Tank and clearomizer irritating throat - Am I doomed to cartos?

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fatcharlie

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I was talking with Eric at DiscountVapers and he suggested maybe increasing the ohms on the head I am using. If I were to go to a 3.2ohm head, how would this affect flavor production? Would I have to increase voltage to get similar flavor production as I get on the 2.4ohm head? And by doing that wouldn't I be in the same boat as before? I'm assuming as voltage increases so does the temperature of the vapor.

edit: Also, these new liquids were just hours old when I started vaping them. Could the newness of a liquid have any effect on its potential harshness?
 
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Bronze

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The Vivi, I'm using 2.4 ohms, and the CE3 was the 2.4-2.6 ohm model.

The juice that I was using in the CE3s was from Ms Ts, which has a higher amount of VG than PG, and during that week it did seem like my nose was running more. For that reason I went to an 80/20 on my new flavors, 12mg, whereas the Ms Ts were 18mg.

I have tried both bottom and top coil devices, both seem to irritate my throat above 6mg. Maybe I should try a DCT, or get some XL cartos and carry like 5 or 6 with me at all times. I just want to enjoy vaping. Is that too much to ask? :)

fatcharlie...maybe you'll have to do a combo of the cartos and clearos. Use the cartos throughout the day and then hit the clearo in the evenings. By the time your throat gets raw, you'll be ready for bed and it will heal overnight.
 

Bronze

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I was talking with Eric at DiscountVapers and he suggested maybe increasing the ohms on the head I am using. If I were to go to a 3.2ohm head, how would this affect flavor production? Would I have to increase voltage to get similar flavor production as I get on the 2.4ohm head? And by doing that wouldn't I be in the same boat as before? I'm assuming as voltage increases so does the temperature of the vapor.

edit: Also, these new liquids were just hours old when I started vaping them. Could the newness of a liquid have any effect on its potential harshness?

The answer is yes...you'll just end up jacking up the volts to get the flavor and vape production up and you're right back to where you started. Tell me what your current volts and ohms are. The key is what your watts are. I'll calculate it for you and give you an idea as to where you stand. The vast majority of clearo users are in the 4 - 6 watt range (I'm at 5.7). Cartos generally require more watts than clearos for the same production. You might be high. Give me the volts and ohms you currently use.
 

fatcharlie

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Thanks for the replies Bronze. I'm in the 5.4 - 6 watt range on the 2.4ohm heads. It's not only throat irritation but I feel my throat/lungs constrict like my asthma is acting up, and I start coughing up phlegm. If I'm using 12mg in my CE3s, or 6mg in the Vivis I'm fine. 18mg in the CE3s or 12mg in the Vivis has the above effects. It really sucks because I like the way the Minis look on my twist. And I feel so nicotine deprived at 6mgs.

I'm gonna go ahead and give some 3.2ohm heads a try, they're cheap. For some reason I feel compelled to try other top coil devices like a Kanger T2 or rebuildable Vision just to satisfy my curiosity, though deep down I have the feeling the effect will be the same. I'm also thinking of buying some Kanger T0s for the wedding trip to Vegas, and when I get back just stick with them or go with the 3mL CE3s, even though I hate the syringe fill method. Maybe someday they'll make a larger capacity bottom coil that doesn't require a syringe to fill. One thing I have yet to try is a DCT. I'm just afraid of carrying them around in my pocket all day while I'm in Vegas; I'd hate to spring a leak. Also there seems to be varying opinions as to whether or not you can use them on a twist.
 

fatcharlie

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I was able to do a little experimenting yesterday and I think I figured out my problem, but I have to admit it doesn't really make sense. A couple days ago I was looking through my ecig box and I noticed that my Ms Ts Gooey Butter Cake had turned from yellow to a golden brown. I loved the flavor while it was yellow and the brown color really intrigued me. I was hesitant to try it because it was one of the flavors I was vaping when I started using the CE3s and getting throat irritation. However, I vaped it most of the day yesterday and at no time did it irritate my throat, despite the fact that it's 18mg nicotine. I had another CE3 laying around with some 18mg Sugar Cookie from Altcig and every hit I took totally irritated my throat. Even today the 80/20 12mg I'm using in my CE3s irritates my throat. It makes it really dry, kinda burning, and makes we want to cough. I feel I have been drinking extra liquids than I was previously, so I don't feel that is the issue.

It seems that my issue is with the PG to VG ratio with anything higher than 6mg of nicotine. Here are the results of my experimenting:

12mg nicotine 80PG/20VG in Mini Vivi = throat irritation
12mg nicotine 80PG/20VG in CE3 = throat irritation
18mg nicotine 100%PG in CE3 = throat irritation
18mg nicotine Ms. Ts in CE3 (exact ratio unknown, higher VG than PG according to FAQ) = just fine
6mg nicotine 80PG/20VG in Mini Vivi = just fine

What doesn't make sense is that prior to moving away from pre-filled and self-filled 1mL cartos, I vaped 100%PG all day with no irritation. I think if I went back to it I could still vape it all day. Even the first few days of switching to the CE3s, 100%PG didn't bother me. It built up over the course of a few days and only went away when I used 6mg in the Vivi. The only other conclusion I can come to is that maybe there's something in the wicks that top coil devices use that irritates my throat. I really hope not because the manufacturing world is really geared toward top coils vs. bottom coils.

So what I did this week was order some juice with varying PG/VG ratios; three flavors from Kick Bass Vapor @ 70PG/30VG, two flavors from Ms. Ts (higher VG than PG), and I was gonna go with a couple flavors from Sweet-Vapes @ either 60PG/40VG, or 50/50. I just don't know how much impact each 10% reduction will have, if my problem really is with higher PG content. Is there much of a difference between 80/20 and 60/40, or is 50/50 really better? Once I get them in I'll try them out in my Vivis and CE3s. I also bought a DCT with some single coil replacements to test out theory that there's something in the wicks that is irritating my throat, and not the PG/VG ratio.
 
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When I use higher VG, the longer I vape, the less the TH.
I notice that VG coats my throat and therefore less TH, but after extended use, I get this large buildup of phlegm that I need to cough up and get rid of.
Once the coating is gone, the TH is right back.
I have been bouncing around on my PG/VG ratios also.
Most of my juice is 70/30, but I'm finding I like a 60/40 PG/VG ratio the best.

Now that I have been playing with my Phoenix rebuildable atty, I noticed that it makes a difference on the placement of the air hole.
If I have the hole farther away from the coil, the vapor is a lot less and TH is killer, to much really.
If I turn the hole closer to the coil, vapor production goes way up and TH is a lot smoother.
This is using the same PG/VG juice. So I guess the type of device may also come into play.

The wife has been using top coil T2's the last few days vs her bottom coils and she is starting to complain about a sore throat also.
All of her juices are 70/30 PG/VG.
 

fatcharlie

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Thanks for the insight Skelley. From what you said about your wife, I may need to go with a 60/40 or even 50/50 ratio. I am a little concerned how those will wick in a top coil though. But if that's what I have to do, then I guess I have no choice. Ultimately TH isn't really that important to me. It was the first couple weeks of vaping because that what we miss the most about analogs, but now it's more about the quality of flavor and the general nicotine satisfaction. Hopefully I'll get this figured out sooner than later and get back to enjoying my vapes!!
 
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