Things learned in the first month (first post, its a long one)

[Thucydides]

Welcome to ECF, and congratulations on quitting. You also deserve credit for sticking in there with vaping. Great writeup -- may help others find the right path sooner.

Interesting comment on tinkering. I think that one of the biggest impediments to the growth of vaping is the amount of tinkering it requires. I'm great with tinkering, but most people aren't, and I fear that impedes their ability to achieve long-term success. Anyway, there's a strong economic opportunity for someone who can invent a vaping device that works well with no tinkering. Even refilling cartomizers is too much to ask of many people.

Great post!

 

[cocacola31173]

You said you didn't have any luck with the t3's....try this. I have 3 that I rotate. I never refill without cleaning them. I clean one and while that is getting good and dry I have the others to use. That way the wicks don't get too clogged down. I have been using the same 3 for about 2 months and haven't had to change the heads yet. Even though I have like 5 new ones waiting in my box.

 

[SmokingMechanic]

GLAD i can learn from the experience of you all. you have paved the way for newbies like me, thank you!

 

[Pinkcloudtracy]

What a great thread. Thanks so much for taking the time to share. My story is pretty nice. My son lives in San Francisco and came up to Sacramento for a visit. We both smoke but he'd gotten up to two packs a day and his lovely new bride didn't care much for it. So I started looking to help HIM quit. We picked up a couple of disposable Square's at Millennium Smoke Shop in Roseville and we both thought they were okay, but he wasn't thrilled. So we went to Walgreens and dropped $70 for the Blu's BLECH! Horrible and one of the batteries completely died the first day. Thankfully Walgreens gave me my money back. I went online that night Jan. 14, 2013 and stumbled in here. What luck! I sleuthed around till 4am and learned enough to at least give us hope. I told him vaping was like an entire sub-culture and if he could find a vape shop in SF, they would help him. He found it right away (I think there is only one,) and he went as soon as they got home. He picked up an E-Go of some sort and really was happy with the experience. "MOM! They have a snickerdoodle juice that taste exactly like a cookie! Next time I get high, I'm gonna vape that when I get the munchies, I'll quit smoking AND lose weight!" Love that young man. So I happened upon Bloog's website somehow and ordered a starter kit. I haven't had a cigarette since. I literally quit on accident I love Bloog and their customer service has been amazing. I'm a daring soul and within a few days was at the Hobby Lobby buying VG and candy flavoring. I had some menthol juice, grape and watermelon from Bloog and went on a mad scientist binge. I came up with an awesome replica of a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Unfortunately I have no clue what all I did, but I'm working on it. Since then I've created a couple of wonderful juices. A couple days ago Bloog came out with a 650/clearomizer. I'm in LOVE! But I ordered an E-go and a tank along with some more clearomizers and a few things I can't remember from ChinaBuye.com and I also have some juice on the way from MadVapes. I've been cleaning my clearomizers with Everclear and letting them air dry. all's well so far. So needless to say I have had a wonderful experience from start to finish (other than Blu, but whatever). I can't imagine ever going back, nor can my son. YAY. So I'll let him know you guys are here and with three of you in the city, who knows what you could start. I met up with several braniac vape-dudes at a pool hall last sunday and had a great time. Learning more and more everyday. Best part... six of my girlfriends have started vaping! SWEEEEET! Life is good. Glad I found the rest of my herd here.

 

[WattWick]

Great post and story! That's coming from another newb who share much of the same experience. However, I started out with the stuff people recommend and have pretty much the same trial and error experience.

Ego batteries works. That's what I need from a battery. Genuine Joyetech batteries seem to work better as they (appear to be) regulated instead of clones that appear to give higher voltage at full pack, then dropping. (?)

Vivi and I don't get along very well. Nor with her little sister. Great when they cooperate, but not at all reliable at producing a consistent good vape each and every puff. And not at all between every re-fill. Sometimes they clog up, sometimes they don't wick, sometimes they gurgle and spit. Etc. Very hit and miss for me. Generally, too high maintenance.

Dual-coil carto tanks; the idea of 2 tiiiny little holes at the bottom being able to fully saturate a 1.5" tube of wadding...?! Punched a couple more holes higher up. Better, but still the top dries out. Great flavor when topped of from the top. Tho, I'm not happy about the thought of inhaling small fibers of wadding. Too much maintenance.

Vision CE-type clearos. Some hit and miss. Cut wicks down to good effect. Wicks don't transport liquid, they hold liquid and replenish dry spots. No need for 1"+ wicks. Better to swish liquid around a little, imo... which long wicks make harder. Keep them pretty full and they're doing good. Bit high maintenance since constant refill defeat the purpose of a 1.6ml tank.

Got Kanger MT3's coming. Read good and bad about them, but hope they can prove reliable and fairly maintenance free.

What I miss the most is just picking something up, sitting back and relaxing while getting my "fix".

Couldn't agree more with #7. Seems none of these products really are designed and built with care for human health. Some fume plastic, some plastics dissolve in certain liquids. Etc etc. Quite worrying, imho.

Got a bit ranty. Sorry about that. Vaping has been great when it works... and a ....... frustration when it doesn't.

 

[NickSteel]

My daughter, who is allergic to smoke, "forced" a couple disposables on me during a visit in December. Seemed to work ok, so I bought a $20 rechargeable kit at a local gas station. It also worked, but obviously not a real solution. I then searched the internet for "E-Cig forums" and came here. After much reading and several questions, I decided upon the Vision Spinner 1300 and Clearomizer kits from Madvapes. Ordered kits for me and the wife and we have been cigarette free since. We were so pleased that we gave the same setups as Christmas presents to several family members (who have also now quit cigarettes). For us, it has been completely painless and trauma free.

Last week I ordered a couple Vamo V2's as backup for the Spinners. I have also stockpiled Spinners, Clearomizers and liquid to insure that there are no excuses for "backsliding" by anyone in the family. For example, my niece dropped and broke the button on her Spinner just prior to a trip. I was able to furnish an immediate replacement. So goes our quest.

Though I have invested a few bucks into all this, the only necessary expense was $47 for each Spinner/Clearomizer kit with a couple Clearomizers and some e-liquid. Less than a carton of cigarettes and enough for a month or so. Maintenance has been cheap so far, just cleaning the Clearomizers with everclear now and then and ordering e-liquid.

 

[jfalbanese]

nice rundown for people looking to start

 

[Dana A]

Hi Aheatedatom, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your story. It will surly help someone out. I have a feeling that a carto tank with a 3 ohm carto may be just the thing for you. It will work wonderful on your big batt mod at any voltage. Your story shows that with some determination anyone can find what works for them. Good luck and happy vaping

 

[MrsGlitteriffic]

You get a gold star for "if at first you don't succeed"!
Thank you for taking the time to share your story. I've spent the last 2 days surfing for info on clearomizers for my ego-t battery. I THINK that's the direction I want to go next, but still not sure. I can't afford to have a drawer full of hardware failures. But I need to decide fast before my 2 starter kit atomizers belly up!
Good luck with your vaping journey!

 

[NickSteel]

You get a gold star for "if at first you don't succeed"!
Thank you for taking the time to share your story. I've spent the last 2 days surfing for info on clearomizers for my ego-t battery. I THINK that's the direction I want to go next, but still not sure. I can't afford to have a drawer full of hardware failures. But I need to decide fast before my 2 starter kit atomizers belly up!
Good luck with your vaping journey!

We're using Vision Clearomizers without any leaking, etc. No problems at all and easy to clean.

 

[Schnarph]

Sorry for the long post, it's my first one here, and this seemed like the right thread to get it all out.

aheatedatom, thanks for your story. Mine is very similar, and I knew my experience had to be a common occurrence. 3 1/2 years ago, I was outside a local karaoke bar, freezing, having a smoke with my friends(it has been illegal indoors here for years), and an acquaintance came up vaping what must have been a Blu e-cig. I had never seen or heard of such a thing and I like most electric gadgets, so had to get one.
Not knowing how many options there were, or anybody with any experience with them, I decided to order Smoke-Stiks. This was before any vaping was locally available. I liked it well enough the first couple of months, and bought 50 cartomizers that seemed to be "on sale". I thought that would last me a while, maybe long enough to quit. EVERYONE where I worked smoked, and I soon realized that I wouldn't get another break unless I was smoking, too. One thing led to another, and I was back on tobacco. A few months after putting my Smoke-Stik back in the box, the batteries were dead. I got a new battery, but all my cartomizers were clogged up or something. At this point, I still don't know any better, and don't trust cig-a-likes. Recently, a friend tells me a vapor shop has opened out in the suburbs. It took way too long for this market to open up, considering that Blu's are now at every grocery store, drug store, and corner store.
There's only one local vaping store in central Texas, it's prices seem pretty high, and I've been fooled a couple of times already. January 2013, I find THIS website. I read stuff here for a couple of evenings, probably should have done more research but I ran out of time. I was cold turkey for a week and it wasn't going well. Attempting to comply with a New Years resolution (again), I ordered an eGo 1000mah kit online. I have been happy with the vapor production, but the juice in the supplied cartomizers was not very tasty. No real surprise, but I'm far from being done trying to get this right. I ordered a 510 to eGo T adapter, a couple of Kanger T2s, 2.5ohm replacement vapor coils, a couple of drip-tip cartomizers, and five 12ml bottles or various juices. The T2s are awesome so far, refilled cartomizers are not bad, and the drip tips I got are best for trying a new flavor, not for continued use.
What I have learned, besides keep trying until it's working-
Non-smokers are easier to be around, and appreciate the lack of smoke, butts, and ashtray smell.
I'm not standing outside in the cold rain feeling like an idiot, but I'm still getting my nicotine and a very near to smoking experience.
This is not a cheap hobby to get into, but can make up for it pretty quickly.
What I wish I had done-
I should have spent the extra $ for the eGo-T or better, it's not safe to put this 1000mah 510 in my pocket.
I thought I could buy everything I needed at the same time and at a great price from one supplier. That didn't work.
I should have gotten my juices from Vapor Renu, Mt. Baker, or some other specialist. I'm not sure exactly what I'm vaping right now.
What I expect in the future-
At least an eGo-T for safety. I might go full on VV, lava tube, e-vic, or the like. I'm still researching.
With so many liquid vendors to try, I could start with any vendor or flavor, I can't imagine getting through even .1% in a year.
This is not going to be cheap at the beginning, but it beats $7 a pack. I was spending up to $200 a month to kill myself slowly.
My non-smoking friends will like me being around more often. It has already made a big difference.

I hope somebody can learn from my experiences. I thank you all for yours.

 

[aheatedatom]

I thought I'd post an update on where I've ended up since I posted.

I've settled on a juice vendor I really like and a couple juices from them that are good enough for me not to be testing new juices any more. I have a huge collection of juices I Didn't really like and may revisit. Maybe I can find a way to trade those somehow.

I'm using Kanger Evods exclusively with ego 650 mah batteries. I'm finding, for whatever reason, that the evod tastes better, produces more vapor, doesn't leak, or have any other weird problems I get intermittently with T3s. The heads also cost about $1.50 a piece, so it's reasonable to even replace them every few days. Also, I've learned that dry burning as part of the cleaning process, no matter how clean and white the wicks are or how many times they've been alcohol soaked, ruins them. My cleaning process is now a thorough water rinse and long air dry. I'm using 1.8ohm heads on the ego battery, which works very well for me.

I do find if I'm traveling with it and really bouncing it around in my pocket, going between different temperatures, it stops hitting well and needs fiddling, which I hate. I'm not sure what delivery device might be better.

I tried a carto tank from a well liked vendor, with boge 2.0ohm carts in it. It works ok, but filling is such a pain and potential mess, and I don't feel comfortable pocketing it. I could perhaps try some other cartos, or get a more expensive tank that may or may not be cleaner and more sturdy, but I'd rather not invest in that to just add stuff to my junk drawer.

 

[NickSteel]

Also, I've learned that dry burning as part of the cleaning process, no matter how clean and white the wicks are or how many times they've been alcohol soaked, ruins them. My cleaning process is now a thorough water rinse and long air dry.

I clean my clearomozers by soaking overnight with everclear, then air drying. I do check with dry burning, but the coils usually turn red immediately without long burns, smoke, etc. No problems so far. I have ordered an Innokin iClear30 Dual Coil Clearomizer to try out.

 

[tencars]

NickSteel

Were did you find your Innokin iClear30 Dual Coil Clearomizer you ordered? Been looking but, no luck so far..

 

[NickSteel]

NickSteel

Were did you find your Innokin iClear30 Dual Coil Clearomizer you ordered? Been looking but, no luck so far..

Backordered from Smartvapes.com. Found it at Vapor Joe's.

 

[Roastpork]

You hit it on the head. Found a local shop and the started me with the same setup. One difference is the ego c twist. T3's must work great. Its only thing I've had. Nice to know I have a shop 2 miles away that doesn't mess around. They get you on the right path right off the bat. Still playing with the juice though. I guess it takes time to figure out what you like.

 

[snickers]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who's had the exact same experience with the Kanger T3. I thought it was perfect the first couple days, but now tastes awful. Tried several bases (new and dry burned) with zero luck. I have 2 T3's that have both had this problem. I want to try that iClear 30 as I love the 16 but fill it constantly.

 

[WattWick]

For the Kanger T3, you might find this clip interesting. Think I got the link from another thread.

 

[matchnomore]

I had a totally different experience. I ordered a bunch of ecigs online to test different brands. Everyone I ordered is decent except for one. I don't buy locally ... I have to travel too far. I like your post though, because you opened my eyes to the fact there are some real duds out there.

 

[aheatedatom]

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who's had the exact same experience with the Kanger T3. I thought it was perfect the first couple days, but now tastes awful. Tried several bases (new and dry burned) with zero luck. I have 2 T3's that have both had this problem. I want to try that iClear 30 as I love the 16 but fill it constantly.

I'm done with the T3s, but I have a boxload of Evods and evod heads and they've been overall great.

I'm reluctant to try the iClear, because a common thread in systems I've not liked has been that they're top coil, i.e.: Vivi Nova, burning taste, not wicking fast enough. Not just a dry hit metallic burning taste, a burning rubber, permanent one, that seems to be the white casing piece between the coil and the metal post getting burned, which permanently ruins it. Also, one leaked, the other just tasted bad. 'stardust', both replaceable, and assorted non-replaceable version: similar problem. too much wiggling around all the time to hope they'll wick well. also leak horribly. Kanger t2: best of the style, but doesn't taste as good as the evod and requires occassional tilting. Not into that.