Tag Archives: ecigs

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Choices, choices, choices

Posted on by Rob Ellard

 

In fact, we’re seeing an unprecedented deluge of mods and atomisers from that part of the world with new models being announced on an almost weekly basis. And this is a problem. Well, to you this might not be a problem. To you problems might be what kind of curry to order tonight, whether to go with wine or beer and the fact that the postman still hasn’t delivered your vapemail.

In life I have three main problems: firstly, now the weather is nice I have the doors of the lounge open while I work. No problem there, you say. Now factor in the neighbours who shout a lot, have screaming children they swear at and possess the worst combined selection of music any person could have inflicted upon them. Odds are that you have or had neighbours like this or, if you are my neighbours, turn the damn tripe down.

My second problem is quite a challenging one – I own fourteen mods. No man or woman can possibly use all fourteen at once, not even in rotation. But the constant updates on websites make it impossible not to buy more. I’m currently waiting for my invoice from Mikro Engineering for my Challenger Mk.II – that’ll make it fifteen. To be honest, this isn’t the real problem it’s what it leads to.

It creates problem number three. It is the one thing that vexes me most about vaping. I’ve got a toolbox; in the top compartments I store my charged batteries and my drip tips. On the wooden rack I built from part of my daughter’s ex-bed sit my range of attys. So the issue is that at any given moment I have to choose one from fourteen mods, one of three different battery sizes, one from fourteen attys, one from thirty drip tips and one from twenty four flavours.

That’s 423,360 possible combinations.

Four hundred and twenty-three thousand three hundred and sixty possible vape combinations! This ridiculous array of options for a man who struggles to decide whether to have a Jal Frezi or a Madras. When standing in the drinks aisle I can never decide between imported or home-brewed beer. This is the first time I’ve ever looked at this as a number, frankly I’m stunned.

But this problem doesn’t sit there, there’s the option of whether to go for Voodoowool, cotton, mesh, A1 Kanthal wire (which diameter?), ribbon (which width?), number of wraps, what resistance I think I might fancy and if to opt for single or dual wicks.

And then there are aesthetic considerations. For example, there is no way you could get away with a blue drip tip on a tarnished brass Kraken sitting proudly on a red aluminium Nemesis tube with a polished stainless switch & stealth cap and a polished brass lock ring. One minute you’re constructing a set-up to vape with, the next you’re looking at something as gaudy as a house covered in Xmas lights

I probably spend more time pondering whether or not the combination goes together than I do wicking and vaping the thing.

Life was so much easier when all I had was a Vamo and a Protank. I need a 21st Century Kepler to plan out a simple law of mod selection; either that, or a 21st Century Brahe to threaten to run me through with a sword if I don’t make my choice in 60 seconds flat.

I haven’t even touched upon the time spent online window-shopping.

 

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The F5 button

Posted on by Rob Ellard

 

I’ve been vaping for 18 months now and have never had the inclination to enter into a competition of wits and bandwidth. Well, probably not a lack of inclination but rather a lack of money or knowledge anything requiring an F5 key was taking place.

This changed on the day I swapped a Panzer for a GP Paps 2.5 Lux.

You know the feeling you probably had as a kid when an Aunt, who always gave socks as presents or cards with the wrong age on, suddenly appears as though she was struck down by an incurable dose of wonderful? The present you were opening didn’t feel soft and you were racking your brain trying to invent a different plausible ‘thank you’ from the rehearsed “I really needed some new socks and these are brilliant – I love flowers, thank you Auntie!’

And you opened it. And it was truly awesome; like a robot with real lasers or a jetpack or something.

And you were speechless.

That was me.

I’d never seen a Paps before bar pictures and, to be frank, I wasn’t that impressed. Holding its 350 mightiness though, pushing the button, it was just one of those moments when you shout, “Yes!” as a whisper. Gold glinting from the battery adjustment screw may rank up there with Chav bling but it just works as a whole. A shiny whole where less is more, understated by virtue of the simplicity of the device and the quality imbued by attention to detail during manufacturing.

A new world opened up, curtains drawn from that aspect of vaping reserved for those who find the gaudy Pinoy engraving offensive to the eye. I got it, I really understood why a simple tube could hold a fascination.

With some savings in the bank I went hunting online for videos, reviews, anything related to Vapourart. Even languages I didn’t understand were fair game as long as I had music playing and a full pint next to me.

I’ll sing the virtues of a Mac computer everyday of the week but I was stumped. If I wanted to buy an X 1.5 Lux I had to be online this Tuesday, at 7pm prompt, and compete with the rest of the world after one from the limited stock going on sale.

It was easy to see what was missing when I lost out on the race for the affections of Caroline Phillips. My best mate had a motorbike. On the nights she told me she was going to stay in for a bath and some TV she was really grabbing onto his midriff. She was feeling the twist of the throttle pressing her back into the seat and making her hug on even tighter. With every peg-scraping corner her thoughts were driven by adrenaline and excitement – I could never compete by offering her a croggy on my 10-speed racing bicycle.

It was easy to see what was missing from my quest to net this Paps too – I have no F5 button.

How in the blue blazes of flip do you compete in an F5 war without an F5 button? Especially if your computer has a dodgy keypad, no mouse and massive cracks from where I’d hit it the night before with a Nemesis after tripping over one of the dogs.

No F5 button, no mouse, knackered screen, malfunctioning Magic Trackpad ™ and a pair of children. It’s at times like this you need special reserves of patience and to discover the hitherto unknown cmd-R Macbook function.

In the village we have broadband powered by a couple of field mice; when you have a daughter watching Netflix and a son using his Xbox (to kill pedestrians and prostitutes) it is slower than an old man driving on a motorway wearing driving gloves.

I’m not patient by nature.

At 7pm twenty-seven minutes of frustration, anger, more frustration, panic, even more frustration and some added fear ensued. I was all keyed up; this had gone from something I fancied buying to something I had to get. Why wasn’t this an episode of Star Trek? Why couldn’t I command someone to “Make it so”?

What I got was the screen going blank, the account not being recognised, refreshing, creating a new account, the screen going blank, refreshing, the website not appearing, refreshing…it seemed as inexplicable and longer lasting than Hugh Grant’s acting career.

The adrenaline buzz at the end though, the rush when I got to the order accepted stage – I’ve experienced some highs in my time, this was up there. Utterly ridiculous, I know, that a grown man should get so intense and immersed in the process of buying a metal tube. But, hey, this one comes with a pouch.

I caught the gaze of pity combined with disappointment from across the room. The wife is still searching for my personal F5 button.

 

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Sub-ohm Vaping

Posted on by Rob Ellard

 

Batteries

There are many places on the Internet where you can find out about batteries but this counts for nothing if you purchase a clone by mistake.

Brand names like Efest, Panasonic, AW, Sony, MNKE should only be purchased from highly recommended suppliers. Some brands like AW will only sell through authorised resellers and there was a spate of clones on the market recently. In short, do your homework.

There are many good forums like Planet of the Vapes and UK Vapers where people will answer your questions.

A good vendor will be able to provide you with the performance details about the battery. The good news is that there are a growing number of batteries able to cope with a constant current of up to 30amps. With all vaping, ensure that your battery uses “safe chemistry” and follow Rule.1: Never scrimp when buying batteries.

Ohms Law

From when you first started coiling your atomisers you ought to have drummed V=IxR into your mind, where V is the battery voltage, I is the current in amps and R is the resistance in ohms.

To find out what current you are sending through your mod you need to divide the maximum battery voltage (commonly taken as 4.2V) by the total resistance.

When you are measuring the resistance of your atomiser make sure that you use a quality ohmmeter (like this one) capable of reading to two decimal places.

Parallel Coils

If you don’t know how to work out the total resistance when you place coils into parallel (dual/tri/quad) then bookmark this page and it will work out the total resistance for you.

Current from a fresh 4.2V battery

Resistance

Current

0.95 ohm

4.40 amps

0.90 ohm

4.70 amps

0.85 ohm

4.90 amps

0.80 ohm

5.25 amps

0.75 ohm

5.60 amps

0.70 ohm

6.00 amps

0.65 ohm

6.50 amps

0.60 ohm

7.00 amps

0.55 ohm

7.60 amps

0.50 ohm

8.40 amps

0.45 ohm

9.30 amps

0.40 ohm

10.5 amps

0.35 ohm

12.0 amps

0.30 ohm

14.0 amps

0.25 ohm

16.8 amps

0.20 ohm

21.0 amps

0.15 ohm

28.0 amps

0.10 ohm

42.0 amps

Juice

When you are vaping at low ohms you might want to consider using a lower nicotine liquid than you would normally vape. The volume of nicotine entering your body is greatly raised and you can suffer from headaches and nausea. Serious cloud chasers often opt for a zero nicotine high VG liquid.

*Warning*

As a final caveat, in some research carried out by Doctor Igor Burstyn and Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos it has been identified that acrolein and formaldehyde are formed at high temperatures/low ohms/high currents/high voltages. Although there is more research to be completed in this area, to discover at what quantities and how harmful, it is one reason why some people shy away from low sub-ohm vaping.

 

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The Fear

Posted on by Rob Ellard

 

I think an additional worry from many is the introduction of maths. Delving back into the mists of time I remember how worried parents were coming to parents evenings (when I used to teach) in case they were asked questions. My wife ran out of her ability to help the kids with science and maths homework somewhere around Year 5. It was clear that many adults out there struggle with mathematical operations. Taking the (to some of you) simple V=I.R may as well be written as follows for some people as:

Looking over some threads on an online forum I am struck by the number of people seeking reaffirmation for their coils, praise from their peers for a job well done but more so by the volume of vapers seeking help with their ecig wire woes. One of the lovelier aspects of online forums is a sense of community, a place where those with experience or knowledge can give others a helping hand or moral support.

It does worry me though; there are many vapers who do not interact online and the ease of buying cheap mods from China is ever-present. Even with forums and Facebook we see people charging their Egos in odd ways not to mention the ability for people to not realise the information they are being given may not be the wisest advice:

See, the thing is, fear is a good thing. Our ancestors were either fantastic at fighting or, more wisely, even better at hiding because they were afraid of being killed. Fear is the thing that is hardwired into us to protect us from ourselves.

Take the wobble of an atomiser on top of a mod due to a gap, for example. We are afraid that this wobble may end up ruining the threads of the atty or the mod and so we try to obtain a flush fit – and for those unable to do so there is always the OCD washer.

Part of our brain, the bit we really don’t have much control over, a relic from our primal selves gives us this ability to recognise danger and avoid it. This said, I can’t count the number of times I have touched a wick to adjust the coil and left myself with a cool mini-branding. Luckily the thalamus clicked into gear, got in touch with the sensory cortex, used the hippocampus and activated the hypothalamus faster than it took to write that and yanked my hand away from searing my flesh.

So it’s fine to fear your coils, it’s OK to find the maths perplexing; it’s just not OK to allow your child to purchase One Direction CDs. That scares me. And those of us with knowledge to share, don’t grow weary when seeing that question posed for the millionth time – it’s because there’s now 2.1million of us out there, each at a different stage in their vaping journey.

And let’s stop telling people that boiling batteries is good for extending the mAh rating no matter how much I may have tittered at the notion.

Dave Cross

 

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Winning the ASHes

Posted on by Rob Ellard

 

Previous studies carried out estimated that there were between 900,000 to 1.3million vapers (electronic cigarette users) within the UK. The striking lead finding from ASH’s most recent survey is that there are now 2.1million vapers within the UK.

This figure is broken down into 700,000 ex-smokers who now only use electronic devices in place of cigarettes and 1.3million vapers who use vaping devices in addition to their smoking habits.

ASH contrasts the number of smokers who have tried an electronic cigarette. They state that in 2010 only 8.2% had tried one while this figure has now exploded to almost 58%. Of these smokers they note a rise from almost 3% regularly vaping had increased to almost 18% by this year.

They discovered that the figure for the non-smoking general public who knew about electronic cigarettes and vaping now stands at 90% of the population and of those almost two fifths agreed that vaping was a good thing for public health while only one fifth disagreed.

While debate still appears to focus in the media on the topic of vaping being a gateway into smoking ASH report that around 1% of non-smokers had ever tried an electronic cigarette and next to none of them continued to do so – destroying any gateway argument and supporting the findings from 2013.

For the second year running they found that the main reasons for vaping were to use as a tool to stop smoking, to remain from smoking and, for people who dual-fuel (vape and smoke), to cut down on the number of cigarettes smoked.

This turns the gateway argument on its head and amply demonstrates that vaping is not a gateway into smoking cigarettes but a gateway out of smoking cigarettes.

Despite all the arguments that banning and controlling when and where vaping can take place (because it looks like smoking a cigarette), ASH released findings demonstrating that this is far from the case. It stated that only 8% of people who vape use cigalikes (electronic cigarettes that look like cigarettes); these are also known as 1st generation devices.

Of the rest, half vape using second generation devices (a small Ego-type battery and a small tank like an Evod). The other half use 3rd generation devices such as mechanical mods and variable voltage/wattage devices along with genisis or silica tanks and drippers.

The third generation devices were most popular with ex-smokers and so there is a clear progression away from smoking through the three generations of electronic cigarettes.

Repeating the findings of 2013, ASH found that knowledge and understanding of electronic cigarettes was high among children and teenagers. They also demonstrated for the second year running that vaping in children and teens was restricted to a statistically insignificant number – and those who did either dual-fuelled because they were smokers or were ex-smokers. Again, this adds huge weight to the argument that vaping is a gateway out of smoking and not into it.

The report was released on the same day that ASH USA made the following statement: “While the FDA proposal is an important step, ASH is disappointed that the proposal does not include the regulation of the marketing of e-cigarettes nor the banning of flavors, such as bubble gum, that specifically target young people. Even if electronic cigarettes prove to be an effective tool for adults who are trying to quit, they should not be marketed to children.”

The disconnect between the two positions, one founded in research and the other not, could not be more contrasting. All of ASH UK’s evidence points to the fact that neither are electronic cigarettes marketed to young people nor are young people adopting electronic cigarettes. While ASH USA provide a caveat of “if” ecigs are effective quitting agents, ASH UK’s research amply demonstrates they are working year on year.

Sources for further reading:

 

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Options

Posted on by Rob Ellard

 

Thing is, and there’s a truism from football, that form is temporary and class is permanent.

I’m not a dedicated follower of fashion and resolutely refuse to accompany my daughter shopping. She’s 13 and apparently clothes are important to 13yr-old girls. I know this because I stood with her for twenty-three minutes and nineteen seconds as she attempted to decide which top to buy. Once, never again, will I spend twenty-three minutes and nineteen seconds before leaving the store and go listen to the radio in the car.

It’s got to that stage at home where my teenagers mock me for my clothes but I’m OK with that, it’s all part of my anti-fashion/anti-brand stance. My teen punk ethos bleeding into my middle age spread. Or so I thought.

As much as I refuse to countenance paying more than a tenner for a shirt or £20 on shoes I keep finding myself pulled out by the rip tide of vaping fashion into deep waters. One minute I was happy paddling with my Kayfun-lite, the next I’m sitting looking at a Dome wondering how on Earth it floated onto my desk. And then it struck me that I am my daughter; I spend far more time flitting from browser tab to browser tab comparing vape gear than she ever does with clothes. I’m not knocking the KFL, far from it. As someone who was using Evods and learning to swim in vaping circles I was given an almighty push in the back to flounder about with it.

The Kayfun, in its present iteration, is still the only silica atty I keep going back to again and again. Yes it dribbles a little bit from the fill hole even though Svoemesto have now put an o-ring there but it doesn’t have the hit or miss quality of the Taifun or the ridiculous size. I got a GT because everyone was going on about how they were better than Kayfuns and, being more sheeplike than the ones that cartoon wolf tried to steal (only to be pounded by the dog), I followed the crowd.

Now it’ll sit here on the desk and be used once in a blue moon either because of its bulk or because the exact same wick and coil set-up will dry hit or leak. More than anything I’ve learnt that going with the pack only leads to frustration.

It’s not an easy thing to do if you are me and have my vast list of bad choices I’ve made. If I just reel off the unaided vehicle-based decisions I’ve made you’ll get the picture:

  • A Vauxhall Victor estate – 2 months, dead in the drive
  • A Polski Fiat – 1 hour, died after one mile
  • A Moto Guzzi – three days, shaft seized
  • A Leyland Princess – one month, died on the A1
  • A second Moto Guzzi – died while doing 80mph in the outside on the M6
  • A Volvo 440 – died during test drive when I was selling it
  • Trust me, it goes on…

So, I was quite proud of myself that I gave the Aqua a wide berth. Especially when I looked at how fussy it was inside at a recent vapemeet. That was a real bullet-dodging moment for me. It ranks up there with the time I avoided being arrested with my mates, for driving around Northampton throwing lit bangers out of the window, on the way back from the pub.

It seemed a great idea at the time. Stupid.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

This is the person who has lived through two major housing-price crashes and both times they came days after I bought a house. It wouldn’t have been so bad had they been decent houses but I opted for quirky and unique. People don’t buy quirky and unique. I should be kept away from money, decisions and cheap Chinese fireworks.

The second proper mech mod I bought fell into that quirky subset. I loved the design in the way a mother loves her hideously ugly baby. After two large price drops on the vendors website I couldn’t give it away. Well that’s not true because I have just given it away, no one would have bought it.

When it came to mods there was one I resolutely stayed away from, I didn’t buy a thing from Atmomixani because the world and her husband had one, real or clone. For months I resisted until my birthday loomed and the wife wanted to know if there was anything I’d like.

Figuring that I would never pay for a Nemesis I suggested it. What do you know? I made a decent call for once. But then you already know that because you’ve probably got one. I guess when you make the volume of poor choices in life that I do then some of them will come good; it’s like the roomful of monkeys with computers.

I’m doing myself a disservice. For a start I’ve never read a Dan Brown novel, watched Titanic, listened to One Direction or dialled to have a contestant evicted from a televised house/jungle. Not all my choices have been stupid.

The mods and attys I have now may not be anybody else’s cup of tea but what does that matter? The wick in my Pulse-G may look like a monstrosity but it’s my disaster and it vapes brilliantly.

Living in the now and exploring is what makes vaping the journey it is because, like travelling, the wrong turn can often take you to the most interesting of destinations. Just don’t follow my lead.

Dave Cross

 

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The Internet Vaping Community

Posted on by Rob Ellard

Warning signs for me is if there is a ‘sticky’ greeting me, telling me not to spam the forum. This aim of such a message is to let you know this group is serious and takes the stuff within even more seriously; that the Internet is serious business.

I can almost guarantee that within three posts of almost all of them I will see at least one reference to a certain large vendor based in Hong Kong. That’s the point I pull the ‘Leave’ button. I’m not making a value judgement here; people do what they want with their money. It has got to the point where not even Let Me Google That For You can raise a smile on my face.

But then you have Facebook groups like Coil. And, given the website you are reading this on, Stealthvape being a home to lovers of wire; I’ll wager you’d find it fascinating too.

Coil causes me a problem. Firstly they have the spam message and secondly they let me join. I have a Groucho Marx philosophy towards places that entertain my presence.

I’ve remained a member simply because whenever I feel I am engaging in something utterly pointless I can go into it and watch people doing things with wire which, to someone like my wife, are devoid of any purpose whatsoever.

The artist in me finds the time spent bending wire into incredible shapes so wholly engaging, entirely beautiful and altogether pointless. It’s glorious.

We all start vaping from roughly the same point and we rapidly understand that there is a better vape to be had out there. Like the people who scour the lives of the rich and famous in Hello magazine, we know there is better than the vape we currently have – something more akin to that draw on a post-coital cigarette.

But FB Coil Porn arrives at that point, drives past it, sticks its arse out of the window while questioning your parentage and telling you that you have stupid hair.

This is the quest for the perfect vape taken to extremes. This is the film ‘Perfect Storm’ starring George Clooney with Mark Wahlberg… only they are in a boat made of Caesium with ten Godzillas and it’s raining knives while being infected with necrotizing fasciitis.

Absolutely bonkers.

The thing is Facebook is more than that for vapers. We feel compelled to take pictures of our mods and attys. We take these pictures and share them with the world. We take them placed in funny places, we record videos of us using them and we display our vaping-related injuries like badges of pride.

Given that half of the pictures I see on a weekend have a vaping device placed next to a can or a beer glass it is no surprise that these injuries keep cropping up.

I like football and am a member of a couple of club forums but nothing like this exists in this sphere. Sure, there are those who will post up from time to time how many grounds they’ve been to – but they don’t come accompanied with pictures of extreme spectating.

  • “Look! Here’s a picture of me watching the match upside down – the whole 90 minutes!”
  • “That’s nothing – here’s a picture of me standing on one leg for the whole game“

And football fans just don’t ask the same questions online either.

  • “Guys, do you know if I can get in to see City play by buying my ticket from HongKongFooty.com?”
  • “Hello, I’m new here, I just wondered what football team you people would recommend I follow? I tried supporting Coventry but found it a bit boring and not exciting enough for me. Ta“

As vapers we seem to be an utter league apart from most normal folks. Online forums are the same, threads dedicated to coil builds and what’s underneath the cap.

In my entire time on football forums I’ve never seen one single thread asking if anybody plays football or watches it while going to the toilet!

Vooping?

Really?!

Anyway, enough of this, I am compelled to show you a picture of my build on my dual-wick Vicious Ant Kraken using 0.3mm Stealthvape Kanthal A1 wire 😀