General advice

I think it's time for me to try e-cigs again. My blood pressure is getting worse every year and I am just sick of being chained to these things.

I tried e-cigs once years ago when they first came on the market but had a bit of a problem with getting a safe and legal supply. But I could tell from that brief experiment that yes, these things are going to work

On doing some reading it seems that things have come a long way since that original device I bought.

So I've got a whole bunch of newbie questions. Here they are in no particular order:

First of all, is there a good starter kit anyone can recommend? I'd prefer not to have to do the whole dripping thing again so I'm looking at a cartomiser right?

Are those tank-like devices intended to just let you fill up a tank every day or so?

I won't get into the legality of the whole e-juice thing but I believe it's legal in canada to import a 3 month supply for personal use, is this correct? And the devices themselves are not illegal to own?

The main thing I am concerned about is the purity of the actual liquid. Like I said, that first batch I got was iffy at best and I would prefer to find a reputable supplier either in canada or overseas. Does anyone have any recommendations for where to start? Any suppliers who do some sort of small amount starter kits with a bunch of different flavours?

And PG vs VG...I have a hunch I'm allergic to PG. Where is the best place to get VG liquid?

I'm not adverse to mixing up my own liquid but no idea where you would start finding the ingredients. So that one can wait until later I think. Main thing is just to make a start.

Thanks for any replies, this is all horribly confusing!

 

Gday John & well done on wanting to give the fags away & welcome to the forum.
There's many combinations of gear that others can recommend to you so I will just link you to a reasonable starting point for a complete kit. This ones from VapeKing but all the canuk online stores sell different starter kits.
VK Deluxe Starter Kit
If you are in Sydney then Steam-e-cigs have a B&M store where you can go in & get lots of advice while viewing the gear.
Yes the mini type tanks normally hold about 1.5 ml & the full size tanks 3 to 4 ml but for Ego style batteries that you might be looking at then the mini tanks are the way to go & you just keep filling them up.
Everyone imports their nicotine with no real problems so it depends on how you want to proceed. You can either buy your juice & VG or PG from an canuk vendor & import your own nicotine to add to it or you can buy your juices from the States or Europe at the nicotine strength you think you need (about 18ml seems a good starting point) I wouldn't recommend buying cheaper juices from China be.comse of the quality controls.
Virgin Vapor in the States makes 100% VG organic juices they are not cheap but they are very good quality.

 

Last December, I was in the same place you are JDoe

What I did was buy a couple of Ego batteries and some Evod tanks, spare coils and got some different flavour juices from Mt Baker Vapor in the states. But.... I made the mistake of chasing tobacco like flavours. It wasn't until I realised that there isn't a "perfect" tobacco substitute flavour, that I tried other flavours. I personally like fruity/menthol. After a couple of months, I moved on to larger tanks with better coils etc and mods like the MVP and VTR. Couldn't be happier.

It's a learning curve, but once you find your vaping "sweet spot" you'll know. Good luck!

 

Hi JDoe! Congrats to you for having the determination to quit again! Here's hoping it all works out for you

I've been vaping for the past year and a bit and couldn't find a better way to kick the stinkies, so stick with it!

I can suggest from personal experience the Kanger EVOD is a great tank/clearomiser to start or similarily, the new Kanger EVOD Glass with dual coils will produce more flavour and vapor, just like the Kanger Mini Protank 3. These 2 tanks hold around 1.5ml and are refilled when needed as they are cleaned when needed to change flavours. I also find the glass tank on these to be better than the standard EVOD as they don't hold in flavour like the plastic EVOD does. This aswell as being easier to clean.

For the battery, I'd recommend any Variable Voltage eGo Battery, like the Vision Spinner or EGO-C Twist. This allows you to change the power you are putting through your coil, and therefore are able to change it to the taste of your e-juice. Sometimes different flavours will taste better &/or vape better at different voltages.

When I first started, I found Health Cabin (.net) to be the best for prices and shipping to canada, but I wouldn't recommend them for e-juice as their flavours stink to be honest. Not good for a PG allergy either! Still you could combine your own individual items as suggested to make your own starter kit. Otherwise there are local vendors like Vape King, Juice Whore, Steamecigs, VapingMad, FunkyForestVapes, TheVapeStore & VapingBros who stock similar starter kits.

I can suggest these US e-juice vendors to have juice shipped over here at the best price. Mt Baker Vapor is very popular and offers Max VG e-liquid. Nicoticket is also popular but only offers 50% PG/50% VG. American E Liquid Store also has some great prices with 100% VG.
Re: PG Allergy.. you may find that just increasing your VG percentage will remove the allergy symptoms. PG is in alot of things you may not realise and could still be ok in small doses. eg. I started on 70PG/30VG and my throat would close up or give me a lump in my throat, but now with 50/50 it does not. By removing the PG entirely you are going to lose your throat hit and a little flavour. This will be trial and error but you'll find your place eventually!

Apart from that, use Youtube for reviews and how to's, google your ideas and dont be afraid to ask any other questions! We're here to help

 

Thanks for the replies everyone

And now I have a bunch more questions!

Am I right in thinking that I could just buy two of these or similar:

EGO-V V2 Variable Voltage Passthrough Battery

And pair it with one of these:

Innokin iClear 30S Dual Coil 3ml Clearomizer | VapeKing

And then I would need a few of these on hand:

Innokin iClear 30S Replacement Dual Coil | VapeKing

and I would have the basics of the hardware needed?

And if this is so, which battery is the smallest and most similar to the size of a cigarette, so as not to overly confuse the nicotine circuits in my brain to begin with?

Do the batteries come with chargers generally or are they removable for charging? I have a nitecore 4 battery charge which can charge just about anything including li-ion batteries, I'm assuming it can charge e-cig batteries?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm sure this will make a lot more sense once I make a start.

 

Hey mate and grats on making a good choice!

A small battery is great for that lookalike but for me and a few people I've helped, they soon turn off them.
Depending on how often you vape, the smaller 650mah and around that capacity batteries drain really quick which means you'll be lugging a few of them around, which for me, negates having such a small battery

When I started, I started with 2x 1300mah Vision Spinners - Each one would last almost a full day so I wouldnt be .comght out. I'd go to work and by the time I got home, I would be putting it on to charge and switching to the other Spinner

The ego type batteries require a ego charger such as

eGo USB Charger | House of Vape
or
eGo USB Fast Charger

You take off the tank/cleromizer and attach the battery to it and charge

In all honesty, Im not gonna say "get this or get that"
but I found I moved on from ego's as I looked for more battery capacity for a longer staying power rather than the look.
I moved to a MVP v2.0 after about 2 weeks. Now remember this is just for me

Innokin MVP v2.0 VV/VW Box Mod | VapeKing

The nitecore charger is great if your going to charge mod batteries for mech mods or vv/vw mods
Maybe something you will look into later on .. more for advanced users

BATTERIES - Mod Batteries - Vapeking

When you decide on a tank/clero maybe purchase 2-5 and extra coils for your tanks.
You'll be trying out juices and it makes it much much easier having not to wash 1 tank every time you want to try something new
When I say extra coils, each coil will generally last 2-4 weeks depending on how much you vape
*Almost forgot, someone pointed me onto this and has been a easy gamechanger for testing juices and flavours ... maybe something to look into .... again later

http://houseofvape.com.com/vape/cartomizers-atomizers/smoktech-dual-coil-atomizer/

Dont apologise for asking questions ASK AWAY!
I may still be new myself but I'm happy to pass on any knowledge I've picked up along the way

Small tip, pop in your location as there are many many people who are willing to show you basics if you are in there local area. There are alot of amazing people on here!
There are meets often in your designated state if you feel like you wish.


In any case, stick with it if you enjoy it, its a real life changer ... literally



* Oh I stuck with Vapeking links as thats what you've been looking at

 

Everything everyone else said is valid.
1. Kangertech EMOW is a good starter. You're thinking of a CLEARTOMIZER i think, cartomizer is a bit of a hassle.

2. You can get really big tanks, or more slimline ones. Depends how hard you suck them down. A small tank even should last a day of moderate vaping. Refilling is easy & bottle of 30ml will last you much longer than a pack of durries every would. It's possibly the equivalent of a carton of smokes - or more.

3. You're thinking about importing nicotine mixer? Or juices with nic? You can do both. Maybe for a beginner a couple of premixed juices are your best bet.

4. Most vendors that you'll find in canada provide good quality products. If you poke around the forum you'll quickly find tips and reviews of good placed to buy juice with nic from O/S

canadan vendors are not permitted to sell nic, if they do they're breaking the law and putting the relatively relaxed state of affairs for vapers in jeopardy. If an canadan vendor ever offers you nic under the counter please politely decline & tell them they're being unprofessional & putting their own business at risk.

Enjoy.

 

JDoe, make sure you have a back up for everything.
If something dies and you need to order online you don't want to have to wait a few days to be able to vape again as you might take the easy option and go the smokes while your waiting.
One item easily overlooked is the charger, have atleast one spare and if one dies remember to replace the spare asap.
As for ego batteries, good starting point and for many all you will ever need.
I would have atleast 3 and probably up to 5 ego batteries, but have different sizes so you have the option of small when you need it and larger when you are not going to be able to charge up for a while.
Good luck!

 

one other thing is don't go too crazy on each order, you will be making them more often than you think
so maybe try to just get enough each time to get you over the free shipping threshold, so next time you need something there are other things you want to build the order up over the threshold.