Newbie Alert Etc.

[Seabrook]

I need to read up on cartomizers more. Does it end up being cheaper than buying the atomizers themselves?

It depends. If you buy a regular atomizer (atty) and blow it out every night, do a dry burn every couple of mornings before vaping, do a diet coke soak on them weekly, then they should last one to five months before needing replaced. Many ppl have posted that they go thru LR (low resistance) attys faster than the regular ones.

Cartomizers (cartos) are disposable, but they are refillable several times (10-30 possible) before disposing of them. Some people blow them out every couple of days. I read of one poster doing an enormous amount of maintenance on cartos, but they last him a long time. Never try to dry burn a carto.

I've used both and prefer cartos. Really improved my vaping disposition, LOL. Standard e-cigs are such a PITA anyway, so whatever you can do to lessen the time you spend foolin around with them including the maintenance, the happier you'll be. Heh heh, you'll see, LOL.

 

[quasimod]

Welcome to ECF, Elana! You seem like a fast learner. You'll do just fine.

 

[Elana]

I ordered a sampler pack of liquid flavors from PA, but I'm fairly certain that the liquids don't have any nic. ...and I needs muh nic. Any suggestions for tasty and cheap eliquid that contains nicotine?

There isn't a huge rush on suggestions; the starter PV kit I ordered comes with 25 prefilled carts and from what I've read the Prosmoke carts last a lot longer than most minis. I still want to look ahead and shop around, but seeing as I haven't vaped at all yet (should be here tomorrow, YAYER!] I have no idea what I'm looking for.

Just to give everyone a sense of what my tastes are....when I smoked I pretty much smoked anything from Camel Turkish Jade 100's to Djarum cloves to el cheapo Hombre brand cigarillos, but I found that as far as tobacco brands are concerned I enjoyed Benson and Hedges and Camels (typically Lights) the best.

 

[cyberwolf]

I ordered a sampler pack of liquid flavors from PA, but I'm fairly certain that the liquids don't have any nic. ...and I needs muh nic. Any suggestions for tasty and cheap eliquid that contains nicotine?

It sounds like you ordered flavors as opposed to nicotine juice. This is concentrated flavoring and is not to be used directly in your e-cig. For best results you would mix it with flavorless nicotine liquid in a mix of PG/VG. More info can be found in the DIY section.

Don't wait too long to order extra juice, though. In general the cartridges that come with your PV are going to be a poor representation of what is out there and if you do like vaping, you don't want to run out just when you are getting the hang of it. IMO Dekang make great inexpensive tobacco flavors and litecigusa.net has a nice selection in 10ml bottles. There are of course many, many other places to buy and suggestions and reviews can be found just about anywhere on the forum.

 

[Xanax]

I ordered a sampler pack of liquid flavors from PA, but I'm fairly certain that the liquids don't have any nic. ...and I needs muh nic. Any suggestions for tasty and cheap eliquid that contains nicotine?

There isn't a huge rush on suggestions; the starter PV kit I ordered comes with 25 prefilled carts and from what I've read the Prosmoke carts last a lot longer than most minis. I still want to look ahead and shop around, but seeing as I haven't vaped at all yet (should be here tomorrow, YAYER!] I have no idea what I'm looking for.

Just to give everyone a sense of what my tastes are....when I smoked I pretty much smoked anything from Camel Turkish Jade 100's to Djarum cloves to el cheapo Hombre brand cigarillos, but I found that as far as tobacco brands are concerned I enjoyed Benson and Hedges and Camels (typically Lights) the best.

PA only sells FLAVORS not liquids. What you need right now is a pre-mixed liquid. As for your tastes- no one can really tell you what you'll like for sure. You may be surprised by the possibility of not liking tobacco flavors at all (none of them taste like an actual cigarette... Just unlit tobacco. You might even like some of the sweet flavors, who knows. Maybe give RY4 a try, it's a tobacco/caramel flavor. Seems to be pretty popular around here. I don't like it much though.

Edit: take a look at the Liquid Reviews section. You'll find a lot of good liquids there.

 

[Elana]

right, but who cares?

Apparently I do since I created this thread in order to get knowledgeable vapers' advice. I'm trying to get helpful suggestions and not apathetic remarks attempting to disguise a thinly veiled insult.

 

[Elana]

It sounds like you ordered flavors as opposed to nicotine juice. This is concentrated flavoring and is not to be used directly in your e-cig. For best results you would mix it with flavorless nicotine liquid in a mix of PG/VG. More info can be found in the DIY section.

Lol! Thanks for clearing that up! I've been looking for the flavorless nicotine liquid on various sites, but can not seem to find it. All the research involved in vaping and the numerous options available to new vapers is somewhat overwhelming. I'm skedaddling to the DIY section to check it out!

Maybe give RY4 a try, it's a tobacco/caramel flavor. Seems to be pretty popular around here. I don't like it much though.

Edit: take a look at the Liquid Reviews section. You'll find a lot of good liquids there.

I've randomly seen RY4 praise here and there, but until now could never find out what it actually tasted like so I didn't know whether or not to try it out. Thanks a lot for your help! I probably will like RY4, it sounds like my type of thing.

 

[mistinthewoods]

I like this guy for juice Smoke Juice
Lots of people rave about tastyvapor around here also.

 

[Xanax]

I like this guy for juice Smoke Juice
Lots of people rave about tastyvapor around here also.

I will SECOND AND THIRD the tastyvapor suggestion. But you can't buy samples there- smallest they offer is 30ml for 15 bucks which is a steal! My absolute favorite from tastyvapor is called TastyFinger (butterfinger flavor) and it's the absolute best liquid ever. It tastes even better than a butterfinger. I've abandoned all of my other 17 liquids for this one. If you wanna check it out the link is http://www.tastyvapor.us

But about the PA samples you ordered. Don't throw them out because you can't vape them, cause you can make your own juice with them! As strong or light as you want, and you can mix them to create a bunch of different complex flavors. PA has some reeeally good flavors. Good stuff. All you'd need to buy to make your own is Glycerin from walmart (a couple bucks) and Proplene glycol (pretty sure it's at walmart too) both very cheap. You don't have to use both but I would.

Edit: forgot to tell you welcome to the community. It's a great one for sure.

 

[quasimod]

You will have multiple goals when trying liquids, and (in my opinion), this is the order of their importance:

1) You will want to determine the nicotine level that is right for you. That may have very little to do with the type and amount of cigarettes you smoked. For example (if memory serves me correctly), Xanax and I need the same 36 mg. (uber-high). He was a half-pack-o-lights smoker, and I was a 3-packs-o-Kools smoker. Most people are happy between 12 and 24 mg.

2) You will want to find a few flavors that you LOVE, that really blow your skirt up. Flavors that make you think "why in the heck would I ever want to smoke one of those nasty cigarettes, when I could be vaping THIS?!"

3) You will want to find out about your PG/VG ratio preference, if any. PG gives you the "throat hit", the harsh feeling you get when inhaling. VG makes thicker, more visible vapor. Everyone is different, and preferences range all over the place between 100% PG and 100% VG. My guess is that 70-80% PG is most popular, and 100% PG is most available. Just to keep things interesting, your preference is probably going to change over time as well.

There are probably other things to consider that I'm not thinking of, but those are the primary things you should keep in mind when trying out juices. None of us are shy about naming our favorite vendors and flavors, but most of us also know that it is mostly subjective. I loves me some TV Butter Rum (tastes like a hard candy, Lifesavers or something) from tastyvapor.com, along with their Atomic Cinnacide (in small doses, it's a very strong cinnamon-candy flavor like Red-Hots or Atomic Fireball). The problem is, he does not sell sample sizes, because each 1 oz. (30 ml) bottle is made to order and custom-blended as per customer request. It's great stuff, but I hesitate to recommend that you try him first, without any idea of your own preferences. There is a co-op thread here, but they are ordering zero-nic (just trying out the flavors). That may change on the next round, though.

 

[cyberwolf]

Lol! Thanks for clearing that up! I've been looking for the flavorless nicotine liquid on various sites, but can not seem to find it. All the research involved in vaping and the numerous options available to new vapers is somewhat overwhelming. I'm skedaddling to the DIY section to check it out!

Honestly, I'm hesitant to recommend DIY until you've tried some premixed and have a better idea of what your shooting for. If you do decide to try it, OneStopDIYShop has everything you need and Kimberly is an absolute joy to deal with. It's really not hard to get started, but I have mixed about 20 small batches so far and only have about 2 that I really like.

 

[sherid]

I ordered a sampler pack of liquid flavors from PA, but I'm fairly certain that the liquids don't have any nic. ...and I needs muh nic. Any suggestions for tasty and cheap eliquid that contains nicotine?

There isn't a huge rush on suggestions; the starter PV kit I ordered comes with 25 prefilled carts and from what I've read the Prosmoke carts last a lot longer than most minis. I still want to look ahead and shop around, but seeing as I haven't vaped at all yet (should be here tomorrow, YAYER!] I have no idea what I'm looking for.

Just to give everyone a sense of what my tastes are....when I smoked I pretty much smoked anything from Camel Turkish Jade 100's to Djarum cloves to el cheapo Hombre brand cigarillos, but I found that as far as tobacco brands are concerned I enjoyed Benson and Hedges and Camels (typically Lights) the best.

Try http://www.vsvapor.net/ for great tasting liquids. IMO, they are the best, and I have tried most of them in the year and a half I have been vaping. Try the Cafe Sumatra: exquisite if you like coffee.

 

[quasimod]

@ Sherid: I've heard nothing but good things about VS, but I was turned off by their use of the terms "Diet", "Cleanse", and "Detox" in the title of the main page. Without any further investigation into the matter, I felt those were "unsubstantiated claims", and moved on.

 

[Elana]

My PV is finally here! Waiting for the battery to charge for 8 hours is not going to be fun, but I'm sure it will be worth the additional wait. ^_^

Try the Cafe Sumatra: exquisite if you like coffee.

I absolutely adore coffee! I'll be sure to pick some up. Thanks for the link

 

[quasimod]

Actually, I've not found one good reason to wait for that 8 hours mentioned in the instructions, and I know of very few people who have actually done so. Green means GO!

 

[Seabrook]

Yaaay, you got it!. You go Girl! Have fun!

 

[Elana]

Actually, I've not found one good reason to wait for that 8 hours mentioned in the instructions, and I know of very few people who have actually done so. Green means GO!

Woohoo! That's great news. Now if it would only turn green. Its been charging for 6 hours....

 

[sherid]

@ Sherid: I've heard nothing but good things about VS, but I was turned off by their use of the terms "Diet", "Cleanse", and "Detox" in the title of the main page. Without any further investigation into the matter, I felt those were "unsubstantiated claims", and moved on.

Lots of new compnies start that way. Write to them and tell them of your concerns. Meanwhile, you are missing some great stuff.

 

[sherid]

@ Sherid: I've heard nothing but good things about VS, but I was turned off by their use of the terms "Diet", "Cleanse", and "Detox" in the title of the main page. Without any further investigation into the matter, I felt those were "unsubstantiated claims", and moved on.

Where on the site did you see those claims?

 

[quasimod]

It's in the title of the main page of their liquid section. I agree that my dismissal was peremptory and unfair, this is probably left over from long ago. I was just explaining why I didn't order at the time. I distinctly remember going to the site on someone's recommendation, seeing that title bar, and thinking something like, "Hmph. I don't like that..." (close tab).