New To Vaping. Poor First Impression

[LabRat63]

Unfortunately, I bought one of those free trials before I found this site and I am totally underwhelmed by it. poor battery life, throat hit is kinda an unpleasant sting, not a lot of vapor, and the flavor is flowery and nothing at all like tobacco.

From what I read here though, It still looks like a good alt to cigs. My GF is a non smoker so I really need to quit them.

I found answers to most of my questions reading other threads but still have a few. I don't expect this to be identical to smoking analogs, but as a new vaper, how satisfying can I expect them to be? And will they satisfy me better as I get used to them, like when you switch brands of cigs?

How long can I expect 5 ml and 30 ml to last me? Ballpark figures, I know it can vary a lot from person to person. I smoke a pack to a pack and a half filtered RYO if that helps.

Still not sure about the differences between the eGo abd Riva, but will get one of them

Do all carts have a filler? which are better for cost/convenience?

 

[mung]

I started Tuesday last week. Pack a day+ Marlboro Smooth smoker. My friend's parents had bought one for him and one for myself. They were 20+ year smokers and this has helped them kick the cigs. The older and used one had a few dry cartridges and a burned out atty in it and it managed to calm me enough that I ripped my nicotine patch off that day.

That night, I ordered my own 510. I got it this Saturday and I friggin love it. The true test came that evening. My girlfriend and I went out for a nice meal kinda like an early Valentine's celebration because we both hate crowds fiercely. Lovely steak, a gin and ginger and a very nice meal...I felt that it was time to give my 510 it's first real test...the post-awesome meal cig desire. I dropped 3-4 drops of my menthol liquid into it and fired it up as I drove out of the parking lot.

I literally said "Holy ....." out loud...my girlfriend looked at me very confused. I looked back and told her...it's not a cigarette, but that's very, very, very close.

I have a small 10ml bottle of juice. After the excitement of getting it and vaping with it, I'm about 1/2 done with it as we speak. I attribute that to having a new "toy" and also to spending Superbowl Sunday with my mother...one who has since quit cigs, but would always have one with me when I went out to smoke. She was floored by the ecig. It led to a fun little time of watching the game and playing puff-puff-pass with my mother. I jokingly said I was going to buy her one for Mother's Day. She looked me dead in the eyes and said "No...I'll be doing it all the time!"


Can't guarantee that it'll work for you like it has for me, but I still have a pack of Marlboros in my desk at work. Unopened with a lighter. And that's the way I plan for them to stay.

 

[Phreaker]

I found answers to most of my questions reading other threads but still have a few. I don't expect this to be identical to smoking analogs, but as a new vaper, how satisfying can I expect them to be? And will they satisfy me better as I get used to them, like when you switch brands of cigs?

How long can I expect 5 ml and 30 ml to last me? Ballpark figures, I know it can vary a lot from person to person. I smoke a pack to a pack and a half filtered RYO if that helps.

Still not sure about the differences between the eGo abd Riva, but will get one of them

Do all carts have a filler? which are better for cost/convenience?

A lot of people find vaping enjoyable enough to give up cigarettes without much effort, for others it takes an effort to stay off the tobacco. You read posts from "I wasn't even planning to stop smoking" to "I've been vaping a month, but still haven't been able to totally stop smoking." So it's different for different people.

5ml will probably last a couple days. I vape about 2ml a day, others vape a lot and can go through 5ml or more.

The eGo and Riva are basically the same. The eGo comes with a 650 mHa batter, the Riva a 750. The Riva is usually cheaper and it's a knock off of the eGo. The same parts work on each.

Yes, and there are a ton of "cart mods" where people use different things for filler ranging from empty tea bags to blue aquarium filter foam. The latest is the eGo-T atomizers that take a tank-cartridge with no filler, just juice. They are just now becoming widely available, but most seem pleased with them. There are also cartomizers that are an atomizer and cartridge in a single piece and like most of this stuff there are a lot of different makes/models/with filler, no filler, etc.

Welcome to ECF, at least your free trial lead you here rather than just giving up on PVs.

 

[JamesGang]

Unfortunately, I bought one of those free trials before I found this site and I am totally underwhelmed by it. poor battery life, throat hit is kinda an unpleasant sting, not a lot of vapor, and the flavor is flowery and nothing at all like tobacco.

Yep, this wasn't a great idea. These trial types generally get you a less than adequate experience. And these e-cigs are maximized to get you buying an inferior product again and again.

You're much better off getting an ego or clone and buying your own juice. Better to spend your money right the first time. Alas, most learn this lesson the hard way. Welcome to the club.

From what I read here though, It still looks like a good alt to cigs. My GF is a non smoker so I really need to quit them.

Not just a good alt.

The best alternative. I'm convinced it's the best way for a smoker to kick the habit as well. Did I mention I was 49 y.o. had smoked since I was 12, until I took a chance like you and decided to investigate e-cigs. If it will work for me it will work for you.

I also did the RYO thing. Got tired of stuffing cigarettes, etc.

You'd better jump on this bandwagon and get control of your smoking habit before they ban it.

I found answers to most of my questions reading other threads but still have a few. I don't expect this to be identical to smoking analogs, but as a new vaper, how satisfying can I expect them to be? And will they satisfy me better as I get used to them, like when you switch brands of cigs?

Very satisfying. To the point where it will be easy to resist lighting up. But wait, it gets better. When you start feeling better from just vaping most have no desire to pick up the nasty habit again.

I recommend you start with minimum of 18 mg e liquid. 24mg would probably be better if you smoke at least a pack a day. Every subsequent bottle of e liquid you can go down in strength. Until you're at 6-8mg nicotine. From that level and after a few months it's relatively easy to quit with lozenges or just gutting it out if that's your choice.

The idea is to break the habit and cycle of lighting up cigarettes, while getting your sense of smell and health back. Vaping enables you to do these things.

If you start at too low a nicotine level you'll want to vape more to make up the difference. And each vaping session will be less satisfying making you more likely to slip into old and bad habits.

How long can I expect 5 ml and 30 ml to last me? Ballpark figures, I know it can vary a lot from person to person. I smoke a pack to a pack and a half filtered RYO if that helps.

Depends upon how much you vape. 30ml should last a couple of weeks even if you vape alot. If you start with strong liquid like I suggested above it will last longer as you will need to vape less to be satisfied from a smoking perspective.

For best results, I recommend you vape only as much as you smoked. Resist the urge to vape more.

Still not sure about the differences between the eGo abd Riva, but will get one of them

The ego is the original by Joye. The Riva is a copy of an ego.

Do all carts have a filler? which are better for cost/convenience?

Most carts have a filler. And this is a good way to start.

But dripping works best. This is where you use a special cart made for dripping and drip drops directly onto the atomizer. 2-4 drops depending upon the size of the dropper, dropped directly on the atomizer will be approx. equal to a cigarette worth of vaping.

 

[deusXmchna]

I was an ryo/myo'er as well. I was sucking down about 60 sticks of D&R Three Sails a day. Plus a few packs of Camels a week, for when the dogs HAD to go out, and I didn't have any cigs ready. I love to smoke.

I tried and failed with the 510.

I wrote post #20 in this thread today:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/canada-forum/159031-evapors.html

Might want to check it out.
No carts/cartomizers. No juice loss thru carts (carts suck, they'll just make you crazy).
You'll either end up dripping or using cartomizers. So put the thought of long term cartridge use out of your head.
Theres a reason they keep "upgrading" the system.

I figured if the system didn't work for me, I still came out of the deal with 2 new 650mah/3.4a batteries with 510 threads on
them, and could always order carts/carto's/attys/drip-tips/whatever

Ego-T:
Open mail. Fill tank. Insert tank. Vape. Repeat (except for the open mail... unless you want to )
No tweezers, no blue film. no tea bags. No cartos to tweak.
It's just easy.

And I found this today on filling the tank- even easier than what I was doing:
YouTube - ovale ego-T refill

But everyone has their own Vape-O-choice
Hope you find what you need, whatever it turns out being.

 

[dormouse]

I could never even think of quitting smoking. I smoked for decades. I switched easily to vaping. Lots of people here switched easily and some even quit smoking by accident - they were just curious to try a PV. If you do your research and get a PV that is sufficient for the kind of hits you need, and find some juices you like, vaping can be better than smoking.

You can't judge all juices by whatever you tried. Most prefilled carts are 100% PG Chinese juice, as is what many mainly-hardware vendors sell. But there are lots of great US small and family businesses mixing up good ejuice - FreedomSmokeUSA and Backwoods Brew and many more. I like juices around 70pg/30vg for a nice balance of TH and smoother vapor.

How long do juices last? depends how much you vape and how much your PV vaporizes with each of your drags (which also depends on how much vapor you drag into your mouth etc). Varies widely - one person may use 1ml per day, another might use 5ml per day, and heavy constant vaper may use more. I use about 1.5 ml per day.

 

[Rosa]

For best results, I recommend you vape only as much as you smoked. Resist the urge to vape more.

I agree with everything in this post except for this part. Vape as much as you want! The best thing about vaping IMO, is that I didn't have to restrict myself or punish myself or set limits or any of the other tortures I put myself through trying to quit smoking in the past.

In fact, I find that it's easier to make the switch if you vape MORE than you used to smoke:

* part of this is because cigarettes contain a lot of addictive stuff, not just nicotine. While vaping will take care of your nicotine addiction it won't alleviate your addiction to all the other stuff they add to tobacco smokes -- if you vape a lot (in the beginning especially) then it helps you to overcome missing the "other ingredients" in smokes.

* The other reason I say this is that we absorb way less nicotine from vaping than we do from smoking, also we absorb it more slowly -- it's important when you first start out to make sure you are all hopped up on nicotine all the time, that way you won't get a craving. If you DO get a craving for a cigarette, then you should vape on your e-cig for 10-15 minutes first and if the craving doesn't go away then allow yourself to have a cigarette.

Good Luck!

 

[LabRat63]

Do the eGo tanks work on ANY eGo?

 

[Maxine]

Yes, the tanks work on any eGo battery AND you have to have an eGo-T atomizer to go with the tank.

 

[THEDert]

Got my tank attachment today =) HOLY CRUD! I'm in love!

 

[dormouse]

Oh re carts - Yes cart = cartridge. battery + atomizer + cart and they all have stuffing. When the white stuffing gets cranky you can try replacing it with blue foam (for standard 510 carts see the precut blue foam at strictlyejuice.com). With carts you may need to top off with juice often. The top needs to be moist. If it is filled well (but not too much) and wicking well, you can vape a while on a cart. other times they will be cranky and need more attention.

Then there are cartomizers. Cartomizers have limited life because they each have an atomizer inside. Cartomizers hold 2x or more than a cart. Standard cartomizers have stuffing inside that cannot be replaced so you need to not run them dry or you could singe the stuffing. If you fill it will to start, then add more juice when it seems low, you could get a week or more out of a carto. Cartomizers are nice because you can vape more off one before needing to add juice. Some more complicated cartos have a reservoir instead of stuffing and need to be filled with a special syringe through a port in the inner cap. I think in general cartos give a more consistent hit and for many a bigger or more tasty hit than a cart and atty.

Then there are tanks. I do not know if tank can be used on Riva. It may just be for Egos? It's holds more juice than a cartomizer.

 

[simply me]

I agree with everything rosa said. Just vape yourself silly at first, it helps get you off the cigs. Smoked for 42 years and I haven't smoked for about a year now. Your going to love it.

 

[Rosa]

Then there are tanks. I do not know if tank can be used on Riva. It may just be for Egos? It's holds more juice than a cartomizer.

the tank atomizer and tank carts can be used on Riva510's.

ps: smoked for 25 years-vaped for 10 months

 

[Rosa]

(carts suck, they'll just make you crazy).
You'll either end up dripping or using cartomizers. So put the thought of long term cartridge use out of your head.
Theres a reason they keep "upgrading" the system.

I second that. Carts! Never again.....

 

[LabRat63]

Thank you all for the fantastic feedback and advice. It has helped tremendously. I ordered the Joye eGo T - Tankomizer - Black and Sweet Caroline juice from iVape and an assortment of tobacco and non-tobacco flavors from Liberty Flights

 

[fakepicture]

sometimes it takes time to get used to it

 

[LabRat63]

My GF, who actually placed the order for me, says the Freedom Flights did not offer her the option to ship to another address-mine. Anyone know what the package will show on the label/return address?

 

[JamesGang]

I agree with everything in this post except for this part. Vape as much as you want! The best thing about vaping IMO, is that I didn't have to restrict myself or punish myself or set limits or any of the other tortures I put myself through trying to quit smoking in the past.

In fact, I find that it's easier to make the switch if you vape MORE than you used to smoke:

* part of this is because cigarettes contain a lot of addictive stuff, not just nicotine. While vaping will take care of your nicotine addiction it won't alleviate your addiction to all the other stuff they add to tobacco smokes -- if you vape a lot (in the beginning especially) then it helps you to overcome missing the "other ingredients" in smokes.

* The other reason I say this is that we absorb way less nicotine from vaping than we do from smoking, also we absorb it more slowly -- it's important when you first start out to make sure you are all hopped up on nicotine all the time, that way you won't get a craving. If you DO get a craving for a cigarette, then you should vape on your e-cig for 10-15 minutes first and if the craving doesn't go away then allow yourself to have a cigarette.

Good Luck!

If you just want to replace smoking cigarettes with vaping constantly and for the rest of your life then you can do that. Some will I suppose.

However, if your goal is to break your addiction to nicotine then the only way to do that is to get off of nicotine all-together at some point.

And breaking nicotine addiction is torture. No way to sugar coat it. But there are ways to make it less torturous.

My experience indicates if one vapes the proper strength liquid to begin with then one doesn't need to vape anymore than they smoked. Vape understrength liquid and one will try to vape constantly to try to make up the difference. That's not a good habit for me anyway.

When I first started vaping I tried 11mg smoke juice and found myself vaping twice as much as I smoked. When I went up to 24mg I found it manageable to vape only as much as I smoked before. This saved me money and relieved me of the need to be to tied to my e-cigarette all the time. It also allowed me to step down the nicotine content in my juice without vaping more and defeating the whole purpose.

The fact is some people have to work and have obligations that prevent them from being able to vape constantly as a way to feed their nicotine addiction and replace smoking cigarettes.

 

[LabRat63]

WoW! Just plain WoW! I finally gave my POS trial PV a run and even with weak vapor and an unplesant taste, I didn't need any analogs. My GF came to visit today so 11:15 last night was my last analog until 10:00 tonight. It is mailed back now and I can't wait till I get my eGo-T Friday along with a bottle of Sweet Caroline juice

 

[Rosa]

my reply in bold:

If you just want to replace smoking cigarettes with vaping constantly and for the rest of your life then you can do that. Some will I suppose. Many will.

However, if your goal is to break your addiction to nicotine then the only way to do that is to get off of nicotine all-together at some point. e-cigs are not a smoking cessation device, they are a lateral switch to a reduced harm alternative to smoking. I don't see the point in breaking my addiction to nicotine yet, but i do tend to slow down on my vaping around 6pm (just like I switch to decaf around the same time). Nicotine is a stimulant, like coffee, that's all it is.

And breaking nicotine addiction is torture. No way to sugar coat it. But there are ways to make it less torturous. It doesn't have to be torture -- that's why I give the advice that I do. If you start your vaping journey with vaping as much as you can, you will find that your use tapers off to a more normal level shortly. At that point you can begin to lower your nicotine levels if you choose to do so. If you use e-cigs to their full potential, there's no reason that weaning yourself from smoking and from nicotine addiction has to be torture at all, in fact it can be quite pleasant. The reason I say "vape early vape often" is because if the new vaper feels a nicotine craving, they are very likely to reach for a cigarette instead of their e-cigs during their transition to vaping. If they vape often, they won't even get a nicotine craving to begin with. It makes the transition easier.

My experience indicates if one vapes the proper strength liquid to begin with then one doesn't need to vape anymore than they smoked. Vape understrength liquid and one will try to vape constantly to try to make up the difference. That's not a good habit for me anyway. We absorb a lot less nicotine from vaping than from smoking, it makes sense to me that we'd use it a lot more than we used cigarettes. Perhaps it would help to start with a higher nicotine level and then vape less often, but then it's often the case that the new vaper will not be able to tolerate the higher nicotine level while at the same time they are still craving cigarettes... that happens a lot. Either way is fine as long as they don't have to suffer the torture of withdrawal.

When I first started vaping I tried 11mg smoke juice and found myself vaping twice as much as I smoked. When I went up to 24mg I found it manageable to vape only as much as I smoked before. This saved me money and relieved me of the need to be to tied to my e-cigarette all the time. It also allowed me to step down the nicotine content in my juice without vaping more and defeating the whole purpose. See, it's all in the perspective.... it all depends on what your purpose for vaping is.

The fact is some people have to work and have obligations that prevent them from being able to vape constantly as a way to feed their nicotine addiction and replace smoking cigarettes. True that, whatever works.... my experience from reading on the forum is that many of us needed to vape a lot in the beginning - for about the first few weeks or a month.