Greetings, while looking through my photo archive I found images that help show my beginning steps in vaping. I need to point out that during the work day I use losenges that I get from Costco so only smoked in the mornings before work and the afternoons after work.
Here's the first one taken July 6th 2015:
In March/April of 2015 the other half started complaining about my cigarette smoke. She had a eye issue that she found was sensitive to the smoke when returning from visiting her daughter. (she would get used to it but would complain when he first got back)
Looking to solve the problem possibly with Vaping, I picked up a Blue kit and some extra cartridges from (of all places Costco). It was not all that expensive and the batteries (or cartridges) did not last very long or put out much vapor. They did have a "coffee" flavor I did like. I continued smoking.
Next time she left for a few days with her daughter I dropped by a local vape shop and for ~$75-100 (I forget) they set me up with a iTaste CLK!, Aspire K1 (and Maxi) and 15ml of 18mg Strawberry juice. While it took 3 days to get used to the charging/refilling/exc of the setup I quit smoking with this setup. The 1.5ml tank and mere 800mah battery were the main limitations as well as "glassomizers" really did not put out much vapor.
With in a few days I'd upgrade the tank to a Nautilus mini and shortly afterwards I'd get Full sized Nautilus tanks and the Blue tube mod shown in the center. While this mod was a good match to the Nautilus tank, I grew tired of swapping 18350's so bought the other two tube mods to the right. One could take ether 2x18350's stacked or a 18650 and the Vamo v10 on the right could take a stacked set of 18350's.
By July of that year I had given up on "drop in coil" tanks (the store bought juice I was using was killing them in as little as a few days) and had decided to take the plunge into RTA's and into temperature controlled vaping.
At the time the two leaders in TC vaping was DNA and Yihi. I bought a SXMini ($200) and three different popular (at the time) tanks: Atlantis, SubtankMini and Lemo2. Two of the three could be used with factory coils or a RBA head, the Lemo2 had the unique feature of top fill. (I still use a Lemo2 today!)
Back in those days if you wanted to TC, you were going to do it with Ni200 wire. I decided I liked the 28AWG. A few weeks later I had added two more mods:
By this point in my vaping journey I was developing a few habits: I was 'marrying' a flavor with a tank, a tank with a mod and all battery charging was being done via USB port. I just cycled complete setups on two USB charge cords I had. Others liked complaining about the SXMini's battery door but I had no issue with it as I'd only used it once.
Sometime that summer (or was it fall?) I got tired of paying the outlandish juice prices and decided to make my own. Granted for YEARS I simply made 7mg or 18mg unflavored 100% VG juice but the cost savings allowed me to get dozens of different tanks and mods to play with and try out.
By April 2016 I took this image:
TC vaping had evolved from from Ni200 wire to Ti to NiFe48 and SS. Early TC mods only supported Ni200 (and some Ti) and newer ones supported SS. Mods I've bought had to have a user programmable TCR value. I've been exclusively using NiFe48 for years.
Finally by about 2019 I decided to get into vaping flavors. Knowing that RDA's or Squankers give the best flavor, I outfitted myself (Bullcity flavors) with a bunch of squankers and now have the option of vaping flavors. (many of my squankers are in my profile image)
NOTE: only one mod in the images I've shown is dead and no longer able to be in service.
These days I have mods scattered all over the house but in/for 5 main areas: morning coffee, home office, watching tv, night stand and to take with me in the car/truck.
Thats my story and journey - happy vaping!
g.
It all started as I was bored one day and decided to drop by the local vape shop and see what they had for sell. Silly me I bought a "pod mod" to see what all the fuss with the devices was about.
Enter the mod on the far left. A "pod mod". I don't recall what it cost me but it was small and light and not very expensive and the sales person claimed "it won't leak" so I figured - what the heck, I'll get it and make up some 'salts' juice and try it out.
While it was fairly easy to fill and the sales person was right, it did not leak. It did suffer from a number of 'issues'. Namely dismal output, battery life and juice capacity. Did I mention that the "flap" to get at the microUSB connection for charging was challenging? While I tried to make use of it while I enjoyed my morning coffee after a few weeks of ether running out of juice or battery at just the wrong time I started looking else where. However now that I had 30ml of 50mg juice mixed up I though I'd 'upgrade' my "salts dispenser".
Move to the setup in the middle, a Nautilus mini clone (with aftermarket RBA) and a iStick40. While the RBA is downright painful to build on I left the 1.4 ohm Kanthal build on it and filled the 2ml tank with the 50mg juice. The iStick40 is said to have a 2700mah battery (and optional TC with NI coils). The iSticks have their USB ports on the bottom. So with the tank filled up and the iStick charged up I again went about my business. This setup was a vast improvement over the 'pod mod'. Better (but not great, after all it is a Nautilus mini) output, longer battery life and more juice. It felt good to be able to grab some gear out of my stash and put it to use. The setup did have its downsides, namely the filling of the tank. Tanks of this era are filled by unscrewing the bottom+coil/atomizer out of it and squeezing juice directly into the upside down tank and then screwing it back together. While I had a dozen or more of this style of tank in use in my early vaping days, I've grown accustomed to easy top fill tanks so started thinking that I could do better so back to the stash I looked.
Enter the setup on the right. While the mod itself is fairly new (Dicodes 21700) the tank is a eLeaf "Lemo2" (only slightly newer vintage then the Nautilus). This setup gives me 3.2ml of tank, even higher output, top fill ease, longer battery life and TC of the coil. The three drawbacks of this setup are that its MUCH larger and heavier than the pod mod that I started out with and the only way to get new energy into the mod is swap batteries. Last and importantly (for those that like to use coil wrecking flavors) is that the only way to service the coil is complete disassembly of the entire tank to gain access to the coil. (not much of a worry when vaping pure unflavored juice).
This is the setup I've been using while enjoying my morning cup of coffee though. Just all part of a evolution.
Greetings,
maybe I was bored. Maybe to much doom and gloom on all the bans of new gear and the shipping of it. I started to think - why not have some fun with some of the stuff I already have?
Cases in point - the two rigs in the picture above. I believe that all the hardware (mods and tanks) are over 5 years old. The setup on the left has a bit of a story about it.
Sitting on my desk is a few old tube mods that I wonder what it would be like to use again. I found a old (I think KFv3) tank laying around, built a very low mass 2ohm coil in it, filled it up and went and tried it out on my old 15W tube mods. Sadly not a one of them liked the KFv3 and would register the 2ohm coil. So what to do? I had a old Evic that surely could be put into power mode. While I was not to surprised that it all works (I've actually refilled the tank a few times and replaced the battery once) the vape is more restrictive than I tend to like and be it the build (or the 10W power mode) I don't really like the flavor of the unflavored juice with this. Another negative is that while it is top fill, there is no juice flow control so the atomizer get flooded each time the tank is refilled. While I could (and have) used it in a pinch, I can get 1-2 tank fills on a single 3000mah battery.
The setup on the right represents some historical firsts for me. Years ago when I first got into rebuilding a Lemo2 was one of three tanks I bought when I started. It was also my first top fill tank. Sitting under it is my first ever Dicodes mod (a #6). This mod is setup in TC mode with 380F temperature setting and 23W.
Be it the better tank or the use of TC mode, the setup on the right provides a good vape. The 26650 has enough mah to easily allow me to vape the tank dry (takes me most of the day) and since years ago I got Dicodes very over priced charger, I just drop the mod in the charger at the end of the day and its ready for more vaping in a few hours.
So, anyone else putting to use or having some fun with +5 year old vaping gear? How do you like it?
g.
Just got back from my local vape shop, i still ask questions 6 months into vaping. Not too mention they have various gear you can try out. So was curious what various box mods vape like compared to my Vamo 5 Nautilus/ Alantis sub ohm CF sub setups. Also got a ZNA 50 watt APV mod which i don't use much as it does drain the batteries really fast. I tend to use the ZNA 50 when my CF is on charge. I been vaping a lot on my Nautilus Vamo 5 set up a lot recently due to it being a lot kinder on my juice. Sub ohm vaping does love drinking juice like anything.
So my visit to the vape shop as made me curious about box mods in general as there some nice small compact ones out there. Was looking at box mods that can go up to 80 watts.
If and when i take the plunge as i'm just rolling it around in my mind at the moment. I'm not keen on the dripper's tanks so i would most be thinking about a box mod that i could attach a sub ohm tank on and one you could charge on it's own.
Any recommendations anyone ?
PS i love the new look of the forums! a major improvement.
Posting a picture of my set up for today got me thinking as it featured my oldest original well used, worn, scratched and faded iStick 30w which has served me so well and has far outlived its projected lifespan.
A lot changed for me back in October 2015 - my grown up daughter and her husband had switched to vaping as they couldn’t smoke even in the grounds at work and had taken to vaping.
They liked it and gave me an e-pipe, tobacco flavoured vape liquids, a couple of 18350 batteries for it and a Nitecore Charger.
I thanked them, said I’d give it a try - with my fingers crossed and the thought in my mind, “Aye that’ll be right, I’ll stick it in the drawer and phone you in a few weeks saying it broke and I’m really sad about it.”
A week later my conscience got the better of me and I tried it on a Friday morning ( the 17th of October ), was amazed that I got through a day on it without a craving, thought I’d try it over the weekend, did, and have never smoked in the four years plus since. Amazing since I had smoked for more than 50 years previous to that.
I took the e-pipe to Spain with me for the Winter and while there bought a couple of the old style Ego batteries and plastic tanks with their trailing glass fiber wicks “just in case.”
The 18350s need constant charging, the juice soon destroyed the threads of the pipe’s plastic tank and the back up devices gurgled badly and so I went down to Fuengirola where there was a big vape shop and asked could they recommend a better tank - they suggested a Nautilus Mini and when I asked about a battery for it ( I didn’t know they were actually called “Mods” then) they gave me an iStick 30w … and the rest is history.
I joined this Forum about five weeks after I switched to vaping. In those days MTL was THE thing, the setup I’d bought was “flavour of the month” along with the GS Air Tank and one by Kanger. I learned a lot on ECF in a very short time, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
I tend to be a bit of a stick in the mud when I find something I like and my motto tends to be “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!” I’ve experimented with mechs, squonkers, drippers, and coil building over the years but always come back to my old faithful Nautis and iSticks - simply because for me they work and they work well.
Having found kits that worked, I dropped out of the Forum for a few years until in Spain over the Winter gone I thought my Nautis were failing me or giving up the ghost ( in actual fact as I discovered when I got back to the UK I had had a batch of really really bad coils ) and started reading ECF again and found that the new best thing for MTL was the Zenith, so I gave it a whirl.
I was slow to take to the Zenith I have to admit - while it made my batteries last longer for some reason and was super easy to refill on the go, at first it vaped too dry for me, seemed too airy and the drip tip didn’t initially suit me at all but I persevered with it ( them) and now keep a set of seven for use outdoors or for when travelling or for when I simply feel like a change.
Here’s the Old Soldier!
Anyone else still using old kit?
I just felt the need to share a short version of my journey to date:
I had been vaping part time you about 2.5 years before my new (now ex-) girlfriend got me to walk into what was pretty much the only vape shop in town. After trying the V3 eGo setup, I bought a tank to replace my older eGo-T crap tanks and some juice. the next weekend, I bought an entire new eGo kit and gave her my old batteries so she too could start vaping. We both cut down on smoking by 50% in a couple of days. It took me a total of 12 days to decide I was done with cigarettes and by the 4th week, I was the owner of a Provari. This all started a year ago now. The Russian 91% followed quickly after that. Next wednesday will be my TRUE one year vapaversary. I since acquired a second Provari for a ridiculous price and 2 more Kayfun clones.
I will not hide that there have been temptations, even lately, to try an actual cigarette, but I have been keeping strong. I did smoke a small cigarillo at the company Christmas party last December and resisted the urge to ask for one or two more from my coworker.
I have not felt the need to stop and take a 5-10 minute "breather" for about a year now whenever I do just about anything physically demanding and I have to thank vaping for this. I also now have a great vape shop minutes away from where I live and have been into various vape shops halfway around the world (work related travels... I'm not that rich and I can get great juices 5 minutes from here) I still get one or two juices form that first vape shop I visited, which now has 4 locations, all of them at least a 30 minute drive from home.
Remembering last year, I do miss my ex (we left each other on good terms) and I really wonder how she's doing on her side with vaping. I know she's got a great shop near where she now lives and hope they have been able to help her. I have been to that shop, but was on a business trip and it was hard enough to know she had to go back to her hometown, so I didn't call her to let her know I was going to be in the area. It's probably better that way, although I still think about her.
It's been a great journey and I now can't wait to get on my old hybrid bicycle to see if I can now keep those racer owners behind me for good; during one of my last rides last summer, 2 of them took the better part of a mile before they finally passed me, and that was on the slope uphill on my way back from my 1 hour ride. I still weight over 250 pounds, BTW and will train hard to make those snobs eat my dust with a definitely inferior bike like I used to 10 years ago
Thank you ECF for helping to keep me on track and enjoying vaping so much!
So today I bought a pack of cigarettes . I havent smoked in a long time and i feel like vaping has turned me into a complete nicotine addict and this is why I bough the pack , I wanted to test myself since I know how much I use to smoke . Ever since I started vaping I have been increasing strenght and quantity of juice per day and I vape a lot , some days , I would vape between 10 - 15 ML of 6mg juice and absorb another ML though my skin while building . I smoked my first cigarette in almost a year and I finished it and guess what after that I wanted another one but I didnt take it .
Well before I started vaping I was smoking one cig every 2-3 hours and now I want way more . I am honestly considering quiting vaping and smoking all together , maybe 1 cig day , that would be it . Or maybe I should switch to non rebuiuldable tanks and stop making my own juice because I honestly feel like DYI and rebuildables is what made me vape more , trying different build on different attomizers , trying my new DYI e-liquids , trying other e-liquids that I bought , trying this , trying that , and at the end of the day 20ML of juice gone .
What would you recommend me ?
Hi forum,
I've been a smoker for 25 yrs. 2-3 PPD of lights. 7 yrs ago I started to vape and was able to cut back to 10 analogs a day. I used KR808 with cartos and then upgraded to Ego's with cartos and later tank atomizers. Dripping was never my game. A year and a half later, I stopped vaping and went back to cigs. Why? I got tired of charging, filling, leakage, dry burnt hits, modding ...etc. And I was not getting the satisfaction I needed.
A couple of weeks ago, I thought why not give it another try. So I got my boxes of eliquid and batteries out of the closet. I was surprised that all my Egos were still working (the KR808's are all dead). What's more surprising is that the eliquid is still good after 5 or 6 yrs. The flavor is still as good as it was. And the nicotine is still there. The TH, peppery taste and the buzz are still the same. So here I am, vaping again and I already cut back my cigs use to 10-15 per day.
I wanted to check the ecig world of today. And what's better than ECF. I've been at ECF for 6-10 hrs daily for a week now. And omg what a change!! VV, VW, TC, tanks, rebuildables, Subohms, NET, WTA, mods, mods and even more mods. Amazing! Hats off to the ECF family. I don't think all these advances would've been possible without ECF. Ideas are born here.
With all these advances I'm hoping that I'll be able to quit cigs completely. But it's really confusing and I need advice from the veterans here. As to my vaping style, I inhale M2L, use 70/30 to 40/60 pg/VG most of time. I chain vape !! 24 mg is the least that works for me. 36 mg is better. I like a warm (not hot) vape. I need a good balance of vapor and flavor. I'm not into mechs, rebuildables, dripping or modding. I like hassle free setups. fill, plug and vape away.
I want 2 setups. One for work and stealth vaping. Should be smallish (Ego size), does not look ridiculous, consistant and easy to use. box is ok but should be small. It should still have options that will enhance the experience. The second setup is for use at home. maybe a high end VV VW with TC. Damn! that Sx mini looks great. /But i'll wait before throwing away $200.
Sorry for the long post. But what suggestions and tips can you give for these 2 setups?
TIA
Hey guys, pretty new here only one previous post...
Was having problems with my K100 & Mini Nautilus combo for vaping, that's why I originally signed up!!
Talked about it with members & found my K100 was ultimately the problem, upgraded to a IPV Mini & I'm vaping like a king
& that's the issue so now I'm vaping about 6ml a day, I just smashed through a 15ml 12mg nicotine Cinnabun & 15ml 0mg nicotine Cinnabun.
(Mixing the two gives me great flavor & the right amount of nicotine hit)
So the point of this post was...
Where do you guys buy Juice?
( I usually buy from a local smoke shop about 10$ per 15ml )
Is that expensive ?
I've looked online & factoring shipping price I need to buy 3-4 bottles + to be saving money & I've bought online before, ( ordered 60$ in samples & the flavors were horrid in my opinion I guess that online vendor just isn't my taste ? )
So I'm just wondering is 10$ every 2-3 days the best I can do juice wise ?
Or are there some trusted online vendors you guys can agree on with good flavors & good prices?
I'm currently smoking from a local vendor I believe ( MadHatters )
& love there flavors.
So I decided to get another clearomizer and the Donner by Amigo Itsuwa is what I got to replace my Aspire Atlantis.....
So here are my thoughts on it and it's just My Opinion:
Holds 4mls of juice - holds more juice so I'm not refilling my tank 2-3 times a day
.50hm Coil head is cotton & Kanthal wire & a wire mesh around the opening for better wicking ( You can use Atlantis coil in this thing and it's better in this tank then it is in the Atlantis) It comes with 2.
There's no notches or trying to center the coil head. It sits in the Clearo and just sucks juice lol
Great Flavor sub-ohm - The flavor you get from this is amazing, I was a little taken back bc I chose a sour raspberry and it really was more sour tasting then in any of the other tanks I had the same juice in
I personally like the drip tip but it's not for everybody
Adjustable air flow control is a wide slot - It's a slide around, but the draw from almost closed to full open is nice any way you wanna vape.
Vape production is great I use 10/90vg - 20/80vg
There are some things I don't like about this tank...
Priming the coil is a process - on a fresh coil the directions state to drop a few drops onto the coil, then once tank is filled let sit for 1-2 minutes prior to use. On your second fill of the clearo you have to let the coil sit for 2 minutes b4 use....I kinda wanna fill and vape, not fill and wait
Holding 4mls of juice is great, but if you can't vape 1ml of juice at the bottom of your tank it sucks. You can't vape the last ml of juice because the coil head sits to high so it can't wick the remaining juice.
I did find that when I put the Atlantis coil head in that the wicking was alot better then the coils that it came with, now this could be bc I am using a high vg juice.
So let's talk price....I bought this at a B&M so I paid A LOT more then what I've found online.
My price was $45.00
I have found these online for as little as $23.00
and for this price I would probably buy it again, not for $45.00
Iv'e been vaping on this for about a week now, I've gone through 2 coil heads in 4 days & now put the Atlantis coil head in it and am having better luck with it.
So there's my thoughts on my new clearomizer.
This is bad, and what's worse is I know it's bad but I can't seem to stop. I keep buying mods and tanks and juice and accessories. I've been vaping for almost a year now and for the most part I was happy with my setup (once i got past the cheap ego battery setup I had). I was rockin an MVP 2.0 and a nautilus tank. Loved every second of it. But recently the MVP threads got messed up so no tank would connect to it. So I decided to upgrade my setup and get a Sigelei 150w. Now THIS thing is amazing.
You would think since I was happy with my setup that would be enough. NOPE! I ordered an RDA (Mad Hatter) to go with the sigelei because the nautilus just wasn't fully utilizing the mod. I ordered wire, wick, ohm meter, the whole kit and kaboodle. But I also ordered an MVP 3.0 Pro for the times the sigelei batteries were dead or I just needed a smaller device. Got the MVP in today and it's amazing. I definitely love Innokin products.
That's it though, right? NOPE! I haven't even recieved my RDA yet and I was browsing the interwebs looking at forums and reviews and came across the Kanger Subtank Mini. Looks awesome. So I ordered it. But not by itself, oh no no no, I saw a kit with a Kanger Subox Mini and Subtank Mini starter kit. So I ordered it. Oh god will the impulse buying ever stop!?
Let's not get into my juice collection. I have more bottles than I know what to do with. Originally it was a handful of bottles that could sit on my desk, now I've had to rearrange my dresser so the multitude of bottles can sit up there. I have so many flavors that I love that I keep switching them around and it's driving me crazy. And everytime I see one of you post about your new favorite all day vape flavor I look into it, think it sounds amazing, and end up buying more.
Aww screw it, I love vaping. I'm sure i'll buy something else real soon. Speaking of which...I could use a new drip tip to go with my new tanks. Gotta go.
(thanks for reading my rant)