ddavelarsen

Holly and Keenan, our prayers are with you. Hang in there.

I think I see my next order coming up. I'll keep an eye out to see when you get stocked on VP/PTs and get all my happiness in one day. Thanks Christopher.

Uncool! Just email me at dave.larsenATmac.com and we'll be all set nana. Replace the "AT" though. I have one other to get out tomorrow too. Several bumper stickers hit the mail today, made me very happy! I let my dad know they're getting some love, and he'll be pleased too.

Okay nana, that one cracks me up! You, the self-professed least social among us, need a generator so as not to be disconnected! I think I'm gonna print that and hang it on my wall. Ms Mega Poster.

I have a couple electric RC helis that run on Li-Po batts. I'll second that they don't have a memory issue but I have read that overcharging them can risk fire or explosion and that discharging them too far can kill them. These are kind of old though (in technology years) so perhaps Li-Po have since incorporated safety like Li-ion protected batts. I haven't messed with them for a couple of years and have no clue what the battery tech is like these days.

This is an interesting idea; one of those areas I wish there were objective scientific inquiry applied. If such things can actually make a difference, I'll be all over it. If the nic level weren't so low I think I'd try it anyway, just out of curiousity. I have notoriously bad lungs - lung problems all my life. Any kind of vapor salve for them sounds like a good deal to me, if it's for real. I'm a little skeptical though. Dlynne, please keep us posted of your ongoing experience. And I'd really like to hear when anyone tries the lung juice too.

You guys got me thinking again. I'm pretty well stocked for juice and attys right now, but if we had a power outage I'd be up the creek. And the way the weather's been going here this year, that's not such a stretch. So let me clarify - car adapter and PT will get me through those times when the house is cold and the pipes have frozen, and my wife threw me out because I forgot to pay the utility bill? A VP/PT is on my list for the next purchase, might as well start looking for a proper car adaptor for it. LordVape, you're turning into quite the life saver for me, thanks. And congratulations on the post-Christmas gift to yourself!

Joy will be coming your way, gents! Thank you!

Thanks some more, gents. I'm really glad that I don't risk shortening my battery's -- what, volume? -- by charging too soon in the eternal quest for that ultimate throat hit. Battery technology has come a long way; can't wait to see what the future will bring.

Well, 'fraid not. That went to my other friend Danny. Sorry man - and in case you thought about asking, no - I'll never do that again! That picture's been published the most of anything I've ever made. Most recently in an art book called 500 Knives. That made my day too! But coming from another vaper, I think it means more. Your kind words mean more than I can say -- and still sound like a man. So - back on topic!* I've gotten a couple more bumper stickers ready to go and they'll all hit the PO this morning. I still have some left, so don't be shy folks. Time for a congress wake-up call. *I know keenan will be proud of me.

Thanks folks, that's sure what I was hoping to hear.

One thing I've been wondering about is whether it might shorten a battery's life to recharge it too soon? In the 'olden days' rechargeable batteries would set a "memory" at the recharge level, and if one recharged before the battery was completely drained, you'd be stuck with only a partial power level forevermore. Later they came up with "smart chargers" that would drain a battery before recharging it. Does that apply to Li-ion batts? Hope not.

Pixie dust. Yep, that's gotta be it. I'm not a social person by any stretch at all but VT sure reeled me in. It's the cool and accepting folks here, not just the experience, that keeps it all together for me. I absolutely agree it's ensured my continuing success. Sometimes I wonder how long I'll hang out here; I suspect a long, long time. I just dig it. Ha! I just remembered a question I have to ask that I've kept forgetting to. See you all in a bit.

Sounds like a blast but traveling anywhere ain't in my immediate future. If anyone goes to anything like that, I hope they'll take a lot of pictures and post them!

Uh... What was the topic again? Fun hater! (JK!) Oh yeah - voting incumbents out because they're not supporting constituent's interests. I can buy into that any day. Thanks keenan!

Well, that's where jump school is but I was stationed at Ft Bragg in NC. What were you doing at Ft Benning? I have some pretty vivid memories of that place, even if it was 30+ years ago...

DannyBoy, that's a wonderful story! And I'm really pleased that so many families have taken up vaping. That's just more proof that this really works. And yes, both of the smokers in my family have quit in favor of vaping too. My brother just doesn't grok forums. (Or maybe his time is too valuable to spend it helping others or learning new stuff.) I wish he were here, but he's not. And we often dis the commercial e-cigs that introduced us to vaping, but look at all the good they do. Even if they suck. DannyBoy's envy has really made the rounds, converting smokers as it went - how cool is that!

Amen, brother! I think your Jesus sticker is hilarious! And dead on. I was in the 82nd airborne and you know, I don't think I had a "Fury From The Sky" sticker on my '74 Trans Am... But I did have a Deadhead sticker on it.

Very cool keenan; I like your Dad too. Wish I'd had the opportunity to shake his hand. This makes me wonder if being raised to think independently might have something to do with us all being vapers? I mean, it's not obvious and it's not exactly easy; it's just the right thing.

Welcome BMW! Man I like this forum. You have found a good place. Not sure whether my story adds anything but I'll summarize just for grins. I was a heavy smoker for 40+ years. I smoked 25 or more Pall Mall non-filters every day; if my lungs could have taken it, I'd have smoked more - and more, more, more. I think I'm a nicotine junky. Now, like everyone else I've tried everything under the sun to quit smoking. My failures are legendary at my job. My coworkers were always hopeful when I'd begin to quit and saddened when I'd fail. Which, in a weird way made me feel good; that they cared at all about my health. Of course, my boss also cared about the accumulated time I'd spend in my car smoking! But probably I worried about that more than she did. In any event, smoking has effects on others around us too, so quitting smoking includes a small side benefit for those who care about us. I only learned about vaping by accident. My brother found out about e-cigs and passed the info along to me. We ordered the same equipment at the same time - twice! First KR808 from Vapor4Life, a great company. But the e-cig was not quite sufficient to get me to quit. Same for my brother. He learned about mods and we ended up buying VP2s. Meanwhile, I'd found this forum and given all the great help from others managed to keep going with the initial unit until my VP2 arrived. For a while there I'd pick up an analog, mostly out of habit I think, and quickly realize how awful it was. Soon I began using the KR808 over analogs virtually all the time. Keep in mind, I wasn't really trying to quit smoking; just toying with vaping. I'm in no way a technology early adopter, but I do like gadgets if they're cheap enough. The VP2 was kind of a big commitment. I knew that if I was going to risk that much money I was going to have to forsake analogs altogether. And it worked! Well, mostly. In the month I've 'quit smoking' I've probably had 10 analogs. They all sucked. But I was a smoker for so long and my life was so defined by that, it's been a strange trip to give them up. One day I bought a pack just on a whim. Promptly forgot I had them though, and they ended up going through the laundry unopened. While that may sound uncommitted, I believe it shows how well vaping works to replace cigarettes -- you just forget about them. Old habits may die hard but they can die. We all believe that vaping is safer than smoking; our experience makes that so clear that we sometimes take offense that others show skepticism. But I keep in mind that we don't have as much data around vaping as we do smoking. I'm 100% confident that my vaping is much better for me than smoking; there's no comparison. But we need to insist on objective data to back that up. Because vaping does work so well for so many, I think it's only a matter of time before that kind of information becomes more prevalent. Right now, the studies that support vaping are discounted by 'authorities' because 1) they're not US-based or 2) they've been requested by e-cig manufacturers. Naysayers can convince themselves that this means those studies are meaningless. I don't buy it, but I'm on the 'other side.' I know vaping is better than smoking, because my life has changed dramatically in a very short time. But that is not scientifically objective, and that's what it's going to take for vaping to become accepted 'officially.' Bummer. But that's real life. While we don't often address them directly, there are downsides to vaping. Most obvious are the naysayers. There are many special interest groups who want to see e-cigs fail. Tobacco companies, for obvious reasons. Non-smoking groups for whatever reasons they have, which I doubt they can articulate either. Regulatory agencies because they are power mongers and e-cigs have sidestepped their oversight. None of these groups smoke (even the tobacco industry; want to bet?) so they have nothing to lose from killing e-cigs and much to gain from it. And the naysayers get the press. All that the average joe knows about e-cigs is that 'nobody knows anything about them.' That's the naysayer's credo, and that's what generally gets published. There's also the issue of accessibility. Yes, there are a few mall kiosks, but without exception they sell crap that only serves to make the industry look foolish. And they've been caught repeatedly selling to minors for example, even after challenging anyone to prove they do it. Bad bad bad. In its shortsighted focus on quarterly reports, business can sometimes blindly shoot itself in the foot. So that leaves us with internet sellers. And again, most of the sellers people find in their initial searches are the big companies that sell crap. We have to find places like Vapor Talk to get useful information on what to buy and from whom. I often wonder how many potential vapors fail because they only ever see and try the crap that is so prevalent, and do not find the valuable places like VT that can help them become successful. Futzing around with e-cigs. We tend to forget this part because we've overcome it, but I believe many analog users will give up on vaping because to do it successfully we have to mess around with our equipment. There's a significant learning curve, which includes not only finding what works but how to use it effectively. And many people are just not committed enough to not smoking to bother to overcome that aspect of it. This is a relatively young technology with a few bugs to work out before it becomes accessible to the 'masses.' And yes, I think we do care about the masses of smokers who wish to quit. Our technology isn't quite simple enough for the vast majority to adopt. But we're getting there and I'm confident that once American manufacturers take on the challenge great strides will be made in this area. Sorry, I guess I got on a soapbox there didn't I? I'm off now. BMW, give it a go and see what happens for you. You are going to be blown away! I'm still amazed at how well this works, and not just for me - for virtually everyone who gives it an honest try. Vaping is a good thing, a life-saving thing.

A primer puff and long, slow drag is about all that occurs to me too. I also found that refilled carts gave a better throat hit, but it's really important to keep them topped off. Have a bunch of spares ready! Good luck. Vaping is not like smoking at all; my wife had a difficult time adjusting her technique too. She doesn't have the benefit of reading all the experiences of other users, so I'm her only source of info. And maybe you know how that works for some spouses...

Welcome oper8tor2. I gotta say, your opening was about the most thorough one I've seen yet. You really have done your homework. I appreciate all of the physical constraints that your work requires, but I really only have experience to address battery life. Speakeasy sure covered everything anyway. As to battery life, I'd have to recommend one of the mods. I have a VP2 and get 8-9 hours of vaping out of it. Carrying an extra battery is no hardship. Usually I carry the VP2, a double-A battery case with a spare battery and atomizer, and a 6 ml bottle of juice. That's enough juice to last me two days of vaping, so a smaller bottle might work and fit into the battery case as well. Any of the mods will have an adaptor for your preferred atomizer. Dust and a wet environment are a consideration. I'm not sure the best way to protect your stuff from that really, but you'll want to. The VP2 with an 801 attached is about 6 1/2" long; kind of big to fit into a box or bag. You can of course unscrew the atomizer and it's then pocket-sized in two pieces. Some people carry all their stuff in a small camera or hard drive bag. That might work for you, and provide some cushion for the stuff inside. I'll be very interested to learn what you decide on, and how it works for you.

Really. If you feel like you let yourself down, just pick yourself up and move on. It's not the end of the line - not at all. You're trying to vape with a unit that's less than the best, and analogs are sneaky as hell. They'll worm their way into your subconscious without you even knowing it and next thing you know you're going, "Yuck! That tastes like ash!" And you'll go looking for the clean, fresh vape you know and love. When these guys say the 510 is a whole other ballgame, you can believe it. I started with something similar to your blu and didn't ditch the smokes until I got a truly functional unit. From my perspective, you'll only have let yourself down if you give up vaping forever. And I seriously doubt you're going to do that, having found this forum. There's too much friendly support and good info here to do anything but help you succeed. Vape on!

Welcome back! Being cut off from the larger world really blows doesn't it? The house gets awful small when that connection goes down, and our here we were snowed in to top it off. Whew. I'm glad we're all back.

That was my thought exactly. Welcome BMW!