Newbie Questions

[findmatt]

Hi guys,

I just purchased my first e-cig kit from Lite Cig USA. I ended up getting the K808D-1 manual batteries. I plan on refilling my own cartomizers, and already purchased some e-juice and empties. Its all coming in the mail tomorrow, so I'm pretty excited!

I plan on using the e-cig as a smoking cessation device, and I have a couple of questions for you guys. I smoke about 3/4 to 1 pack of camel lights a day.

1. How many cartomizers and how much e-juice do you guys think I will go through in a day, given the fact that I smoke about 3/4 to 1 pack of analogs a day?

I know this is all subjective, but as I said before, I'm mainly using the e-cig to quit smoking, so I'm just trying to get an idea how much I should vape to roughly match the amount of analogs I currently smoke.

2. If I have a blank cartomizer that I fill up, do I generally have to refill it completely (say 18-20 drops of juice) after a day. If I'm just topping the cartomizer off, how much would I need to refill it. I've seen a lot of blog posts about refilling an empty cartomizer, but what about refilling one that has been used after, say, half a day?

3. Generally, how many cartomizers do you guys go through in one month? I plan on refilling mine, but would like to get a general idea of how many I'll go through even with refilling, just so I know what supplies to buy every month.

4. Do you guys have any suggestions of some good sites to purchase e-juice for relatively cheap. I bought some Dekang and High Caliber USA juice from Lite Cig USA, but I was wondering if you guys had any other suggestions. I was also looking at Mad Vapes … what are your thoughts on that site's product?

Thanks in advance for any answers, tips and/or advice! I appreciate it!

 

[Jenn1181]

Hey there! Welcome to ECF and to vaping. The KR808 is a good newbie device. Good choice.

1) It depends. I know I vape with more frequency than I smoked (I was formerly a 1.5 - 2 pack a day smoker before cutting back to 1/2 pack this past year), so I burn through roughly 1.5-2+ mls of juice per day, depending on how bored/stressed I am. I alternate between dripping and using cartos. I drip my tobacco or bakery/candy type juices, but prefer fruit flavors with cartos. I can use one carto a day and drip the rest of the time. I'd keep at least three cartos topped off on-hand just in case.

2) I usually won't refill a carto until it starts to taste stale or it's not putting out the amount of vapor I prefer. I can fill an empty one with about 1ml of juice and will use about .7ml to refill. But this is all based on the style of cartos I have used. Some will hold more or less juice depending on the manufacturer.

3) Not that you'll likely go through this many, but I would buy a 5pk no less than every six weeks. But that's just me. Not only do I use cartos dedicated to one specific flavor per carto, but I like to be overly prepared.

4) Bluemist Vaping, LiquidXpress, Puresmoker (although their Tonic is a bit pricier than some other vendors), Backwoods Brew are my top picks. Bluemist has amazing prices and I use them for most of my liquid purchases.

 

[trouble2k]

Hi and congratulations on getting your first e-cig! A few of my answers to your questions:

How many cartos/day? One per flavor. A carto can last through several refills.

Refilling? I never let mine go dry (it can burn the filler). Just top off as needed until the filler looks slushy. You won't be able to get the same amount in as you did with the original fill.

Amount of juice/day? A lot of us hit the PV more than we would smoke; especially at first. Give yourself at least 2-5ml/day when you're starting out. You might end up wasting a bit while you're in the learning curve. Or, you might end up chain vaping during the craving times. Make sure you have more than what you think you need. Also, remember to pick up some different nictotine levels to experiment with.

How many cartos for a month? Just stock yourself up with at least 10. You might want to switch flavors, some you get may be duds, or some may only be good for a few refills.

Cheap e-juice? I don't think I've gotten any of the real cheap stuff. But, FreedomSmokeUSA has some great flavors in my opinion and they're prices are reasonable.

Good luck and happy vaping!

 

[mlinky]

Welcome. You have gotten a good start!

 

[MoonVapar]

Yep a good Start.One step away from Cigarettes.

 

[findmatt]

Thanks for all the advice! I appreciate it. I'm pretty much counting down the hours till my kit arrives in the mail...can't wait to try it out! haha.

I also just ordered additional juice from Freedom Smokes USA. I ordered the RY4, Butterscotch, Raspberry Tea, Banana Nut Bread, and Spearmint, ranging from 18mg to 30 mg. I'll let you guys know how they taste after I get them. So, as of now, I have ordered about 90 ml of juice, which I think will be good for now...haha.

I was browsing the Backwoods Brew site, and their stuff looks great. You guys have any suggestions from the ones you've tried (same goes for Freedom Smokes USA)?

Thanks again!

 

[Phil McRotch]

Welcome to the forums, findmatt. I tend to vape fruit flavors since I feel I can mix them together like a punch, and I see you have a variety of flavors from FSUSA, so I guess it also wouldn't hurt to recommend fruity flavors like Blueberry and Peach from Backwoods Brew also. They taste like the actual fruits and smell like 'em too. A lot of my friends and family had to cut themselves off mid-sentence to say, "...Damn! That smells gooood!... Anyway, like I was saying..." The menthol [if you like menthol], is a tobacco based kind of menthol, almost earthy, if I had to describe it like a food flavoring, and the Watermelon, Lemon Drop, Green Apple, and Strawberry are all *very* sweet. Almost candy-ish.

Anyway, those are my suggestions from BWB. I know others who have tried other flavors will suggest a wider spectrum of flavors. Happy vaping.

 

[trouble2k]

You guys have any suggestions from the ones you've tried (same goes for Freedom Smokes USA)?

I haven't been able to get into the real sweet and exotic flavors. I tried quite a few, but they're just not for me. My top three from FSUSA are (1) RY4--I could use it as an all day, everyday vape with no complaints. (2) French Toast--It has a great tobacco undertone to it and goes great w/ morning coffee. (3) Wyatt Earp--It's one of those juices that people either love or hate from what I hear. All lot of times they'll send you a sample with an order so you can try it. If they don't, pick one up and see what you think.

Also, keep in mind that some of juices you get are made to order. They may need some time to sit and steep when you get them. The general rule of thumb is, "If it tastes good when you get it, then keep on vaping it. If it's not so good, let it sit for a week or two, then try it again."

 

[findmatt]

Also, keep in mind that some of juices you get are made to order. They may need some time to sit and steep when you get them. The general rule of thumb is, "If it tastes good when you get it, then keep on vaping it. If it's not so good, let it sit for a week or two, then try it again."

i've been reading a lot about that on the forum. do you just let it sit, and nothing else, or is there some procedure? haha, sorry if that was a stupid question.

 

[5cardstud]

Hi and congratulations on getting your first e-cig! A few of my answers to your questions:

How many cartos/day? One per flavor. A carto can last through several refills.

Refilling? I never let mine go dry (it can burn the filler). Just top off as needed until the filler looks slushy. You won't be able to get the same amount in as you did with the original fill.

Amount of juice/day? A lot of us hit the PV more than we would smoke; especially at first. Give yourself at least 2-5ml/day when you're starting out. You might end up wasting a bit while you're in the learning curve. Or, you might end up chain vaping during the craving times. Make sure you have more than what you think you need. Also, remember to pick up some different nictotine levels to experiment with.

How many cartos for a month? Just stock yourself up with at least 10. You might want to switch flavors, some you get may be duds, or some may only be good for a few refills.

Cheap e-juice? I don't think I've gotten any of the real cheap stuff. But, FreedomSmokeUSA has some great flavors in my opinion and they're prices are reasonable.

Good luck and happy vaping!

I second that. Just make sure if you get the slightest bad taste or less vapor that you refill it because there's nothing worse than a burnt carto. Congrats on the package.

 

[trouble2k]

i've been reading a lot about that on the forum. do you just let it sit, and nothing else, or is there some procedure? haha, sorry if that was a stupid question.

There aren't any stupid questions

If they're juices that I really don't like, I just let them sit without doing anything and hope they get better. I've read the best way to steep, though, is to take off the lid (and dropper tip if it has one) to let air get at it for a day or so. Make sure it's placed somewhere where it can't get disturbed. Then, put the lid back on and let it sit. Shake it up whenever you think about it to keep things good and mixed.

This isn't for all liquids. Like I said earlier, if you try it and like it--VAPE IT

 

[AlmightyGod]

Nice choice in buying a KR8...love mine....quit analogs on day one.

I have about half of what BWB offers & like everything. Blueberry, Casablanca, Dulce de Leche, & Malty Toffee, Honey Flue Nut, etc...hard to pick just one. Don is an awesome guy & takes a lot of care in his product. He makes some of his own flavorings & heard he does his own Nic extraction...

 

[dormouse]

I have only used cartos casually so others will have to answer the carto life questions.

Nicotine - Here are some commonly seen starting nicotine amounts based on what people smoked (assuming you will be vaping about as much or a bit more than you smoked)
Full strength cigs - 24mg and some need 30+
Lights - 16-18mg and some need 24
Ultralights - 10-12mg and some need 16-18

And if you are going to vape a lot more than you smoked, then maybe pick up some lower nicotine juice as well. I started vaping more so I am going to try to go down one step in nicotine, at least at times when I am vaping a lot.

Good juices. One of the cheapest VaporRenu but I find their juices a bit weak on flavor and TH, even in 80pg/20vg and double flavor. As a camels smoker those probably wouldn't be for you.

I recommend
Vapor4Life (they sell juice and prefilled cartos for KR808D-1) - maybe try a couple of their tobacco samplers?
and
FreedomSmokeUSA - so many tobaccos! Their 3ml $2.25 samples are a fixed PG/VG and 24mg (which may be perfect for you) but not all tobaccos are available as samples. If you go into their regular tobaccos section you can see all of the tobacco flavors and they have a number of Turkish blends (Camels are a Turkish blend). Their normal juices - smallest bottle is $4 and you can choose the PG/VG and nicotine. For decent TH I recommend maybe 80pg/20vg for you? I do that and 70/30 but I was a lights smoker. You might want to try both since you have a more powerful PV than my M401. And both of those should be decent thicknesses for cartos. I think every time I have ordered juices they have tossed in a free small sample of something. Try their Desert Ship and their Camel-alike (may be called Kamel or something) and their Dark Vapure I think is also a Turkish blend - check the descriptions because they may have more Turkish blends or something else that attracts you. And follow their forum in the SUppliers section her because they have some amazing sales. Their normal discount for is freedomsmokeusa for 10%off


And here's a weird one for you (since I like Turkish blends) - FSUSA happened to give me a sampler of Chocolate Orange Ball (they call it Orange Ball on their site). I bought some Dekang DK-TAB PG liquid elsewhere (Litecigusa) to try it since TAB is Turkish American Blend. It was dark flavored and simple with good TH - a bit too simple. I added some Chocolate Orange Ball to it in my cart and wow I loved them together.

And my mellow Turkish Vape is Backwoods Brew's Casablanca (another vendor).

And re chocolate/cocoa - most cigarettes have cocoa in them. Marlboros, Capris, Pall Malls, Camels, Parliaments - actually every kind I have checked online have cocoa in them. For me it adds something familiar to a tobacco flavor eliquid.

 

[findmatt]

thanks for all the suggestions, guys! i haven't even gotten the liquid i ordered from FSUSA, and I'm already browsing Backwoods Brew for some more!

So, here's an update...I just got my KR808D kit in the mail! I tried it out right away with some Dekang 555 16mg liquid I got also. There is a moderate amount of vapor, but almost NO taste whatsoever. The smell out of the bottle is good, but no taste! Do you think its an issue with my battery, or is the liquid just not good quality? have any of you guys ever tried it? This is the very first time I've tried an e-cig, so I'm not sure whether the liquid flavors are supposed to be subtle. I guess I was expecting more of a punch (maybe its the smoking that killed my taste buds though!).

Other than that, no issues to report. To me, it feels more like smoking hookah, than an analog cig, but great nonetheless! This stuff is awesome, and I can see this really helping me quit analogs once and for all!

 

[trouble2k]

Great to hear you're liking your new toy! It's kinda hard to say if it's the juice w/ no flavor or not. Do you have any other flavors to try? Like you said though, it could just be your taste buds. You'll be able to tell when you try some other liquids.

 

[xg4bx]

i say that it never hurts to have a few packs of cartos on hand. i always assume that at least 1 out of the pack of 5 will be defective or just not work that great.

as for question #4, i love madvapes' top vapor line. i've only tried 5 flavors but it's good, inexpensive juice. their cheesecake and fried apple are easily my favorite juices out of all the suppliers i've tried.

 

[ImJustAvg]

Since September, I have never had the shell of the carto go bad, the filler sometimes get a burnt taste to it. So instead of throwing it away, I went to a fish supply store and bought the fish tank filter material and just cut off a chunk and use that as a filler and it seems to hold more ejuice than the normal filler and not burn as quickly.

Gourmet Vapor has a 60% sale until Jan 5, 2011 and I love their liquid. Discount code: VapeTV60

I smoked 2.5 packs of cigarettes a day and use about 2.5-4 ml of ejuice a day.

Prepackaged carts are usually too dry for my taste, so since you have very little vape and no taste, it could be that you need more liquid in it.

I use the Joye eGo Mega and love the vapor produced and the taste is great! I can't say that about my 510 clone though. I didn't get the vape or taste I wanted, plus had to change batteries and carts every 1.5-2 hours. Now I can go over 6 hours on the mega carts and 18 hours on the mega batteries.

 

[findmatt]

Hi guys, here's a quick update.

I got my kr808d-1 kit last thursday, and haven't had a single analog since then, nor have I craved one! Its amazing, I even managed to get past New Year's Eve without an analog!

The kr808d-1 manual batteries I received from Lite Cig USA are amazing...great vapor production, and I was able to go through almost 5 hours of vaping without having to charge it! I highly recommend this website for batteries, accessories, etc. Its the cheapest site I've found so far, and the shipping is super fast and cheap at $2 for first class mail.

So far, all the e-juice I've purchased from Lite Cig and FS USA has not been as flavorful as I had hoped. I don't think anything is wrong with the juice because the vapor production has been excellent, even on the pure PG stuff. I think its mainly because my taste buds are fried after 10 years of smoking analogs!

I'm going to try to steep all of the juice. Do you guys have any suggestions on how long to steep it? So far, I've let the bottles sit, uncapped for a day or so. I read on ECF that you have to let it sit for about a week at least. What is your experience with that?