As a newbie vaper, I'm slowly getting a feel for vaping on a REO. Below is a description of how I do it, and my observations, musings and questions about how different kinds of vapes result. If, like me, you are in the habit of overthinking things, feel free to critique my vaping technique, and add you own insights. Thanks.
So, the way I figure it, the following three parameters have about equal bearing on the kind of vape you get:
1. Squonk timing, duration and technique
I generally squonk between drags, to give the coil time to cool down and to let the wick get saturated with juice before I fire the coil again. In my experience, I get the fullest flavor and the thickest vape when I squonk a few minutes after the last drag and let a few minutes pass before firing up. The shorter these intervals, the less thickness and flavor I seem to get.
I squonk every three or so hits. If I squonk more often, the vape is thicker but not as warm or flavorful. If I squonk less, the vape gets gradually thinner. If I start to get a slightly burnt taste, I take it as a sign that I haven't squonked enough and re-squonk immediately, even if the coil is still hot, to prevent the wick from burning up. In general, I try to squonk too much / too soon rather than too little and late, as the burnt taste really ruins the vape.
I squonk with one uninterrupted press of about three seconds, while sucking on the drip tip without firing the coil until I get a slight resistance (called "blind squonking", I believe), then let the REO set to let the excess juice flow back into the bottle. I find this gives the best juice saturation. Do you ever "pump-squonk", or are there other techniques that work better for you?
2. Draw strength / length
I've learned to draw much more lightly than I would on a cigarette. The stronger I draw, the thinner and cooler the vape. I take much longer drags, too, to get a good, full throat hit. With hindsight, this seems like a pretty obvious thing to do, but after years of smoking cigarettes, it actually took me a good day to figure this out.
I suppose YMMV depending on the size of the airhole and the strength of the coil - presumably, stronger coils can deal with stronger draw and/or bigger airholes while still giving full flavor. But this also means you use up more juice, correct?
3. Coil strength (heat)
My basis for comparison here is VERY limited. I vaped two 2-ohm cartomizers before I built my first coil, and the latter (30 gauge cantal, eight wraps) generates a noticeably warmer, airier vape. The taste is similarly full, provided I squonk it right, so I plan on sticking with DIY coils. BTW, is there such a thing as a too-hot/strong coil or does more power always equal better (fuller, richer) vape?
There are two other factors I'd like to hear about: Wicking materials and juice composition. I've noticed there are many different kinds of wicking materials in use. How do they influence the taste of the vape? Similarly, how does juice composition affect your squonking technique and the resulting vape?
Right ... fire away.
So, the way I figure it, the following three parameters have about equal bearing on the kind of vape you get:
1. Squonk timing, duration and technique
I generally squonk between drags, to give the coil time to cool down and to let the wick get saturated with juice before I fire the coil again. In my experience, I get the fullest flavor and the thickest vape when I squonk a few minutes after the last drag and let a few minutes pass before firing up. The shorter these intervals, the less thickness and flavor I seem to get.
I squonk every three or so hits. If I squonk more often, the vape is thicker but not as warm or flavorful. If I squonk less, the vape gets gradually thinner. If I start to get a slightly burnt taste, I take it as a sign that I haven't squonked enough and re-squonk immediately, even if the coil is still hot, to prevent the wick from burning up. In general, I try to squonk too much / too soon rather than too little and late, as the burnt taste really ruins the vape.
I squonk with one uninterrupted press of about three seconds, while sucking on the drip tip without firing the coil until I get a slight resistance (called "blind squonking", I believe), then let the REO set to let the excess juice flow back into the bottle. I find this gives the best juice saturation. Do you ever "pump-squonk", or are there other techniques that work better for you?
2. Draw strength / length
I've learned to draw much more lightly than I would on a cigarette. The stronger I draw, the thinner and cooler the vape. I take much longer drags, too, to get a good, full throat hit. With hindsight, this seems like a pretty obvious thing to do, but after years of smoking cigarettes, it actually took me a good day to figure this out.
I suppose YMMV depending on the size of the airhole and the strength of the coil - presumably, stronger coils can deal with stronger draw and/or bigger airholes while still giving full flavor. But this also means you use up more juice, correct?
3. Coil strength (heat)
My basis for comparison here is VERY limited. I vaped two 2-ohm cartomizers before I built my first coil, and the latter (30 gauge cantal, eight wraps) generates a noticeably warmer, airier vape. The taste is similarly full, provided I squonk it right, so I plan on sticking with DIY coils. BTW, is there such a thing as a too-hot/strong coil or does more power always equal better (fuller, richer) vape?
There are two other factors I'd like to hear about: Wicking materials and juice composition. I've noticed there are many different kinds of wicking materials in use. How do they influence the taste of the vape? Similarly, how does juice composition affect your squonking technique and the resulting vape?
Right ... fire away.
you've got 3 hands, 
