Two weeks and I need help

[mastrtcal]

Please forgive my long winded post and please bear with me. SO far I have posted a few times and no one has answered anything I have asked. I desperately want to quit analogs. It is depressing me.

I am/was a pack a day smoker (Camel Blue).

A chemist friend of mine quit using the greensmoke e cigarettes. As a chemist he did a little tinkering on his own and informed me that there was nothing wrong with smoking an E Cigarette. So I took a shot and bought a southbeachsmoke kit before I did any research. Needless to say I had it for three days before I returned it.

I cam across this forum, did some reading and made my first purchase to Vape.

At heathers heavenly vapes I purchased the following:
- eGo kit
- sample pack, Gandalf, Huntsman, Dark Horse, and Dragon fire. all 1.8 i think

Initially I was excited, I could quit, I could save 150 bucks a week on analogs (NYC here, 12 bucks a pack, 15 in Manhattan)

Once I fired the system up no problems. Both batteries work and I could stick some liquid in the clearomizers.

Problem - all four of the flavors were too sweet. ( I know my taste buds are messed up )
- dragon whichever was way too fruity and perfumy
- the rest werent too fruity but reminded me of hookah which gives me a headache

I ordered a round of tobacco juices from Parkes Vapes ( Ashtray, USA Mix, Real Cig, Mar-Buhl, and Kamul )
- ashtray, tastes funny to me, like medicine
- usa mix, i was actually able to vape this all day in a clearo, not terrible
- real cig, havent been able to try it properly
- Marbuhl and Kamul, way to much sweet going

It was recommended to me to try and buy USA or UK juice that was made in a LAB.

I went to VapeNY, which is actually the only brick and mortar place I know of dedicated to vaping here in nyc.
Spike, (counter person) is super helpful and explained some of what I should expect. As a heavy smoker with messed up taste buds a clearo is not going to hack it for me. So she set me up with a dripping atty. VapeNY has a juice bar so I was able to sample all their flavors. Coffee by far the best in my opinion. Coffee is the only thing I have been able to walk around with and avoid smoking analogs. I have managed to go from one full pack of smokes a day to maybe one. Its a fight for me to not have more but I think I am doing allright. I had about half of one analog today and just couldnt finish it.
I went back to VapeNY a second time and purchased the V1Lavatube, ViVi Nova and a second eGo bc I converted someone else to joy of vaping.
I charged up my battery for the lavatube and didn't know that if you depress - past 3 it resets to 6. I think I burned my first vivi nova head. (2.4 I think)
VapeNY has supplied me with a total of:
- lavatube v1
- coffee juice 2.4 nic and 1.8
- am tobacco juice 1.8 nic
- juicy fruit juice 1.8
- rasberry juice 1.8
- dripping atty
- vivi nova

MyVaporStore, isnt a store front but they ship out of queens ny which happens to be my borough. I bought two of their flavors (pineaapple peach and hickory virginia both 1.8 nic, a kanger3 clearo, dctank combo kit, some HR attys
- I cant seem to get the dctank to work right. I think it just tasted burned, from the first hit to the 12th.
- The kanger doesnt seem to hit hard enough to me
- the hr atty I think I got to work right but it isnt doing anything for me. Maybe its just the flavoring. It produces billows of vapor which is nice but I dont get the TH i want.

I feel so depressed about the whole situation. I don't want to give up, but knowing what I am getting or expecting with an analog is starting to wear on me.

I don't even know where to begin I guess.

How do I properly set up the DCTank?
Will the clearo Kanger work for me or am I too heavy a smoker and too new?
I need a good flavor reco. I would like something USA Lab made purely for consistency sake
Any absolutely any help is appreciated.

 

[mojoworkin]

Lots of info there. Is the cartomizer for the DCT punched? Did you fill the carto properly before using it? I punch 2 holes in the cartos, fill them, insert them into tank, and then fill the tank. I usually wait 15 minutes before vaping it. Also, are they dual coil or single coil cartos? You might try single coil, standard resistance, and start at lower voltage. Work your way up voltage-wise. I like 2 parts Gourmet Vapors' RY4 to 1 part AltSmoke Southern Freeze.

 

[Thucydides]

I like plain, stock, Chinese RY4 -- like the stuff that Smokeless Image sells (Smokeless Image | The Best Electronic Cigarette ). I ordered a whole bunch of 6ml bottles from Heather's after reading all of the stellar reviews here. All of the HHV tobacco flavors are just plain awful. I've tried them when they just arrived and after 10+ days of steeping. They have a cloying sweetness and demonstrate no flavor balance -- the sort of flavor combination you'd expect from a 16-year old experimenting with extracts in the kitchen.

I use a CE5 long wick rebuildable clearo (got mine here: DojoVision Clearomizer (CE5) Long wick - Rebuildable ). It's easy to fill and doesn't require a huge commettent to any one flavor; in fact, it seems to vape best when its 2/3 full or less. I also use the SmokTech dual coil XL carto. They provide a different experience. They do require a larger commitment to a single flavor, but because they're more difficult to fill, filling less often is fine with me.

Keep with it, you'll find something. I'm glad to find I'm not the only one who's less than impressed with the HHV tobacco line.

 

[thedesbois]

Hello,

I am in no way an expert as I've been vaping since November 22nd 2012 only. I was a pack and a half a day smoker for 29 years. All I can say is: don't give up!

Your post contains a lot of specific questions. I think you are on the right track. You have a very good VV in the Lavatube. I own a Vamo. Very similar. I personally love the Ego Twist for when I go out light and don't want to carry the larger PV.

I started with Ego Twists and Vision Clearos. I was lucky enough to get some juices I liked in my first order. What did it for me where Cuban Cigar and Tuscan Cigar juices. A local supplier here in Canada mixes those juices using Flavourart flavors from Italy. You can certainly find a US vendor that uses Flavorart as their main flavor supplier.

What really helped me was watching hours of videos on Youtube. Here is a link of a serie of videos that helped me a lot in the beginning. But you might already know all that.

Helpful Videos

I also wrote personal emails to some reviewers asking for help on specific topics. I've found the community to be very helpful and got replies from everyone.

I am now into rebuildables, Genesis and Phoenix type, I mix my own juice using flavors etc. I went all in. The best vape I get is from rebuildables. I vape them like 95% of the time. Nothing hits and tastes like it. I sometimes will carry a Vivi Nova when I'm on the go as they are quite good for me.

You're in luck by having a local store where you can test juices and get in person advice and help. I have a similar store here in Montreal and it's been great help for me. Go back and ask questions, vape in the store, try stuff, learn, try, repeat...

Good luck and hang in there!

Denis

 

[cocacola31173]

When I started I started simple. Just a ego battery and some cartos. So far I have only advanced to using clearomizers but I still use cartos at work. Just try cartos for a while and then slowly upgrade as you learn.

As for the juice being perfumy try taking the caps off and letting them sit overnight and then replace the caps and shake daily. Sometimes it just needs to breathe.

 

[SpEcTReCHieF]

Hi mastrtcal and welcome to the ECF and the wonderful world of vaping!! First off, don't give up. There is all kinds of info on here and help is not far away. I had quit smokes for over a year with vaping and fell off track, but I am back at it again. First as far as juices go, there are PG juices, VG juices, or a ratio mixture of both PG/VG juices. If you are looking for more of a throat hit from your juices, PG will give you more of a throat hit, VG gives you more vapor production. Lots of people get juice at about a 70/30 ratio of PG/VG. Also lower ohm carto's/atomizers will give a warmer vapor and usually better vapor production, just be careful about how much voltage your giving them. Here is a link that is a good guide to resistance (ohms) of your carto/atty vs voltage that you are usually safe running at.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v202/trinitrophenol/unled66-1.jpg
You are pretty safe if you stay in the green area.

Also there is alot of info on youtube.com as far as equipment how to's, juice reviews, etc. You can pretty much find anything on there. I would also recommend trying juices from different vendors as taste is subjective. There are alot of good juices out there. Most places have sample packs for very reasonable prices that allow you to get a few different juices and select both nic strength and even pg/vg ratio. This way if you don't happen to like the juice your not stuck with a great big bottle of it. Anyway don't give up and if you need anything specific let me know and I will do my best to help you out.

Take care and happy vapin!!
Rick

 

[Uno mas]

SNIPPED: I ordered a whole bunch of 6ml bottles from Heather's after reading all of the stellar reviews here. All of the HHV tobacco flavors are just plain awful. I've tried them when they just arrived and after 10+ days of steeping. They have a cloying sweetness and demonstrate no flavor balance -- the sort of flavor combination you'd expect from a 16-year old experimenting with extracts in the kitchen.

I am not into an overly sweet tobacco flavor either, many pipe blends can have an underlying sweetness that I do on occasion enjoy, however over-the-top is another matter. Heather's Heavenly does have a winner IMO with Pirate's Booty, I absolutely LOVE it, to me it tastes (more of a cigar) dryer and cleaner than many I have tried. I have another bottle coming so hopefully it'll be as good as the first,

 

[juicejunky]

I don't know the specifics of your hardware to help, but it seems every juice vendor has a different base flavor that can taste perfumey or soapy to some and great to others. Some vendors use way more flavor or sweetener than others. Some flavors give me a headache or make me feel really uptight to the point I am grinding my teeth. I've learned to avoid them. You have to keep looking until you find one. Only order a few flavors at a time from each vendor or a sample pack to make sure you like them.

Don't give up. You will find an everyday flavor at some point or will make your own. It doesn't hurt to have some VG or PG around to dilute a juice if it is too sweet or strong for you. The nic will drop too, but at least you'll be able to vape it.

My suggestion : Add BackwoodsBrew.net to your list to try.

BWB makes a not overly sweet array of juices that aren't overly flavored-great tobaccos, subtle fruits, fantastic coffees, and only a few desserts. Unfortunately they temporarily have limited hours while they set up a new lab, so you can only order for a few hours a day. Their juice was the first I ran into that didn't taste perfumey at all to me. My favorite by far is Casablanca, but I do order Honey Flu, Dulce de Leche, Root Beer once in a while. The fruits are extremely real tasting so you don't get the candy fruit flavor, but I eventually tired of them. Coffees were my favorite when I first started vaping too, but eventually tired of them as well. BWB made the best I tried. I don't really like than Kona Coffee flavoring most other vendors use.

 

[Rachy_B]

I'm gonna repeat what you've read above- DON'T GIVE UP! There is a juice or two out there for everyone...sometimes you gotta kiss a lot of frogs or be goldilocks before you find the one that's juuuuuuuuuuust right! Keep trying different samples and you'll find the one you love! I promise!x

 

[Hulamoon]

What PG/VG ratio are you using MastrC? A good number of folk do say that VG will give a sweetness - maybe that is what you're tasting?
It will also impact the throat hit. The Heathers samples you received may have been in the Purity range (100% VG). I would suggest a 70/30 PG/VG ratio. That will give you throat hit, and of course 24 mg nicotine should do it for those "must have a cigarette" moments while a lower nicotine level in the evening is recommended so you can sleep. (Nic = stimulant). Another possible flavor for you might be Johnson Creek who makes the proprietary blend for Blu e-cigs. Try their Red Mountain blend.

 

[klynnn]

Don't give up it will get better just takes some time to get used to the equip and find a juice you like. Most all of us have had frustrating moments. Here is one video of way to fill the dct that worked for me. DCT Dual Coil Tank first time filling - YouTube

 

[mastrtcal]

Lots of info there. Is the cartomizer for the DCT punched? Did you fill the carto properly before using it? I punch 2 holes in the cartos, fill them, insert them into tank, and then fill the tank. I usually wait 15 minutes before vaping it. Also, are they dual coil or single coil cartos? You might try single coil, standard resistance, and start at lower voltage. Work your way up voltage-wise. I like 2 parts Gourmet Vapors' RY4 to 1 part AltSmoke Southern Freeze.

The cart is punched, its got the sad excuse pin hole. How much bigger should it be?

My suggestion : Add BackwoodsBrew.net to your list to try.

Will do!

What PG/VG ratio are you using MastrC? A good number of folk do say that VG will give a sweetness - maybe that is what you're tasting?
It will also impact the throat hit. The Heathers samples you received may have been in the Purity range (100% VG). I would suggest a 70/30 PG/VG ratio. That will give you throat hit, and of course 24 mg nicotine should do it for those "must have a cigarette" moments while a lower nicotine level in the evening is recommended so you can sleep. (Nic = stimulant). Another possible flavor for you might be Johnson Creek who makes the proprietary blend for Blu e-cigs. Try their Red Mountain blend.

I do believe the HHV were from the purity line. Everything else I have tried is 50/50. I didn't really think my palette was refined enough to change the equal mix.

 

[Hulamoon]

Then I would try 80/20 PG to VG or 70/30 as VG can mute the flavor and sweeten it. PG doesn't mute it, isn't sweet and provides more throat hit. Might be worth a try in a sample size from your smoke shop....

The cart is punched, its got the sad excuse pin hole. How much bigger should it be?



Will do!



I do believe the HHV were from the purity line. Everything else I have tried is 50/50. I didn't really think my palette was refined enough to change the equal mix.

 

[bdeef]

@mastrtcal - not sure about the batts'& tubes, but it sounds like you are looking for something a little sweet, but has a tobacco flavor. Try halocigs.com - their Turkish tobacco flavor is off the charts. I use Turkish & Prime15... I mix the two flavors & love it. Halo is an American company. I also use EC blend, Mountain oak Vapor, & Johnson's Creek - all USA made... Try an RY4 too... Many have a different mix, but are all great... Good luck finding ur flavor!

 

[Kweb]

When I think about all of the money I have spent on juice, well... I don't want to think about it. Anyhow, I second the Smokeless Image recommendation. So many juices just have a horrible aftertaste or undertone or whatever, and SI's stuff tastes clean to me. I find the same is true of Alice in Vapeland but they are all sweet. More like dessert vapes. I vape the RY4 from SI pretty exclusively, and the taste just kind of fades after a while- like smoking did. Because really, when we smoked, it wasn't for taste, right?

 

[Ken_A]

I started Vaping Nov 2 2012, and I have created a playlist of the videos that helped me the most. try watching them:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiqSi35YC07K1REPesreNyysnFjJuu15p
and for good vaping flavor reviews, so a search for step07726 on Youtube... smokie does a very good job.

 

[mastrtcal]

Thanks for all the help people.

I am going to try and a 70/30 mix next.

Hopefully it will all work out.

 

[Gr8Scott]

Well, like everyone said,don't give up. If you're discouraged just remember sometimes it's darkest just before a new dawn!

I can tell you what I did., but everyone has sort of their own path to trod.

If money isn't a consideration stock up on juices and eventually your original unimpaired taste buds will synergize with a decent juice

ECB
ECBlend E-Liquids - Something Better

has a lot of flavors which are decent and reasonable.

I found my sweet spot and all day vape in a Cuban Cigar crossed with cherry or mixed with pomegranate. At higher voltage (4.5 ish) and a Rebuildable atomizer. It's a great throat hit and billows vapor. The higher voltage seems to do something to the vapor that emulates a real cigarette.

I also like Torque56 by Halo.

There's a lot to absorb, but like anything in life the breakthrough does come. When I quit I had smoked for 30 years about 30 cigs daily. I know it's tough sometimes, but you can do it!!

Think about your victories throughout your life. You earned them with perseverance and purpose. This is the same, don't cease in your journey away froma slow death and in to new life...keep pluggin along !

 

[mastrtcal]

I think the best part of the entire process is this stuff.

I appreciate the fact that everyone here is coming from the same place. It's encouraging.

 

[fourthrok]

I won't be much help with juice suggestions because I have always been a menthol vaper, and now DIY my own. However as far as DCT tanks go...there IS a a "learning curve". But once you master it, there are few easier, more satisfying vapes short of custom building your own atomizer in some terrifyingly expensive device. I wouldn't really know about that latter...never tried it, but some die-hard TH chasers swear by the RBAs. ANYway, back to DC tanks. First..skip the "dual coil" thing. Most tanks will come with a dual coil carto in them. Don't trash 'em, but do replace 'em with single coil. I find 2 ohm Boge, Ikenvape, or Smoktech good choices. If they carto is "pre-punched" you might want to consider getting the two hole punched type. Particularly if you have a lot of VG in your juice. If your juice is really dark and also has a lot of VG you might even have to go with the triple punched. If you your cartomizers now only have one hole, consider investing $6 in a basic carto punch and punch an additional hole about 2 to 3 mm. directly above the existing hole. Don't punch a mega hole...that can lead to flooding. Try to keep the hole as small as possible. What I like to do it use the punch tool
DCT Cartomizer Punch Position it where you want, then hold it up to your ear and start turning the screw. About 3x90 degree turns and you should hear a slight sound that the metal is pierced. Turn just a quarter turn more and it should be about right. If the hole isn't quite through, use a sharp small wood screw and lightly tap to punch a bit bigger hole...but don't go crazy! You only want a SMALL hole!

Prime your cartomizer as has been mentioned in previous posts. That is: fill the cartomizer with juice first, before putting it in the tank. As a last step (carto can be in the tank at this point) drop a few drops one at a time into the hole at the threaded end of the cartomizer. Maybe 7 to 10 drops. Then fill the tank. I find using this tool to be a huge help, and is invaluable for "top offs" when needed Stainless Steel DCT Refilling Tool No...I'm not affiliated to MV, it was just a couple of handy links. I'm pretty sure My Vapor Store has the same stuff. Another handy tool to have which does the same thing, more or less, but has a couple of other good points about it is the Slap Yo Mama tool Stainless Steel Slap Yo' Mama Multi-Purpose Adapter [SYMSS] - $12.99 : Big Daddy Vapor This is a very nice tool for a couple of uses with your tank. See the videos on the site. Once your cartomizer is full and the tank is full, take a few "dry puffs" on your tank to finish "priming". Bubbles should come out of one or both holes. Not a lot...but a few bubbles. Then you are ready to go.

Hope that helps. And yes...VG imparts a distinct sweet flavor and also tends to mute other flavors. It does make nice vapor, though. I prefer a mix that has a higher percentage of PG with only a little VG mixed in. I don't like an overly sweet vape, either.