A little help please

coillsaille

Hi. I've been a heavy smoker for 20 years and have quickly failed in my few attempts to quit.
After stumbling across this forum and having a read of some of the stickies I decided to give E-smoking a go. Based on the combined recommendation of some posters here I ordered the following:

-El Toro Grande Virginia Prime - 18mg
-El Toro Cigarillos naturales - 10ml - 18mg
-Kanger T2 Clearomizer
-Kanger T2 Replacement Heads - 2.4-2.6ohms x 3
-Ego-C Twist - 650mah x 2
-USBCharger
-USB to Mains Adapter

I (stupidly) thought there would be instructions included with the pack. Now I'm not quite sure how to get started. I guess I put the liquid in the clearomizer and screw battery on to it and start inhaling. But do I press the button on the battery while doing so? Also the Virginia pack includes a jar of what looks like dried tobacco leaves?? Where does that fit into the equation? Appreciate any guidance.
And take it easy on a complete e-smoking virgin:o

DirtyBollox

noob or not we're here to try answer any and all questions

press the button just asyou put it to your lips and it should light up. keep it held and take a drag. once you've taken the drag let go of the button and it will stop. some batteries dont light up when you press it when its new so try pressing it 5 times quickly to unlock it and start it working. this is so you can turn it off when you put it in your pocket so it doesnt get really hot and burn you or blow the atomiser head and not work until you put a new one in.

I think the tobacco leaves are for steeping in your juices but i'll let others answer that question

coillsaille

Thanks DB.

I'm well impressed so far I must say. Its a completely new experience to be getting more or less same 'hit' as a drag from a fag when there's no burning tobacco.
Just noticed a screw cap dial with numbers on base of battery. Does this increase the strength of the drag??

Allah_

How's it going for you coillsaile??!

edit: ah, just saw your reply. Good shtuff!

I have an even noobier setup than you. My battery doesn't have any dial to change the voltage. Hopefully somebody will chime in soon.

coillsaille

Its going good Allah.
Was a bit sceptical before trying it but now starting to wish I'd found out about it a long time ago.

Stheno

Can I jump in here and ask for advice for my self and the OH?

He's been using the efags from McCabes recently, but they are not really a substitute, he's a very heavy smoker at 40 a day

He's keen to give up, but unsure, so I said I'd research it for him

How much better are the kits you talk about here than the instant efags, and how much hassle is involved?

Thanks guys

sept09baby

coillsaille wrote: »

Its going good Allah.
Was a bit sceptical before trying it but now starting to wish I'd found out about it a long time ago.

The twist is the battery with the dial. You change how strong the hit will be. Some juices taste different at each setting.

Yeah the leaves are for steeping but have never used it myself. Am sure one of the experts will be along soon and will explain.

Welcome to the wonderful world of vaping!

grindle

Stheno wrote: »

How much better are the kits you talk about here than the instant efags, and how much hassle is involved?

Much, much better, and a tiny bit more hassle, like, filling a tank of petrol and charging your phone kind of hassle.
As long as you don't get the current form of Virginia Prime (don't look down!).

coillsaille wrote: »

Just noticed a screw cap dial with numbers on base of battery. Does this increase the strength of the drag??

It increases the heat of the coil, thus the liquid, which produces more vapour and flavour up to a point... You'll know that point when you hit it, because it burns.

coillsaille wrote: »

Also the Virginia pack includes a jar of what looks like dried tobacco leaves?? Where does that fit into the equation?

The two bottles of liquid that come with the Virginia are unflavoured nic base. You need to pour as much base as you can fit into the tobacco leaf bottle... Shake it... Fit more base in there... Shake it... Fill more base in...
The leaves are soaking up the juice, and you're filling in lots of pockets of air, so I'm not telling you to shake for no reason...

Now comes the hard part... Leave the bottle alone for 3 days or more (5 is best according to the juice-maker, but I let my first batch steep for 3 and it was spectacular).

When it's done, or you're done waiting, put the funnel into the empty bottle, spread one of the muslin sheets across the top of the tobacco leaf bottle, secure with the elastic, and let it seep through to the empty bottle, giving leaf-bottle a few gentle squeezes to get the liquid out.

Once that bottle is as full as it's gonna get, fill up the tobacco leaf bottle with more base again, leave it be for up to 10 days (5-10 is what eBaron recommends), and vape the spoils of your hard labour!
It sounds like annoying work written down, but it takes about ten minutes, and it's so, so worth it.

Thankfully, eBaron is making Virginia Prime pre-steeped from now on, so it should be available from ESI soon.

Stheno

K, I'll start a thread to get advice on the best solution for him

Thank you!

coillsaille

Thanks grindle.
That makes everything a lot clearer. I was scratching my head trying to figure out what the hell the muslin was for.
And yes I found that burn point you mentioned when I turned the battery dial up!!

grindle

Thought you might try it!

Here's a handy calculator so you know when something'll burn.

Basically, just enter your atomiser's/cartomiser's/clearomiser's resistance (or 'ohms') into it's corresponding box, and enter your voltage into it's corresponding box...

If the watts go past 9, you're in burn territory and should maybe dial down your voltage (although some, but not many, can take being pushed to 10 watts).
Anything below 6 or 7 watts will deliver minimal vapour, flavour, etc.

e.g.: 4.8v with a 2.4ohm coil = 9.6 watts. At the outer extremity of what most juices can handle.
Fruitier/sweeter juices get a caramelised taste above 8 or 9 watts, and darken rapidly.

coillsaille

grindle wrote: »

Thought you might try it!

Here's a handy calculator so you know when something'll burn.

Basically, just enter your atomiser's/cartomiser's/clearomiser's resistance (or 'ohms') into it's corresponding box, and enter your voltage into it's corresponding box...

If the watts go past 9, you're in burn territory and should maybe dial down your voltage (although some, but not many, can take being pushed to 10 watts).
Anything below 6 or 7 watts will deliver minimal vapour, flavour, etc.

e.g.: 4.8v with a 2.4ohm coil = 9.6 watts. At the outer extremity of what most juices can handle.
Fruitier/sweeter juices get a caramelised taste above 8 or 9 watts, and darken rapidly.

Now that's useful info. Thanks again grindle.

eeloe

Grindle and the rest pretty much have all the bases covered there.

If you get stuck don't be afraid to post here asking for more advice, we were all noobs at one point so we don't mind giving a dig out!

coillsaille

Thanks to all who have given advice.
So I've now been a 'vaper' instead of a smoker for the last 24 hours. Its early days (day) but right now I feel like cigarettes are out of my life for good. For me this is a big deal, I have been smoking 30-40 a day for the last 20 years:).

I'm very happy with the vaping experience so far. I just have a couple of questions.
Firstly how long does the Ego-C Twist - 650mah battery last on average? Obviously this depends on usage but just wondering if we're talking days or weeks and if there is any way of knowing how much power is left in the battery or when its running down.
Also what exactly is the purpose of the wicks in the clearomizer?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

the wicks bring the juice to the heating coil

its like when you put a paper towel onto some spilled water.. it just soaks/wicks all the way through

the 650 mah will likely last around 6 hours.. maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less.. depending on a few things. how often you're vaping and the voltage/resistance you're vaping at. but six hours or thereabouts is a likely enough time

and no there's no way of knowing really. when the battery is nearing the end of its charge you should probably notice a bit of a drop off in performance but it can be hard to tell.

coillsaille

Thanks Sir Digby.
Does that mean the juice needs to be kept topped up so the wicks are always immersed in it?
Also I forgot to ask, how long do those batteries take to fully charge?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

youll have to tip the kanger as the juice runs out, so the juice sloshes over the wick. you wont have to keep it permanently on its side or anything, just do it every now and again so the wick is kept wet. you'll get a feel for it the more you use them

battery should take about 2-3 hours to charge I think. new batteries are a bit screwy with charging/draining time.. it takes them a little while to come into their proper life cycle. it's also best to charge them before they are completely depleted.. keeps the battery "healthier" than if you let it go to 0 charge and then charge to max repeatedly