Finding My Way

[Soupy1957]

So, at 61 years of age, after smoking cigarettes since I was 18, I decided to give Vaping an opportunity to prove itself to be a useful tool in quitting smoking just like so many other folks, who have done the same thing.

And just like many others, I walked into whatever kind of location I could find, that sold Vaping products, And in my case like many of you settled on the Smok Mag. 

 

I’m still struggling to figure out how to use the thing’s menu, and I’m not too sure I’m gonna like the idea of having to replace the actuator, (although I guess it’s pretty simple), and I started off with a “peanut butter cookie” flavor, as my first oil.  The guy sold me four squirt bottles of the stuff, for $20. 

 

So the whole nuts and bolts of this, is that the nicotine that’s delivered through this device, should pacify my desire to have a cigarette, right?

I tried setting the wattage at about 32 initially, and then I watched a couple of videos, and I learned that you might want to keep it within the range of the actuator itself. The actuator itself (and if the word “actuator” is not right, please correct me) said that it’s range was from 42 - 100 W; and then underneath that, it said “best between 60 and 80.” 

Well I can tell you that anything over “40” is uncomfortable for me and makes me cough, so I have put it down on 40, and I think I’ll leave it there.

 

Question one: talk to me about the “power off” button. I can’t seem to set that successfully and I’m wondering if it’s just a quick off with the trigger. what’s it’s purpose?

 

Question two: I still can’t seem to figure out how to turn off the puff counter, and don’t understand why it’s counting them anyway?

 

Question three: I guess there’s a setting for how long it will let me puff each individual puff?Anotherwords, how many seconds it will allow me to suck in. Is that right?

 

Question four: can anyone recommend a good source for nice coffee flavored e-liquids?

 

 Question five: can anyone recommend a really good Vape store somewhere near Hartford Connecticut? 

[Walt]

Hello and welcome to the forum!!!  

I don't have that mod so most of the questions, I can't answer.  I lieu of being able to answer, here is a review by a very good reviewer that usually does a good job of going through the menus:  

 

A couple of points I can address.

Yes, you should be able to find a concentration of nicotine that will satisfy the urge.  Juices come in different strengths of nicotine and you will have to try a few different strengths to find the right one.  There are also two types of nicotine.  Standard and Salts.  Salts are less abrasive although if part of your enjoyment from smoking is the throat sensation, salts may not suffice.  

The actuator you are referring to, I believe, would be the coil.  That is actually an encased coil of wire or mesh that heats up with power applied.  A lot like an electric toaster.  

Wattage applied is totally up to you.  Start low and work up.  Find a sweet spot and enjoy.  Recommended power levels are very subjective and definitely not cast in stone.  

Yes, there is a setting that will limit your puff length.  Personally, I have no use for that setting.  I puff between 2 and three seconds, no need for a limit.  

Lol, the puff counter.  I like a puff counter only because I do vape reviews and like to be able to tell folks approximately how many vapes they can expect off of a single or single set of batteries.  It can also be nice to compare different batteries.  Beyond that it is pretty useless for me.  

Sorry, can't help on the vape shop.  Love your state.  Ben through it a few times biking (motorized like type).  Got some wonderful seafood there.  

[Tam]

Welcome to Vapor Talk!   

You've gotten a lot of very good advice from @Walt. I'll add a few things too, even though I'm not familiar with your mod.

First, we call it 'juice' or 'eliquid', there isn't (or shouldn't be) any oil in the liquid you use to vape. If there is, I would dispose of it and get liquid that has VG (vegetable glycerin), PG (propylene glycol), food grade flavoring, and nicotine (as Walt said, either regular nic or salt nic). Sometimes there's also food coloring but I tend to not go that route, I don't want anything more in my liquid than minimally possible.

That said, since you're just starting out, I wouldn't buy any quantities of one flavor of e-liquid right now. The reason behind that train of thought is that you are just now quitting smoking. Your body is going through a lot of changes detoxifying from all the carcinogens that cigarettes contain. Your taste buds are changing too. What tastes good to you today in e-liquid form may not be as good to you tomorrow. When I first started, I went through flavors until I had well over 40 (that's probably on the low side as I went a little overboard experimenting) and switched around as my mood took me.

If you're switching flavors, you'll want to have a different tank and coil to keep it in. Using the same coil for different flavors may wind up giving you a happy accident of a good flavor or it could be a disgusting mistake. There is a wick inside the coil that soaks up e-liquid. This wick will retain traces of the old flavor so you really want to have a different tank - it's easier this way to just change out tanks.

Repeating Walt again, start with a low wattage level, you don't have to use what's advised, just start at something low and vape. If that's not doing it for you by giving you the flavor and vapor you want, turn it up just a few notches and vape. Repeat until you get a slight burnt taste. Back it down a bit. That's how you find your "sweet spot." As your coil ages, you may need the turn it up a bit. When you use your coil to heat up the e-liquid, the e-liquid will leave some gunk behind. The more build up you get, the more resistance it creates. The more resistance your coil has, the more power you'll need to heat the e-liquid to get the desired results. The darker, sweeter e-liquids will gunk up your coils faster.

Vaping will dehydrate you so start drinking more water. Don't increase your liquid intake by drinking soda, coffee, tea, juice... whatever. Just plain water. You'll thank me later. 

Sorry for the long post, but I hope some of this will help. Good luck, and ask lots of questions. We've all been there, done that, and want to help new vapers get off cigarettes.   

[Soupy1957]

2 hours ago, Tam said:

“............,Vaping will dehydrate you   .........”

Vaping will dehydrate me????????

[Squid]

Yes it will. A couple wxtra glasses of water a day are necessary when vaping.

[Soupy1957]

I hear that smoking cigarettes also dehydrates a person.