New person Intro

[Outre]

Hi all,

Came here after looking around the web for a while. Seems you folks know what you're talking about and I need knowledge

Firstly I am looking at e-cigs because a family member sent me Smoke Assist thinking it was something to help me quit smoking.

At any rate, I am intrigued.

Smoke Assist, btw, sucks. The cartridges seem to be hit or miss as to whether you get any vapor at all, and the battery life is odd, some days it's all day, other days it's down in 2-3 hours - from the same amount of use. And the taste is, well - blah to nasty (not sure why).

From this short experience I can now say that I intensely dislike analogs now and am ready to move onto vaping full time. I never want to inhale hot, dry smoke again.

So here I am, still reading trying to get enough of this into my head to make a decision...

Outre

 

[NCC]

Welcome to ECF!

Yes, there's a lot to absorb here. And, a lot of helpful folks to help you out if you have any questions.
ECF is a huge resource. Can be overwhelming, as you've apparently noticed.

It's good that you found your way here.

 

[Kent C]

Welcome to ECF! Glad you found us.

There are so many products available that we should know more of your likes and dislikes and also the amount you smoke now (or did). If you were a heavy smoker, you'll likely be more satisfied with something that produces more vapor. The supermini's and minis (same size in diameter as a cigarette) and probably like smoke assist - probably won't be enough.

You might look at the eGo style - eGo, Tornado and Riva kits - which have a bigger battery and can combine with atomizers and carts that allow you longer time vaping without refill (as with most mini's/supermini's - there are exceptions) and have a wide range of atomizers that can produce sufficient vapor for heavy smokers.

Read on and again, Welcome!

 

[Rosa]

Hi, welcome to the forum

The best thing about brands like smoke assist is that they create an interest, IMO. There are much better e-cigs out there, the two most popular platforms are:

• 510: depending on how much you smoke you can either get a small sized one (battery lasts about 2 hours) or one with a fatter battery (called eGo or Riva, battery lasts about 7 hours). This unit comes in three pieces (battery+atomizer+cartridge) but is very adaptable and you can get parts to make it work a bunch of different ways. 510 threaded devices are the most supported in the vaping worlds.

• KR808D-1: the most common is a smaller size but the battery lasts about 4 hours. Most people who choose this kind end up getting a charging case too (allows you to charge the batts away from home). This is a two piece unit (battery+cartomizer).

Here's a general run down of info that you'll want to know right away:

• batteries come in different "mah" ratings, every 100mah is about equal to an hour of vaping before you need to recharge.
(510 is 180mah, eGo510 is 650mah, Riva510 is 750mah, KR808D-1 is 280mah)

• atomizer is the part that heats up and turns your nicotine juice into vapor

• cartridge attaches to the end of the atomizer and holds the nicotine juice

• cartomizer is a cartridge with a built in atomizer (two in one)

• nicotine juice (aka eliquid or ejuice or juice) is essential if you use cartridges, and essential if you plan to spend as much or less than you did when you smoked. ANYTHING can be refilled with ejuice, anything... even if the manufacturer says you can't do it, there's always a way. Using ejuice will allow you to choose from hundreds of flavors and strengths and save a ton of money (you can even make your own if you like).

• nic mg (nicotine milligrams) is referring to how many mg of nicotine is in each milliliter (ml) of ejuice. So if the description says "18mg" it means 18mg per ml of liquid content.

• what nic mg do I need? Nobody knows, there is no way to know what mg will work for you. Some people who used to smoke 2 or 3 packs a day end up needing 12mg and some who used to smoke half a pack need 24mg.. there's no way to calculate it. What we do know is that we absorb it differently when we vape, it takes longer to hit our system and we end up absorbing only between 10%-40% (again, we aren't sure) of what we inhale. The best advice is to get several different strengths and flavors and experiment. The average vaper uses 24mg and goes through about 3ml per day.




.... I might think of more info.... give me a second....

 

[Rosa]

...more....

• VG stands for vegetable glycerin (aka glycerin). It's one of the bases for our ejuices. It's kind of thick and sweet and produces tons of vapor, but it mutes out the flavor and the "throat hit" (that harsh throat feeling you get from smoking).

• PG stands for propylene glycol (another kind of glycerin). It's thinner and has less of it's own flavor so it lets through more of the flavor of your juice and lot's of the throat hit. It doesn't produce as much vapor as VG, but sufficient. Most vapers like 80%PG and 20%VG mixed together for their base.

.....

 

[Kent C]

Rosa, you're a real trooper! Good info for this forum!!

 

[Outre]

More info...

Well, I've been smoking for 33 years. Used to smoke at least a pack a day, realized I hated cleaning the surfaces so often in my home from tar and nicotine, (nice to wash walls only once a year instead of 3-4 times ), and moved my smoking outside.

Well that worked pretty good for behavior modification, plus switching to American Spirit Naturals Mild AND using Nic-Out or Niko Stop, I am down to about five packs a week. I was thinking of starting with 12 mg nicotine.

After reading a bit here I realize that I really don't care what it looks like, doesn't have to resemble a cigarette at all.

What I am concerned about are ingredients. Mainly stainless steel is preferred over aluminum in atomizers, and VG over PG definitely.

And battery life. I would be very annoyed to have to swap batteries every two to four hours. I'd rather have a 12 hour (minimum) unit of some type that recharges while I'm asleep.

Taste, well tobacco isn't a must, mint would be okay, but I'll save any ideas of sampling a smorgasbord until I have a unit I like. As long as it doesn't leave a nasty chemical after-taste I'd be fine I think.

So there really isn't a unit yet that wires directly from the wall outlet to the atomizer? There goes all my visions of a sci-fi sort of thinga-ma-bob

Outre

 

[robocig]

Outre- If you're near an outlet constantly, you can buy a USB passthrough and use a wall charger with it (though you might need an USB extension cable). Of course, you wouldn't need it if you were hooked up to a desktop computer!

 

[cracker75]

Welcome, and you came to the right place! I've only been vaping for about 3 months, yet I had quit analogs within the first 30 days....and I wasn't even trying.

The more info you can provide, the more the great folks here can help, and when it's all said and done, most of us like different things, for different reasons so I'm sure you'll find something that you like and that works for you.

 

[Kent C]

More info...

Well, I've been smoking for 33 years. Used to smoke at least a pack a day, realized I hated cleaning the surfaces so often in my home from tar and nicotine, (nice to wash walls only once a year instead of 3-4 times ), and moved my smoking outside.

Well that worked pretty good for behavior modification, plus switching to American Spirit Naturals Mild AND using Nic-Out or Niko Stop, I am down to about five packs a week. I was thinking of starting with 12 mg nicotine.

After reading a bit here I realize that I really don't care what it looks like, doesn't have to resemble a cigarette at all.

What I am concerned about are ingredients. Mainly stainless steel is preferred over aluminum in atomizers, and VG over PG definitely.

And battery life. I would be very annoyed to have to swap batteries every two to four hours. I'd rather have a 12 hour (minimum) unit of some type that recharges while I'm asleep.

Taste, well tobacco isn't a must, mint would be okay, but I'll save any ideas of sampling a smorgasbord until I have a unit I like. As long as it doesn't leave a nasty chemical after-taste I'd be fine I think.

So there really isn't a unit yet that wires directly from the wall outlet to the atomizer? There goes all my visions of a sci-fi sort of thinga-ma-bob

Outre

Battery life is mAh and you can figure about 1 hour for every 100mAh so a Riva kit would provide you with 2 batteries each giving you about 7.5 hours of vaping - ymmv - if you're using low resistance atomizers/cartomizers then that time will be shorter. There are bigger batteries for the Riva - 1100 and 1300 but I think it ruins the 'architecture' and I'm not leaving the house without 2 batteries anyway and likely won't be out over 15 hours... and I have a usb passthrough eGo in the car at all times too.

 

[Rosa]

My responses in bold:

What I am concerned about are ingredients. Mainly stainless steel is preferred over aluminum in atomizers, and VG over PG definitely.

I'm not sure what the atomizers are made of. I wouldn't discount using PG too quickly unless you know for sure that you are allergic to it. Here's some info about PG: PG was studied about 60 years ago as an inhalant and they discovered that not only did it not effect monkeys after prolonged exposure but also that it may be useful in preventing the spread of colds and flu because of it's anti-microbial properties. At one time there was some discussion around using it in the ventilation systems of schools and hospitals to prevent the spread of airborne illness. It's currently used in nebulizer treatments and asthma inhalers.

And battery life. I would be very annoyed to have to swap batteries every two to four hours. I'd rather have a 12 hour (minimum) unit of some type that recharges while I'm asleep.

For 12 hours of use you may want to go straight to a MOD (a larger e-cig with replaceable rechargeable batteries) like a Provari or Reo. MODS can end up being expensive to start out because they usually cost a couple hundred dollars for starter kits. Most people find that the Riva510 lite bundle from Liberty Flights for $30 (when you click the 20% off button) is enough to keep them satisfied because the kit comes with two batteries and each lasts about 7 hours or up to 10 hours, so you tend to always have one charged and ready to go.


So there really isn't a unit yet that wires directly from the wall outlet to the atomizer? There goes all my visions of a sci-fi sort of thinga-ma-bob

Actually, now that you mention it..... Electronic Cigarette - Pass-throughs - Joye eGo
Outre

 

[mylose64]

Welcome! get a joye ego or riva 510

Liberty-flights.com is an awesome site, and so far the cheapest honest site i've seen

 

[Outre]

So after reading all the great responses I'm thinking of going with the Riva510 lite bundle from Liberty Flights for $30 pointed out to me by Rosa.

I will probably end up getting an organic sampler of VG from Vaperite. As a note the Smoke Assist that was purchased for me uses Dipropylene Glycol and I've noticed the dry throat and burning lip sensation when using it mentioned by others. I'd like to try VG to see if I get the same sensations - or not.
At any rate, I'm sold on the VG way - for reasons of my own.


Question: The cartridges come with the stuffing to put the juice in - right?
Info: Smoke Assist cartridges have a gel under a foil top that the atomizer punctures. This is the extent of my experience with cartridges at the moment.

Oh another question - if I have different flavors should I get an atomizer pack so I have an atomizer for each flavor?

Thanks for any help

 

[Newbz]

So after reading all the great responses I'm thinking of going with the Riva510 lite bundle from Liberty Flights for $30 pointed out to me by Rosa.

I will probably end up getting an organic sampler of VG from Vaperite.

I have this combo and like it quite a bit. What I wished I would have purchased when I started would have looked like this:

2x Riva510 lite bundles
1x 5 pack of extra atomizers
2x sampler pack from Vaperite.com
3-5 bottles of different e liquids from Vaperite

Total cost should be somewhere around $100.

The Riva510 cartridges do come with polyfill already in them, but probably not a bad idea at some point to get some extra filling if you end up liking cartridges.

Good luck!

 

[Outre]

Today I ordered the Riva510 lite bundle from Liberty Flights.

How long does their shipping normally take?

 

[Rosa]

Today I ordered the Riva510 lite bundle from Liberty Flights.

How long does their shipping normally take?

3-4 days. Good luck!

 

[Outre]

3-4 days. Good luck!

Thanks Rosa, I really appreciate all the assistance

 

[Outre]

Hi everyone,

Just checking back in to let you know that I got my Riva510 and Vaperite e-liquid samples.

Wow! I am a more than happy camper. Haven't had an analog (commercial cigarette) since the packages came in. Buying a kit with the two batteries make all the difference since one is charging while the other is in use.

Glad I got the sampler since I have discovered a lot about what I prefer by doing so. I now know that "throat hit" is not important to me - I like it smooth as silk going down, now harshness at all.

Here's what I got in the sampler with ratings of a sort;

(All organic vegetable glycerin, 16 mg, 3 ml bottles)
Note: To me "harsh" is like going from a lite cigarette to a unfiltered - that feeling in the throat. "Sweet" is the essence of the idea, it's not like it's "sugary"


Coffee (somewhat harsh/burnt taste)
Kona Cream (mellow/smooth)

Caramel Corn (sweet/harsh)
Caramel Cream (mellow/smooth)

Cake Batter (sweet/smooth)
Banana Nut Bread (sweet/smooth)


Taste is subjective though, what doesn't work for me might be a dream for another person. Samples are a good way, imho, to figure out what suits YOU.

I have re-ordered from vaperite.com the following;

All organic VG base,18ml, 12 mg nicotine, Banana Nut Bread, Caramel Cream, and Kona Cream with 3 ml free samples of Banana Foster's, English Toffee and Chocolate Mint. (1 free sample for each selection)

I also got a 18ml, 12 mg nicotine Organic Wintergreen Tobacco to try that's a 50/50 PG/VG mix. We'll see how this goes with a mix.

I'm not sure about the "extra filling" for cartridges. What would that be?

Not sure I'd like direct dripping, saw a few videos on that, leave it on the back burner for now.

All in all I am completely pleased and satisfied with the decision to go the vaping route.

 

[HeatherBee]

Glad you are happy with your purchase

 

[mlinky]

Congrats Outre! I saw you helping out other new members, too. Way to pay it forward!!