Nicotine causing caughing

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Wingsfan0310

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Watson, I was asking RocketPuppy if the coughing also happened with the bottle of juice that was made with 60mg/ml Nic RP had diluted down because RP said the minute the 60ml/mg Nic was opened coughing started. I was trying to figure out if RP's coughing was only happening when the 60ml/mg undiluted Nic was opened or if it was also happening with the E-juice that was made by diluting it. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Cheers,
Steve
 

ianryeng

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Regarding your nic I have a question - is it clear and odourless or tinted with an organic scent? Wild guess but it may be a WTA (or similar) extraction which would explain the very low result of your traditional nic test. Thats not to say it is any weaker than what you purchased it as. Just that the traditional test would not provide an accurate result for this type of nic base. Being a less pure extract it contains more alkaloids that could also explain your throat irritation/coughing(?)

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
 
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Road_House

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Something that hasn't been mentioned here yet, hardware. From my experience, a good vape is dependent on multiple factors aside from the juice. Optimal saturation of the wick is one key factor. Too little and you get the dreaded dry hit which is unmistakable but does not seem to be the case here. Too much, even shy of an all out flood, can result in a harsher hit. I've noticed this in the morning, especially with bottom coil devices. The cure for that for me anyway is to turn up the wattage and take several long slow hits without inhaling to clear the excess juice off the coil. This seems to stop those harsh hits that can cause a coughing fit. Return wattage to your normal level after doing this.

The other possibility if this doesn't work is you may have a hot spot on your coil and it may be time to replace it.

My 2 cents in case it turns out the nic or pg sensitivity is not the culprit.
 

DVap

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Regarding your nic I have a question - is it clear and odourless or tinted with an organic scent? Wild guess but it may be a WTA (or similar) extraction which would explain the very low result of your traditional nic test. Thats not to say it is any weaker than what you purchased it as. Just that the traditional test would not provide an accurate result for this type of nic base. Being a less pure extract it contains more alkaloids that could also explain your throat irritation/coughing(?)

Someone please correct me if I am wrong.

OK, you're wrong. :)

If anyone is wondering who I am, if you go down to the bottom of the test kit page at Wizard Labs, I'm the guy they thank for the original work on nicotine determination. I'm also the guy who came up with WTA.

To produce a WTA, it requires far more work than to simply purify nicotine. You have to go out of your way to do it. Further, due to the nature of the alkaloids present in addition to nicotine, a WTA will invariably titrate almost exactly the same as pure nicotine. This is because nicotine is most of what's present in a WTA, and the other alkaloids generally have molecular weights and mono-base behavior relative to the test all pretty close to that of nicotine.

My advice is simple. When you're buying nicotine concentrates, it's always wise to also invest in a nicotine test kit such as that sold by WL. When tracking down problems you might be having with your nicotine supplier, you don't want to leave the nicotine level down to chance. The more solid the reputation of your supplier, the better the chance your bulk nicotine concentrate is at the labeled concentration, but mistakes can and do happen.

Are you coughing because the nicotine quality is iffy, or are you coughing because somebody sold you something at a nicotine level much higher than the label states? Don't guess. KNOW.
 

watson_5

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First Danny, and now Dvap is in the house. I feel like I have
hit the big time now! :2cool:
The hardware I'm using is an Evod on a Vamo using micro coils.
Interestingly, as far as WTA, I just got an order of ry4 from
Aroma, and straight WTA from Wholecig, to experiment with.
While the ry4 has throat hit galore, with some too spare, it
hasn't caused any coughing.
I have a cold kicking my .... big time so I don't trust my sniffer
While I was tracking down what was causing the coughing, I had
my wife smell it, and she couldn't smell anything. The nic has no
color to speak of.
I don't trust the testing so far, I used an unknown mole of battery
acid, on nic I had already diluted down. I have used this before
but of course, I can't find my notes. Even tho I only have one
notebook :D I should be getting my WL order tomorrow (no mail today)
This will just help eliminate one more variable.
Danny, the saline has helped flavor wise, and mouthfeel. I like it, so much
that I bought a box used for the pot to clear your sinuses. Hey, now there
is something to think about with this cold.
But it hasn't helped with the coughing.
This has been going on since late last year, I have only just been putting
things together and trying to find out why.
And of course, with this cold I have had a few days now, I don't trust
anything. I am congested and coughing breathing air, so investigating
a cough is a waste of time!
I have always love RTS, and ordered exclusively from them. I doubt
they sent the wrong level nic. I would be more inclined to doubt my
mixing ability. And the latest e-mail from them came from Randy.
He apologized for the long silence and gave me his contact info.
He seems to want to get to the bottom of my concerns.
Sorry for the long winded post.
And thanks everyone for the help.
Terry
 

Road_House

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I've had 2 chest colds since I began vaping almost a year ago. Both times I had to switch to nic gum. I could not vape for at least 4 days without coughing violently even though I had minimal coughing due to the cold. 30 PG 65 VG 5 saline at 16 mg/ml and just can't handle it.

I'm curious if others have the same issue when they have a cold.
 

dannyv45

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Yes I've hacked my brains out with my last cold. It seemed to me that the vape seemed heavy and just kinda sat in my lungs. When I smoked I still hacked when I had a cold but didn't have that heavy feeling in my lungs. As cigarette smoke has far less humidity in the smoke and vapor is essentially water and heaver then cigarette smoke it would stand to reason that this would likely be the expected result from vaping when you have a cold. Others have reported this heavy sensation even when they don't have a cold.

Now this is just my un scientific observation and not a proven scientific fact so please don't misconstrew my opinion as fact. If you have a heavy feeling in your chest and uncontrolable caughing and have had this for a long period of time and it's persistant regardless if you are vapeing or not, it could be the signs of a more serious condition. So regardless of if you have a cold or not I would see a doctor just to rule this out.
 
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watson_5

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I owe everyone a couple of apologies.
First off, Danny. I used more saline in the vape that is "unflavored".
I diluted the November batch with just VG and added 5 percent of
.9% saline. So its 24 mg/ml 95% VG and 5% .9% saline. It's smoother
and not causing the coughing. There is a kind of tickle there; but
much better. And I mean a lot.
As far as the color, I was working from memory and double checked
it while I was adding saline. I'll upload a picture; but I'm not sure
if it will show it well. There is definitely a color to it, sort of a dull
yellow with maybe a red tint to it. My wife is calling it a faint pink.
I really wish I would have saved some that wasn't diluted already.
My order from December is as clear as water.
Any questions feel free to ask.
Terry
 

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watson_5

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Oh and another. Thanks Road_House. I will keep in mind clearing it up
in the morning, great idea.
I vape according to wattage, used to be around 8; but I have lowered
it to try and smooth things out. Sometimes as low as 3.
I recoil often and do 10-15 wraps of 32 gauge. Then I squeeze the coil
together and torch it. The resistance ranges from 3-5 ohms.
Terry
 

dannyv45

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I owe everyone a couple of apologies.
First off, Danny. I used more saline in the vape that is "unflavored".
I diluted the November batch with just VG and added 5 percent of
.9% saline. So its 24 mg/ml 95% VG and 5% .9% saline. It's smoother
and not causing the coughing. There is a kind of tickle there; but
much better. And I mean a lot.
As far as the color, I was working from memory and double checked
it while I was adding saline. I'll upload a picture; but I'm not sure
if it will show it well. There is definitely a color to it, sort of a dull
yellow with maybe a red tint to it. My wife is calling it a faint pink.
I really wish I would have saved some that wasn't diluted already.
My order from December is as clear as water.
Any questions feel free to ask.
Terry

The tickle that you describe is exactly what my problem is. .9% saline does help this and lowering the NIC to 18mg also helped. If the NIC is very harsh like the MFS nic then you will not notice a difference lowering from 24 to 18. the throat hit will still be there but the tickle should be even more reduced. I've noticed that some NIC is worst then others. The Nic I got from Myfreedom was the worst and also had a yellow tinge to it. The NIC I got from Wizard is much better. Being the cheap skate I am I'm putting up with the MFS NIC as with the saline it's not to bad but I still get that anoying tickle from time to time expecially at the end of the day at bed time.
 
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Hey guys, thanks for all your research about the cough. I am also having a tickle with a cough. I've been Vaping for 3 years and this started about 6 months ago. I am not a mixer of my own juice. I did drop my nic from 18 to 0 hoping that was the problem. It was not.even have changed juice brands, all doing the same. Can I add saline to already mixed juice? I read on another forum that throat hits create less tickle, and believe it or not that's true for me, but that not my normal way to vape. What's really funny is i work at a vape store! Great impression of Vaping I'm giving to newbies!
 

watson_5

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This should be the last post here. I got my order from wizard labs.
As I suspected, the nic tested out spot on at 48 mg/ml. I never
expected the unknown battery acid to be definitive; but I had
diluted it and used it before. I just don't remember what I did.
It just really shocked me that it would change color with only
two drops.
Like Dvap said, "don't think, Know"
 

dannyv45

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This should be the last post here. I got my order from wizard labs.
As I suspected, the nic tested out spot on at 48 mg/ml. I never
expected the unknown battery acid to be definitive; but I had
diluted it and used it before. I just don't remember what I did.
It just really shocked me that it would change color with only
two drops.
Like Dvap said, "don't think, Know"

I am so confused. Are you saying that the NIC solution (Undiluted) tested to 48mg when it was susposed to be 60mg. Or are you saying that the diluted down to 24mg tested to 48mg. Now I'm concerned.
 
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watson_5

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sorry for the confusion. no, they were two different batches.
The 48mg/ml from November that I diluted down to 24 was
causing the coughing. I have another batch that is 60.
And I think it was rocket that mentioned 60. They both
are testing out where they should have been. I just had
to use a known mole of acid.
Incidentally, I diluted down vinegar per Dvaps recipe, and it
too tested out where they should have. That will save me some
dollars -)
 
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watson_5

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I just read the latest e-mail from RTS. They are going to replace
the nic order. That restores the faith I had in them. I've loved
their nic for a long time, so whatever the problem is its solve
now one way or the other! I still plan on vaping unflavored
for at least another week still I start feeling better, and I've
got to get off the stinkies. Time to double down on the efforts!!
Thanks everyone,
Terry
 
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