# The Vaping Thread



## Stradawhovious

I know there was a thread on the subject a year ago, but that was then and this is now.

Any vapers out there?  Let's see your rig!  Tell us about it, what your go to liquid is, and why you decided to start vaping!

Here's mine... (below).  I started vaping about a year ago to quit smoking... and although I do have a cancer nail every now and again, I'm down to about a pack a month and the rest of the time I vape.

I started on your typical gas station e-cigs, but immediately realized that wasn't satisfying enough.  I have since gone to the sub-ohm tanks and high drain mods that offer very satisfying voluminous billowing clouds of vapor and tons of flavor.

Currently I'm running a Sigelei 75w mod with a  Aspire Cleito tank sporting the .4 ohm coil.  My go to liquids are made locally from two different manufactures (both available online if anyone is interested).  Simply Vapor is the first company, and I get their "Orange Dream" (creamsicle), "Island Punch" (Hawaiian Punch), "Smarty Pants" (Smarties candy) and "Smooth Bourbon Coconut".  For the other Manufacturer, it's 503 liquid, and I get "Phoenix" (anisette and Cinnamon) and "Black Sun" which is almost spot on to a fresh cup of Cold Press coffee.  In all of these, I'm usually in the 6mg of nicotine range.


----------



## jsecordphoto

I quit smoking about a year ago after getting a tooth pulled and started vaping, think I've smoked one cigarette since. I was smoking at least a pack a day (sometimes two packs if I went out all night shooting), but it was really holding me back trying to hike and whatnot. I honestly really hate the whole vape culture but I love not smoking, I feel way healthier and now I can actually hike without stopping every five minutes. 

I'm using a iPV D3 80w mod and I just bought that cleito tank like two weeks ago after my old tank started leaking everywhere. I have the .2 in right now but I prefer using the .4 as I get longer battery life. I switch up juices pretty often, otherwise I get too used to each flavor. In the rotation now I have some green jolly rancher (forget the brand), this newer juice called Tallahasee, Thai boba tea, and some cannoli flavored stuff, all in 3mg.


----------



## Stradawhovious

jsecordphoto said:


> I just bought that cleito tank like two weeks ago after my old tank started leaking everywhere.



What tank were you using?  Just curious.  I still use one of the Kangertech Sub Minis, but I prefer this Cleito.

I agree, the "culture" can be a bit off-putting.  I'm more in it for the whole "not stinking like a fresh ashtray" experience.


----------



## jsecordphoto

I had the Atlantis aspire II. I dropped it quite a few times and I think I broke one of the internal seals because juice was leaking into parts of the coil it wasn't supposed to, and I was going through coils every like 3 days. I'd open up my tank after a few days and it would be just loaded with burnt resin type stuff, and it obviously tasted horrible. I like the cleito a lot, the flavor with this tank is amazing, but I wish it held a little more juice because I have to fill it pretty often.


----------



## Stradawhovious

jsecordphoto said:


> I wish it held a little more juice because I have to fill it pretty often.




At least it's less of a PITA, being a top fill tank and all.  Small consolation, I know... but still.


----------



## jsecordphoto

Stradawhovious said:


> jsecordphoto said:
> 
> 
> 
> I wish it held a little more juice because I have to fill it pretty often.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At least it's less of a PITA, being a top fill tank and all.  Small consolation, I know... but still.
Click to expand...


Oh I love the top fill. I'm always on long drives for photo missions and I bought a few of those plastic bottles with the small tip that you just squeeze to squirt the juice out, I'll switch any juice I buy over to those so when I'm driving it's super easy to refill my tank. I used to hate having to pull over so I could play mad scientist just to refill my tank haha


----------



## limr

Nah. My heaviest smoking was half a pack a day, and that was 10 years ago. I'm too far away from it to be bothered with vaping, which also seems way too complicated! Sometimes I still miss it - cigarettes with a quiet afternoon coffee or late-night writing sessions - but I'm also the kind of person who could have a cigarette with a cup of coffee today and then not think about it for another 6 months or a year. I don't get sucked back into it. (And even though I _could_ do that, I never do - it's been years since the last time a craving hit me hard enough to actually act on it.) I was never a "smoker" but rather "someone who smoked."  I suppose an e-cigarette now and again would satisfy that, but if it's that rare of an occasion, I might as well go for the real thing 

The smell of vape always reminds me of the nargile cafes in Istanbul. I definitely miss hanging with friends, sharing the nargile (hookah). The standard was apple tobacco.


----------



## runnah

It seems very expensive and confusing.


----------



## Stradawhovious

runnah said:


> It seems very expensive and confusing.



Initial investment yes, and if you go really far down the "vape culture" rabbit hole it gets confusing.

My setup costs are as follows...

Battery mod (silver box thingy that supplies power) - $90

Tank - (glass doohickey that holds liquid) - $30

30ml bottle of designer liquid - $22 (lasts about 2-3 weeks)

30ml bottle of generic liquid from online vendor - $8 (also lasts about 2-3 weeks)

Replacement coils (part that turns liquid into vapor) - $4 (lasts 2-3 weeks)

So, after first month, worst case scenario, I'm into it about $172.  Every subsequent month my expense is approximately $52


Smoking 1 pack a day, costs are about $240 +/- depending on where you live, so the "expense" argument doesn't hold much water.

I agree that there is a bit of a learning curve to using the "equipment", but after you understand how it works (and it's far easier then it appears) it's really quite simple.  All in all, if you can work basic functions on a DSLR, you will have no problem with this hardware.

To be fair, I don't see vaping as something someone just decides to "get in to" if they aren't current cigarette smokers.  I see it as a far healthier alternative for people who are not ready to quit smoking.  After my first week of vaping and no cigarettes my persistent cough was gone, my food tasted better, and I could tackle 2 flights of stairs without passing out.  I call that a victory.


----------



## Stradawhovious

Watchful said:


> And not a great thing to replace one bad thing with another.
> Its like quitting drinking in favor of sub cutaneous alcohol injections.
> If you don't want to smoke, don't smoke. Don't complicate things further.
> When I decided I was done smoking, I cleaned the houses and cars and went on a vacation to occupy my mind and haven't smoked in 14 years.
> The liquid nicotine is extremely toxic.




Good for you.

Anyone else care to share their positive experience with vaping rather than stand on a pedestal and be condescending?


----------



## Stradawhovious

Watchful said:


> See if you can quit vaping and match it.




No.  Go away.


----------



## jsecordphoto

A 30ml bottle lasts you 2-3 weeks?! I'm lucky if one lasts me 4 days haha


----------



## Stradawhovious

jsecordphoto said:


> A 30ml bottle lasts you 2-3 weeks?! I'm lucky if one lasts me 4 days haha



Yeah, I usually top off the tank every 2 days.  Not much of a chain vaper, and most of the day I'm in a smoke free environment...   

That's also assuming a .5 ohm tank though, I may go through a bit more with the new .4 ohm setup.  Time will tell.


----------



## waday

The wife and I are still trying to get the father-in-law to try vaping.

His current daily setup is 4 packs of Marlboro Red.


----------



## tirediron

waday said:


> The wife and I are still trying to get the father-in-law to try vaping.
> 
> His current daily setup is 4 packs of Marlboro Red.


   Health implacations aside, how the Hades d'ya afford that???????


----------



## Stradawhovious

waday said:


> The wife and I are still trying to get the father-in-law to try vaping.
> 
> His current daily setup is 4 packs of Marlboro Red.



I read that thread.  I completely understand hesitation of a current heavy smoker to try something different.  Hell, I was the same way with vaping before I started... I assumed it was just for hipsters, and thought it looked stupid.

Then I tried it.

I still think it looks stupid, but it doesn't stop me.  I no longer smell like an ashtray, I no longer cough my head off in the morning, My car doesn't reek and I feel like a million bucks compared to what I did a year ago.  I hope he eventually has the same experience I did, especially in light of the health scare you talked about.  Keep trying!


----------



## limr

FOUR.PACKS.OF.MARLBORO.RED??


----------



## Stradawhovious

limr said:


> FOUR.PACKS.OF.MARLBORO.RED??



My lungs hurt just reading that.


----------



## waday

tirediron said:


> waday said:
> 
> 
> 
> The wife and I are still trying to get the father-in-law to try vaping.
> 
> His current daily setup is 4 packs of Marlboro Red.
> 
> 
> 
> Health implacations aside, how the Hades d'ya afford that???????
Click to expand...

No mortgage, no debt, owns a storefront in Brooklyn, works full-time.

He could be in a completely different financial position.


----------



## limr

Stradawhovious said:


> limr said:
> 
> 
> 
> FOUR.PACKS.OF.MARLBORO.RED??
> 
> 
> 
> 
> My lungs hurt just reading that.
Click to expand...


For realz, yo.


----------



## waday

Stradawhovious said:


> waday said:
> 
> 
> 
> The wife and I are still trying to get the father-in-law to try vaping.
> 
> His current daily setup is 4 packs of Marlboro Red.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I read that thread.  I completely understand hesitation of a current heavy smoker to try something different.  Hell, I was the same way with vaping before I started... I assumed it was just for hipsters, and thought it looked stupid.
> 
> Then I tried it.
> 
> I still think it looks stupid, but it doesn't stop me.  I no longer smell like an ashtray, I no longer cough my head off in the morning, My car doesn't reek and I feel like a million bucks compared to what I did a year ago.  I hope he eventually has the same experience I did, especially in light of the health scare you talked about.  Keep trying!
Click to expand...

Sorry, I don't want to derail this thread, so I'll stop shortly. He has had several health scares, so he'll reduce by a few packs, then go right back up. He can be one of the nicest guys in the world, but he can also be one of the most stubborn. If it's different than what he's used to, he doesn't like it.

We're totally going to keep trying.



limr said:


> FOUR.PACKS.OF.MARLBORO.RED??


Yep.  He refuses to try anything other than Marlboro red.

One funny, quick story. I was mentioning to him about how I wanted to get a really nice telescope, etc. He goes, "Oh, I have a telescope from Marlboro." I was so confused until my wife started laughing and explained how. When Marlboro had their rewards program (I can't remember what he said it was called but you apparently got points for smoking so many packs/cartons), he essentially bought out the entire catalog. He had so many points that my wife/brother-in-law had backpacks for school, they got coolers, I think a camera, chair, umbrella, etc. He had redeemed his points for everything, so he got a telescope. It sat in an unopened box for years and years until I opened it.

The telescope stinks. (Literally and figuratively, haha)


----------



## vintagesnaps

Wow he's a pretty serious smoker, that's probably going to make for a tough habit to break. Seems like there are health conditions where it makes a difference if the patient smokes how treatable it will be. Sounds like this is a better alternative than smoking, and I imagine eventually someday if it was possible to phase that out as well would be an even healthier option.


----------



## weepete

I've been vaping for 2 years next month after trying a mates one at a wee poker night snd thinking it was an ok alternative. 

I started on the Ego twists, then an MVP2 then found mech mods. I'll see if I can post a wee pic of my collection later tonight. Last Friday I dropped my nemisis switch and bust the magnets in it, but luckily theres a wee B&M store not far from my work that has a decent selection of kit so I got myself a Sigelei 75W TC which is my first regulated mod sincd my MVP2. My current preferred tank is the Zephyrus by Youde.

Juice wise I'm a big custard fan and usually mix my own (and I do my own coils as well) but I do get the occasional bottle of ready mixed (Vampire Vapes Pinkman is pretty good). Cappella V2 custard is pretty good and my go to custard at the moment, and I sometimes switch it up with a bit of fruit and cream or carmel. My normal mix is around 80-90% VG. I was on 12 or 18mg but just dropped it to 6mg with the higher power mod now and did ok through the weekend with it.

I struggled with vaping for the first month having 2 a day then dropped to 1 or two a month. The last stinkie I had was last September, so thats one whole half year since my last . Of that one I only had three draws and chucked it out as it was bogging!

Anyway thats been my journey so far and I'm just starting to touch on high powered vaping at higher resistances (as resistance means nothing with regulated mods, its all about surface area  ). I think I'm gonna go dual batteries next as the voltage drop with a single is a PITA


----------



## Stradawhovious

vintagesnaps said:


> I imagine eventually someday if it was possible to phase that out as well would be an even healthier option.



Agreed, but you gotta wanna.  If you don't wanna, you're not gunna.

Until then, if a smoker can at least minimize the damage with a FAR less terrible alternative, they're still ahead of the game.


----------



## Stradawhovious

weepete said:


> Anyway thats been my journey so far and I'm just starting to touch on high powered vaping at higher resistances (as resistance means nothing with regulated mods, its all about surface area  ). I think I'm gonna go dual batteries next as the voltage drop with a single is a PITA



There's that rabbit hole I was talking about!  I don't know that I will ever be ready for that, but even vaping at 50 watts I too experience the hind end pain of voltage drop.  Thanks for sharing!


----------



## limr

weepete said:


> I struggled with vaping for the first month having 2 a day then dropped to 1 or two a month. The last stinkie I had was last September, so thats one whole half year since my last . Of that one I only had three draws and chucked it out as it was bogging!



I always read your posts with a Scottish accent in my head, but for some reason, this particular paragraph makes me wish I could hear it out loud for real  Maybe because I kind of adore the term "stinkie" for cigarette.


----------



## JacaRanda

My daughter bought me a cheap one for Christmas 2 years ago.  I quit smoking that New Years Eve and haven't smoked since (not even one, but there were two occasions where I got pissed and either the lighter didn't work, or I didn't have one handy - lucked out big time both times).  The vaping was fun for a while, but don't even do that anymore.  The urge to vape occurs more often than an urge to smoke a cig.


----------



## weepete

vape gear by wee_pete, on Flickr

Fromleft to right: Kato mod with a Fogger V5, Stingray with an Elegant Vapour Tobh clone, new Sigelei 75W with a UD Zephurus, Nemisis with a Royal Hunter and a Gizmo 24 V2 with 18650 extension and another Zepyrus


----------



## JacaRanda

weepete said:


> vape gear by wee_pete, on Flickr
> 
> Fromleft to right: Kato mod with a Fogger V5, Stingray with an Elegant Vapour Tobh clone, new Sigelei 75W with a UD Zephurus, Nemisis with a Royal Hunter and a Gizmo 24 V2 with 18650 extension and another Zepyrus



I think if I had any one of those, I would still be indulging.  Man, just had a flashback of a flavor.  Pirates Bay was real nice.


----------



## weepete

limr said:


> weepete said:
> 
> 
> 
> I struggled with vaping for the first month having 2 a day then dropped to 1 or two a month. The last stinkie I had was last September, so thats one whole half year since my last . Of that one I only had three draws and chucked it out as it was bogging!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I always read your posts with a Scottish accent in my head, but for some reason, this particular paragraph makes me wish I could hear it out loud for real  Maybe because I kind of adore the term "stinkie" for cigarette.
Click to expand...


Hahaha, aye I do have quite a Glasweigian accent so that would be about right. Needless to say I picked up most of my vaping lingo on UKVapers.co.uk. but it made me chuckle when I heard it too..


----------



## weepete

JacaRanda said:


> weepete said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> vape gear by wee_pete, on Flickr
> 
> Fromleft to right: Kato mod with a Fogger V5, Stingray with an Elegant Vapour Tobh clone, new Sigelei 75W with a UD Zephurus, Nemisis with a Royal Hunter and a Gizmo 24 V2 with 18650 extension and another Zepyrus
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think if I had any one of those, I would still be indulging.  Man, just had a flashback of a flavor.  Pirates Bay was real nice.
Click to expand...


Aye mate, 50W of custard is some amount of flavour!


----------



## Stradawhovious

I have had a glut of PMs about getting started in vaping, and there are a WHOLE LOT of questions than can be answered by a couple simple, short videos just to get the basics.  I will post a few here...  It's true that there's a learning curve, and some homework that needs to be done in the beginning, but to save the expense to your wallet and health by quitting the cancer nails it's worth it.

Also, starting this thread has inspired me to quit the cigs altogether.  From this moment on, I'm done with them.  Thanks guys!











And here's a fun one...


----------



## JacaRanda

BTW, once I discovered I could get zero nicotine, I went that route also.  Smoking cigs for me was a habit, not an addiction.  I was lucky!


----------



## Stradawhovious

JacaRanda said:


> BTW, once I discovered I could get zero nicotine, I went that route also.  Smoking cigs for me was a habit, not an addiction.  I was lucky!




With the variable nicotine content of the juices, most places will allow for the opportunity to decrease the amount of nicotine over time with the same flavors, so you don't notice a difference from higher content to lower.

In theory anyways.

I don't.


----------



## JacaRanda

Stradawhovious said:


> JacaRanda said:
> 
> 
> 
> BTW, once I discovered I could get zero nicotine, I went that route also.  Smoking cigs for me was a habit, not an addiction.  I was lucky!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> With the variable nicotine content of the juices, most places will allow for the opportunity to decrease the amount of nicotine over time with the same flavors, so you don't notice a difference from higher content to lower.
> 
> In theory anyways.
> 
> I don't.
Click to expand...

Definitely a plus.


----------



## weepete

Lol, me either.

But then I'm not trying to quit. I just moved on to an alternative. I went from 18mg to 16mg to 11mg to 10mg last year, then back up to 18mg and now to 6mg. 

But as many long term smokers do I self regulate. That is I consume roughly similar amounts of nicotene per day, but I'll vape more or less or at higher or lower powers depending on strength. As far as I'm aware the phenomenon was discovered after lite cigarettes were introduced as a method of cutting down. After the studies were published they found most smokers didn't smoke the same number of cigarettes but instead smoked more so the nicotene levels were similar.


----------



## limr

JacaRanda said:


> BTW, once I discovered I could get zero nicotine, I went that route also.  *Smoking cigs for me was a habit, not an addiction.  I was lucky!*



Same here.


----------



## Stradawhovious

limr said:


> JacaRanda said:
> 
> 
> 
> BTW, once I discovered I could get zero nicotine, I went that route also.  *Smoking cigs for me was a habit, not an addiction.  I was lucky!*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Same here.
Click to expand...


It's that way for almost everyone.  The physical dependency on nicotine is done in about a week (or less) even for heavy smokers, the rest is all psychological.


----------



## Stradawhovious

My new favorites.  The one on the left is called "Bad Hare day".  It's a very potent custard flavor and at a 70/30 (vg/pg) mix it produces a hell of a cloud at 60 watts.  The bottle on the right is a 50/50 mix called "Black Sun".  They say it's a blend of coffee, chocolate, tobacco and raisin, but to me it is spot on to a fresh cold press coffee.  Not as much vapor, but a great throat hit and brutal amount of flavor.  It's seriously like gargling with coffee.  Love it.


----------



## rexbobcat

Stradawhovious said:


> limr said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> JacaRanda said:
> 
> 
> 
> BTW, once I discovered I could get zero nicotine, I went that route also.  *Smoking cigs for me was a habit, not an addiction.  I was lucky!*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Same here.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> It's that way for almost everyone.  The physical dependency on nicotine is done in about a week (or less) even for heavy smokers, the rest is all psychological.
Click to expand...


What's...the source on this? Because nicotine basically affects your dopamine production much like cocaine and amphetamines (there's more to it obviously but dopamine is part of what causes the "feel good" sensation).


----------



## weepete

Looks tasty, particularly the custard 

I just hate how a lot of put food colouring in  e-liquid when its really doen't need to be there.


----------



## Stradawhovious

rexbobcat said:


> What's...the source on this? Because nicotine basically affects your dopamine production much like cocaine and amphetamines (there's more to it obviously but dopamine is part of what causes the "feel good" sensation).



The doctors that tried to get me to quit for years...  I also read it on the internet, so it HAS to be true, right?


----------



## Stradawhovious

weepete said:


> Looks tasty, particularly the custard
> 
> I just hate how a lot of put food colouring in  e-liquid when its really doen't need to be there.




Well, you're the one that inspired me to try a custard flavor... and a good call at that.

I agree about the food coloring (we don't spell that with a "u" here in the land of "standard" measurement).  Although, this liquid is far less orange when you get it in the tank.  I think the label and frosted glass make it look more colorful than it is.


----------



## weepete

Stradawhovious said:


> Well, you're the one that inspired me to try a custard flavor... and a good call at that.
> 
> I agree about the food coloring (we don't spell that with a "u" here in the land of "standard" measurement).  Although, this liquid is far less orange when you get it in the tank.  I think the label and frosted glass make it look more colorful than it is.



Glad you like the custard then! There a fair few of us vapers thst are custard daft. Suicide Bunny's mother's milk has been on my list to try for a while and I really should pick up a bottle soon, a creamy custard with dragonfruit and strawberry I think. My favorite has been Kraken's Kingslayer which is awesome. Digby's is a brand thats been mentioned a few times to me as well as a top custard though the latter two are UK brands.

That colour in the tank looks like it could be without food colouring (you guys also spell centre weird too) though I was vaping an apple flavour today that had it in. Pinkman also has it, though the colour fades after a while.

I'm gonna pop to the local B&M tomorrow and pick up a new flavour though. I need to get some bulk supplies in especially as the EU Tobbaco Products Directive is going to kick in here in May which will severly restrict what we can get in the UK so I'm stocking up.


----------



## Stradawhovious

weepete said:


> I'm gonna pop to the local B&M tomorrow and pick up a new flavour though. I need to get some bulk supplies in especially as the EU Tobbaco Products Directive is going to kick in here in May which will severly restrict what we can get in the UK so I'm stocking up.



Here's the kicker...  Within a 15 minute drive of my house, I have no fewer than 15 vape shops.  Not ONE of them carries overlapping brands of liquid.  It's astonishing how many people are in the game on this.  I'm kind of hoping the market saturation dries up a bit so I can start finding the same stuff at multiple shops.  As it stands, I end up buying something different almost every time, unless I happen to end up at the same shop...  which only happens as an accident of convenience.

Buying a different brand/flavor every time is both a blessing and a curse.  I probably have 30 half full bottles of vape juice on a shelf in my bedroom.

And Yeah, I think the FDA is going to bring Thor's hammer down on this pretty soon here as well.  I expect choices to drop as sharply as prices go up.


----------



## jsecordphoto

Stradawhovious said:


> Here's the kicker...  Within a 15 minute drive of my house, I have no fewer than 15 vape shops.  Not ONE of them carries overlapping brands of liquid.  It's astonishing how many people are in the game on this.  I'm kind of hoping the market saturation dries up a bit so I can start finding the same stuff at multiple shops.  As it stands, I end up buying something different almost every time, unless I happen to end up at the same shop...  which only happens as an accident of convenience.
> 
> Buying a different brand/flavor every time is both a blessing and a curse.  I probably have 30 half full bottles of vape juice on a shelf in my bedroom.
> 
> And Yeah, I think the FDA is going to bring Thor's hammer down on this pretty soon here as well.  I expect choices to drop as sharply as prices go up.



that's crazy. I have one shop like 15 minutes away but it's in a college town and they run out of all the good juice so fast. The other shop I usually go to is like 45 minutes away, but my buddy owns it so he'll hold onto any juice I want and it's nice to go in and try out a bunch of new stuff he gets. It's awesome how much free juice he gets sent by companies because they want him to start carrying their stuff, there's always 5-10 new flavors to check out. The issue I find is a lot of juice will smell really good, but the flavor will be lacking.


----------



## Stradawhovious

jsecordphoto said:


> that's crazy. I have one shop like 15 minutes away but it's in a college town and they run out of all the good juice so fast. The other shop I usually go to is like 45 minutes away, but my buddy owns it so he'll hold onto any juice I want and it's nice to go in and try out a bunch of new stuff he gets. It's awesome how much free juice he gets sent by companies because they want him to start carrying their stuff, there's always 5-10 new flavors to check out. The issue I find is a lot of juice will smell really good, but the flavor will be lacking.




In Minneapolis you also can't swing a dead cat without hitting a gaggle of hipsters, and there is a new brewery opening every weekend... so this many shops probably isn't typical to other, less hipster infested demographics.

And yeah, smell and flavor aren't always related.  One of my favorite juices is Anise and cinnamon flavored (pretty spot on too), but the vapor smelled like a fresh urinal cake so I stopped using it.


----------



## Stradawhovious

Well, just got back from the vape shop with my very first RDA.  (rebuildable dripping atomizer).  Nothing fancy, just a generic no frills 2 coil unit.

So much for not going down the rabbit hole, but if I'm going to be off the cancer nails for good, well... I need variety.

I decided to buy pre-built coils instead of starting in making my own... so I may have cheated a little.  First impressions after getting this thing all put together....

DANG  THAT'S A LOT OF VAPOR.  

I had to max out the wattage of my battery mod to 75 watts (which would be REALLY hot with my other tanks) and the vapor is still really quite cool, but  I have about 3x the vapor production of even the new Aspire Cleito I just picked up.

I NEED A LOWER NIC CONTENT JUICE.

Even with the relatively low 6mg juices I'm vaping now, I think it will be far too much for me with that much vapor production.

Granted, I will only be using this in place of the cigars I would smoke during back yard BBQs and such, it will still be nice to have.


----------



## weepete

Lol mate, aye I've dropped nic too though I could easily go back to the 18mg. But I'm a bit of a cloud chaser anyway and even on a 0.9ohm dual coil at 45watts the vapour production is more than 0.4ohms on my mech. If you are dripping then the clouds can be huge. I order most of my e-liquid online if I want to get a spesific brand, same with atties and mods.

What coils did you get? 

I've heard really good things about the Sacredmods Stro Mini V2 as a dripper. IME clones are just never quite as good as the originals, but at their price point some can still be excellent. There's a whole lot of good sub $50 RBAs/RDAs on the market ATM. I do prefer my tanks though.

Building your own coils is not as difficult as it sounds *barring claptons, triple stacked dual coils and the other crazy stuff. I'd highly reccomend a wee coil jig like this one Amazon.com: Coil Master 6 in 1 Coil Jig with Authenticity Scratch Code - Perfect Micro Coils (BLACK)`: Arts, Crafts & Sewing

Also one of these: http://www.coil-master.net/product/coil-master-ohm-meter

The major issue is wicking normally. Easy enough with a dripper but RTAs can take a bit of trial and error and even then can be hit or miss. I wouldn't go back to stock coils though.


----------



## Stradawhovious

weepete said:


> What coils did you get?



Just some generic single twist looking coils.  All built up it registers at .27 ohms, and at 75w I'm getting what I consider to be pretty decent sized clouds of vapor, far cooler (temperature wise) than I expected.  It's a very interesting experience for sure.

I will eventually get into building coils if I decide I enjoy this dripper thing... I just didn't want to tool up and decide it wasn't for me, so I stuck with the prefab for now.  And as fas as the atomizer for less than $50, I got the RDA, coils and cotton for $30...  so there's that.

I will admit I have no idea what I'm doing this far down the rabbit hole, but I look forward to learning!


----------



## weepete

Yeah, drippers can chuck out the clouds, and generally more flavour than tanks. I'm suprised at the 0.3 ohms, I could never get that to be a cool vape but maybe it's thicker wire. I did a 0.25ohm build on a mech but with 28 gauge and it was a fierce spluttery affair that didn't last long.

I set up my Royal Hunter tonight, dual coiled with 15 wraps of 26 gauge (0.4mm) kanthal with a 2.5mm ID. Total resistance is 0.9 ohms when set up. The ramp up time is huge and it pretty much won't vape below 35W but it plesant at 50W and up (am vaping at 75W with it now). Got two new e-liquids, an Element pink lemonade flavour (tastes like skittles to me) and is 80% VG but is a really lovely vape. The other is Pure Evil's Sloth from the 7 deadly sins range, which smells like a strong ribena but I'll try that tomorrow.


----------



## Stradawhovious

weepete said:


> I set up my Royal Hunter tonight, dual coiled with 15 wraps of 26 gauge (0.4mm) kanthal with a 2.5mm ID. Total resistance is 0.9 ohms when set up.



I have no idea what you just said.    I'm sure if you give it a couple months I will have complete comprehension of it.

I got tired of the voltage droop from the .4 ohm coil on my 75w mod almost immediately, so I ran out today and got a 200w Wismec Reuleaux mod that runs on 3 18650 batteries.  If that droops below firing wattage at 55 watts I will be amazed.  That, and it fires that RDA I just bought at 100W famously.

I should be set on mods now...

But knowing me, that won't stop me from getting more in the future.


----------



## weepete

No worries mate  it's just the size, material and type of the coils. In paralell coils the total resistance halves so my coils were around 1.95 ohms each.

My local B+M has them too, the dude behind the counter was trying to sell me one last time but I shyied away as I didn't have any paired batteries never mind a charger that would take all 3 at the same time. It might be somthing you should look into with that mod, the last thing you want to do is pull too much current from one cell as it could vent, especially at the higher wattages.

Oh and BTW its really worth checking your batteries are suitable (Sony VTC4s are pretty good as are VTC5s if you can get them as are Samsung 25Rs and LG HQQs) but be careful as there are a lot of fakes out there that are putting low drain batteries in a high drain wrap. I'd get on the vaping forums (Planet of the vapes, Vaping underground and UK Vapers are the ones I go to for info) and get learning about power calcs, high wattage vaping and coils quick sharp. There's been a few cases of people trying to run before they can walk and ending up with their atomiser embedded in their face.

What was your new RDA?


----------



## weepete

Here's a handy online calculator for various things 

Steam Engine main page

And here's a good site with battery info:

Torchy the Battery Boy: 18650 Batteries / Chargers

Torchy is who I get all my 18650 batteries from.


----------



## AlanKlein

waday said:


> The wife and I are still trying to get the father-in-law to try vaping.
> 
> His current daily setup is 4 packs of Marlboro Red.



I smoked 2 1/2 packs of Newport a day for 35 years and stopped 21 years ago with the help of Nicotine Anonymous.

Nicotine Anonymous offers help for those who desire to live free from nicotine

_Nicotine Anonymous is a non-profit 12-step fellowship of men and women helping each other live nicotine-free lives. Nicotine Anonymous welcomes all those seeking freedom from nicotine addiction, including those using cessation programs and nicotine withdrawal aids. The primary purpose of Nicotine Anonymous is to help all those who would like to cease using tobacco and nicotine products in any form. The Fellowship offers group support and recovery using the 12 Steps as adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous to achieve abstinence from nicotine._


----------



## Stormchase

on year 9 of vapeing. currently have a RONNIN tank with .6 coils. top fill and i can change coils with full juice. I forget the name of my mod... 80 watt cooking at 35-40 with the temp at 260. current setup cost 70 bucks. good clouds. I have spent thousands and its the better one so far. I dripped for a couple years an burned out of building decks.  juice wise i do premium. my favorite is Propaganda brand " Illuminati". i could drink the stuff! 120 ml runs $75. second is Time Bomb "TNT" runs a couple bucks cheaper. $72 i think. all at 3-1.5 mg. i get a contrasting house flavor to stop flavor lock.


----------



## weepete

Sweet, you must have got in pretty early on the vaping thing then!


----------



## Stradawhovious

Stormchase said:


> juice wise i do premium. my favorite is Propaganda brand " Illuminati". i could drink the stuff! 120 ml runs $75. second is Time Bomb "TNT" runs a couple bucks cheaper.



Any idea on what the VG\PG blend on the propaganda liquids might be?  I checked their site, and couldn't find anything.  I assume it's a fairly high VG if you're firing it at .6 ohms...  I wouldn't mind giving this one a try.


----------



## Stradawhovious

In looking for new vape juice vendors, I stumbled across this...

ZampleBox | Best E-Liquid & Best E-Juice Subscription | Best Vape Liquid

It seems to be the "jelly of the month club" for people who vape.  It's a recurring monthly service that sends you 3, 6, 0r 11 bottles of juice per month, at random, based on a flavor profile you set up before hand.  Price is reasonable... and they seem to have all premium juices.

I signed up for their "Gold" package which is 6 bottles (80-100ml) per month, and it's only $29.99 delivered.  If I were to buy 90ml of premium juice anywhere else it would be over $60.

Seems like a good way to try new things and save some cash.  I realize they won't all be winners, but sometimes surprises are fun.

If anyone decides to sign up for this, let me know.  If I put your names into the site I get free stuff and you get a discount.  Or don't.  Either way.


----------



## rodbender

Anyone want to tell me how to get rid of the throat hit i get from a vape I'm a 3 pack + smoker and tried the vapes but the throat hit make me cough worse


----------



## weepete

Finally got my Zephyrus RTA wicked just right. No leaks and happily vapes at 50 watts with a 0.5 ohm 2mm ID coil. It seems I'd been putting a just a little bit too much cotton in it for optimal performance. Sweet


----------



## Stormchase

70/30 is what I was told by the vape shop. Very smooth and good flavor


----------



## Stormchase

Rodbender, I noticed that there can be a little transition. There are 2 things that cause the throat scratch. PG level for some can cause it. Juice is a blend of VG and PG. Try a high level of VG or max VG. It might help. An other thing can be the nicotine level. Even tho they will tell you to get 18MG for a full flavor cig equivalent it depends on the system you vape. You could lower the nicotine level for smoother vape. Most moderen vapes are made for a lung hit not a mouth hit like a ciggerette. I use 3mg. (Ultra ultra light cig equivalent) if I hit it like a ciggerette it will almost kill me coughing. If I lung hit it, I can change the weather and it's smooth. All in all inhale with lungs without filling your mouth first. The more you inhale quickly the smoother it can be. Good VG juice and lower nicotine. My 3mg is about like a malbro red label 100. You can find you combo. Everyone is different.


----------



## Stradawhovious

rodbender said:


> Anyone want to tell me how to get rid of the throat hit i get from a vape I'm a 3 pack + smoker and tried the vapes but the throat hit make me cough worse



Yep.  High VG Low nic.  In my RDA I'm using an 80/20 (vg/pg) and 2.5 mg nicotine.  Huge clouds and I can get so much nicotine that I get sick if I want to.

I don't want to.

If you go with a reasonable sub ohm setup like the kangertech subtank mini with a .5 ohm coil and a 70/30 (vg/pg) juice at 6mg of nicotine you will likely get plenty of nicotine (lung hits required) and the throat hit will be at a minimum.  If you have a shop near you ask them to try this type of setup to see if it's for you.  If the shop is worth their weight, they will be able to accomodate this with a sample unit.

If you arent used to the feeling of a lung hit, it will feel weird at first, but become second nature quickly.

ETA...  different juices and manufacturers have different throat feels as well.  Try as many as you can.  Most shops will have most if not all of their juices available for sampling.


----------



## Stradawhovious

Well, got my first Zamplebox in the mail...  I will say right off the bat, it is anything but discreet.  Here is how it arrived.


 


They included a nifty little "menu" outlining my flavors...



 

And it came very well packaged.



 

I did a really quick taste sample of all the flavors, and I'm pretty surprised that on the surface there doesn't seem to be any that stand out as losers...  so I'm looking forward to trying them all.


----------



## jsecordphoto

I've been wanting to try out one of those monthly services...so many good new flavors to try. Speaking of which, that red bottle from the liquid state company...they make a flavor called Coney Cake that I just discovered last week- SO good. It's supposed to be fried dough with vanilla ice cream with like a berry topping, all I know is that it's delicious.


----------



## FITBMX

I have never smoked anything or vaped. But my dad smoke cigars while I was growing up, and because of that I can not handle cigar or cigarette smoke at all. And it was the best day ever when the guys at the skatepark switched to vapers. Their smoke just kills me.


----------



## Stradawhovious

FITBMX said:


> I have never smoked anything or vaped. But my dad smoke cigars while I was growing up, and because of that I can not handle cigar or cigarette smoke at all. And it was the best day ever when the guys at the skatepark switched to vapers. Their smoke just kills me.




One of the reasons I moved to vaping over smoking is how terrible other people smell when they have recently been smoking.  I thought to myself... "Self, you realize that's how YOU smell after you've been smoking, right?....RIGHT?!?!?"  That and the whole being able to breathe without coughing thing.


----------



## weepete

Yeah man, that was literally one of the first things that struck me when I first started vaping.


----------



## FITBMX

Stradawhovious said:


> FITBMX said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have never smoked anything or vaped. But my dad smoke cigars while I was growing up, and because of that I can not handle cigar or cigarette smoke at all. And it was the best day ever when the guys at the skatepark switched to vapers. Their smoke just kills me.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> One of the reasons I moved to vaping over smoking is *how terrible other people smell when they have recently been smoking.*  I thought to myself... "Self, you realize that's how YOU smell after you've been smoking, right?....RIGHT?!?!?"  That and the whole being able to breathe without coughing thing.
Click to expand...


Good point!


----------



## Stradawhovious

jsecordphoto said:


> I've been wanting to try out one of those monthly services...so many good new flavors to try. Speaking of which, that red bottle from the liquid state company...they make a flavor called Coney Cake that I just discovered last week- SO good. It's supposed to be fried dough with vanilla ice cream with like a berry topping, all I know is that it's delicious.



Well, here's an update.  I've tried all 6 now, and am pleased to say there is only one real loser in the bunch.  The clear frosted bottle with the milk carton on it called "Red Label".  I think the flavor profile of cherry is just too difficult to replicate in this format.  It always seems to come out tasting like cough syrup to me.

The rest however are spot on.  There are some that I will only hit once and a while to mix things up a bit... for example the cinnamon roll flavor, or the one that eerily captures the flavor of fruit loops cereal exactly... but the ones like "Swaggerific" and "Sour Belts" could be daily vapers for me.  The funny thing is when I got started in this, I was adamant that the fruit flavors and more sweet flavors wouldn't appeal to me.  I was wrong.


----------



## Braineack




----------



## pixmedic




----------



## pixmedic

never smoked cigarettes so vaping didnt really catch my attention.
I do smoke the occasional cigar.  I used to smoke more cigars back when I had a patio and a nice humidor. 
A.Fuente, Ashton, Partagas (one of my favorite brands), Cohiba (probably my favorite), H. Upmann, Romeo y Julieta.... I could go on forever....

now I probably only smoke one cigar a month, so I dont keep any in the house anymore.


----------



## Stradawhovious

pixmedic said:


> never smoked cigarettes so vaping didnt really catch my attention.
> I do smoke the occasional cigar.  I used to smoke more cigars back when I had a patio and a nice humidor.
> A.Fuente, Ashton, Partagas (one of my favorite brands), Cohiba (probably my favorite), H. Upmann, Romeo y Julieta.... I could go on forever....
> 
> now I probably only smoke one cigar a month, so I dont keep any in the house anymore.



Yeah, the whole vaping thing really SHOULDN'T appeal to folks that aren't former smokers, and if it does, I certainly wouldn't know why.

I have a decently stocked humidor.  Well, it used to be better stocked, but my wife wanted the real estate back in the living room. (50 bottle wine fridge converted to humidor).  Now it's just the good stuff, and it's in a cooler under my bed.  (lined with cedar, humidity controlled to a solid 65%rh...)

You say Cohiba, Upmann, RYJ, those better come from a little ways south of Florida, and not have funny red dots in the "O"s... If not, I'm sorry.


----------



## pixmedic

Stradawhovious said:


> pixmedic said:
> 
> 
> 
> never smoked cigarettes so vaping didnt really catch my attention.
> I do smoke the occasional cigar.  I used to smoke more cigars back when I had a patio and a nice humidor.
> A.Fuente, Ashton, Partagas (one of my favorite brands), Cohiba (probably my favorite), H. Upmann, Romeo y Julieta.... I could go on forever....
> 
> now I probably only smoke one cigar a month, so I dont keep any in the house anymore.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, the whole vaping thing really SHOULDN'T appeal to folks that aren't former smokers, and if it does, I certainly wouldn't know why.
> 
> I have a decently stocked humidor.  Well, it used to be better stocked, but my wife wanted the real estate back in the living room. (50 bottle wine fridge converted to humidor).  Now it's just the good stuff, and it's in a cooler under my bed.  (lined with cedar, humidity controlled to a solid 65%rh...)
> 
> You say Cohiba, Upmann, RYJ, those better come from a little ways south of Florida, and not have funny red dots in the "O"s... If not, I'm sorry.
Click to expand...

Canada, actually.
Back when I actually kept a humidor and could store cigars in quantity.


----------



## Stradawhovious

pixmedic said:


> Canada, actually.
> Back when I actually kept a humidor and could store cigars in quantity.




But I assume originated from Cuba.

I may just go home and fire up a stick tonight.  Haven't done that in months.  It's been far too cold.

But I digress...

SUBOHM, YO!

YEAH BOUY!!!


----------



## pixmedic

Stradawhovious said:


> pixmedic said:
> 
> 
> 
> Canada, actually.
> Back when I actually kept a humidor and could store cigars in quantity.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But I assume originated from Cuba.
> 
> I may just go home and fire up a stick tonight.  Haven't done that in months.  It's been far too cold.
> 
> But I digress...
> 
> SUBOHM, YO!
> 
> YEAH BOUY!!!
Click to expand...

Yea. Was legal to import them to Canada and we have family there.


----------



## pjaye

Ok, I'm in. Bought my first unit today. It's starter for me, which I'm going to do my absolute best to stick to!


----------



## pjaye

Bought my second unit. The first one sucked. I bought the Joyetech eGo All-in-One. Love it. I bought a custom juice blend. The guy makes them and names them after people he has lost to tobacco related diseases. 

I'm still smoking cigarettes but MUCH less. I'm dating a non smoker, so I no longer smoke in the car or when I'm around him. I find that when I do have a smoke now, it tastes gross and I don't finish it. So I'm calling that progress.


----------



## Space Face

Never tried it and have no intention of doing so.


----------

