Any smokers here? Wanna quit?

baz

Well I finally tried vaping 4 days ago after a couple of unsuccessful years of trying to give up. Sold!
Bought a cheapish kit with two spares (Royale $70au). But the batteries only seem to last for 10 puffs or so, and the quality/quantity? of vapour is inconsistent.

So now I'm looking for a proper kit. There is a lot of confusing choice out there. And now I'm in a hurry, cos the Royale kit is failing and I haven't had a cigarette for 4 days!

Could someone recommend a basic, sturdy model without all the bells and whistles to get me started properly. (Easily available in Australia would be good).

Cheers
Baz

PS; Bought a few bottles of Wolson spice, 25mg nicotine, Apple flavour. Any thoughts on this Chinese brand?

baz

Thanks Garath, great info. I'm a Cabbage Patcher.
I spent most of yesterday sifting info thru half a dozen vape shops, several forums, this thread etc. (I smoked a lot too!
Lots of choice out there so I decided on a scattergun approach, I have ordered 3 different mid-priced machines from diff shops. The esp confusing thing is the interchangeability of components with different brands.
I expect to learn how they work and what works for me with this method.
Will report back next week.

Cheers Baz
PS: Getting some nic from the vape shop, NZ.

olishea

Welcome aboard Baz!

Good luck and keep us informed, we are here to help

Yes consistency is the key for a good vape.....find whatever suits you. Replacement coils can vary in quality, so always stick with the official ones. Battery should last you half a day or so before it needs charging.

I recommend the Aspire Nautilus or Kanger Protank 3 for a beginner setup. The Kanger K-Simar is a good, cheap stainless steel mod too. If you had a K-Simar with Protank 3 on top I think you'd be a very happy vaper.

For your information, the "mod" is the tube that holds your battery with a button on.

After some time, you may want to look into rebuildable atomisers where you build the coil yourself.

With regards to interchanging components.....just look for the type of connection the device is. Normally it's a 510 connection, so just make sure both mod and atomiser have the same connection type.

baz

Thanks Oli, bit of a journey this, but fun.
Ah... mods... that was not explained clearly anywhere.
Also, I get Clearoimiser, but what is a cartomiser?

olishea

They are both similar they just wick differently....some people like them and some people don't. I've never really used them to be honest apart from the cheap toy-cigarette-looking e-cigs.

Which 3 setups did you order then? If you shared links it would be easier to comment...

Yes there is a lot of jargon and BS around vaping, just find a nice device that suits you mate. We can recommend a few if you ever want a bigger setup too.

Gareth

Hiya baz....welcome to the 'club'

What state do you live in mate ?

There are many choices out there as you are probably discovering. I went all out and bought a Provari. My thinking was that if I committed myself to a first class unit I would be more likely to stay with it....and I did.

However, Provaris are in the $200-$300 range in Australia but there are some more economical ways to get a good start and still be enjoying the experience. I get between 24 and 36 hours use out of my batteries.

Joytech seem to popular here in Adelaide. They do a couple of models and range from around $45 to $90.

JOYTECH :

PROVARI :

Some of the other guys will be able to add some more suggestions.

As far as eJuices are concerned, you will need to go through the trial and error phase to find out what it is you like. Most of us have spent (and probably wasted) a bit of money in the early days while we sourced good suppliers.

For what it's worth, I found these in the USA who supply juices with nicotine :

http://www.goodlifevapor.com/ (ElKamino, 925, Deadly Sin, High Five and Southern Shine are my favourites)....stefan got me on to these guys
http://www.theplumeroom.com/ (Banana Pudding is excellent)

And, these guys in Adelaide supply great juices without nicotine :

http://vapoureyes.com.au/collections/tobaccos-and-baked-goods (they sell them as 'Doublers' which means that they are double strength.....this means that if you buy a 30ml bottle, you simply add 30mls of your unflavoured nicotine to it. The good thing about Vapoureyes is that when you buy 30mls of juice it arrives in a 60ml bottle so all you do is fill the bottle...!!)

You will need to import your own unflavoured nicotine juice if you buy juices without nicotine. I get mine from here :

https://www.myfreedomsmokes.com/nicotine-base-flavorings/nicotine-solutions/unflavored-nicotine-smoke-juice-e-liquid-liter-sale.html

A 1 litre container is about $50. But postage is a killer !!....but here in Australia we don't have much of a choice. It will take around a week for it too be delivered, so planning ahead is important.

You can choose the nicotine strength, and the PG/VG mix. I personally find that a 50/50 PG/VG is generally the best.

Sorry if that was too long and too much information to take in. The other guys will probably be more helpful than me, but hopefully this gives you somewhere to start.

Good luck mate !

olishea

I replace my Provari today. After 2 years of faithful service I have to retire my Provari 2.5 Mini (again!).

Provari 3 in black mmmmm I will take more photos later.

baz

Sorry for delay in replying, been crazy busy.
But 2 weeks smoke free!!!
These are the 3 units I bought:

http://www.vapeking.com.au/vk-premium-starter-kit/

http://www.ecigworld.com.au/ego-650mah-single-starter-kit

http://soulblu.com/shop/soulblu-caballero-e-cigarette-kit/

They all work ok.. So I'm learning about voltages etc.
Got a bunch of E-liquids from NZ so ditto flavours etc. Same flavour tastes different in each. Found out what a stuffed atomizer tastes like... getting annoyed pressing buttons 5 times or 3 times, whatever... trying to work out which spares suit which machine... getting pissed off with inconsistent battery life, particularly unimpressed with thinking I'm unscrewing a battery only to dribble juice all over my leg!

One potentially serious issue is I have no idea how much nicotine I am taking in now, I think possibly more than before, this might be the novelty of vaping, more research required...

But basically I'm sold, haven't noticed any major health effects yet but the missus is willing to kiss me again, (ditto dog ), so really, I think I might just jump into the Provari and avoid the present technical hassles. You guys obviously think it's is the bees knees, do you still?

Provari3...You reckon?

olishea

Well you need an atomiser too Baz. Well done with the 2 weeks mate!

Those three sets you bought are all pretty much the same. The EGO clearomisers are what we all started on. They are a good beginner set but nothing more than that. They leak, dribble, batteries go duff, break quickly, inconsistent.

I would recommend a Provari mod with either Aspire Nautilus, Kanger Protank 3 or Kanger Aerotank Mega.

Pete used to use the Vivi Nova but he is now on the Aspire I believe. The Aerotank Mega looks very nice, should go well on top of a Provari. In fact I believe the Aerotank Mega is one of the best looking atomisers around....call me crazy!

Yeah I'm loving my Provari 3......it comes with an extension cap so I can vape using the large 18650 batteries again.

The Provari P3 is just as solid as the old ones, feels great in the hand. Just typical Provari excellence!! The P3 is now narrower than the old version so my Kayfun fits perfectly on top, no beauty ring needed to make them fit flush.

If you want a cheap Provari, Baz, you can still buy the 2.5 version at a reduced price as it's now discontinued. My Provari 2.5 still works fine, it's just bent and I've smashed the screen in....but it still works!! What a solid device!

ASPIRE:

PROTANK 3:

AEROTANK MEGA:

Gareth

nice looking rig Oli....!!!

stefanq

@olishea said:

VAPE PORN ANYONE?

Yes, please!
Awesome rig, well done.
I'm still using " the preciousssssss"

baz

@stefanq said:

@olishea said:

VAPE PORN ANYONE?

Yes, please!
Awesome rig, well done.
I'm still using " the preciousssssss"

Yeah, that is sexy. What is it?
Oli, your photo background is appropriate, Shag pile I believe?

Just got an Aspire Nautilus mini. Movin up...

olishea

Cheers guys it's a great setup, no problems at all. I love your precious Stefan, so is your mod a mechanical one?

It's the new Provari baz; Provari P3. The atomiser is a Kayfun Lite Plus. This rig should do well for a very long time.

What I like about the new Provari is that you no longer need a beauty ring between the atomiser and mod.....fits together so sweet. I went for black again for contrast, just personal preference (and to look like a light saber!)

Hahaha yeah the P3 was seducing me on that shag pile, I almost placed her in front of an open fire to complete the effect!

olishea

VAPE PORN ANYONE?

(Provari P3 with Kayfun Lite Plus)

MADE IN 'MURICA:

stefanq

Barry, that's what we call a mechanical mod, with an atomizer on top (Kayfun). Basically, it's a metal tube with a big battery inside, rechargeable, and a fire button . It is like your Ego battery, but bigger, just a little bit more powerful. The vaping experience is exactly like yours right now. When the battery is full, you get more consistent vapours. Now, let us talk about the pro's and con's:
Pro's: it is sexy (in my opinion)
you can use a very low resistance in your atomizer, BUT you need a very safe
battery (AW IMR are the best)
it is almost indestructible
Con's: vaping is not consistent, you get less and less volts with every puff you take
it doesn't have any safety, it's a hand grenade if it's firing in the pocket for
example, and the battery is venting....yeah, it's not the safest vape...
you need to keep it clean for perfect contact (fire button, the plus pin etc)
it is in most cases heavier, but I like it like that, so it's not a minus for me
I would recommend you an electronic device (like Provari), because, with these ones, if you set the volts or watts to whatever input, you'll get that for every push of the button, until the device tells you that the battery is low. You can always pick a mec later on, if that sexiness really hunts you .
Good luck, and good job! Life is a little bit better now, you'll see!

Gareth

I can thoroughly recommend the Provari (I have the older model). The only thing I have replaced is the extension cap at the bottom of the unit because the spring came out and it was a pain in the @rse getting it back in the right position each time I replaced a battery..!

I think Oli's is variable wattage and variable voltage....not sure what advantages that has, but he will be able to tell us more.

As for the Nautilus Mini, get the big one....it holds nearly 5ml of juice and you are less likley to burn the coil because the juice won't get as low as quickly. But the Mini is a good start.

I ended up getting the tank with a stainless steel sleeve...the unprotected glass tanks look very vulnerable....!!

baz

@gareth said:

As for the Nautilus Mini, get the big one....it holds nearly 5ml of juice and you are less likely to burn the coil because the juice won't get as low as quickly. But the Mini is a good start.

Speaking of juice, do you know how, for example, 5ml of juice at 18mg nicotine relates to say a packet of full strength analogues?

solo

@unknownuser said:

Speaking of juice, do you know how, for example, 5ml of juice at 18mg nicotine relates to say a packet of full strength analogues?

That would be about a case of Camel lights.

baz

@solo said:

@unknownuser said:

Speaking of juice, do you know how, for example, 5ml of juice at 18mg nicotine relates to say a packet of full strength analogues?

That would be about a case of Camel lights.

You mean multiple packets?, they are called cartons here. Shit, that's about 200 cigarettes.
I'm getting thru about 2ml per day or 4 packets analog? Whoa!

baz

Thanks for info Oli, was getting a bit concerned there.
Cheers Baz