Observations of a Newbie Vaper

Gwydion

These are the personal observations of a newbie to e-cigarettes. They reflect my personal opinions and experiences only and I write it simply as a possible help to other newbies who might be thinking of trying “vaping” as an alternative to smoking.
It might also help to know a bit about my background. I am in my early 60’s. I started smoking in secondary school at about 14-15 years of age. I’ve quit several times – once for as long as two years – but always ended up back on the fags. I’ve had just as much success with going cold turkey as with Nicotine replacement therapy. Invariably my downfall has been having “just one” which in turn led to another and eventually back into my former routine. Over the years I’ve worked my way down to ultra lights and as of commencing my adventure into e-cigs was on 20 or so Silver Silk Cut 100’s a day. In the past 10 years I’ve had two heart attacks. The first necessitated the insertion of four stents (little tubes designed to keep the blood vessels around the heart open). The second was unlucky in that one of my stents became blocked, which is quite unusual. Fortunately I fully recovered from both events and after several months in each case was able to go back to work and continue in gainful employment to this day. A combination of medication and some small lifestyle changes mean that I am in rude health. You would think that given my lucky escapes that my motivation for quitting the smokes would be high (and you would be right), but I still have difficulty making the final commitment to give up the auld smokes. Then about a month ago, out of the blue, my wife suffered a TIA or “mini stroke”. She seems to share my luck, for she has only very slight after effects and was able to resume normal service within a few days. She doesn’t have any of the normal risk factors for stroke (in fact the medics are still scratching heads) except that she too smokes, though far less than I do. She is now also on medication and has been advised to quit smoking. It is this latter fact that gave me the notion to at least explore the idea of giving up one more time. Hopefully we will be able to quit together.
One other possibly significant piece of information is that, in a former life, I was heavily involved in the development and manufacture of the Nicotine patch. As a result I have a good understanding of Nicotine addiction and replacement therapy and a good grasp of how the drug is absorbed and distributed in the body.
With all of the above in mind I decided to Google “e-cigarettes” having seen such items on sale on a local shop. They made sense to me on the basis that not only would they give me my Nicotine fix but might also deal with the whole touchy-feely and oral gratification side of things. It didn’t take long before I ended up on the “Vaping & E-Smoking” Forum of Boards.ie and this has become my reference point for my adventures in e-cig-land. I’ve been lurking for a number of weeks and this is my first (and possible my only) post.
So after that lengthy introduction, what are my observations?
First and foremost, I am delighted that I educated myself before actually buying anything. My initial mental picture was of a device that looked just like a cigarette, but reading the forum posts I quickly realised that the options were far more varied than I had imagined.
I was almost put off by the apparent complexity of some of what I read. Wicking, oxidising, syringing, moding and so on sounded like far too fiddly things to be doing. I really wanted something I could just assemble and smoke. So I went to the “where to buy page” and brought up the list of vendors. I went through each of their websites and finally identified what looked simple enough for me. I bought the Joyetech EGO-T Starter Kit for about €63 from The Vapour Store. Actually I bought two – one for herself and one for me. They duly arrived in the next day’s post – great service! Luckily they had included a sample bottle of juice (the actual Nicotine containing part) because, despite the warning on the website, I had completely neglected to order any. Waiting until I knew I had time to unravel the complexities of the system, I dived in.
The Ego-T sytem has three basic components.
1) The Atomiser. This is a metal cylinder within which is little chamber which vapourises the nicotine containing liquid. There are two in the starter kit.
2) The Battery. This powers the atomiser, basically heating up the liquid inside it and turning it into vapour. There are two in the starter kit.
3) The Tank Cartridge. This holds about 1.1ml of the liquid and feeds it into the atomiser. It is also the equivalent to the tip of the cigarette and allows you to inhale the vapour through it. There are five in the starter kit.
In summary, the tank fits into one end of the atomiser and the battery into the other. Fully assembled the whole thing looks like a small metal cigar.
Associated equipment that came with the kit includes
4) USB Charger. Used to recharge the batteries. The charger can be plugged into any USB socket in your computer or into the ….
5) Mains Adapter. This plugs into any normal wall socket and has a USB socket to connect to the charger.
6) Manual. Less than useful, being so small that I could barely read it and couldn’t make head or tail of the diagrams.
7) Pouch. I’m not sure what purpose this was designed for but I now use it to hold the USB charger when not in use.
So I was all set! First I charged up a battery – it didn’t take long so I assume it was pretty much charged up already. From empty, I found out afterwards, charging takes 2 or 3 hours. Next I attempted to fill up a tank cartridge. I say “attempted” because here I hit the first hurdle. The instructions say to flip off the lid (or words to that effect) and drop in the e-liquid. Maybe it’s my eyesight, but I couldn’t see where the lid ended and the rest of the tank began. I tugged and pulled and fiddled and farted to no avail. So it was off to the Internet with me to look for help. I found an instructional video on Youtube. From it I deduced the configuration and location of the lid and the suggestion that I flip it off with a fingernail. Two fingernails later I went at it with a table knife and off it came. Several filling sessions later, it hasn’t got any easier, but at least now I know what to expect. Plus I have since upgraded to a different tank and lid – but more of this anon. Filling was easy. The juice comes in dropper type bottles and transfer from bottle to tank is simple enough. Popping the lid back on is much simpler than removing it, though it is important that you ensure it fully clicks back into it proper position. The next jog was to connect the tank into the atomiser. Once I figured out which was the correct end of the atomiser to use, this was fairly simple. The lids of the tanks are solid when new, but as you put then into the atomiser the lid is pierced. Therefore you must be sure to push the tank fully home, otherwise the juice cannot get from the tank to the atomiser. They conveniently supply you with little silicone covers for any already used (and therefore pierced) tanks to prevent spillage when you refill and store them. The next step was to connect the battery which simply screwed into the other end of the atomiser.
I was ready to go. With the Ego-T you must press a button to activate the battery and start vaporising the liquid. So I pressed the button and sucked. Nothing! So I pressed the button again and sucked harder. Still nothing! Back to the instructions I went and after a while discovered that the battery actually has an on/off mechanism and that it is factory set to “off”. To turn it on I followed the instruction to press the button five times within 1.5 seconds. Suddenly the button flashed at me bright bluish white several times, then went off. When I pressed it again the button lit up again and when I let it go, it turned off. I can hear hard core vapers going “duh” but remember, this was my very first time. So, device in mouth, finger on button and suck again. Nothing! Well apparently the yoke needs to prime itself, so after more button pressing and more sucking, I finally exhaled a weak puff of vapour. Slowly but surely vapour production increased until there I was doing a really good impression of smoking. It felt good especially as I was sitting in a self imposed non-smoking area. I repeated the entire exercise with the second kit so herself wouldn’t feel left out.
First impressions? Not bad actually. I wasn’t real impressed with the taste (the sample juice was a fairly generic 12mg tobacco juice) but it was okay. I was aware that the flavour would probably improve as the atomiser became broken in – much like a new pipe (my father was an inveterate pipe smoker). Best of all was the virtuous feeling that this is a loss more healthy than smoking a cigarette.
What have I learned in the meantime?
Well, the most important thing is that level of cigarette smoking is down – way down! From 20 a day I’m down to 4 or 5 and maybe less. I’m writing this a 2:30 pm and so far today I have smoked just one cigarette. Remember that it was never my goal to quit, just to determine whether vaping might help me quit and here I am, almost quit nearly by accident. I have a few key ciggies that so far I haven’t be able to cut out completely – the one after a cup of coffee, the last one before I go to bed. There were others too and one by one they have fallen by the wayside effortlessly.
On the negative side I have also learned that I chose the wrong atomiser and tank. There is an alternative “mega” atomiser and associated tank (‘B’ type). Both are bigger and the tank holds almost double the volume of juice compared to the ‘A’ type I originally bought. I’ve since upgraded and am much happier mainly due to a halving of my need to refill. As a bonus, the lids on the ‘B’ type, being bigger, are much easier to remove – a fact for which my fingernails are most grateful. I can’t say that I notice any difference in either the extent or quality of the vapour produced.
The Ego-T leaks! I mentioned already that the lid of the tank is pierced when pushed into the atomiser. Presumably the intention was that after piercing a perfect seal would form between the atomiser and the tank. Well, it doesn’t happen and juice leaks out into the general body of the atomiser, onto the battery and indeed to the outside of the whole assembly. The result, for me, was lots of regular cleaning with tissues and a couple of messed up shirt pockets. One suggested solution is to replace the tank cap (which is rigid plastic) with an alternative flexible, silicone version. Just today I took delivery of some of these and based on my first experience, I don’t really see an improvement. Somebody, somewhere suggested using a blunted syringe needle of appropriate gauge to pre-make the perfect hole. If I happen across a suitable needle I will try it out, but I’m not about to ask my friendly pharmacist for a supply. A nice advantage is that the silicone lid is much easier to get off.
12mg juice just doesn’t cut it for me! I’ve upped first to 18mg and now to 24mg. I’m not even convinced that 24 gives me a “proper” Nicotine hit, but I don’t see me going any higher, for safety reasons if nothing else. From my erstwhile work with Nicotine, I know that a 30mg patch equates to about a pack a day. I’m vaping about 5ml per day which equates with 120mg of Nicotine. I can only conclude that the absorption of Nicotine from vapour is considerably reduced compared to either smoking or using the patch. There’s apparently no published data on Nicotine blood levels during vaping, but one study of a medical Nicotine inhaler developed for Pfizer indicated that unrestricted use of the device resulted in 30% of the blood concentration compared to unrestricted cigarette smoking. Assuming the same figure applied to my Ego-T, then my 5ml or 120mg per day equates roughly to a 30mg patch and therefore to a pack of fags a day. This makes sense to me.
Batteries don’t last long enough! And as a corollary, they always run out of power when I am somewhere I cannot charge them. Luckily I am usually close to a power source and it is my standard routine to always have one battery in use and another either charged or charging. The standard battery is 650mAh (whatever that is), but there is a 1000mAh version available which apparently is bigger and lasts longer. I’m getting two of them as soon as they are back in stock.
An awful lot of e-liquids, juices, call then what you like, taste bloody terrible. I’ve tried ones that are supposed to taste like Silk Cut, Benson & Hedges, Marlboro, Cigars, Menthol and more – they don’t. I also have a slight concern about the ingredients used to make them and whether all manufacturers really do use food / pharmaceutical grades, even though I could be vaping cat urine and still doing less damage to my health than smoking. Having tried multiple brands and flavours I have settled on Halo Tiki Juice as my favourite in terms of flavour and confidence in the manufacturer. This is a personal choice and I would not dare cast aspersions on any other brand or flavour. I’ve tried other Halo flavours and some of them are pure crap (just in case anyone thinks I have a vested interest). Their Prime15, for example, “a premium tobacco blend, offering the complex nuances of an authentic cigarette experience. The taste is somewhat earthy, with a subtle dry sweetness that offers hints of cocoa”, just about turns my stomach. My point is that it took me quite a while to find a juice I liked and no doubt other beginners will find the same.
I have also discovered that there are two kinds of vapers – ones like me who just want a cigarette substitute and the enthusiasts. I will never be the latter. These folks make videos about their vaping experiences and use devices that appear to require much engineering skill to assemble and maintain and a fleet of trucks to move from one place to another. Their goal appears to be the perfect vape. Just today, for the first time, I heard the term “vapasm” and it struck me that I wouldn’t want to have one of those walking down the street. Years ago I had a “Condor Moment” and that was bad enough. (To understand that last remark you will need to be of a certain age).
The suppliers I have used so far offer excellent service and also discounts, the codes for which you can find on the vendor’s list page. These are The Vapour Store and The Best Shop. I’m sure that others are just as good, but I simply haven’t tried them yet.
This turned out to be a much longer post than I had intended. Experienced vapers will not doubt giggle at my ineptitude and naivety but if it helps a fellow newbie, then I will be happy.

DirtyBollox

Great post and well written. I for one am glad that you're cutting down on cigarettes and maybe given time you can cut them out of your life altogether.

Come back any time and ask any and all questions you want answered. someone here will have the answer

Lucutus

Gwydion wrote: »

Just today, for the first time, I heard the term “vapasm” and it struck me that I wouldn’t want to have one of those walking down the street. Years ago I had a “Condor Moment” and that was bad enough. (To understand that last remark you will need to be of a certain age)

There was a few of those ads... as a boy, this is the one I remember and loved:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPIwFRZXUA4

stevenmu

Great post, I really enjoyed reading that.

I don't think anyone will be giggling, I think we all remember how complicated it was starting off. And if anything I think it has gotten more confusing over the last year or so. When I got my first kit (about a year ago), Dual Coil Cartomisers (DCCs) were all the rage and the very obvious choice for anyone starting out. But right now there's a lot of different types of devices that are all pretty popular, all have their own pros and cons and it's very hard to know what to recommend to someone starting out.

If you have found something that works great for you and you are happy to keep using it then you're doing a lot better than some of us

artyeva

Gwydion wrote: »

Just today, for the first time, I heard the term “vapasm” and it struck me that I wouldn’t want to have one of those walking down the street.

this made me guffaw out loud

i have some experience in writing user manuals and really, what comes in the box as an 'instruction' manual can be lacking. thanks for sharing your experience, happy vaping!

tommy2bad

Great post, hope you continue posting your experience.

Green Hornet

Interesting read. I think the figure of approx. 30% absorption are correct too based on what literature/studies are out there coupled with my own usage. I used to take in around 9mg per day on the smokes and vape around 3ml of 9mg so that's pretty much on a par..............reducing it isn't easy either!

newmark

I enjoyed reading that Gwydion and in a lot of ways it reminded me of my own experience, as I also started with ego-t kits one for me and one for the wife and they were also obtained from the Vapour Store.

It really can be a learning curve and we all learn as we go along but I hope your expedition into e-cigs continues as every tobacco cigarette avoided is good

Green Hornet

Certainly is a learning curve alright. I actually just wish there was a system out there that was robust and did what it said on the tin. There can be a lot of frustration with the current hardware set up's. Rebuildables perform the best but are expensive to buy (but cheap to run) and theres a HUGE learning curve with them. Disposables, clearo's, DCC's etc are way too fickle.

Stealthirl

Iv found the leaking/flooding is caused by drawing to fast/hard.
Only noticed it when i was introducing others to the ego-t and c as i treat it more like a pipe and take a long slow inhale

Bubba9

Good interesting post...enjoyed reading it

RossFixxxed

Great post, much appreciated. I've ordered my starter kit today after you inspired me. I need to cut down big time. It's financially and literally killing me.

Gwydion

Just to bring things up to date. I noted that the Kanger T3 was available to I bit the bullet and got two from e-smokeireland. Brilliant! I love it. No leaks and just one refill per day. Even the missus prefers it. Great taste and NO LEAKS. Response time from the supplier was as good as from the others I have used.

Gwydion

Just came across this thread again after four year almost. In the meantime I am happy to say that I remain smoke free. My current setup is Nautilus Mini (five of them) on iStick TC40W (two of them). I am vaping 6mg Pipe Sauce mainly Pipermint, Long Bottom Leaf and Shire Malt, which I get straight from the manufacturer. I find it more economical to buy 3 x 100ml bottles at a time and ship from the USA, which I do every couple of months. Sorry for the resurrection, but I am gobsmacked by how quickly the four years have passed.

Thecageyone

Was wondering wtf!? after noticing the date of the first post!

Well done, I'm heading toward 4 years here too Not had one puff of a real cig since.

youdipstick

I enjoyed reading your observations Gwydion & good to hear that you are still off the smokes.
I remember those cartridges that you have to pierce,they were a pain,I still have a couple of those ego-T lying around & some of those cartridges,they remind me how hard it was to vape back then,today's vaping gear is so easy to use with no leaks & will give newbies a better chance to give up fags.

JackieChang

I was reading the original post thinking ... Jesus this guy just bought an Ego-T for €60? And then he "upgraded" to a Kanger T3?!! That's some old technology! Those websites are ripping him off!

Then it dawned on me that it was a post from 2012. Was anybody else thinking the same?

Anyway, well done for sticking with it. I had a Nautilus Mini too but had to stop using it. Could never open it up to fill it without a vice grip. Those things seem to seize up after a day of vaping. Any tips for getting it unscrewed? I have different devices now but do miss the nautilus.

Inquitus

JackieChang wrote: »

I was reading the original post thinking ... Jesus this guy just bought an Ego-T for €60? And then he "upgraded" to a Kanger T3?!! That's some old technology! Those websites are ripping him off!

I was thinking that, and jaysus wouldn't a bit of formatting make this soo much easier to read!

mossymac!

JackieChang wrote: »

Any tips for getting it unscrewed?

Newer Shiny Vice Grips

I have about four minis - only one of them suffers from this issue all the time. The others only suffer occasionally. It's a p.i.t.a but they are still worth it.

Gwydion

Yeah. Once in a while I have problems, but it is usually my own fault from over-tightening. 9 times out of ten, wrapping a tissue around the grip gives me enough traction, but now and then I also have to use a pliers. The only other annoying feature the then occassional time when the coil part remains in the tank end when I unscrew the assembly to refill. It can be messy trying to get the coil out and I have destroyed a few by using a long nosed pliers. Compared to the other tanls I have tried over the years - well worth the rare hassle.