Can I get a bit of advice?

OREGATO

Hey guys, first time on this forum in Boards and was hoping for some advice and motivation.

I'll try to keep this short. About 4/5 years ago, I managed to completely give up smoking by using e-cigarettes, this was at a time when they weren't readily available in shops and the only option was to buy online. They have since come on leaps and bounds now.

I used e-cigarettes for close to 6 months while reducing the nicotine content in the liquid over this time. I was off them for close to 2 years until a Christmas party set me astray. That was 2 years ago now and I've been back to 20 a day

I'm looking for some advice to start up on the e-cigarettes again. It's been a long while since I've researched and looked into different brands so wanted some general guidance.

Preferably, I'd like to buy from a shop where I can walk in and walk out with the apparatus.

Can someone recommend me a set up that would meet what I'm looking for below.

1. Something small and discreet
2. Easily available (as in if I run out, the worst case is I can plan a trip to a shop to buy more refills/batteries/atomizers)
3. Good/Reliable battery life, my plan is to buy at least 3 or 4 as I do not want to be caught short but would like something that is reliable and can hold charge for more than 8/12 hours
4. Reliable/Replaceable Parts/Spares, when I vaped years ago, atomizers lasted anywhere between 2 days to 2 months. I'm sure things have moved on but would like some advice here. If the atomizer goes, I'd like to have a backup in my pocket that is ready to go, same with if any part of it breaks, I'd like to be able to just swap it out and keep going.
5. Liquid, I used to be a menthol smoker but I'm currently smoking Marlboro Gold. I used mint flavoured liquid when I was vaping and will probably go with the same

Sorry for the long post and I'm hoping that you guys will be able to help me out!!

Thanks for reading,

O

RIchieNouveau

How much would you like to spend and where do you live? It will get quite expensive if you want 4 or 5. I would get 1 good battery and 1 backup to carry, and 2 clearomisers.

Batteries: I'd get either an istick 50w (60 euro online) or istick 30w (45/50 online) The 50 has a 4400 mah battery and the 30w has a 2200 mah. Both will have very good battery life. The 30w is quite a bit smaller than the 50w so will be more discreet.

Clearomisers: 2 nautilus minis (22.50 each online) 10 replacement coils at about 2 euro each. The coil is the consumable part that will need replacing every so often. You can get much cheaper than these but these are very small and very good and reliable.

I'd also abandon the idea of buying it all I'm a bricks and mortar shop as if you are just following members advice here then you won't be getting anything different either online or in a shop and you'll save loads buying online with next day delivery.

If that's too much expenditure then let me know and I'll revise my recommendations

Penny Tration

To add to the previous poster's advice (which I agree with!), if you want to buy in a shop, drop out to esmokeireland in Palmerstown.

They do a good menthol liquid too, extreme menthol by Wingnuts

youdipstick

I remember 5 years ago when I took up vaping & it was crap stuff but did get me off the fags,todays vaping equipment is a hundred times better than what it was,so much going on with all the new vaping stuff now,it has become more of a hobby now.
I totally agree with RIchieNouveau list of things to get,all are a fantastic setups.

OREGATO

Hey guys, really appreciate the quick responses! Thank you.

I live in Dublin and am willing to travel, ideally, I would like somewhere that isn't too far away so that if I need something I can go get it. Palmerstown isn't that far so that's a good tip Jenny!

The amount I am willing to spend is a good question. I want to give this a good shot and am willing to spend circa €150. As youdipstick has pointed out, things have changed so I'm really not clued in with what my budget will buy me now.

I would like to buy two complete sets so that I have one in work and one at home. Something that will give me a bit of anxiety is a fear of running out/low so having backups is a very important factor for me.

I agree with your sentiments on buying online and saving money but starting out, I'm happy to go to a bricks and mortar shop to get going and then I can plan ahead and order stuff from the net if required. I travel a bit with work so typically pick up a carton or two when I'm on the way back. I'm currently on my last few packs and want to get the vaping started before I head away otherwise, I'll procrastinate and just end up with more cigarettes.

Question on the batteries and clearomisers (when I started using e-cigs years ago, they only had atomisers) Are they all interchangable between brands? Back in the day, the batteries I bought were for a specific brand of atomizer only and vice versa, have times changed? Also, can you charge them off USB/in the car? I spend a lot of time in front of a laptop so being able to charge in work off my laptop would be very convenient. Also, how long does it take for a full charge and how long would the 50w and 30w get me?
BTW: my comment earlier on wanting 4 or 5 batteries was based upon my experience from years ago of batteries being unreliable and losing charge after about 4 weeks.

From your post RichieNouveau, I'm thinking of the following equipment as a start, can you provide your thoughts on brands based on budget?

Batteries:
1 x 50w for home use
2 x 30w one for work use and one as a backup

Clearomisers:
2 x nautilius minis one for work and one for home. I will buy more online when I am comfortable with them.

Coils:
20 x replacement coils. I'll leave 10 at home and 10 in work. I'll buy more online when I am comfortable with them.

Liquid:
2 x small bottles. one for work and one for home. Again, I'll buy more online and buying two will mean I can experiment with different flavours later on.

Also, I'd like something reliable that won't leak as well as I've read in places about the liquid leaking.

Anything else I need?

Thanks again

Penny Tration

Not a hope of getting all of that for even close to 150 tbh mate!

For 160, you'd get -

2 x 30w isticks (they hold a charge 2+ days).

2 x nautilus mini tanks (they don't leak, at least mine never have!)

And 10 bvc coils (you'll get about 10 days out of each one, or more).

EGriff

I don't think you'll need the 50w if you're only going to use a nautilius mini. You won't even turn the 30w up over half way and the battery in it is big enough to last up to 2 days.

The iStick is a good choice though, battery last ages and USB charging is very handy.

And 20 coils is a bit overkill, that would last you 8 or 9 months.

OREGATO

Thanks for the input guys. Ok, I'm looking up some of this now so have a few more questions:

1. Just wondering why people recommend the Nautilius Mini clearomiser instead of the normal one?
2. The iStick batteries you guys refer to, is this the one? http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/istick30.htm

Point taken about the coils, I'll probably only buy 10 to start.

Jenny, you're probably right about €150 not getting much so I'll revise what I need as well as upping my budget a bit and revert back.

pueblo

Another great tank is Beyond Vape 'Silo' tank..it holds an impressive 5ml of juice more than enough to see most people through the day without a refill.

It also takes the Aspire BVC coils so if you had the Silo and a mini Nautilus you only need the one type of replacement coils.

It's also nicer looking than the Nautilus in my opinion, but of course a little larger (nearly same height as the istick)

RIchieNouveau

On one hand I agree with Griff, 11 watts is grand for me using the nautilus mini at 6mg nicotine. on the other, the 50 is more future proof should you decide to get in to other more niche aspects of vaping. ALso, the battery is twice the size so you'll charge it half as often but for twice as long. I've ordered the 50 not for the extra watts but for the extra battery and other slight (very slight!) improvements.

Officially using a 1A wall charger, the 30w takes 2.5 hours to charge and the 50w takes 5 hours. The makers of the istick have said that you CAN charge it on a USB port. Other makers say that you shouldn't with their devices but the istick definitely say that you can.

RIchieNouveau

Oh, and the reason I suggested the mini and not the standard is just because you said you wanted something small. I've also read about some problem with wicking on the standard nautilus that's not a problem on the mini but can't confirm that because I only have a mini. I would also recommend the stainless steel replacement tank for the mini because I personally worry about being out and dropping and breaking mine.

Edit: Forgot, my mini has never leaked unlike literally every other clearomiser I've ever owned.

pueblo

OREGATO wrote: »

Thanks for the input guys. Ok, I'm looking up some of this now so have a few more questions:

1. Just wondering why people recommend the Nautilius Mini clearomiser instead of the normal one?
2. The iStick batteries you guys refer to, is this the one? http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/istick30.htm

Point taken about the coils, I'll probably only buy 10 to start.

Jenny, you're probably right about €150 not getting much so I'll revise what I need as well as upping my budget a bit and revert back.

Not sure about the popularity of the mini over the full size Nautilus but I presume people just prefer the smaller form factor.

Yes, thats the istick people are refering to. Also available as 20w and 50w.

EGriff

The mini was a good fit with the 20w iStick because the full size one was too wide and looked a bit wonky on it. The 30w has added a metal lip to the top so you can use full size (22mm) tanks on it.

Plascebo

Don't forget there are various codes for discounts if ordering on-line!

nuttyboy79

OREGATO you wont need 2 batteries if you can charge your mod at work 1 iStick will do the job, unless you've got the e cig permanently on the go the battery on the 20w lasts about 36 hours the new 50w iStick should easily double that time, the only reason you'd need 2 set ups is if you want to have 2 liquids on the go at the same time. The mini nautilus is a slightly better tank to its big brother there does not seem to be as many issues with it. The BVC coils that go with it will last you anywhere from 1 week to 4 weeks so buying 10 will also be too much buy a 5 pack and see how you get on you also get 2 with the tank. If I was you I would get
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/istick50.htm
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/mininautillus.htm
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/nautilusbvc.htm X5
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/menthol.htm X2
Grand total of 122.49 if you are ordering online use the 10% discount code listed here
http://www.vapingireland.com/Home/Vendors
Bringing it down to 110.24.
Then if having one set up just doesn't work for you get throw some of the savings you will make over the first week or so at this again using the 10% discount code
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/aspireistick.htm

There are other vendors that you can use but one stop shop and all that also you can get into to their shop and try before you buy.

RIchieNouveau

Ballix. I forgot to use the discount code on my istick 50w yesterday. Feckin 7 euro gone!

Great advice and links from NuttyBoy. You wouldn't even really need 2 batteries (isticks) even if you do want 2 juices on the go if you're willing to change the tanks over which is what I do.

OREGATO

nuttyboy79 wrote: »

OREGATO you wont need 2 batteries if you can charge your mod at work 1 iStick will do the job, unless you've got the e cig permanently on the go the battery on the 20w lasts about 36 hours the new 50w iStick should easily double that time, the only reason you'd need 2 set ups is if you want to have 2 liquids on the go at the same time. The mini nautilus is a slightly better tank to its big brother there does not seem to be as many issues with it. The BVC coils that go with it will last you anywhere from 1 week to 4 weeks so buying 10 will also be too much buy a 5 pack and see how you get on you also get 2 with the tank. If I was you I would get
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/istick50.htm
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/mininautillus.htm
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/nautilusbvc.htm X5
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/menthol.htm X2
Grand total of 122.49 if you are ordering online use the 10% discount code listed here
http://www.vapingireland.com/Home/Vendors
Bringing it down to 110.24.
Then if having one set up just doesn't work for you get throw some of the savings you will make over the first week or so at this again using the 10% discount code
http://www.e-smokeireland.eu/product-p/aspireistick.htm

There are other vendors that you can use but one stop shop and all that also you can get into to their shop and try before you buy.

Thanks so much Nuttyboy, this is fantastic advice. I'm happy to report that I've gone ahead and pulled the trigger.

I ordered the following:

2 x Aspire Nautiliaus Mini Clearomiser
2 x iStick 30W
5 x BVC Coils
1 x Bottle of Menthol Liquid

So I know the recommendation is to only buy one battery, however, I like to have a failsafe in place. I typically have 3 or 4 boxes of smokes on the go at once, one in the car, one in my pocket, one on my desk in work plus normally a carton (or 8 ) hidden away at home and work. So I tend to forget to bring a pack anywhere. With the batteries, having one that resides on my desk in work and one at home is an ideal set up for me because if I forget to bring it home with me, I won't have to drive all the way back to get it! Silly I know but better safe than sorry I guess.

nuttyboy79

OREGATO wrote: »

Thanks so much Nuttyboy, this is fantastic advice. I'm happy to report that I've gone ahead and pulled the trigger.

I ordered the following:

2 x Aspire Nautiliaus Mini Clearomiser
2 x iStick 30W
5 x BVC Coils
1 x Bottle of Menthol Liquid

So I know the recommendation is to only buy one battery, however, I like to have a failsafe in place. I typically have 3 or 4 boxes of smokes on the go at once, one in the car, one in my pocket, one on my desk in work plus normally a carton (or 8 ) hidden away at home and work. So I tend to forget to bring a pack anywhere. With the batteries, having one that resides on my desk in work and one at home is an ideal set up for me because if I forget to bring it home with me, I won't have to drive all the way back to get it! Silly I know but better safe than sorry I guess.

That's a super set up that'll see you off the fags in no time. What most of us do here is give advice but at the end of the day whatever works for you is the best. Good luck mate and keep us posted.

OREGATO

Cheers guys,

So I've been reading up a bit further on the iStick and I can see different settings for watts and ohms on the battery, it might be a bit too complicated for me at the moment so can anyone recommend me some default settings that I can stick to for the first few days until I am a bit more comfortable?

RIchieNouveau

Start on lowest and work your way up until you find your sweet spot. Its complicated when you're reading about it but its very simple when you've got it in your mouth!

I've currently got a 1.8ohm coil at 11.5 watts.

Penny Tration

Like Richie said, very easy once you actually have it in your hand!

The nautilus mini comes with one 1.6ohm and one 1.8ohm coil.

To change the voltage (which basically controls how much/quickly the liquid is heated), press the 'up' arrow button. If you want to change wattage, hit the power button 3 times quickly, and change wattage with the arrows.

I'm using a 6mg liquid @ 3.4v, works well for me, although it's a lot lower voltage than most use! When I'm drinking, I up the liquid to 12mg and voltage to 4.2.

OREGATO

Thanks again for all the help lads.

So I've got the kit in hand. Have charged up the batteries and am starting on my second vaping experience.

I assume watts and volts do the same thing and it's just a preference of which one you want to use? Is this correct?

So far, I'm experimenting with different watts, currently at 14 watts on the smallest air hole.

I went for a menthol liquid (12mg strength) and it's a very refreshing sensation in my lungs however it's very cold smoke if that makes sense, is there a setting to heat it up (perhaps upping the wattage?) or is it down to the flavour of the eliquid?

So far though, I think I'm enjoying it, I'm nervous but hoping that with a bit of practice, I'll get used to it.

RIchieNouveau

I'd say the juice you have is just a cold vape, the only menthols I've had have been.

I only use devices on VW mode. When you set your VW device to 12 watts, no matter what resistance (ohms) your coil is (and they will deviate slightly from what the manufacturer rates them at) you are going to get those 12 watts. When you set it to X volts, it reads the resistance and calculates how many watts to send you. So watts does what you want more consistently/effectively.

Penny Tration

Most menthol liquids (decent ones anyway) give a 'cold' vape. Personally (I love menthol liquids), I prefer it. I also prefer the widest airhole. It's all down to personal preference really.

youdipstick

Here is a good video on the istick 30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAR1KBz4jQM

OREGATO

Hey guys, so just an update.

I'm more than 24 hours into vaping now and haven't had a cigarette since 8PM yesterday. Today has been the first day in a long time when I haven't had a proper cigarette. It's been a very big personal accomplishment for me

So the iSticks have been working out great. Battery is more than likely going to last me 2 if not 3 days. I'm currently vaping at 11 watts.

I have a few more questions:

1. Throughout the day, I felt as if I needed 'more'. As in, I am half thinking that the liquid might not be strong enough? It's currently a strength of 12mg and sometimes after vaping, I feel as if I'm not satisfied if that makes sense. I come from smoking 20/25 analogs a day. Should I try a higher strength?

2. The menthol is a nice sensation, but I'm half thinking of going out and buying a 'normal' flavour. I'm not keen on any of the mad flavours so would like to just go for some type of tobacco flavour. I typically smoke Marlboro Gold so would like something as close to that as I can get. Any recommendations? I tried some tobacco flavours years ago and they were quite horrible so hoping that over the years, there have been improvements in the taste.. although this can be a subjective thing.

Thanks again for all the help and advice guys It's much appreciated.

nuttyboy79

If you can get into a vape shop do. You posted earlier on that you can get to Palmerstown if you can get into E-smoke Ireland they have a big selection of different juices you can try and they're happy to let you try as many as you want. I was there earlier today with my mother in law and she tried what felt like them all.

As for a good tobacco flavour Liqua Golden Virginia is as close to the real thing that I've tried I couldn't vape it though because it made me want a dirty smoke.

jonski

OREGATO wrote: »

1. Throughout the day, I felt as if I needed 'more'. As in, I am half thinking that the liquid might not be strong enough? It's currently a strength of 12mg and sometimes after vaping, I feel as if I'm not satisfied if that makes sense. I come from smoking 20/25 analogs a day. Should I try a higher strength?

12mg is low for someone coming from 20/25cigs a day , definitely try the 18mg for a week or two before trying to bring the strength down and then do it by mixing the 12 and 18 to give 15 for a few days . Also remember that vaping is not like smoking , you don't get the same nicotine hit for the same amount of vaping , think of vaping more like grazing than eating . You will tend to vape more than you smoked , specially at the start .

I never found a nice tasting tobacco flavour , if you really don't like any of the other flavours then you could try flavourless .

Also , don't forget to drink a bit more liquids as vaping tends to dehydrate .

Stick with it , with the right frame of mind , it works .

Plascebo

jonski wrote: »

12mg is low for someone coming from 20/25cigs a day , definitely try the 18mg for a week or two before trying to bring the strength down and then do it by mixing the 12 and 18 to give 15 for a few days . Also remember that vaping is not like smoking , you don't get the same nicotine hit for the same amount of vaping , think of vaping more like grazing than eating . You will tend to vape more than you smoked , specially at the start .

I never found a nice tasting tobacco flavour , if you really don't like any of the other flavours then you could try flavourless .

Also , don't forget to drink a bit more liquids as vaping tends to dehydrate .

Stick with it , with the right frame of mind , it works .

Great advice there. I have been vaping 9 weeks now after 30 years non-stop smoking. I started on 24 mg and found it satisfied my nicotine cravings. Unlike jonski I treated vaping as a substitute to smoking, i.e. only vaped when I usually had a cigarrette, and didn't feel the need to vape "extra" or more often than I smoked. You will hopefully find a happy medium that kills the cravings and enjoy the world of vaping!

youdipstick

5 years ago vaping was much harder than today,liquids & devices back then was crap,but in the last couple of years it has improved immensely,I was trying too hard to replace the ciggy,eventually I realised that all I needed was a Nicotine hit,so I thought,why not have a pleasant taste & a Nicotine hit,which I needed,I am still on 24mg of Nic when using a Nautilus or similar,but when I use sub ohm coils,I need to drop the Nic level down to 6mg.
So my favourite flavours is Custard puddings,Custard anything at 18mg & 24mg.there's hundreds of different Custards to try.
Sweet & sour liquids can be tasty,so many to try,but everybody's taste is always different.

OREGATO

So just an update, I'm well over a week (10 days) into vaping and havent touched an analog, the iSticks and Nautilus setup is going brilliantly, I have yet to run low on battery and having two of them means that I can last over 48 hours without a single charge in either.

Big thanks for all the recommendations on here, the menthol e liquid is very nice!

I went back down to the shop yesterday and picked up some more eliquid and got a smaller bottle of cut off, its like a blueberry type flavour which is nice. A question, if I mix my menthol liquid with this other liquid, is there any danger to doing this? Both are rated at 12MG nicotine and I sort of think they'd work well together as the menthol leaves a better throat hit and cooling sensation which I got when I used the other liquid but I suspect this was an effect of having very little menthol liquid in my tank.

Overall, I havent missed the cigarettes like I thought I would, not only that but I managed to injure myself last week which I thought would be a trigger for me to go back to analogs (stress makes me want to smoke more and I had thought that I might mentally try and go back to the smokes to relieve stress - any excuse really!) but I was happy out vaping away and havent had an urge for a cigarette.

Things have moved on so much since the last time I've used ecigs and this fact is definitely making it easier for me to stay on the ecigs. I don't smell like an ash tray and the OH is pretty happy with this as she absolutely hates smoke. I've resisted the urge to vape in the same room, I sort of like to keep it seperate and dont want to be in a habit of vaping in the same room as her. I do it in the kitchen instead of going out the back garden as well which is another benefit.

I'll provide another update over the next few weeks.

Thanks again for all the help!!

RIchieNouveau

Well done and congrats! It's a great feeling.

Nope, no danger to mixing the liquids. Start small though just in case it doesn't taste as you expected. Obvious tip but took me a while to clock it: Keep your empty bottles and you can remove the tip with a bit of force and use them for mixing.

IK09

Mixing liquids is great, no added danger aswell. Im not a fan of menthol but had a bottle lying around, i also had a bottle of peach liquid which was a nice flavor but didnt have the throat hit i was looking for so i mixed 2 parts peach with 1 part menthol and its really nice. Most importantly, im using 2 liquids that i wouldnt have used on their own.

Didihno

Mixing juice is fine, just remember that you'll always end up with the average of the two nic levels.
Two 12mgs will give you 12.
A 12 and a 6 will give you 9, and so on.
Also if mixing menthol, remember its a very potent flavour, so going 2:1 with fruits:methol would be my reccomendation, but sure fiddle about and you'll come up with the flavour you like.

macker33

Just get a couple of egos and a few ce5s, Thats how half of vapers get going