Noobie Vaper

[Butchhe]

Hello fellow vapers. My name is Butch and I am just getting into vaping on a regular basis. My buddy has let me try the new flavors he gets and the are very enjoyable with very low nicotine and I am at a point where I need to get one of my own.

I am at a stressful point in my life to where I almost picked up a pack of cigarettes and started smoking again. I quit the first time back in 1993, yes I'm an old guy lol, and then again in around 1998 after a few months of smoking and I don't want to start again.

After several days of researching, I am pretty much settled on getting a Kanger Subox kit in white because they look sleek and sexy plus have the ability to expand as my vaping experience grows.

Anyway, I have rambled on long enough and I am looking forward to getting to know this great vaping community.

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

HI Butchhe and welcome to the forum. The Kanger Subbox is a nice kit. I use the subtanks with their 1.2 ohm coil and I am very content with my vape at this level. I would suggest you get good quality batteries and a quality battery charger to go with your kit. Baditude is the resident battery guru and he has a blog here:

Baditudes Blogs Baditude's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

RECOMMENDED BATTERIES
1. Orbtronic SX30 2100mah 30A
2. Sony VTC4 2100mah 30A (there are no authentic VTC5's out there)
3. Xtar 2100mah 30A (re-wrapped Sony VTC4)

1. AW 1600mah 24A
2. Orbtronic SX22 2000mah 22A
3. LG HE2/HE4 2500mah 20A
4. Samsung 25R 2500mah 20A
5. AW 2200mah 20A (new)

Illumn.com - Flashlights, Batteries, Carry Gear, Intelligent LED Lighting, and More!
Authentic AW Batteries - RTD Vapor
Fenix Flashlights, Solarforce, Cree LED, Lithium Batteries, Lithium Ion Batteries, Li-Ion Chargers, Maxpedition Bags, Spyderco Knives and more!
Batteries-Chargers-Flashlights-Only The Best

Good luck in your vape journey.

 

[Butchhe]

Thanks for the battery recommendations. I was leaning towards the Samsung 25R but I noticed that you have recommended all 30A batteries. What is the advantage of a 30A battery over a 20A for a new vaper?

 

[Baditude]

I just want to add, Illumn and Orbtronics have been offering what are believed to be authentic Sony VTC5's quite recently.

Although an online vendor made an announcement that Sony told them that they would be discontinuing the VTC4 and VTC models earlier this year Final word on Sony's production plans for the US18650 VTC4 and the US18650 VTC5 (April 9, 2015), VTC's have always been available for sale somewhere, and the VTC's have begun to reappear at selected websites.

My personal guess is that Sony had been commissioning their VTC production to various battery manufacturers, and when Sony announced they were no longer going to commission them any longer, those factories decided to continue to make them and offer them for sale themselves. The original Sony's had no reference name of "Sony" on them, just the plain green wrapper.

The fact that Illumn and Orbtronics have ALWAYS been reputable vendors in selling authentic batteries in the past leads me to believe that they are selling high quality batteries.

However, there had been "counterfeit Sony's" on the market in the past. These were made and sold by disreputable manufacturers & vendors, and were likely poor quality, re-wrapped batteries made to look similar to authentic Sony's. How to identify counterfeit Sony batteries | E-Cigarette Forum

My advice is if you desire authentic Sony VTC batteries, purchase them only from known reputable vendors such as RTD Vapor, Illumn, Orbtronics, and Lighthound.

 

[Baditude]

Thanks for the battery recommendations. I was leaning towards the Samsung 25R but I noticed that you have recommended all 30A batteries. What is the advantage of a 30A battery over a 20A for a new vaper?

The advantage of a 30 amp battery over a 25 amp battery is only of importance when using sub-ohm coils and how low you actually build to.

1.0 ohm = 4.2 amp draw
0.9 ohm = 4.6 amp draw
0.8 ohm = 5.2 amp draw
0.7 ohms = 6 amp draw
0.6 ohms = 7 amp draw
0.5 ohms = 8.4 amp draw
0.4 ohms = 10.5 amp draw
0.3 ohms = 14.0 amp draw
0.2 ohms = 21.0 amp draw
0.1 ohms = 42.0 amp draw
0.0 ohms = dead short

The above calculations demonstrate that the lower you go in ohms the higher the amp requirement becomes. Explain It to the Noob: Ohm's Law Calculators
​

When you build your coil and fire it on your mod, it will draw a specific amount of current (amps) from the battery. That current must not be more than the total amps in continuous discharge rate of the battery, or very bad things could happen. This is particularly important if using a mechanical mod. When using a regulated mod, its protective circuitry prohibits attempting to fire a low resistance coil if it exceeds the processor's amp limit.

The manufacturer of your mod likely makes a recommendation on what batteries to use in the mod, and the specification minimum (continuous discharge rate) of those batteries. This will likely be either a 20 or 30 amp battery for a high-wattage regulated mod.

Battery Basics for Mods
Deeper Understanding of Mod Batteries

​

 

[Butchhe]

Thanks for the chart. That helped clarify things. For the first bit, I'll be running around 15W using the 1.5 ohm then maybe stepping down to a 0.8 ohm coil using the RBA before getting into the 0.5. I'll have to test it all out once I get everything together, but slow and steady wins the race.

 

[Baditude]

Thanks for the chart. That helped clarify things. For the first bit, I'll be running around 15W using the 1.5 ohm then maybe stepping down to a 0.8 ohm coil using the RBA before getting into the 0.5. I'll have to test it all out once I get everything together, but slow and steady wins the race.

Baby steps are always practical and wise at the beginning.

Remember, not everyone prefers or even likes high wattage vaping, or sub-ohm vaping. You might be a Tootle Puffer (low wattage, higher ohm).

 

[Butchhe]

I'm hoping to get a good handle on it so I can help my friend transition over from cigarettes who is trying to quit for health reasons. She is a 1/4 pack a day smoker and when she bought her vap, the B & M set her up with an 18mg juice. Needless to say, the throat hit was harsh and she is gun shy now. I will take her to a different store to give it another try once I am semi knowledgeable.

 

[WonderDude32]

Hi Butchhe and welcome to ECF. Click on Bad's name to follow his comments and you may learn a ton. He's a really smart guy. Some of the other "gurus" on the site are similarly as bright and helpful. Great decision on the Subox kit. Looks good and so far I haven't heard any complaints. Vape on bro.

 

[NealBJr]

I'm hoping to get a good handle on it so I can help my friend transition over from cigarettes who is trying to quit for health reasons. She is a 1/4 pack a day smoker and when she bought her vap, the B & M set her up with an 18mg juice. Needless to say, the throat hit was harsh and she is gun shy now. I will take her to a different store to give it another try once I am semi knowledgeable.

I so wanted to add my 2 cents worth, but Baditude and SirFlyByNutz already provided excellent posts. I swear, they must have something to copy and paste. I should do the same.

The harsh hit could've been for several reasons. When I quit, I used 18mg juice. But, when I quit, the devices weren't as capable as the ones are nowadays. with a 1/4th pack per day smoker, I would also set her up with 12mg as a starting point... but that depends on the device.

Keep a mental note of what you go through when you first start off. If you change, or go into "hobby mode", your preferences will change. When I first started, I went from an Ego to a 15 watt device, and have so far settled on around 25-30 watts of power. If I would've started with a subohm tank on a 25 watt power setting with an open airflow, I don't think I would've had a good transition. lower wattage, higher ohm, and tighter airflow are preferred setups.... I've come to this realization fairly recently.

 

[Butchhe]

Thanks for all the welcomes and advice. I can say I have definitely come to the right forum for all my vaping needs!

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

Since you are starting with the Subtank I'd suggest buying a cheap drip tip with a more restricted air opening. It was the first thing I changed on mine because I am a mouth to lung vaper.

 

[PlayingWithFire]

I'm hoping to get a good handle on it so I can help my friend transition over from cigarettes who is trying to quit for health reasons. She is a 1/4 pack a day smoker and when she bought her vap, the B & M set her up with an 18mg juice. Needless to say, the throat hit was harsh and she is gun shy now. I will take her to a different store to give it another try once I am semi knowledgeable.

Did the B&M do samples? I prefer places that have samplers, so I can try before I buy. If you haven't come across them, these places usually have a couple of mods or pens you can use, and juices (usually no nic) ready to go in tank attys. You use your own tip, or they will have disposable silicone tip covers, so you can give a bunch of flavors a try, and only buy what you like. This is why B&Ms charge more, but I'm more than happy to spend a few bucks more on my juice, or accessories for this service.
When I started, a friend of mine gave me some 6mg juice to start off with. Since then, I've gone to 12mg, and 18 mg (which I switch back and forth between as my cravings and stress levels fluctuate). Those little 10ml sampler bottles? Great way to get a handle on flavors and nic concentrations. I'm running an Aspire Nautilus (1.8 ohm) on an Eleaf iStick 30w, though I have recently added an RDA into circulation, which I have to be careful with, as the nic concentration I'm using can be a little much, I'm planning on getting my favorite flavors in 0mg, and mixing for lower concentrations when I'm using that.
I'd start your friend off real low, on a really smooth juice (Mr. Good Vape's Moon Juice is my favorite by a long shot, might be a good place to start...), and let her increase the concentration to suit her cravings. The reason I bring up flavor is that I have a bunch of 12mg juices, all 50/50 pg/vg, and some are smooth as silk, and some are super harsh, the only real variable being the flavor itself. I find fruit flavors, particularly melon and and citrus hit the back of the throat hard, whereas sweeter flavors don't. I also try to stay away from lower end juices, as they seem to be a little harsher, other quality/purity/safety concerns aside.