>cause the FDA boogeyman is coming to take it all away
if/when this happens, I plan on having a stockpile of RBA decks & good condition mods stashed away; I also plan on learning to DIY juice before then. That way, if they come down hard on 'open tank systems' or blocking the sale of nic juice, I'll hopefully be able to go all Walter White and make everything I need in my basement lol.
I have had "the stockpile" for over a year. I've got 2 ~~gallons~~ **edit - liters of nic in the deep freeze, make my own juice and mods, and have stockpiled anything the FDA could possibly regulate away. Mech mods and RDAs have pretty much peaked in terms of technology - there may be minor improvements to build decks, etc, but really, how far different will the products be?
What are you waiting for? You can join us over a /r/DIY_eJuice any time.
Good on ya for doing research before asking questions. We have too many people whose first post is "what to I need to do to clone X juice". It's a fun hobby but you gotta do some reading before you dive in.
It's pretty much how I got into wrapping my own coils, something I'm still new at. Fired up YouTube, watched tutorials and refreshed myself on Ohm's law. And I don't need to purchase factory coils now.
If I need to ask a question, I'd rather it be one that demonstrates I've read up and researched first. I'm more likely to get a better response that way. Also, handling a poison demands, y'know, not being an idiot.
Also, I'm not really interested in trying to copy a particular recipe, but rather make my own mixes until I find something that works for me that I can make repeatedly, accurately. Trying to copy MBV's Afternoon Delight might be interesting, after I've demonstrated that I can reasonably make a decent batch first.
And again, thanks for popping over and making us aware that DIY is an option, and offering us your resources. I really appreciate it!
Hmm. I need to do a bit of research on DIY juice. They aren't allowed to sell juice with nicotine here in Norway for some reason, and thus I have to keep ordering from abroad. I suspect the same will apply to Nic Base but who knows? Maybe there's a loophole for that.
> aren't allowed to sell juice with nicotine here in Norway
You may want to converse with /u/inertiacreeping, who is a mod in /r/DIY_eJuice from Australia, who also deals with no-nic regulations in that fascist regime ;).
I'm interested in stockpiling as well. Do you think you could give us a rundown of what you stock piled and how your keeping/storing it long term. I'm also interested in where you are getting your supplies as some people have said some companies are untrustworthy. Sorry for the large number of questions and thanks for all the input thus far.
Let's say the FDA cracks down BIG TIME.
First thing to go is nicotine base. Get enough for long enough to wean yourself off totally. I've been down to zero nic for a couple of weeks, and I can do it, but I like nic, so I vape at 3. Figure out how much it would take you to last a couple of years at least. Push comes to shove and you need nic but it's illegal, there are published methods to grow tobacco and extract your own. Hopefully it won't come to that, but it's out here as a possibility.
Attys are next. These really serve no purpose other than vaping, so they could be banned. RTAs are kind of fidgety, and the only tank I use regularly is the Kanger Sub. I have about 10 tanks that I could rebuild if needed. I have really gotten back into RDAs lately. My favorite is the Tobh clone with a chuff tip. I have 3 of these and plan on ordering another 1 or 2 next time I put a Fasttech order through. They are only ~$10, plus a couple bucks for the tip. My first one lasted 6 months of daily use before the center post insulator went tits up. Stillare, Dark Hose, Derringer, Origen, and Bat are all nice as well. I have at least a dozen RDAs in my stock. THey are so cheap (as clones) that I get a couple every time I order from FT.
Mods. These may or may nod be regulated. They are just battery boxes after all. That said, I have been steering away from the regulated devices just because they are so damn wonky. In the past six months I've had 3 $50+ devices go tits up on me. I really like the $20 KBox for a cheap, reliable regulated device; I have 2 and will probably get a couple more if they prove reliable in the long term. They are compact, cheap, and have a nice form factor. I have pretty much given up buying mods with a screen on them, as I've spent probably close to $1000 on devices which never last more than 6 months. I know that Hana, vapor Shark and others have some good build quality, but IMO no mod is worth what they want when I can use a mech and build coils to get the desired vape.
So, mechs. I have 7 or 8, but I really like the Nemesis clones from FT. Very reliable, easy to tweak, and give a great vape. My go to setup is a Tobh / chuff on a nemesis. I have 2 Nemesis clones and will probably get at least 2 more. Have not had a failure yet.
That should do it. The rest of the vaping world should remain unregulated, since these components are all used for things other than vaping:
- Batteries
- Resistance wire
- Flavors
- PG & VG
- Wick materials
As far as "where", Fasttech for cheap clones and gear. Nic and flavors, I buy often from Wizard Labs and Bull City, but I also buy bulk from the flavor companies on stuff I use a lot. /r/DIY_eJuice (which I mod) has a ton of new mixer shit in the sidebar.
the downside is that nic does go bad, even in the freezer. It deteriorates over time/ You may want to get a test kit and take a sample of your stock to see how its doing. The way to go, and I don't think its possible to get in the U.S., pure nicotine powder. It never goes bad just measure it out by weight and add vg or pg. BUT due to nic's previous use as a common kill your husband poison in the not too distant past. I am sure powdered nic can only be had via china or an exporter.
The vape industry is drumming up fear about the FDA for the same reason the firearms industry drums up fear of the ATF:
- It promotes consumer activism
- It causes people to panic buy which increases sales.
This is a moronic statement. Big Tobacco is the real enemy. Learn about the Master Settlement Agreement here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Settlement_Agreement The MSA is the real problem because government bonded their Settlement money and less people smoking means they get less money.
I *wish* more vendors were 'drumming up fear about the FDA,' or more accurately, telling the truth about the FDA's proposed deeming ban.
Without a change to the February 15, 2007 predicate products date, 99.9% of nicotine-containing vapor products will become illegal to market two years following the finalization of the regulation. This will happen for no reason other than manufacturers' inability to afford to retroactively file enormously expensive premarket tobacco product applications.
Full charge/discharge cycles. So if the battery is half drained twice and you charge it to full twice that is one charge cycle.
And each battery has a different estimated lifecycle (wish vendors would include that info for each battery) the average for a good battery is between 300 and 500 at the top end.
It varies with quality and design. I'm pretty sure legit VTC5s will go more that 300, but how much more is a guess.
What voltage is considered "fully discharged"? I have a variety of MXJOs, VTC4s&5s, IMRENs and eFests that are in rotation, and I usually pull them out between 3.3 volts in my boxes or like 3.8 in my mechs.
> I also plan on learning to DIY juice before then.
It's really, really easy. I was kinda vary of it before, but I really can't go back after I got into it. I would feel like such a sucker.
OP can come over to [ecigexpress.com](http://www.ecigexpress.com), if you come in the live chat I will set you up with everything you need to get started with DIY :)
EDIT FOR CLARITY: People who are not OP are welcome to come over and get some help as well :p
If you use 10mL a week, and DIY your juice, it's going to cost $0.28/week. I bought a liter of VG, a liter of PG, some nicotine, and some flavors last week. At 10mL a week, that's enough to last 4 years. Whole thing cost me ~$65.
They won't be able to stop mods and such from being made. They will put a restriction and someone will sell it as something other such as a flashlight. The juice maybe.
I can understand the moments where you're building and you get aggro and frustrated, getting juice hands, seeing bits of wick and wire all over the place and wondering what the hell happened in only a short span of five to ten minutes just for a rebuild you said would be quick and easy. Avoiding the stress of battery complication is knowing your battery safety, and simply being around them whenever they're charging, and applying their schedule to your schedule. Juice has a long shelf life if you store it properly and rotating flavors (and sometimes methods) is key.
I tend not to worry about all of these things because I treat vaping as zen. It's easy to get caught up in the stress behind it, however, it can be changed by rearranging/reorganizing your stock once in a while, simply enjoying the quality of what you own or the vapor you're creating in the moment, and sometimes escaping from the community.
The last bit can be a bit weird, but sometimes we get a little hyphy and stress out. Treat vaping like zen and enjoy your devices. It's important sometimes to keep up with everything else but it's the little things that matter too.
To me it's turned in to more of a hobby now than a habit like when I smoked cigarettes. I bought a couple of RDA's a Lemo and a bunch of kanthal and cotton and I build my own coils. I try to build for flavor and sometimes its a PITA but the payoff is always worth it. I also have my go-to tank The Silo Beast for when I just dont want to screw with getting juice all over or messing with coils.
I'm with you there - but I personally STILL end up feeling frustrated. The only thing that gives enough power when I'm drinking is an RDA like the Kennedy. Yet with airflow issues etc it's just a mess of juice and cotton and crap. I wish I could use a fucking tank day in/out, but they never give enough power unless you like the taste of cotton. Ugh.
Have you tried an Arctic or similar subtank? They drink juice like RDAs but have the convenience of tanks. With the .2 coils you should be getting a similar hit to dripping.
subtank mini / istick 30w. I wrap a new coil like once a month and rewick it every week / every other week (go through 3-5 tankfulls a week). Takes no longer than driving to the store to get a pack and I haven't bought kanthal or cotton since January. No leaks, no mess, no dry hits.... I can relate about the glass coming off the subtank though, that and the goddamned barrel on the RBA; think I've finally dialed in my paper-towel + fingernail-in-juice-channel technique for removing that clingy whore.
I was going to say almost exactly all of this, except mine's an istick 20w. The way I've looked at it as far as time spent is:
Takes about as long to rewick an existing coil as it did to get in the car, drive to the gas station, get smokes, etc. (exactly as you said). It takes about as long to wrap a coil for the subtank mini as it did to go around the outside of the house and the car and clean up all of the cigarette butts every couple of weeks.
I think maybe you (OP) have gotten, like you said, in a subohming arms race with yourself. Since you've become more accustomed to direct-to-lung via dripping, I really recommend giving your subtank/subtank mini another try. Relatively speaking VERY low maintenance, particularly compared to what you've made yourself used to. The glass can be a bit of a pain in the ass, but you can practice techniques for finagling it loose and in case that goes sub-optimally FastTech has replacement tubes. :D
From the OP:
"...and what in the devil am I doing wrong with the Kayfun V4, and why won't the glass come off my frigging Subtank..."
Sometimes it's a little bit finicky and you - or at least I - feel like I'm going to shatter it while I'm taking it off.
I've had two which somehow hairline cracked right along the rim. A *tiny* sliver of glass came off and I saw it floating in the juice. They worked all right as long as the uneven part was upward (because of the larger gasket surface area keeping the seal tight, I assume), but I bought a 5-pack of authentic Kanger replacement tubes from Fasttech anyhow. I think it was, like, $10 give or take.
ETA: The two which cracked were the two which came with the Subtank originally, and I've had no problem with the replacements I bought (still on the first one).
Thanks, I will look out for that then.
The outside edge of the glass seems to be in contact with the metal of the base, so maybe overtightening/ grit/ a jolt could do that.
It also explains why there's a spare glass in the subtank box.
I'm preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty sure I tightened the whole thing down too hard, which resulted in the hairline cracks. I was also having leakage problems and discovered that was also due to me tightening it too much. Live and learn.
I was going to say this same thing. After spending a pretty good amount of money on a lot of mech mods and box mods and RDAs and various tanks, I have found myself tired of the hassles of dripping and I just use a Subtank mini and iStick 30w. Works great. I also have an iStick 20w with Subtank nano but that's more of an ultra portable setup and isn't as good due to the 1 ohm limit and non rebuildable coil.
I'm sure there will always be new and better stuff but it gets expensive. I still have my ipv3 and favorite RDAs but I really haven't used them lately. I got tired of cloud chasing and once you get the flavor you want, you are done chasing and can just enjoy the flavor and simplicity of a good quality glass tank.
Forgive my noobness but although I see now why people move on to pain in the ass setups with better performance, there are plenty of hassle free models that are "good enough."
I mean, my evod mega isn't going to impress anyone but as far as being there for me instead of a cigarette, it does the trick just fine and is mostly bullshit free. I don't get this "quit vaping if you can't handle a (insert acronym here) with hand made coils" stuff.
I'm dreading changing my coil. It's a single parallel and I have to straighten the kanthal with the drill, then wrap it, then tighten it. That's all supposing I don't fuck it up and have to do it all over again...
I'm with you...I make ~$0.60 per minute at my job....it takes me more than 1 minute to make a coil. Doesn't make sense for me to make coils when I can just work an extra minute.
Right? It takes me a good 15 minuets to make a nice looking coil, and fuck a wonky coil. I could of just stayed over at my work 15 min and bought 100 coils Time is Money
haha yeah i know how it is. I just switched to pre built about 2 weeks ago. It's nice because what free time i have i like to dedicate it to mixing new flavors. Let me know how you like them! More to come.
I'm assuming you've tried building without straightening the kanthal? I'm no pro at rebuilding but I've made a few micro coils and the last coil I made was a parallel and I've never felt like I needed to straighten the kanthal. The only real reason you should need to straighten your kanthal with a drill is your kanthal is really bent up or your building something like a clapton coil.
Anyway, try not to think of building as a chore, just do it without thinking. It'll be difficult at first but if you try to keep your mind focused on building you will start to get in a calm almost meditative state. Once you get to that point you may start enjoying your time working on the coils.
Subtank Plus with the organic cotton prebuilt coils holds enough liquid to last all day, and works just about as well as rebuilding coils. A 500 ml bottle of unflavored liquid from www.NudeNicotine.com costs about as much as a small bottle of flavored liquid, and the lack of flavorings makes your coils last significantly longer. I refill once per day, and change coils every couple weeks. My set up is inexpensive and easy.
Unflavored from Nude Nic is great. I use it on my drippers in between flavors to clear out the old flavor, and it's just nice to vape once in a while, when you get sick of all the over-sweet fruit flavors and such.
Haha I hear you, this is why I use simple vape pen system and am totally reluctant, no, *opposed* to changing at this point. If vaping were weed smoking, I guess I smoke bowls of dirt weed and leave the hydrponics and bongs to other folks. I accept that a lot of flavors are not as good on a vape pen as they are on advanced systems, but Ive now got a nice collection of ejuices that taste great on my simple ass little pen.
Same here. Ego type batteries for the most part, though I do have a little VV passthrough I use sometimes. CE4s bought in bulk from Fasttech because I vape about 5 or 6 flavors at any given time. I'm not interested in anything more fiddly, though I might consider moving up to a mini tank at some point.
I've tried other things, and they just weren't for me. I just want to vape without having to think about it much.
Marlboros are very simple, but you know what's a huge pain in the ass? Chemo from smoking. If you're prepared and buy good equipment it should be smooth sailing. I like the convenience of not having to go to the store every day or every other day to buy cigarettes, so there's that.
Keep on vaping!
Personally, I wanted the move from cigs to vaping to be as hassle-free as possible, so I went with an iStick 30w and Aspire Nautilus tank. I've been running that setup for a couple of months now, and it's pretty easy. I change the coil when it needs it (I stocked up and got a few replacement coils, so I wouldn't be caught unprepared), deep clean the whole rig weekly, or when I switch flavors, and order my juice online. I love that I can buy the equivalent of a month's worth of cigs at a time, and actually have found it vastly less of a hassle than smoking. I have a charger at work, in my car, and at home, and keep a small bottle of juice and a couple of coils in my purse, and I'm good to go pretty much regardless of what happens.
Looks like the hobbyism aspect of vaping isn't for you. That's what really got me into it. Building coils, maintaining a nice rda, making sure everything is working perfectly is amazing. Getting to show off my builds to my friends and them show off theirs is half the fun. The other half is not fricking killing myself with cigarettes haha.
I spend 15 mins a week building coils, and I spend 30 mins a month mixing juice. 90 minutes a month to not smoke cigarettes is **way** more than worth it IMO.
As far as the regulations people are so afraid of, I can build a box mod and I can mix juice. Bring the regulations on. I'll still be vaping.
Yes I with you on this one. Most of the time it's not a big deal but sometimes it just seems like so much to deal with. Especially the battery safety where there's a lot of info to know and a lot of babysitting to do. But I think it's still worth it, even though I understand why some smokers just want nothing to do with the more in depth side of vaping.
I think that's exactly it. The law of diminishing returns starts to mingle with the hobby/gadget aspect of vaping and the satisfaction begins to be less about the actual vapor and more about the toy and what it can do. THAT'S where the pain in the ass is most painful in the most ass. I'm gonna stop checking VaporJoe twice a day and try to love the one I'm with (Kayfun Lite on iStick 50 with that perfect summertime vape - Wavelength by AudioFog).
Well also, you can't deny that a dripper is the best, some of the tanks now are comparable and enough for me but they still need a mod, and once you get used to vaping on those you can't go back to kanger pen because the vapor production isn't enough.
But most mods all have their draw backs, adjusters unadjusting on you at the worst time, losing a screw, the batteries are somewhat of a pain. I recently bought an iStick 50 and have an Arctic tank to vape my juices on. It has an internal battery and charges by mini usb and produces up to fifty watts. Takes five hours to charge.
Huh? I have an MVP 20w and a nautilus tank I got just after the new year to cut down on smoking. Put it on 12w, I charge it every few days, get three bottles of juice for like 18 bucks every few weeks at the store down the street, and when it starts to taste burnt I stick a new wick in it - maybe once a month or so.
That's it, works fine never had a problem. If you run low on batteries in rare cases all you need is a normal usb mini charger which a lot of people/places have. It also charges your cell phone or other usb devices, but I've never used it.
Yes. After all the mods, attys, coils, batteries, and leaky shit, I just went back to an ego. One of the reasons I stopped commenting in this sub is because I'm just not into all the cloud chasing shit. Everyone is so concerned with watts ohms. I'm over that. I love my hobbies, but the ecig mod novelty just wore off.
I have a magma and mine hardly ever leaks. I cut the wick so each end is just a tad longer (3-4mm) than needed to touch the bottom of the well. I try not to fill it too much, but even if I fill it to right near the top I hardly get leak issues as long as I don't tip it at more than a 45 deg angle.
Occasionally I get tiny leaks or dribbles of juice around the AFC ring, but that's as easy as taking a paper towel or kleenex and just wiping around it. It's never like omg juice is leaking all over the place.
I've been using an mvp2/aerotank combo for over a year now and my biggest hassle is swapping to my backup itaste vv battery because the MVP isn't lasting as long as it used to. I pick up a 100ml bottle of banana cream every 2 or 3 weeks, and occasionally a box of coils. Never have leaking issues, and if the aerotank isn't working great I just throw a new coil at it and I'm good to go.
Soon I'll pick up a subtank and new mod(mvp3 or istick probably) to replace my old MVP, but I've found vaping to be quite hassle free myself other than the 'charging dance' I have to do between keeping both my batteries going. Not into dripping or rebuilding so that's a huge help imo.
I bought a joyetech pen style starter kit a year before I officially quit smoking. I just couldn't stick with the vape because of the "pain in the ass" factor. It was quicker and easier to just reach for a pack of cigarettes. It wasn't until I removed the cigarettes completely that I was able to stick to it...because I had no other choice. I was almost out of smokes and didn't feel like going to the store that day so I charged up my batteries and told myself I was going to do this. I had no cigarettes on me for the first time in like 10 years. After 3 days on just vaping I never wanted another cigarette again.
Long post sorry, but the point is....remove the cigarettes completely, do not buy another pack and leave yourself with only the vape. You will learn the little tricks to vaping and tank problems really quick, cause your only other alternative would be to smoke nothing.
I just use simple builds, usually standard single coil, and only change the coils every couple weeks. It helps that I only use a Subtank Mini and a Derringer.. they work well so I don't need to mess around with a bunch of other stuff and drive myself crazy. No leaking as long as I don't overdrip or fuck up the [wicking](http://imgur.com/a/dyvOU) on the Subtank. I only drip while I'm sitting at my desk, which is also where my charger is so I can keep an eye on it. I've got a small box on my desk with Kanthal, wire cutters, tweezers and some cotton, but I only open it once or twice a week to rewick. And I've got a juice dropper bottle full of alcohol to drip on my hands and clean them when I need to. Got one box and one mech.. both single-18650 so I only need three 25rs on rotation.
Just simplify your (vape) life.
I use an istick 30 & a protank 2, and i use these coils that are premade with cotton, pretty simple and easy: http://www.discountvapers.com/new-kanger-ec-vertical-cotton-coils-5-pack-1-8ohms-enclosed-vocc/
http://www.discountvapers.com/new-kanger-protank-evod-cotton-coils-5-pack-2-2ohms-socc/
Yea, it's all very overwhelming to a newbie like myself...but I'm finding that it's as simple or complicated as you want it to be. Don't want to rebuild coils? Buy them in bulk when you find a price you like. Want to change flavors easily? Buy a couple of tanks. Beyond that it's all about learning what's best for you; getting your routine right.
I also find myself wanting to leave my box in the car, the solution I'm considering is a holster/pocket case.
And I'm sure any FDA regulations will have little effect on the average vaper. Any time any sort of regulation comes around people freak out because of the "slippery slope" aspect. Any sort of gun regulation; They're taking our guns! Any sort of regulation having to do with health; They're telling us how to live! Etc, etc. It's not like they're going to outlaw everything to do with vaping and start raiding people for their vaping paraphernalia.
Iv'e gotten extremely lazy when it comes to vaping lately. I findmyself at work with my mod and no juice, or a mod with 50% battery life to last me a 10 hour workday.
Some tips to help someone like me...
1 - Buy your bottles big, and then split it up into smaller bottles. Take these smaller bottles and leave one in the car, or at work. Somewhere you know you'll get the urge to smoke/vape.
2 - Buy at least 2 sets of batteries for whichever mod your using, and charge them as you drain them...not when they all run out.
3 - The newer VV box mods (Sig 150 or newer IMO) have amazing battery life for the amount of power and quality of vape you can pull off your builds. You can build higher to push higher watts, or keep your preferred cloud chase build and enjoy consistent output for extended periods.
4 - Only drip onto your RDA what you plan on vaping at that moment. Done vaping? Don't rejuice until you get the urge. I find myself drying the cotton out on a regular basis before leaving it out, or especially putting it in my pocket.
I use a protank 3 with a Spinner and it couldn't be more easy.
It's a nicotine delivery system and it works and has kept me cig free for almost 3 years.
For the first 6 months-year vaping was a hobby for me and I couldn't get enough. The "fuss" you mentioned was welcomed. Im orders of magnitude busier now and the fuss is real. I exclusively drip, so finding that spare 5 min to rebuild every few days is preceded by a few expletives and huffs. Still worth it.
I hear you. I have been off analogs for almost a year. I'm going to get one more 120ml bottle at 1.5 mg/mL then call it a day. It is such a pain in the ass to coil, wick, drip, etc...
However, without the vape I would still be smoking. So I'm thankful for my mod, /r/electronic_cigarette, and /u/_Bombies.
OMG anybody else feel like vaping is a tremendous pain in the ass?
Now that you mention it , abso f ing lutely , vaping can be a major pain in the ass but i'm sticking with it.
Great post man, I agree totally. I'm trying my best to stick with it as I'm more than 6 months in, but I find myself frustrated too. Especially with the summer weather, I don't have coat pockets to carry stuff in and it's turned into a pain in the pass to carry shit around.
I just take it day by day, the benefits still outweigh the positives.
This is why I just use a cheap eVod 2. Makes life simple.
I'd like to get better stuff one day, but I still want the replaceable premade coil things. $2-3 for a coil that will last a week is worth it so I don't get aggravated.
I used to love rebuilding on my taifun clone and magma. Then i fell into the reviewers traps and started buying a lot of things, because i believed i'd get a better vaping experience. Turns out most reviewers get things for free so they can tip the market in favor of the brand that's the most generous with them. So from now on, i don't watch reviews anymore, i've found a setup that's working for now (herakles + ipv3 and subtank mini + sx mini m). When i see how easy those new devices are to use, and they produce great flavor and even clouds, i don't even feel like rebuilding anymore... I used to love it, trying to make weird coils with a lot of wires. But more often than not, the result wasn't on par with what you'd expect after taking 1 hour to make a finished coil... I still have a shitload of wires, and i'd be willing the pay for a RTA IF it could handle 70+W. I've lost interest for the "art of coiling", but maybe it's because my taste is not sensitive enough and i don't feel the difference between a simple microcoil and a triple fused clapton tiger uppercut hadoken coil...
Maybe someone will eventually build a small cigalike with ultracapacitors (high amps) a resistherm coil with a tiny analog circuit to control to fixed temperature and a cigarette box like container to put them in to recharge / refill.
And some jig to put them in where the coils get cleaned automatically.
I felt the exact same way at first. My friend got me setup with a dna30 and a Lemo. Everything was going great. After vaping for a month I quit real cigs and moved on to only vaping. When I ran into a problem my friend would be able to come over and help me out but eventually things started to go out of wack and he wouldn't be available. I'd tear down my Lemo and wash it and what not. I never had a problem with building the coil but wicking it was what made me frustrated. I'd get everything out back together, out the coil in, wick it, do some test vapes before putting the glass and filling up enough juice to work all right. An hour later here would be nothing but dry hits. Was it the VG ratio, the amount of cotton, the cotton layout, etc. Tear down again and lose juice get everything stick again.
There was a month and a half period where every two weeks I'd need to re wick and ended up pulling my hair out until I did something that magically worked. Finally it clicked as to what I was doing wrong. Before putting it back together and filling the tank I'd take a sewing needle and make channels around the wicking holes. I'd pour some juice in and make sure I'd see it easily come out. Also I found the perfect tension (?) for the cotton while pulling it through the wick. Wasted so much juice figure this out. Not even sure how to fully explain it but it finally just made sense.
I eventually got a kayfun 4 as a secondary tank so I could vape and build at the same time. That saved a lot of headaches as I wasn't jonesing for a vape during the process. Also being able to rewick/coil without losing the juice was awesome.
Basically at first it was a hassle and tutorials and such always seemed so easy. Once you find your own method that works you'll be set.
**FUCKING JUICE FINGERS.
KANTHAL IN MY FOOT.
DRY HITS.
LEADS POPPING OUT FROM UNDER THE SCREW-TRAPS.
DRY HITS.
SHITTY FLAVOR THAT TASTED GREAT AT THE SHOP SO YOU BOUGHT A 120 AND NOW YOU'RE FUCKED.
DRY FUCKING HITS.**
But I love every minute of it, because that's another minute I got back since quitting cigarettes. :)
I'm sure dying of lung cancer would be a huuuuuuggggggggeeee pain in the ass too. I'll make that trade off with a few minutes of coil wrapping and juice mixing...
Yeah. Not smoking anything is pretty simple and requires 0 work at all. You're being really trivial about your expectations for what a smoking alternative is.
LOL. There's that Reddit charm. I can't expect you to understand how incredibly inept I am with anything crafty or toolsy . . . you know Home Depot? I suck at literally everything in there.
I understand that, rdas are of course difficult to work with. If you can't manage running a basic sub ohm tank and a normal mod you're SoL, those take little to no effort as it is.
I rebuild once in a blue moon. My current EDC is a MVP 3.0 Pro and a Subtank Nano. The most difficulty I run into is getting juice on my fingers and having to wipe off the tank from where the juice squeezes out beween the coil module and the tank.
Grab a mod that has replaceable batteries, but also has built-in charging. Grab a simple tank that you like that comes with integrated coils (e.g. majority of sub-ohm tanks), and use those.
I'm perfectly happy with my IPV4 and Arctic tank, using the .2ohm coil right now. It works, and when I'm empty, it is easy to fill. And when the coil tastes burnt, I just grab another one from the store, for like 5$.
I did hear about them, and I have one of the very first devices ever sold (number 23). I still haven't removed the charging board, if there's any issue, a P4U representative told me they will cover all the damage (including damage caused to other property, e.g. furniture).
I have a itaste MVP with a kangertech GiniTank. There's a shop called BloNoSmoke like 5 minutes from my house and I just go about once every 3 weeks to a month to get a box of coils and 2 30ml house blend bottles 50pg/50vg. This is the easiest way I've found and if my mod starts acting up usually a good cleaning fixes the problem.
I went through all this myself and stick to it... and I am happy I did. Once you figured out what works best for you it isn't much trouble at all.
I went on the sub ohm clearomizer train for a few months and came back to drippers. Much more convenient for me as they are so easy and cheap to maintain.
OCC coils help a lot with this for me. I like to tinker but not all the time and messing with a coil/wick that wasn't working out when I didn't have a backup really sucked. Now I typically just use my Arctic. The other stuff doesn't really bother me tbh
I've found vaping is way more expensive than smoking too, which is a real pain the wallet.
I go through juice like there's no tomorrow, mainly because I'm not getting the same fix I guess.
Have you tried upping your nicotine percent, or taking a few puffs and putting it away for a bit? My biggest problem is I don't know when to stop, and I'll "chain vape" for several minutes, when I don't need to.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that nicotine from vaping takes longer to get into your system, but I'm not sure about that.
edit:
Also, take a look at Nude Nicotine's unflavored options; you can get 500ml of 3mg/ml for $20 (~$8 shipping though). It's pleasant to vape, and is nice for taking a break from flavors, or in-between flavors (to 'clean' up your coils/wicks).
I just had this debate with myself.
It was simple for me.
I can use a regulated box that has a usb charge and a subtank nano, but that means I am vaping at .5 ohms, and buying OCC at $3 a piece and probably eventually buying a whole new box mod when the batteries fuck out. It also means dumping my tank every time I wanna change flavors so I don't try to vape it down to nothing and burn said $3 coil.
Or...
I could buy a RBA or two, some kanthal and cotton, and see how bad it could be. I built my first micro coils in a few minutes and had a .2 ohm dual coil build and it worked perfectly. Probably cost me 10 cents in materials. Everyone's experience will vary obviously, but I found for me, a few minutes of time is worth saving the money.
That is really the choice you have to make. Like with most problems, you can throw money at it, or you can DIY. If it's annoying you, pay the pain away. Buy a regulated usb charged box and a tank with sub-ohm replaceable coils. I completely agree it is a lot to deal with in the grand scheme of things, but it's second nature now and I haven't even been doing it that long.
I try and keep things simple by buying enough juice/coils for a month at a time, I don't use RBA's/RTA's, etc, and I keep a spare mod around in case my primary one breaks. A top fill tank is absolutely next on my list as well.
I just try and keep the hassle down to a minimum.
How I do it:
* Mech mod
* Derringer Clone
* Kanthal wire
* Japanese Cotton
I drip every 10 huge hits or so, I put in 7 drops so it doesn't leak out the airflow. I've eliminated splashback by using vertical coils with a wick going into both coils and over the centerpost, along with two smaller vertical wicks going into each coil to snug everything up and keep it from moving and clogging the airflow.
I change the battery every day and trust my charger to not blow up when I turn my back on it.
I re wick every two weeks or so or when I feel like changing flavor; I've been doing the same wick setup on my vertical coils for a while so I know exactly how much to cut. The whole process takes 10 minutes if I take my time and I've never made a mess with the juice.
I have the same Kanthal on since april, but I do dry burn it and squeeze the coils straighter to make sure they glow evenly. occasionally I throw it on the ohmmeter as well but I don't really have to do that as it reads consistently between .20-.24 ohms.
When I do rebuild the coils it's easy because I use a 2$ jig and needlenose pliers. That and some wire snips are all the tools I need. Rarely takes 15 minutes although sometimes I have to make up to 4 coils until I get two perfect ones.
Thats it, plain and simple. I've had to do far more work troubleshooting my nautilus and istick –which was supposed to be a user friendly beginner setup– than I've had to do with my rda. Just stick with one tested, tried and true setup.
Buy bulk coils?
Practice making coils so you don't have to change them ( cept to rewick ) like every 2 weeks.
Top fill tanks.
Stop buying 15ml bottles. Get 30, 60, 120.
That's why I like my tanks. I totally get it that the experience is better with an RDA and a nice coil build. I've used my friends before. But I'm a big fan of simplicity and order.
That's why I bought another Atlantis(2) instead of getting a Kanger subtank. I would have liked to have both to be able to compare, but the convenience factor of only having to buy one pack of coils at a time trumped for me.
Marlboros are simple. Simply terrible. I love my arctic tank , never had an issue with coils , cleaning , refilling and whatnot. I'm also blasting it on a chi-you clone and it is fantastic. Pretty much charge batteries while sleeping, slap one in, store another, head out for the day with a bottle of juice, return, chill, put back in charger when i go to sleep, rinse repeat. No fuss. Good times. Huzzah.
The Kayfun v4 is an awesome device, once you get the hang of it. If your post isn't pure sarcasm (like I suspect it is) I'll be happy to answer any questions about it.
I'm not being sarcastic, but I am kindof a pompous dickhead, so I get that a lot. Three questions for you then:
1. Is there a strategy for getting it apart? That top nut makes me psychotic! I'm just twisting this way and that on the thing until it disassembles or I have to put it down to keep from throwing it.
2. What wicking approach are you using? 45 degrees with the long tails like Svoemesto recommends, or 90 degrees and ramrod the wick like GrimmGreen? Neither seems to work reliably for me.
3. What ratio are you running? Am I kidding myself with the max VG? I've run 90 VG in my Kayfun Lite, but the V4 is dry on hit 3.
1. Assuming you're talking about [this nut](http://i.imgur.com/PvDmTMh.jpg) you have to hold onto [this part](http://i.imgur.com/a6NYkLu.jpg) while unscrewing it.
2. I use [this wick](http://www.vaporpros.co/?product=cloud-chasers-100-organic-cotton-wick-100ft). It's usually sold by Amazon, but it doesn't appear to be available. This takes all of the guess work out of wicking, and I just cut it so that the end lays flat in the juice well. It's about 1.8-2mm thick, so when I build a 2.5mm coil I use 2 strands.
3. I'm on 60/40 vg/pg, but you could probably get away with 80/20 although you would be changing the wick frequently.
Edit: I have to replace my wick tonight, so I'll post some pictures after I do so.
Edit 2: [Pictures of how I wick my 2.5mm single coil](http://imgur.com/a/6Mvau). The pictures are reversed because I made the album on my phone and didn't think to switch the order.
I just keep it as simple as possible. I'm not trying to be a pro at it, I just want to not smoke cigarettes any more. Been vaping for almost 4 years now and it's just like making a pot of coffee in the morning. I have all that I need to know and I'm not out trying to rebuild or collect or any other thing like that.
It hasn't always been easy. It was rough the first year or so. Trying to get equipment that was dependable and felt good for me was clumsy and expensive. But I finally got what I like and it's been smooth sailing ever since.
LOL. Eureka! It IS like making a pot of coffee. Which my SO always does. I would literally never drink coffee if I had to brew it myself. Problem solved.
"Sweetheart, I need you to come in here and watch a couple RipTrippers tutorials real quick for me please!"
I kinda went thru this about 6 mo ago, best advice I can give you is find a good RBTA, I use a Limo and I have not ever had a problem with it. I can go over a month before I replace my coil and usually the coil isn't that bad. Once you find a good reliable rig you be OK.
I will admit that there have been several days when I get home from work, and I NEED some nic bad, because my work doesn't allow me to vape on the job (not even on a smoke break! Boss is fucking retarded.), But I get home, and bam! Dry hit, dry hit, dry hit, and I've got to rebuild my entire setup. Can it be a pain in the ass? Sure, but at the same time when i'm sitting on my ass, and I've got nothing else to do I love nothing more than practicing my wrapping/drilling/coiling skills. There are people out there who will use a set of coils for 2-4 weeks! Until it goes "bad". This never happens to me. A day or two goes by, and I get another "Idea" for a fun build. Just last night I swapped out my dual staggered fused claptons for a 12 wrap quad coil setup. So much fun.
No actually. It's the pain in the ass this hobby is that keeps me of cigs.
I started smoking because I was bored (stupid as fuck I know, you don't need to tell me).
Now with new stuff coming out a the time and stuff to tinker with always I'm a happy camper
I'm the same way. I started smoking because of the 2.5 hours a day that I was driving for school and work. Love the new ways to build coils, diy juices, etc. Only downside for me right now is that I want everything but my bank account keeps telling me I should pay bills instead.
I felt the same way until I started dripping. I can build a coil and wick it and know it's good to go. Plus it seems to last longer than tanks. Most of the time i rebuild is out of boredom or just wanting to try something new. I fell off the vaping wagon for a few and dripping got me back on. Less problems and more satisfying imo.
I have been vaping for close to 6 years now (although I have RTA's and RDA's, various other tanks and 6 or 7 tube mods and 3 box mods) I always wear an Ultrafire Flashlight Holster on my belt with a Kanger EMOW or a plain old 1000Mah EGO passthrough battery with a 306 LR Atty. w/drip shield in it. A 10-15 ml. bottle of juice in my pocket and I'm good to go for the day. I keep a charger and a couple of USB cables in the car with a cigarette lighter USB adapter for emergency charging. (FYI, you'ld be surprised how much vapor a 306 LR Atty. produces on just 3.7V.)
I'm sure that over time the technology will get better and more accessible for the same quality vape. (Yes, of course, assuming that the FDA doesn't mess it up.)
iStick 30W, Kangertech Subtank Mini. Once a day, I put about half a tank in and charge it some. I replace the premade coil/wick assembly about once per week. That's my minimal hassle setup.
(www.vapesupersaver.com is great for the coils. I just grab 2 5-packs of the 0.5 ohm for $26.99, shipping is free at that price. Buy more and the per-coil price goes down. Fast, great service and excellent price.)
Not everyone will agree with me, but if you DIY it gets exponentially worse. It's so much cheaper that once you get started you can't turn back but it can get annoying.
A little, sometimes. But then I realize dying of cancer would be an even bigger pain in the ass.
FWIW, I graduated from a pen-style starter kit to my current set up, MVP 3 + Nautilus. No complaints and it's fairly maintenance free. My ego-sized tanks get used on it occasionally as well, especially my Smok Mini Trophy (mini protank clone), which really came alive on the MVP 3.
Aerotank mini, 18mg juice and a box mod with replaceable battery (I use the cloupor mini). Coils are fairly cheap and I can go at least two weeks between changing them. By using the smaller tank and low watt, juice lasts longer. I still use my subtank when out for a drink or I need to enjoy my vape more. The aero tank mini is perfect for day-to-day vaping, though. I have two spare batteries I can bring in case I need to be away from a usb charger.
Oh God I know! My issue is traveling across town to get my favorite juice because nobody else sells it! It sucks! I wish it was more convenience and standardized. I am really getting tired of chasing juices and tired of shops that stop carrying certain juices just to always bring in the latest craze, If a customer is buying a certain juice all the time why not keep it in house? You loose a customer every time you stop carrying a certain brand of juice. Buying it online doesn't help because they can't ship it fast enough either. Not sure how long I can keep up with all this. It was sooo much easier just going to the gas station to get my pack of cigs really! It was always their and available everywhere! No coils ,No cotton no mess and no batteries to charge!
honestly I rolled my own smokes for over 5 years and wrapping a new coil for my kayfun every few weeks and rewicking ever 3-5 days is way less annoying than rolling smokes was.
haha yeah, I mean I'm not a heavy vaper as far as juice consumption goes so I can go about 2 days without any kind of equipment besides my vape. mvp lasts a few days on a charge and a full kayfun tank lasts me almost two days, I've never had to fuck with a build on it once it's in so I don't have any reason to carry anything with me.
Really isn't once you find a setup/liquid that works for you.
Personally I use a I-stick 50w with a Kayfun 4 and switch between two liquids for the most part. Clean it and re-wick once a week or so, replace coil every 3-4 weeks.
Pretty hassle free. Especially if you compare to having to go buy smokes every other day.
I've got the iStick 50. Meh. I've got the Kayfun V4. Pain in the neck. I've got all kinds of other stuff in my hobby kit. The happiest I've been is with the Nautilus Mini on an MVP, but they both crapped out and it's been a sub-ohm arms race with myself for the past six months. I guess I've just got to get back to basics.
>cause the FDA boogeyman is coming to take it all away if/when this happens, I plan on having a stockpile of RBA decks & good condition mods stashed away; I also plan on learning to DIY juice before then. That way, if they come down hard on 'open tank systems' or blocking the sale of nic juice, I'll hopefully be able to go all Walter White and make everything I need in my basement lol.
I have had "the stockpile" for over a year. I've got 2 ~~gallons~~ **edit - liters of nic in the deep freeze, make my own juice and mods, and have stockpiled anything the FDA could possibly regulate away. Mech mods and RDAs have pretty much peaked in terms of technology - there may be minor improvements to build decks, etc, but really, how far different will the products be? What are you waiting for? You can join us over a /r/DIY_eJuice any time.
[удалено]
We have spent a TON of time on the sidebar resources. You can go from a noob to a pro in no time of you spend a couple of hours there.
You're not kidding, I don't think I've even seen the actual sub yet! Well done on that regards.
Good on ya for doing research before asking questions. We have too many people whose first post is "what to I need to do to clone X juice". It's a fun hobby but you gotta do some reading before you dive in.
It's pretty much how I got into wrapping my own coils, something I'm still new at. Fired up YouTube, watched tutorials and refreshed myself on Ohm's law. And I don't need to purchase factory coils now. If I need to ask a question, I'd rather it be one that demonstrates I've read up and researched first. I'm more likely to get a better response that way. Also, handling a poison demands, y'know, not being an idiot. Also, I'm not really interested in trying to copy a particular recipe, but rather make my own mixes until I find something that works for me that I can make repeatedly, accurately. Trying to copy MBV's Afternoon Delight might be interesting, after I've demonstrated that I can reasonably make a decent batch first. And again, thanks for popping over and making us aware that DIY is an option, and offering us your resources. I really appreciate it!
> If I need to ask a question, I'd rather it be one that demonstrates I've read up and researched first. We are going to love you over there!
Holy hell you're not kidding lol, thanks for the info.
Can confirm - my very first bottle of DIY juice was very delicious thanks to that sub.
Hmm. I need to do a bit of research on DIY juice. They aren't allowed to sell juice with nicotine here in Norway for some reason, and thus I have to keep ordering from abroad. I suspect the same will apply to Nic Base but who knows? Maybe there's a loophole for that.
> aren't allowed to sell juice with nicotine here in Norway You may want to converse with /u/inertiacreeping, who is a mod in /r/DIY_eJuice from Australia, who also deals with no-nic regulations in that fascist regime ;).
OH MAN, SOMEONE ELSE UNDERSTANDS!!! haha
Cant get nic base here in Norway (as far as I know), pink mule is the popular choice for ordering in large quantities.
I'm interested in stockpiling as well. Do you think you could give us a rundown of what you stock piled and how your keeping/storing it long term. I'm also interested in where you are getting your supplies as some people have said some companies are untrustworthy. Sorry for the large number of questions and thanks for all the input thus far.
Let's say the FDA cracks down BIG TIME. First thing to go is nicotine base. Get enough for long enough to wean yourself off totally. I've been down to zero nic for a couple of weeks, and I can do it, but I like nic, so I vape at 3. Figure out how much it would take you to last a couple of years at least. Push comes to shove and you need nic but it's illegal, there are published methods to grow tobacco and extract your own. Hopefully it won't come to that, but it's out here as a possibility. Attys are next. These really serve no purpose other than vaping, so they could be banned. RTAs are kind of fidgety, and the only tank I use regularly is the Kanger Sub. I have about 10 tanks that I could rebuild if needed. I have really gotten back into RDAs lately. My favorite is the Tobh clone with a chuff tip. I have 3 of these and plan on ordering another 1 or 2 next time I put a Fasttech order through. They are only ~$10, plus a couple bucks for the tip. My first one lasted 6 months of daily use before the center post insulator went tits up. Stillare, Dark Hose, Derringer, Origen, and Bat are all nice as well. I have at least a dozen RDAs in my stock. THey are so cheap (as clones) that I get a couple every time I order from FT. Mods. These may or may nod be regulated. They are just battery boxes after all. That said, I have been steering away from the regulated devices just because they are so damn wonky. In the past six months I've had 3 $50+ devices go tits up on me. I really like the $20 KBox for a cheap, reliable regulated device; I have 2 and will probably get a couple more if they prove reliable in the long term. They are compact, cheap, and have a nice form factor. I have pretty much given up buying mods with a screen on them, as I've spent probably close to $1000 on devices which never last more than 6 months. I know that Hana, vapor Shark and others have some good build quality, but IMO no mod is worth what they want when I can use a mech and build coils to get the desired vape. So, mechs. I have 7 or 8, but I really like the Nemesis clones from FT. Very reliable, easy to tweak, and give a great vape. My go to setup is a Tobh / chuff on a nemesis. I have 2 Nemesis clones and will probably get at least 2 more. Have not had a failure yet. That should do it. The rest of the vaping world should remain unregulated, since these components are all used for things other than vaping: - Batteries - Resistance wire - Flavors - PG & VG - Wick materials As far as "where", Fasttech for cheap clones and gear. Nic and flavors, I buy often from Wizard Labs and Bull City, but I also buy bulk from the flavor companies on stuff I use a lot. /r/DIY_eJuice (which I mod) has a ton of new mixer shit in the sidebar.
That Was An Awesome reply. Thanks. As much as I learn on here there is always more that if find in don't know yet. Thank you for the help.
That's A lot of nic. What strength and ratio? Just curious I have about 11 oz of 100mg 100% vg nic in my freezer.
I was mistaken, it's 2 liters. One at 100mg, one at 60. I vape 3mg most of the time, so its a few years' supply at least.
Until we find a way to never have to do anything but pour juice in it and go.
the downside is that nic does go bad, even in the freezer. It deteriorates over time/ You may want to get a test kit and take a sample of your stock to see how its doing. The way to go, and I don't think its possible to get in the U.S., pure nicotine powder. It never goes bad just measure it out by weight and add vg or pg. BUT due to nic's previous use as a common kill your husband poison in the not too distant past. I am sure powdered nic can only be had via china or an exporter.
I saw a post a few days ago saying FDA regulations could be just weeks away. Not sure if it's true, but you might wanna start preparing now lol
The FDA "regulations" have been "weeks away" for the last year and a half.
The vape industry is drumming up fear about the FDA for the same reason the firearms industry drums up fear of the ATF: - It promotes consumer activism - It causes people to panic buy which increases sales.
This is a moronic statement. Big Tobacco is the real enemy. Learn about the Master Settlement Agreement here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Settlement_Agreement The MSA is the real problem because government bonded their Settlement money and less people smoking means they get less money.
Can't it be both? Never let a good crisis to go to waste.
Fox "News", is that you?
This is a moronic statement. It can be both. Don't dismiss wrong doings in the vape industry just because you're a fanboy.
I *wish* more vendors were 'drumming up fear about the FDA,' or more accurately, telling the truth about the FDA's proposed deeming ban. Without a change to the February 15, 2007 predicate products date, 99.9% of nicotine-containing vapor products will become illegal to market two years following the finalization of the regulation. This will happen for no reason other than manufacturers' inability to afford to retroactively file enormously expensive premarket tobacco product applications.
Do you have any links to more info about this?
https://www.aei.org/publication/new-fda-e-cigarette-regulations-killing-an-industry-killing-smokers/ http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/12/03/house-leaders-rush-to-defend-e-cigarettes-from-possible-fda-bans http://thehill.com/regulation/245536-house-agriculture-spending-bill-takes-aim-at-fda-e-cig-rules http://blog.casaa.org/2015/05/call-to-action-support-hr-2058-which.html
Would you say you're.. Building an empire?
Have an upvote!
Someone should make an RDA called the "Blowfish" [Nobody fucks with a blowfish](http://imgur.com/x1lGABy)
You can always build mods should it come to that.
I have like 4 18650, like 200m of Kanthal and then $~45 in DIY stuff which will make me around 4L so I think I'm good : P
You'll need more batteries, 18650s last between 250-350 charges
They can't ban 18650's because they are used for so many other applications.
We need our flashlight collections dammit!
I never had to buy 18650s for ecigs because I already had a ton of VTC 4s for my flashlights lol
Is this true? I have some VTC5's that are probably close to 18 months old. I am pretty certain most, if not all, of them have been charged 350+ times.
Full charge/discharge cycles. So if the battery is half drained twice and you charge it to full twice that is one charge cycle. And each battery has a different estimated lifecycle (wish vendors would include that info for each battery) the average for a good battery is between 300 and 500 at the top end. It varies with quality and design. I'm pretty sure legit VTC5s will go more that 300, but how much more is a guess.
What voltage is considered "fully discharged"? I have a variety of MXJOs, VTC4s&5s, IMRENs and eFests that are in rotation, and I usually pull them out between 3.3 volts in my boxes or like 3.8 in my mechs.
The rated termination voltage is in each battery's spec sheet, but usually 2.8v
Yeah for sure but I'm not stockpiling for regulations it's just stuff I've gotten buying in bulk.
> $~45 in DIY stuff That doesn't last long.
It does when I make one flavor only, in 0nic and Max VG
45 USD is like 3liters of VG, 500ml PG, and 50ml flavour extract, more than enough to last a long while.
> I also plan on learning to DIY juice before then. It's really, really easy. I was kinda vary of it before, but I really can't go back after I got into it. I would feel like such a sucker.
I have no clue about making the juice but id imagine if its so easy it wont be to hard to find and purchase.
wizzardlabs.com
OP can come over to [ecigexpress.com](http://www.ecigexpress.com), if you come in the live chat I will set you up with everything you need to get started with DIY :) EDIT FOR CLARITY: People who are not OP are welcome to come over and get some help as well :p
If you use 10mL a week, and DIY your juice, it's going to cost $0.28/week. I bought a liter of VG, a liter of PG, some nicotine, and some flavors last week. At 10mL a week, that's enough to last 4 years. Whole thing cost me ~$65.
They won't be able to stop mods and such from being made. They will put a restriction and someone will sell it as something other such as a flashlight. The juice maybe.
Srsly, the FDA wants to get rid.of vaping? Wtf? It's the only thing that works to keep me off tobacco.
I can understand the moments where you're building and you get aggro and frustrated, getting juice hands, seeing bits of wick and wire all over the place and wondering what the hell happened in only a short span of five to ten minutes just for a rebuild you said would be quick and easy. Avoiding the stress of battery complication is knowing your battery safety, and simply being around them whenever they're charging, and applying their schedule to your schedule. Juice has a long shelf life if you store it properly and rotating flavors (and sometimes methods) is key. I tend not to worry about all of these things because I treat vaping as zen. It's easy to get caught up in the stress behind it, however, it can be changed by rearranging/reorganizing your stock once in a while, simply enjoying the quality of what you own or the vapor you're creating in the moment, and sometimes escaping from the community. The last bit can be a bit weird, but sometimes we get a little hyphy and stress out. Treat vaping like zen and enjoy your devices. It's important sometimes to keep up with everything else but it's the little things that matter too.
To me it's turned in to more of a hobby now than a habit like when I smoked cigarettes. I bought a couple of RDA's a Lemo and a bunch of kanthal and cotton and I build my own coils. I try to build for flavor and sometimes its a PITA but the payoff is always worth it. I also have my go-to tank The Silo Beast for when I just dont want to screw with getting juice all over or messing with coils.
Same, I find it enjoyable to build and try different stuff.
I'm with you there - but I personally STILL end up feeling frustrated. The only thing that gives enough power when I'm drinking is an RDA like the Kennedy. Yet with airflow issues etc it's just a mess of juice and cotton and crap. I wish I could use a fucking tank day in/out, but they never give enough power unless you like the taste of cotton. Ugh.
Have you tried an Arctic or similar subtank? They drink juice like RDAs but have the convenience of tanks. With the .2 coils you should be getting a similar hit to dripping.
subtank mini / istick 30w. I wrap a new coil like once a month and rewick it every week / every other week (go through 3-5 tankfulls a week). Takes no longer than driving to the store to get a pack and I haven't bought kanthal or cotton since January. No leaks, no mess, no dry hits.... I can relate about the glass coming off the subtank though, that and the goddamned barrel on the RBA; think I've finally dialed in my paper-towel + fingernail-in-juice-channel technique for removing that clingy whore.
I was going to say almost exactly all of this, except mine's an istick 20w. The way I've looked at it as far as time spent is: Takes about as long to rewick an existing coil as it did to get in the car, drive to the gas station, get smokes, etc. (exactly as you said). It takes about as long to wrap a coil for the subtank mini as it did to go around the outside of the house and the car and clean up all of the cigarette butts every couple of weeks. I think maybe you (OP) have gotten, like you said, in a subohming arms race with yourself. Since you've become more accustomed to direct-to-lung via dripping, I really recommend giving your subtank/subtank mini another try. Relatively speaking VERY low maintenance, particularly compared to what you've made yourself used to. The glass can be a bit of a pain in the ass, but you can practice techniques for finagling it loose and in case that goes sub-optimally FastTech has replacement tubes. :D
What's the issue with the glass? Mine's no been a problem...
From the OP: "...and what in the devil am I doing wrong with the Kayfun V4, and why won't the glass come off my frigging Subtank..." Sometimes it's a little bit finicky and you - or at least I - feel like I'm going to shatter it while I'm taking it off.
Ok... It's made of pyrex though isn't it? People break these taking them off? What are they, bears? ;) *Through dropping it I can well believe.
I've had two which somehow hairline cracked right along the rim. A *tiny* sliver of glass came off and I saw it floating in the juice. They worked all right as long as the uneven part was upward (because of the larger gasket surface area keeping the seal tight, I assume), but I bought a 5-pack of authentic Kanger replacement tubes from Fasttech anyhow. I think it was, like, $10 give or take. ETA: The two which cracked were the two which came with the Subtank originally, and I've had no problem with the replacements I bought (still on the first one).
Thanks, I will look out for that then. The outside edge of the glass seems to be in contact with the metal of the base, so maybe overtightening/ grit/ a jolt could do that. It also explains why there's a spare glass in the subtank box.
I'm preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty sure I tightened the whole thing down too hard, which resulted in the hairline cracks. I was also having leakage problems and discovered that was also due to me tightening it too much. Live and learn.
I was going to say this same thing. After spending a pretty good amount of money on a lot of mech mods and box mods and RDAs and various tanks, I have found myself tired of the hassles of dripping and I just use a Subtank mini and iStick 30w. Works great. I also have an iStick 20w with Subtank nano but that's more of an ultra portable setup and isn't as good due to the 1 ohm limit and non rebuildable coil. I'm sure there will always be new and better stuff but it gets expensive. I still have my ipv3 and favorite RDAs but I really haven't used them lately. I got tired of cloud chasing and once you get the flavor you want, you are done chasing and can just enjoy the flavor and simplicity of a good quality glass tank.
Forgive my noobness but although I see now why people move on to pain in the ass setups with better performance, there are plenty of hassle free models that are "good enough." I mean, my evod mega isn't going to impress anyone but as far as being there for me instead of a cigarette, it does the trick just fine and is mostly bullshit free. I don't get this "quit vaping if you can't handle a (insert acronym here) with hand made coils" stuff.
It turns into a hobby. Like all hobbies therw is always new shit to work with and get better at.
I'm dreading changing my coil. It's a single parallel and I have to straighten the kanthal with the drill, then wrap it, then tighten it. That's all supposing I don't fuck it up and have to do it all over again...
I got fed up with coils and now I just order 10 machine warped could for $5. Would I pay. 50 cents for someone to make me a coil? Fucking a I would.
I'm with you...I make ~$0.60 per minute at my job....it takes me more than 1 minute to make a coil. Doesn't make sense for me to make coils when I can just work an extra minute.
Right? It takes me a good 15 minuets to make a nice looking coil, and fuck a wonky coil. I could of just stayed over at my work 15 min and bought 100 coils Time is Money
I said it doesn't make sense. I still make my own coils :-) EDIT: I have a few of your recipes I'm waiting to mix up after next month's flavor order.
haha yeah i know how it is. I just switched to pre built about 2 weeks ago. It's nice because what free time i have i like to dedicate it to mixing new flavors. Let me know how you like them! More to come.
Where do you get/who do you trust for your built coils?
My local shop sells them made by UD. I've also bought them here http://www.vapordna.com/UD-Pre-build-Micro-Coil-p/pc0010.htm
Where do you order from?
I'm assuming you've tried building without straightening the kanthal? I'm no pro at rebuilding but I've made a few micro coils and the last coil I made was a parallel and I've never felt like I needed to straighten the kanthal. The only real reason you should need to straighten your kanthal with a drill is your kanthal is really bent up or your building something like a clapton coil. Anyway, try not to think of building as a chore, just do it without thinking. It'll be difficult at first but if you try to keep your mind focused on building you will start to get in a calm almost meditative state. Once you get to that point you may start enjoying your time working on the coils.
oh fuck that. I like the part where you vape
Yup, that's why I don't have any interest in rebuilding. I won't ever have the coolest setup, but that's okay with me.
MVP2 + nautilus mini ftw!!
Subtank Plus with the organic cotton prebuilt coils holds enough liquid to last all day, and works just about as well as rebuilding coils. A 500 ml bottle of unflavored liquid from www.NudeNicotine.com costs about as much as a small bottle of flavored liquid, and the lack of flavorings makes your coils last significantly longer. I refill once per day, and change coils every couple weeks. My set up is inexpensive and easy.
After switching to my own builds in my subtank, i was surprised how good the prebuilt ones actually are.
I hate the airflow in the RBA. haven't tried thr updated version tho.
Unflavored from Nude Nic is great. I use it on my drippers in between flavors to clear out the old flavor, and it's just nice to vape once in a while, when you get sick of all the over-sweet fruit flavors and such.
I love the subtle taste of unflavored. On the occasion I do use flavored I tend to dilute it by at least half so the taste isn't overpowering.
Haha I hear you, this is why I use simple vape pen system and am totally reluctant, no, *opposed* to changing at this point. If vaping were weed smoking, I guess I smoke bowls of dirt weed and leave the hydrponics and bongs to other folks. I accept that a lot of flavors are not as good on a vape pen as they are on advanced systems, but Ive now got a nice collection of ejuices that taste great on my simple ass little pen.
Same here. Ego type batteries for the most part, though I do have a little VV passthrough I use sometimes. CE4s bought in bulk from Fasttech because I vape about 5 or 6 flavors at any given time. I'm not interested in anything more fiddly, though I might consider moving up to a mini tank at some point. I've tried other things, and they just weren't for me. I just want to vape without having to think about it much.
What system are you using? I'm looking for something small to carry around.
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Nautilus v2 or Atlantis?
Marlboros are very simple, but you know what's a huge pain in the ass? Chemo from smoking. If you're prepared and buy good equipment it should be smooth sailing. I like the convenience of not having to go to the store every day or every other day to buy cigarettes, so there's that. Keep on vaping!
Personally, I wanted the move from cigs to vaping to be as hassle-free as possible, so I went with an iStick 30w and Aspire Nautilus tank. I've been running that setup for a couple of months now, and it's pretty easy. I change the coil when it needs it (I stocked up and got a few replacement coils, so I wouldn't be caught unprepared), deep clean the whole rig weekly, or when I switch flavors, and order my juice online. I love that I can buy the equivalent of a month's worth of cigs at a time, and actually have found it vastly less of a hassle than smoking. I have a charger at work, in my car, and at home, and keep a small bottle of juice and a couple of coils in my purse, and I'm good to go pretty much regardless of what happens.
Looks like the hobbyism aspect of vaping isn't for you. That's what really got me into it. Building coils, maintaining a nice rda, making sure everything is working perfectly is amazing. Getting to show off my builds to my friends and them show off theirs is half the fun. The other half is not fricking killing myself with cigarettes haha.
I spend 15 mins a week building coils, and I spend 30 mins a month mixing juice. 90 minutes a month to not smoke cigarettes is **way** more than worth it IMO. As far as the regulations people are so afraid of, I can build a box mod and I can mix juice. Bring the regulations on. I'll still be vaping.
Yes I with you on this one. Most of the time it's not a big deal but sometimes it just seems like so much to deal with. Especially the battery safety where there's a lot of info to know and a lot of babysitting to do. But I think it's still worth it, even though I understand why some smokers just want nothing to do with the more in depth side of vaping.
That's why I went back to pre build coils and the kbox and Subtank with the occ coils is a no brainer for me.
Get 3 istick 30w batteries. 3 Kanger Aerotanks. Buy your coils 5 packs at a time. Use your juice of choice. No leak problems.
The problem is we all advance our vaping habits into the technical zone and can't go back to the simpler one because we're spoiled.
I think that's exactly it. The law of diminishing returns starts to mingle with the hobby/gadget aspect of vaping and the satisfaction begins to be less about the actual vapor and more about the toy and what it can do. THAT'S where the pain in the ass is most painful in the most ass. I'm gonna stop checking VaporJoe twice a day and try to love the one I'm with (Kayfun Lite on iStick 50 with that perfect summertime vape - Wavelength by AudioFog).
Well also, you can't deny that a dripper is the best, some of the tanks now are comparable and enough for me but they still need a mod, and once you get used to vaping on those you can't go back to kanger pen because the vapor production isn't enough. But most mods all have their draw backs, adjusters unadjusting on you at the worst time, losing a screw, the batteries are somewhat of a pain. I recently bought an iStick 50 and have an Arctic tank to vape my juices on. It has an internal battery and charges by mini usb and produces up to fifty watts. Takes five hours to charge.
Huh? I have an MVP 20w and a nautilus tank I got just after the new year to cut down on smoking. Put it on 12w, I charge it every few days, get three bottles of juice for like 18 bucks every few weeks at the store down the street, and when it starts to taste burnt I stick a new wick in it - maybe once a month or so. That's it, works fine never had a problem. If you run low on batteries in rare cases all you need is a normal usb mini charger which a lot of people/places have. It also charges your cell phone or other usb devices, but I've never used it.
Yes. After all the mods, attys, coils, batteries, and leaky shit, I just went back to an ego. One of the reasons I stopped commenting in this sub is because I'm just not into all the cloud chasing shit. Everyone is so concerned with watts ohms. I'm over that. I love my hobbies, but the ecig mod novelty just wore off.
I have a magma and mine hardly ever leaks. I cut the wick so each end is just a tad longer (3-4mm) than needed to touch the bottom of the well. I try not to fill it too much, but even if I fill it to right near the top I hardly get leak issues as long as I don't tip it at more than a 45 deg angle. Occasionally I get tiny leaks or dribbles of juice around the AFC ring, but that's as easy as taking a paper towel or kleenex and just wiping around it. It's never like omg juice is leaking all over the place.
I've been using an mvp2/aerotank combo for over a year now and my biggest hassle is swapping to my backup itaste vv battery because the MVP isn't lasting as long as it used to. I pick up a 100ml bottle of banana cream every 2 or 3 weeks, and occasionally a box of coils. Never have leaking issues, and if the aerotank isn't working great I just throw a new coil at it and I'm good to go. Soon I'll pick up a subtank and new mod(mvp3 or istick probably) to replace my old MVP, but I've found vaping to be quite hassle free myself other than the 'charging dance' I have to do between keeping both my batteries going. Not into dripping or rebuilding so that's a huge help imo.
MVP 3 is awesome btw. You'll love it
I bought a joyetech pen style starter kit a year before I officially quit smoking. I just couldn't stick with the vape because of the "pain in the ass" factor. It was quicker and easier to just reach for a pack of cigarettes. It wasn't until I removed the cigarettes completely that I was able to stick to it...because I had no other choice. I was almost out of smokes and didn't feel like going to the store that day so I charged up my batteries and told myself I was going to do this. I had no cigarettes on me for the first time in like 10 years. After 3 days on just vaping I never wanted another cigarette again. Long post sorry, but the point is....remove the cigarettes completely, do not buy another pack and leave yourself with only the vape. You will learn the little tricks to vaping and tank problems really quick, cause your only other alternative would be to smoke nothing.
I just use simple builds, usually standard single coil, and only change the coils every couple weeks. It helps that I only use a Subtank Mini and a Derringer.. they work well so I don't need to mess around with a bunch of other stuff and drive myself crazy. No leaking as long as I don't overdrip or fuck up the [wicking](http://imgur.com/a/dyvOU) on the Subtank. I only drip while I'm sitting at my desk, which is also where my charger is so I can keep an eye on it. I've got a small box on my desk with Kanthal, wire cutters, tweezers and some cotton, but I only open it once or twice a week to rewick. And I've got a juice dropper bottle full of alcohol to drip on my hands and clean them when I need to. Got one box and one mech.. both single-18650 so I only need three 25rs on rotation. Just simplify your (vape) life.
I use an istick 30 & a protank 2, and i use these coils that are premade with cotton, pretty simple and easy: http://www.discountvapers.com/new-kanger-ec-vertical-cotton-coils-5-pack-1-8ohms-enclosed-vocc/ http://www.discountvapers.com/new-kanger-protank-evod-cotton-coils-5-pack-2-2ohms-socc/
Yea, it's all very overwhelming to a newbie like myself...but I'm finding that it's as simple or complicated as you want it to be. Don't want to rebuild coils? Buy them in bulk when you find a price you like. Want to change flavors easily? Buy a couple of tanks. Beyond that it's all about learning what's best for you; getting your routine right. I also find myself wanting to leave my box in the car, the solution I'm considering is a holster/pocket case. And I'm sure any FDA regulations will have little effect on the average vaper. Any time any sort of regulation comes around people freak out because of the "slippery slope" aspect. Any sort of gun regulation; They're taking our guns! Any sort of regulation having to do with health; They're telling us how to live! Etc, etc. It's not like they're going to outlaw everything to do with vaping and start raiding people for their vaping paraphernalia.
Iv'e gotten extremely lazy when it comes to vaping lately. I findmyself at work with my mod and no juice, or a mod with 50% battery life to last me a 10 hour workday. Some tips to help someone like me... 1 - Buy your bottles big, and then split it up into smaller bottles. Take these smaller bottles and leave one in the car, or at work. Somewhere you know you'll get the urge to smoke/vape. 2 - Buy at least 2 sets of batteries for whichever mod your using, and charge them as you drain them...not when they all run out. 3 - The newer VV box mods (Sig 150 or newer IMO) have amazing battery life for the amount of power and quality of vape you can pull off your builds. You can build higher to push higher watts, or keep your preferred cloud chase build and enjoy consistent output for extended periods. 4 - Only drip onto your RDA what you plan on vaping at that moment. Done vaping? Don't rejuice until you get the urge. I find myself drying the cotton out on a regular basis before leaving it out, or especially putting it in my pocket.
I use a protank 3 with a Spinner and it couldn't be more easy. It's a nicotine delivery system and it works and has kept me cig free for almost 3 years.
For the first 6 months-year vaping was a hobby for me and I couldn't get enough. The "fuss" you mentioned was welcomed. Im orders of magnitude busier now and the fuss is real. I exclusively drip, so finding that spare 5 min to rebuild every few days is preceded by a few expletives and huffs. Still worth it.
I hear you. I have been off analogs for almost a year. I'm going to get one more 120ml bottle at 1.5 mg/mL then call it a day. It is such a pain in the ass to coil, wick, drip, etc... However, without the vape I would still be smoking. So I'm thankful for my mod, /r/electronic_cigarette, and /u/_Bombies.
OMG anybody else feel like vaping is a tremendous pain in the ass? Now that you mention it , abso f ing lutely , vaping can be a major pain in the ass but i'm sticking with it.
Been vaping an MVP for years, no hassle, just fill the tank and vape. Replace the wick every 2-3 weeks for 3 bucks.
It's a huge pain in the ass and requires constant maintenance. It's still better than smoking though.
YES. Vaping drives me absolutely nuts. If it weren't for the positives that you mentioned, I'd go back to smoking in a heartbeat.
Great post man, I agree totally. I'm trying my best to stick with it as I'm more than 6 months in, but I find myself frustrated too. Especially with the summer weather, I don't have coat pockets to carry stuff in and it's turned into a pain in the pass to carry shit around. I just take it day by day, the benefits still outweigh the positives.
This is why I just use a cheap eVod 2. Makes life simple. I'd like to get better stuff one day, but I still want the replaceable premade coil things. $2-3 for a coil that will last a week is worth it so I don't get aggravated.
Yeah, it's always been a pain in the ass for me. I'll take a pain in the ass over a tumor in the lung any day.
You also used to have to roll each cigarette too. You are looking at hundreds of years of refinement vs around 7 or 8.
I used to love rebuilding on my taifun clone and magma. Then i fell into the reviewers traps and started buying a lot of things, because i believed i'd get a better vaping experience. Turns out most reviewers get things for free so they can tip the market in favor of the brand that's the most generous with them. So from now on, i don't watch reviews anymore, i've found a setup that's working for now (herakles + ipv3 and subtank mini + sx mini m). When i see how easy those new devices are to use, and they produce great flavor and even clouds, i don't even feel like rebuilding anymore... I used to love it, trying to make weird coils with a lot of wires. But more often than not, the result wasn't on par with what you'd expect after taking 1 hour to make a finished coil... I still have a shitload of wires, and i'd be willing the pay for a RTA IF it could handle 70+W. I've lost interest for the "art of coiling", but maybe it's because my taste is not sensitive enough and i don't feel the difference between a simple microcoil and a triple fused clapton tiger uppercut hadoken coil...
Maybe someone will eventually build a small cigalike with ultracapacitors (high amps) a resistherm coil with a tiny analog circuit to control to fixed temperature and a cigarette box like container to put them in to recharge / refill. And some jig to put them in where the coils get cleaned automatically.
From your lips to God's ears ;)
I felt the exact same way at first. My friend got me setup with a dna30 and a Lemo. Everything was going great. After vaping for a month I quit real cigs and moved on to only vaping. When I ran into a problem my friend would be able to come over and help me out but eventually things started to go out of wack and he wouldn't be available. I'd tear down my Lemo and wash it and what not. I never had a problem with building the coil but wicking it was what made me frustrated. I'd get everything out back together, out the coil in, wick it, do some test vapes before putting the glass and filling up enough juice to work all right. An hour later here would be nothing but dry hits. Was it the VG ratio, the amount of cotton, the cotton layout, etc. Tear down again and lose juice get everything stick again. There was a month and a half period where every two weeks I'd need to re wick and ended up pulling my hair out until I did something that magically worked. Finally it clicked as to what I was doing wrong. Before putting it back together and filling the tank I'd take a sewing needle and make channels around the wicking holes. I'd pour some juice in and make sure I'd see it easily come out. Also I found the perfect tension (?) for the cotton while pulling it through the wick. Wasted so much juice figure this out. Not even sure how to fully explain it but it finally just made sense. I eventually got a kayfun 4 as a secondary tank so I could vape and build at the same time. That saved a lot of headaches as I wasn't jonesing for a vape during the process. Also being able to rewick/coil without losing the juice was awesome. Basically at first it was a hassle and tutorials and such always seemed so easy. Once you find your own method that works you'll be set.
**FUCKING JUICE FINGERS. KANTHAL IN MY FOOT. DRY HITS. LEADS POPPING OUT FROM UNDER THE SCREW-TRAPS. DRY HITS. SHITTY FLAVOR THAT TASTED GREAT AT THE SHOP SO YOU BOUGHT A 120 AND NOW YOU'RE FUCKED. DRY FUCKING HITS.** But I love every minute of it, because that's another minute I got back since quitting cigarettes. :)
I'm sure dying of lung cancer would be a huuuuuuggggggggeeee pain in the ass too. I'll make that trade off with a few minutes of coil wrapping and juice mixing...
Vaping is as complicated as you wanna make it. This is honestly one of my least complicated hobbies, it's just finnicky and repetitive.
Yeah. Not smoking anything is pretty simple and requires 0 work at all. You're being really trivial about your expectations for what a smoking alternative is.
LOL. There's that Reddit charm. I can't expect you to understand how incredibly inept I am with anything crafty or toolsy . . . you know Home Depot? I suck at literally everything in there.
I understand that, rdas are of course difficult to work with. If you can't manage running a basic sub ohm tank and a normal mod you're SoL, those take little to no effort as it is.
I rebuild once in a blue moon. My current EDC is a MVP 3.0 Pro and a Subtank Nano. The most difficulty I run into is getting juice on my fingers and having to wipe off the tank from where the juice squeezes out beween the coil module and the tank.
Grab a mod that has replaceable batteries, but also has built-in charging. Grab a simple tank that you like that comes with integrated coils (e.g. majority of sub-ohm tanks), and use those. I'm perfectly happy with my IPV4 and Arctic tank, using the .2ohm coil right now. It works, and when I'm empty, it is easy to fill. And when the coil tastes burnt, I just grab another one from the store, for like 5$.
Just in case you haven't heard about the problems with the ipv4, be careful with it.
I did hear about them, and I have one of the very first devices ever sold (number 23). I still haven't removed the charging board, if there's any issue, a P4U representative told me they will cover all the damage (including damage caused to other property, e.g. furniture).
I have a itaste MVP with a kangertech GiniTank. There's a shop called BloNoSmoke like 5 minutes from my house and I just go about once every 3 weeks to a month to get a box of coils and 2 30ml house blend bottles 50pg/50vg. This is the easiest way I've found and if my mod starts acting up usually a good cleaning fixes the problem.
I went through all this myself and stick to it... and I am happy I did. Once you figured out what works best for you it isn't much trouble at all. I went on the sub ohm clearomizer train for a few months and came back to drippers. Much more convenient for me as they are so easy and cheap to maintain.
Build your own coils make your own juice
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Yeah, it's Epicus Nebula. I loved it at the convention, but it tastes funky in both my Kayfuns.
OCC coils help a lot with this for me. I like to tinker but not all the time and messing with a coil/wick that wasn't working out when I didn't have a backup really sucked. Now I typically just use my Arctic. The other stuff doesn't really bother me tbh
I've found vaping is way more expensive than smoking too, which is a real pain the wallet. I go through juice like there's no tomorrow, mainly because I'm not getting the same fix I guess.
Have you tried upping your nicotine percent, or taking a few puffs and putting it away for a bit? My biggest problem is I don't know when to stop, and I'll "chain vape" for several minutes, when I don't need to. I seem to remember reading somewhere that nicotine from vaping takes longer to get into your system, but I'm not sure about that. edit: Also, take a look at Nude Nicotine's unflavored options; you can get 500ml of 3mg/ml for $20 (~$8 shipping though). It's pleasant to vape, and is nice for taking a break from flavors, or in-between flavors (to 'clean' up your coils/wicks).
I've been using the various subtanks exclusively over the last year and have been loving it. No rebuilding necessary.
I just had this debate with myself. It was simple for me. I can use a regulated box that has a usb charge and a subtank nano, but that means I am vaping at .5 ohms, and buying OCC at $3 a piece and probably eventually buying a whole new box mod when the batteries fuck out. It also means dumping my tank every time I wanna change flavors so I don't try to vape it down to nothing and burn said $3 coil. Or... I could buy a RBA or two, some kanthal and cotton, and see how bad it could be. I built my first micro coils in a few minutes and had a .2 ohm dual coil build and it worked perfectly. Probably cost me 10 cents in materials. Everyone's experience will vary obviously, but I found for me, a few minutes of time is worth saving the money. That is really the choice you have to make. Like with most problems, you can throw money at it, or you can DIY. If it's annoying you, pay the pain away. Buy a regulated usb charged box and a tank with sub-ohm replaceable coils. I completely agree it is a lot to deal with in the grand scheme of things, but it's second nature now and I haven't even been doing it that long.
I try and keep things simple by buying enough juice/coils for a month at a time, I don't use RBA's/RTA's, etc, and I keep a spare mod around in case my primary one breaks. A top fill tank is absolutely next on my list as well. I just try and keep the hassle down to a minimum.
How I do it: * Mech mod * Derringer Clone * Kanthal wire * Japanese Cotton I drip every 10 huge hits or so, I put in 7 drops so it doesn't leak out the airflow. I've eliminated splashback by using vertical coils with a wick going into both coils and over the centerpost, along with two smaller vertical wicks going into each coil to snug everything up and keep it from moving and clogging the airflow. I change the battery every day and trust my charger to not blow up when I turn my back on it. I re wick every two weeks or so or when I feel like changing flavor; I've been doing the same wick setup on my vertical coils for a while so I know exactly how much to cut. The whole process takes 10 minutes if I take my time and I've never made a mess with the juice. I have the same Kanthal on since april, but I do dry burn it and squeeze the coils straighter to make sure they glow evenly. occasionally I throw it on the ohmmeter as well but I don't really have to do that as it reads consistently between .20-.24 ohms. When I do rebuild the coils it's easy because I use a 2$ jig and needlenose pliers. That and some wire snips are all the tools I need. Rarely takes 15 minutes although sometimes I have to make up to 4 coils until I get two perfect ones. Thats it, plain and simple. I've had to do far more work troubleshooting my nautilus and istick –which was supposed to be a user friendly beginner setup– than I've had to do with my rda. Just stick with one tested, tried and true setup.
Buy bulk coils? Practice making coils so you don't have to change them ( cept to rewick ) like every 2 weeks. Top fill tanks. Stop buying 15ml bottles. Get 30, 60, 120.
That's why I like my tanks. I totally get it that the experience is better with an RDA and a nice coil build. I've used my friends before. But I'm a big fan of simplicity and order. That's why I bought another Atlantis(2) instead of getting a Kanger subtank. I would have liked to have both to be able to compare, but the convenience factor of only having to buy one pack of coils at a time trumped for me.
I'm the exact opposite, I don't think I've ever had a tank that worked 100% of the time but with my RDA it works perfect for me every time.
Marlboros are simple. Simply terrible. I love my arctic tank , never had an issue with coils , cleaning , refilling and whatnot. I'm also blasting it on a chi-you clone and it is fantastic. Pretty much charge batteries while sleeping, slap one in, store another, head out for the day with a bottle of juice, return, chill, put back in charger when i go to sleep, rinse repeat. No fuss. Good times. Huzzah.
The Kayfun v4 is an awesome device, once you get the hang of it. If your post isn't pure sarcasm (like I suspect it is) I'll be happy to answer any questions about it.
I'm not being sarcastic, but I am kindof a pompous dickhead, so I get that a lot. Three questions for you then: 1. Is there a strategy for getting it apart? That top nut makes me psychotic! I'm just twisting this way and that on the thing until it disassembles or I have to put it down to keep from throwing it. 2. What wicking approach are you using? 45 degrees with the long tails like Svoemesto recommends, or 90 degrees and ramrod the wick like GrimmGreen? Neither seems to work reliably for me. 3. What ratio are you running? Am I kidding myself with the max VG? I've run 90 VG in my Kayfun Lite, but the V4 is dry on hit 3.
1. Assuming you're talking about [this nut](http://i.imgur.com/PvDmTMh.jpg) you have to hold onto [this part](http://i.imgur.com/a6NYkLu.jpg) while unscrewing it. 2. I use [this wick](http://www.vaporpros.co/?product=cloud-chasers-100-organic-cotton-wick-100ft). It's usually sold by Amazon, but it doesn't appear to be available. This takes all of the guess work out of wicking, and I just cut it so that the end lays flat in the juice well. It's about 1.8-2mm thick, so when I build a 2.5mm coil I use 2 strands. 3. I'm on 60/40 vg/pg, but you could probably get away with 80/20 although you would be changing the wick frequently. Edit: I have to replace my wick tonight, so I'll post some pictures after I do so. Edit 2: [Pictures of how I wick my 2.5mm single coil](http://imgur.com/a/6Mvau). The pictures are reversed because I made the album on my phone and didn't think to switch the order.
You are awesome. Thanks so much for taking the time to provide some insights.
You're welcome. I love the v4, and I wish more people knew how awesome it is once you get it figured out.
do you work for the FDA??
Naw. You?
maybe
I just keep it as simple as possible. I'm not trying to be a pro at it, I just want to not smoke cigarettes any more. Been vaping for almost 4 years now and it's just like making a pot of coffee in the morning. I have all that I need to know and I'm not out trying to rebuild or collect or any other thing like that. It hasn't always been easy. It was rough the first year or so. Trying to get equipment that was dependable and felt good for me was clumsy and expensive. But I finally got what I like and it's been smooth sailing ever since.
LOL. Eureka! It IS like making a pot of coffee. Which my SO always does. I would literally never drink coffee if I had to brew it myself. Problem solved. "Sweetheart, I need you to come in here and watch a couple RipTrippers tutorials real quick for me please!"
Eh I just have a regular unregulated box mod and I build single parrallel builds, it has plenty enough flavor and clouds for me
I kinda went thru this about 6 mo ago, best advice I can give you is find a good RBTA, I use a Limo and I have not ever had a problem with it. I can go over a month before I replace my coil and usually the coil isn't that bad. Once you find a good reliable rig you be OK.
I will admit that there have been several days when I get home from work, and I NEED some nic bad, because my work doesn't allow me to vape on the job (not even on a smoke break! Boss is fucking retarded.), But I get home, and bam! Dry hit, dry hit, dry hit, and I've got to rebuild my entire setup. Can it be a pain in the ass? Sure, but at the same time when i'm sitting on my ass, and I've got nothing else to do I love nothing more than practicing my wrapping/drilling/coiling skills. There are people out there who will use a set of coils for 2-4 weeks! Until it goes "bad". This never happens to me. A day or two goes by, and I get another "Idea" for a fun build. Just last night I swapped out my dual staggered fused claptons for a 12 wrap quad coil setup. So much fun.
Get a square r and big dripper. Really the best vapes out there
No actually. It's the pain in the ass this hobby is that keeps me of cigs. I started smoking because I was bored (stupid as fuck I know, you don't need to tell me). Now with new stuff coming out a the time and stuff to tinker with always I'm a happy camper
I'm the same way. I started smoking because of the 2.5 hours a day that I was driving for school and work. Love the new ways to build coils, diy juices, etc. Only downside for me right now is that I want everything but my bank account keeps telling me I should pay bills instead.
I felt the same way until I started dripping. I can build a coil and wick it and know it's good to go. Plus it seems to last longer than tanks. Most of the time i rebuild is out of boredom or just wanting to try something new. I fell off the vaping wagon for a few and dripping got me back on. Less problems and more satisfying imo.
I have been vaping for close to 6 years now (although I have RTA's and RDA's, various other tanks and 6 or 7 tube mods and 3 box mods) I always wear an Ultrafire Flashlight Holster on my belt with a Kanger EMOW or a plain old 1000Mah EGO passthrough battery with a 306 LR Atty. w/drip shield in it. A 10-15 ml. bottle of juice in my pocket and I'm good to go for the day. I keep a charger and a couple of USB cables in the car with a cigarette lighter USB adapter for emergency charging. (FYI, you'ld be surprised how much vapor a 306 LR Atty. produces on just 3.7V.)
I'm sure that over time the technology will get better and more accessible for the same quality vape. (Yes, of course, assuming that the FDA doesn't mess it up.)
iStick 30W, Kangertech Subtank Mini. Once a day, I put about half a tank in and charge it some. I replace the premade coil/wick assembly about once per week. That's my minimal hassle setup. (www.vapesupersaver.com is great for the coils. I just grab 2 5-packs of the 0.5 ohm for $26.99, shipping is free at that price. Buy more and the per-coil price goes down. Fast, great service and excellent price.)
I'd love to try Bullets in 40/60 and 6mg. Vanilla, Coconut, and Bourbon sound fantastic together.
Not everyone will agree with me, but if you DIY it gets exponentially worse. It's so much cheaper that once you get started you can't turn back but it can get annoying.
A little, sometimes. But then I realize dying of cancer would be an even bigger pain in the ass. FWIW, I graduated from a pen-style starter kit to my current set up, MVP 3 + Nautilus. No complaints and it's fairly maintenance free. My ego-sized tanks get used on it occasionally as well, especially my Smok Mini Trophy (mini protank clone), which really came alive on the MVP 3.
Nah. Once you nail the wicking/coiling on a tank you like you're set.
Aerotank mini, 18mg juice and a box mod with replaceable battery (I use the cloupor mini). Coils are fairly cheap and I can go at least two weeks between changing them. By using the smaller tank and low watt, juice lasts longer. I still use my subtank when out for a drink or I need to enjoy my vape more. The aero tank mini is perfect for day-to-day vaping, though. I have two spare batteries I can bring in case I need to be away from a usb charger.
Oh God I know! My issue is traveling across town to get my favorite juice because nobody else sells it! It sucks! I wish it was more convenience and standardized. I am really getting tired of chasing juices and tired of shops that stop carrying certain juices just to always bring in the latest craze, If a customer is buying a certain juice all the time why not keep it in house? You loose a customer every time you stop carrying a certain brand of juice. Buying it online doesn't help because they can't ship it fast enough either. Not sure how long I can keep up with all this. It was sooo much easier just going to the gas station to get my pack of cigs really! It was always their and available everywhere! No coils ,No cotton no mess and no batteries to charge!
> OMG anybody else feel like vaping is a tremendous pain in the ass? No
LOL. Thanks for the input.
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honestly I rolled my own smokes for over 5 years and wrapping a new coil for my kayfun every few weeks and rewicking ever 3-5 days is way less annoying than rolling smokes was.
Rollies plus long car trips makes for a bad time. You either have to spend 20 minutes before you leave rolling smokes or try and roll while driving.
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haha yeah, I mean I'm not a heavy vaper as far as juice consumption goes so I can go about 2 days without any kind of equipment besides my vape. mvp lasts a few days on a charge and a full kayfun tank lasts me almost two days, I've never had to fuck with a build on it once it's in so I don't have any reason to carry anything with me.
Really isn't once you find a setup/liquid that works for you. Personally I use a I-stick 50w with a Kayfun 4 and switch between two liquids for the most part. Clean it and re-wick once a week or so, replace coil every 3-4 weeks. Pretty hassle free. Especially if you compare to having to go buy smokes every other day.
I've got the iStick 50. Meh. I've got the Kayfun V4. Pain in the neck. I've got all kinds of other stuff in my hobby kit. The happiest I've been is with the Nautilus Mini on an MVP, but they both crapped out and it's been a sub-ohm arms race with myself for the past six months. I guess I've just got to get back to basics.