Memoirs of a transition - Diary of a new vaper

[SpasticMuse]

Back again for another real update...

Once again I'm up late, as is required for all great writing(but does not great writing make - time will tell on that).

In reviewing this thread, I noted several places that I mentioned I'd get into a subject later, and I think many of those now coincide with what I think is the next logical chapter:

Equipment, Juices, and You

To those of you who just had a flashback to filmstrips in school, shake it off and enjoy the reference. To the rest of you, you missed out.
*beep*(advance to next frame)

I mentioned previously that my first purchase was a DSE801 plus numerous accessories; and unsure of boards rules, made only not-so-subtle allusions to the fact I purchased from Rocky Mountain Vapor. The service was great, and I've made several purchases since.

I've mentioned the juices I got from RMV; Camel, Mocha, Pina Colada, and that I also bought a bunch of the pre-filled Marl carts for my 801. All of those are 18mg. The Marl carts are tolerable, the Camel was decent, the Mocha is tasty, and the Pina Colada I found ok, but not worth ordering again. Then I stepped out onto a limb. I bought juices from Johnson Creek.

They have a good reputation in many circles, and are the cause of many problems in others. The fact that not only are they U.S. based, but relatively local, I felt I had to give them a shot. (I'm one of those "buy locally-think globally" kinda folks)

To try and give the short version of my experience(and noob opinion - I've got several posts up in JC threads); in my noobness I overfilled the initial cart for even "normal" juices. But JC juices are thinner, which aggravated the situation, causing me to foul an atty. I was already frustrated that night, and it didn't help. Thankfully, any and all problems have been corrected/solved, though at this time I can't say I recommend JC juice straight up.

I finally found glycerin at the local store, and it's lovely thickness was the answer to my JC juice woes. Mixed with the juice, my new hobby became viscosity experimentation. Sure, I was getting lots of extra vapor, but if it was too thick, it didn't seem to wick very well down the length of the 801 cart. Too thin, and well, I already knew those results.

Enter a new player. I'd talked to to Dave at RMV, and asked him about what to get for a second PV. I wanted something light, with an auto battery, so that I could vape hands-free while doing chores and such. Knowing it'd have to be a mini or super-mini, I accepted the short cart and batt life, and would deal with it accordingly. I'd also decided I did want something that could pass for a "normal" cigarette, for those times I might be out, and would rather be ignored. He suggested the little lovely hanging from my lips right now, a JOYE306.



As the saying goes, always leave 'em wanting more. Service call tomorrow and I have to hit the sack. Stay tuned, stay strong.

JLD

 

[SpasticMuse]

Muse,
i must say i just sat here for a half an hour and read your whole thread. Very very entertaing and informative. I am 33 have been smoking analogs for half my life at a pack and some change a day. I have been trolling this site for the last week and a half decideing and contemplating what to get? am i ready? can i do this? YES i think i can. Thanks in part to you. Now there is no place better then an analog then in some bombed out xxxxhole in iraq with bullets zinging BUT i no longer live that life. I now know that my life will not be extingquished (sp sorry marine haha) as fast as that analog being put out, so now i move on. Thank you for detailing the process of the addiction and the switch to vape. You really have made me feel like even i can do this! I ordered my 510 kit with assorted goodies yesterday and i cant wait! I really want to die an old man with my respiratory drive working on CO2 rather then working on O2 deprivation!! HAHA thanks a ton really.. btw i was saving my first post for an intro but i just couldnt help commenting on your first.. Good luck with the switch i and im sure every other person is rooting 110% for you!

I appreciate that a great deal, and if I may, thank you for your service.

Definately stayed tuned, since the next chapter will be dealing with various issues including nicotine levels and what I can only describe as a relapse this past weekend.

(anyone else dig the old filmstrip reference? I've considered converting this thread into a blog at some point... maybe some cheesy title/chapter frames...?)

Oh man am I waaaaay overdue for bed.

Goodnight everyone.
JLD

 

[misantroll]

Awesome read ! Keep it up !

 

[jeffsm3]

muse,
Thank yous are always welcome.. id gladly go back and do it all over again for people like you. and Thank you for the great read and the small insight into what im gettin myself into.. Thanks again

 

[Afubar]

Hey Spastic, have enjoyed your thread to no end. As an ex-Kentuckian, I think I can safely say that you had the quote, "Beautiful Horses and Fast wom..." exactly right. LOL Keep the entries coming, being of a certain age myself, I can really relate to some of your sayings.

As for Jeff, I too thank you for your service.

Kaye

 

[thewomenfolk]

SpasticMuse, okay, time to show your Mom you love her and buy her a JOYE 510. She will be thrilled. Get it quick. Rocky Mountain Vapor will sell you a kit for $46 and free shipping, and he ships fast!. Then you and your Mom can get samples of flavors and share them to see what you each like best.

I'm really happy for you, and think it's so good you did your homework. I'd never heard of e-cigs (PV - personal vaporers) (sp?) until 2 weeks ago and the Njoy was pointed out to me at Smoker Friendly after I said something (for the umpteenth time) about needing to quit smoking. I bought the Njoy and loved their cart flavors but not the automatic (no consistent vapor). Hence, now I have the JOYE 510, 901, and the Janty Stick. I love all three for different reasons but use the 510 most. Good luck to you!

 

[SpasticMuse]

SpasticMuse, okay, time to show your Mom you love her and buy her a JOYE 510. She will be thrilled. Get it quick. Rocky Mountain Vapor will sell you a kit for $46 and free shipping, and he ships fast!. ...

Yeah, I love my mum and all, but she'll get hers AFTER I get mine.

Gotta make sure it's good enough for her, right?

As to where to buy, RMV is the only place I've bought/am buying hardware from. Dave actually puts up with me.

JLD

 

[SpasticMuse]

*Not a "chapter", more just an addendum.

--Even more suspect I'm having issues with nicotine levels; on edge/short fuse all day. (But that's another chapter )
--this is just to pass on some more info, potential deals for some, and to focus on the good of the day(i.e. therapy); after a couple cocktails, which are also the good of the day.
--I'll be posting an abridged version of this in the general forum w/o the explanations.

___________







I live about 60 miles NW of Chicago, and stopped in at my local Jewel-Osco on the way home from work, looking for the usual suspects, and for some more accessories to my new-found vaping habit. Vaping-relating items on my list were:

1. Lipton Pyramid-bagged Tea
2. Small Tweezers
3. 10ml Oral Syringe
4. Compact Lens storage case.

1. This may already be known to many; a popular modification to cartridges is to replace the poly-fill material with the material used in Lipton pyramid tea-bags (known as PTB mod). As several of my (now well-used) 801 cartridges are starting to taste, well, "plastic-y" when they either dry out or are put to heavy use, I wanted to try this. There's other advantages touted as well- DO YOUR OWN DARN RESEARCH! To make it a little easier, I'll be trying methods along the lines of this thread " The only way PTB works... "

That's the purpose. The excellence is that right now they have several flavors on clearance for $3.99/box(20 bags); normally $5.86/box. (not in the "Lipton" section, but with the 'premium' teas) I cleared out the "Vanilla Carmel Truffle", which was 4 boxes total. Got a cup brewed up next to me right now... about as tasty as it sounds. Just wish I still had some creamer around for it (damn caucasians). Surprised that for a 'premium' tea the bags are just loose in the box. I may be a KY-born yank(in the British sense), but I do have respect for tea. Once I've had my tea, I'll be dissecting the bag.


2. Tweezers are one of the best tools for dealing with cartridges, and with those little '"condoms" at the end of 801 carts that get lost in the bottom of the cart caps. I wanted a pair that were short enough to pack into my carrying case(a soft, 6-slot flash drive case).

That's the purpose. The excellence is that I found the PERFECT little tweezers currently on sale for 40% off. Just under 70mm(2 3/4"), pointed tip with a carry case/sheath to double-y protect them in the case(and vice-versa) Found in the cosmetics section.
La Cross Tini-Tweeze


3. Some people recommend, and even some vendors sell, (oral, non-needle) syringes for this specific purpose: when you're done with a cart, pull out the filler, stuff it in the barrel of the syringe. When you've filled the barrel, give the plunger a push and hey! you've just squeezed out all that precious juice to be used in a fresh cart. Not to mention that if you are mixing flavours, brands, or cutting juices, a well marked measuring device is always handy. (I put it in the category of knives and rope- there's no such thing as too many.)

That's the purpose. The excellence in that case was NOT a sale. ~$2 regularly, but this one comes with an interesting little device they call a "Dosage Korc". It's a graduated funnel you can use with moderately and larger sized bottles (for our needs) to fill the syringe in that more "medical", upside-down way. Haven't tried it yet, but hey, $2 retail for a syringe is fine anyway. *Caution- these are being sold on hang-tags off the pharmacy counter. If the pharmacy closes, and they have shutters that enclose the whole counter, you'll be S.O.L.
"EZY-Dose 10ml Oral Syringe with 'Dosage-Korc'"


4. One of my new toys is a JOYE306, which has an 'exposed' atty. If it were a belly button, it'd be an "outty". One of the popular applications of such an atty is "dipping", whereby you use it with just a mouthpiece sans cartridge 'cup' and filler. To use, pull off the mouthpiece, and dip the exposed bridge into a small pool of juice (like the cup of a contact lens case) for a few seconds, replace the mouthpiece and vape for about an analogues worth or two.

Thats the purpose. Sadly no excellence, just failure. The only lens case they had was from B&L, and was nearly $5, which just seemed over-priced to me, for my needs.

Three out of four. 75%. Counts as a C in most schools. Good enough.

But hey, Diet Rite 2-liters were 10/$10. Major extra-credit there.

Oh yeah, and some other tweezers (more appropriate for man-scaping eyebrows and nose hair) were also on sale for 40%off. More extra-credit.

I need the boost, so I'm grading this shopping trip an A-.

JLD

 

[SpasticMuse]

25th August, 2011

 

[classwife]

..and Friday was your ECF 2 year Anniversary ! Congratulations !

 

[wdave]

Hello everyone!

My name's John, and I've been a cigarette smoker for around 22 years. It's been up and down, but for the last several years, I've been roughly a carton/week smoker. I'll refrain from mentioning a brand, but they were formerly labeled as "ultra-lights", and the packaging is very ORANGE. (hint-hint, nudge-nudge, Bob's your uncle).

Sometime ago, being that I'm a talk-radio addict, I heard one or more ads for the "Smoke Assassin". I wasn't really paying attention, (as is best for talk radio), but it did plant the seed for a device that replaces smoke with vapor.

Monday of last week, I'm running late to the office, stop at my usual gas station where I get my coffee, morning snack, and usually my smokes when needed; at about $43 & change a carton. But I forgot I needed to get smokes. Halfway to work I go for a smoke, which was the last one in my last pack, and realize, ".....e, I forgot to pick up smokes!!!"

Now, I live in an IL county that has what seems to be fairly normal/ moderate Midwestern pricing on tobacco. But I work in Cook county- those same $43/carton smokes are around $6/pack. So I stop at one of the only places I pass in the middle of my commute, and ask, "How much for a carton of XXX ?" "Ehhh, ~$42 plus tax". 'Well that's only a couple dollars more' I think to myself and buy a carton. The total comes out after tax to be almost $47... Which somehow bugs me because I realize that, for the first time, even just rounding from the 'ones' place... I'm paying $50 per week to kill myself.

(insert joke) I've been married, so I no longer fear a slow death. (/joke) But hey, my divorce hasn't cost me $50/week!!

So later in the week I was driving back from a service call, and stopped off at a trucker-style gas station. On the counter were cartridge packs for the NJoy. Bells rings, and I think, "Oh yeah, there some sort of alternative. I should check into that sort of thing..." And well, I do...

So "NJoy review" meets Mr. Google, and the first site I meet is ElectronicCigaretteReview which has some great stuff. Moving on, I find out about the Red Dragon, and thought that could be it. More time on the Google and I found this site. Got a little confirmation that the NJoy isn't horrible, and that some still love their Red Dragons. (Nothing like the confirmation that you aren't headed down the wrong path)

After WAY too many hours of reading, call it a crash course, or maybe cramming (I estimate 30-35hrs in 6 days), I read that many people are introduced to "Vaping" from products like the Red Dragon, or from NJoy, or from others, but that ultimately the tend to end up moving to one (or more) of a few. I won't get into the options recommended, (DO YOUR OWN DARN CRAMMING), but it seems one of the major players is the model DSE801. Lots of good reviews/recommendations have been made toward it, and per my self-evaluation, I think it will be good for me.

Next post - self-evaluation and ordering

I'd suggest keeping your posts short. There are people in this forum who can help you a lot. But we don't have time to read a post this long.

 

[Luvs5rugrats]

I suggest keep on going the way you are! I enjoy your posts..keep them coming

 

[SpasticMuse]

Not just a song from "Annie"....

JLD

 

[Joejokin]

Congratulations on your two year mark, thats awesone. Mine came and went in march and I didn't even remember.

 

[SpasticMuse]

Apologies for the delay - real world issues wait for no man.


Holy vaping anniversary, Batman!!

Two years. Wow. Some days it seems like just a few months ago, others a decade. As it is with such things, the good things pass by too quickly; the bad, well, no amount of GOOP, turpentine, or other “spirits” can scrub those days away fast enough. The road of life is paved in all of it, but this particular by-pass is all about the last two years vaping.

Where am I now?
Unworthy of a VH1 special, I'll have to fill you in on my own, but where to start? Well, winter '09 set in, and as I'd pondered previously, that was the point I started lobbying at work to vape inside. Arguments of my well-being in the cold received a lukewarm response. However, a change in tactic I recommend to everyone is the productivity argument. Allowing me to vape inside means I'm no longer spending time away from my bench, desk, or outside the shop. Versus that, it was agreed to in about 10 minutes. It stuck of course, because the fears of lingering smells, stains, or other “cigarette-related” offenses never materialized. So now I spend my days at work vaping most of the day.

I still buy 99 & 44/100th's of my stuff from RMV.
(At the time of this post, he's running a 25% off sale on liquid, coupon code”25liquid25”. I get nothing for that, but if you're a new customer to Rocky Mountain Vapor, and enter my name in the “Special Instructions” area of the checkout, I do, and would appreciate it.)

Usage
I probably shouldn't be the poster boy for e-cigs, so I'll be honest. (Not that I'd be offered the job anyway... NO ONE wants to see me on a poster!!!!) My daily usage ends with me falling asleep vaping, and starts with me trying to figure out where the bloody thing went to in the sheets. I suppose as a physical habit, it's worse. However, when breaking it down, it's not as bad as it seems. The typical pattern is that starting in the morning, I refill the cartridge sometime before I leave on my commute(~1hr). While I'm at work, 80% of the time the e-cig is hanging from my lips, but I usually only refill the cartridge once, maybe topping off before the commute home. Which really means much of the time it's just there for the sake of being a “woobie”, and an oral fixation. Once home for the evening, I usually have to refill the cartridge several times before heading to bed. For me it seems to come down to how occupied I am in something. I never let it get far away, but heavy usage only comes from boredom or stress. In writing this missive, it's never left my lips, but I only on occasion taken a drag.

Equipment
I started with the DSE801, and it did it's job. Got a JOYE306, and that was kool for a while. Strong, hot vapor, but refilling cartridges was a pain for me, and they didn't last long; though dipping is awesome. Finally got a JOYE510, which started a new era for me. Cartridges are as easy to fill as the 801's and hold nearly as much, vapor's as strong & hot as the 306 or more. Add the 306 auto batts, and I was close to my heaven. Then came that bad streak of 510 atty's a while back, and I started looking for a different, but similar model; enter the DSE901. Cartridges similar to the 510's, but with an excellent thin “whistle tip”; atomizer not unlike the 801's with it's longer barrel; and the option of auto or manual batteries. Might have stuck with them to this day, but for two reasons; 1) I noticed that they tended to leak a bit, and one of the two atty's I had, severely(near-traumatically one day). Two, it was bit longer and heavier, so it wasn't as enjoyable as a “lip hanger”. Don't get me wrong though, it's still an A- in my book, a great PV. In the end, my all-day, go-to tool is as follows: the 306 auto batteries, 510 atomizers, and... did I mention those awesome 901 tips fit 510 atty's?(though a bit snug at first) I very nearly have to take back a statement from my second post. It basically looks like a cigarette(maybe a cigarillo), depending on colour combination. Acts like a cigarette(with an auto battery). So.... maybe it is a duck after all. As it stands now, the 801 is retired as is the 306 (in complete form). The 901 waits in the wings on stand-by, but a few other bits/versions do enter rotation. I picked up a standard EGO kit, which is great for either those heavy vaping sessions, or you just don't want to swap a battery for a while. Great for long commutes where the “lip hanging” factor doesn't matter. Also picked up a 510-T (tank) system. This is one that grew on me. No filler, though more difficult to fill if you lack pointed syringe. Even still, it's a cartridge that you can't (realistically) overfill, and an atty that doesn't flood. If it was available in a whistle tip, I might have feelings about it not appropriate for public discussion. However, it's really perfect as is. I find the 510-T atty doesn't give as hot a vapor, which a manual battery can make up for. And when using a whistle tip, any cart really, but it only matters with flat tips, I align the opening of the cart to the bridge in the atty. So if the battery is an auto, and the tip is flat, orientation doesn't matter. If the battery is a manual, and the tip is round, orientation doesn't matter. Take a manual battery, and a flat tip, now orientation DOES matter, since the switch would preferably be in a “natural” spot.

 

[SpasticMuse]

I plan to continue tomorrow.

My thanks to those who were there for me at the beginning, and followed this thread then. I hope they find their way back now, if only to apologize for not continuing then as I'd meant to.

My best to all of you,
JLD

 

[Cyberpixie]

You might prefer Boge Cartomisers. An atty and cart in one. Fill up in the morning and they last all day unless you're a heavy vapour then you might need to top off once or twice in the day.

I was on 0.4mg of smokes and found 8-11mg juice was perfect for me. 18mg has me woozy after two puffs!