mistakes made when starting out

[gordk]

Not sure I really want to say what mistakes I made when I first decided I was going to vape and not smoke, but I will allude to those mistakes so that experienced vapers will know what I'm talking about while also trying to avoid giving any ideas to those who are right this very moment deciding to give this a shot stupid ideas.

Not sure if that's possible, because the minute you realise you can forget about smoke, you get a bit crazy about it.

#1 thinking 3 weeks of reading up 10 hours a day on everything means you know anything about, uh, anything. Been 3 months for me. I don't kncrap, and I'm not a dunce.

#2 thinking you know what your real goal is is. You just don't.

#3 thinking you're going to spend hardly anything compared to what you did as a smoker. You _can_, but you have to be _extremely_ diligent about meeting that goal.

Point I _MUST_ make here: so what. Even if you spend x% more by vaping than you did by smoking, SO EFFING WHAT. You are making a better choice and eventually you will calm down and spend less.

I'll be considering myself new at this until two things happen:

1 year of no smoke.
spending perhaps 50% of what I was (would be down to $60a week for me)

 

[#Syv#]

New to this as well. I am hoping that eventually I will find a setup that "works" for me and I stop wasting money on juice that doesn't sit we'll with and find a pv/atomizer that produces consistent vapor and flavor and fits my needs

 

[artt]

Expenses really do "calm down" (if you allow it). I use a P-18, P-10, Icon, Penelope,Bulli Classic, and cartos...and that's it. For me this covers all the bases. Now I'm sure I will make other purchases in the future, but I realise that it will be "wants and not needed" apvs, With diy juice my day to day costs are less then a dollar a day. Compared to smokes that's quite a bargain.

 

[Patcrack]

My mistake: Being afraid that e-cigs could be banned I bought excessive amount of devices that soon became obsolete.

 

[gordk]

My mistake: Being afraid that e-cigs could be banned I bought excessive amount of devices that soon became obsolete.

I understand that one 1000%. But, it made me go into overdrive mode and make a ton of really idiotic mistakes in very short order. And learn too a lot too. But I still have TONS to learn. There are some completely amazing people around ECF. Ask around. I have not even done that enough _myself_. So, that is another mistake I've that you should make a point of avoiding. Be visible. There are loads of extremely knowledgable people here. Those in this world who would like to convince you that vaping is not a useful means of reducing your dependence on nicotine very much have a vested interest in getting you to believe them. I think many here know what I'm saying. Just look at my own experience... I'm 50, started smoking at 21, started wishing I could get rid of it at 26, struggled ineffectively with that trying patches, then gum, then lozenges and getting nowhere (actually all those made things worse for me), until Jan. 13, 2013 found a vape + equipment I could live with, and threw something like $80 worth of Camels down the toilet, and just have not looked back. I started at 36mg/ml and in just that short time I'm down to 21mg/ml. Still strong, but a long way from where I was. AND none of it is smoke. When I was a smoker I do remember for certain just a few years ago smoking 7 packs of Camel Regulars in _48 hours_ one weekend.

What I have achieved in just 2.5 months of vaping is so far beyond anything even remotely possible with any other method I've ever tried I just plain don't give a crap if it costs a bit more for a while.

Ok, I think I'm done for now, and I think it might be good for me to stick around new-members-forum for a while.

 

[understando]

Its a different process for everyone.

I started with vapor 4 life. Moved to ego's, box mod, and now a broken evic! But, Still am a fan of the portability of an ego.

I will say, having enough carto's or whatever you choose, was the most important thing I needed to learn. Nothing worse than not having one and having no way of getting one.

 

[StevesCVO]

Always have back-ups for your back-ups.

 

[akatina]

Be open. When you're new to something you don't know what you're going to like or dislike, nor do you know what will and won't work.

You may think you're going to love bakery flavors and tobaccos and hate fruits and mints. Order some fruit and mint anyways. If you don't like them, you can PIF or swap them elsewhere in the forum, they won't go to waste.

You may think you'll only use a cig-a-like and never carry anything bigger. Order an eGo knockoff kit with a clearo for $15 anyways. If you don't like it, consider it a back up or PIF it.

You may think you want to vape high nic juice once every 2 hours to replicate smoking. Order some low-nic anyways, to try "chain vaping". If you don't like it, see above about PIFing and swapping.

You may think you have to quit immediately, but you don't. You may think you can't quit immediately, but maybe you can.

Everyone's quit and everyone's vape is different. The only things I've seen that are consistent: eat properly, get plenty of rest, drink more water, have at least 2 batteries AND 2 chargers, and always have at least 2 weeks of your other supplies of choice (juice, clearos, cartos, replacement heads, etc) on hand.

 

[swampmaster]

Be open. When you're new to something you don't know what you're going to like or dislike, nor do you know what will and won't work.

You may think you're going to love bakery flavors and tobaccos and hate fruits and mints. Order some fruit and mint anyways. If you don't like them, you can PIF or swap them elsewhere in the forum, they won't go to waste.

You may think you'll only use a cig-a-like and never carry anything bigger. Order an eGo knockoff kit with a clearo for $15 anyways. If you don't like it, consider it a back up or PIF it.

You may think you want to vape high nic juice once every 2 hours to replicate smoking. Order some low-nic anyways, to try "chain vaping". If you don't like it, see above about PIFing and swapping.

You may think you have to quit immediately, but you don't. You may think you can't quit immediately, but maybe you can.

Everyone's quit and everyone's vape is different. The only things I've seen that are consistent: eat properly, get plenty of rest, drink more water, have at least 2 batteries AND 2 chargers, and always have at least 2 weeks of your other supplies of choice (juice, clearos, cartos, replacement heads, etc) on hand.

fantastic advice

 

[swampmaster]

Be open. When you're new to something you don't know what you're going to like or dislike, nor do you know what will and won't work.

You may think you're going to love bakery flavors and tobaccos and hate fruits and mints. Order some fruit and mint anyways. If you don't like them, you can PIF or swap them elsewhere in the forum, they won't go to waste.

You may think you'll only use a cig-a-like and never carry anything bigger. Order an eGo knockoff kit with a clearo for $15 anyways. If you don't like it, consider it a back up or PIF it.

You may think you want to vape high nic juice once every 2 hours to replicate smoking. Order some low-nic anyways, to try "chain vaping". If you don't like it, see above about PIFing and swapping.

You may think you have to quit immediately, but you don't. You may think you can't quit immediately, but maybe you can.

Everyone's quit and everyone's vape is different. The only things I've seen that are consistent: eat properly, get plenty of rest, drink more water, have at least 2 batteries AND 2 chargers, and always have at least 2 weeks of your other supplies of choice (juice, clearos, cartos, replacement heads, etc) on hand.

fantastic advice

 

[Faylool]

My biggest mistake was blaming all the equipment for a lot of things when it was user error. And guess what. Vape is still vape, not smoke. I learned to relate to vape for what it is and is not

 

[jaysix]

My mistake was buying the first kit that I found from China and adding on a ton of extras to the point that I could have pieced together a really nice setup. My other mistake was buying a bunch of CE5 clearomizers and extra heads instead of just one to try. Now that I am using carto tanks, they pretty much just sit there not doing anything.

 

[mommyofdoom]

My major mistake when starting out was overpurchasing.

I loved my first cigalike, so I bought about $250 worth of cartomizers and extra batteries.

I also loved some of my first juices, so I bought huge bottles.

It wasn't long before I upgraded my device, so now I have a ton of cartomizers that I will never use unless it's a dire emergency.

I also lost my taste for those juices within two weeks, so that was a waste. I still have the bottles, and I'll probably never vape them again.

I think when I get some better backup devices I will put a bunch of stuff in the PIF. I need to go ahead and put all this juice up there, too, but I guess I'm still holding onto the hope that maybe at some point I'll like them again. Hasn't happened yet, and it's been over a month.

 

[Grimwald]

My major mistake when starting out was overpurchasing.

I loved my first cigalike, so I bought about $250 worth of cartomizers and extra batteries.

I also loved some of my first juices, so I bought huge bottles.

It wasn't long before I upgraded my device, so now I have a ton of cartomizers that I will never use unless it's a dire emergency.

I also lost my taste for those juices within two weeks, so that was a waste. I still have the bottles, and I'll probably never vape them again.

I think when I get some better backup devices I will put a bunch of stuff in the PIF. I need to go ahead and put all this juice up there, too, but I guess I'm still holding onto the hope that maybe at some point I'll like them again. Hasn't happened yet, and it's been over a month.

Yeah, over buying juices was my biggest mistake...I have 20 bottles of awful high nic stuff on hand for the zombie apocalypse. I can either vape it or well, does anyone know if nicotine is toxic to zombies?

 

[we2rcool]

We started vaping less than a month ago (but I researched for 2 hrs daily for weeks before buying a thing). The one thing I can add even at this stage:

Most 'mix to order' juices HAVE to steep for at least a week before you'll have any idea what they really taste like - two weeks in, some are still changing (almost all for the better).

Confirming: do not assume you know what you'll like (or that foods/flavors you like/dislike will be the same).

 

[CabanaFoghat]

I haven't had too many problems since I started vaping, but the one thing that got me early on was nicotine content. It's a lot easier to vape than to smoke (for me at least) and chain vaping would give me the spins and all that unpleasantness. It's easy to smoke a cigarette, get your fix, and walk away. If you can sit around all day with a nicotine delivery system in your mouth it's way easy to overdo it.

 

[LeFaerieLady]

1.) Just cause I liked the taste test in the store does not make a 30 mil bottle worth it.
2.) Some nic level jumps are HUGE and can cause headaches.
3.) Keep a special washcloth around JUST for ejuice. We use yellow in my house for nicotine related products.
4.) Some things that seem unnecessary really do make a difference in your life: having a syringe, having the previously mentioned washcloth to wipe things down, having 10 replacement cartos/heads, etc JUST IN CASE...

 

[zephyrzone]

This is a great thread and fantastic advice for a noob like me. I just settled on a SI Volt which arrives this evening and before even getting the package I almost dropped another $80 on e-liquids and cartos. Now I won't do that until I try the device and the flavors and see how my habit goes.

Noob question- what does PIF mean?

 

[areohwhy]

My mistake: Being afraid that e-cigs could be banned I bought excessive amount of devices that soon became obsolete.

This is my fear too, so that Is why I decided to take the plunge into the world of RBAs, as the DIY materials for rebuilding these are common items, easy to obtain, and eventually I will take the plunge into DIY liquids too.

 

[merrick92]

Noob question- what does PIF mean?

Pay It Forward.