What am I doing wrong?

[Lannie]

Oh, and by the way, I just registered and this is my first post. A call for help. sheesh... I've actually been browsing this forum for the last week or so, trying to read up on everything I can cram into my tiny little mind, and I've learned only enough to be dangerous.

On the advice of an acquaintance on another (non-e-cig) forum, I just ordered a Kangertech Evo from Mt. Baker Vapor, along with a few small bottles of e-liquid. Just a few minutes ago, I found a thread talking about "cheap" e-juices and adjustable PG/VG ratios and nicotine strengths being garbage. Too bad I didn't see that thread sooner, but I don't know if my problem is the liquid, the e-cig, or me. Probably me.

I've been smoking for 42 years, most of that time at two packs a day, and I want to get off the tobacco smoke now, but I LOVE smoking, so I figured vaping would be good. But my first attempt at this thing was like the very first puff of the very first cigarette I ever smoked. HOLY COW! I 'bout coughed up my shoes. I can't seem to make it work for me, although my husband doesn't seem to have any problem with it, and it's his first time using one of these. I actually tried one of those little disposables last week, and didn't have any trouble with that, so I must be doing something wrong, and I don't know what it is.

Or is it just that the liquid needs to sit for a while? I don't smell any alcohol/perfume smell when I sniff the bottles, and I thought if that was the case, it would be OK to use right away. (It just came in the mail today.)

I've read the thread on proper inhalation techniques (I use mouth to lung), but I can't get past the harsh gripping sensation. Do I just need to keep trying (like when I was a kid first learning to smoke), or put it away and keep smoking regular cigs until next month? I'm just not sure what to do at this point, and I'd appreciate any advice anyone might have.

Also, because I'm new, I should say I'm a "retired" (yesterday I was tired, and today I'm RE-tired, har har) professional accountant type, but now living on my little dream hobby farm in the middle of nowhere, South Dakota (literally, it's 100 miles to town), with 3 milk cows and their calves, a couple horses, some dogs, cats and more chickens than any sane person would ever consider. I'm also not tech-oriented, which makes trying to figure out this "device" rather puzzling to me.

Help?

Thanks so much!

~Lannie

 

[gandymarsh]

Welcome to ECF!

You didn't mention the VG/PG ratio or the nicotine level of the juice you are vaping. Those two are very important when it comes to throat hit.

MT. Baker juices can be good right out of the mail but some are better after they age a bit.

 

[djsvapour]

Hi!

Speaking personally, I don't think you are doing anything wrong.

You can start to get worried about PG ratios and steeped liquids and other things, but it doesn't alter the possibility that this is just how vaping can be for some people.

I coughed up my lungs on a $5 disposable at first. Then, by about a week, I'd adjusted my inhalation to find it pleasurable and manageable. At this point, I thought that was that and I was done with smoking, so I emptied the shelf in the supermarket (grocery store?) and bought all the e-cigs. Shame really.... as I was still smoking, as they didn't actually give me enough nicotine. (whoops)...

It took me 2 months to get settled with an eGo e-cig. Yours is probably better than what I started on, after the disposable failure... as it were.

 

[Lessifer]

Welcome to ECF! Mt Baker is inexpensive, but they put out a good quality product. As was already mentioned, pg/vg ratio and nic level can definitely effect things, but it's also very different from smoking. It may take awhile for your body to get used to it.

You mentioned you to mouth to lung, have you tried just mouth? Pull some vapor in your mouth, hold it for a second or two, then exhale. You can also add exhaling through the nose. You'll still get most of the nic this way and you'll bypass pulling the vapor down your throat and into your lungs.

Also, how's the taste? If you're not tasting what it's supposed to taste like and instead getting a more acrid taste, your equipment may not be functioning properly, and we can probably help with that too.

 

[hisashi]

i had this happen to me when i had first started vaping(maybe 3 years ago) and i just powered through it, the harshness went away after a couple of days of using it. i realize that this may not work for you, but it was worth the discomfort for me and may be for you or someone else

 

[Scotticus93]

for me and a lot if my friends who try e cigs. Find at first it's a little irritating, but then you get used to it. After a day or two. But yeah what's your nic level and pg and vg ratio

 

[Winchester]

Hi and Welcome to EFC! The same thing happened me too. It will take some time to acclimate to it. Lessifer is right Mt.Baker makes good juice.

 

[Winchester]

Oh,by the way I am from Aberdeen So.Dakota.

 

[Lannie]

Oh, I'm sorry, I was rambling on up there and thought my post was already too lengthy, and totally forgot the important part! I got the 50/50 blend with 18% nicotine, because I was looking at a comparison chart and that said "medium," and I've mostly always smoked mild tobacco. I read somewhere also (maybe here? my mind is a jumble) that most heavy smokers usually have to start with really high nicotine to compensate for the absorption rate with the vapor. I'm confused.

I got a couple of tobacco flavors (USA and something else, it's upstairs in a cupboard now), some raspberry, wintergreen, spearmint, and they tossed in a little freebie bottle of something-ice, which I assume is another mint/menthol flavor. I filled the tanks on the two e-cigs, one with the USA tobacco flavor, and the other with wintergreen, and they both taste the same. Like crap, basically (ask me how I know what THAT tastes like!), and it's really hard to tell them apart. Another thing is there's a kind of little popping/crackling sound when I hit the battery button on both of them to try an inhale, and I don't know if that's normal. If not, maybe the problem lies there. The little disposable I tried tasted fine, I could inhale it just like a regular cigarette, and it didn't pop or crackle. But when I tried that I didn't know the proper way to inhale vapor (I was doing short quick puffs), so I probably got NO nicotine out of it whatsoever, which is probably why I kept reaching for my pack. I didn't smoke any regular cigarettes, though, until the disposable ran out around noon the next day. Which tells me that although I go THROUGH two packs a day, I don't think I actually SMOKE anywhere near that amount. I'm always doing something, setting one down and coming back to find it all burned up, so I light another one. If the disposable is only equal to 4 to 6 regular cigarettes (is that right?) then I guess I'm not really a heavy smoker, just a heavy burner-upper.

Anyway, I figured getting a decent setup would help, plus me doing a little more reading and finding out how to use them properly, but UGH! I already tried just holding the vapor in my mouth, but it sends my husband off into fits of giggles because he says I look like a chipmunk with my cheeks full of nuts! But hey, whatever. He married me because I'm silly, so this should be nothing new to him. Or maybe I should just ban him to his shop, and tell him to leave me alone to experiment by myself for a bit, huh?

So, am I understanding that this "owie" is the throat hit? If so, I want no more PG! Right? Just VG? The stuff I have is already so thick, it's hard to work with, and the blunt needle dropper tip won't fit on the bottles so I had to get a syringe out of the cows' med kit and use that. I'm not sure how straight VG would work... I couldn't draw it out of the bottle with the needle, so I took the needle off, covered the needle end with my finger, and squeezed from the bottle into the top of the syringe to 1.5 ml on the first one (the tank capacity is 1.6), and just 1 ml on the other one. Then I put the plunger partway in, turned it upright, pushed the plunger to get all the air out, put the needle back on and "injected it" into the tank, between the tank sides and the center hole thing. I probably got some in the center hole, although I was trying to be careful not to. It's so thick, and it's hard to see in there while I'm filling it that way. Could that cause the popping sound? Or did I get duds? Or it's an ID10T error?

I appreciate your help, you guys. I really want this to work.

~Lannie

 

[Lannie]

Oh, Winchester, I missed your posts while I was typing. We live over on the west side, around 100 miles north and east of Rapid. I've never been to Aberdeen.

So I should just soldier on, eh?

~Lannie

 

[Lessifer]

it sounds like you're getting bad/dry hits, and the nic might be a little too high for you, but I don't think that's your current problem. For the nic, many of the posts about what to start with are a little old, newer gear, even starting gear is more efficient at delivery.

For the dry hits, you want to make sure the wicks are saturated while you're vaping. Try putting the vaporizer in your mouth and start drawing air through a little before you start pressing the button. Try low and slow draws, couple seconds long, see if that helps. Also have your husband try your tanks, see if he gets the same bad tastes as you, or if he actually tastes the flavors.

 

[Jeromefup]

The throat hit you mention is from 18 mg/mL concentration as well as the PG.

Like what Lessifer says, take slow, short draws and work your way up. This ain't a cloud competition

 

[gandymarsh]

18mg isn't very high but it might be too high for you with that device. Cigalikes (the ones that looks like cigarettes) don't put out much vapor. If you have a Walmart around, you could buy some VG (Vegetable Glycerin) and mix a small amount into your juice. It's just called Glycerin at Walmart. That will reduce the nicotine level and also the flavor. It's kinda trial and error to get it just right at first.

 

[Lannie]

I don't give a RIP about clouds! I just want my nic-fix!

I have to say, I did try smaller hits, and that worked a bit better. I was thinking I had to start the inhale AFTER I pressed the battery button, to get the coil hot. I'll try it the other way and see how that works. I did put a drop of liquid on the wick ends that were slightly sticking out when I put the whole thing together. I thought that's what was meant by wetting the wicks. I keep learning something new every day.

My husband did try them, and he had NO problems. He smokes differently than I do, though. He draws into his mouth, then opens his mouth and inhales through his nose, then exhales through his mouth. I'm not sure anything even goes into his lungs, to be quite honest. He got dizzy from three hits off the e-cig and he normally smokes almost as much as I do, but he likes the full flavor hi-test stuff. Me, not so much, but I inhale directly from my mouth into my lungs.

I'll keep working on it. Oh, also, the popping/cracking noise isn't quite as bad, I think, so maybe all this is is a dry wick problem. You think? Maybe if I can get through today with it, it'll be better tomorrow.

I still can't taste any actual wintergreen flavor in the wintergreen one, though, whatever that means... I can SMELL it just fine out of the bottle, but it seems like the vapor smells more like bacon. I can't think of a better descriptor. Maple flavored bacon, but not in a good way.

~Lannie

 

[Lannie]

I forgot to say, my husband said he couldn't taste the wintergreen all that much, either, but he said the tobacco flavor wasn't too bad. Being our first e-liquid experience, we have absolutely nothing to compare to, so that probably doesn't mean much.

~Lannie

 

[Lessifer]

I forgot to say, my husband said he couldn't taste the wintergreen all that much, either, but he said the tobacco flavor wasn't too bad. Being our first e-liquid experience, we have absolutely nothing to compare to, so that probably doesn't mean much.

~Lannie

I've never tried wintergreen, but MBV mixes the liquid when you order it, sometimes it takes a week or two for it to get to full flavor. Could also be your taste buds, if you stick with vaping you'll find in a while you'll be tasting things that you haven't for years/decades.

 

[mcol]

Mount Baker Vapor is a great company, the USA Tobacco
and the American Tobacco are great juices, but would benefit
from a week or two of steeping. And the Evod is a great device.
Your taste buds are going to be shot for a few weeks though,
remember that. It's trial and error for you at this point, you're
doing fine. Many times I still (after over two years of vaping)
will take a draw into my mouth and inhale just a little bit.
The longer you hold it in the more nic will absorb, 18 should
be enough but after you get this all figured out if you find you
still get cravings you can easily go up to 24. Good luck.

 

[ElevenEleven]

Tobacco flavors are hit and miss. Vapor is thicker than combustable smoke and its something you'll adjust to over time. Just take it slow.

 

[glointhedark]

Welcome to ECF.

I don't really have anything to add to the advice you got above. My daughter and I use Evods, and love them. We also enjoy quite a few eliquids from Mt. Baker Vapor. Please don't forget to shake the bottle well before you fill or top off your tank.

Did you order the needle tip caps from Mt. Baker Vapor? If so, they should fit the MBV 15 and 30 ml bottles. I use them on my MBV eliquids, and they really help. Don't forget to remove the dropper tip that comes on the bottles before trying to put the needle tip cap on.

 

[NoFumus]

Lannie, at least as far as tasting the flavors, when I started about 14 mos ago, I couldn't taste much either. After spending quite a bit of money at my local shop for juice that didn' t taste like much, I went to Mt Baker. For most of the juices, I still didn't taste much (most of them smelled good), but it was OK and much cheaper. There were, however, two flavors that tasted true to me from Mt. baker even when I first started. To me, their black licorice tastes just like little black jellybeans, and the creme de months (or candy cane) is a sweet peppermint. Neither were flavors of that I would have expected to like very much, but they were enough to keep me off cigarettes.