Brand new to vaping and the Volt. Having some problems, though.

[WATYF]

I originally posted this in the Newbie forum and they told me to put it here, so here goes...

A few weeks ago, I got some advice in this thread and ended up buying a Volt starter kit with the 78mm battery and the Strong Sampler pack of cartos. I'm kinda disappointed in the outcome, though, and wanted to ask some questions just to make sure I'm not doing it wrong.

1) The vapor is markedly less than I thought it would be. When the battery is totally charged, I'd say that the amount of vapor is "good", but still not quite what I was expecting. However, after a few minutes of use, the vapor decreases quite a bit and eventually I have to take very long drags on the ecig just to get a noticeable amount of vapor. Is this normal? On a side note, does anyone know what "base" the Volt juices use? Is it PG or VG? I heard that VG has better vapor, so maybe I just need to switch to that.

2) In addition to the vapor being "lower" than expected, the flavors are VERY subtle. I ordered a "Strong" sampler, but none of these flavors are anything approaching "strong". They're nothing close to smoking a full-flavored cigarette like I'm used to (Marlboro Smooths). Even with a fresh battery and a decent amount of vapor, the flavor is still subdued. I expected quite a bit more flavor. Is this normal?

3) I ordered the "low" nic strength but I can't detect ANY nic at all. No "hit" or "buzz" or anything. Is that normal for the "low" strength? Also, I was wondering if the nic strength was related to the vapor/flavor strength. Is my choice of the "low" nic causing the lower vapor and flavor strengths?

4) I'd say about half the time when I plug the Volt in (using the USB or the wall adapter) the light at the end of the ecig doesn't go on. There's a light on the USB charger that turns red and then eventually turns blue, but the manual said that the light at the end of the ecig should go on when charging, but it doesn't always go on, even when I know that it needs some charging. After a while, when the light on the USB charger turns blue, I assume that means that the ecig is charged, even though the light on the ecig never turned on, but maybe it's not charged and maybe that's why my vapor is so low sometimes.

5) There is a pretty decent tickle at the back of my throat when I take a hit sometimes. It's worse than an actual cigarette because it's not a "burn" it's a "tickle" and I end up coughing as a result fairly often. Is this what they refer to as the "throat hit" or is that not normal?


Basically, I'm looking to find out if these things are normal or if I got a dud or something else. I'd really like to give vaping a shot, but at this point, it's just not very enjoyable. Low vapor (most of the time), barely noticeable flavor, no nic buzz at all... hopefully there's something I'm doing wrong that can be remedied. Any advice would be appreciated.

WATYF

 

[Konstantine]

1) You should really check the other sample packs too. Generally cartos from SI and their juices produce a LOT of vapor. SI uses mostly 90/10 and 80/20 PG/VG mix but they still deliver a good amount of vapor. Your problem is not normal and i'll explain below.

2) Define: Strong... I believe you just started vaping and what you experience is quite normal, usually former smokers (myself included) do not sense the vapor efficiently because their taste buds have to be "regenerated". It will take some time depending on how much you smoked but this is normal.

3)How do you measure the nicotine levels on your body? If you stopped smoking right now you should have chosen at least 18mg of nicotine level, it would give you sufficient throat hit like a cigarette and you would get enough nicotine in your body to satisfy your needs. The nicotine strength has nothing to do with vapor generation and even if you don't see much vapor (PG) doesn't mean that it's not there(the nicotine).

4)If the led at the cig end does not light up when you charge that means that the internal "microprocessor/charger" thinks it has enough power in the battery. However if the led on the adapter changes states that means it draws some power.
This symptoms may suggest that you have a faulty charger but that is not sure, it may happen sometimes but SI can help you with a new one. It happened to me the first time, my charger was faulty and i had the same symptoms.


5)That is not throat hit but as your throat adapts to vapor now you might need to drink a lot of water, PG is a dehumectant and will dry your throat. Happens only a few days after you start but then it goes away. You can feel throat hit like a normal cigarette but you have to get higher nicotine strength (18 or more but i suggest 18 since i was a marlboro smoker). It depends on how much you smoked.

Get yourself higher nicotine cartos and a liquid and ask SI to replace the USB adapter for you and you'r set.


I myself stopped from marlboro's and haven't had a real cigarette since then.

 

[marlou]

Hi WATYF. I can't answer all your questions but I'll try to help you with some of it until someone who knows more comes along.

1. Vapor: Smokeless Image liquids are mostly PG. You should get a good amount of vapor until the carto starts to run dry or the battery needs charging. You only mentioned a pack of the Strong sampler. Is that the only eliquid you have? Do the cartos look dry inside?

2. Flavor: None of the flavors in that sampler will be anything like Marlboros, but I have tasted all of them and while they aren't extremely strong flavors I wouldn't call them subdued. It could be they are just not to your taste. Are you still smoking? If you are or have just recently quit that will have an effect on your taste buds. It takes a while of 'not smoking' before your taste buds come back to life.

3. Nicotine: 6mgs is awfully low for a new vaper. Most people start at 18mg or 24mg and then cut back as they need to. I don't know if nic affects vapor but it does have an affect on flavor.

4. You should talk to someone in SI's customer service about the way the battery is acting. They will be able to determine if something is wrong with it or not.

5. The tickle in your throat and coughing is normal for a new vaper. Most of us went through that when we first started. Taking small drags helps. It usually goes away after about a week or so. That is NOT what is referred to as "throat hit."

Having problems with tasting flavors and the coughing are both something that is pretty common when someone first quits smoking and begins vaping. You should get some other flavors, try to order small sample sized bottles. You won't like everything you try and small bottles cuts down on the cost. Finding flavors you like is one of the hardest things when starting vaping. You're not going to get much "buzz" from 6mg nic. You should up the level. If you're afraid to go as high as 18mg or 24mg, at least try the 12mg.

Don't forget to check with customer service at SI about the battery. You can put in a service ticket (email) on the website or call them on the phone. The phone number will be on the website too.

Good luck with working through all this!

 

[Semiretired]

Everything that the above posts have said pretty covers it all, but I want to add one thing.

There is no juice made that duplicates the taste of a burning cigarette. It would taste awful if it did. What you can find is juice flavors that have a similarity to the (I am going to call it the smell flavor of tobacco). The strong sampler pack has a good variety of these flavors, but the low nic level is diminishing what you are looking for. If you were a Marlboro Medium smoker then as suggested 18mg - 24mg is a better choice to start... Do not give up - it may take some experimenting, but you made a good choice going with the Volt...

 

[mattt9998]

You will know when your taste goes back to normal when you are able to smell a smoker from 10 feet away, will take a week or two. Most taste comes from out sense of smell.

 

[Imagine]

my thoughts:

1) with vaping any device: short hard drags (like a cigarette) will not work properly and not produce enough vapor. Slow, long & smooth drags are required to get the proper amounts (as you need to allow the atomizer time to heat up)... getting a manual battery allows for a little faster draws as you can heat up the coil before inhaling. Steel Jan likens it to sipping through a soda straw....to which i agree. VG will produce more vapor however it will have even less throat hit & flavor compared to PG (most people settle on a 80/20 70/30 pg/vg blend.

2) Subtle flavors especially if you tried menthol burst... I would have to agree with what the others have said and say your taste buds just need some time to be away from tobacco... they need time to heal... as that is a very strong flavor.

3) A full time smoker going straight to 6mg will feel nothing in the throat hit or nic buzz department. The others are correct move to 24 or 18mg. However it does not affect flavor or amounts of vapor...the things I mentioned in #1&2 will.

4) I am attaching 2 videos for you to watch...if this is not happening correctly please contact us asap on our contact us page and CS will take of it ASAP.

5) The tickle would come from 1. not getting enough throat hit with only 6mg....18-24 will provide a strong throat hit. 2. you throat getting used to vapor and not smoke. 3. you could possibly have a PG allergy.... drink lots of water and it should help.

Coughing however is normal....its like going into a shower or steam room as a smoker...it makes us cough until we are used to it.

Please watch these videos:

 

[Imagine]

 

[WATYF]

Sorry, I forgot to mention, I am only an occasional smoker. Not every day. Usually once or twice a week socially and usually only several at a time (not a whole pack in one day or anything).

I've seen ejuices on other websites that state they are "VG". Does this mean they are 100% VG? Should I be looking for something that's a mix of PG and VG?

Also, I don't see anything when I look in the cartos, so I don't know how to tell if they're "dry". Is there an indicator that tells me how much is left?

I guess I'll contact SI to see if my battery or charger could be the cause of some of these problems. Thanks.

WATYF

 

[WATYF]

The behavior shown in the video is not the consistent behavior that I get from my ecig.

Sometimes BOTH the light at the end of ecig AND the light on the USB charger turn on (ecig light turns blue, USB charger light turns red). And then, after charging is complete, the light on the ecig turns off and the light on the USB charger turns blue. But SOMETIMES, only the light on the USB charger turns on (red) and the light on the ecig stays off. The light on the USB charger will eventually turn blue, but the light on the ecig stays off the whole time. I don't know if it's "really" charging or not but I just leave it plugged in anyway. This is after I've used it (and therefore know that it needs a charge).

I've seen this behavior both when plugging it into a computer and when using the wall adapter in a socket.

WATYF

 

[Imagine]

6mg is really just a step down to zero....and will not really give the same experience at 12mg/18 or 24

Sorry, I forgot to mention, I am only an occasional smoker. Not every day. Usually once or twice a week socially and usually only several at a time (not a whole pack in one day or anything).

I've seen ejuices on other websites that state they are "VG". Does this mean they are 100% VG? Should I be looking for something that's a mix of PG and VG?

Also, I don't see anything when I look in the cartos, so I don't know how to tell if they're "dry". Is there an indicator that tells me how much is left?

I guess I'll contact SI to see if my battery or charger could be the cause of some of these problems. Thanks.

WATYF

 

[Harplayr]

Please also remember that when vaping your nic absorption rate is much lower than smoking. Most of the nic gets absorbed in the mouth, nasal cavities and throat rather than your lungs and enter the blood stream more gradually and less efficiently. A cigarette will give an almost instantaneous hit at a much higher strength than you get with vaping. With a low nic juice it is not surprising that you don’t get that “buzz” like you would with a cigarette.

As others have suggested, you should try a juice with higher nic content.

 

[mikeproctor]

I ordered four batteries during the current sale and three of the four had a bad draw. I'll be sending them back for replacement and suggest you do the same. I have several older batteries and they all work better the the new ones. Not sure if they got a bad batch or what, but it's gettin a little discouraging...

 

[Imagine]

when you say a bad draw what do you mean?

I ordered four batteries during the current sale and three of the four had a bad draw. I'll be sending them back for replacement and suggest you do the same. I have several older batteries and they all work better the the new ones. Not sure if they got a bad batch or what, but it's gettin a little discouraging...

 

[WATYF]

I did the "Faces of Volt" promo so I can try to get a second battery (haven't received a PM about it yet, though), so I'm going to see if I continue to have the same problems with the second battery. That way I can figure out if the problem is with the charger or with the battery.

I've also ordered some ejuices from another website that have VG in them and stronger flavors. Hopefully, that should be enough to solve all of my "issues". I really want vaping to work out, so let's hope this does the trick.

WATYF

 

[Konstantine]

For throat hit you should get higher PG and high nicotine.

 

[mikeproctor]

when you say a bad draw what do you mean?

I guess the bad hit is relative to the other batteries I have. When you hit the bad one it seems like they are not hitting and the draw is lighter or has a lot more air. There is definitely a difference to the point the airy batteries are not vapeable for me or my wife.

 

[Konstantine]

If they are airy just use them, after some time they will clog up a little bit and they will work fine.

 

[Harplayr]

I guess the bad hit is relative to the other batteries I have. When you hit the bad one it seems like they are not hitting and the draw is lighter or has a lot more air. There is definitely a difference to the point the airy batteries are not vapeable for me or my wife.

I agree.
The batteries seem inconsistent as far as how much air is mixed in the draw. I have 3 batteries and all are different with the one that mixes the most air being my least favorite by far. I tend to hold my fingers over the air ring to limit the draw on that one.

I was thinking of returning that one, but with the hassle of packing it up and making a trip to the post office to send it in for exchange, it just isn’t worth it for me. I’ll keep it as an emergency backup, but I’ll most likely never use it.

 

[Mroutlaw]

I have found that the airy draw also comes from the cartomizers. I have had batteries that have an airy draw and when u change cartos, it's not as airy. I believe it has to do with the threads and how the air holes line up with the carto slot. I have 3 suggestions.

If the battery seems to be the cause, try taking the carto off and then blow into the battery for a second or two. When you stop blowing, you will see the led light up and stay on for 7 seconds. This gets any air pockets out of the sensor.

Second, try unscrewing the carto just a touch, this makes the air holes line up differently with the carto.

The third is what I do. Take a toothpick and push the tip into one of the air holes on the battery, and break it off, leaving the tip of the toothpick in the hole. This will "clog" the air hole and give a harder draw. It works every time. I have asked IMAGINE about it and she said it will not hurt the battery.

For the record, I have experienced this on batteries from several companies, not just the volt

 

[mikeproctor]

I have found that the airy draw also comes from the cartomizers. I have had batteries that have an airy draw and when u change cartos, it's not as airy. I believe it has to do with the threads and how the air holes line up with the carto slot. I have 3 suggestions.

If the battery seems to be the cause, try taking the carto off and then blow into the battery for a second or two. When you stop blowing, you will see the led light up and stay on for 7 seconds. This gets any air pockets out of the sensor.

Second, try unscrewing the carto just a touch, this makes the air holes line up differently with the carto.

The third is what I do. Take a toothpick and push the tip into one of the air holes on the battery, and break it off, leaving the tip of the toothpick in the hole. This will "clog" the air hole and give a harder draw. It works every time. I have asked IMAGINE about it and she said it will not hurt the battery.

For the record, I have experienced this on batteries from several companies, not just the volt

It's not the caro, I have tons of batteries and cartos to compare. Since the batteries are new I would rather send them back and hope the replacements are better. I'm going to send these to imagine so that we might figure out how to fix them. Smokeless image has great customer support and they have already sent out replacements.