My e-Cigarette Experiences…

Posts Tagged ‘personal’

It seems that anything related to e-cigs that have the Blue Led tip rather than red seem to carry some kind of curse for me.  I ordered my E9 with 2 red and 2 blue batteries.  Well the reds, while short lived for each charge, are working fine and are settling into the rotation that my use demands, while the blue – BOTH of them – died in less than a week.  And I do mean dead!  They appear to charge fine – with the charger showing red, then green as it should, and it even takes time to charge them, but then you pop on a fresh cartomizer, take a puff and NOTHING but blinking lights.  Oddly enough though, they seem to work normally until they are asked to carry the load of the cartomizer.  If you draw air through them or tap them they actually appear normal.  Odd.

But the good news is that my vendor is going to replace both of them.  The only costs I should bear are the shipping back to source.  I will, of course, be asking for the RED tips after this experience, but that’s ok… the body is still black and distinct from an analog, so that’s not a big deal.

So…  play it safe and don’t order blue tips – they cost extra anyway for some reason.  Or…  if you have blue tips and they’ve worked, please let me know.  Maybe I just had a bad batch.

Happy Vaping.

And yes, I’m still loving it.  I’m only on my third cartridge so far, but I’m also not a heavy vaper.  I tend to take a few puffs at about the same interval that I would light an analog, but I also threw away a LOT of analogs by letting them burn down in ashtrays, or butting out a half smoked cigarette.  I’ve already commented before on the wasteful manner in which I smoke, but that is perhaps the largest point of savings for me when using an e-cig.  Add to that the cost of the cartridges – about $2 CDN per cartomizer landed – compared to the cost of analogs at around $9.50 per 20 pack, and you have a rather incredible savings even if I do use two cartridges daily.

Battery life is certainly not a great factor in this model, and I do find vapour production reducing sharply after about the equivalent of 6 to 8 cigarettes, but I have three batteries in rotation so I have on in use, one ready to use and one on the charger at any given moment.  This way I know I’ll always have the ability to use my e-cig when I want to.  In short, if you’re looking for a good model of e-cig that uses the 2 piece cartomizer technology, the E9 is a terrific model at the right price, and most importantly it does ship into Canada with only short delays.  I recommend EMS shipping, as they seem to, so far at least, be quick and easy and have had no issues at Customs in Vancouver.

More updates coming soon…  stay tuned!

If you’ve been following me here at all, you know that I was quite impressed with the E8 e-cig kit that I’ve been using, and had some long term successes in avoiding tobacco products while using it.  Until I lost it.  But through the whole process, I did have thoughts and desires from time to time for an analog smoke, but was generally able to curb that desire.  It just took a few hits of my E8 and all was good again.  But this time around, when I ordered a whole new kit to replace my lost E8, I opted to move up to the slightly larger E9 model.

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Well the worst has happened.  A few weeks ago I lost my kit.  The little e-cig case (old style cigarette case) containing my e8, spare battery and a couple cartridges was left someplace and lost.  So I’ve fallen from vaping for a while and have been back on analogs while I hunted, called, and ordered a new kit.  Let me tell you this…  the negative impact of smoking ALMOST made me not do it.  I almost quite.  But since I’m vaping at the higher levels of nicotine still, my body craved badly what it was missing, and I tried a couple of alternatives that just didn’t make it for me.  Like so many times in the past.  So I bought analogs.  And I’ve been smoking.  I can also tell you that I NOTICED the differences between smoking and vaping in a matter of a few days.  The laboured breathing returned.  The stink in my car, my clothes and even in my office just from the residual smoke are already noticeable.  And the hit on my budget.

The good news is that my new kit arrives today or tomorrow at last, and I will be able to immediately return to the joys of vaping and get back on track to recovering from this most annoying habit.  I’ve got 2 chargers, 4 batteries and lots of cartridges coming this time so I’ll have the option of keeping a spare set in at least one alternate location and won’t be carrying my entire kit all in one case.  The message of course is to ensure that you keep at least one spare battery and supplies in a separate place so that if you DO lose your e-cig, you can continue to enjoy the pleasures of vaping while your replacements are shipping.  It does take a couple weeks to get supplies!

Can’t wait to return to vaping – and will have a review of the slightly larger E9 in a few days.

Vape On!

njw

It seems that a battery issue is now the latest thing to hit Blu as their manufacturer found a problem that initiated a ‘voluntary recall’ on the batteries from the blucig packs.  The Lithium Polymer batteries in the packs also require special handling and processing with regard to disposal, and Blu have sent out detailed instructions on safe disposal for those wanting to DIY, but I would recommend that you find a proper recycling center that are able to handle these batteries.

This will cause yet another 4 to 6 week delay in delivery of packs and products to consumers, but I have to commend Blu for the actions they are taking and for the very detailed information they are sending out on the matter to those customers affected.  While I’m not a Blu user (living in Canada), and not using my Blu affiliate account actively either, I still wanted to share this with my readers in case they haven’t heard through normal channels.

Once again – I wish Blu good fortune in the future – I still like their concepts and marketing - and now I like their customer service even more.

Cheers!

njw

Well, the Blogs have been quiet, but my life certainly hasn’t.  But I thought I would toss out a quick howdy to those of you that are still following and bring you up to date with the latest.  Yes…  I’ve had a few little cigars lately, but only as a sort of guilty pleasure.  I have NOT had any brand of standard cigarette.  Not one.  In the whole time I’ve been on the e-cigs I can honestly say I’ve consumed less than the equivalent of a full pack of cigarettes in tobacco products, which is a massive improvement for me.  This time of year, for a range of reasons, I would be up to 30 cigarettes daily and now I’m only at a flavoured cigarillo or Captain Black Sweet tipped and dipped cigar every few days.  The rest of the time I am vaping and still quite happy to be doing so. 

I’m placing the order for my E9 tonight and going for the larger format.  The E8 has been nice, but it still feels a little weak and I’m hoping that the larger batteries and cartomizers will produce that little extra hit that will make it feel more like the real thing for those times when I REALLY want a smoke.  So far, I’ve been able to kick those cravings by taking several hits off the E8, but I think that the E9 might make it a little easier.  Here’s hoping!  And of course, you’ll be the first to read about it here when I get my kit and give them a comparative test against each other.

So besides being INSANELY busy these past couple of weeks, I’m still vaping and still alive…  and actually planning to stay that way for a LONG time to come.

cheers!  and Happy Vaping!

It seems that there is a down side to the whole e-cig thing… for me anyway.  I’ve noticed that I am actually experiencing some weight gain.  Now…  before you run out and buy a pack of analogs keep reading!  In the past year and a bit, I’ve been able to restore myself to my target weight range, and this for the first time in nearly twenty years.  So I can’t say for sure that this weight gain is entirely due to the change in my smoking habits, but I have historically gained measurably when I’ve quit or tried to in the past.  So it’s a logical thing to assume that this gain is related.  But the other thing to note is that after a whole month away from tobacco, I’m usually somewhat heavier than I am this time, so the gain is not that severe.  In fact, so far, I’m only up ten pounds which is a great deal less than I’ve gained in the past.  So I’m going to take some measures to attempt to lower that weight gain and get back into the target range that I’ve set for myself… and lose that ten pounds again before this gets to be a bigger problem then it needs to be.  But I feel you need to know this part of my experience as well as the good stuff, so that you’re prepared if you’re still burning tobacco and thinking about going over to the e-cigs.

The action plan that I have at the moment is a short (5 day) juice fast to cleanse and purge the system and hopefully shift the scales back in my favour once again (pun intended).  For those of you that have made the switch, I’d be interested to know if you’ve also gained, and to what extent compared to your past experiences with other methods of tobacco reduction.

As always – there’s more coming soon so be sure to stay tuned.

Happy Vaping!

njw

Well, it’s been over a month.  I’ve set a new record for going the course without a whole analog cigarette!  I’ve gone weeks in the past, but usually with a few smokes along the way, and by this point I’m back up to several per day with every other attempt to quit in the past.  But with e-cigs, yes, I’ve had a few cigarillos (4 in the whole month) but I’m happy to say that I am still not bound to run out and pick up a pack or cigarettes.  So they really ARE working!  And yes, I will continue to use my e-cigs.  Now to the frustration…

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I’ve got a day job that I’ve been on vacation from for a couple of weeks, so there are several people that have not seen me since the first few days that I’ve been vaping instead of smoking.  On my return to work this week, I’ve had a few of those people do a double take and tell me that I actually LOOK healthier!  Younger, and with better skin tone than when they saw me last – just a couple of weeks ago.  Now if that’s not a point in favour of kicking the tobacco habit and getting an e-cig kit, then I don’t know what is!  I really just wanted to share this one with you.  The other point of note here is that I have returned to work – and even after 2 full days of the increased stresses of the day job, I’m happy to report that I am still finding all of the satisfaction that I need from a few puffs of my E8, and have not reverted back to analogs.  It’s been twenty-five days now, and I’m just starting to work on the cartridges I ordered and received last week. 

On another note, I have decided that my next order will be an E9.  I think that the slightly larger batteries, and the larger cartomizers might make the entire experience that little bit better, and of course I will be reporting my comparison between the two different models once I have some time with them both.  The one point that I think will be of greatest interest to me is that the E9 cartridges are larger, and hold more juice, so only come 4 to a box rather than 5, but still equal about the same amount of vaping pleasure.  Fewer changes mean even more likely that I will get a full day or more out of each cartridge as I’m finding that I am using about one and a half cartridges per day on the E8.  The other thing I think I’ll like is that the E9 comes with a blue tip option that the E8 doesn’t offer.  I think that the blue tip will make my public use of the E-cig even more interesting to those around me rather than raising the odd concern with the orange tip.

As always… stay tuned for the latest reviews, thoughts and experiences, and of course GET YOUR E-CIG KIT ordered asap and get off those analogs that ARE killing you.

Happy Vaping!

Well… I’ve done something that I’ve only been able to say a few times in the past 30 years…  I’ve not have a full tobacco cigarette in three weeks!  Sure… I’ve tempted fate with puff or two here and there, always when surrounded by a mass of smokers, but it’s just not the same anymore.  In fact, even the treat that I’ve enjoyed from time to time in the form of a Captain Black Sweet cigar is no longer the same pleasure.  They all taste terrible!  I really have to wonder how we ‘train’ ourselves to find pleasure in that experience to begin with?

So at three weeks, I no longer carry a lighter with me.  Food and drink taste better.  I can walk MUCH further without feeling like my chest is compressed.  I smell better.  My skin looks better (so I’m told).  And I am actually saving about half of what I used to spend on tobacco (perhaps more).  So I have to say that it’s been a great experience so far.

And a quick suggestion – whatever brand you’re going to buy – I recommend that you get a different color for each flavour if it’s possible.  With the E8/E9 from e-cig.com you can get a variety of different colors for the cartridges, and I find that having a black Menthol and Brown Cherry makes flavour selections much easier especially in the club or on the run.  And of course, since both of these use Cartomizers (disposable atomizers that are built into the cartridges) you can change flavour quickly by just changing the cartridge. 

Vape On!