Total newbie, please help

[Wolfeeh]

Hello everyone, I'm Dave.

I came upon the concept of e-cigs a couple of days ago, joined ECF, have read loads, went out, bought a Nicolite disposable e-cig from the tesco pharmacy to try the whole thing, have done some thinking and now I have some thoughts and some questions;

the user experience of using an e-cig was better than I thought it would be... you've got the cig to hold in your hand, hand to mouth action, sucking, vapour exhalation, etc. Essentially, it's what I'm looking for in a not-so-likely to kill me alternative to smoking. I've tried quitting. didn't work. used patches, gum and nicorette inhaler, all rubbish.

The nicolite has basically shown me that what I need is an e-cig, but not a nicolite, I need one a lot better.

At the moment I smoke either richmond menthol superkings or hand-roll cigs - Rizla silver, drum gold tobacco, swan extra slim filters. The first issue is the Nicolite is too "chubby". I would estimate it as 2-3mm thicker than my regular cigs, and double what I would hand roll.

My preference for an e-cig is the cigarette imitation form factor, i.e. parallel tube - tornado's, screwdrivers, etc, do not appeal to me, nor do cartridges with tapered, whistle like tips. Off the top of my head, from my limited exposure to the e-cig world I could point you at the Halo G6, Elite Vaporworks Signature series or the Totally Wicked Titan 510 as examples of what I find aesthetically pleasing. I would say I'm leaning towards all-black colouring at the moment but am open to funky colours, just not white.

length should ideally somewhat approximate a UK superking cig and ideally, diameter should be equal to or less than that of a richmond cigarette.

The major downside of the nicolite as far as I am concerned is the dodgy taste. mine was allegedly a tobacco flavour. It was nothing like, I couldn't tell you what it really did taste like, but a close approximation would be talcum powder mixed with artificial sweetener. Additionally there wasn't much vapour at all (Something to do with the 100% PG base? I read that most e-liquids have a mix of PG and VG or PEG400 in varying ratios). Possibly down to my technique, but possibly down to the automatic battery and the chubbyness of the nicolite, there is an annoying whistle sound on sucking, unless i clamp my lips around the cartomiser in a specific way.

My first major question is; Will any of the e-cigs I have mentioned be a SIGNIFICANTLY improved vaping experience to the nicolite?

Does anyone have any dimensions of any of the e-cigs I have mentioned?

I am leaning towards not bothering with tobacco flavoured e-liquids at all and will probably dabble with flavours before settling on half a dozen or so that I find pleasant. Ideally I would like a very nice menthol flavour as a regular vape, other than that I'm open to recommendations other than vanilla and coffee, both of which I'm going to get with my first purchase. Are there any types of flavours that work better than others as a general rule, for example, fruit flavours?

At present I am leaning towards starting vaping with automatic batteries, primarily because of the way I hold a cig and the general weirdness associated with holding it the way I would need to to use a manual battery.

I'm at the moment leaning towards the totally wicked titan 510 compact starter kit, containing;
1 x 340mAh re-chargeable lithium battery (automatic operation)
1 x 'tank' atomiser
1 x 10ml bottle of 18mg Titan fluid available in tobacco or menthol flavour
1 x high speed Titan USB charging lead
3 x empty 510 'Tank' cartridges
Costs £29.99

I do appreciate it's not the best deal on their site but it contains the basics and doesn't lumber me with things I don't want at present like manual batteries.

Major purchasing factor at present = UK based company - can't be doing with VAT and import duty at the moment.

Any answers, thoughts, comments, suggestions gratefully received, thank you.

 

[dormouse]

Sorry i did not read your whole thing where you made the jump to what seems to be a 510-T auto model

So ignore what I said below. I don't like autos, I don't think tanks make much sense, and I don't much care for TW after the 510 kit they sold me, including the too many mA charger cable that damaged most of my 510 batteries.


----
Equal or less diameter than a cigarette is not good unless you want to buy junk

Put up with 9.2mm diameter and get exactly what you mentioned. Most people use cartomizers even on 510 (replaces with atomizer and cart with a single piece). Boge standard resistance (around 3 ohms) are most popular. I use thin juices, PG w/ 20% or less VG in them, with Boge cartos. I only recommend manual batteries. The manual 510s are sealed metal on the threaded end - safe from being damaged or killed by juice leaks, and manuals make it easier to get a good hit.

Check Liberty-Flights.co.uk and compare prices (or Liberty-Flights.com if you are in the US)

The 510 I got from TW US seemed to have a clone atty and was shipped with the incorrect carts and wrong charger cable (I was given an Ego charger cable - too many mA)

The Boge cartos are usually black so a black 510 manual (which usually has a blue LED) looks great with them.

100mm long with a Boge carto so short battery life of 180mah 9100mah is about 1 hour of moderate vaping). I recommend you get a PCC (portable charging case).

Or the mega xl 510 manuals for 128mm length w/ a carto

I recommend Joye brand for good quality.

Your other possibility is something like Halocigs G6 and SmokelessImage Volt (same as each other) and Vapor4Life (more like the original manufacturer model). That has a hotter hit and use cartomizers. I recommend manuals which are harder to damage or killed with juices leaks, easier to get a good hit. I think the Vapor4Life normal size button is easier to press, but the others have a nice rubberized finish and a better sealed threaded end on the manuals and claim slightly longer charge (their manual button is tiny and partially recessed). But where would you get these and and good hot cartos for them in the UK?

 

[baronvoncardo]

I agree with mouse. Plenty of great advice. I prefer a higher PG (thinner) juice and I use Boge cartomizers nearly all the time. It's hard to go wrong with a manual 510 kit. In my experience, the button provides better performance and longer battery life. However, I understand if the automatic action is an important part of recreating the smoking experience. I got used to the button very quickly, though.

I order from Liberty Flights all the time...great vendor. use the promotion code "october20" for 20% off.

Good luck, Dave...welcome!

 

[Spazmelda]

I agree with *the mouse*. Listen to the mouse.

I started with the auto battery, and my upgrade was a manual. Much much better, and really not awkward to use at all. Go ahead and get something bigger than cig sized, IMHO. It doesn't have to be gigantic, but a bigger battery is going to give you a better experience.

For the juices, just find companies that offer trial sizes and try a bunch out. You will hit on a few you really like, and then you can order larger sizes of those while you continue to experiment with other flavors. I realized quickly that I really like fruit flavors over tobacco flavors. Never would have thought I would.

As far as size... there is a thread (I will try to find for you) where a member has posted her extensive collection of pv's. It's pretty amazing in and of itself, but it's also very helpful in seeing the relative sizes of various models.

I'm going to go look for that now, and I'll come back and edit when I find it.

 

[Wolfeeh]

Right, I've done a little more reading as per your recommendations guys and I can see that you have some valid points so I'm now inclined towards;

-Boge cartomisers in a 510 fitting - pack of 5, empty (including filling kit) / £6.49
-some sort of 510 auto battery + a manual battery so I can compare the two + matching charger, probably USB at this point.
-2 or 3 bottles of e-liquid in small sizes, like 5ml just to get me started.

with the USB charger I'll be able to charge on the fly with my portable eneloop battery booster & AA eneloops (designed to charge mobile phones via usb, on the go). based on the overall dimensions for the assembled e-cig i'm now coming up with I'll be able to carry the e-cig around for now in a polycarbonate test-tube like thing I have for carrying around AA batteries. Will leave the PCC alone until I settle on a final set up.... At the moment I'm not on placement, I'm in university for only a few hours a day - and live 5 minutes walk from the uni so the PCC is not a huge concern yet.

I don't know if you guys have heard of Decadent Vapours - but it turns out I used to work in a building a couple of doors down from them so I'm wondering if I can email them and pop in to try some juices out

Thanks for all your comments people, feel free to make any more suggestions as you think of things :>

-*-Dave.

 

[madjack]

...the only thing I would add is to skip the auto batt and go all manual...the autos just don't hold up...good luck and Happy Vaping!!!!!!!!!!
madjack

 

[Wolfeeh]

Thanks Madjack.

Question (if you don't mind my asking);

In your signature line you have a graphic that says you have been vaping since 24th august, which without looking at a calendar i'd say is ~21 days and that in that time you have avoided 1,260 analogs, which I would take to mean you smoke 60 a day (I'm going on the basis that you now only vape and don't smoke at all...

In this time you've saved $110...

So how much does a pack of smokes cost where you are?
And, how much have you spent on vaping gear?
what do you project your monthly vaping cost to be?

My smokes cost £5.99/20 pack on average, which going on xe.com exchange rate right now is $9.44/pack and on the basis of 20 a day would cost me £186 / $292 a month to be fair I actually smoke more like £300 / $472 a month.

 

[Cokeybill]

Why waste the money. For your convenience go Ego T with the 1000mah batts. I get around 10 hours with the batts. Get a few extra tanks and attys. Then you can change flavors whenever you like. It also is compatible with 510s. I like them although you need some time for the break in period. Also do a clean on the attys before using/not just a blow out.
Cheers.

 

[Chrissie]

Hello & welcome Wolfeeh

If I was you, I'd go for a Riva starter kit with 110mAh batteries. Links to a couple of the many excellent UK sellers -

Freedom Vape
Riva 510 Starter Kit XL - Detailed item view - FreedomVape (UK)

Vape Escape (use discount code "allabout" for 10% off.
The Riva 1100 Deluxe Kit [Ideal for beginners] £32.99 - Deluxe Vaping Kits - Riva 1100 Kit Electronic Cigarettes | Vaping Devices | Accessories | E-Liquid

Both the above suppliers also sell excellent e-liquid - especially the Grizwauld juice sold by Vape Escape.

 

[Wolfeeh]

Thanks Chrissie, hadn't come across that site via google yet, reasonable pricing on there are their non-grizwauld juices any good too? ;p

 

[Chrissie]

Vape escapes non Giz juices are more than all right - especially the Flavourart tobaccos

Freedom vapes (first of my links) juices are really good as well

Check out this list of recommended UK suppliers (I've also added any known discount codes) There might be a few others you haven't come across yet

All about e-cigarettes - Recommended & new suppliers (e-cig/juice sellers)

 

[Warlordxxx]

I second chrissie on that one although the Riva is slightly larger than you actually wanted you will be a lot happier in it's performance compared to a standard (almost cigarette sized) PV

 

[Wolfeeh]

Right, back again

I'd really been hoping that I'd get an answer from someone that I would be more than happy with the slimline type e-cig that I really fancy, e.g. something that looks like the Halo G6 would be perfect. The more I read, the less likely it sounds that this is going to be the case

I've had a bit of a rubbish day today - long periods of boredom and apathy and pretty much done nothing but chain smoke really need to find something that will satisfy me first time round, I'm not opposed to upgrades and so on later but I need something that will last me a couple of months without needing significant extra purchases in the meantime.

Following Chrissie's recommendations I then found This.

Thoughts please?
Can I use this with the Boge cartomisers that everyone is raving about? Failing that, what about smokymizers? How do Smokymizers compare to Boge cartomisers?

Thank you for all the help you're giving me people!