Tam

Hi Breal. Good to have you back! The 306s are becoming very hard to find these days. My personal favorite atomizer is the custom HH.357 from Avid Vaper, it's a 510 atomizer for direct dripping. Many say these are the Lamborghini of atomizers and I have to agree. The price is certainly telling but worth every penny for the quality of flavor and vapor I get. If you decide to try these, be sure the follow the directions on their webpage carefully as there are specific instructions -- even for veteran drippers. Brian at The Veteran Vaper still carries the 306s and he's still around the forum albeit infrequently. Christopher, BirdDog, Jeffb, Mark, McQuinn are still here but sadly, many other members have stopped posting. Glad to see you again.

We now conclude today's portion of Vaping 101. Thank you for joining us tonight. We hope you'll tune in again tomorrow.

Wow. I feel like a GhostBuster. lol Even the most seasoned vaper keeps looking for new flavors. Our tastebuds change so what tasted great at first just doesn't do it for us anymore. Other flavors that tasted bland or not good to us can taste wonderful after a bit. The longer juices "steep" the more the nuances and other flavors come out. Steeping is letting it sit. If a juice doesn't taste very good at first, take the cap off, place it somewhere dark and where kids and pets can't get into it. Shake daily. Let sit for a few days to a week and then try it. You'll notice that the flavor has changed a little. When it gets where it tastes good to you -- vape away. Some flavors are improved by steeping. Others won't ever taste good to you. The PG/VG ratio and nic level will change the flavor of your juice. More PG = thinner juice, carries flavor better, greater throat hit, less vapor More VG = thicker juice (read: gunks up coils faster), slightly sweeter flavor, slightly muted flavor, more vapor More nicotine = more throat hit, harsher vape I prefer a 50/50 (PG is usually the first number, VG the second) blend although I've been leaning more toward a 40/60 these days. I don't much like throat hit anymore.

There is no such thing as a stupid question. There are, however, a myriad of stupid answers. lol

What brand of cigarettes and how much did you smoke? A very rough equivalent is: 24 mg (2.4%) = full flavor like Marlboro Reds 12 mg (1.2%) = lights like Marlboro Lights 6 mg (.6%) = ultra lights Now keep in mind that these are not exact equivalents but will give you a starting point. Even though I smoked about a pack of Marlboro Lights a day, when I started vaping I went with the 24 mg. Once I got a handle on it and no longer wanted to smoke for a few weeks I stepped it down to 12 mg. These days I have everything from 0 - 24. The 0 nic I use when I'm chain vaping. The 24 I use when I can't vape very much or very often so it gives me the nic I need in just a few puffs. Most of the time I stick to around 12 mg but the 6 mg are calling more and more these days. I just vape whatever I need or want at the time. Through trial and error you'll find what works best for you. Since you're just beginning, though, I'd go with the 24 - 18. You'll know if you're getting too much nic because you'll feel dizzy, might get a headache or upset stomach. That's when you put it down for a bit. If those feelings continue then I'd step down on the nicotine levels. YMMV.

What Earthling said. That, and also, your body is not only addicted to the nicotine it was getting from the cigarettes, it was also addicted to all the other chemicals and carcinogens that they contained. Getting enough nicotine in the very beginning is very important to getting off the analogs. You may feel bad at first because your body is going to go through some withdrawals, not as bad as when you go cold turkey because you'll still be getting the nicotine. Give it some time. The beauty of vaping is that it's not an all or nothing deal. If you really crave a cigarette, go ahead and have one or five. As you continue to vape (and you're getting enough nic), you'll find that the amount of cigarettes you're smoking goes way down. At least that's how it was for me. Once I got over the "you must NOT SMOKE!" mentality the pressure was off and I naturally found myself vaping more than smoking. It took me five days to stop but your mileage may vary. Some people can get off the analogs from day one while it takes others a few weeks to a month. Give yourself a break and don't beat yourself up if you have a couple. Just get back to vaping and it'll sort itself out.

I think he's talking about Josh here...

If you ever have any doubt don't hesitate to ask. There are a bunch of really good people on this forum who have all been where you're at right now. It's great when we can help others on this journey. And don't feel like any question is too trivial or even stupid. Believe me, we've heard them all before -- if we weren't the ones asking! lol

@jasonculp Never put used juice back into a bottle of new juice. When you vape, the coil heats up the juice. After a while (or when the tank is nearly empty) the juice can start tasting bad/burnt/just plain nasty. That's when you dump it out and rinse the tank. Even if the juice still tastes okay, it has changed a bit in the tank. Best to keep the new juice in the bottle...new. @sandiclause When you vape one flavor for too long you'll no longer be able to taste it. That's when you change to a very different flavor. I rotate several different flavors throughout the day so it keeps things interesting. Don't go from one fruit to another as that won't help much. Go with a fruit, change to a bakery, change to a mint, to a citrus, etc. Drink LOTS of water! Vaping dehydrates you so water intake is very important (not soda, not coffee, not tea -- just water). Also, keep in mind that if you're using tanks made of plastic any juice that's high in citrus, mint or cinnamon may crack the tank. Better to get something that has a glass/Pyrex tank like a Kanger Pro Tank (KPT), KPT mini, Anyvape Davide/mini, Aerotank, Nautilius, Evod Glass, etc. Those won't crack from the juice, you just have to be careful not to drop it or knock it into something because it is glass and will break or crack that way.

I keep a bunch of tanks filled with different flavors so I can switch when I want. If you drain the juice out of the tank and put in a different flavor, the old wick retains the flavor from the previous juice unless you clean it well and soak it in something like vodka. Some stronger flavors never come out so it's just easier to keep various tanks for me. In some of the tanks you can just change out the coil (heating element with a wick inside), while others are all one piece disposables. When those quit working you throw them away and get a brand new one. These are more expensive in the long run, it's much cheaper to be able to rinse the tank and pop in a fresh coil.

Whose relative is insane? Whut???

Congrats on starting your vaping journey!

I'd need at least a medium size suitcase to hold it all I think...

True. When I write it out like that it sounds like a lot, but in reality it's not that much. The rest of my toys I leave at home, though. Does that count?

At work I keep two 5-packs of 1.8 ohm KPT coils, two chargers, a 5-pack of 2.0 atomizers for direct dripping, a 30 ml bottle of FLaN and a bunch of friend tips. With me at all times is one Royal Crown bag of several different flavors of juice. In another bag are a 5-pack of KPT coils, an extra Davide mini, a charger with an AC adapter, extra drip tips (because I use Pyrex ones), a couple of spare O-rings for the Davide mini, and a couple of fully charged Vision Spinners (either 900 or 1300 mAh). In the side pocket of my purse are four 900 mAh Vision Spinners with Davide minis in different flavors. There's also a 1300 mAh Spinner with a custom HH.357 and drip shield that I cart around for dripping at work and at home. Got caught once without back ups and back ups for my back ups. Never again.

We'll probably run into each other at another vape meet sometime.

When I finally learned not to look at it, I don't mind the fingerprint magnet anymore. There are a couple of wraps I've been contemplating though, just to give it a bit of color -- minus the fingerprints.

Yeah, starting out on a VTR isn't cheap. Mine was on a major pre-sale at "only" $72, but I also had to buy the batteries and charger. When all was said and done I think it wound up to be over $150 total but I'm pretty happy to have a couple of extra fully-charged batteries on me at all times to replace the drained one when needed instead of having to wait for it to recharge. I'm not long on patience when it comes to vaping.

When I tried using my Fluke meter I found that I didn't have enough hands to be able to hold everything and still be able to read the output. lol The dedicated ones are only around $20 or so. They're much easier to use and convenient too. Vaping is a healthier addiction.

I've been looking at those but so far have been able to resist. My iTaste VTR lasts forever with the 18650 3400 mAh batteries...

Welcome to VT!

Even though I have various mods and APVs, I prefer to use my Vision Spinners. I have Spinners in 900 mAh, 1300 mAh and the new Vision Spinner v2. The 900 mAh battery will last me a good part of the day easily while the 1300 mAh will take me well into the next day of chain vaping. The v2 Spinner is still too new for me to gauge but it's rated at 1600 mAh so it lasts even longer without being bulky. The charging thing on the v2 is still a little wonky though...

The "really big e-cigs" are probably mechanical mods or APVs (Advanced Personal Vaporizers). For now, since you're just starting out, your Evod battery should be good until you're ready to move up. Then, when you're ready for the next step, I'd suggest a Vision Spinner. That's a variable voltage battery. It looks like an Evod battery except it has a little dial on the bottom so you can adjust how much voltage you want to use from 3.3v - 4.8v. Baby steps. We'll be here to guide you if you want.

All of the tanks we've been talking about on your hijacked thread can be used on your Evod batteries. The full sized Kanger Pro Tanks (1,2 and 3) as well as the full sized Davide and Aerotanks will look a bit odd (top heavy) on your battery but will work on it. On batteries like the Evod, most people prefer to use the minis of the Kanger Pro Tanks and Anyvape Davides so it doesn't stick out the sides so much.

Sorry about the bottom-thingy. It's been a rough day and the brain doesn't want to cough up the right name for the thing and I can't be bothered to google it. lol. Yes, that makes a lot of sense to cut expenses where you can. I also like the single coil because I've been playing around and rebuilding some of mine. Can't do that so easily on the dual coil if you can at all. Haven't heard of anyone rebuilding the duals but many, many people rebuilding the single coils.