, and unique (and all the issues...ahem...opportunities that come with them)
--Here are the shopaholics, the tinkerers, the collectors, and those that just love to play with vaping! The choices here are endless, but not for the beginner. Start up costs are higher than the others, and maintenance can be a DIY operation. Sounds complicated, but it's all about the love of the experience, and the bigger badder vape!

I'm sure there are tons of users that might argue my over-simplification of the types here, but from what I've observed so far that's it in a nutshell.

So rather than putting my preferences to you, I would like to ask you instead, what would you like to get out of the experience? If you want the easy cig replacement, it's completely possible! If you want to play around and go nuts, feel free! No matter what you choose, I would nearly guarantee your first PV purchase won't be your last, even if the first one you buy is the device of your dreams.

Good luck!! If you stick with it you can kick the cancer sticks to the curb without kicking your sanity out along with it

 

[VapingRulz]

I quit instantly with the 808 from Vapor4Life and it's still my main ecig, over two years later. The XL batteries last 3-4 hours on a charge and it's a nice 3.7v unit. For a beginner, it's a very good bet. Check to see if there's a sale before you order; they're always having good sales.

 

[JQside]

This is indeed info overload. ;-) Lots of veterans chime in with their solid advises. What I want to add is vaping is different from smoking. (I hope I'm saying it in a general tone.) Smoking takes about 10 - 20 minutes per session. When you vape you want to spend more time than that. Maybe because you are subconsciously trying very hard to fool yourself into thinking you're smoking a real cigarette and keep comparing the throat hit and vapor volume for each. You vape and vape till you accept it's different and start to enjoy it. In other words, you vape more as time allows. Therefore, you need better batteries, efficient juice-feeding system, things that allow you to vape longer with less hassle. Of course, countless stories of people successfully quitting analogs abound by starting with skinny, cigarette look-alike e-cigs. But most eventually grabbed better devices. So why not go straight to those, is all I'm saying. Looking back, I should have done that. But each have different stories to tell.

;-)

 

[Smoochies]

You guys rock! Thank you so much for all the info, conflicting or not, I really appreciate it. I'll be spending the weekend reviewing the links provided, and trying to wrap my brain around the terminology so I can try to make the right decision...

a little more info about me (since I got the impression from some posts that some more info might be needed)

What would I like to get out of the experience? honestly, I'm hoping that this might help get me off cigarettes once and for all. I am hoping that one day I can put down the e-cig as well and walk away, but I also can admit that alot of the times that I started up smoking after quitting, I had the idea in my head that I could walk away if I stopped soon enough (which never happened) so I acknowledge that I may still be doing this in a year or two, even though I hope not to be.

I can say that I dont need all the bells and whistles that seem to be out there... I cant say that I completely understand what I am seeing, but I have no need or desire for a dozen different options, colors, styles, etc... I'm a very basic person at heart... I still drive my first car that I bought over 10 years ago. Why? because it gets me from A to B. The radio works, the AC/heat works, and thats enough for me.

I would like something that I dont need to tinker with throughout the day... I dont mind plugging in a battery to charge each night or to rotate out 2 batteries throughout the day, but if its possible, I'd like something that I fill/refill once per day, twice at most.

My smoking habits... like i said earlier, I lean towards the extra-light/ultra-light cigarettes, because i find anything stronger to be too much taste-wise. I smoke close to a pack per day, and have done so for over 15 years (give or take my attempts at quitting). As intrigued as I am at the idea of different flavors (vanilla? caramel apple crisp? seriously???) I think it would be easiest to trick my brain into the transition if I used something that tasted close to real cigarettes for starters. I would love to switch to something non-traditional later, but starting out, I'm just trying to stack the deck in my favor for success.

And in the spirit of trying to trick myself and stack the deck for success, I think that something resembling a traditional cigarette would be easiest, HOWEVER I acknowledge that alot of folks think these ones dont fulfill what people are wanting... So I'm completely okay with something that doesnt look like a traditional cig, as long as its still reasonably discrete in appearance... I've seen hot-pink things on some links (not posted in this thread, but posted elsewhere on the board) and thats not something I'm interested in. I've seen pictures of things that have this large, wooden box-things attached to them... I have NO idea what I am looking at, but I know its not for me, if it looks like that in use...

anyways, thats just a little more insight on me. Thanks again for all the input and suggestions, I will definitely be reviewing it all, and looking very closely at everyone's suggestions!

 

[dormouse]

I still think for an easy starter see SmokelessImage Volt manuals (I recommend 78mm size for a 120mm ecig). Use cartos from there or Bloogplanet, Halocigs G6 or for vapor4Life which sells the more traditional KR808D-1 style but wth a custom long 10-13 second cutoff allowing longer drags. Those other 4 give a bit more charge and a better sealed end on the manuals and I think better quality cartomizers though my two main juices were found trying Vapor4Life prefills. And still to juices with 20% VG or less for juices you buy elsewhere.

BUT you do need to keep the cartos damp else you will be going through 1-2 or more per day. You could refill some the night before and carry them capped. I just add juice to the one I am using once or twice at work. I can get 7 days use out of one carto if I keep it damp and choose fairly clear juices that don't drop flavoring sediment (no way to tell until you buy the juices). I use Vapor4Life WOWbacco and WOW Vanilla.

I was a lights smoker, 1.5-2 PAD and vape KR808D-1 the most (both Vapor4Life and SmokelessImage manuals). I also vape another slim ecig but the KR808D-1 is the better one. I am currently using the blank cartomizers from Bloogplanet and SmokelessImage but when I started out I mostly used prefilled cartos and kept them damp with the same flavor or a compatible flavor (and vanilla is a very compatible flavor).

---- save this
How I fill Vapor4Life KR8 cartos and Boge 510 cartos

With the carto off the battery... Pop out the soft cap with an unbent paperclip in the mouth hole, very careful not to catch stuffing or the wire loop.
Shake and open the eliquid

Fill
Hold a bit of tissue on the threaded end hole, tilt the carto, and add 18 drops per ml of capacity into the stuffing (Boges and most KR8 cartos are about 1ml).
Wait 15 seconds or so then see how many more drops the carto stuffing will soak in easily.

Cleanup
Clean up the threaded end, tilt open end down into tissue, puff into threaded end to clear air channel (Boges and the KR8 cartos I use have a defined center air channel and I want to see light through that) While the carto is still open end down, touch a soft bunch of tissue to the top of the stuffing to get the loose juice - this will help prevent leaks.

Settle (first fill only)
Cap and let it settle - I lay it on different sides for 15-20 minutes to make sure every bit of stuffing gets damp so I won't singe the carto. if you use thicker juice than me (I use 20% Vg or less) then you may need to wait much longer.

While vaping
While vaping, if the vapor gets a bit light or a bit dry or the carto is getting hotter than normal, I take the carto off the battery and add eliquid. Also, I use such light sediment-free juices, I can look at the stuffing and see if it needs juice because the stuffing goes back to near-white.

I often use a plastic or delrin drip tip as a mouthpiece on Boge and KR8 cartos (not to drip into since the juice would head for the central air channel). Easy to pop out to add juice.

 

[VapingRulz]

I would like something that I dont need to tinker with throughout the day... I dont mind plugging in a battery to charge each night or to rotate out 2 batteries throughout the day, but if its possible, I'd like something that I fill/refill once per day, twice at most.

I think this means that you would be happiest with an Ego-type of ecig or a basic mod like the E-Power with long-lasting cartos like the Ressurectors. I would go with the E-Power because it's cheapest to maintain and it's 3.7v compared to 3.4v for the Ego.

 

[Tersur]

I think this means that you would be happiest with an Ego-type of ecig or a basic mod like the E-Power with long-lasting cartos like the Ressurectors. I would go with the E-Power because it's cheapest to maintain and it's 3.7v compared to 3.4v for the Ego.

I agree with this 100% if you want simple. Durable and Low maintinance Ego type with cartomizers are the way to go. I personally recomend the Boge LR Cartomizers on an Ego style battery. They are durable and give a Satisfying ammount of Vapor.

 

[HeadLikeOrange]

This forum is filled with advice -- all of it good and all of it 100% well-meaning. The problem for newbies (it wasn't long ago that I was in your shoes), is that the forum is filled with hobbyists. Only people who are REALLY into vaping would bother joining and participating in a forum, so these are the folks who are into tinkering, and trying out different devices. So I think sometimes we forget what it was like to be completely new, and have no idea what all these numbers and devices are.

I'm not the veteran some of these others are, but like you, I am looking for the simplest, no-fuss way to vape. Here's what I have come up with:

A Riva 510 starter kit will give you 2 batteries and a charger (and some other stuff that you don't need to worry about just yet). The batteries are about the size of a AA battery, so not cig-sized, but not eye-catchingly large. The batteries last, for me, about 2/3 a day each, so there's no problem with having to charge a lot.

I suggest the Riva 510 because:
- It is a clone of the most common e-cig -- the eGo. So anything that fits the popular eGo will fit a Riva. These numbers you've been reading (510, KR808, 901) refer to the size of the threads for connecting stuff to the battery. KR808 stuff, for example, won't fit on a 510 battery. 510 is, by far, the most common and becoming even more common every day. It's as close to a "standard size" as you'll find.
- It is slightly more powerful than the eGo
- It is slightly cheaper than the eGo
- It's a good compromise between a slim model that won't last long on a single a battery and a larger mod that can feel awkward.

Cartomizers are these things that screw into the battery. They have the heating element and the juice loaded inside, so it's a 2-piece (battery, cartomizer) set-up. A regular-sized cartomizer can hold (roughly) the equivalent of 6 cigarettes. Each night, I fill 5 cartomizers for the next day. During the day, when one cartomizer starts to run out of juice, I just take it off and replace it with another. And then at night, I spend 5 minutes re-filling them all for the next day. For me, this is the simplest way to go. Not the most interesting, or the cheapest (vaping still costs me under $1 a day with this method), but the simplest.

Once you've decided what to buy, post another thread and tell us what you are planning to get. People will be able to tell you if you're forgetting something you will need in the first couple of weeks. The trick to this forum is to keep asking as you go through the process. Little questions like "Where is the best place to get an eGo/Riva/whatever starter kit" are going to give you more clarity than big questions like "How do I take up vaping?"

 

[sandybeach]

I agree on the information overload! I am also a newbie, and just ordered my first starter kit. I went with the Kgo, but I wish this whole thing was easier. Maybe when I get to be a pro at this I will put together a really easy starter kit, enough to keep you going for a month with everything included. Good luck!
Sandy

 

[thom13]

I'm with all the other newbies here I was really leaning towards on of the small/skinny ones because I want as close to a cigarette experience as possible. for those of you that have used the larger ones and were heavy smokers, did you find the difference in size and feel took away from the experience at all?

 

[HeadLikeOrange]

I'm with all the other newbies here I was really leaning towards on of the small/skinny ones because I want as close to a cigarette experience as possible. for those of you that have used the larger ones and were heavy smokers, did you find the difference in size and feel took away from the experience at all?

Nope. Almost everyone goes into this thing thinking they want something that looks like a cigarette. After a week or so of using it, most people don't care.

 

[JQside]

What would I like to get out of the experience? honestly, I'm hoping that this might help get me off cigarettes once and for all. I am hoping that one day I can put down the e-cig as well and walk away, but I also can admit that alot of the times that I started up smoking after quitting, I had the idea in my head that I could walk away if I stopped soon enough (which never happened) so I acknowledge that I may still be doing this in a year or two, even though I hope not to be.

(I just picked a few lines of quotes on your long informative post just to make sure which poster I'm responding to.)

I think it's a wrong assumption that most people who are into vaping now didn't start out the way most of us did like you are now. The original plan for most of us was to quit smoking and vaping altogether, have a tiny e-cig for a while and then the deadly habit is gone forever. That's not what happens. First and main reason why we wanted to quit smoking is because of its harmful effects in our body. Take away that and it's not really bad having something to puff and tinker about with your fingers. Anyways, good luck.
;-)

 

[Muramasa]

Well the moment i started on my eGo e-cig, i dreaded going back to analogs... mainly due to the taste and smell.
Albeit all the good info above, i might want to add something to reduce ur overload.
For the start,

A e-cig usually comes in 3 part. the battery, the heating element and the thing (carts n cartos and tanks) u put ur juice into.

PV - Personal Vaporizer. Basically its just the device u own.
Attys - Atomizers. These are the heating element that turns ur juice into vapor for u to inhale
Carts - Cartridges. These are the things u put ur juice into and usually contains a fibre filler to absorb ur juice.
Cartos - Cartomizers. This is a Atomizer combined with a Cartridge.
Clearos - Clearomizer. This is actually a cartomizer which has a transparent wall that allows you to see the level of your remaining juice.
Tanks - These are usually mods that allows you to store more juice and usually it works with a combination of Cartos or Clearos. There are couple of exceptions like the eGo-T tank mod. Its actually a Atomizer that allows you to slot in a transparent cartridges and the cartridge is without any fillers)
510, 910, 810 - These are threading diameters. More common one is the 510. Becareful when u buy any atty or cartos. U need to know what battery threading u have or else u might not be able to use them. For eg. a eGo battery uses the 510 atty. So if u accidentally buy a 910 atty, it will not go onto ur eGo battery UNLESS u have a adapter (510-910).
Batts- Batteries. Basically, the bigger the mah, the longer you will be going to vape without charging. Also comes in two basic modes. Automatic and Manual. Automatic batteries do not have a button to press. It is controlled by a microchip which when u suck on the e-cig, the suction will activate the microchip which in turn the battery to heat up your atty. Manual battery will have a button to press for you to activate. Batteries both auto n manual comes with a cutoff time. This cutoff time varies from mods to mods. It its to prevent overheating of your atty and also accidental activation while in your pocket and stuff.
mah - milliamps per hour. The power of your batteries. see above.
v - volts, voltage. The power your battery gives out.
ohms - unit of measurement for the resistance of your atomizers cartos etc. so basically if your atty is 1.5ohms, and u try to vape at 6v, u will most likely toast your atty.
LR/HR - Low Resistance/High resistance. Usually refers to your atty. LR atty = low voltage vaping. HR = high Voltage.
vv / vv mods - Variable Voltage / Variable Voltage Modifications. These are devices that allow you to change the voltage of battery in a single device. Some requires you to change batt configurations, others just by clicks of button.

The reason for me to write these ohms and stuff is that certain flavors requires higher "heat" to give out the sweet spot that u want. And to get that amount of heat, the ohms and voltage plays a part. Say a standard 3.7v eGo battery is best with LR atty as it gives out sufficient amt of heat to vaporize your juice giving the taste and kick u want. HR atty works best with higher voltage of cuz~

To sum up this portion and as an example, I will use my vv eGo-T tank. This particular mod is a manual 5-clicks 3 mode vv at 3.2v 3.7v and 4.2v respectively. This means that the battery is a manual type and i need to do 5 rapid clicks to change from 1 voltage to another. This mod is also a tank mod which uses a type A cartridges for the atty (this mod has type A and type B so a type A carts will go onto the eGo tank type A atty and type B on the type B) and my liquid is poured directly into the cartridges and then plugged into the atty which i then screw onto the batt. one particular point i'd like to note of is that the eGo threading is slightly different from the rest. A eGo battery has an internal threading (the 510) and an external threading (the eGo) This means that the battery can take any 510 atty as well as a eGo atty BUT! other batt say a 910, will not be able to take the eGo atty as the eGo atty uses the external threads.

Now for the next part, your ammo.

Juice - The liquid that contains ur nicotine. Comes in various strength of nicotine per ml. 18mg in a 10ml juice = 180mg nicotine altogether. Also it is made up of 4 main chemicals so to speak. PG, VG, Nic, Flavor. (read below)
PG - Propylene Glycol. Base liquid that carries the flavor stronger and gives u a stronger TH. (i find that a lot of people misses out this part and think that the nic is the one that gives you TH but they probably forgot that PG gives you TH too)
VG - Vegetable Glycerin. Base liquid that gives you the vapor.
Nic - Nicotine. Well u know what nicotine is but it is highly toxic in its pure state so its diluted with the 2 base liquid. Also the strength of nic contributes to TH
Flavor - Food grade flavorings. Used to give ur juice the flavor. There r a hell lot of different flavor juices out there but my personal fav is green apple menthol fruity ones r my cup of tea.
TH - Throat Hit. The feeling that u get when u r smoking analog. The kick u receives at the back of the throat.
Analog - Traditional tobacco cigarettes.

To sum up the juice part, im on a Green apple menthol 18mg 50pg/50vg. This means that my juice is Green apple menthol mixed flavor with 18mg nicotine strength and 50% propylene glycol and 50% vegetable glycerin.

I do not have any pv to recommend as it is entirely up your own preferences and budget. The previous posters have recommended various good choice so they are good references. My post is just to give you lesser headache as to why there r sooooo many choices out there and of course, the above information were what i gained from my road of vaping and much research into many of the threads here and i would like to give every individual veterans out here credits to it.

It is just some basics u might want to know but end of the day, i hope it will help you.

p.s. see my sig for what i own. the links are for my area so might not be applicable to you. you can check out the 2nd link though~ good luck~