Looking To Get A Good New Setup, Been Out Of Vaping For A Long Time. Please Point Me The Way.

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.  


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Reliable Thick/dark Juice Setup?

Hey, everyone. My gear: MVP, EVOD batteries, Mini PT3, Nautilus (new BVCs) tanks.

I want to be able to vape the dark, creamy, butterscotch, custard, and tobacco flavors that I love so much, but recently my two vape setups just taste terrible no matter what I do. I've grown sick of the sugary, fruity flavors that only seem to work in my setup and so I type this with a lip full of Copenhagen and heart full of regret (I was tobacco free for almost a month). So, what setup can you recommend so that I can get back to vaping those thick, dark juices? I will try RDAs if it is the only reliable way.

Thanks.  

A Tale Of Two Old Setups...

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.  

Am I A Luddite?

Or maybe even a heretic, or a blasphemer?
I like mini tanks and small batteries. My favorite setups are mini protank version 1 clones with 650mah basic ego style batteries. Stainless steel finish, no funky colors or designs. Single bottom coil on the tanks, no air flow controls. Standard voltage batteries, no twisty things on the bottom, no usb passthrough, no digital displays, just a battery. I like the ego style because the protruding button is easier to find and helps keep them from rolling around. The lack of features I don't need means the batteries are small. I like small, sleek, simple.

I have a nice big fancy Smok vv/vw battery. If I cut my juice in half with VG I can blow some massive clouds without knocking myself out. I found this to be mildly amusing for a short period of time. I also found out that with my regular mix when I dialed around for the "sweet spot" I ended up at 3.7 volts...

The mini tanks don't hold a day's worth of juice, and the 650mah batteries don't last all day. So what? Tank gets low, twist it off and pop another on. Battery light flashes, same thing. I've got a battered old EGO case from my first starter kit, it holds four tanks and batteries and a bottle of juice with room to spare.

I got my first mini pro tank from a vape shop. I just assumed it was a Kanger, but there was no mention of Kangertech anywhere on the packaging or tank. Whatever, I really liked it. I figured the real deal would be even better so I ordered one online. Kanger had discontinued the version 1, so I bought the "new, improved" version 2. It was good, but I liked the clone version 1 better. The clone tanks are polycarbonate rather than pyrex, but I don't vape plastic eating flavors, so that's a non-issue.

Now I'm not knocking all the cloud chasing, coil winding, wick trimming gear heads that seem to dominate these forums, but if there's anybody else out there who enjoys vaping with a nice, simple, inexpensive setup, I'd like to hear from you.  

What Ohm For Non Vv Regular Ego Battery

Hello, I still use regular non VV eGo batteries 3.8-4.2v. I want to get some dual coil MT3/eVod coil heads and was wondering what ohm would be best for not a harsh throat hit, want more smooth and the most vapor possible with this setup. I use 50/50pg/vg. I think I have the options of 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 2.4 not sure on that yet. I usually vape flavors like mango, coco cream, kiwi, watermelon, etc.

Would dual coils be too much for that regular setup, thanks.  

Evolution Of A Vape (sort Of)



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.  

Looking Back At 2015 - A Banner Year That Started My Vaping Journey

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.  

Can I Get Some Help Getting Setup Please?

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?  

Well It Happened.

I make the choice that I'm certain I'll be vaping forever. I figured since I enjoy it, I'm gonna learn everything I want to know and make it a hobby.
Me being a perfectionist, I decided it was time to piece together a setup that was not only powerful, but pleasing to the eyes.
After much consideration, I made the choice to not go sub ohm. I instead decided a higher power, higher ohm setup would please me.
So this is what I ended up with.
Aspire CF VV 1600MAH battery. Instead of rocking a VV+ most people use, I went the route I did to get 600 more MAH battery and didn't care about the beauty ring because after all, my Aspire K1 tank is a backup now and can't be used with the VV+
The tank had to be good too. This was where I wanted to upgrade the most. I wanted adjustable airflow, and better coils.
The Nautilus Mini was the only clear choice. 2ml is fine for me as I switch flavors now and then, and the new redesigned OCC coils you can purchase was a selling point.
I've been using the setup since last night, and WOW!!! This tank brings the flavor through in ways I never thought possible. Also, the vapor production is amazing to me. I don't care about cloud chasing so by my standards this is a fog machine at higher voltage lol.
Overall with 5 additional spare coils I'm about 65$ in this setup and that's a bargain. It performs so well.
Also wanna throw out that GWAR Spew from MBV is friggin amazing in this tank!!!!  

Vape Shops Suing To Lift Bans. Why?

I mean I know why and I am right there with them opposing it. I am glad that many have prevailed (at least for now). When I say "why?" I mean that if I were a vape shop owner, I would be looking to liquidate all of my inventory long before May 2020, because at that point my shop will only have 3 or 4 disposable, non-refillable, over taxed pieces of junk to offer with just 2 flavors (tobacco and possibly menthol).

Are they just ignoring the writing on the wall or are they oblivious?

I mean obviously, for some, the bans came out of nowhere and they did not have time to liquidate, and maybe the legal fees were not over-the-top... but from this point on I would be looking at May if I were them and I would get out while I still can (or I would have already done so by now). As sad as it is, I just know that there are going to be all kinds of fantastic sales in April and early May.

Come May 2020, odds are that there will no longer be any vape shops in the US and it looks like online sales will be a thing of the past with the exception of from out of the country (if they will even ship here) and then you're taking the chance of it being confiscated by the FDA.  

International Flights With Vape Stuff

I've seen a few discussions on this in the search but none quite answered all of my questions. (most were about juice,18650 batteries, or domestic flights with 1 device)

I haven't flown internationally since I started vaping. I'm just wondering how/where to pack everything. I'm flying from the US to Italy via Russia. I'm going for awhile so i'm taking almost everything. For Juice and tanks/coils i'm just going to pack them in my checked bags. What i'm more worried about is what to do with batteries. All of my devices are internal batteries (istick, twists) so is it better to turn them off and take off the tank and pack them in checked? Or is it better to carry them on? I have quite a few (+ a friend's stuff) so i'd hate to carry them on but i'm worried they might get damaged because it gets pretty cold down in those luggage compartments. If I carry on them on do I have to take everything out for the security check like you have to with laptops and ipads? Is it better to keep tanks on them so TSA knows what they are or are they getting pretty familiar with what this stuff looks like. I don't want anything confiscated obviously but I can see how they look a bit suspicious without tanks.