Some advice please

[Blue Mist]

I have a dilema going here in that my "smokestik" that I purchased and recieved last week on thursday isn't working and probably never has been working properly. I just ordered the Joye 510 from cignot.com last night and one small bottle of 0mg nicotine (Rich flavor). I seem to be having some trouble finding 0mg nicotine juices so I must not be looking in the right places. Anyway, I'm guessing I won't get my Joye 510 til sometime next week.....and with the Smokestik not working properly it's gonna be NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE to do without any cigs or analogs as they are called here.

dilema 1.
Having surgery on the 22nd of Sept. Can't have any nicotine in my system before the surgery because of improper healing.

delema 2.
Smokestik not working properly. Don't know what style e cig it is, I beleive someone told me it was some kind of super-mini or something....anyway, it's the one from smokestikusa.com. I get no vapor most of the time......only periodically and that's even rare. I get no flavor or throat hit, again only peridically when I just happen to get some vapor. It comes with it's own cartridges (which are nicotine-free). Everything seems to be charged and on, but it's pretty much useless and I'm resorting to analogs.

dilema 3. Time.......don't have much for any trial and error, plus, don't have any juice, cos I didn't know when I ordered the smokestik (before I found this board) that there was such a thing. So if the pre-filled cartridges from smokestik are dried out and that's the reason for my smokestik producing very little of anything, then I'm pretty much screwed until my Joye 510 with the juice show up.

dilema 4.
Where can I find the best and quickest way possible to obtain some more 0mg nicotine juices....and what, if any modifications can I do to get this smokstik producing something.....anything...anything at all?

Just some background....smoker 25 years, 2 packs a day. Salem Lights.
Preferences.... some kind of throat hit and some vapor to exhale. Flavors not even an issue at this time.

Thanks and......................HELP!

 

[JerseyGirl]

dilema 3. Time.......don't have much for any trial and error, plus, don't have any juice, cos I didn't know when I ordered the smokestik (before I found this board) that there was such a thing. So if the pre-filled cartridges from smokestik are dried out and that's the reason for my smokestik producing very little of anything, then I'm pretty much screwed until my Joye 510 with the juice show up.

You can go to your local drug store and buy a bottle of VG (vegetable glycerine). This is used as a base for liquid. (Liquid = VG or PG + nicotine + flavor.) Put a couple drops of the VG in your cartridge or on your atomizer, and you'll at least be able to tell if your equipment is working.

You can also buy small bottles of candy flavoring (Lorann or Capella brand, available at craft stores and specialty cake shops, or online) and mix them with the VG to make your own juice. If you purchase 0 nicotine juice from a supplier, that's basically what you're getting - VG (or PG) with flavoring added. Obviously it's much cheaper to do it yourself though. There's lots more information on making your own liquid in the DIY section of the forum.

 

[Porphy]

Do a few test puffs, pull a drag into your mouth and let it out. Do you see vapor?

 

[Robert]

well, if you just want to blow vape- so to say

You could find some petrol glycol at a Horse tack and feed store then go to a craft store and get some vegatzble glycerin (cake decorating supplies) and some lorans flavoring possibly at the same place- or go without flavor. Find the juice calculator here on the forum and make yourself some zero nic juice

 

[wv2win]

You can go to your local drug store and buy a bottle of VG (vegetable glycerine). This is used as a base for liquid. (Liquid = VG or PG + nicotine + flavor.) Put a couple drops of the VG in your cartridge or on your atomizer, and you'll at least be able to tell if your equipment is working.

You can also buy small bottles of candy flavoring (Lorann or Capella brand, available at craft stores and specialty cake shops, or online) and mix them with the VG to make your own juice. If you purchase 0 nicotine juice from a supplier, that's basically what you're getting - VG (or PG) with flavoring added. Obviously it's much cheaper to do it yourself though. There's lots more information on making your own liquid in the DIY section of the forum.

Good recommendation on the VG.

This won't help your immediate problem from a time standpoint but a good place for 0 nic juice, with good variety and good prices is Ruyan Direct. Normal delivery takes 7-10 days from the time you placed the order until it reaches the door. A big Chinese holiday is coming the first of next month and all suppliers will be closed for about 8 days, so I would get that order in if you go that route:

http://www.ruyandirect.com

 

[Blue Mist]

thanks soo much jerseygirl, I'll go to drugstore. Would it be in the pharmacy area?

Porphy,
when I take quick, small puffs and let it out without inhaling it produces some vapor, but when I try to drag on it, I get hardly anything...mostly nothing.

 

[SudokuGal]

I have a smokestik and when properly working, it's not bad on vapor and throat hit. What parts do you have? Any extra atomizers? Do you have more than one battery?

If you haven't left yet, be sure to get some Lipton Pyramid teabags. That's what I use now in the smokestik cartridge cup instead of the polyfiller that's in the SS carts. If you want to try that, I can point you to the appropriate threads.

 

[JerseyGirl]

You can ask at the pharmacy counter, but they may not know what you're talking about, LOL. I got mine at CVS, in the skin care section, on a bottom shelf. It's used as a moisturizer. I've also seen it marketed as "Africare," a hair moisturizer, in the shampoo aisle. It's a clear, thick liquid. Make sure anything you buy is labeled "Food Grade" or "USP Grade."

VG is known for producing thick clouds of vapor, so many people always add a little to their juices, even if they buy them pre-made. Some liquids just don't seem to produce much vapor without a little "help" - so your equipment may actually be working fine, it could be the juice that's the problem.

Also, you may just need to play around a little with your ecig, experiment with different ways of drawing on it, speeds, amount of suction, etc. There's definitely a learning curve here...

 

[JeannieB360]

I just went to www.mist-stix.com because of your forum name, and they DO have some 0 nic stock in 30 mg bottles, coffee and a few of the tobacco flavors. I'm sure a lot of the other sites that sell mostly liquid would also have some.

 

[Blue Mist]

thnaks, been playing around with it for 4 days using every kind of technique imaginable. Like I said, one time I will get a hit with some vapor and using the same technique for the next hit then, nothing.

I went to amazon.com and they have a 0 mg nicotine called cloud9 juice. Don't know what it is or how it will taste but I think I'm going to order it. I've never had any trouble so far with amazon getting orders out quickly and hoping this stuff would be coming from the US, so it wouldnt' be a long wait.

I don't know CVS, I do have a Walgreens drug store close....hoping they might carry VG. Might call em first though.

 

[Blue Mist]

sudokugal,
I don't have any extras, 2 batteries, one atty, one wall charger and some pre-filled cartridges.

 

[Blue Mist]

I found some vegetable glycerine at Whole Foods and am going to get some. I might need some help with this please. Will be back. Thanks for the responses to my post.....you guys rock! Dont' know where to get flavors but that's another dilema altogether....first things first. thanks, be back.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I went to amazon.com and they have a 0 mg nicotine called cloud9 juice. Don't know what it is or how it will taste but I think I'm going to order it. I've never had any trouble so far with amazon getting orders out quickly and hoping this stuff would be coming from the US, so it wouldnt' be a long wait.

I don't know CVS, I do have a Walgreens drug store close....hoping they might carry VG. Might call em first though.

There are lots of U.S. suppliers with 0 nic juice who will ship extremely fast, you'll have your order in 2-3 days, tops. Just have a look around the supplier's forums. The problem is, everything's going to be closed now until Tuesday, so whether you order from Amazon or elsewhere, you still won't get anything before Friday at the earliest. So my advice is still to get yourself some VG and some flavoring, and at least give it a try.

The Walgreens near me actually didn't carry VG, but I think Walmart does, although you may have to hunt it down. You can also find it at most craft stores (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, sometimes Walmart). Lorann flavorings can be found at Hobby Lobby (so I've heard) and some Michael's, and Walmart if you get lucky, LOL. Just be careful which flavors you buy, because some aren't usable (not soluble in water, etc.) and some are bad for the atomizer (oils, sugars, etc.) There's a list on the DIY forum explaining exactly which ones can be used, and why...

 

[SudokuGal]

sudokugal,
I don't have any extras, 2 batteries, one atty, one wall charger and some pre-filled cartridges.

If you stick with the SS, I highly recommend having at least one extra atty. I switch back and forth between my two attys as the first thing when it seems the SS isn't working as well.

I also think that the even though the battery hasn't started blinking yet (to tell you that it needs charging) the battery's performance diminishes well before that. So, that's the second thing I try...switching to the freshly charged battery. It is only then that I change the cartridge. In the beginning (and before I started refilling the carts), I threw away carts thinking they were done, but after my learning curve, they probably weren't.

I haven't tried VG yet, so I'll be interested in hearing how it works with the SS.

 

[Porphy]

thanks soo much jerseygirl, I'll go to drugstore. Would it be in the pharmacy area?

Porphy,
when I take quick, small puffs and let it out without inhaling it produces some vapor, but when I try to drag on it, I get hardly anything...mostly nothing.

Sounds like a weak atty. Either from a bad connection or from being dirty. Try blowing it out by taking it off reversing it in your mouth lips around the connector end and blowing through it. Keep a paper towel handy to catch the juice that will drip out of the cart end.

Note: Use a fresh battery when testing.

- Now look inside. Do you see "gunk"? You should see a wire mesh bridge, clean and silver and the rest of the atty should be clear and silver. If this is not the case you'll want to clean it out.

I'll let someone else suggest a quick easy way to clean an atty as I have yet to find a good method.

If you have a new atty somewhere grab it up. Or clean your atty and go to the next step. Don't worry we'll wait...

- Connect the atty to a fresh battery. Drip 2 drops of your liquid directly onto the atomizer. Get a "blank" cartridge (a cartridge without the filler) if you don't have one get some tweezers and nab the filler out of a regular cart (don't worry you can put it back). We use a "direct drip" to eliminate the possibility of a bad cartridge.

- Connect the cart.

- Take 3-5 quick "french puffs" draw the vape into your mouth and let it out. Now the atty is primed.

- Drip 2 more drops onto the atty re-connect the cart and try to a vape. the vapor should be rich an billowy.

- If after all these steps you still get the same results. I'm out of ideas, except that maybe your juice is crap.