Short time lurker, first time poster :)

[Soundofmind]

Hello everyone!

I discovered the ECF a few days ago. I have done TONS of research in that short period and decided on the 510 w/PCC package from Cignot(dot)com.

It is supposed to arrive today and I find myself peeking out the window frequently to see if the mail has come yet! LOL I'm pretty excited to get started on this new (to me) vaping thing.

I was introduced to the e-cigarette only a week ago. I tried three drags off what I now know to be a super-mini. It looked just like an analog and I think it had "GreenSmoke" written on the side. Immediate intrigue set in.

So, first question. What are the first things I should do to make my primary voyage with the 510 as enjoyable as possible? I am aware the 510 attys come with a nasty primer fluid on the wick. I did read many posts on removing the primer fluid and then adding 1-2 drops of the real stuff. What's the best way to get a fresh atty working properly/tasting better?

Also, are there any other "right-out-of-the-box" tips I should know about?

This forum seems so community-oriented! It's great to have found a place filled with knowledgeable and helpful folks. I find the video tutorials the most helpful. Thanks to anyone and everyone who has contributed a "how-to" video or write-up.

Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself. Looking forward to a rewarding experience here on the ECF!

PS - Thanks in advance for answering my n00b questions! LOL

 

[beckah54]

I just want to welcome you to the forum....it's a great place. I will, however, leave the 510 questions for Professor Kent C.

 

[doots]

Hi Sound and welcome to the forum!

Not all attys come with primer on them.

Just prime the atty with a couple of drops of e juice and taste and see if it is nasty. If it is, just take hits off it and dont inhale till you get rid of the nasties. It will burn off soon enough. Put more primer drops on the atty. It usually disipates in a minute or so.

The rule! Always have back up atomizers, batteries and ejuice on hand so you're not left in the cold when something goes out!

Another rule I learned for myself.

Don't buy big bottles of ejuice you haven't tried first. You can spend a fortune and hate everything you bought you thought you would like.

Try samples if you can first. Then make your purchases according to what you liked.

Good Ejuice suppliers:

tastyvapors.us
myfreedomsmoke.com
nhaler.com
diyflavormart.com

Good luck!

 

[Soundofmind]

Just prime the atty with a couple of drops of e juice and taste and see if it is nasty. If it is, just take hits off it and dont inhale till you get rid of the nasties. It will burn off soon enough. Put more primer drops on the atty. It usually disipates in a minute or so.

Thanks, doots. Great advice and a fast reply. This forum rocks!

Should use an empty cart (no filler) for the above process? Does it matter? I recall reading that most drippers use an empty cart. The above process is, in fact, dripping, no?

Thanks again for the assistance. (still SOOOOO many n00b questions! LOL)

 

[420GypsyGirl]

You can try VaporKings.com for juice as well, they have some good stuff and very fast delivery.

 

[BigJimW]

Thanks, doots. Great advice and a fast reply. This forum rocks!

Should use an empty cart (no filler) for the above process? Does it matter? I recall reading that most drippers use an empty cart. The above process is, in fact, dripping, no?

Thanks again for the assistance. (still SOOOOO many n00b questions! LOL)

Most drippers use an empty cart with no insert with the filling. They drip right on the atomizer mesh. But be careful if you do this. Any liquids that end up going into the battery can kill it.

If you want to drip, you're better off to get a USB passthrough battery. They are sealed. Auto batteries have a hole at the end to activate the battery when you inhale and that's where liquids can enter.

Welcome to the world of vaping.

 

[martha1014]

I use an empty cart for dripping.I find that any filler just gets in the way.
I prefer Totally Wicked, USA eliquid over all others I have tried (and there quite a few of them). Their eliquid is a bit higher but it is worth it. They come in a glass sealed bottle. Packaging is excellent compared to others.

One of the most important things is to have extra atomizers and batteries and enough eliquid so you won't run out. You will be pleased with the 510. It consistently provides good vapor and throat hit. Later you may want to try a mod (which is larger and produces more vapor and throat hit)

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[Kent C]

Welcome. Good choice! ;-)

You only have to wait until the charger goes green to start despite what the instructions say. See 2nd paragraph:

Charging lithium-ion batteries

Doots is right on target. I mirror that advice:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-my-first-e-cigarette-801-a-2.html#post706573

And same with juice. Biggest mistake is to go for every juice sale you see. lol. Get samplers from various places before you 'invest'. And what you like now may be different than what you like in a month. It took me 4 weeks to notice my tastebuds were revived.

Samples:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-try-lot-flavors-minimal-cost.html#post796633

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...31-gettin-envy-what-juice-buy.html#post585922

 

[highping]

First of all...Welcome to the forum!

You have made a good choice with the purchase of your 510. I think it is a great starter model. I assume you have ordered some juice with your kit since you talked about adding drops to the atty.
One thing that will take a little time to get the hang of is filling and topping off your carts.
You will most likely flood it at some point in the beginning. You can tell if this happens because you will get a gurgle when you puff it. If (when) this happens, take the atty off of the battery and remove the cart. Then blow through it (very hard and long from the battery side) into a paper towel. If you get more than 3-4 drops, it was flooded.

When you top off your cart, make sure you don't over fill. You want it saturated, but not 'bubbled' on top. It helps to use a paperclip to push the filling to the side and try to fill it from the bottom up.

If you overfill you may get some juice in your mouth. It tastes pretty bad, but don't freak out about it. I usually wipe it off my tongue, before it spreads all around my mouth. If you do get it in your mouth, then it's probably in the back end of the cart where it shouldn't be also. You can pop the end cap off (the end that goes in your mouth) of the cart and clean it out so you don't keep getting more juice in your mouth.

One thing that will help prevent this is getting the drag technique down. It's a little different than dragging a cig. You want a long, slow drag (2-3 seconds to start). The 'long' part give the atty a chance to produce enough vapor. The 'slow' part keeps the juice from coming through the cart and into your mouth. A common beginner mistake is to try to suck hard on it. This will reduce vapor and get you juice-in-mouth syndrome.

One other tip I can give you is to ignore the 8 hour charge thing. I don't know if they are still putting this in user manuals or not, but it is unnecessary. It is a leftover from the old batt technology. Charge your batts until the light goes green and vape away. That initial 8 hour wait really sucks when you're anxious to get started.

Hope some of these tips help and good luck!

 

[Kent C]

I just want to welcome you to the forum....it's a great place. I will, however, leave the 510 questions for Professor Kent C.

Appreciate that, but.... thankfully, there are many capable around here - that's how I learned.

 

[Soundofmind]

Thanks for the great advice everyone! Keep the tips comin'!

The battery charging tips are key. *Runs to peek out the window. Darn! No mail yet* I simply cannot wait to try this out. *Runs to peek out window again...*

Included with the PCC starter kit from Cignot are two small bottles of juice. I chose the Ecopure "Rich" flavor, which I hope to come close to mimicking the Marb Lights I've been smoking for (gasp) 16 years. That's half my life. ugh...

The other flavor I got is the 555, which apparently has nutty/almond/hazelnut overtones. I am hoping to get the wife(who smokes a little) to enjoy the vaping thing. She likes Amaretto and Frangelico, so if I can introduce the whole "flavor" concept, she may be more apt to like it. She also has no idea what an e-cig is! She ALSO has no idea that I am to receive mine today! Can't wait to surprise her. *Runs to peek out the window again....*

 

[UberDuper]

I just started with a 510 myself. A few things I've learned.

Your kit from cignot came with at least 5 pre-filled carts. Try to save two of them in their sealed packaging for a rainy day.
Your atomizers came with empty (no filler) carts on the atomizers. Use those for de-priming / dripping.
My atty / cart sweats a lot. Pop the cart off from time to time and wipe it off. The sweat pools up right infront of the intake holes and makes a high pitched gurgling and a tougher draw. This isn't (at least I don't think) leaking juice.
A third battery would be swell. A second DC charger is really a must. The PCC probably helps a ton. I don't have one.
Juice samplers are a big deal. I had assumed that any juice I got would be acceptable even if I didn't care for it. Not true. The two specialty 30ml juices I got are disgusting and I'll never use them. I'm so glad I picked up a 20ml of vanilla dekang from cignot with my kit just in case. I don't really like it either but it'll get me by until I get something else.
Don't bother trying to use your 510 like you would a cig. It's a slower pace. Slower drags. Longer time between them. If you don't let it cool off some between drags you're gonna get weak puffs.

Few me specific things I've learned.
I don't like sweet. I'm going to try unflavored nic juice next. Then possibly try adding a touch of menthol.
Vapor is overrated. I get a useful hit with or without vapor. IMHO vapor is nice for internet videos and knowing if your PV is working right. A low vapor drag feels the same to me as a high vapor drag. The difference being you have something to look at when you exhale. Maybe this will change when my lungs clear out. I dunno.
Vaping is not a drop in replacement for smoking. It doesn't taste the same. It doesn't feel the same. My body doesn't react the same. It takes some desire to make the switch to vaping. Vaping isn't satisfying to me the way a cigarette is, but it does replace my non-craving smoke breaks very well. Fortunately I haven't had a real craving since the night I got my 510.

Just some thoughts. Maybe useful to you or maybe not. It's only been 5 days for me so I could be wrong on all counts. Good luck to you.

UD.

 

[Soundofmind]

I just started with a 510 myself. A few things I've learned.

...........
Just some thoughts. Maybe useful to you or maybe not. It's only been 5 days for me so I could be wrong on all counts. Good luck to you.

UD.

Outstanding info, UD. Have you seen a dramatic reduction in your analog smoke breaks? My goal is to replace analogs with the e-cig entirely. I am sick of smoking, but I love it so much. It really is a weird, self-destructive habit.

Are you trying to quit? Or just supplement your analogs?

 

[UberDuper]

Trying to quit. I'd be perfectly happy if I merely switched to vaping for the rest of my life tho.
I really expected my routine to stay the same. It's always been the routine that made patches, gum and lozenges fail. About once an hour, step outside and smoke whether I needed it or not. I figured I'd stick to that routine and just use my PV every hour instead.

It hasn't worked out that way. It's been more comfortable (maybe the wrong word) for me to just pick the 510 up every once in a while and take a puff or two. So I'm not really taking breaks anymore. I work from home so this is easier for me.

I suspect working in an office environment that that would be difficult to do and you'd have to stick to a smoke break routine. If I had to do that, I'd recommend keeping two attys/carts on hand. Switch between them mid break. Should let you keep your breaks quick without getting your atty too hot and making your puffs weak/useless.

UD.

 

[Soundofmind]

About once an hour, step outside and smoke whether I needed it or not. I figured I'd stick to that routine and just use my PV every hour instead.

UD.

That is EXACTLY what I do. I was hoping to use the PV as a direct replacement for a smoke break. Go outside and vape every 90 minutes or so. No analogs. Interesting to read your experience.

Good idea with the multi cart/atty tip. Do you rotate to keep the atty from overheating? Couldn't I just swap out the atty? Or does the rotation of the cart help in some way, too?

 

[UberDuper]

Right. It's just to keep a cool atty. You'll find your puffs are much better on a rested atty. I only suggest swapping complete atty + cart for the simplicity. Would probably help get through the day without refilling any carts or having one get low on juice.

UD.

 

[highping]

Just a tip for both of you... If you are having trouble with atty over heating, just take a long 'dry' hit (button not pressed) between hits. It only takes about 2-3 seconds of drawing air through it to cool it off.

Also...sound...I see you started with both tobacco flavors (most do at the beginning) Don't be afraid to go 'outside the box' when picking flavors. You might be surprised at what you like. For example, I hate peaches but love peach vape for some reason. And you might not think vaping something like blueberry cheesecake would be good, but...yummy. I'm not saying you will like peach or cheesecake; everyone's taste is different. Just that you should try different things. But, like others have said, make sure you buy small until you are sure you like a juice.

UD: what nic level are you using? Once I hit the 24-36mg range I had zero cravings for an analog.

 

[UberDuper]

I'm at 24mg which I thought was going to be a bit high for me. After reading a bunch of info about nic levels in the vapor and the absorption amount, 24mg started to seem ideal.
I may keep getting 24mg stuff and cut it some since I'm vaping more then I figured I would and I've given myself a headache a couple times now.

UD.