New - Still Awaiting Shipment

[Forkeh]

Another question: What strength of nicotine should I be looking at? 18 or 24?

That's a good question, and unfortunately one none of us can answer. That's up to your body my dear. Honestly, I'd get a bottle of both and see which one works better for you. You'll need a high nic content to get you over the detox, but don't be surprised if you can easily drop down after that. Happened with me.

 

[sailorman]

How much do/did you smoke? Rule of thumb is less than 1 pack a day, 12mg.; 1-2 PAD, 12-18mg; 2-3 PAD, 18-36mg. It's good to get two strengths. Use the stronger juice when you normally crave an analog the most. Use the lighter nic for night time and when the craving isn't so strong.

That's an advantage of buying bottle of juice and filling your own cartos. You can use VG to cut your nicotine level if you want.

 

[sailorman]

... Actually, the company I mentioned above, Smokeforpennys has deals with single Ego style batts, charger, and juice delivery system of your choice for around $30.

The problem with that is the "single" Ego style battery. Never get an e-cig kit with only one battery, unless you have a backup system. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[Stormlark]

All right, so what I've got set up to order (not submitted yet):

From Smokeless Image:

Two 78mm manual batteries
One Mega Charging Case (charges one battery, holds another along with 4 carts)
Two packs of 18mg Menthol Carts

From SmokingforPennys:

One 40 ml Bottle of 12 mg strength, PG-based Menthol liquid

 

[sailorman]

That's excellent. You might want to also order a pack of blank carts. Mixing juice in a cart is a tricky proposition. The menthol you get from Penny's might or might not taste good with the leftover menthol in the empty Volt cart.

Good call getting manual batteries too. You're avoiding a common noob mistake. Very smart.

One more thing you may want to prepare for. These are relatively small batteries, in terms of capacity. The last thing you want to happen is to be stuck with one battery. If a battery fails, it will take a couple days to get a replacement. Over time, any battery begins to die sooner and sooner. So, be prepared to have a 3rd, or even a 4th battery available before very long. It's not critical right away, just something to keep in mind for next month or so.

 

[Stormlark]

Ah yes. I forgot about the empty carts. Added 2 packs to my order.

 

[sailorman]

Excellent. You won't be sorry. The initial expense of vaping seems high, but once you start filling carts and find the right juices, you'll save a ton of money over smoking.

One thing though, I hope you like that menthol fro Pennys. 40ml is a lot. Usually, it's advisable to get 10ml, or even 5ml bottles until you know for sure you like the juice. I don't mean to complicate things, but it sucks to be stuck with a juice you don't like, and menthol is particularly tricky for a juice maker to please everyone with.

If you like the menthol of Blu, it's probably pretty close to the Volt menthol. JC makes juice for both of those companies. It might be better to get your replacement menthol juice from Smokeless Image. Then, maybe get a smaller quantity from Penny's.

Or, get 2 bottle of juice from SI, one 12 and one 18mg. Then, get 4 boxes of blank cartomizers and fill them all. That would probably be the most economical way to do it without risking getting stuck with a menthol you hate.

 

[Stormlark]

Thanks again for all the help, everyone. I placed my order. The big question is what to do for now. I really don't like the taste of the Blu disposable, but it's been keeping me away from the analogs (20 hours analog free so far). What to do with the Blu kit coming in the mail on Friday, though. Switch back to analogs until the Volt comes or deal with the burnt taste of Blu carts until then.

I suppose since Blu doesn't allow cartomizer returns, I may as well use them in the meantime. I'll just be careful to keep everything neat and tidy so it's easy to put everything back in the box to return it.

Taking the cartomizers and shipping into account, my mistake cost me about $30. But refilling carts should make up for that pretty soon. Good thing I got even more money from my mother-in-law for my birthday. I'll be able to get everything with some to spare.

 

[sailorman]

Just use it if you have to. They'll probably charge you for the used cartos, but it's better than smoking. Where is the Volt shipping from? You might have it as soon as Monday. It'll be shipping today. If nothing else, using the Blu for a couple days will make you realize you did the right thing by sending it back and using the Volt.

 

[arcturus]

Stormlark, the best part of you decision to start vaping is having visited this forum. As you can allready see, the people here are eager and happy to help. In this way, you have allready jumped a bit ahead of the curve. Other neophytes come here after many frustrations and needless expenses. Rest assured that you're in good company and that you will find all the answers and support you will need in you transitioning stages. Welcome and congratulations.

 

[Stormlark]

Not sure where the Volt is shipping from. I did choose priority mail, though, so it should arrive in 1-3 business days. I'll be able to estimate better when they send me the tracking number.

 

[the_vape_nerd]

Good to see you've been gently turned around on the Blu. I'm always hesitant to be too critical even if the new person buys blu or green smokes etc. I just hate seeing the money go to waste or worse, the newb giving up on vaping because of a bad experience.

The taste you are experiencing is just something you are going to have to figure out. A juice quest in the begining is a perfect normaly thing. In fact, for the first few months you might want to use what you were spending on analogs to go on this juice quest and try a bunch of juice. Just order the smaller bottles or try out sample packs etc. It took me about 4 months before I settled in on a few juices, though I do step out sometimes and am still trying new things every once in a while.

On the money end of things, here's something I do and is a suggestion for the group at large. Once you do start saving money, calculate that. Take half of the money you are saving and put that into a little budget for some new piece of vape equipment or to try new juices etc. It's a way of rewarding yourself that won't break the bank. After 8 months of savings, I'm about to buy myself a nice stainless steel mod.

 

[Mroutlaw]

I just went to the smokeless image website and put together my own starter kit for about $85. I picked 2 manual batteries, the mega awesome charging kit that holds 2 batteries (one charging) and four carts, 1 pack of menthol carts, and 2 packs of empty carts. I was then going to order some juice from Johnson. I haven't bought anything yet, just got it set up to what I think I'd want. Let me know if what I'm planning seems weird or wouldn't work. I'll likely order this today or tomorrow, use the Blu in the meantime, then send the Blu back for a refund. Question for anyone who's used the Johnson Creek brand: How big is the bottle? They don't give a measurement anywhere that I can see.

Stormlark,

That's what I ordered, but you can get it down cheaper. Get the pro starter pack. I think it's $65. That will give you 2 batteries the mega pc, pack of cartos. Then you can order some extra cartos. You can refill them several times. Use the promo code sivolt50 and you will get 15% off.

If you search the smokeless image forum here, they have a promotion that if you take a picture of yourself using the volt and post it, they will send you a free battery, bottle of juice or pack of cartos.

For juice, check out vapordudes.com
Use the promo code fbfree and they will send you a free bottle of juice. You can customize the extra flavor And pg to vg ratio, I would use 70/30. Also on the same order you can use the code vapordudes and get 40% off anything else you order. I got 6 bottles of juice, all with extra flavor shot for $12 including shipping

 

[the_vape_nerd]

Wow thats a cool promotion at SI. I don't use that type anymore but if I did, that right there would get me to buy from them.

 

[Mroutlaw]

Wow thats a cool promotion at SI. I don't use that type anymore but if I did, that right there would get me to buy from them.

I know the cig style pv's aren't for everyone, but smokeless image ones are awesome. They are perfect for me since I spend the day on the road.

Yes, their customer service is awesome. They have lots of giveaways and really take care of customers. They also ship the same day you order

 

[Mroutlaw]

For those interested, here is a link to the thread or the free smokeless image stuff. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5335232

 

[Stormlark]

My Blu kit arrived today (earlier than expected). I opened it up and have tried a few flavors out. I think the taste I didn't like was just from the disposable. The flavors from the kit all taste pretty good. Thankfully I have 30 days to make the decision. I'll wait 'til the Volt arrives and compare it to the Blu. If I start thinking that I like them both, but for different reasons, I might use one as a backup. That's probably a bit overkill, though. Plus it'd be a pain buying different carts for my backup. I'm just glad the Blu kit arrived before the disposable died. Now I don't have to make a tough decision between spending $10 more on a new disposable or go back to logs for a day.

 

[sailorman]

My Blu kit arrived today (earlier than expected). I opened it up and have tried a few flavors out. I think the taste I didn't like was just from the disposable. The flavors from the kit all taste pretty good. Thankfully I have 30 days to make the decision. I'll wait 'til the Volt arrives and compare it to the Blu. If I start thinking that I like them both, but for different reasons, I might use one as a backup. That's probably a bit overkill, though. Plus it'd be a pain buying different carts for my backup. I'm just glad the Blu kit arrived before the disposable died. Now I don't have to make a tough decision between spending $10 more on a new disposable or go back to logs for a day.

The flavors of the Blu have always been their only redeeming quality. JC makes the juice for Volt and Blu, but their recipes are a little different. You'll like the Volt flavors, but don't make the decision on that basis.

Compare their vapor production and especially their battery life between charges. If you want a backup, it would make more sense to return the Blu and just get another Volt battery or two. They have larger batteries and, as you get used to vaping, a larger battery won't bother you the way it might now. You can also use clearomizers and stuff on the volt that won't fit a Blu. The best thing about a larger battery is that it lasts longer. Not just between recharges, but longer before it dies completely. A battery can only be recharged a certain number of times. One battery will have to be recharged half as often as another battery 1/2 its size. So, the larger battery will last twice as long before it needs to be replaced.

 

[Stormlark]

Good point about the larger batteries. And yeah, it'd be cheaper to return the Blu kit and get extra Volt batteries for backups instead.

 

[cj904]

When I started vaping like many others I still craved the occasional analog. But after awhile I had no desire to smoke a real cig any longer they tasted nasty and smelled horrible. You may even want to try some other flavors, just think about tasting your favorite candy or desert or whatever and filling your craving for that cig at the same time it is pretty awesome. I suggest just sticking with it for a few weeks if you still crave that analog smoke your analog but instead of chain smoking vape some and see if that resolves your need.