Need Advice From Knowledgeable Vapers

Hi all, it's been 5 months I quit smoking and switched to vaping, I want to thank you all for helping with my questions during my early days and suggesting me a good kit. Here is how I feel now.

As we are hearing lot of vaping related sickness issues I was in a dilemma for last 2 months if this is really gonna hurt me or I am fine. I get small pain on left front rib cage side when I vape recently. I am not sure if I am over thinking about news and that's causing me doubts.

And also i used to sleep fine for first 4 months of vaping, for last 1 month I did not get a good sound sleep. Is this anything to do with vaping or am I stressed about some job/other issues.

As always thanks for your suggestions.  

Hey guys I've been vaping for about 7 months and haven't smoked a cigarette in about 5 months I've been trying to get my wife off oh them I just can't seem to get her into vaping she says it hurts her throat I've even got her some juice with only 3mg nic. any tips or do you know of any brands that go lower then 3mg? Also she is using the Istick 50w with Kanger sub tank.  

Hello ECF,

I've been creeping for a few weeks now, but finally decided to take the plunge and make an account. After countless hours (days...weeks??!!) of research, hopefully I am at the point where I form some sentences together about what I'm looking for in a set-up and ACTUALLY make sense. I came here asking for help, so please feel free to tell me if you think I made a wrong decision on anything below.

So, here is my story...(cut to end to see the quick and dirty version)

First and foremost, what I WANT out of the build is excellent flavor. Not quite as important but still important is large clouds and a "cool" factor. I'm leaning way towards DTL over MTL, as I never smoked a cig in my life and have no nicotine addiction. This is something that will be used with friends or when I'm bored, so maybe 1-2x/week. I wouldn't say there isn't a budget, but let's say I have no prob paying for the best quality/functioning gear.

For the majority of my research, I was pretty set on going sub-ohm. But more and more I was reading how if you really want flavor, RDA's can't be beat. Then I start thinking about squonking more and more, and now I think that might be the best of both worlds. I get the convenience of the "tank" (not having to drip, which is what I was most concerned with), and all the flavor benefits. Any learning curve with the squeeze and determining the quantity (if you can squeeze too much) should be minimal. I really think it's a good option for me. I'm really curious what the pros think.

Now, surely you'd all make fun of me behind my back if I didn't acknowledge the elephant in the room: the atomizer. I need to learn a lot here, still. Any and all help would be appreciated. Single coil vs. double coil? Mesh? RDA? What I DOOOOO know is I have no problem paying for pre-builts out of convenience, assuming they aren't impossible to find in stock most of the time.

Equal in both importance and the level of my ignorance on the subject is (are?) batteries! I don't want to die, folks. So any recommendations on 1 vs 2 batteries, battery size, is also needed.

Once the battery thing is figured out, I can look at mods. I don't mind paying a pretty penny for a mod, but what I want is function and reliability first. As mentioned previously, I want "cool", but to a point. For reference, what I have been trying to figure out how to buy is something from BMM. So far, all attempts to get into said facebook group have come up short. But I like the challenge of the hunt, and am willing to see what it takes to get. I've looked at numerous other brands, but am willing to hear what you recommend! And regulated?

There doesn't seem to be any shortage of juice on the market. They all sound soooooo good! Lots of opinions out there, too. I looked all over the place for higher-end juice and ordered way too many already (around 1,000 mL). They range in VG from 50 (I fell for 5 pawns)-90ish. Can I smoke that range out of the same coil?

I'm sure I forgot something, but that is plenty to start!! Thanks so much for anyone who took time to read that and for any assistance they can provide.

Quick summary version:

This will be my first vape set up. I know little about the technical side, but have used vapes often over the past few years. I don't smoke (cigs). I think I want a regulated squonk w/ RDA (don't think the learning curve will be that bad), and plan to buy pre-built stuff instead of build my own if that's a thing. I need to find out what battery size and how many to use. Box mod is up in the air, and probably of least importance. Juice ranges from 50-90 VG currently. In the future, I will probably stay closer to 70. Don't let budget prevent a recommendation.  

"Cheap is small and not to steep, but best of all, cheap is cheap...
I'm on a low budget!
I'm on a low budget!
I'm not cheap, you'll understand;
I'm just a cut-price person in low-budget land"
--Ray Davies, "Low Budget"--

A few months ago, I got back into vaping after a two year absence. I figured that I wouldn't really need to buy much more gear than what I already had from 2014-2017.

Well, a lot that old gear still works and I use much of it frequently. I was using it, doing just fine, when I decided to get a new high power mod to replace the ailing eVic-VT, whose built-in battery is dying a slow and agonizing death. Can't run subohm coils on a Provari.

So I decided to buy a mod...

I'm good at finding closeouts, liquidations, etc. It's one of the ways I keep costs low for my guitar business. Much of which comes from China. With vaping, we have a whole industry located almost entirely in China. Most of the major manufacturers seem to introduce new gear and discontinue "old" gear on an almost weekly basis.

"Who still wants that old piece of junk mod we were making last month with a measly 95 watt output. Now, for just $5 more, you can have the new totally badass mod that looks almost the same as the old one, but in new colors and...get this...105 watt output!"

So for low power me, there was all kinds of cool stuff. I don't care about TC, 'cause I vape too cool for it to work. Just give me variable wattage or even VV. Last month's model is OK.

So I'm finding all sorts of cool stuff, and started seeing a lot of good stuff for under $50. A lot of good stuff under $35. Some really cool stuff for under $25...so of course I can buy that mod. Doesn't cost half as much as that carton of cigarettes that I didn't buy this week.

So here's a cool starter kit (mod with tank) for under $25. About half of the list price that nobody paid in the first place:


The Sigelei Sobra is a cool looking, long lasting, 200W monster. I love the Moonshot tank it came with. I added the heat sink all by myself. But it has a fatal flaw for tootle-puffing me. Minimum output is 10W! I frequently vape at 7W, so this setup just won't work for me all of the time.

So I really needed to get another mod, this time a high ouput device with a minimum output of no more than 5W...

I can't deny it--I quickly developed a bad case of low budget shinyitis. Not too hard to click on "Buy" when it's so cheap--such a good deal--and what's another $25, anyway? If it's less than $15, I swear, sometimes the "Add To Cart" button clicks itself.

Here's a bunch of low budget gear that looks cool, works well, and none of it cost more than $35. I also bought all of it in the last 3 months:
Low budget shinyitis is a common affliction. Some folks collect different pod systems in all of the available colors. Some folks just can't resist a good $20 RTA. Some people start collecting mech clones...
HCigar "Turtle Ship" clone with a custom built Subtank. Good quality, really. The only thing that gives it away as a clone is the engraving, which was left rough. Of course, I sanded and polished it, and now it's much smoother.

So low budget shinyitis is real, it's dangerous (to your wallet), and is perhaps a far more widespread affliction than previously thought. Now somebody please show off your low budget (under $50) shinies, so I know I'm not alone!  

okay so don't laugh but this is really an amazing vaping experience/setup for me! I have two batteries and a dual 18650 charger, so I never have to charge onboard nor do I find myself with no power since I always have at least one charging. I love the simplicity of the cloupor mini 30w. Between the magnetic battery door, simplistic screen/button setup, and the overall minuscule appearance of it, I think she's beautiful! The arctic tank however, I've had a could problems, but not too bad (Yes, I did allow my atomizer head to soak for a full 24 hours in juice.) Before I get into that tanks problems though, I'd like to also include that I've been getting into dripping aswell. I bought a plume veil clone a while ago for around 30$, and i was dumb enough to think that there was no need for a VV mod over $15... therefore I bought an X6 battery (cringe, I know..) and long story short I had a terrible experience. the wire that came with the rda was iffy, and it also came with silica wick; which I hate. I ended up building some kinda ****ed up maelstrom of a build. I used the cotton ends of ear cleaners, the questionable wire that came with the atty, and I ran it all at a mind melting 4.4v. Best part of it is that I had no way to check how many ohms I was pushin out. Anyways, I digress. First problem with the Arctic sub ohm tank was the "Check atomizer" deal on my cloupor. The problem was that the connector pin for the mini 30w isn't spring loaded, so I had to whip out the mini screw driver and adjust it. Once that was fixed, the atty was working perfectly!! Except, I was getting a little burnt taste. That's when I've learned that with this tank you have to start at a low wattage and work up to 30 when you're starting vaping for that session. The airflow is good, but I hate airflow; so it's even more splendid that the lowest airflow setting is barely any air at all. Really. It feels like sucking through a brick, and I like it. A ton of flavor, I vape eucalyptus mint flavored juice right now, and I'm loving it. I can't even express to you guys how much I'm loving this thing! Thanks for the advice in telling me to get it!  

I haven't had a cigar for a year and a half, but due to not being diligent in watching an auto re-enroll in my favorite cigar club I was still paying 250.00 a year for the club. Since I still had fond memories of the place, and a lot of business acquaintances still there I thought I would stop by and maybe indulge in a nice stick (they have a lovely walk-in humidor there). It had been so long I didn't really know what to expect, except I had a lot of really good times there and was looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and having a really good cigar.

I got there about 5:30 and there was the typical blue haze and the aroma of premium cigars, leather chairs, and premium liquors, just like I remembered. Trouble is, I really didn't appreciate the smell of cigars like I did in years past. In fact, it was a bit nauseous. But a few of the old crew (business associates and friends) were there and it was great to see them again. I took a look inside the humidor to pick out a nice stogie but TBH just wasn't enthused with the smell of the sticks the way I used to be. I decided I really didn't want one and returned to the lounge and pulled out my iStick 50 and Atlantis and sat down with some friends. In the middle of a conversation about local business trends I was interrupted by the hostess and told vaping wasn't allowed there. Seriously?? I paid a lot of money for the privilege of sitting in a nice leather seat and smoking whatever I felt like. I told her that I intended, as a member, to smoke (I didn't use the word vape because I figured that would have confused the poor girl) what I liked in a club I had paid my yearly dues for. So she quickly left and I got back to my friends that had lots of questions about my iStick.

About 10 minutes later the young lady had returned and handed me a check for 250.00 saying the owner had refunded my membership fees and suggested I find a suitable club for vaping. WoW! So ok, I left and set a meet with my friends there at a local restaurant and we had a nice dinner and talked vaping stuff, after which I took them to a local shop so they could buy similar rigs to my vaping rig.

This happened about a month ago and of the 5 friends I met with for dinner and took to the vape shop afterwards, 4 have stopped smoking cigars and now vape only and love it. But none of them got a refund check for their yearly dues to the cigar club like I did. So at this point, I'm feeling like the lucky one.

Strange times to be a vaper I guess... even the smokers hate us.  

Haven't vaped in like 8 years? So most of everything is new to me now..
But I did a little reading and I figured out a few things I need in a vape, but really there is so much, it's kinda hard to know what is good and what is not for brands and styles, so I'm hoping I can get some help by experienced vapers here.

I'm looking to quit smoking and here's what I'm looking for in a vape setup.

MTL Mouth to Lung setup so I can draw in and then inhale like a cigarette, but I would like a decent cloud. Not looking for huge, just good and maybe be able to slightly adjust what gets produced with using only 50/50 juice blends.

RTA setup? I need a rebuildable coil tank system.
I need to keep my maintenance cost low, so I need to be able to rebuild new coils.

No leak tank is a must. Needs to lay down on side on table and keep in pocket.

1 battery or 2. Doesn't matter much.

Would like a smaller mouthpiece compared to the larger style so I can get a good MTL draw.

Not sure what my options are for tanks and box mods or pen style? I think I need some kind of box mod? So i can slightly fine tune watts, volts to my coils if it just doesn't feel right and needs minor adjustments? Also like the option showing how many seconds used or draws.

There's so many tanks out there, but it's hard to tell what is really good.
The battery side, I really have no idea what I would need... watts, ohms, voltage.. with all the combinations, I can figure out what I really need..

Not looking to just be easy simple. I want good quality and I can only buy once.. I can't really afford it as it is, but I need to stop smoking..
But I want to buy once and be good for long time and not wish I bought something else. I just don't have the money to play around like that..

So I hope I can get some help here or suggestions to get me looking in the right direction for tank and battery side system.

Quality brands?
Brands to pass on because there is better options?  

I've been out of vaping since about 2011. I'm looking to get a good setup to start up again, I might be starting a job which requires a nicotine hit now and again to keep me alert. What is going on these days? It looks like the laws have all gone stupid and I hear about people saying they only have tobacco flavors now and other lame stuff I'm hearing. I thought technology would have improved, not regressed. So back before I quit I was considering a custom titanium or otherwise setup with aftermarket batteries.

I'm very familiar with this type of stuff having been a flashlight collector and electronics hobbyist for over twenty years, but I don't understand what is going on out there these days with the laws and all the proprietary systems I see out there nowadays with the proprietary batteries. I have a lot of spare lithium ion batteries setting around, so I'd be happy to use them in custom setups. For reference the last vape setup I had was an Ego-T with the refillable tanks and that had an internal proprietary rechargeable battery. And I used to purchase my vape juice separate from custom online shops like Mom and Pop's Vape Shop. Could someone point me in the right direction so I can get a decent new setup? I'm taking it they don't have flavors like cotton candy or /pineapple-watermelon anymore? I guess that's only reserved for marijuana these days.  

LONG STORY:
Following a previous thread (Question about battery and coils (Swag II)) I have been using Molicel P26A with my two Swag II's for a couple of months.
I purchased four batteries but I have been using only two of them. I always keep them in the Swags, since I use the Swags to recharge them. Practically I keep one of the Swags under charge while I am vaping with the other one.
I find this routine very convenient however I am wondering if that is the best way to recharge them. While a the begining both batteries were working quite well until they reached a 20% level, now one of them seems to be very weak as soon as it reaches 50%, and for that reason I have decided that it was time to replace it.
The other one is still Ok.

SHORT STORY:
Is it ok to recharge the P26A's with the Swag II's or should I use an external charger? Would an external charger significantly improve the life of the batteries?
Also, can an external charger fix a battey that seems to have lost 50% of its capacity.  

since my last cigarette. I haven't been posting in recent months, I have been keeping up on the treadmill of life.
Thanks to ECF for being here, to the mods for keeping it sane, CASAA for working so that we can have a future, and all of you for helping each other and yourselves!

Like most of you, I spent too large a percentage of my life killing myself slowly, and eventually spending a lot of money to do so. In my particular case, I still loved smoking, but grew disgruntled over the health realities, BT, and the taxation of cigs. I have quit many times, in many ways, but never for more than a few months. During those few months, I was never pleasant to be around.

It's easy to make excuses to keep smoking, I made them all.

I am *not* an expert, and nobody asked me, but since I am waxing eloquent I will make suggestions about how it worked for me. YMMV

1. To quit smoking, you really only need two things. A device that works for you (charging, form factor, blahblah) and juice that you like.

2. Don't feel obligated to stop smoking immediately. I was an accidental quitter. Initially I wanted to smoke some and vape some. I could save some money, and not have to stand outside in the rain. It's OK to smoke while you are learning what works for you. You can do that for the rest of your life, if you want to.

2b. Keep an idea of where you are on supplies. You need backups of everything (home, work, car). After I decided to actually quit smoking, two weeks in I had two battery deaths in two days. I only had two batteries. After 12 hours of crazy, I had to smoke.

3. Learn your device well, before you start collecting more and more! It can be convenient to wind up with a couple of different styles that work for different life situations. If you buy one every week, you will spend a lot of money and could still be deep down unhappy that "it's not working like I thought it would". Many of us as smokers can be a wee bit OCD anyway. Don't let collecting get in the way of Not Smoking (tm)

4. Don't buy a gallon of the first juice that you like. It will take a month or more before your damaged sense of taste/smell start regenerating. What you loved initially you may hate in a month. Buy lots of small samplers, to discover what you like.

5. Yes, you will save money, lots of it. See #3 and #4 above.

6. At the end of the day, all PVs are just batteries. How long they last, charging, the form factor, the ability to adjust them during use are all just variations on a theme. Some of the cig-a-likes have a lifetime of 30 charge cycles. Some larger ones can be charged 500 times. Find the balance that works for you. What *does* matter, is the actual vaping end of it. Explore attys, cartos, tanks, RBA. Try them all, this is what determines the taste and vapor production.

7. Support your local vape shop. I know you can get this stuff from China for cheap. Your local B&M is spending a lot of money for rent and employees, and the ability to sample juice is not possible on AliBaba. They are also providing a valuable service in being a first exposure to vaping for many. Go in and hang out. If nothing else, buy some drip tips, juice, attys or doo-dads. Check out the new PVs.

8. With few exceptions, the kiosk at the mall is not a good deal, nor a good idea. Free trials online or from radio ads are always a ripoff. You will spend a lot more on much inferior equipment and then have a hard time getting it off of your credit card.

9. Don't be arrogant about vaping in public. They don't know that you are not smoking from 10 feet away.

10. Don't get in flamewars on ECF about your favorite PV. Yes, there are idiots here, don't be one. If it works for you, that is the best one for you.

11. Once you get comfortable with vaping, consider DIY. Juice is what costs the most in the long run. Start small, measure with precision, keep detailed notes, be safe. You know what you like better than any description on a web page.

12. Join CASAA, and do things.

13. ECF is great for support. Don't be afraid to bare your soul to kindred spirits here in a hard time, you can find a lot of strength.