Newbie intro and did I make a mistake???

[rlw911]

I joined a couple of days ago and have learned so much already, but I still have a lot to learn.

I've smoked for more than 30 years and made a few attempts at quitting. About 4 years ago I bought an eGo kit, used it unsuccessfully and except for a few other half-hearted attempts, I haven't messed with it. At that time, I wanted to mimic the smoking experience as much as possible, but I just couldn't make it work. A couple of weeks ago, I dug them out, cleaned them up, did some basic re-furb and started on a whole new journey to quit. This time, I know I'll be successful. In fact, I already am!

A few days ago, I realized my vape pens weren't going to cut it any more and I decided to upgrade. I did some research, went to a local shop and walked out with an Aspire Zelos kit, a nice mid-range device for me to learn on. Although I'm still getting used to it, and dealing with a few quirks with the Nautilus 2, overall I'm happy with it. I wanted to get an extra tank to make it easier to change and try out different types of juice, so I did some reading here and a few other sites. Last night, I went to a different vape store, because had some iJoy products online and thought I'd see if they had the Elf tank I'd seen recommended. They didn't have it, so based on the clerk's recommendation, I walked out with a Smok Baby Beast. After messing with it for several hours, I'm ready to trash it. I have the .6 coil on it and tried a bunch of different wattage settings. The dang thing spits so much, it's almost impossible for me to use it. If I up the wattage, the hot juice and tip burn! After lots of reading, it looks like this tank is meant more for DL vapers and not for MTL. Is there anything I can do to make this work for me or did I screw up???

Current setup: Aspire Zenos, Nautilus 2, .7 coil on 18-20w

 

[djsvapour]

Did you screw up? Sure you did, a tiny bit maybe.... BUT, but, wait. In time you may graduate to DTL vaping and then you have a Smok ready to use.

Just be aware. Smok make some great products but their reliability is quite poor. I have a few Smok products (I didn't buy them b.t.w. I am not that silly) and I enjoy them. I even ordered a bunch of 'Vapesoon' coils for my Vape 22 Pen a few days ago.

as for iJoy... well, they were the orphans of vaping for a long time but have turned the corner and also make some great products these days. Like Smok, they are innovative and exciting for the youngsters. I am not young. I am not old either - I just want products I can leave the house with and not have a feeling of doom about them lasting all day.

 

[Eskie]

There are worse mistakes out there. As @djsvapour pointed out, throw the baby beast in the drawer. It's quite possible you will change your vape style down the road and find it handy to have.

 

[Baditude]

You didn't say what wattage setting you NORMALLY vape at.

When discussing tanks and atomizers, they can be best categorized as either MTL (mouth-to-lung) inhale or DTL (direct-to-lung) inhale. Typically, new vapers are automatically MTL if they recently smoked, because MTL simulates the draw on a cigarette (restricted draw). MTL tanks typically are low wattage that use higher ohm coils for a cooler vape.

Many experienced vapers progress to a DTL style which uses higher wattages and lower ohm coils (subohm) for increased vapor production. The SMOK tanks are all high wattage, lower ohm DTL tanks.



So from that perspective, the SMOK tank was not a great choice for you. You'd do better with another high ohm/low wattage MTL tank such as the Innokin Zenith tank. Great reviews.



How to know if a tank is for high wattage or lower wattage? A clue would be the resistance (ohms) of the coils available.

MTL low wattage tanks: Coil resistance will be 1.0 ohm or higher.
DTL high wattage tanks: Coil resistance will be sub-ohm (< 1.0 ohm). Generally require a battery device capable of 30 watts or more because sub-ohm coils require more power.​

 

[Letitia]

Welcome to ECF. As stated clean and box the BB for down the road. +1 for the Innokin Zenith tank. You will likely prefer it over the Nauti 2. Poor substitute for the original Nautilus' imo.

 

[rlw911]

Welcome to ECF. As stated clean and box the BB for down the road. +1 for the Innokin Zenith tank. You will likely prefer it over the Nauti 2. Poor substitute for the original Nautilus' imo.

Thanks!
I guess that's what I'm gonna have to do. Count it as a loss, for now, and see what happens. Lesson learned. Hopefully.

 

[Letitia]

Thanks!
I guess that's what I'm gonna have to do. Count it as a loss, for now, and see what happens. Lesson learned. Hopefully.

Not a loss, your first backup atty.

 

[rlw911]

Did you screw up? Sure you did, a tiny bit maybe.... BUT, but, wait. In time you may graduate to DTL vaping and then you have a Smok ready to use.

Just be aware. Smok make some great products but their reliability is quite poor. I have a few Smok products (I didn't buy them b.t.w. I am not that silly) and I enjoy them. I even ordered a bunch of 'Vapesoon' coils for my Vape 22 Pen a few days ago.

as for iJoy... well, they were the orphans of vaping for a long time but have turned the corner and also make some great products these days. Like Smok, they are innovative and exciting for the youngsters. I am not young. I am not old either - I just want products I can leave the house with and not have a feeling of doom about them lasting all day.

I was avoiding Smok products, because I've seen bad reviews, but I thought I'd be safe with a "non-mechanical" product. I guess, to be fair, the product isn't that bad, it's just I bought something not suited for me right now. Thanks!

 

[stols001]

My road to happy vaping is just littered with inadvisable experiments it's just kind of part of the process. You aren't going to know what you truly like without trying some different things. The things I hated, I put aside for a while and if I didn't enjoy it after a few more tries I'd either give it to someone, sell it, and whatever else. I'm pretty happy with my motley collection at the moment, but really, these things are highly individual and take time. Etc.

Best of luck, glad you are liking the nautilus. I never did get to major sub0hm vaping, I just don't like it but my "range of MTL" has expanded quite a bit over the time I've been vaping.

But, don't beat yourself up over it, for sure. I'm glad vaping is working for you so far!

Anna

 

[djsvapour]

to be honest...

5 years ago I couldn't even vape at 10 watts.

I can enjoy 30, 60, even close to 100 watts these days, depending on the set-up, airflow and what have you.

You may well get to enjoy that baby beast sooner or later @rlw911

 

[Hawise]

I guess that's what I'm gonna have to do. Count it as a loss, for now, and see what happens. Lesson learned. Hopefully.

I don't know of anyone who doesn't have a few losses as well as a "maybe later" or two. There are so many options now with vaping that you're always going to run into a few purchases that don't suit you. The good news is that most of us find vaping substantially less expensive than smoking (not to mention better for your lungs), even with the failed experiements.

 

[BrotherBob]

Current setup: Aspire Zenos, Nautilus 2, .7 coil on 18-20w

Welcome and glad you joined.
Might like to read some commentaries on sub-ohm vaping:
What Ohms should I choose?
How is sub-ohm vaping dangerous?
https://spinfuel.com/new-vapers-start/
https://spinfuel.com/sub-ohm-vapin