Do you use pipe tobacco as a base?
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“Rational” ? … Do you mean like in the classic mathematical sense (of “fractional”) ? Percentages ? 
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I actually used to smoke Liggett & Myers Red Label for so many years, back in the days when I didn’t give a hoot what the doctor ordered.
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Good thread, @SessionDrummer. Nice to see a little rationality amongst all the hysteria. I’ve been pushing the stock up theme for a while. Taking as much of my vaping fate as I could, into my own hands, I started stocking up. It just seemed like the prudent thing to do.
Like @Josephine_van_Rijn, I’ve been a tobacco flavor vaper since I started vaping. I switched to vaping, to replace tobacco, and just stayed on that path. Considering all the present insanity. I’m glad I did. I probably don’t feel as threatened as most, but I’m not letting my guard down either. It also doesn’t prevent me from signing petitions, supporting CASAA, or sending emails. Gotta support my brothers & sisters.
I prefer MTL, low power (aka somewhat older gear) I lucked out. When I started stocking up, sub ohm was taking off like wildfire. Older MTL stuff could be found cheaply, in the clearance sales. I targeted the gear that worked best for my style, kept an eye on the clearance sales, and bought tanks & mods 4, 5, 6, 8 at a time. I loaded up on spare parts at Fasttech. My plan was to be as self sufficient as possible, for as long as (or a little longer) than I realistically expected to vape.
I liked the self sufficient aspect of NETs as well. I experimented with that too. They tasted fine, but I didn’t like the aspect of re-wicking / dry burning as often as was required. Once I retire (hopefully soon) I’ll have more spare time to spend, with NETs, and I can get the NET gear back out.
For those contemplating experimenting with tobaccos, as a fallback if necessary. It’ll be no different than when you started out mixing food, fruit, snack flavors. You learn as you go. It may even be fun to learn a different aspect of mixing. There’s lots of help here for flavor info & suggestions. As always, taste is subjective. My personal tip, don’t get mired too long in the RY4 camp, trying to find ‘it’. There may be a great RY4 out there somewhere, but I never found it. I tried quite a few, and usually couldn’t wait to finish the tank, so I could move on to something else. YMMV as always.
Whatever you do. Make up a plan. Take stock on your gear, decide what you like, and get some spare parts, extra glass, o rings, etc. Double check the Vapocalypse Nic Calculator and see where you presently stand, and decide where you want to be, nic-wise. Try and fill in that gap, when the weather cools down a little. If you have gear you don’t think you’ll use, long term, maybe list it in the trade section, along with what you are looking for. You never know. With all the users on this forum, there has to be one hell of a combined inventory.
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Dang straight there ! It is Nicotine itself that just may soonest become the most preciously endangered component (as NET extractions, at least in glycols such as PG, extract very little Nicotine themselves).
Fabes, as I keep dropping the coil power (and upping the Nicotine concentration), I am pleased to find that with Rayon wicks - in a single 3mm inner diameter, 13-turn, #26 Gauge SS 316L coil, and under ~6 Watts in Kayfun 5 on a Sigelei 30W Mini - there is (relatively) minimal “browning” of the inner surfaces of the wick. NET extracts represent ~20% of my mixed juice. Nicotine concentration is ~16 mg/ml. No biggie at 5-6 W.
I warm water wash and dry the wicked deck nightly (with a tad of filing-away on outer coil-gunk). Am pleased to find that my wicks are now lasting on the order of 5-6 days, as opposed to the previous 2-3 days (max). My SS coils are lasting weeks on end before breaking (past 1 month so far, using a #26 wire ~1.0 Ohm coil)
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I have been using Rayon exclusively for a few years now. I use the old Joyetech CLR coils a lot. I find them excellent for low power use, say under 12 - 15 watts. I usually have a few freshly rebuilt CLR’s on stand by, for a quick swap.
I’ll take out the old CLR and if I don’t have time to rebuild it, I’ll just set it on a paper towel, and screw in a fresh one. When I look at it the next day, the Rayon wick looks virtually new. That’s just from the paper towel, absorbing the old juice out of the wick, overnight! I’m sure I’d get the same results with a quick rinse.
I use 30 ga Kanthal, though. Approx 1.6 ohms. The coil is too flimsy for scrubbing or filing, so I just pull the wick & coil together, and replace both. The CLR is so easy to rebuild, it only takes a few minutes. No screws, or trapping wire.
Maybe I’ll toss a used one in the USC for a few minutes, with just water, and see what happens. I have no doubt the wick will be clean. I’m curious as to what it will do on the gunk.
Edit: It will take me more time to get the USC filled with water, run it for a few minutes, then empty & wipe out the USC, than it would to just rebuild the CLR. So, it wouldn’t save me any time & labor, but would be worth it for info purposes.
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Like this item ?
What is the (atty) inner diameter dimension that limits the wound coil “length” (though the Steam Engine calculator widget refers to it as “coil width”). What is the inner coil diameter itself ? These coils are pre-wound, or you wind them ? Just nerding-out.
This is one (~1.637 Ohm) coil that I wind for my RDAs. #28 SS 316L, 3 mm inner diameter, 5 mm “length”:
https://www.steam-engine.org/coil.html?a=true&mat=ss316l&r=1.637&awg=28&id=3
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I remember those 
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Yep, that’s the Ti / temp control version of a CLR coil. There’s also a Kanthal version with black o rings. The difference being (besides wire type) the positive / base pin (the gold item in the pics) has a larger diameter bore / air feed hole on the Ti version. The Kanthal version has a tighter draw.
One cool aspect of the CLR is, you can swap the base pins, to fit your draw style. The coil housing itself, is the same in both coils. Gold pins are loose draw, the Kanthal pins are silver and are a tighter draw.
I wind my own coils. 5 wraps of 30 ga Kanthal (spaced), on a 2.5 mm mandrel / screwdriver. Just a simple, round wire coil. Your 13 wrap 26 ga SS coil wouldn’t fit in the CLR housing. Just going from memory, and not using Steam Engine, if I wanted to wind a 1 ohm coil, I’d use 6 or 7 wraps of 28 ga Kanthal on a 2 mm mandrel. I use a similar coil in my Doggystyle RTAs’.
I have one of my original CLR’s still in daily rotation, after almost 4 years. That thing has been rebuilt at least 200 times. It’s just a mini sized RBA. A drop in coil, that’s designed to easily be rebuilt. I think I have 95 of them…lol. I liked them so much when I started using them, I picked up a bunch (Clearance!) for $2.50 per 5 pack. I didn’t realize at the time, that these little suckas’ just don’t wear out! I guess I’m a little overstocked on this item.
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This is a better image, that shows the individual components of the CLR.
You can also adjust the juice flow via the regulator ring, to suit the viscosity of your juice. By screwing the regulator ring up towards the top cap, you squeeze the wick, reducing the flow.
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I do the same. Those CLR heads are just indestructable. I use them for roadtrips. They wick so well, I don’t have to refill as often and I can use single batt mods that won’t take up space in my pockets. Incredibly easy to rebuild.
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For hardware I need to pick up a few smaller Pico styled mods. I refuse to use mech tubes. I have more than enough dual 18650 mods. I grabbed a bunch of those Nova kits when EightVape had them for $20. Those in addition to a bunch I’ve already had stashed away. But I want to get some more pocket freindly mods to have in my stash. That’s about all I really want more of harware-wise. I have squonks up the ying yang but still like tanks. I have RBAs for a lot of my subohm tanks, plus a bunch of RTAs, and more than enough wicks and wire.
I mix for 3 people. I could probably use more nic. I usually have a few liters in the freezer. Right now there’s around 2.5 liters in there. So I’ll probably order a couple more. If shit hits the fan, I might try lower my intake. Instead of 3mg, use 1.5mg maybe. It will essentially double itself if I can adjust to the lower level. I wont go back to smoking.
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“Flavored vapes are facing a ban. What does that mean for vapers?”
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“Watched by millions, ‘vape influencers’ worry they will become collateral damage in Trump’s new ban”
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I will have to think about this. Definitely more Nic 100, look at what I have in larger quantiles for flavors and 4x up on those. And maybe pick up a few more Mods, the simpler the better, they seem to last longer.
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When SS wire was fairly new and not yet stocked in the vape shops my friend and I were searching everywhere. I found a medical supply company online that sells 316L SS sutures. The shipping is crazy expensive but I have not experienced a SS wire as good as this. I’ve had coils last for 6 months with frequent use. I suppose when they’re stitching together your sternum or whatever, it’s got to last a good long time, lol.
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I’m not worried about VG/PG. Those items are necessary for making soaps and other cosmetic things. I get mine from Essential Depot, a huge supplier for soap and cosmetic manufacturers (and individual makers). I figure they can’t stop the business of ALL flavor companies. I’ll buy wire from electrical supplier,Temco, and the medical supplier I found. We’ll always have batteries because of all the hobbyists out there. It’s the nic I worry about. I haven’t placed any orders yet because of ground shipping and the horrid temperature conditions lately. When the first vapocalypse arrived I joked about how we would be chewing nicorettes and spitting saliva in our juice. I can’t believe I’m actually contemplating that desperate idea, lol. Please tell me I’ll be able to get nicotine somehow.
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Can you get some Everclear or just some “high octane” vodka? Or what about a dry burn and blow, lol. Or dry burn and quick hot water wash so as not to arc the coil.
Are those CLRs still around? You’re making me wish I kept more of my old stuff.
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Picked up a liter of nic. With what I already have that should take me to end of life.
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