As my first post to the forum I thought I'd just let you know some things that I've learned so you don't have to.
1. If you've previously been a committed rollup smoker then the cigalikes won't do it for you.
I was married to Golden Virginia hand rolling tobacco for over forty years. We went everywhere together and did everything together. I kissed her last thing at night, and I kissed her first thing in the morning. But now after four decades happily cohabitating we finally got a divorce. Yes, I left the love of my life for a model-thin weedy airhead cigalike. Everybody said it wouldn't last and it didn't. It turned out to be a very short term relationship and it wasn't long before I moved on to something more substantial.
2. Don't buy cheap Chinese knockoff batteries.
So I moved on to a starter kit bought from a local shop. It was a blister kit of the type you can find anywhere - it contained a top coil tank, a USB recharger and a battery that claimed to be an EGO-CE6. And with a bottle of high strength Tobacco liquid I was a very happy chappy. At least for a while. One day I dropped my new ecig onto the carpet - unfortunately it hit a wooden coffee table on the way down and made a distinct cracking sound. On close inspection the inside threads had all stripped so the tank wouldn't hold on and it would no longer screw onto the charger. So I bought another kit, this time from a reputable online supplier, with a genuine Joyetech battery. The comparison between the two batteries showed the genuine article is much better built with 50% more threads than the Chinese one, and it carries the CE mark familiar from all my other modern electrical equipment which indicates that it has passed a minimum of design and quality control standards.
3. So you've got a decent ecig and a few bottles of juice but it isn't doing it for you anymore.
You've probably been using your ecig for a month or two, but it isn't having the same effect - you're holding down the battery button for longer, and taking deeper draws, but you still feel cravings for more - maybe you're even thinking about going back to tobacco. Well the good news is it probably isn't you - it's your equipment. Coils and wicks don't last forever and yours are probably getting worn out. The more wear they get the less effective they are so it's time to replace the coil or just get another tank.
4. All tobacco flavours are filled with a liquid that tastes almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tobacco*.
There, I've said it. If you're looking for a tobacco flavour to replace the taste that you got from real tobacco then you're going to be disappointed. I haven't tasted every tobacco flavour around - there's just too many - but I even bought a flavour called Golden Vi which tasted almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Golden Virginia.
5. Don't throw away a bottle of fluid that you don't like.
It costs too much to waste so try mixing it with another flavour. I bought a bottle of Cappuccino by iBreathe, and was actually pleasantly surprised to find that it did actually taste like a sweet milky coffee. But it was far too sweet for my liking for regular use, so I mixed it 50/50 with some Dekang Coffee flavour to add some bitterness to it and came up with a very acceptable flavour. However, I still haven't found a way to improve the Golden Vi. So it goes.
6. Pay attention when replacing the battery on your Evod tank,
So I was paying attention to my monitor and reading a forum while sucking on the teat of mother nicotine when the battery started flashing. I like to think I'm a busy guy and wanted to carry on reading while replacing the battery so I held the battery at the bottom and the Evod at the top and unscrewed. This sounds like a simple task but if you hold them like that there's a 50/50 chance that instead of unscrewing the battery you'll actually unscrew the top of the Evod from the bottom and deposit all the fluid on your shirt, which will then need washing. They say that people learn from experience - well one day I do hope to learn from experience as I've only done it three times already.
7. Do you need a variable voltage battery?
I bought an Ego Twist for the sake of experimentation. Turning up the voltage produces loads more vapour, if that's your thing, but it's not really mine. I was more interested in what it did for the taste and flavour. Turning the voltage up to full results in a burning taste that ruins most flavours but can help some. Coffee is helped by a little burnt taste, and almost any of the tobacco flavours can be improved by giving some of the burnt flavour that you get from real tobacco. It'll still taste almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tobacco but it'll be closer than it was before.
*With apologies to Douglas Adams.
1. If you've previously been a committed rollup smoker then the cigalikes won't do it for you.
I was married to Golden Virginia hand rolling tobacco for over forty years. We went everywhere together and did everything together. I kissed her last thing at night, and I kissed her first thing in the morning. But now after four decades happily cohabitating we finally got a divorce. Yes, I left the love of my life for a model-thin weedy airhead cigalike. Everybody said it wouldn't last and it didn't. It turned out to be a very short term relationship and it wasn't long before I moved on to something more substantial.
2. Don't buy cheap Chinese knockoff batteries.
So I moved on to a starter kit bought from a local shop. It was a blister kit of the type you can find anywhere - it contained a top coil tank, a USB recharger and a battery that claimed to be an EGO-CE6. And with a bottle of high strength Tobacco liquid I was a very happy chappy. At least for a while. One day I dropped my new ecig onto the carpet - unfortunately it hit a wooden coffee table on the way down and made a distinct cracking sound. On close inspection the inside threads had all stripped so the tank wouldn't hold on and it would no longer screw onto the charger. So I bought another kit, this time from a reputable online supplier, with a genuine Joyetech battery. The comparison between the two batteries showed the genuine article is much better built with 50% more threads than the Chinese one, and it carries the CE mark familiar from all my other modern electrical equipment which indicates that it has passed a minimum of design and quality control standards.
3. So you've got a decent ecig and a few bottles of juice but it isn't doing it for you anymore.
You've probably been using your ecig for a month or two, but it isn't having the same effect - you're holding down the battery button for longer, and taking deeper draws, but you still feel cravings for more - maybe you're even thinking about going back to tobacco. Well the good news is it probably isn't you - it's your equipment. Coils and wicks don't last forever and yours are probably getting worn out. The more wear they get the less effective they are so it's time to replace the coil or just get another tank.
4. All tobacco flavours are filled with a liquid that tastes almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tobacco*.
There, I've said it. If you're looking for a tobacco flavour to replace the taste that you got from real tobacco then you're going to be disappointed. I haven't tasted every tobacco flavour around - there's just too many - but I even bought a flavour called Golden Vi which tasted almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Golden Virginia.
5. Don't throw away a bottle of fluid that you don't like.
It costs too much to waste so try mixing it with another flavour. I bought a bottle of Cappuccino by iBreathe, and was actually pleasantly surprised to find that it did actually taste like a sweet milky coffee. But it was far too sweet for my liking for regular use, so I mixed it 50/50 with some Dekang Coffee flavour to add some bitterness to it and came up with a very acceptable flavour. However, I still haven't found a way to improve the Golden Vi. So it goes.
6. Pay attention when replacing the battery on your Evod tank,
So I was paying attention to my monitor and reading a forum while sucking on the teat of mother nicotine when the battery started flashing. I like to think I'm a busy guy and wanted to carry on reading while replacing the battery so I held the battery at the bottom and the Evod at the top and unscrewed. This sounds like a simple task but if you hold them like that there's a 50/50 chance that instead of unscrewing the battery you'll actually unscrew the top of the Evod from the bottom and deposit all the fluid on your shirt, which will then need washing. They say that people learn from experience - well one day I do hope to learn from experience as I've only done it three times already.
7. Do you need a variable voltage battery?
I bought an Ego Twist for the sake of experimentation. Turning up the voltage produces loads more vapour, if that's your thing, but it's not really mine. I was more interested in what it did for the taste and flavour. Turning the voltage up to full results in a burning taste that ruins most flavours but can help some. Coffee is helped by a little burnt taste, and almost any of the tobacco flavours can be improved by giving some of the burnt flavour that you get from real tobacco. It'll still taste almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tobacco but it'll be closer than it was before.
*With apologies to Douglas Adams.
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So many good tips for newcomers.
