Dionne's Journey - Custom Blending Your Own E-Liquids/Atomiser/Clearomiser Lifespan & Care/Vaping Forums - Part 11

Hi, its good to see you,

How are you getting on?

Have you been experimenting with clearomisers or different flavours of e-liquids?

What are your favourites?

What are you vaping now?

Over the last 10 blog posts we’ve been discussing e-liquids, kits, clearomisers and batteries in some detail and I hope that all of these chats have proved useful in making your decision and have helped with getting started with vaping.

At every step of the way, I’d like to underline the fact that Exhale are on hand to help and advise if you have questions or queries. I certainly wouldn’t have had the success I have with making a permanent transition if I hadn't benefited from their help in finding the right products. It was a bumpy ride to begin with but once I’d discovered Exhale I was finally helped along the right path.

There are question people always ask, often about how long e-liquid will last and how long and atomiser will last but you might have other queries too, so really, don’t hesitate, get on to them because they have a wealth of experience and knowledge and will usually be able to help. And if they can’t right away, they’ll endeavour to find out and let you know.

The Black Label E-Liquid Range of e-liquids I use come in premixed nicotine strengths and flavours currently in 20ml bottles. They are as I write priced at £4.99 for 0, 8, 12 & 18mg and £5.50 for the 24mg strength. In all the time I’be been vaping that price has remained the same. I vape a lot and find that one bottle will last me 10 days or more. If you vape less than I do it will last a lot longer!!! When you compare that to the cost of smoking it really is saving you money (as well as all the other healthy benefits of not smoking too).

Some people like to make their own e-liquids and might then go on to experiment with mixing flavours to create their own unique e-liquids. It might be a good time then to talk about custom blending.

Custom Blending:

Within the Black Label Range you may have noticed there are flavourless liquids alongside of the premixed ones. These are offered in 0, 8, 12, 18, 24 and 36mg strengths and come in 50ml bottles. There is also an Angelic Decandence flavourless liquid nicotine in 54mg liquid in 30ml. These are for people who wish to custom blend their liquids and produce their own unique flavours. The higher strengths such as the 36 and 54mg are intended to be diluted where as the 0 - 24mg ones can simply have flavour added to them.

If you want to see the range now you can see them here: Mixing Accessories

Concentrates:

To compliment the flavourless e-liquids one really does need to add flavour and this is easy to do with Decadence flavour concentrates which are available in 10ml bottles. Not only are these to add flavour to the flavourless liquids, they can be used also to add more flavour to the premixed liquids if you want to achieve a more intense flavour. The concentrates contain no nicotine and are simply very, very intense flavours and are not intended to be used in the same way as you would the premixed liquids.

You can see Decedance concentrates here: Decadence Concentrates

• When adding concentrates go slowly. Add one drop and try it in a vape. Then if the flavour is not powerful enough add another drop and try it again.
• Keep note of how much of each concentrate is being added so that you can repeat successful recipes.

Dilutants:

Dilutant is imperative when using a high strength nicotine liquid like the 36 or 54 mg strength of nicotine in order to achieve the mg strength that suits you. Exhale has dilutants in a 50/50 PG/VG blend, VG or PG only. All are bottles of 100ml. Those who custom blend will measure the dilutant and liquid nicotine very accurately to mix to attain the liquid strength they desire.

You can see Exhale’s dilutants here: Dilutants

• If you are interested in or are planing to custom blend it is essential to research this carefully so that you know and understand clearly what you are doing.
• Use a syringe with accurate marked measurements to ensure that you can mix in the correct quantities so as not to overdose on the nicotine strength.
• A good idea when custom blending is to have lots of extra empty bottles and labels.
• Keep notes when you are mixing so that you can repeat a recipe again and again.
• You can find free tools and custom blend calculators online which might prove helpful. One I used to use is called e-Juice Me Up. This allowed particular version allowed me to store my recipes so that I could repeat them.

Weaning Off of Nicotine:

Many of us want to get away from the addictive nicotine once the transition from smoking to vaping has been successfully achieved. This is accommodated easily by reducing the nicotine content of the liquid you purchase. So if you begin with an 18mg liquid and arrive at a flavour you like, after a time you might then begin to buy the 12mg in that same flavour and then reduce again to 8 and so on. There is also a 0mg liquid and this is a very useful tool. Firstly because once you have weaned off of nicotine you can still vape (the behaviour of smoking, hand to mouth, inhale etc) with the flavour you lil and secondly it can be used as a dilutant in itself. Using the flavoured 0mg liquid allows you to dilute the nicotine content of the liquid you choose without losing any flavour. This way you can reduce the nicotine more gently between the 18, 12, 8 example we used just now.

You can do the same thing with custom blends by adding just concentrate to dilutant in the measurement and flavour of your choice and using this in the same way as described above with your original custom blend choice.

Atomiser Life

An atomiser has an average life of between 14 - 60 days. It is advisable to change them even if they don't stop working because they will over a period of use become carbonised and covered in residue from the atomisation process. This residue coats the coil and therefore affect the amount of heat produced to vaporise the liquid. The result of this is a less than satisfactory vape.

When I first began to vape I’d use mine for as long as possible. I’d literally squeeze all the life from them as I could. 

Then, when I had to change the coil or use a new clearomiser the experience of the new one was mind blowing. I didn't really realise how poor the vape had become. As the quality of my vape got worse, I was not satisfied and vaped more and more trying to get a good ‘hit’. Change to a new coil - Bingo! I’d wonder why I left it so long.

The thing is, as the vape quality is reduced so slowly, you can hardly notice it happening so the change to a new one is a real wake up in terms of vape quality and taste.

I know people who change their coil once a week regardless, and this of course ensures they always have a fresh and crisp experience. I now tend to follow suit and I always make sure I have spares so that is a coil burns out I can replace it and keep vaping.

• Atomisers/clearomisers/coils are mass produced and occasionally you might have a ‘dud’. It is very annoying, but any experienced vaper will know that this occurs and ‘accepts’ it as part of the experience.
• Exhale exempt clearomiser/atomiser/coils from their usual 30 day warranty. They instead offer a 48 hours warranty from the point of delivery to you, so do check to ensure they are working so that if you do have a ‘dud’ it can be addressed with them.
• There are ways to re-coil and re-wick devices and there are many people who do this.

Care & Maintenance

Looking after your kit is essential. We get so used to having our electronic cigarette we can begin to take it for granted. We pick it up and carry it wherever we go,, just like we do with our mobile phones and glasses (for those who need them!).

Remember that time when we carried a pack of cigarettes or pre rolled rollups? We would take care of them so that they did not become squashed, bent or damaged. We knew that if we broke or ruined them they would be useless to smoke and a waste of money…but for some reason we do not treat our kit in the same way! Yet it is essential to us as a tool and we need it to work for us day after day after day.

People will pop their electronic cigarette into a pocket or bag and expect it to withstand a lot of ‘trauma’ during these times. Sadly they don't always survive this treatment intact.

Your kit was, and is an investment. You will come to rely on it in order to vape (and not smoke). This is the tool that has freed you from tobacco and it deserves respect. The last thing you want when out and about is not to be able to vape when you want to.

• Use the carry case supplied with your kit or if it didn't come with one, consider buying one.
  • They are great also for carrying around liquid for refills and spares so that you are able to change a coil or fit a new clearomiser if one should “go’.
• Don’t carry your e-cig unprotected in a bag or pocket where it can be crushed, bent, or broken. Clearomisers in particular can be broken by sidewards force which will result in leaking and loss of fluid, inside your bag or onto your clothing.

Daily Care:

Here’s what to do:

• You can wash most mouthpieces in mild soapy water, rinse and dry.
• You should always wipe the battery cavity and threads before attaching to your charger. This will ensure that liquid residue that collects in the battery cavity and threads is not transferred to the charger and also ensure that all contact points are clean and clear for successful and expedient charging.
• You should also clean and wipe all threads of your atomisation device before attaching the next battery. Again this keeps contact points clean and clear.
• Check the guide for your specific device and follow these carefully.

Daily care doesn't take long to do and will pay dividends extending the life of your equipment and making sure that your vape is great.

Forums, Associations, Research & Petitions

There are quite a few forums especially for Vapers. These are a great source of information and help. Regular forum users are people who are incredibly knowledgeable about vaping and their experience can assist a great deal for new vapers and also can be a great place to hang out with others.

There is an Electronic Cigarette Consumers Association (ECCA) an independent organisation, staffed by volunteers who lobby n behalf of e-cigarette consumers.

E-Cigarette Research consists of a group of people with no relation with the electronic cigarette industry and who don’t represent any company or have any financial interest in tobacco and electronic cigarette manufacturing or retailing sectors. Their website has been developed to provide information to smokers and electronic cigarette users about the research conducted on this issue worldwide.

You may have become aware of the intentions in the EU to ban/regulate electronic cigarettes and e-liquids. There are some important petitions you can easily sign and in doing to have your voice added to the thousands of others.

Under the new proposals, all tanks, juices and re-usable devices will be banned. The plans to rush these proposals through before the end of the current EU Presidency mean that proposals designed to decimate the electronic cigarette industry and deprive millions of ex-smokers from the one product that they know will keep them off tobacco for good, will be voted on without due democratic process. More time needs to be given to the process to ensure that reasonable consumer regulation which respects the rights of vapers is drafted and approved.

You can add your name by visiting here:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/The_European_Parliament_Save_electronic_cigarettes_from_excessive_EU_regulation/?email&mobile=1

Do you have any questions, queries or concerns?

Contact Exhale by email at support@exhalecigarette.co.uk

or give them a call:

0800 689 6066* : Lines Open Mon-Fri 10am to 4:00pm. *Free Call

01726 219066 : Lines Open Mon-Fri 10am to 4:00pm.