Earthling789

From the CASAA newsletter a couple days ago... it looks like many states and a few cities are considering full-ban on ALL vaping products, not just flavors... all of these will be challenged in court, I hope: CT - (Pending) - “State Leaders Call for Ban on Vaping, e-cigarette products.” (Sept. 13) CA - Emily Deruy (The Mercury News) - “San Jose councilwoman proposes ban on vaping products.” (Sept. 15) Find your council district here. City Council member list and contact info, here. CA - (Heads Up) - “Governor Gavin Newsom Signs Executive Order to Confront Youth Vaping Epidemic.” (Sept. 16) MI - (Pending) - “LaFave: Unwise unilateral executive action must be stopped.” (Sept. 18) Related - “Michigan officially bans sale of flavored e-cigarettes.” (Sept. 18) OH - (Heads Up) - “Gov. Mike DeWine says he’s looking into a statewide ban on flavored e-cigarettes.” (Sept. 17) TX - San Antonio (Heads Up) - “EXCLUSIVE: S.A. Could Become First in Texas to Ban ‘Fruit Flavored’ Vaping.” (Sept. 19) Find your city council district and council member, here. SC - (Pending) - “SC Lawmakers consider ban on flavored e-cigarette, vaping products, raising minimum age.” (Sept. 17) MS - (Pending) - “AG Hood looks to ban vaping in Mississippi.” (Sept. 19)

My wife loves her Nautilus, and uses it more than her subtank mini or nano. She loves the tighter draw and flavor, more than the open-draw and cloud she gets from the other tanks. We were out of coils for it for a while so she had no choice but to use the subtanks, but as soon as I found some coils for her natty, she was using it within minutes of the mail arriving, lol. I've not used any of my older tanks for a long while, but I've been eyeing my old Aerotanks on the shelf. Clouds are nice, but I remember the flavor seemed to be "better" in the Aerotanks and Nautilus. The draw is much tighter in the older tanks (especially the Nautilus), so that is one reason I've not switched back... that, and the fact you just can't find coils for the old Kangers anymore (although I probably still have 25+ in one of my boxes-o-crap?) I saved a good stockpile just in case the vapepocalypse occurred... @cany, Where did you find coils for the Nautilus? I'd like to get the wife another good stockpile of them in 1.6 Ohm... She has two or three Nautilus tanks, but we're running VERY low on coils for her, and locally coils are non-existent. Online supplies are few and far between too... or WAY overpriced.

Sweet bakery flavors, sweet candy flavors, sweet fruit flavors... or just something to add sweetness to flavors (marshmallow, sweet-cream, stevia, etc.)?

I am not familiar with the device you are using, but dual-battery mods operate batteries in series or parallel. In series, you double the nominal Voltage capability from 3.7V to 7.4V, so if in series, exceeding 4.5V is perfectly fine. If the batteries are in parallel, the voltage does not change from 3.7V (nominal) or 4.2V (max charge). Batteries in parallel also double the Amp-load / discharge capability. If you are using two 20A batteries in series, they still can only handle 20A load, but in parallel, the load handling capability doubles to 40A. Make sense? Your device shows 0.26 Ohms of resistance from the coil. At 63W, that is only 15.5A. If your batteries can only handle 15A, this could be why the device limits you to 63W? It could be that you are in Temp-control mode, or have some other setting which is limiting the Wattage? Honestly, I do not know the device or your current settings well enough to give a better answer than this....

Rich, you are correct... I was talking about the LG HG2, and my brain was focused on the Samsung 30Q, which are also 3000mAh batteries, but only rated for 15A continuous discharge. The LG are rated for 20A continuous (and tested to prove it). I've used both the Samsung, and LG batteries (25R, 30Q, HE2, and HG2), and I love the Samsung 25R (blue and green versions)... they retain near full capacity even after 1000 recharge cycles. I'm not a huge fan of the 30Q, anymore, because they don't hold but 50-60% capacity after about 350 cycles, but they are great for that first year. The LG is the opposite... the HE2 tend to lose about 20-30% capacity ability after ~400 cycles, but so far, the HG2 are still hitting near 3000mAh even after 400+ cycles. I'm about to purchase a new block of batteries to replace our aging stock of 30+ 18650's. My wife currently goes through two (sometimes three) batteries a day, and I go through three singles (or two to three pairs in the dual-battery-mods). So, I'll be picking up six fresh Samsung 25R-5 (green) for our single-battery mods, and probably four pairs of LG HG2 for the dual-battery mods. The old ones will be headed to recycling! Low Ohm is subjective, but most of us would agree that 0.15 Ohms is "low". Personally, I define "low" as anything below 0.5 Ohms. Sub-ohm is anything less than 1.0 Ohm.

I mentioned those above... yes I recommend them. Be aware they are 15A continuous discharge, but higher capacity (3000mAh), compared to LG HE2. They will last a little longer between recharges, but won't handle high wattage / low resistance builds very well. Use a vaping calculator to determine how many Amps your builds need... then get a battery that will exceed those requirements, not just "meet them".

You will want a battery that provides continuous 20A discharge rate... there are several that have these specs, but these are the ones I recall off the top of my head... Samsung 25R (green wrapper), LG HE2 (red wrapper), and Sony VTC6 (green wrapper). All of these can sustain 20A discharge, but will support burst discharge of 30A or 35A. If you are vaping in the 80-100W range, even at that low of a resistance, you should be safe with even a 15A battery (Samsung 30Q or LG HG2). The higher the mAh capacity, the lower the continuous discharge ratings. The 15A batteries I've listed are larger capacity 3000mAh, compared the first ones I listed, which are 2500mAh (with exception of the Sony VTC6, which is rated at 3000mAh, and quite expensive compared to the Samsung or LG batteries). Always pair your batteries, and never break the set, for best results... also rotate them between the two slots... If labeling them A and B, put A in the left side this time... then after re-charge, put B in the left side next time it is used....

Received my SMOK Mag 225W TC kit in Royal Purple with matching TFV12 Prince tank (cobra edition) from 101Vape, and it's the right-handed version, so you can view the screen (and not push buttons accidentally) when you hold it in your right hand I'm loving the trigger design and ease of swapping batteries via the "semi-auto magazine-style" holder. The tank is taking some getting use to, due to the massive air-flow and super-huge drip-tip design/style... but I do like the 8ml capacity and ease of filling... compared to my go-to Toptank Minis... I also received a new SMOK TFV8 Baby Beast V2 in Gold (to add some zing to the purple mod), along with a couple boxes of Kanger SSOCC coils in 1.2 Ohm (for the wife), and two boxes of SMOK coils... one for the TFV12 (Q4 0.4 Ohm SS quad-coil) and one for the TFV8 V2 (S1 0.15 SS single mesh coil).

You are welcome! Yes, TC requires coils to be SS, Ni200, or Titanium. Some mods will operate TC on Kanthal wire, but I've not had much luck getting those to work consistently. Personally, I prefer SS for Temp Control, but your mileage may vary. Yes, prime the coil with a little juice, then assemble the tank, fill the tank, and let it sit for at least 5 minutes to fully soak the cotton. This ensures you don't fry the cotton/coil with a "dry" hit, which will ruin the coil and possibly pass the burnt flavor to the rest of the juice in the tank (wasting it). The wattage necessary will depend on your juice, the coil you are using, and your personal preference. My current vape at 27W may be too much for you... or you may find it lacking and need to turn it up. If you follow my advice of starting power low, vape, bump the power up, vape, repeat, until you hi the top-end (slight burnt taste), then back power off a Watt or two... you'll always find the perfect sweet-spot. You may find a spot where you like the flavor and vapor BEFORE you hit the top-end of the coil/juice combo... it may be at 15W... it may be at 65W... it all depends on your rig, coil, airflow, juice, and personal preference.

I've never seen or heard of one... did you pick one up? Post some pics and let us know what you think....

Welcome! First of all, where to start... My best advice for you is to visit a local vape-shop and speak with a knowledgeable clerk. Let them know you are looking for a good starter-setup with variable Wattage device from a reputable company (Kanger, Aspire, SMOK, eLeaf, GeekVape, Innokin, Wismec, VooPoo, and many others), which utilizes external 18650 batteries (or at least has an internal battery pack of 2000mAh or larger). You would also want a good tank design from a reputable company (Kanger, Smok, Aspire, Uwell, etc.). You should avoid coils (as a noobie) which are strictly for sub-ohm cloud-chasing. I would recommend coils with a resistance of 0.5 or higher, all the way up to 1.8 Ohm, in a single or double-coil design. Avoid the POD systems, and especially the cig-a-like systems where you are stuck using the juices pre-installed. Not to mention, these devices have no adjustment to adjust the device to your preferences (and your juice's preferences). There are thousands of good and tasty juices out there, in differing nicotine strengths. So, I should also address that... You say you are only smoking 4-5 cigarettes per day, so your nicotine dependence is low. I would recommend using a 6mg strength if using a higher resistance coil... 3mg if using a 0.5 or lower Ohm coil. Lower resistance allows for more nicotine delivery due to heat and volume. You don't need 18 or 24mg, and that is what is most likely in your recently purchased POD / BLU systems. While at the vape-shop... try the different juices available at the sample-counter... find one you like and buy it in the appropriate nicotine strength. Then, have the clerk set up your vape device... showing you how to prime the coil, fill the tank, change the coils, etc. Have them go over the functions of the mod (battery device), and showing you the proper way to change / charge the battery. If you go with a replaceable battery device, make sure you purchase at least TWO 18650 batteries, and make sure you purchase quality batteries from Sony, Samsung, LG, eFest, or other quality company. Avoid cheap Chinese batteries with "cool western-sounding names" (like TrustFire). You'll also need a quality external battery charger from NiteCore, Lucfest (eFest), or other quality company. Do some research in the posts here, or other online sources... find something that catches your eye, and do some searches on it for reviews. There is no one-size-fits-all to vaping, and what works for me may not be your cup-o-tea. One last thing... when finding the sweet-spot for Wattage to use with your new device... start with a low Wattage, vape, turn it up a Watt or two, vape, repeat... until you get a slightly burnt flavor (or it gets too hot for your liking)... then back it off by a Watt or two. That is the sweet-spot for THAT coil and juice combo. Another juice or different coil combo will require the same "treasure-hunt" to find its sweet-spot. No two juices and coil combos are the same... for you ... or for me... we all have individual tastes and preferences... which is why the gas station cig-a-likes and pod systems are the most useless "toys" anyone can buy if they are serious about using vaping to quit smoking. Good luck and check back in to let us know what you found, ask more questions, and let us know how you are doing! Group-therapy is just as important as finding the right device and juice!

Hi, Shorty... and welcome! There is no "best" for any device... the best advice I can give is to start at low Watts (like 15-20W), vape, and if you don't get the flavor/cloud you want, bump it up a Watt or three and try again... rinse, repeat... Once you get a hot or burnt flavor, back it down a Watt or two. This will be the sweet-spot for that coil and juice combo. Every juice you use will have a different sweet-spot (bakery flavors will prefer a cooler vape at lower watts than a candy or fruit flavor). Also, as a coil ages, the sweet-stop will change, requiring more or less power (just a Watt or two, usually). As for coils... SMOK has about a dozen options, depending on the tank you are using. Some coils are designed for the cloud-chaser running max-VG juices and require insane Wattage. You will unfortunately have to play around with the different coils until you find the one YOU like best. That being said... if you are looking for max clouds, you may want to look at the multiple-coil designs which run 0.1-0.2 Ohms... if you are looking for flavor, you should look at the single or double-coil designs... or the mesh coils... with higher resistance (0.4 or higher). Be also aware, all the SMOK coils I've tried GUZZLE juice, so be prepared to refill often, and expect your juice budget to start going up! I'm currently using a SMOK TFV12 Prince with a Q4 coil (0.4 Ohms) at 45W... and a fruity/tart flavor juice, mixed at 60%VG, 20% flavor strength. I can push it to 60W without a burnt flavor, but the vape is too hot for my liking at that power level. The other option is to use Temp-control, to balance the temp of the vape... but I find TC mode runs through batteries 2-3x faster than Wattage mode, so I chose to manually adjust the Wattage to find my sweet-spot (and perform fewer battery swaps) Good luck, and let us know how you do, and what coil and setting combo works for you!

I married an RN, lol... I'm use to hearing the sage advice of a nurse Glad to hear you and hubby are doing well, and hope your foot heals soon! @cany ... Good to hear from you too! Been reading a few of the recent posts, and glad to see you're still active in helping the noobs @Bebop and @Walt Doing recording work sounds like you're living the dream (musically)... It's great to have your passion immortalized on vinyl or at least digitally. I tried the whole pod-thing as well... bought a Penguin (v1 and v2)... both were "novelties" for me, and the wife doesn't care for them either. They are just sitting on the shelf right now, next to all the other "novelty" items... including several cool-looking, but useless RDA's and Mech-mods I've not touched in years. I understand the ease and simplicity of the pod-system, but the vape you get (or at least I got) is so inferior in flavor and cloud... as compared to the most basic Subtank, Nano, or even a Nautilus (or my old Aerotanks). I mean, if you're going to take the time to make a pod-system... why not at least make it with a better (larger) battery, some coil options, or at least "some" customization on the mod itself? X-ohms resistance at Y-watts, pushed through a tiny 1000-1800mAh battery... the pod-system is great for maybe 2% of the population... but not everyone (and not everyone's juice choices) match perfectly for those narrow parameters! I feel the same way about most/all of the AIO's out there. At least the old EGO systems had the ability to vary the Voltage to dial-in your vape. These new AIO and stick-units don't even allow that! As for limitations... take for instance my wife's juice (50/50 mix)... she likes it at 11-12W and 1.2 Ohm coil in a top-tank... but only 9.5-10.5W with 1.6 Ohm in her Nautilus. My two favorite juices (60/40 VG/PG) at 0.25 or 0.5 Ohm in a Toptank vary from 18-30W, but in the new TFV12... at 0.4 Ohm... I have to crank it to 45W+ to get the same flavor and cloud.... In the Penguin V2... I can barely get a cloud, and the flavor is very lacking, even if I use a 60% PG mix! So in my opinion... the pod-systems and one-button-AIO's are a noobie nightmare (possibly an intentional design pushed by Big Tobacco, like the poor performing cig-a-likes) to make the vaping experience as bad as possible... or they are a marketing brilliance by China to get everyone to "try the new shiny one", just so they can get more of your money before you move on to a better system (or back to your system you love)? Walt, I understand why you've not gotten many freebies to test lately... I was brutally honest with my reviews, back when I was getting a new tank/mod every week or two. After a few months, they stopped sending them... most likely because I wasn't giving them 5-star reviews, which is what they wanted, so they could market them. Keep on being brutal with your reviews. You may not get as many freebies, but at least the manufacturers and marketing teams will get the message... "Make better stuff"! I remember one of my more brutal reviews was on a tank design which was just a bigger POS in a different color. My review was "...taking a failed design and making it larger and a different color is still just a more colorful, bigger POS" The Kanger Jupi is another that comes to mind... great little compact mod design... horrible... and I mean HORRIBLE... tank design (I think my wife is still using that mod on occasion, with a top-nano or toptank mini? I forget which one fits it best). Kanger wasn't too happy with my review of that one either, lol, but I think poor sales and many many more bad reviews killed that design, despite Kanger's marketing attempts, and the fact the mod had great potential. It might have been a big seller if they had paired it with a Protank4 or one of the subtank iterations.

Hey Bebop, glad to hear from you, and glad you're doing well! Speaking of "outdated knowledge", lol... a new vape store opened up near my physical therapy office, so we stopped in there the other day to check it out (and see if they had any Kanger SSOCC coils). I was amazed at the cases full of "POD systems" and these tiny little AIO or stick devices. I was totally lost on all the new devices, especially the POD systems! The other extreme was all the 200+W devices and massive tanks! Where is all the mid-range stuff? Where's all the Ohm-plus coils for those of us that prefer 1.2-1.8 Ohm vapes?? It seems the proprietor was missing out on a whole group of vapers by only catering to "stealth-vape"/beginner and extreme cloud-chasers. All of his stuff was insanely priced too. POD kits which I'd seen online for $19.99 were "starting" at $50, coils were $4-7 each, depending on type/mfg, tanks (like the SMOK TFV8 Baby V2, which I just bought for $19) was $45, and an Alien kit was $100!! I did purchase a box of Kanger SSOCC 1.2 Ohm coils while I was there (since I was there)... $21.50 plus tax!! When I bought all those coils two years ago (online), they were about a buck a coil.... not $4.50 each! After that purchase, I was terrified to ask about his juice prices, lol. The SMOK Mag 225 kit I just bought was $45 online... coupled with the Baby V2 tank and three boxes of coils, I spent less than $100. I can't imagine paying that much up-charge anymore... even if it is to keep the local shop in business. I mean I'm all for supporting your local business, but not by sending their kids to college while mine starve, lol. As for liking the new SMOK Mag kit... meh... it's okay. It is quite different than the Kanger top-tanks I've gotten use to over the past few years. The airflow is fully open, like taking a breath through a 1" PVC pipe, but the flavor is quite good. One thing I don't like is that sometimes the tank "whistles" when you're not drawing hard enough, and this thing guzzles juice... been through 2 tanks already (16ml) in the past 24 hours. The mod is HEAVY, and reminds me of the old Innokin VTR unit, which could double as a weapon . Battery life is okay - two tankfuls and still have 40% battery life, using some of my older, paired LG HE2. I've got some LG HG2 on order, so hopefully they will perform better, being newer and 3000mAh, too?

Wow, I find it hard to leave gear in "unopened boxes", lol... although I do have a couple of toptank minis, one nano, and a coupe of Kayfuns and Russians still in boxes. I do love my Top kits! My two Platinum units are my go-to daily-drivers, mostly because the paint on the white/red/black ones tend to wear off over time, so I tend to use the colorful ones when I'm out and about (less likely to sit and hold it like I do when watching TV). I hear what you are saying about Kanthal and coil-killing juices. My wife's juice is a coil killer (lots of cinnamon) and she will only use Kanthal coils because they are the only thing that lasts more than 2-weeks... she can usually get about 6 weeks on a 1.2 Ohm Kanthal coil. My juices are not has hard on coils, and I can get at least a month, sometimes two on a 316L coil (using Wattage mode)... less if I use them in TC, and TC is much more demanding of the batteries, which is why I mostly use Wattage mode these days... consistent vape, batteries last longer, and coils last longer. I'm waiting for the mailman so I can test out the new Smok unit... but I'm sure my Platinum Toptank will still be used daily. Yes, you are correct about the Chinese not caring about lead in their brass... they have no environmental restrictions, and Chinese brass is LOADED with lead. Anytime I see plating coming off any of my gear or coil-heads... they hit the trash fast! That is one reason I have always loved Kanger (SS) tanks... they are solid SS, not plated or painted brass, like some of the other brands I've tried before, and I'm pretty sure even their painted ones are still SS, not painted brass? Plated brass tanks have always made me think twice about using them.... Horizon comes to mind, and Kanger did have a cheaper line of tanks once, which were chrome plated over brass... they didn't sell well because of it, and I certainly didn't buy any of them . I bought an all Copper RDA once... it is still in the box. I just can't bring myself to use it. I like my one brain cell, too .