My e-cig experience.

[machineelves]

I thought I would start a thread just to track my progress with the e-cig maybe to get some advice or tips or something.

I'm 26, been smoking for 7 years, half a pack a day marlboro lights. Been researching PVs for a week now, purchased the ss choice no. 7 kit, found this board and realized it's crap, sent that back and ordered a 510.

Day 1- Woke up at 10:00, smoked a cig, 10:30 my 510 came in the mail. I'm excited, I un-box it and let the battery charge for an hour or so, put it together with one of the pre filled carts (16mg) take a few puffs and I'm thinking this is alright, nice taste decent vapor and I feel like I've done well but I can't really tell if it's hit hit me.

A couple hours later I feel like I could go for a smoke again, so I grab the 510 and I start puffing on it, not getting enough vapor, so I think I'll try some of the juice(11mg) I also purchaced and decided to direct drip this time. I put a few drop on the atty, I get a few decent drags and then it tastes burnt, so I add a couple more drops, same result. So I'm thinking carts might work better for me so I fill a cart with the 11mg juice and puff away, much better.

It's been about 6 hours now since I've had an analog, I've been puffing on this 510 all day and I'm not feeling a damn thing, so at this point I'm getting frustrated and rather then waste my saturday messing around with this thing I go ahead and have an analog, sweet relief.

I've already spent around 70 bucks on this 510 and juice so I'm not going to just give up, I figure I'll give it another go tomorrow.


Day 2- Instead of waking up and having an analog I figure I'll use the 510, the first smoke of the day should be a good test. So I top off the cart with the 11mg, and start puffing away, 13 drags or so(what I would normally take with an analog) and I put it down, I'm feeling absolutely nothing. So I figure maybe 11mg is just too weak. I take one of the new pre filled 16mg carts, pop it on, puff away, same thing, good vapor but absolutely no satisfaction. Nothing at all.

So at this point I'm pretty disappointed to say the least. And I'm back to smoking analogs today. I ordered some 24mg juice last night and I'm hoping that's the problem, I don't see how it could be but I'm going to hold off until I get the juice and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[jerrydon10]

I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the 24 mg improvement. I started at 16--didn't cut it--24 did, but after awhile it started to make my heart race.

I slowly began to lower the dosage over time and now I'm doing fine on 16.

I think getting the strength right is the toughest adjustment for a new vapor. I recommend that newbs begin at 18 and adjust up or down from there.

Good luck and don't give up. There is a learning curve to vaping that we all go through.

 

[shelbyman]

Are you taking slow, smooth drags or taking drags like a analog cigarette?
Also, though I didn't do it initially on my 510, take out the atty, run hot water though it, the blow thru the atty and dry? I found that the initial atty maintenance cleared the "primer" on the new atty on the 510.
I was a 1-1/2-3 pack for 30years Marlboro Light 100's smoker and am using 24-36mg TV, (Tasty Vapor) juice that satisfies my nicotine content. I think 11mg would be light for me personally. The juice I ordered with the 401 wasn't flavored enough for me to satisfy my taste.
Don't give up!

 

[Rosa]

Yes, I agree with Jerry. Most vapers (even if they smoked lights) should start at least at 18mg and preferably at 24mg. Sometimes it just takes the higher nic content to knock out the urge to smoke in the beginning-maybe to make up for all the other chemicals that you aren't getting from vaping. PLUS: remember, you can always cut the mg down with a 0mg juice (and if you're scared to mix like a chemist in your kitchen, you can put a drip or two of 24 and a drip or two of 0 right into your cart and try to mix it that way). There's no shame in smoking until your new juice gets to you, no reason to suffer (that's the vaper's motto!) but just don't give up. And keep us posted, I love to track other noobies progress, it's fun!

 

[machineelves]

Yeah, I'm taking the right kind of drag, I blew the atty out but didn't rinse it, I'll try that.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the 24 mg improvement. I started at 16--didn't cut it--24 did, but after awhile it started to make my heart race.

I slowly began to lower the dosage over time and now I'm doing fine on 16.

I think getting the strength right is the toughest adjustment for a new vapor. I recommend that newbs begin at 18 and adjust up or down from there.

Good luck and don't give up. There is a learning curve to vaping that we all go through.

I hope your right, 11mg/16mg does nothing for me.

 

[BanjoMan]

First off welcome to the forum. It's a great source of info for everything e-cig related.

#1 don't worry about continuing smoking while you learn to get the most out of your 510. Most of us here quit that way (I continued to smoke off and on for two months myself). Keep the pressure to a minimum and concentrate on refining your vaping habit.

I think you'll find that your first two priorities will be finding a flavor and mg level you like, and getting your cartridge to perform well. Some people like to drip but I prefer a cart mod that let's me put more liquid in the cart.

Once you get those worked out, your next step will probably be finding a longer lasting battery. The mega batts for the 510 work well, and considering the amount you smoke now that might be all you need. Just take it one step at a time and you'll do fine.

 

[yanks21]

A couple hours later I feel like I could go for a smoke again, so I grab the 510

The above could be part of your problem as well as too low a nic content.

When I first got my PV I treated it as you did: a cigarette.

I didn't pick it up until I had an urge to smoke. I did much better by hitting it early and often so I could prevent the urge from coming as opposed to trying to satisfy the urge.

FYI: I vape 24-36mg

 

[Rosa]

Yeah, I'm taking the right kind of drag, I blew the atty out but didn't rinse it, I'll try that.




I hope your right, 11mg/16mg does nothing for me.

oh, DO blow it out, but I wouldn't recommend you rinse it, blowing it is sufficient unless it's clogged up with gunk. You should go to the maintenance section and read up about rinsing before you venture there: and watch a video or two about it first. Good luck!

 

[machineelves]

oh, DO blow it out, but I wouldn't recommend you rinse it, blowing it is sufficient unless it's clogged up with gunk. You should go to the maintenance section and read up about rinsing before you venture there: and watch a video or two about it first. Good luck!

thanks for the heads up, I'll do that.

 

[Badbeams3]

I have been smoke free now for...maybe 6 months..."smoked" both for maybe 2 months. I ended up using 36mg to feel satisfied (cinnamon). And I sucked on it like a baby bottle...a starving one. Day and night. After a few months I cut back...both in terms of frequency and nic level. Not on purpose...just sort of cut down without any thought. I am almost at the point of considering trying some 0 nic...almost...not sure.

Anyway...thats what worked for me. And it did take a little willpower/determination to drop the real thing completely...not much though.

Just so you know I was a very heavy smoker...53 years old man (well, I like to think that...my mother and my kids will tell you I never grew up )...smoking since I was 15.

 

[Rosa]

I have been smoke free now for...maybe 6 months..."smoked" both for maybe 2 months. I ended up using 36mg to feel satisfied (cinnamon). And I sucked on it like a baby bottle...a starving one. Day and night. After a few months I cut back...both in terms of frequency and nic level. Not on purpose...just sort of cut down without any thought. I am almost at the point of considering trying some 0 nic...almost...not sure.

Anyway...thats what worked for me. And it did take a little willpower/determination to drop the real thing completely...not much though.

Just so you know I was a very heavy smoker...53 years old man (well, I like to think that...my mother and my kids will tell you I never grew up )...smoking since I was 15.

Good on you, Badbeams3, that's how it's done! Saved your own life right there, I bet.

 

[nouveau]

Hi, first post here. I am not sure at all about protocol here, but the kit I have is not from a sponsor company unless I missed seeing them on a list. I hope it's ok to post anyway. I joined the forum after I got the kit. I'm new to both the forums (obviously) and vaping, too. Here's my experience for comparison.

About me: I have been a semi-closet smoker for twenty years. I smoked happily around other smokers or in my car. I smoked (hopefully it stays past tense) about a pack of Marlboro Ultra Lights a day. To clarify 'semi-closet' I mean that there were many, many people I hid my habit from. I never smoked in public, especially around little kids. I went through a box of breath mints a week because I popped one after almost every smoke if I was going to be around non-smokers. I obsessed over the smell of my fingers, hair and clothes. I was very uncomfortable giving non-smokers a hug because I thought that I must smell like a rancid ash tray. It went so far that I acutally did most of my smoking inside with a fan and an open window because I didn't want my neighbors to see me lurking by my back door.

I am now on day 3 and a half of vaping and have not touched a traditional cigarette since starting vaping....but I have wanted to. In fact, I wouldn't mind one right now.

The vaping experince so far...wait...let me take a drag first. Hm. Frustrating. Ok, here we go:

I got my kit in the mail when I got home from work on Thursday afternoon. (Today is Sunday.) I read the simple directions, put it together and set it aside. I still had 5 cigs/analogs left in a pack and well, I wanted to smoke them. They're expensive. lol. So I did, and didn't actually try the e-cig until early evening. The first drag: well, allright! decent throat hit, lots of vapor. The second drag: no throat hit, but lots of vapor. I figured that I did it wrong. Tried again...'bout the middle: mild throat hit, lots of vapor. I used it off and on Thursday evening and didn't really have issues with wanting an analog.

(I was very gentle with it at first and still am...I've heard stories from people I know who started vaping recently and almost all of them have managed to kill their atomizers and I didn't want to join the club.)

Friday: about the same. Never knew what I was going to get each time I took a drag. Every time I was slow and gentle, too. I finished a cartridge and put in three drops of medium juice. I don't know the milligrams...just figured that ordering high nic content was a bad idea since I smoked ultra lights. I got e-juice all over my tongue and it burned and tasted pretty nasty. The throat hit was a lot better, though. However...after a couple of drags I was back to moderate to almost no throat hit at all. I just dealt with it. The battery ran out Friday afternoon and I switched the cartridge to a fresh one. Same experience as before. Mildly frustrating. Woke up unexpectedly at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep, so I went online wondering if I was now getting way too much nicotine in my system. Found info that I was probably actually getting ten times less than I had with analogs. I didn't feel all nicced up...just wide awake. Who knows?

Saturday: same, same, same. I wasn't exactly freaking out wanting an analog, but because I didn't know what kind of satisfaction I was going to get each time I took a drag, it was just not all that great. I DID enjoy the freedom from worrying about stinking or going to the store and asking for a pack of smokes and having a cashier grudginly hand them over with the whole "You're stupid for smoking" look on her face. I filled my cartridge (same one) with 3-4 drops of juice probably 4 times that day. Battery died pretty much 24 hours after the last one, so I switched it again.

Sunday: Well, it's 5 pm and I just switched the battery again. I'm still using the same cartridge and amount of e-juice. It looks as if the 50ml bottle I purchased hasn't even been touched. Maybe I'm supposed to use more? I thought that a few drops was like half a pack of smokes, though. Then I read about people who use 30ml a week. I'm guessing that they chain vape or have a different e-cig than I do. I would love to just pretty much fill up my cartridge with the juice and see what happens...but something tells me that's how my friends killed their atomizers in less than a week. I think I'm getting enough nicotine that I don't actually want to go back to the habit I hated so much for so many reasons....but I am not satisfied completely. I have spent a lot of time the last few days reading both this forum, watching tutorial videos from all over the web and hoping that this will get better for me. I have two batteries, two atomizers (one never touched), nine full cartridges and a full 50ml bottle of juice. I hope I can make it.

Any comments are appreciated and if you read this whole thing...thanks! Didn't mean to be so wordy, but as you all know...there is a lot of mental 'stuff' tied up in switching a twenty year habit!

 

[Rosa]

Hi, Nouveau, welcome to the forum. It might help if we knew which kind of e-cig you are working with as they can vary quite a bit.

 

[Badbeams3]

Do you know what model you have? You must not be a heavy vapor if your getting 24 hours out of a batt. Unless you have a modded type. Perhaps the lack of constancy might be partly caused by the juice...I had some that seemed like water almost. Ran all over...leaked out...probably ran into areas it shouldn`t have...like into the batt. And into my mouth...yummy

 

[nouveau]

Hey, thanks for the welcome. It's a Firelight.

 

[nouveau]

To clarify more: the cartridges on these Firelights work by the atomizer piercing foil. When I add e-juice to a used cartridge, it pools up on around the opening of the foil for a minute and then slides past it. I wait until it does this before sliding the cartridge back onto the atmoizer because I am not sure if I should be dipping the atomizer into the juice right away. I'm just worried about damaging it.

And yes, 24 hours does seem like a long time....I guess I am not vaping as much as I could be, because again, worried about burning out the atomizer after so many of my newbie friends managed to kill theirs.

 

[Rosa]

I don't really know anything about the Firelights, but I was able to find one review from 3/02/10 in the new members forum that was a thumbs down, and one that said they were "o.k." and the best ones seem to be from the company that's selling firelights (surprise, surprise). I'm not going to say whether they're a good starter PV or not because I don't have enough info, but I would say that for future reference it's always a good idea to try to find a review for anything you want to buy from the folks here on ECF first, they all seem to be pretty knowledgeable.

 

[BanjoMan]

To clarify more: the cartridges on these Firelights work by the atomizer piercing foil. When I add e-juice to a used cartridge, it pools up on around the opening of the foil for a minute and then slides past it. I wait until it does this before sliding the cartridge back onto the atmoizer because I am not sure if I should be dipping the atomizer into the juice right away. I'm just worried about damaging it.

And yes, 24 hours does seem like a long time....I guess I am not vaping as much as I could be, because again, worried about burning out the atomizer after so many of my newbie friends managed to kill theirs.

nouveau,

Based on your description it sounds like something similar to the e-health models. If I'm right there should be a little insert inside the cartridge that contains the filler material. The "foil" is used to seal the cart during shipping and keep the juice from drying out.

Assuming I'm correct the best way to refill these is to use tweezers to pull the insert out of the cart. Once you have the insert out pull out the filler with your tweezers, put a few drops in, stuff the filler back in and top off with a 3-5 more drops of juice. Quite honestly the design isn't the best in the world, but with a little practice it's useable.

I hate to say it but in the long run I think you'll be much happier with a 510 or 901 from one of the many suppliers here. They're easier to work with, easier to get parts and accessories for and will almost certainly give you better performance.

Hope this helps.

 

[Rosa]

I hate to say it but in the long run I think you'll be much happier with a 510 or 901 from one of the many suppliers here. They're easier to work with, easier to get parts and accessories for and will almost certainly give you better performance.

Hope this helps.

ditto. sorry 'bout that.

 

[nouveau]

Hey.

Thanks much for the advice, everyone. I had been reading about filler here and there and wasn't sure what people were talking about. Now I know. The cartridge I'm using is 3 days old now, so it won't hurt to pull the foil back and see what's going on inside there. I'll give your directions a try, BanjoMan.

I read reviews of the Firelight and they seemed more good than bad...but should have waited before buying one, I think. The day after I ordered it was the day a friend who had recommended it killed his atomizer. He's vaping on another brand now. It was too late for me to reconsider as it had already shipped.

It could be, too, that my juice is just not strong enough. It leaves me wanting about 75% of the time. The e-cig itself seems to be working properly.

I'll give it another few days and if tricks and tweaks don't work, I'll look into other brands. I really want to make this work as I really love not smelling and not being paranoid about smelling. lol!