New member, experienced vaper

[jeremyvapes]

Hi all. I'm new to the forums here, hoping to chat, learn, share, and just otherwise kill some time on occasion.

Bit about me:

I used to smoke about a pack of cigarettes a day. Started to feel like I was developing COPD when I started waking up literally gasping for air in the middle of the night so I did the only thing that made sense: freaked out and tried to quit cold turkey. Didn't work. Tried that a bunch of times. Never worked. I think I made it a couple of weeks or something like that once but then started smoking again. I don't remember how long I smoked for but it had to be over 10 years of my life. So when I couldn't quit cold turkey I decided to try e-cigs. I think I'd puffed them a few times when friends had them but didn't like them cause something about them really upset me when I inhaled. Coughed a lot. But this time was different. I knew I needed to quit. Absolutely had to quit. So I took it seriously and every time I wanted a cig I would step out and puff my e-cig instead. Did this for a while. It worked. Probably not much of a shock to a lot of you but I was impressed. Hell, I'm still impressed.

Started with cig-a-likes but now I use disposables and refillable pods. Wish I could ditch the disposables cause they're costly and they sorta suck but they're convenient so I keep using them. I've used a bunch of different ones like Elf Bars, Puff Bars and all the other "Bars" lol. Now I use a Hyde. Does it suck? Pretty much but I like it. I also use an Xros, which is pretty great. I've used a lot of pod vapes since I got into vaping. Something about the "mods" really turns me off. They seem... big and complicated? Yeah, no thanks. I'm not in it to be the world's greatest vaper, just vaping so I don't smoke. Not sure how many years it has been since I smoked but it has been YEARS and that is crazy to me.

One of the worst decisions I ever made: starting smoking.

One of the best decisions I ever made: switching to vaping.

I'm a little interested in the DIY e-liquid stuff, thinking about getting into it to save money. Anything is cheaper than disposables but I also use bottles with my pods and I can see how buying the ingredients in bulk can save me some money so I've been curious for a while but haven't taken the plunge yet. That's one of the things I'm hoping to learn more about here on the forums so thanks in advance to anyone that answers any stupid questions I have lol.

 

[somdcomputerguy]

Welcome to ECF, jeremyvapes.

 

[ShamrockPat]

Welcome jeremyvapes.
There's a dedicated diy-eliquid here any many knowledgeale and helpful folk. But we'll at least need to know what country you're in to help best.

So far you've asked good questions.

 

[bombastinator]

Hi all. I'm new to the forums here, hoping to chat, learn, share, and just otherwise kill some time on occasion.

Bit about me:

I used to smoke about a pack of cigarettes a day. Started to feel like I was developing COPD when I started waking up literally gasping for air in the middle of the night so I did the only thing that made sense: freaked out and tried to quit cold turkey. Didn't work. Tried that a bunch of times. Never worked. I think I made it a couple of weeks or something like that once but then started smoking again. I don't remember how long I smoked for but it had to be over 10 years of my life. So when I couldn't quit cold turkey I decided to try e-cigs. I think I'd puffed them a few times when friends had them but didn't like them cause something about them really upset me when I inhaled. Coughed a lot. But this time was different. I knew I needed to quit. Absolutely had to quit. So I took it seriously and every time I wanted a cig I would step out and puff my e-cig instead. Did this for a while. It worked. Probably not much of a shock to a lot of you but I was impressed. Hell, I'm still impressed.

Started with cig-a-likes but now I use disposables and refillable pods. Wish I could ditch the disposables cause they're costly and they sorta suck but they're convenient so I keep using them. I've used a bunch of different ones like Elf Bars, Puff Bars and all the other "Bars" lol. Now I use a Hyde. Does it suck? Pretty much but I like it. I also use an Xros, which is pretty great. I've used a lot of pod vapes since I got into vaping. Something about the "mods" really turns me off. They seem... big and complicated? Yeah, no thanks. I'm not in it to be the world's greatest vaper, just vaping so I don't smoke. Not sure how many years it has been since I smoked but it has been YEARS and that is crazy to me.

One of the worst decisions I ever made: starting smoking.

One of the best decisions I ever made: switching to vaping.

I'm a little interested in the DIY e-liquid stuff, thinking about getting into it to save money. Anything is cheaper than disposables but I also use bottles with my pods and I can see how buying the ingredients in bulk can save me some money so I've been curious for a while but haven't taken the plunge yet. That's one of the things I'm hoping to learn more about here on the forums so thanks in advance to anyone that answers any stupid questions I have lol.

Convenience is really expensive.
I smoke squonks mostly these days. RDAs with a juice resovoir in the mod and a hole in the RDA to pump juice up there when it runs dry. They are more annoying, and more expensive at the start, but the continuing cost is so much lower I can’t justify literally anything else except rdtas.
It costs about a penny to do a rewick. Such a low cost I can do it daily if I want. With home made juice costing about $6 for a 30ml bottle, my costs are about $25/mo. 1/100th the cost or less of disposables which are actually almost as expensive as cigarettes. It’s more fiddly. A bit like smoking a pipe, and I bought several years woth of nic and flavorings that take up about a tenth of my fridge (the stored nic is in the freezer, the on-deck bottle and the flavorings are in the fridge) rewicking does take a few minutes and I do need to wash my hands afterward, and ju e makking is 10 minutes every couple weeks (I got like a dozen empty bottles I reuse) but I don’t have to do it any more often than any other rewick, such as changing a coil. Kinda depends on what your disposable income level is I guess. Disposables and pods used to suck, but they’re as good as anything else these days. Just vastly more expensive. I used to have a 2 pack a day habit so at $5/pack (which is what I was spending, they’re probably more now) that’s $10/day so $70/week or $280/mo. It’s a noticeable difference so with the money saved over 5 years you could, for example, pay off a year of the average mortgage, Go on. an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii, buy a decent used car, sailboat or motorcycle, something anyway. How much nicer would the car you are driving be if it was $265 more per month? How much less stress would there be if it was $265 cheaper?

 

[BrotherBob]

Hi all. I'm new to the forums here, hoping to chat, learn, share, and just otherwise kill some time on occasion.

Welcome and glad you joined.

 

[jeremyvapes]

Convenience is really expensive.
I smoke squonks mostly these days. RDAs with a juice resovoir in the mod and a hole in the RDA to pump juice up there when it runs dry. They are more annoying, and more expensive at the start, but the continuing cost is so much lower I can’t justify literally anything else except rdtas.
It costs about a penny to do a rewick. Such a low cost I can do it daily if I want. With home made juice costing about $6 for a 30ml bottle, my costs are about $25/mo. 1/100th the cost or less of disposables which are actually almost as expensive as cigarettes. It’s more fiddly. A bit like smoking a pipe, and I bought several years woth of nic and flavorings that take up about a tenth of my fridge (the stored nic is in the freezer, the on-deck bottle and the flavorings are in the fridge) rewicking does take a few minutes and I do need to wash my hands afterward, and ju e makking is 10 minutes every couple weeks (I got like a dozen empty bottles I reuse) but I don’t have to do it any more often than any other rewick, such as changing a coil. Kinda depends on what your disposable income level is I guess. Disposables and pods used to suck, but they’re as good as anything else these days. Just vastly more expensive. I used to have a 2 pack a day habit so at $5/pack (which is what I was spending, they’re probably more now) that’s $10/day so $70/week or $280/mo. It’s a noticeable difference so with the money saved over 5 years you could, for example, pay off a year of the average mortgage, Go on. an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii, buy a decent used car, sailboat or motorcycle, something anyway. How much nicer would the car you are driving be if it was $265 more per month? How much less stress would there be if it was $265 cheaper?

Super helpful information, thanks. I spend over $100/mo on disposables alone, I think it's right around $140/mo in recent months and that's with some supplementing a bit with a refillable pod vape. I think my main issue is that lately my primary vape has been a disposable. I'm okay financially so it's not the end of the world but I have nothing against saving money lol. My interest in DIY juice is mostly to create custom flavors because I usually feel like something is missing or a little off when I try a juice. Like the apple I just opened could use a little bite, feels weak even though the nic strength is high so I've been thinking about adding some menthol juice that I already have.

Seriously though, $25/mo is crazy... I think I usually spend around $15 for each disposable that only lasts for around 2-3 days... lol

 

[bombastinator]

Super helpful information, thanks. I spend over $100/mo on disposables alone, I think it's right around $140/mo in recent months and that's with some supplementing a bit with a refillable pod vape. I think my main issue is that lately my primary vape has been a disposable. I'm okay financially so it's not the end of the world but I have nothing against saving money lol. My interest in DIY juice is mostly to create custom flavors because I usually feel like something is missing or a little off when I try a juice. Like the apple I just opened could use a little bite, feels weak even though the nic strength is high so I've been thinking about adding some menthol juice that I already have.

Seriously though, $25/mo is crazy... I think I usually spend around $15 for each disposable that only lasts for around 2-3 days... lol

Good juice making is not my forté. Cheap and easy juice making is. There are others here that do that well. @leticia (sp?) might be one. I forget. She will have different numbers. The only thing I can say is when possible buy wholesale quantities rather than those tiny vials. They take a long time to use up but the price difference can be quite high. I normally buy flavorwest which is a candy making flavoring. I have to be more careful to avoid things like Oils as a result, but I can get an 8ounce bottle for $13. Lasts years and if you keep it in the fridge it doesn’t go bad (might not even need to do that but I’ve got room)

 

[jeremyvapes]

Good juice making is not my forté. Cheap and easy juice making is. There are others here that do that well. @leticia (sp?) might be one. I forget. She will have different numbers. The only thing I can say is when possible buy wholesale quantities rather than those tiny vials. They take a long time to use up but the price difference can be quite high. I normally buy flavorwest which is a candy making flavoring. I have to be more careful to avoid things like Oils as a result, but I can get an 8ounce bottle for $13. Lasts years and if you keep it in the fridge it doesn’t go bad (might not even need to do that but I’ve got room)

Good to know, thanks for the info. I was wondering about the "FW" (apparently means FlavorWest lol) stuff I kept seeing when looking at DIY recipes. I was wondering if they were a vape-specific company it seemed like they weren't, candy flavoring makes sense lol.

 

[bombastinator]

Iirc the brands of flavoring I have heard of are flavor west, the perfumer’s/flavor apprentice ((they appear to be the same thing), flavorjungle (who apparently bought some other companies, not sure) also there is inwara which is polish and has very tasty flavorings but they aren’t particularly cheap, and I don’t know what their flavorings are made of (I don’t know much about EU law and I can’t read polish) they are the only company I know of that makes “one shots” though which are bottles with flavoring you add base to. They’re not super cheap, but they’re often cheaper than regal juice. I ordered some once and they took about a week and a half to arrive (I’m in Minnesota, USA) Some companies have flavorings that are better or worse or differently formulated than others. The difference between natural and artificial flavorings can be effectively zero. Natural just means naturally sourced, so they are the same chemical so one comes from a lab, and one comes from some exotic endangered tree bark or something. Flavorings are the most twitchy bit of e-cigs. The old move was to use FDA baking certified flavorings because they’re rated to stay stable at 450°f. The other bit is youNEVER WANT TO VAPE OILS EVER. It can get very bad. (That’s the whole thing with didactyl. It’s an oil.) So you need to make sure that whatever flavoring you use is oil free and heat stable.

The way flavorings work is they are outline of the thing copied. Take an apple for example: a bite of apple will have several thousand different chemicals in it, but a flavoring will be maybe 10 or so of the most distinctive. An outline of an apple, so to speak. If one of those chemicals changes when heated though it could conceivably turn from something safe to something not safe. If it did so the flavor would likely change drastically though. In any case it’s a bit twitchy and is the actual basis for a lot of anti ecig stuff. It’s not that it is known to be dangerous, it’s merely that it is unknown. (It COULD be known, just do the testing, but it has not been done) inwara flavors often taste very different though. So for a recipie the brand will matter. Possibly a lot.

 

[james311077]

Hi, I'm a new vaper only on day 5, question for you experience vapers, how many more days before I stop craving a cigarette and it gets easier

Thanks

 

[zoiDman]

Hi, I'm a new vaper only on day 5, question for you experience vapers, how many more days before I stop craving a cigarette and it gets easier

Thanks

About 360 more days.

LOL

Seriously though... Many, including Myself, found that the Hard Core Craving really fell off after 2 weeks. Not to say that you won't still have some cravings. You Will. But they become Fewer and Farther between.

So Hang in there. The Hardest part is about over. Drink a Lot of Water, get a little more Exercise than you normally would, and do things that Break the D2D Routine.

 

[james311077]

About 360 more days.

LOL

Seriously though... Many, including Myself, found that the Hard Core Craving really fell off after 2 weeks. Not to say that you won't still have some cravings. You Will. But they become Fewer and Farther between.

So Hang in there. The Hardest part is about over. Drink a Lot of Water, get a little more Exercise than you normally would, and do things that Break the D2D Routine.

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated, I'm currently doing around 200puffs per day at 12mg on a uwell caliburn g3 pod, taking the edge of but been smoking 25 cigarette per day for 25 years so I guess I need to be patient, not had a single ciggy though so I guess the vaping is working. Thanks again

 

[TARTARA]

Welcome on ECF !
Every person has his own limits and his own way to count certain things... !
Take your time... take easy... find your way that you like to vape... find your vape kit and the e-liquid that fit in your needs... and everything is going to be just fine... ! Just saying... !?

 

[zoiDman]

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated, I'm currently doing around 200puffs per day at 12mg on a uwell caliburn g3 pod, taking the edge of but been smoking 25 cigarette per day for 25 years so I guess I need to be patient, not had a single ciggy though so I guess the vaping is working. Thanks again

You can Make It. But there might be Times when you just have to Grit Your Teeth and Power thru.

Here's another Tip... Nothing wrong with getting a 2nd Pod System in a Higher Nicotine Level. Like 18mg/ml or Higher. Then use that as kinda the Break Glass in Case of Emergency setup. If you can keep off Cigarettes using 12mg/ml that's Great. But nothing wrong with having something as a fall back to Beat Back the Screaming Cravings if they come a knocking.

 

[DavidOck]

Hi, I'm a new vaper only on day 5, question for you experience vapers, how many more days before I stop craving a cigarette and it gets easier

Thanks

It varies, and quite a lot!

It took me a week, one of the lucky ones. The key for me was to up the nic for a while. Smoked about a pack and a half a day, for 40+ years. Started vaping at 18mg / ml, and wanted more. Bumped up to 24, and that did the trick. (And flavors I liked, of course!) For me. YMMV, heck, YMProbablyWillVary

And some "dual use" for a long time.

Keep up the good work, but if you do light one up, don't beat yourself up. Count all the ones you DIDN'T smoke

But some time in the future you may find yourself lighting one up - to immediately crush it out as - NASTY.

My interest in DIY juice is mostly to create custom flavors because I usually feel like something is missing or a little off when I try a juice.

Come on down

Random DIY mixing and More

So many threads get off topic so fast. It figured it would be hard to get a random topic thread off topic:lol: Soooo,I have a couple questions to start. Anyone mixing with plum flavor? I have INW Plum in my cart at BCF but I'm wondering about...

www.e-cigarette-forum.com

 

[wongjaroenai]

สวัสดีทุกคน. ฉันยังใหม่กับฟอรั่มที่นี่ หวังว่าจะได้พูดคุย เรียนรู้ แบ่งปัน และฆ่าเวลาบ้างเป็นบางครั้ง

เล็กน้อยเกี่ยวกับฉัน:

ฉันเคยสูบบุหรี่วันละประมาณหนึ่งซอง เริ่มรู้สึกเหมือนว่าฉันกำลังเป็นโรคปอดอุดกั้นเรื้อรังเมื่อฉันตื่นขึ้นมาพร้อมกับหายใจไม่ออกกลางดึก ดังนั้นฉันจึงทำสิ่งเดียวที่สมเหตุสมผล: ตกใจหมดสติและพยายามเลิกไก่งวงเย็น ไม่ได้ผล พยายามแบบนั้นมาหลายครั้งแล้ว ไม่เคยทำงาน. ฉันคิดว่าฉันทำได้สองสามสัปดาห์หรืออะไรทำนองนั้นครั้งหนึ่ง แต่แล้วก็เริ่มสูบบุหรี่อีกครั้ง ฉันจำไม่ได้ว่าฉันสูบบุหรี่นานแค่ไหน แต่ต้องมากกว่า 10 ปีในชีวิตของฉัน ดังนั้นเมื่อฉันไม่สามารถเลิกไก่งวงเย็นได้ ฉันจึงตัดสินใจลองใช้บุหรี่ไฟฟ้า ฉันคิดว่าฉันจะพองพวกมันสองสามครั้งตอนที่เพื่อนมีพวกมัน แต่ไม่ชอบพวกมัน เพราะมีบางอย่างเกี่ยวกับพวกมันทำให้ฉันเสียใจมากเมื่อฉันสูดดม ไอมาก. แต่ครั้งนี้แตกต่างออกไป ฉันรู้ว่าฉันต้องเลิก ก็ต้องเลิกกันไปเลย ดังนั้นฉันจึงจริงจังและทุกครั้งที่ฉันต้องการบุหรี่ไฟฟ้า ฉันจะก้าวออกไปสูบบุหรี่ไฟฟ้าแทน ทำแบบนี้มาสักพักแล้ว มันได้ผล อาจจะไม่ทำให้คุณตกใจมากนัก แต่ฉันก็ประทับใจ ให้ตายเถอะ ฉันยังคงประทับใจอยู่

เริ่มต้นด้วยซิกอะไลค์ แต่ตอนนี้ฉันใช้แบบใช้แล้วทิ้งและแบบรีฟิลได้ หวังว่าฉันจะทิ้งของใช้แล้วทิ้งทิ้งไปเพราะมันแพงและก็ห่วย แต่ก็สะดวก ฉันก็เลยใช้มันต่อไป ฉันเคยใช้มาหลายตัวแล้ว เช่น Elf Bars, Puff Bars และ "Bars" อื่นๆ ทั้งหมด 555 ตอนนี้ฉันใช้ไฮด์ มันห่วยเหรอ? ค่อนข้างมากแต่ก็ชอบนะ ฉันยังใช้ Xros ซึ่งค่อนข้างดี ฉันใช้พ็อดไอไปเยอะมากตั้งแต่เริ่มสูบไอ บางอย่างเกี่ยวกับ "ม็อด" ทำให้ฉันไม่ชอบเลย ดูเหมือน... ใหญ่และซับซ้อนเหรอ? ใช่ ไม่ ขอบคุณ ฉันไม่ได้อยากเป็นไอที่ยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุดในโลก แค่สูบไอเพื่อไม่สูบบุหรี่ ไม่แน่ใจว่าฉันสูบบุหรี่มากี่ปีแล้ว แต่นี่มันผ่านมาหลายปีแล้วและนั่นมันบ้าสำหรับฉันมาก

หนึ่งในการตัดสินใจที่เลวร้ายที่สุดที่ฉันเคยทำ: การเริ่มสูบบุหรี่

หนึ่งในการตัดสินใจที่ดีที่สุดที่ฉันเคยทำ: เปลี่ยนไปใช้การสูบไอ

ฉันสนใจของ DIY e-liquid นิดหน่อย กำลังคิดจะลองทำเพื่อประหยัดเงิน อะไรก็ตามราคาถูกกว่าแบบใช้แล้วทิ้ง แต่ฉันก็ยังใช้ขวดกับพ็อดของฉันด้วย และฉันก็รู้ว่าการซื้อส่วนผสมจำนวนมากจะช่วยประหยัดเงินได้อย่างไร ดังนั้นฉันจึงสงสัยมาระยะหนึ่งแล้ว แต่ยังไม่กล้าตัดสินใจเลย นั่นเป็นหนึ่งในสิ่งที่ฉันหวังว่าจะได้เรียนรู้เพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับฟอรัมนี้ ดังนั้นขอขอบคุณล่วงหน้าสำหรับทุกคนที่ตอบคำถามโง่ๆ ที่ฉันมี ฮ่าๆ

ยินดีต้อนรับ Hope you get good information from here.

 

[Clair birge]

Welcome to the forum mate! I am new here too. I am happy to hear that you could quit smoking, I think vaping saved much more lives comparing to harm that is told on tv about vaping

 

[bombastinator]

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated, I'm currently doing around 200puffs per day at 12mg on a uwell caliburn g3 pod, taking the edge of but been smoking 25 cigarette per day for 25 years so I guess I need to be patient, not had a single ciggy though so I guess the vaping is working. Thanks again

Sounds like you need more Nic then. The whole point of e-cigs was originally to curb cravings. It used to be the standard that 24mg was a straight, 20 was full flavored filter, and 18mg was a light. Starting on 12 would be “occasional smoker”. I was already getting recurring bronchitis and emphysema was warming up.

The idea is you get to a point where vaping works then you slowly titrate down, which is much easier with e-cigs than cigs. Some people do it in 3 weeks some people do it in 2.5 years, some never manage it.

I was under the impression that nicotine was very strong anti-anxiety which would explain a few people never being able to get off it, but recently I heard different. So I’m going to titrate down, and at 18 I’m gonna get an anti anxiety scrip. Right now I’m the only member of my family that doesn’t have one. Then another 2 years or so to quit entirely, though it may go faster… or slower. In the 90’s though I’d buy 3 packs of lucky strike straights at a time. I would have died many years ago if I hadn’t quit. I was already getting recurring bronchitis and emphases was warming up. I don’t know if the anti vaping people know how many people they are killing. The cigarette companies don’t care of course. It’s like the whole abortion debate “we are wholly good and there is no down side” from both ends.