The Real Truth Behind E-Cigarette Disinformation

Illinois rakes in almost $788 million a year in cigarette taxes. 788 MILLION!

Cook County (highest tax rate in Illinois) rakes in MORE than 25 MILLION annually.

Now wait for it… the FEDERAL government rakes in more than 17.1 BILLION dollars annually on cigarette taxes.

Is there any question about why the government would be up in arms and spreading disinformation about a product that is TRULY helping people stop smoking cigarettes? Big Politics and Big Tobacco HATE e-cigarettes, and the FDA is their puppet.

Did you REALLY think the government cared about your health?

*All states have these types of outrageous tax incomes on cigarettes*

When in Doubt -- STEEP

Ever get that bottle of e-juice in the mail and unwrap it with all of the excitement of a child unwrapping a present on Christmas morning, only to take a quick vape and have all that excitement go up in a puff of vapor? UGH, YUK! Sometimes an e-juice just doesn't taste good. That's not a "doesn't taste like I expected, has a different flavor that I thought, or I don't like that flavor---it's it tastes like ... manure (as polite as I can say that).

I had one like that. I didn't care for it when it came, but it didn't taste like what it was labeled to be. So, I put it away for two weeks to steep and hoped it would come together. When I tried it after two weeks it was HORRIBLE. I thought oh no, this is really a bad juice. I didn't throw it away though, I just tossed it back in the juice box and left it there. I happened to go through the box last week and took it out. It had been in there, probably a month. I decided to see if it was still terrible and if it was I was going to toss it. Lo and behold, it actually tasted just fine, and was the flavor it was supposed to be. I was quite amazed. It is still not my all time favorite, but I like it well enough to use it up now.

Don't toss away e-juice that doesn't taste good right off the bat, or doesn't taste like what you thought it would right from the start. When in doubt--steep! Put it in a box (dark place) out of sunlight (keep it relatively cool) and let it just sit for a few weeks. If it isn't good then, let it sit for a few more weeks. 

If it still isn't good after a month or two... the garbage is a good place for it at that point.

Kayfun v 3 es Review

Recently I won a contest on the e-cigarette-forum board offered by VaporEngine.com. The contest gave away ejuice every week and once a month, for a three month period, a Kayfun v3 kit. I won the very last kayfun kit!

It arrived today and it is just great.

The black drip tip and black tank window I had on hand. The original kit comes with a silver metal drip tip and a choice of both solid silver or clear plastic window tank. So, with my black tank window I have three options for using this tank.

I love the fact that this Kayfun allows you to use any drip tip you like to further customize the tank. Not all Kayfun versions (either original or clone) allow it. This one does require a drip tip adapter, but it was included with the kit and is easy to use.

It looks pretty cool on my black Vamo V5 I think. The draw on this Kayfun is fairly tight, but completely acceptable.

I recently purchased a cheap ($14.00) clone version of the Kayfun Lite v1 and it has a very similar airflow. I had hoped the V3 with it's adjustable airflow would allow just a smidge more air in, but the vapor production is very good anyway on both of the units.

I have read many posts on various forums of new Kayfun users having such a hard time getting a good build (coil and wick construction) on their Kayfuns. I am not sure what the problem is with that. I have never had any difficulty with either of the Kayfuns, the older clone or this new original version.

I apologize for not taking pictures of the tank it the tear down mode. Here is a stock copy pic from one of the websites that sells Kayfuns to show how the tank looks broken down into pieces.

The Kayfun does indeed produce very nice vapor and flavor, almost comparable to a dripper. Quite frankly, no current tank can really equal a drip atomizer for flavor and vapor, but the Kayfuns come as close as a tank can get, and provide the convienience of not having to constantly add liquid to the atty. The very, VERY large 4.5 ml holding tank on the Kayfun means it will last a very long time. One tank lasts me roughly a day (using it alternatly with either a dripper or another tank).

There are Kayfun mini tanks that can be purchased separately (it's on my wishlist) that hold a smaller amount of liquid and fit on the Kayfun and Kayfun lite bases. There are also many different colored window tanks to customize Kayfuns to your mods, and the actual Kayfuns also come in several color varieties including the stainless steel I have pictured here, black, gold, bronze, brushed steel, chrome, black chrome, blue and even rainbow.

Helios RDA Number 2

I just have to make another post on the Helios RDA. I got my second one today. The first Helios RDA I got was one I ordere with my Vamo V5 and I have been really enjoying the performance. Even though I got it back then, I didn't mention it too much in my Vamo post. I hadn't really had time to decide if it was going to be a great atty or just a good one. I knew it wasn't a stinker, but it takes time to decide if you're really going to love a piece of equipment. Now I know.

The Helios is a drip atomizer, which means there is no holding tank and you have to keep adding juice in drops as you go. I love the RDAs (stands for rebuildable drip atomizer) that have side air intake rather than post air intake. That way if you over load the atomizer with too much liquid, it may drown the coil and make vaping difficult to impossible until you get rid of some of it, or it may drip out the sides through the air openings, but it WON'T drip down into the battery connection. I now avoid contact post air vents as much as possible.

This little powerhouse really works great. I have two versions of it (both are clones). The first is the most tradtional style with air vents on each side of the top cap, the second has just one set of airholes on one side of the cap. I actually like them both very much.

These atomizers come with FOUR posts. It is actually a traditional 3 post setting that would allow users to do dual coils, and even quad coils, but the center positive post actually has two screws in it so it is even easier to put dual coils in, they don't have to share a center screw. All of the screws have post holes for the wire to go through, which I like a lot more than the basic screw setup that requires users to wrap the wire on the screw as it is tightened to keep it in place.

(edited to add a picture that showed the post set up on the Helios deck.)

The black Helios is a sleek, beautiful piece. You can just see the air "ring" at the center of the top cap that turns to open or close off the air openings, and let users select the desired air strength.

Even though there's only a two hole opening on one side of the new Helios I just got, everything else is the same, and the ring works the same to allow for airflow adjustment. I actually like the single sided air opening, and it works really well.

There are several other atomizers I have tried so far, and a couple more I'd like to try in the future, but I LOVE the Helios so far. It is my favorite of the ones I have used up to this point.

Smok Ace and the Smok 2.0 Ohm RDA

I got a new toy this week. A shiny, pretty hot pink Smok ACE and a matching RDA from Smok in hot pink. They  make a pretty pair, but I am going to review them separately since I like one, and the other leaves a lot to be desired.

The Smok Ace

Luckily, the Smok ACE is the one that I like. While I still have to say I prefer it's immediate cousin the Vamo V5 to it, I do love the lightweight feel of this piece.

The Smok ACE is, for all intents and purposes a match for the Vamo in looks. It has the same 'face' with the two top adjustment buttons and the larger firing button. Some people call it the "clown" face, but I love how easy it is to adjust the two of these devices.

The Smok ACE is a little bit taller than the Vamo. Only by a small amount, however. The fact that it's made of thick alumium makes it MUCH lighter than the Vamo. That's its main selling point.

Here is where the two begin to differ greatly and why I still prefer the Vamo V5. (NOTE: Only the 'official' Vamo V5. Other versions, and it is a much 'cloned' device for some reason in spite of its already low price point.) The Official Vamo V5 has a few more menu options, and the display screen shows THREE readouts at once when pressing the fire button. At a glance I can see the resistance of the atomizer, the battery power level and the voltage (or wattage depending on how its set to perform). Any of the three are viewable on their own by pressing the proper display buttons.

Not only can you toggle through the menu and change from voltage to wattage settings, you can also change what shows on the display, and you can also make the vamo count the number of puffs you take (not really sure why you would, but I suppose if you are really concerned about how much you vape that would be a nice feature). You cans also change from RMS settings to MEAN settings. RMS is much more accurate though.

The Smok Ace only shows the current voltage (or wattage) on the readout when firing, and while you can change between voltage or wattage from the menu, that is the only function it has. It does not have an RMS/MEAN option or any way to read out the remaining voltage of the battery.

I LOVE the looks of the Smok Ace. It is a pretty thing and there are many colors to choose from. I got mine from myfreedomsmokes.com. They have incredibly fast shipping, great service, an active forum on the ECF forum, and very nice prices. They also carry many extras, accessories, juices and DIY juice supplies.

The Smok 2.0 Ohm RDA

On top of the Smok ACE in the picture above you'll see the RDA. It comes in a wide variety of colors, and is a very nice size unit. There is also a mini version for anyone interested in having an easy to use, single coil RDA for a vaporizer like the Ego or other similarly sized devices.

I was actually surprised (pleasantly) at the size of this piece when it came. The pictures made it look so much smaller. That's where my love for it ended, however. I'm afraid it just isn't a good performer, and along with that, when I went to remove the top to change the coil (hoping the performance issue was a factory coil thing -- no) I had to use a pliers to grip the 510 connection and pull. I do that occassionally with other similarly structured RDAs and while it isn't the best thing to do, it's better (in my opinion) than pulling on it while it's connected to a vaporizer and risk damaging the 510 connection on it. Most RDAs handle it fine. This one, I went to screw back on to the vaporizer when I was done and it wouldn't screw on. I looked and the thread was totally crushed in where the pliers had been.

I managed to 'reshape' the thread ring with a pair of tweezers. That's how amazingly malable that ring is. Got it hooked back up, and it read out fine, but it still had bad air intake. This is a problem with this particlar device I came to find out after some research. So, I took it apart again and punched a hole in the side just where the coil sits.

It works a little better now, but I'm afraid I simply can't recommend this RDA to anyone. It isn't made well (although for the price I suppose you can't really be too mad. It only costs about $6.00). I can deal with having to make better air supplies, I can deal with fussy build requirements, but that mashable thread ring has me at a total stop. If it weren't for that I might give it a less than perfect score, but I wouldn't count it out because it has a lot of great attributes too.

Into the Breach, and Onto the World of Mods

As I said at the start of my other post today, Oh I have so much to tell you all. I know I have been quite remiss in my postings here. I'm sorry about that. It has been a long and exciting few weeks around here.

I didn't mean to go off on a rant before, but now that's out of my system. Now on to the really exciting things around here.

I have been vaping for quite awhile. I never really thought I would get into making my own e-juice, but I did recently. I never thought I would get into building my own coils, but I did recently.... and I REALLY never thought I would get into mods.

I have always been a diehard Ego (and Ego-type battery) fan. They're great little devices and they do the job. At least they do a great job if you are content using carto and clearomizers and tanks. If you really want the most out of your rebuildable atomizers and tanks, however, evenutally you are going to move on to the wonderful world of mods.

My very first mod is the VAMO V5.

It is not an expensive mod by any means. It is what you  might call an entry level mod, but it does just about anything a high-priced mod can do. It is stylish, and has a great weight to it. It is sizeable so it can handle both 18650 and 18350 batteries. Mine came with two 18350 batteries, and I'm waiting on some 18650s to come in the mail today.

I'm not going to go into great detail about what it does and doesn't do. There are a million places online where that information is covered very well. I am going to say that I really like this device. It works really well, and you can't beat the price.

It has a full menu that allows you to easily make the selections you desire, and operates in either voltage or wattage mode. Here's one of the only things I will say about the Vamo... it has a lot of clones out there with the same name, so quality issues can be a problem. The reason I say this is because my son and I both got a VAMO V5, but not from the same place. He bought his from a local brick and mortar store. (You'd think that would be better, especially since he paid several times more than I did). His is good, but not exceptional, the differences mostly in the options he has available in the menu. Plus, my display shows me at a glance the ohm, battery life and voltage (or wattage) I'm using every time I press the fire button. His only shows one of those things, he can choose which one, but he can't see all three at once.

So, if you buy a VAMO be sure it is certified rohs/ce, at least that shows it comes from a strong company with quality control. The rest you may not be able to control. Since even its original manufacture is from China, it can be difficult to ascertain which type of Vamo you are going to get. The one I bought assured that it was an authentic Vamo,... but anyone can say that. I got lucky.

I suppose that is one reason for the people who really love the expensive mods like ProVari (I would kill for one, but may never be able to afford one), are so adamant about them. When you buy a ProVari you know what you are getting.

For those of us that can't afford an expensive mod, however... the Vamo V5 is a really nice option even in its lesser forms.

I have more to come in the next few weeks. Hope you check back often.

I am also waiting for my very first order from Fasttech, a clone mechanical mod. That is a real first for me. I will tell you more about that one when it gets here.

And finally, I am about to pull the trigger on a SmokeTech Ace, a VAMO like mod that is a little lighter weight, made of aluminum instead of the heavier steel of the Vamo. There are good and bad points about that, but the Vamo is quite heavy and I would not really want to go out and run errands with it. I like the looks of the Ace too. It comes in a variety of colors. I'll let you know more about that when it gets here.

Obama Care Sucks

Oh I have so much to tell you all. I know I have been quite remiss in my postings here. I'm sorry about that. It has been a long and exciting few weeks around here.

Part of the excitment hasn't really been a fun type of excitment. I'll get just a tad political here and say Obama care really sucks. The people who love it seem mostly to be those that work at jobs that do not provide medical insurance, BUT never are really all that sick to begin with. For those people, it is a relief to know they have insurance now. The joke is on them, however, if they ever really do get sick. Because just wait until they try to use it.

My saying that isn't based on just my own experiences with what happened the last couple weeks. I have friends who are having severe issues with the program. These people have serious medical problems. I'm sure Obama care is just fine for bandaide solutions, minor procedures and the like. My situation (not really 'mine' but I was involved) is with my sister-in-law, a long-time Type II diabetic who is a double amputee and has had quad-bypass, high blood pressure and is legally blind (all from the diabetes). She has no car and can't drive, but is on dialysis three times a week. Her previous insurance covered the expenses along with medicade (spelling?). However, the medicaid portion was transfered to Obama care, of course, after it passed, and as it trickled down, or it finally got to her case, it cancelled her transporation services. Oh sure, it covered the dialysis, but now she couldn't get to it.

Her daughter has a car but it's too high and my SIL can't get into it. So I've been going three times a week to take her to an all-day long dialysis appointment. It didn't help that my car is falling apart. I don't really care, because I rarely drive anywhere but the couple of blocks to the grocery store once a week. I don't really need a car much. It has been particularly hair raising over these two weeks though, and my SIL had called all day long every day trying to find a solution to her problem, and at each turn and every contact she found, they said she would have to get in touch with her social worker at public aid to get approval. Well, she called every day at least once an hour and never got an answer. The voicemail transfer would say "voicemail full" and that was all she could do.

Finally, one of the case workers at the dialysis center called and the public aid office answered right away. Uh huh... so FINALLY my SIL has transportation again.

I am really sorry to rant like that. I didn't mean for it to be that long, but it was very annoying. Beyond the horrors of Obama care, what really got me was the public aid office pointedly not answering their phone. At one of her treatments, a person who worked there told my SIL that his wife worked at a public aid office and they never answered their phones! What is that about? I'm sure the only reason they finally answered when the guy from the dialysis center called is that the call showed up on the public aid offices call waiting as a medical center, and they didn't think it was a person calling for help, they thought it was an official medical business call. That's just wrong on a lot of levels, as far as I'm concerned.

A little Vaping Humor

Anyone who has ever ordered anything on the reliable, but oh so ... slow boat from China can empathize with this hilarious caption.

Rebuilding Replaceable Heads for Attys and Tanks

Want to really save money vaping? Well DIY liquid is one way (an important way for sure), but there's another way too... rebuilding attomizers. There are specially made attomizers that are obviously rebuildable, but there are also many called rebuildables that require you to purchase the new heads each time you want a new wick. While those heads aren't exactly expensive, they can end up getting pricey if you think about them in terms of a weekly purchase and if you use more than one clearo or tank a week. I often have three or four a day that I interchange using. That means using about a box of heads (5 in a package) per week. Still not a huge expense compared to smoking cigarettes, but hey, I'm a proud card carrying member of the $1 a day vaper (and I prefer that to be pennies a day instead of a dollar). So I want to rebuild those heads too. YOU CAN. In fact it's sinfully easy.

MadVapes (madvapes.com) has an AWESOME video that shows exactly how to do it. Now before you shake your head and say that's way above my ability. I am BRAND new to building coils and I did this last night for my Vision Vivi Nova tank with replaceable heads (not the tank in the posts below that is a rebuildable). It took about 5 minutes. It was EASIER than the actual rebuildable tank.

Here is the video from Madvapes (thank you guys, you're wonderful... they are also a fantastic vendor to get DIY supplies, hardware and juices!)

DIY E-cig Wraps

I got the idea for making my own wraps to add a little designer look to my more bland steel e-cigarettes from a blog post on the E-cigarette forums here: MVP DIY WRAP MATERIAL.  That post was geared toward a specific box mod type e-cigarette, but I figured why not try the same thing with my cylindrical ego style e-cigarette? Well, it worked great.

I'm thinking it wouldn't really have to be 3M material. It could probably be any type of contact paper, wall paper style paper in a color/pattern/design of your choice. I selected a flecked gold for this one.

BBC E-Cigarette Safety Test Report (Passing with Flying colors)

Blueberry Cheesecake 100% VG E-Juice Recipe

I made my first actual recipe for e-juice today. I've been making single flavor juices, and of course, they are recipes, but they are very simple recipes. Today, for the first time I delved into a dual flavor mix. Here is my 1st attempt at a double flavor recipe:

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE E-JUICE
12mg Nic, 10ML bottle

VG based Nic (24mg): 5 ML
Unflavored VG: .5 ML
Distilled Water: 1.5 ML
TFA Bluberry: 2.0 ML
TFA Cheesecake w/grahm cracker crust: 1 ML

(The distilled water helps thin down 100% VG mixes to make it wick better.)

The taste is good, but mild, fresh. I am going to steep this for a few days to see if it gets bolder.

Vivi Rebuildable Tank (not from Smoktech and not Vivi Nova)

I got the Vivi Rebuildable Tank from GotVapes.com. It is an attractive, and fairly easy to use and rebuild tank that I felt would be a good 1st tank for a newbie rebuilder. The coil is a loose wrap around the wick, so there isn't the need for getting a tight wrap or threading the wick as in the more advanced types of rebuildables.

This is also a good tank for people (like me) who are using ego type batteries with them.

First Impressions

Having just started using this, I am giving my initial experiences with the device at this time. As time goes on, I will update with information on actually rebuilding the coil, and any other information I determine along the way.

On first use, the draw was like pulling up a lung, but it did get a little better after it warmed up a bit. However, it never really had a nice easy draw, and the vapor production isn't that great even with the 100% vg juice I use. The air intake is at the base and the holes are extremely small. Perhaps blocked a bit by the ego threading.  I would prefer side air vents, but this is a fairly simple and low-level rebuildable so that's probably a lot to ask for. Becuase the air vents the same as in an ego cart/atomizer, do not get too much liquid in the atomizer area or it will leak horribly. The tank itself didn't leak though.

(Not a great shot of the atomizer base. The tall post on the left is the fill hole post.)

Refill hole

There is a fill port on the top of level of the atomizer. This is an improvement over the reviews I've seen of the Smoktech version of the Vivi rebuildable. There are good and bad parts about this fill hole.

The Good: It is capped by a long rod that screws into the deck instead of a screw. The rod is easily grasped by two fingers to turn it to remove it, so no screw driver needed to fill up the tank.

The Bad: The hole is SMALL. A blunt syringe tip does not fit into the hole. (Edit, after several tries, I finally found a syringe tip that fit into it. The downside to that is it is an old - still sterile and unused - real needle I used to use to give puppy shots to the dogs. Very thin gauge. Not sure if the standard blunts sold by DIY shops come thin enough. None I have from DIY supplies are.) I don't have a syringe tip bottle with the rubber hose type syringe to try and see if that would fit into the hole. Because the hole is so small, filling takes a LONG time drip by drip. TIP: loading the top area of the tank and letting it drip slowly into the holding tank area is a bad idea, a lot of fluid drips down the atomizer post and leaks out the base of the unit.

The Tank Body

The tank body is plastic, but is strudy feeling. It screws on tightly to the base and tightly at the top. There is no rubber gasket at the top or bottom, however there is one at the middle where the atomizer base sits above the holding tank. I would prefer a bottom atomizer instead of the top. However, at least the tank body does come off so the screws are easy to access for rebuilding.

The Drip Tip

The tank has a nicely shaped drip tip with a large enough opening to make direct dripping onto the atomizer possible fairly easily. However... the drip tip is molded directly from the top of the tank, so you can not change it with a different type. I prefer to use my choice of drip tips. If I happen to like the one a tank comes with, great, but if not, I'd like the option to replace it. You can't do that with this. The drip tip is made of the same stainles steel metal as the top and base of the tank. I know a lot of people who use metal drip tips, but I prefer plastic.

Overall

It's a very nice vape. On the standard ego it vapes kind of hot at 3.8 volts. It is good, but I prefer it on my ego-twist where I can adjust the ohms down to 3.5 for a milder heat level. However, that makes the entire piece a very long and somewhat heavy device, especially when used with an inline tester (volt/wattage/ohm, great for using with egos that do not have a readout available). I like the feel, look and weight of the tank on the standard ego by itself better. Both are well within safety ranges.

NOTE: When using any device that includes rebuildable coils, always use an ohms checker to ensure proper levels to avoid overloading batteries that could create performance issues or be dangerous.

First Attempt at Snickerdoodle E-Juice DIY

SUCCESS - Heaven has a new name, it's SNICKERDOODLE.

I used to buy Snickerdoodle E-Juice from MrsT's, but the delivery time on their juices has gone through the roof. So I stopped getting anything from them, but have seriously missed the delicious flavor in my e-juices. So, I found MyFreedomSmokes Premium DIY flavor Snickerdoodle and decided to give it a shot. WOWOWOWOWOW... Delicious and I haven't even steeped it yet. It is a fresh mix, so, even though the flavor is a tad bit light at 15% of the mix, I think I'll let it steep a few days at least before upping the percentage. As the flavor goes though it is SPOT ON. Tastes just like a snickerdoodle cookie. Yum.

Android E-Juice Calculator Review

Name of app on GogglePlay market: E-Liquid Calculator
Name of developer: Alessandro Boggiano

I just downloaded this app and I LOVE it. I have been using a similar app online, but this will make it easier to create without having a big tablet of paper around and having to copy the amounts from the computer to the page, and then keeping all that paper to save the recipes. This calculator does all that and keeps it all stored on the phone if you want to keep the recipe. It comes with two styles of calculators, an advanced that lets you add one or several flavors and save recipes, and just a simple quickie calculator for single flavors without saving. It also has a handy calculator that I like and hadn't seen before where you can calculate the outcome of mixing two juices. I love this because there are times I do this just by "feel" with small amounts of leftover premixed juices either that I've bought or mixed myself. This way I'll know what the nic levels are and pg/vg percentages are after the mix. Love that a lot.

Organic No-So-Virgin Eggnog E-Juice Review

I picked up this delightful little juice when it was on a clearance at Virgin Vapor. Apparently it is a seasonal juice, but I wish they kept it year round. After trying it, it is just one of the nicest little flavors. It isn't overpowering. It's very smooth though. That's saying quite a bit since I ordered it in a high 18mg nic level at 50/50 pg/vg, so it's got that PG kick and a high nic level that I use for those times when I need a boost to get rid of a craving. Usually a juice at 50%pg with an 18 mg nic level will have a powerful throat hit. This one doesn't even when dripping it, which is the way I normally use it.

Virgin Vapor's Organic Not-So-Virgin Eggnog

The eggnog flavor is a little butternutty/eggy and very creamy. I really like it. I have used up almost all of the 1/4oz bottle and will keep an eye out for it when it comes back for sure.

Not Quitting

Someone on an e-cigarette forum I like to visit often asked if others were planning on ever quitting vaping. For many people the idea is that it is a stepping stone to quitting cigarettes. I get that, but... it can be a faulty reasoning.

I didn't really start vaping with any intention of actually stopping smoking cigarettes. That just happened as a result of loving vaping.

However, The MAIN reason I would not quit vaping (even if you took away the I love it factor) is I managed to quit smoking without e-cigs about 20 years ago for a period of time that lasted about 2 years! ONE lapse that came from a craving that was a result of a big stress period in life and I was back to full on smoking immediately (you start at the same level or higher than you quit at, not like starting over from a newbie smoker). So in order to never risk such a backslide, I will just continue to do what I consider to be a much healthier alternative. 

I know a lot of people are leery of saying it is a HEALTHY choice becuase of all the politics and bs going on nowadays, but I DO believe that. Even if it were still some risk, it's a hell of a lot less risky than those nasty coffin nails we KNOW are a big hazzard.

Creating an E-Juice Station

There are a lot of ways to enjoy vaping without going broke. One way is to learn how to make your own juices and to rebuild coils on RBAs. The other is to make what you can in terms of accessories. It's not always possible, but some things can be done with just a little effort and very few tools. The e-juice holder. I call this the e-cigarette station. All that was needed was a 2x4, a package of 1/8" to 1" blade drill bits, and an electric drill.

Cut the 2x4 to the length desired (one of the great things about making your own vs buying one, is that you can make it exactly the size you need, and have as many slots in the exact sizes you need.)

Determine how many of each size hole you will need, and drill them to 3/4 the way through the 2x4 (I went as deep as the blade area of each drillbit).

E-Cigarette Point to Ponder

Something to think on:

NOT Toxic---The Studies are Starting to Come in and Guess What?

Yep, just what we've been trying to tell the fear mongers all along, the juice we use in our e-cigarette devices is NOT toxic when used properly. Here is a new study that shows that there is hope on the horizon to battle the crazy media bashing frenzy and legislations on vaping:  http://www.ecita.org.uk/blog/index.php/how-toxic-is-e-liquid/

In Summary: European officials have been wrongly labelling e-liquid as extremely toxic. This is the view of ECITA, based on a report by toxicology consultants which has been verified by Professors Riccardo Polosa and Bernd Mayer, and Dr Jacques Le Houezec. The civil servants had been misclassifying e-liquid as either a CLP category 2 product, alongside strychnine, or a category 3 product, alongside formaldehyde. The new report demonstrates that the acute oral and dermal toxic hazards of the strongest consumer e-liquids only merit being classed as category 4 – along with washing-up liquid – while the vast majority of e-liquid (which has nicotine concentrations below 25mg/ml or 2.5%) does not require any type of formal hazard warning. ECITA will still mandate its members to provide clearly labelled e-liquid in child-proof containers

First Homebrew Juice!

Didn't think I'd be able to make my first juices until tomorrow, but the mail delivered my order a day earlier than the tracking page said it would be here. Hooooray! I got to play chemist today and had a nice time making my first e-juice at home. It seems scary when thinking about getting into DIY juice, but really, a little preparation, care and a love for measuring things out and it is really not a big deal. I used the ejuice recipe calculator that is found here: http://www.todmuller.com/ejuice/ejuice.php and made a small bottle of 6% nic blueberry and a small bottle of 12% nic orange dreamsicle. Both are 100% vg except for the very small percentage that occurs in the flavor addatives. They turned out pretty good on a first vape. I didn't let them steep, so after a few days they should be even nicer. They have a very mild, smooth flavor and the aroma is great. the taste is a little stronger in the orange dreamsicle than in the blueberry, but both should get a little stronger as they age.

Virgin Vapor's Organic Orange Creamsicle 100%VG Juice Review

Here it is, my first video review of a juice. Short and sweet. I have a few adjustments to make to the process, but it was fun.

Vea Canteen Tank System - Clearomizer Review

This is an unusual product. It's name implies it is a product specific tool, but this handy little clearomizer tank works just fine on any ego-style battery even though it is sold specifically by Johnson Creek for their Vea e-cigarette.

Vea isn't the only thing that is a little misleading about the name of this handy little item. It is called a tank system but it is really a nifty clearomizer. The differences are arguable. After all, a tank is meant to hold a volume of e-juice to feed to an internal atomizer right? By that definition, this is a tank, just a small sized one. The Vea canteen is a cartomizer sized  tank that holds a little less than an ounce at a time, but instead of that old cotton padding of the cartomizer, it has wicks that pull the liquid up to a top feeding atomizer.

These are disposables. They can't be cleaned or rebuilt, but they last a long, long time. At least the ones I've used so far. I bought my first box that contained 3 clearomizers last February and they are still doing well. They can be refilled, and the fact that I normally use 100% or at least a high percentage VG juice that tends to be thick and usually gunks up wicks and coils, these little canteens handle it in great style.

I just bought my second box as a reserve, but haven't used up the first ones yet.

Notice the little white patch at the base--I use liquid white out to make a little spot where I can write what flavor juice (usually just an initial, or in this case "dc" for dark cherry) on each clearo so I know what flavor to load it with so the taste remains pure since these can't be washed out.

The Vea canteen tank comes in two styles, clear which burns warm at 1.8 ohms, and dark glass that burns cool at 2.4 ohms. I can only comment on the clear 1.8 ohm version that I have used so far.

To my knowledge the only place these can be purchased is at Johnson Creek Smoke Juice and E-Cigarettes. Here is a link if you are interested:

http://www.johnsoncreeksmokejuice.com/shop/accessories/vea-trade-canteen-warm-coolhtml

Adventures in Chemistry---or--How to Not Blow Up the House While Making Juice

Actually, lol, I can't wait. I'm about to start on a new adventure in vaping--making my own e-juice. DIY has always fascinated me, but I've put it off. Finally I did it. I broke down and ordered the supplies I need for a healthy start into DIY liquid and it will be here on Friday. (Achy, achy waiting syndrome. As most vapers know, the worst part about vapemail is the WAITING for vapemail.)

For any little girl or boy who loved chemistry in school, or those fun blow the house up chemistry sets as a child, the idea of sitting in front of a plethora of vials and tubes and mixing up a batch of liquids is just fun. I am anxious to have fun doing it, because I was one of those kids who loved the thrill of science and chemistry back in the day, but I'm looking forward to it for a much better reason as well--$$$$$!

Yes, dollars! The cost of the bases, flavors and little bit of equipment necessary to start up is about $60.00 which will give me enough for 10 full 30 ml bottles plus enough of most of the ingredients for an additional 10, but I would need a second order of the nicotine base so another $8 or so. So let's figure a total of $68.00 would actually get 20 full 30 ml bottles. To buy that much liquid at even a lower priced vape store would be roughly $200.00! Where I usually buy mine since I prefer 100% vg based e-juice it would be a lot more--roughly $400.00!!!

That's a huge savings!

There's another good reason, although for the most part I think the average e-juice supplier is reputable. A little research will let buyers know if they are dealing with good ejuice providers. But making your own is a surebet way of knowing exactly what is in the juice you are using, and where it comes from.

Mostly it's about controlling my own flavors and money for me... oh yeah---and FUN.


(and yes, there's yet a next step--soon, on to mods and rebuildable coils for even greater savings and convenience.)

Back Again

Well, hello. It's been a long time. There's a reason for that. Let me tell you the tale of my stumble and fall, and then getting back up again.

 I began vaping in 2012 and loved it. I got off those nasty cigarettes instantly, and thought I'd found the healthy path. Well--I HAD, but... Isn't there always a but? For some reason the eye-twitch I mentioned down a few posts below this got worse. I mean it got so bad I couldn't concentrate on work. It was so distracting and irritating. I ended up giving up e-cigarettes and going back to smoking. BOOOOO I lapsed for quite a while. It wasn't until just recently, earlier this year that I decided to give it another try.

You see, I REALLY like e-cigarettes. I really believe they are a healthy alternative to smoking. I am a strong advocate for them. What I wasn't sure about was what exactly caused the twitching eye. I narrowed it down to 1 of 2 things--too high of a nicotine level or the PG (propolyene glycol) that made up a good portion of the ejuices, in some cases a large portion that I was using. I started out with a massive 24mg of nicotine in the juices I bought back then. I had a reason. I had been a heavy smoker, so I figured the maximum nicotine level was the way to go. I probably over-did it. This time, I started out with bottles of 8 and 4 mg each, and switched back and forth. No twitching.

 I also switched to 100% VG (vegetable glycol) for most of the juices, with a few that had low concentrations of PG just for a little change up now and then. The PG really carries the flavor of the juices better, so it's hard to resist a little of it. No twitching.

 I started back up in January of this year, going very slow, and not switching over completely. Rather, I used the e-cigarettes to cut down a bit on smoking, but I was being cautious. After several months of no twitching, I finally last month made the complete switch.

Bottom line--I do believe e-cigarettes are THE healthy alternative to smoking. I know that I am not alone in the fact that I've had symptoms of allergies when using e-cigarettes though, and that those symptoms have caused others to quit. What I'd like to convey here is that IF you have any allergy symptoms when using e-cigarettes, take a look at what you are using, and see if there isn't a trigger there that you can adjust to get rid of the symptoms without getting rid of the vape. Remember, ALLERGIES are a common thing. They don't make e-cigarettes bad!!! After all, lots of people are allergic to peanuts, but no one thinks peanuts are evil. The good thing with e-cigarettes is that if you are allergic to a certain element, or have made a mistake in using too high a level of nicotine in your juices, it is something that can be remedied!