HamishA
Postman
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2021
- Messages
- 109
Hi all newbies!!
During my transition, I found some frequent occurrences that I had to figure out through experience to mitigate some of the persistent small issues I always ran into with a new pod system, so I thought I would write a few things that have worked for me to keep me off the stinkies!
I am a relative newbie myself, 12 months off the smokes, and mainly only use pod systems, however I feel this advice may help all newbies in general.
Oh, and If you're a newbie and you're reading this, then well done!
You're already plenty further ahead then I was! I only found POTV after about 6 months in haha! Gee I wish I found it from day 1! 
One big issue I started with, was that as I was a complete newbie in the vaping world, I found I was heavily relying on reviews and feedback on the online stores to really steer me in the right direction, being a novice with no idea, I thought this was a good place to start! I'm not saying reviews are a bad thing, just always take them with a grain of salt! (Or a grain of Nic-Salt, sorry!)
On my first e-liquid order, I had zero idea and purchased around 20 e-juices, without understanding mg strengths or types of nicotine and just went off whichever had the most and best reviews! I quickly realised I absolutely hate menthol, even if it has 500 x 5 star reviews!
So I ended up with a bunch of e-liquid sitting in my draw that I was never going to use! Such a waste of money and was super disheartening! Always start small and start cheap, and build your way up. Don't go buying the biggest, best and most expensive products, as sometimes they just aren't worth it, it's all personal preference.
I stupidly did this, thinking high cost = high quality and it backfired big time! As some of my personal favourite vapes only cost around £10-£12 or thereabouts! No need for a £50 vape that now sit's in my top draw collecting dust!
My advice is to just keep experimenting with new low cost vapes and compare the pair, put them against each other and really identify what you want and like in a vape. Don't just go off peoples recommendations or one good review you watched on YT or found randomly on Google, as opinions are all subjective to a degree, and what one person considers is trash, many others may consider it an absolute treasure! (Caliburn G for me! I HATE it!)
Also, if you're having any issues with spit back or leaking from your vape, maybe look at how you're drawing on the vape. I got told a while ago, "Vape a vape, don't smoke a vape".
I found when I started, I was drawing too hard and not letting the vape do the work, and it would flood the coil a lot and it would burn quickly and I'd assume it was broken, throw it out, get frustrated and want to give up! Every vape draws differently, and therefore I've found it's better to trial and error until you find a vape that suits your specific draw, which typically works better than using your preferred draw on every single vape.
I now use a q-tip or paper towel and roll it up and dab it into the coil hole and try to soak up any flooded juice, then give it a few slow and small puffs to try and remove any build up of e-liquid somewhere that could be burning or causing a burnt taste.
I find that if I do a quick clean prior to every fill, it usually mitigates some of these issues and keeping the pod upright as much as possible. This is one thing I NEVER did! I never took care of my vapes, I had no idea that it was a good idea to implement a few small minor changes to my vaping habit and those small changes would go a very long way to maintaining an enjoyable vaping experience. I still to this day have never experienced a vape that doesn't require at least one tiny bit of extra TLC to keep it functioning the best it can! (Even though I'll never stop trying to find that holy grail of a pod system!)
I also never charge my device with the pod in, as it heats up and found it can make the liquid thinner and I always got a burnt taste from it when I left the pod in. This is something I only recently started doing, and I wish I did it much sooner! As the charging cords are typically very short, I would plug it in and let it hang upside down with the pod full of e-liquid in it. This caused issues that most certainly could have been avoided!
I could go on forever about all the little things I do with a vape, however it's hard to list everything, everyone's preferences are unique and when you've been an experienced vaper for a while, most things seem like 'common sense' to them, however to a complete newbie, those small 1% differences can really affect the overall vaping experience and may even be the difference between you staying on the stinkies, or actually quitting for good!
When you have so many variables, it is really hard to pin point what is causing the issue you may have, and that's where experience comes up trumps! it's just trial and error process and I promise you, even if you don't believe it now, you will eventually find your way, find what you like and it all of a sudden will seem clear as day!
The best advice I can give anyone, is to just keep it going, you're strong and you will be able to do it! It will make more sense with experience and then you'll look back after a while and laugh at all the little mistakes you made along the way! Because I sure do!
If you're reading this, give yourself a pat on the back! Just being a member of the POTV forum is already a huge first step and you're much further than you think you actually are, because you've made a positive first step!
I guess I will finish it with this...
All of the above may help, some of the above may help or none of the above may help at all...and that's just vaping haha!
Good luck and I am here if you need anything!
P.S. I would been keen to hear if anyone had one piece of advice they received when they first started that stuck with them!
EDIT: Changed title of the thread to inform people it's a long post.
During my transition, I found some frequent occurrences that I had to figure out through experience to mitigate some of the persistent small issues I always ran into with a new pod system, so I thought I would write a few things that have worked for me to keep me off the stinkies!
I am a relative newbie myself, 12 months off the smokes, and mainly only use pod systems, however I feel this advice may help all newbies in general.
Oh, and If you're a newbie and you're reading this, then well done!
You're already plenty further ahead then I was! I only found POTV after about 6 months in haha! Gee I wish I found it from day 1! One big issue I started with, was that as I was a complete newbie in the vaping world, I found I was heavily relying on reviews and feedback on the online stores to really steer me in the right direction, being a novice with no idea, I thought this was a good place to start! I'm not saying reviews are a bad thing, just always take them with a grain of salt! (Or a grain of Nic-Salt, sorry!)
On my first e-liquid order, I had zero idea and purchased around 20 e-juices, without understanding mg strengths or types of nicotine and just went off whichever had the most and best reviews! I quickly realised I absolutely hate menthol, even if it has 500 x 5 star reviews!
So I ended up with a bunch of e-liquid sitting in my draw that I was never going to use! Such a waste of money and was super disheartening! Always start small and start cheap, and build your way up. Don't go buying the biggest, best and most expensive products, as sometimes they just aren't worth it, it's all personal preference.
I stupidly did this, thinking high cost = high quality and it backfired big time! As some of my personal favourite vapes only cost around £10-£12 or thereabouts! No need for a £50 vape that now sit's in my top draw collecting dust!
My advice is to just keep experimenting with new low cost vapes and compare the pair, put them against each other and really identify what you want and like in a vape. Don't just go off peoples recommendations or one good review you watched on YT or found randomly on Google, as opinions are all subjective to a degree, and what one person considers is trash, many others may consider it an absolute treasure! (Caliburn G for me! I HATE it!)
Also, if you're having any issues with spit back or leaking from your vape, maybe look at how you're drawing on the vape. I got told a while ago, "Vape a vape, don't smoke a vape".
I found when I started, I was drawing too hard and not letting the vape do the work, and it would flood the coil a lot and it would burn quickly and I'd assume it was broken, throw it out, get frustrated and want to give up! Every vape draws differently, and therefore I've found it's better to trial and error until you find a vape that suits your specific draw, which typically works better than using your preferred draw on every single vape.
I now use a q-tip or paper towel and roll it up and dab it into the coil hole and try to soak up any flooded juice, then give it a few slow and small puffs to try and remove any build up of e-liquid somewhere that could be burning or causing a burnt taste.
I find that if I do a quick clean prior to every fill, it usually mitigates some of these issues and keeping the pod upright as much as possible. This is one thing I NEVER did! I never took care of my vapes, I had no idea that it was a good idea to implement a few small minor changes to my vaping habit and those small changes would go a very long way to maintaining an enjoyable vaping experience. I still to this day have never experienced a vape that doesn't require at least one tiny bit of extra TLC to keep it functioning the best it can! (Even though I'll never stop trying to find that holy grail of a pod system!
)I also never charge my device with the pod in, as it heats up and found it can make the liquid thinner and I always got a burnt taste from it when I left the pod in. This is something I only recently started doing, and I wish I did it much sooner! As the charging cords are typically very short, I would plug it in and let it hang upside down with the pod full of e-liquid in it. This caused issues that most certainly could have been avoided!
I could go on forever about all the little things I do with a vape, however it's hard to list everything, everyone's preferences are unique and when you've been an experienced vaper for a while, most things seem like 'common sense' to them, however to a complete newbie, those small 1% differences can really affect the overall vaping experience and may even be the difference between you staying on the stinkies, or actually quitting for good!
When you have so many variables, it is really hard to pin point what is causing the issue you may have, and that's where experience comes up trumps! it's just trial and error process and I promise you, even if you don't believe it now, you will eventually find your way, find what you like and it all of a sudden will seem clear as day!
The best advice I can give anyone, is to just keep it going, you're strong and you will be able to do it! It will make more sense with experience and then you'll look back after a while and laugh at all the little mistakes you made along the way! Because I sure do!
If you're reading this, give yourself a pat on the back! Just being a member of the POTV forum is already a huge first step and you're much further than you think you actually are, because you've made a positive first step!
I guess I will finish it with this...
All of the above may help, some of the above may help or none of the above may help at all...and that's just vaping haha!
Good luck and I am here if you need anything!
P.S. I would been keen to hear if anyone had one piece of advice they received when they first started that stuck with them!
EDIT: Changed title of the thread to inform people it's a long post.
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