Reaver' Vape Blog #6 - "Top 15 Things to Avoid When Vaping"

MartinDC

"for the Ultimate VapExperience…."
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Editorial supplied courtesy of: JOHN SWANKE

MARKETING SPECIALIST AT MT. BAKER VAPOR
Swanke joined Mt Baker Vapor in November 2014. He is an avid music lover who spends his spare time making weird noises.

There are many wonderful things to love about the vast world of vaping: sweets without the calories, learning basic principles of electricity, interacting with a wonderful community of like minded people… the list goes on and on. But there are a few things that can turn your happy vaping into a bad time. That is why we have compiled this list of things to avoid when vaping.


The top 15 things to avoid when vaping:
1. Dry Hits
Dry hits are one of the most awful things to befall any vaper. I wouldn’t wish a dry hit on my worst enemy. Never experienced a dry hit before? Luck you. It’s as if Death himself delivered a burnt cloud of toasted gym sock straight into your lungs. Always make sure you saturate your wick and prime your coil before vaping. Have some fresh cotton in a new build? Make sure you’ve dripped a sufficient amount of juice on your wick before you take that first puff. Replacing the coil in your tank? Drip a little bit of juice on the coil before you reassemble your tank. Be sure to let your device sit for several minutes before vaping to ensure your coil has been saturated with juice. When I replace my Atlantis coils, I usually wait a good ten minutes before vaping to make sure my coil is fully saturated.

2. Low Battery
We’ve all run into this problem at least once in our life. No matter what electronic device you may be using running out of battery can be a real nightmare. Everyone deserves to have the best vape possible with each puff. Keep your batteries charged to make sure your device is operating to its best ability. Setting off for a long trip? Make sure you have enough batteries with you to last while you’re away from home. Keeping a backup charged battery with you can be a real vape-saver when you’re on the go. Depending on your device, a micro or a mini USB charger is great to keep with you or in the car as they will work with most any USB port. When I have access to electricity, my preferred charging method of choice has always been the NiteCore Digicharger D4. Compatible with almost any rechargeable battery, the D4 takes all the guesswork out of charging your batteries; simply insert, detect and charge.

3. Flavor Ghosting
Flavor ghosting isn’t the end of the world for most vapers, in fact I quite enjoy the combination of certain flavors. However, when switching between two drastically different flavors, it’s best if you give your tank a good cleaning. I simply take mine apart and give everything a thorough rinse with some hot water. If you’re using an RDA you might be able to get away with just firing your mod until the juice has all been vaporized from the cotton, but I will always suggest changing your cotton if you can. This will help to make sure you have a fresh, untainted vape. Proper care and cleaning will also ensure your equipment works properly for many puffs to come.

4. Dirty/Gunky Coils
This issue echoes my statement from the previous point about flavor ghosting: proper care and cleaning will go a long way with producing a tasty vape. It has been known that certain shades of e-juice will ruin and gunk up coils faster than others. Now, I’m by no means a chain-vaper, but with my light to moderate use, I find myself changing my coils about once every 1.5 – 2 weeks. Your mileage may vary. I highly value a clean and fresh tasting vape, so sometimes I may change my coils more often than that. If you find that your vape isn’t tasting as good as you’d like, it may be time to change your coil. If your coils look anything like this, it’s definitely time to change your coils or get working on a new build.

Shades of E – Liquid Juice
WHY DO WE CARRY DARK-COLORED E JUICE?
We try to provide many flavor options of e juice and, unfortunately, not all of the flavoring bases are light-colored. Consider it a coin toss, like using a low-resistance atomizer (which will essentially provide more power at the cost of a typically shorter lifespan). In short, we have some great dark-colored flavors that are worth selling; we just want to provide you with as much knowledge as possible about the hardware risk involved.

No. Not all flavoring bases are the color that they would seem. Ideally, all juices would be clear as clear in possible in color, but sometimes ingredients that make the flavor bases are dark in color as needed to achieve the best flavor.
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THE SHADE MAKE?
The shade of the e juice comes from the flavoring base, and has a direct effect of the e juice shade itself. Typically, darker-colored juices tend to leave a resin (ingredients in the flavoring that aren’t vaporized) behind at a faster rate than lighter-colored juices, decreasing the atomizer/coil lifespan. Typically, the darker the juice, the faster this process will occur.

5. Elitist Attitude
I believe that this point could be easily summed up as: don’t be a jerk. Not all vapers are lucky enough to have the newest, most powerful device. Not everyone is an experienced flavor chaser or cloud maker. Instead of shaming “tootle poofers”, (An affectionate term for vapers generally using lower watt devices with atomizer resistance of 1.0ohm or above and who utilize the Mouth to Lung (MTL) style of vaping. The opposite of a cloud chaser.)”

let’s all try to be accepting of different vaping styles. Remember, we were all newbies once.


6. Dripping and Driving
When you’re behind the wheel, your focus needs to be on the road. Too many distractions on the road can lead to serious disaster. Are you a dripper going on a long road trip? Invest in a tank. There’s a lot of great options out there. A tank will enable you to just fill and go. You can vape all you want out on that lonesome stretch of road without having to juggle the wheel, your juice and RDA to re-drip. At least have a designated dripper: someone riding in the passenger seat who can safely saturate those coils for you so you can keep your eyes on the road. Trust me, not even a perfectly-steeped bottle of any juice is worth your life.

7. Nicotine Sickness
I’ll never forget the first time I experienced nicotine sickness. It is worse than any hangover or sickness I’ve ever endured. Granted, these last 26 years I’ve been pretty lucky health-wise *knocks on wood*. Are you venturing into the world of sub-ohm vaping for the first time? Chances are, if you’re using an older style tank you probably have a higher level of nicotine. When I first made the transition from my Kanger Evod to vaping sub-ohm with the Aspire Platinum (my first experience with sub-ohm vaping) I drastically lowered my nicotine level. From 18mg to 6mg to be exact. Different setups will provide different vaping experiences. Know your limits and know your nicotine level.

8. Unsafe Builds
Are you interested in building your own coils? Maybe you’re a seasoned veteran who likes to experiment with new setups? Either way, it’s imperative that you educate yourself on things like Ohm’s Law and Battery Safety. Don’t throw more power at your build than it can handle. Know your resistance, voltage, and the load of your device. A great tool for every vaper is the SmokTech Omnitester. This handy device makes it easy to check the resistance of any 510 threaded e-cig or Ego-threaded atomizer. The Omnitester also allows you to check the output voltage of your 510 threaded device, including Pulse-Width Modulated devices. You can also attach an atomizer and a device at the same time to test its voltage under load. The Omnitester has an internal 900mAh battery if you want to use it on-the-go, and comes with a USB to Micro-USB cable to charge it.

9. Vape Tongue
Another problem which plagues vapers worldwide is the dreaded “vape tongue.” There are many variables that can effect your palate. One of them being vaping on the same e-juice for too long. After the first couple months of vaping on my favourite all day every day flavour I just couldn’t taste the sweet cake flavour anymore. Others suggested some ordinary mouthwash or just plain old water. I was even told to smell different things, but I won’t get into that. However, sometimes it really does help to have your second favorite flavor on standby. I vaped on different fruity flavors for a couple of days and before long I was back to enjoying my favorite full, in your face, sweet cake flavour. (Please refer to an earlier Reaversadmin blog that discusses vapours tongue and related remedies in a little more detail.)

10. Loose Batteries
Remember point number two? It’s okay if you don’t you can go back and check. I’ll wait…

Got it? Great! After you charge your batteries where do you put them? Well the best place is in a battery case, of course! We have a couple different styles of battery cases, and mine just happens to be the 18650 Battery Case. Whatever size battery you use, find the proper fitting case for it. Loose batteries present a bigger danger than most people realize. Trust me, you do not want your battery to vent in your pocket.


11. Improper Filling Technique
This one should be pretty easy, but know your gear! More companies are coming out with convenient top-fill tanks, like the Triton V2, but a lot of tanks still require you to fill from the bottom. I’ve been using tanks like the Atlantis and the Subtank Mini for so long that a few months ago, when I was presented with a simple iClear 16, I completely ruined it because I couldn’t remember how to fill it properly. Instead of removing the drip tip and properly filling the tank from the top I unscrewed the bottom and attempted to fill that way. I had a real mess on my hands! Do some research, and if you still can’t figure out how to use your equipment, ask a fellow vaper!

12. Dehydration
Make no mistake about it, vaping will dehydrate you. I really notice this when I’ve vaped a little harder than normal or when I switch from a max VG blend to 50/50. I see this as a blessing in disguise as I now have a reason to drink more water. Bottom line: water is good for you, drink it.

13. Too Much Throat Hit
Vaping is all about choices, and in this vast wonderful world of choices it can be hard to find the right choice for you. You may have found yourself asking, “Should I vape max VG or 50/50? Or perhaps 65/35 is right for me?” The truth is that some blends will perform better in different setups than others. With sub-ohm vaping a lot of people prefer a blend of 20% PG / 80% VG or they even go max VG. Now that’s not to say you can’t fill a sub-ohm tank with 50/50, but you should know that blends with higher levels of PG will produce more of a throat hit. Are you looking for smooth hits with big clouds? Choose a blend that has more VG in it. If you’re looking for a little more flavor (PG carries flavor better) and a little more throat burn? Choose a blend with higher PG levels. Taste is subjective. Play around with different blends until you find what you like best!

14. Tank Crackers
I’ll never forget my first day working at Mt Baker Vapor. I was given a Kanger Evod Starter Kit and took it home eager to fill it with Ecto Cooler e-juice. I did, and it was delicious! But it was late and I was tired from a long hard day of making juice orders for our fine customers. So, I set the device down on my desk and went to sleep as visions of clouds filled my head. When I awoke I had found that my tank was cracked and that sweet, sweet Ecto Cooler had leaked all over my desk. No one had explained to me this issue of tank crackers. Some flavors have been reported to have cracked plastic tanks. Your mileage may vary, but it is something to be aware of. If you never want to worry about accidentally filling your tank with a tank cracker e-juice, we have a variety of glass tanks available on our website.

15. Expensive Juice
There are many valid reasons to make the switch to vaping. For me, it was saving money. When I think of all the money I spent on cigarettes, rolling tobacco, and the occasional ounce or two of pipe tobacco… well, I just get angry. That money was simply smoked up, and I have nothing to show for it, other than what I can only assume will be a life-long smoker’s cough. After the initial start up cost of a mod and some coils (or whatever starter kit you choose) vaping is relatively inexpensive when compared to most tobacco products. We know there are a lot of great companies out there to purchase e-juice from, but don’t be fooled by juice with a high price tag boasting it was aged in some sort of oak bourbon barrel. There’s simply only a few ingredients that should ever go into a quality e-juice and those are: nicotine, flavoring, and a blend of PG and VG. That’s it, folks! Some companies may claim to have nothing but 100% organic, vegan, kosher e-juice laced with the tears of a unicorn but we know that’s just not true. We encourage everyone to get out there and try different e-juice flavors, but know that the good folks here at Reaver’s VapE-Liquids take pride in being able to provide not only quality, but affordable e-juice for all responsible adults.

Blog posted by Reaver's VapE-Liquids in the interest of a better Vaping experience for all ....
 
Great read for new vapers and forgetful ones like myself! Now if only I could get into the habit of rewicking more often.
 
@MartinDC How could a juice crack a tank? Whew! I need to know more about this, please...
hi @Hooked,
Apologies for the delay in responding....

The information as supplied by John Swanke of Mt. Baker Vapor does not indicate the possible cause of the tank failure, it is therefore difficult to determine the actual cause of the cracking or failure of the tank.

I did some research:
"borosilicate" glass tubing or "Pyrex" Cylinders are commonly used in atomizers due in part to:
  1. Their ability to withstand extreme variations in temperature,
  2. Typically manufactured using a flame polishing process with precise square ground edges
  3. Normally supplied free of latent defects, chips etc."
  4. Designed to withstand compressive loading
When we consider the above, the possible cause of the fracture could have been related to either of or any combination of the possible causes listed below:
  • Excessive over tightening of the glass tube in an atomizer
  • Placing lateral loading and/or stress to the atomizer as a result of mechanical damage to the tank for example dropping, knocking or allowing a device to accidentally fall over
  • Latent flaw or chip in the edge of the affected glass tube had caused the glass tube to crack prematurely.
Reference:
http://www.greatglas.com
 
He is talking about plastic tanks. They were common up until a few years ago and many flavours resulted in the tank cracking due to chemicals in the concentrate attacking/weakening the plastic. It only applied to hard plastics like tanks and syringes, soft plastics like HDPE and LDPE dropper bottles weren't affected. Once the industry switched to glass as a standard, the problem sorta dropped off the radar. But I can remember when I first started DIYing, there was a spreadsheet which warned mixers of which TFA flavours were the notorious "tank crackers".
 
hi @Hooked,
Apologies for the delay in responding....

The information as supplied by John Swanke of Mt. Baker Vapor does not indicate the possible cause of the tank failure, it is therefore difficult to determine the actual cause of the cracking or failure of the tank.

I did some research:
"borosilicate" glass tubing or "Pyrex" Cylinders are commonly used in atomizers due in part to:
  1. Their ability to withstand extreme variations in temperature,
  2. Typically manufactured using a flame polishing process with precise square ground edges
  3. Normally supplied free of latent defects, chips etc."
  4. Designed to withstand compressive loading
When we consider the above, the possible cause of the fracture could have been related to either of or any combination of the possible causes listed below:
  • Excessive over tightening of the glass tube in an atomizer
  • Placing lateral loading and/or stress to the atomizer as a result of mechanical damage to the tank for example dropping, knocking or allowing a device to accidentally fall over
  • Latent flaw or chip in the edge of the affected glass tube had caused the glass tube to crack prematurely.
Reference:
http://www.greatglas.com

@MartinDC Thank you very much indeed for taking so much trouble to answer my question. Much appreciated!
 
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