Vapor King

A stories about electronic cigarettes and how to switch from regular cigs to electronic vapor cigarettes

[kingvapor-blog]

5 Important Tips on Storing E Liquid

The most important rule to consider in storing your e-liquid, of course, is in a cool dry place.  Add dark to that quotient and you will live long and prosper in vape haven.

Dark, Away from Sunlight

 The dark storage place is because sunlight destroys the e-liquid’s balance and properties.  You shouldn’t even open your e-liquid container outside because of the speed with which sunlight violates the purity of the liquid.

Really Cool Storage

      2. The best place to store e-liquid is in your refrigerator to take advantage of it being dark and dry inside and will keep your liquid very cool, which lengthens its life and flavor qualities.  If you have stored your e-liquid improperly, you will see it become darker as it deteriorates.  This will not harm you but drastically cut down the performance of the liquid.

Glass, Not plastic

     3.  Plastic corrupts most items stored in it over a length of time.  Therefore, you should keep your liquid in glass bottles, even if it is delivered from a distributor in plastic.  The interaction of plastic compounds doesn’t enhance the vaping.   Of course, if the liquid in a plastic bottle is going to be used quickly, then you can forego the glass requirement.

Separately, Not Together

    4. Take measures to ensure you are storing your e-liquid and base oil separately, as you don’t want any interaction between them until you are smoking.

Buying in Bulk

    5. You no doubt have had offers to buy in bulk at a great savings.  This is also a way to stock up on your favorite liquids if they are not easily found.  However, keep the cardinal rules about storage in mind, because if you lose your savings due to improper storage you will kick yourself around the room. Everyone likes a good deal and savings cost.  Just don’t get so excited you forget to protect.

Crucial Update Information on Laws

It is of great importance that all vapers and persons quitting tobacco for the alternative of vaping stay updated on state laws that are attempting to crimp vaping as though harmful as tobacco.

Alabama - Specifically defines alternative products. Prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes under 19.

Alaska - Prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes under 19.

Arizona - Defines vapor product specifically. Prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes under 18.

Arkansas - Defines e-cigarette/vapor devices. Prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes under 18. (Pending - E-cigs included in indoor smoking  ban.)

California - Defines e-cigarette device. Prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes under 18.

Very stringent attacks on vaping are pending legislation, especially in California.  Stay updated so you know where you stand while enjoying this harmless and satisfying hobby.

[kingvapor-blog]

How To Clean The Gunk

The numbers of vapers have had an amazing explosion and have swelled to more than triple in the last 2 years and thus ensuring that vaping is no longer frown upon or scorned. What we are seeing is exactly the opposite, vaping is more popular now than ever, and there are the numbers to prove it. The most probable reason behind this increased popularity are the e-cigs themselves.

Now electronic cigarettes are light years ahead of what they used to be. E-cigs are more efficient and reliable and simply better allowing the people who own them to experience a mostly frustration free satisfaction. The fact that there are literally thousands of different e-liquid flavors adds to the appeal of vaping and is another cornerstone of the whole vaping experience.

The only downside is that occasionally your e-cig will need your assistance in order to keep operating with its optimal parameters. This occasional maintenance is nothing complex, but yet with the influx of new faces to vaping some people may end up finding themselves in a kind of a fix.

So this article was created, aiming to help people when they encounter a problem that could occur fairly often and this problem is precisely the e-liquid gunk.

The bare basics: what is e-juice gunk?

The e-liquid gunk forms when there is a concentration of sugar or sucrose in the e-liquid. While if they are present the e-liquid eventually builds the gunk around the coils of the e-cig it all starts with the e-liquid turning darker color in the first few hours you have been vaping it. On e-cigs which have a tank with atomizers the air ways will start to clog with the gunk and as a result the vaping quality will fall.

The two main culprits, causing the gunk build up are of course:

Heat

Sugar and Sucrose

Obviously can’t eliminate the heat from the process and most e-liquids have at least some sugar or sucrose to sweeten the e-liquid.

Cleaning the gunk

Basically gunk is caramelized and baked sugar or sucrose. The easiest way to clean it is to boil your dripper, tanks, ect.

Boil the water, then put it in a bowl. Put the stained parts in the water until it turns to room temperature. Then dry burn the coil a few times to help get any leftover gunk off. And if you need it repeat the whole procedure, just remember to not put any plastic parts into the pot, since they will warp.

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The King of Summer Vaping

The summer has come into its full reign and our days are spent looking for shade, avoiding the scorching rays of the angry ball of fire in the sky and countering the summer haze with spending as much time as possible in air conditioned rooms.Some people are becoming sun zombies and are trying to spend as much time as possible to “gather some light” and to acquire the characteristic “bronze appearance”.Me? I am looking for no more than a few hours in my back yard; on my hammock with a chilled drink as the sun is setting.

The prospect of spending some time in a state of serenity while under the shade of my pecan tree, sounds alluring and yes, it is as good as it sounds. The only way it could possibly get better is if you add an electronic cigarette to the whole equation. Yep, I am a vaper – a person who enjoys non-smoking and vaping his electronic cigarette. The high summer has always been an especially hard season for me while I was a smoker.

I had always found it hard to smoke during the day, but as any smoker could tell you, quitting smoking is more easily said than done. I had tried several times quitting cold turkey, but it hadn’t worked out. So when I forgot mu cheap lighter on my dashboard about a month ago and it exploded and scared the living … uhm, scared me, while I was going into the car, I decided to go for an electronic cigarette or even better an advanced personal vaporizer.

So I spend the next several days looking for an e-cig that would satisfy my nicotine needs to the fullest. I had learned my lesson as it comes to cheap things and decided that the old saying that “expensive is cheap” is right after all and decided to get an APV – an advanced personal vaporizer. As any red blooded American I went for the best possible brand and it had the added quality of being 100% American Made, which in my ears translates to 100% quality guaranteed.

So I went to the local e-cig vendor, took a ProVari Mini and several e-liquids and started vaping. And that was it. I no longer needed to smoke and the smooth sailing has continued for the past month without any snags. Anything I need to know for my e-cig I could find online and if I can’t find it, I can always ask on the various forums.

So if you are feeling that the heat is taking up the wind under your wings and that smoking is not so satisfying as it used to be, I recommend trying an e-cig, you may be pleasantly surprised.

[kingvapor-blog]

Knowing E-Liquid

The use of electronic cigarettes is surging and more people than ever a starting to vape and the fact is that the common general knowledge about vaping is not much. People are simply unfamiliar with vaping, so in this article we will try to shed some light over the matter and helpfully assist people who are confused.

The first thing you should remember is that the e-liquid that is vaped is as important as the e-cig that is used for vaping. Most e-liquids contain flavoring, nicotine and diluents.

The most popular and widely distributed diluents used in e-juices are vegetable glycerin (VG), propylene glycol (PG) or a combination of both. These two ingredients are considered as “generally recognized as safe for humans” or GRAS. VG and PG are often found in food coloring, mouthwash, toothpastes and other cosmetic products and unlike the tobacco in normal cigarettes they are not carcinogenic and do not produce tar on vaporizing.

One of the most important attributes of every e-liquid is the nicotine contained in it. The amount of nicotine in a predetermined set volume of e-liquid is the one that determinates its strength. Most e-liquid makers use a standard measure of milligram of nicotine per milliliter of total liquid volume or mg/mL, this is the way in which nicotine concentrations are currently indicated.

This is done to be able to have a way to compare the nicotine strength of e-liquid to that of conventional tobacco cigarettes. This means that if it is written on a pack of tobacco cigarettes a concentration of 1.8 mg nicotine per cigarette, for a pack of 20 cigarettes you will get a total of 36mg of metabolized nicotine.

On the other hand, an e-liquid of 18 mg/mL of nicotine indicates that there is 18mg of nicotine in each milliliter of fluid. If you vape 1ml of this liquid, you absorb 100% of nicotine. This means that you get the equal amount of nicotine as provided by ten regular cigarettes of 1.8 mg each.Hawing that in mind, you should consider the fact that when you are vaping you are not absorbing the same amount of nicotine as with smoking. This is probably due to the fact that the vapor particles are larger than the ash particles released when smoked, and also the fact that at least some part of the nicotine isn’t transformed into vapor.

There is also the fact that the amount of nicotine indicated on a pack of normal cigarettes is considered to be lowered than the reality. Anyway a normal smoker, who goes through a pack a day (20 cigarettes), will find 18mg/mL a satisfying strength to begin vaping. If you are a heavy smoker, a much higher concentration of nicotine is more satisfying. For light and occasional smokers, a very good beginning point is 10mg/ml.

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The Right Nicotine Concentration in your E-Liquid

If you are new to the whole vaping thing and find yourself in a vape store choosing an e-liquid, hitting the right nicotine levels could at best be a hassle and at worst confusing. Some novice vapers may be of the opinion that nicotine levels don't matter, but it is important to pay attention to them, because the nicotine level could have a direct impact on your health.

For example if you feel like staying away from nicotine and you are not a former smoker you should go and stick to e- liquids with 0mg nicotine level or you risk to be a bit overwhelmed. However if you are an ex-smoker you will need at least a little kick from your e-cig so it is probably for the better to go for flavors in the 12mg to 16mg range.

Anything lower may be to light and won't be enough to satisfy your needs and 16mg of nicotine content is about the same level as the one in an average normal cigarette. Going higher is tantamount to chain smoking or smoking cigars.

The most important thing to remember is that vaping is not the same as smoking. Since the droplets in the vapor that is produced are bigger than the fine ash produced from smoking, nicotine isn't absorbed so easily by the body. This is why nicotine levels may seem so high to people who aren't vaping. The nicotine in the e-liquid is one part responsible for the sensation of "throat hit" and “vaper’s tongue”. This however doesn't mean that it is necessary for you to go for higher nicotine concentrations.

Photo credit: Tasty Vapor Mix Team Facebook

Higher concentrations of nicotine usually dull the flavor of the e-liquid. Also overexposure to nicotine (a sort of overdose) could include symptoms like, dizziness, headaches, vomiting, inflamed gums and even skin rashes.

By now you may be a bit confused from all this talk about nicotine levels and nicotine strength and probably are still wondering about the right dosage for you. It is important to remember that the whole point of e-cigs is to give up smoking and gradually reducing the nicotine level will be beneficial for you.

High level of nicotine e-liquid is aimed towards helping ex smokers quit cigarettes without any significant withdrawal symptoms. As they stop smoking and don't feel urge to light a normal cigarette, they can relax and gradually decrease the nicotine levels of the e-liquids they are using. Hence if you are trying to quit smoking try the middle ranges between 12mg and 16mg and then climb up or go down depending on your preferences.

[kingvapor-blog]

The Truth Behind Vaping

The term "vaping" coined by the people who use ("vape") electronic cigarettes is relatively new. It wasn't around in the 90es that is for sure and initially upon hearing it people would scratch their heads in puzzlement. Now however vaping has been chosen as the word of the year 2014 by the Oxford English Dictionary.

Electronic cigarettes were first introduced with bellow average results in the US and Europe around 2006. People viewed them with suspicion, because of the general opinion that they are yet another Big Tobacco ploy to increase their failing cigarettes profits. Moreover all electronic cigarettes at the time were produced in China and suffered from low quality and unreliability.

It turned out that this is not the case. With the further development of the technology and the subsequent improvement of the reliability and the quality of the electronic cigarettes their popularity and the number of people surged. Soon there were studies that made it clear that e-cigs are a viable method of harm reduction and could be of great use and benefit for people who want to stop smoking.

Of course the opposition wasn't late to appear. The bizarre thing about it is, however the fact that the two staunchest adversaries of e-cigs are both the Antismoking movement and the Big Tobacco. The so called "trump card" used more often than not by the antivaping movement is the unfounded claim that youths are being swayed into smoking by e-cigs, where the e-cigs play the role of a vehicle towards drugs and normal cigarettes.

A study carried out by the  American Journal of Preventive Medicine proves that this claim is unfounded. There is also more evidence of the significantly lower addictive potential of e-cigs when compared to normal tobacco cigarettes. One thing is for certain. Smoking among American adolescents has taken a downward curve and this coincides with the introduction of electronic cigarettes.

Vaping is not healthy and has its risks, this is certainly true. However vaping is probably the best harm reduction alternative available for anyone who wants to stop smoking. The figures show that the main reasons for the plumeting number of smoking teenagers are e-cigs. And probably in this case we should be satisfied with the lesser evil and not demonize it, which clearly is the case. 

Whatever the case electronic cigarettes are here to stay and their further development may only help people who want to break the chains of smoking.

[kingvapor-blog]

Choosing the E-Liquid's Nicotine Strength for Noobs

Once they buy their set upall new vapers eventually reach the point where they have to decide the nicotine strength of their e-liquid. In a way it is exactly like with normal cigarettes. Some people prefer regular, some light and some go for full flavored. 

Usually the strength of an e-liquid could vary from as high as 36mg nicotine content to 0mg. This range gives the average vaper quite the room to spare when it comes to dosages.  The mg measurement denotes how much nicotine is present within the liquid per 1ml. So for every ml vaporized you will get one of the doses of nicotine.

Finding the way

When it comes to e-cigs better, doesn't necessarily mean stronger. The amount of nicotine you want and need in your e-juice depends on your body's reaction to nicotine and also what kind of smoker you used to be.

However the most popular dosage among vapers is the liquid with 12 mg strength. It seems that it offers broader balance that most people like.

Of course people who used to smoke full flavored, heavy cigarettes will find themselves dawned to stronger e-liquids, whereas fans of lighter cigarettes will go for e-liquids with less nicotine in it. There is no right or wrong answer, it all depends with what a person feels most comfortable.

Although vapers could cut their own juice (something recommended only for ones with a lot of experience) usually e-liquid companies have a selection of ready dosages from which a vaper could choose:

0mg – no nicotine e-liquid

Light dosages

3mg

6mg

9mg

Regular/Medium Dosages

12mg

15mg (joytech has 16mg)

Strong Dosages

18mg

Very Strong

24mg

36mg

It is important to remember, that vapers could get reaction headaches and stomach aches from using too much nicotine. Overdoing it with nicotine is very possible, especially if the vaper is using an e-liquid with high nicotine content.

New vapers are recommended to try several nicotine strengths before committing and buying larger quantities. Picking an e-liquid that is too strong or to weak without realizing where your tastes lay can put you off e-cigs, since it could cause your vape to be too powerful or ineffective.

Taking the way out

For most people vaping is the ticket out of a lifestyle that was literally covered in toxic tobacco fumes. Many former smokers use the "soft landing" of vaping as a way of completely stopping smoking. If this is the case with you, it is important to know how the different strengths work and how to use them properly.

By finding your own starting point, you could comfortably start reducing the nicotine content of the e-liquids you vape, until it drops to zero. From then onwards stopping vaping will be your own choice, not influenced by your nicotine addiction.

[staff]

Holy cow. You did it. Net neutrality is official. 

You made your voices heard loud and clear, and your policymakers actually listened to what you had to say. We’re grateful, and we’re thrilled. 

The internet is officially yours. It’s in good hands. 

[kingvapor-blog]

A New Year's APV

The bad news is that we couldn't stop smoking, at least not completely. The good news is that we have almost reached the point where we don't need any cigarettes.

I will have to start from the beginning. We and my brother are very close, people have often asked us if we are twins, but we are one year apart. We were doing everything together, when we were young, so when I started smoking in high school , my little brother followed suit and soon we had our common cache with cigarettes and lighters.

Eventually our parents found out , but we were over 18 at the time , so despite their displeasure (none of them is a smoker) we carried on.

We knew it was bad for us, but we thought that we could stop any time we want. Well it turned out that this isn't the case. I personally came to that realization, during a stint in the hospital, due to pneumonia. I couldn't smoke and these were the longest 7 days I have ever lived through.

So when I came out I decided to quit. My little brother thought that following me in this would make it easier for both of us, since he too wanted to quit. So we tried almost every possible way and we came up short. It was all forgotten for some time until last year. When we had a common New Year's Resolution and we went again to try quitting. This time however we did our homework and searched for the best and easiest way to quit smoking.

We came out with an advanced personal vaporizer. Mimicking a real cigarette, without all the bad stuff in it. Around November we bought our starter packs and jumped in the world of vaping. Now in the first weeks of the New Year we are finally stopping smoking. It was a long journey, but thanks to our APVs it is coming to an end.

[kingvapor-blog]

Banana Nut Bread – A Treat for Anyone

But I am notorious with me sweet tooth so how do I go out of this situation? Thankfully I am also a vaper and can substitute all the pies and sweet and sugary stuff I love with just the appropriate e-liquid.

So I started my new weight loss plan with one of the sweet e-liquids sitting in my vaping drawer for about a month now: Tasty Vapor's Banana Nut Bread .

And it is absolutely exquisite. It nails the flavor and taste of its namesake right on the spot. Even my wife thinks that it tastes like the real thing! It has a wonderful smooth warm and thick taste and hits you with the whole force of a confectionery wonderland.

It is the first time I have tried this flavor and it may come out somewhat sweeter than most people are used to, but I find it just to my taste.

The throat hit is reduced, but this only brings out the mellowness and sweetness of the e-liquid, making it more enjoyable and if I have to be honest more addicting than any other e-juice I have tried.

The vapor production is superb, with thick plums of vapor that are pleasant to the eye and somehow increase the satisfaction and gratification of the whole experience of vaping this e-liquid.

Banana Nut Bread Flavor is absolutely delicious, by far it is the best dessert e-liquid I have ever tried and I think that it may interest people who are not into sweet flavors. The only shortfall I find in this e-liquid is its addictiveness which will lead me to vaping it nonstop for the next several months. In the end I may came to hate this flavor, but this is doubtful.

I would highly recommend Banana Nut Bread to anyone. Oh and as for the weight lose, this e-liquid has legitimately kept me off the sweets for now.

[halocigs]

[kingvapor-blog]

Very disturbing.. Where’s your vape?

[kingvapor-blog]

The Road of The Electronic Cigarette

The electronic cigarette (e-cig for short) also known as vaporizer is an electronic device that vaporizes special nicotine containing liquid. The vapor that is the end result of this process is in turn inhaled by the user and thus imitating normal cigarettes. And everything is all powered by a battery.

The electronic cigarette doesn't contain the more than the 4000 different chemicals found in the normal tobacco cigarette brands. The liquid that is used contains different flavors (which are also used for foods), vegetable glycerin/propylene glycol and nicotine.

Propylene glycol has been used for asthma inhalers since the 1950s and it is included by the Food and Drug Administration of the USA as one of its GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) substances.

In reality there have been scores of people who accredit their giving up smoking to electronic cigarettes. Smokers find it easier to give up smoking using electronic cigarettes due to the similar experience that e-cigarettes provide. There is however one major difference, there is no combustion and no smoke produced when you use an e-cig.

The idea about e-cigs first came out in the 1960es, but it wasn't put into being before the year 2004 when a Chinese pharmacist named Hon Lil, who wanted to give up smoking, made the first one. Two year later electronic cigarettes were already being made on industrial scale, but it would be some time before their quality was raised enough for them to be considered as a serious thread to the tobacco companies.

Since then e-cigs have been enhanced and bettered, making them even more attractive for people who want to give up smoking. The sales projections only for the US and Europe for 2014 are set for no less than 3 billion dollars and these figures do not include Asia, South America and Australia, promising bright future for the e-cig world.

[itisvapor5]

[kingvapor-blog]

The Truth About #Vaping

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The Girlfriend Factor and Ecigs

People are creatures of habit. Our habits, the things we are used to do are to no small extent a part of our personality. Thus we are often described by other people by a quality we have or a habit that has made an impression on them. Thus for a long time if you had asked about me at work I would be the guy who was smoking. Yep, I was the only person from our, albeit small office who was a smoker.

I was a bit irked about being “The Smoker”, but it I was smoking. Every lunch break or every chance I got I was going outside to grab a smoke. I just couldn’t help it; the urge was stronger than me. Not that I hadn’t tried before to stop smoking.

My longest period without cigarettes was 12 days when I was on a camping trip. Let me tell you, if you think that the best time to stop smoking is when you are in the forest, away from any place that sells cigarettes, surrounded by your girlfriend’s friends you are going to have a bad time. Once I returned I chugged a whole pack for less than 3 hours, I almost fainted.

So in the end I decided that stopping smoking is more than I could go through. Now as I am looking back, I am glad to say that my girlfriend had some other ideas. For Christmas she gave a ProVape ecig starter kit. I was a bit dubious about the usefulness of the whole contraption, but I decided to give it a try.

After some getting used to the new sensation of replacing smoke with vapor I got completely hooked on the whole ecig thing. I went on a shopping spree, buying a large array of juice (this is how you call the liquid you are using in your ecig) and gizmoes.

Now about a month and some weeks later I have stopped smoking. I even started feeling revulsion whenever I smell cigarette smoke. I feel better; I even got the sense of taste in my mouth that seems to have been greatly impaired by my smoking. At work I am now know as the vaping guy, which is funny, since I don’t vape in the office. Although there are no regulations against it I still prefer to have my piece and quiet outside. Who knew that vaping was so good ?

[ambermaitrejean]

Trees at Akasaka on a Rainy Evening. Virtual art series. By Amber Maitrejean

Image in the PD. circa 1859

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The story of my success quitting smoking

We all know that smoking isn’t just a hobby it has turned into a kind of pseudo semi-religion with an hourly ritual of burning small pyres of tobacco and paper and inhaling the smoke. Smokers don’t only smoke because of desire to smoke and their nicotine addiction. There other things that compel them to smoke, like peer acceptance, social pressure and the desire to blend in, in a way smoking has turned in a way of life.

Anyway probably most smokers have started smoking because peer pressure, including me. I didn’t want to be left out in school while everyone was smoking behind the school gym. At first I was just there for the jokes, but then I started smoking too.

It has been more than 15 years and during all these years I used to be a smoker. I had tried many times to stop smoking but all of my attempts were to no avail. I had tried almost everything – from nicotine patches and gum to yoga and meditation (I have to admit that when I took up yoga the effort was kind of half hearted for my part.)

The breakthrough came several years ago when electronic cigarettes  become widely available. I was probably among the first to buy one and I was completely disappointed. They were easy to break, couldn’t hold for longer periods of time and it was like trying to drink warm, old and stale coke instead of coffee. So naturally I threw all my e-cig paraphernalia after the 4th day and continued smoking.

Since then it seems the science and development aspects of electronic cigarettes had turned its speed up. Because about 5 months ago I saw a friend who was using an e-cig and let me tell you the one he had looked incredibly well. When he saw my interest he gave me to try it and let me tell you the e-cig I tried that day had nothing in common with the one I used to have except the name.

Naturally 3 days later I had my first e-cig starter kit. I can truly say that I bought the Best E-cig on the market and I'm very happy with it. Now about 5 months after that I am completely nicotine free !

[kingvapor-blog]

NOT Chilling your Toes in the Winter – Vaper’s Style

As the winds, the snow and the chilling air are getting even colder I can’t but feel sympathy for all the smokers who will be forced to spend a considerable amount of time chilling their toes while trying to somehow stay warm in the subzero temperatures. For a long time I was also in the ranks of the people who would take their coats and jackets during the lunch break and march in the snow to grab a quick whiff of cigarette smoke.

But last year after one too many “chill sessions” I got sick. I recovered fairly quickly, but two weeks later I was sick again and this time it took me about a full week to be able to walk out of the bed alone. After this incident I decided that spending a lot of time on the outside was probably not the best thing for me. So I tried to keep at a minimum the time I spent in arctic conditions.

As you could imagine being a smoker was weighing significantly against my idea. I just couldn’t smoke inside even at home - my girlfriend would have killed me if I have tried to pull that one. The only place where I was ably smoking at ease was my car, but the inside of a car can get pretty darn cold too.

After observing my miserable state, my girlfriend being the good person she is decided to get me an ecig starter kit. Initially much for her disappointed I wasn’t very happy about it. But after a week I caved in.

And not so surprisingly I liked vaping ! Two and a half months into winter I was a changed man, no longer smoking and no longer freezing my feet while grabbing a smoke in the back alley behind my office.

The ecig starter kit is probably the best pre-Christmas I have ever received. Since then I have drawn several of my smoking friends into our vaping circle, probably the best part about it was when the 7 year old son of one of my friends came to me while I was visiting and thanked me that I had made his daddy “to stop smoking and smell bad”. 

For any of you smokers out there, give vaping a try.