Throat Hit

[edwardj]

Hello,

I've been a reader here for awhile but this is my first post. I quit smoking in March and immediately switched to an eGo style battery and a Kanger T3S tank. I have continued to vape and now I am using a few Vision Spinner batteries and a mixture of the T3D and the X.Jet Spider clearomizers. I am mainly using liquid from Gingers E-juice and Mt Baker Vapor in a 50/50 mixture with 6% nicotine. My problem is that I get absolutely no throat hit at all. I get plenty of vapor, but no throat hit at all. The lack of throat hit leads me to almost constant vaping to battle my cravings for tobacco...to be honest I barely ever put it down. Am I doing something wrong? If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate hearing them.

Thanks

Asimovtrek

 

[Panorama911]

Go to 70/30 @24mg nicotine, if you don't get a TH I will buy you a sandwich.......not really!....The higher the VG the more vapor, the higher the PG the more TH.

Then adjust the nic from there.

 

[imsoenthused]

It's an old complaint, and lots of people don't like the answer. Wattage, flavor, and pg/vg ratio all can have some, pretty small, effect on throat hit, but the primary component of throat hit is nicotine strength. It is the reason I have used, and have no plans to halt using, 18mg strength for years. Stepping any lower = not enough throat hit = I go back to smoking.

The only thing you can REALLY do to increase throat hit is increase your nicotine level. Otherwise you just learn to deal with it. Real throat hit with low or zero nicotine is the unicorn that a slew of vapors have been chasing for years.

 

[edwardj]

Your right, I understand your advice but I don't like it! I was proud of the fact that I am only vaping 6%. I guess maybe you're right that I need to switch to a higher nicotine concentration. Of course I just ordered 3 30Ml bottles at 6%.

Asimovtrek

 

[UncleChimney]

I had that same problem when I started and I went up to 12mg juices for a while just for the TH, then slowly weened myself down. I am at 2mg now and you will see if you progress more with your devices it actually helps to lower your nic because they are atomizing it more efficiently, thus eliminating the need for higher nic content to achieve a strong TH.

 

[The Ocelot]

Hi

How much did you smoke before you started vaping? My guess in the you are using 6mg of nicotine, which may be too low for someone who smoked regularly. Pg affects throat hit more than vg, so you might consider changing the ratio of your e-liquid.

Is the eGo-style battery you are using a standard or variable voltage, like a Twist or Spinner? If it's a standard you might look into getting a device with variable settings, since the temperature the liquid is vaporized at (which is what the variable settings affect) has an impact on throat hit and flavor. You don't have to make a huge investment to test the waters of variable power, there are relatively inexpensive devices available.


ETA: Oops, sorry! I saw "eGo type" and skipped to what you were experiencing with your juice. I missed that you said a Spinner.

 

[mistike]

If you chain vape and still crave cigs, I would say your nic level is too low in addition to the TH --> increase nic level to 12. If should be enough. The effect on both flavor and TH will depend on the juice, PG/VG ratio and vendor (some use nicotine that is more potent than others).

Give it a few days at least - see how it is after you get used to the difference. If it's still not enough, I would try 70PG/30VG.

 

[Blackoutvader]

I started at 18mg and now use 12mg. But for drip I use 6mg


Addicted to cars and vapor

 

[Rat2chat2]

to ecf edwardj. This is something you could try. Just add a drop or two of Everclear or flavored Vodka. I make my menthol with crystal and Everclear 50/50. I like it and think it adds throat hit. I also like Koolada which is an additive that adds cool but not mint flavor. Good luck to you and I hope this or someone else's suggestions help you with your throat hit.

 

[UncleChimney]

Your right, I understand your advice but I don't like it! I was proud of the fact that I am only vaping 6%. I guess maybe you're right that I need to switch to a higher nicotine concentration. Of course I just ordered 3 30Ml bottles at 6%.

Asimovtrek

Try something higher, but don't get rid of those bottles because you'll likely be down to 6mg in just a bit. There's no shame at all in picking up a higher nic if it keeps you off the stinky sticks!!

 

[The Ocelot]

Your right, I understand your advice but I don't like it! I was proud of the fact that I am only vaping 6%. I guess maybe you're right that I need to switch to a higher nicotine concentration. Of course I just ordered 3 30Ml bottles at 6%.

Asimovtrek

When I was first starting out I played around with different nic levels and ratios. More than once I've ordered a juice in 2 different nic levels and mixed them together when the first bottle I got was too strong or weak. You could get a 30ml bottle of the same flavor in 18mg and mix it with the 6mg.

 

[imsoenthused]

I had that same problem when I started and I went up to 12mg juices for a while just for the TH, then slowly weened myself down. I am at 2mg now and you will see if you progress more with your devices it actually helps to lower your nic because they are atomizing it more efficiently, thus eliminating the need for higher nic content to achieve a strong TH.

Yep, quality of your setup makes a difference. Running top of the line gear is why I vape 18mg instead of 24 or 30mg anymore. I just want to point out that past a certain point it doesn't matter. Nicotine, like it or not, IS throat hit.

Some people were experimenting with (VERY SMALL AMOUNTS) cayenne, wasabi, and black pepper in their juices as a replacement at one point, some people liked them and lots of people didn't. You can probably dig around and find some of the threads about it in the DIY section. making juices that are high on alcohol content and menthol works for some people too, I've heard 30% everclear to 70% PG quoted with strong menthol mixed in. But all of these are just an attempt to get somewhere close/similar to what nicotine does.

 

[edwardj]

Just to clarify, I am using VV batteries: the Vision Spinner (1 and 2) and a couple of eGo twists. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[The Ocelot]

@imsoenthused

I completely understand your point, but I hope no one takes it out of context as a suggestion to vape everclear.

 

[MrClone]

You can also try juices that has menthol in them. That will give you more of a "throat hit"

 

[imsoenthused]

@imsoenthused

I completely understand your point, but I hope no one takes it out of context as a suggestion to vape everclear.

I don't know that I'd recommend it, but I do vaguely recall one guy saying that was exactly what he did when he wanted throat hit, was drip a drop or two of PGA(pure grain alcohol, aka Everclear) directly into his dripping atomizer. It vaporizes fine, and many people use PGA for diluting juices to make them flow better in certain tanks, instead of distilled water, and have been doing so for years at this point. If the idea makes anyone uncomfortable, then by all means don't use it.

 

[anna117]

I was a pack a day smoker and started out with 18mg nic. I am now down to 12mg and pretty happy there. My dad on the other hand was a 3 pack + a day non filtered smoker so I started him out at 36mg. He's only been at it a couple weeks and is still smoking less than a pack a day of the stinkies, and for him that is wonderful. It all depends on how much you smoked to begin with

 

[imsoenthused]

*snip*It all depends on how much you smoked to begin with

It also strongly depends on WHAT you smoked. IE an ultra-light smoker can usually start at a much lower nicotine level than someone who smoked full flavors. I've converted over other unfiltered smokers, like myself, and anything short of 24 or 30 mg really didn't work for them, but my friends who smoked lights started at 18 or 12 mg and were happy there in most cases. Aiming for a nicotine level that gets you close to the same throat hit as what you were smoking tends to work better in my experience, at least for starting out.

 

[WaynesWorld]

Here's and idea for you. My wife couldn't vape @higher than 12mg nic because of Throat Hit, and I had your same situation, (not enough Throat Hit @ the lower nic mg), if it was below 18mg ... I bought a 30ml - 65% / 35% - 36 mg nic unflavored juice from Mt Baker Vapor in their DIY area and then added 1 to 6 drops per 1.5ml tank to bring the nic level up to an acceptable Throat Hit level for me, and my wife could still vape the original nic level juice.

You could do the same thing with your current 6mg nic juice so it doesn't go to waste ... and then use it down the road if you are cutting down to adjust lower nic levels to what you need ... i.e. - make a 12mg to a 14mg .. or a 6mg to a 9mg.

 

[edwardj]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I was a 2 pack a day smoker and now I am a constant vapor. I even find myself pulling out my e-cig at work when no one is around...I'm just waiting for a customer to complain! I guess I need to try a higher nic level even though I thought I was adjusting well at 6%.