Hi, this page is all about how to's and common trouble shooting problems.

WHAT IS IN E-LIQUID

Just to clear the air, vaping is not smoking.

But the next issue is what is in that liquid that is being atomized into vapor?

Here is the scoop!

e-Liquid or e-Juice is normally made up of up to 5 ingredients (not main ingredients with a giant list of other stuff) :

VG (Vegetable Glycerin) The Base makes up 80-90% of e-liquid and is composed of 100% V...G or a mix with PG. Common ratios are 100% VG, 50/50 PG/VG, and 80/20 PG/VG. A higher VG mix e-liquid will produce thicker clouds of vapor. It is widely used in all types of food and personal care products like toothpaste. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerol

PG (Propylene glycol) Commonly mixed with VG as the base for e-liquid. This is a solvent that’s used in all sorts of things. Along with being a solvent, its mainly known for its use in fog machines. However PG can dry out your throat and even cause mild allergic reactions in some users. If you have any issues with PG, just use a 100% VG e-liquid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol

Flavor 10%-20%. All the e-liquid I’ve seen uses Food grade flavorings originally intended for baking or candy making. Here is an excerpt from the LorAnn website: “All of our materials are food grade (where applicable) and adhere to standards set down in the USP, NF or FCC (U.S.Pharmacopoeia, National Formulary, and Food Chemical Codex).”

Nicotine 0%-2.4% depending on strength. Any large supplier of e-juice is using pharmaceutical grade pure nicotine.

Distilled water is sometimes used to dilute if needed.

There you go! From as little as 2 ingredients (VG and flavor) to as many as 5, and theories on nicotine ingestion non withstanding, all used regularly in food products.

Something to remember is what e-liquid doesn’t contain: the 4000+ chemicals in a cigarette.

Electronic cigarettes are relatively maintenance free.

Other then occasionally recharging your battery, there is very little else to worry about.

However, sometimes you may find your electronic cigarette battery becomes corroded with residue, which in turn may affect performance.

what you will need:

Cotton SwabRubbing AlcoholElectronic Cigarette Battery60 seconds of free time.

Inspect the e-cig battery – Look for residue which may be caught and stuck in the threads of the battery.

Soak Cotton Swab in Rubbing Alcohol – Pour a tiny amount of the rubbing alcohol into a small container, then soak the head of the cotton swab.

Clean the Threads: Using a circular motion, gently use the cotton swab to clean the threads of the battery.

Allow it to dry: Let the battery dry for a few seconds.

You’re done! It really is that easy.

No matter what level vaping you’ve achieved, if you’ve been using an electronic cigarette for any length of time you’ve undoubtedly experienced “flavor fatigue” – also known as VAPER’S TONGUE. Vapers tongue is a frustrating condition that occurs when your favorite e-liquid suddenly loses it’s flavor. It’s a common occurrence for new and experienced... vapers alike, although former smokers are more likely to experience it because of the sudden (and shocking) return of their senses. It’s not a life threatening condition by any means, but it can be a bit unexpected and very annoying. Luckily… there are a few different ways to overcome it.

It’s Not a Problem With Your Tongue…

The first thing I should point out is that “vaper’s tongue” isn’t actually a problem with your taste buds or your tongue at all. As Katrina Schuster at Mt. Baker Vapor points out, your tongue only has the ability to pickup five different sensations: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and savory – it’s the olfactory sensors at the top of your nasal passage that allow your brain to decipher different flavors.

When you are not able to taste your e-juice it’s related to your olfactory senses not your tongue

I agree with Katrina’s assertion that we should quit calling this condition “vapers tongue.” To me, flavor fatigue or vapor exhaustion seem like the more appropriate terms. With that being said, there are a few different things that can cause this loss of flavor and several ways you can recover from it.

Causes of Flavor Exhaustion

It only took a couple of weeks of vaping for me to experience my first bout with vapor’s tongue, and like many people I had no idea what was wrong or why it was occurring. Before we get into the solutions, let’s go over some of the most common causes of vapor exhaustion.

Giving Up SmokingAs you’re probably already aware, smoking dulls your sense of taste and smell. This will undoubtedly affect your first experience with an electronic cigarette, but after several weeks your senses should improve – and so should the taste of your e-cig. As your senses return it’s not uncommon for your olfactory system to overload, causing it to become confused or to completely shut down, leading to an annoying case of vapers tongue. This can happen several times during your transition from smoking, and it can last a few hours or several days.

DehydrationVaping dehydrates you by removing moisture from your mouth. If too much moisture is removed it results in dry mouth and a thin film can form on your tongue and your nasal passages. Not only is this annoying, but it can affect your sense of taste and cause flavor fatigue.

Lack of VarietyIf you’re vaping the same flavor for days or weeks on end, it’s not uncommon for your olfactory sensors to become desensitized. For example, if you’re a fan of cherry e-liquid and you don’t switch it up, the taste may get weaker and weaker – until it completely disappears. More than likely it’s not a problem with the e-liquid or your device, you could be suffering from vapers tongue.

Cold or AllergiesObviously, if you’re having problems with your sinuses and your nasal passages are clogged, your sense of smell will be severely impacted. When your olfactory sensors can’t do their job, it goes without saying that you’re probably not going to be able to sense any flavor.

No Reason at All!I know it’s hard to believe, but sometimes STUFF just happens. It may have nothing to do with any of the factors listed above, so just skip to the resolutions!

Flavor Loss Remedies & Cures

Now that you know the different causes of vapers tongue, a few of the most obvious solutions are clear. First of all, make sure you DRINK LOTS OF WATER! If you’ve been vaping for a while and you haven’t recently quit smoking, dehydration is the most common reason for loosing your sense of flavor. Secondly, consider more variety. Some vapers have a regular rotation of different flavors, but personally, I just switch it up every once in a while when I feel like my taste buds are getting lazy.

Besides the obvious stuff, here are a few other tips worth trying:

Shock your senses. Sometimes you can revive your sense of taste and cleanse your flavor pallet by vaping on strong, flavorful varieties such as mint, menthol or cinnamon.Brush your teeth. For one thing, if you don’t brush your teeth it’s gross! Plus, it can help to remove build up from your tongue. Along with the minty aroma, it may just bring your flavor back.Rinse out your mouth. Since vapor fatigue is caused by your olfactory senses, this is another case where minty aromas may be the key. Try some Listerine or another strong mouth wash.Take a whiff of some coffee grounds. A trick commonly employed by perfume experts and wine tasters, coffee interacts with chemicals in the olfactory sensors – causing them to reset.Get rid of flavors you’ve been despising. Since your sense of taste is already diminished, why waste anymore of your favorite e-liquid? You could use a flavorless product, or use some of that less-than-favorable stuff that’s been hiding in your closet. It may bring back your senses quicker, and you may even develop an attachment to another, unappreciated flavor.Always be sure to STEEP! Most e-juice takes 3 to 4 weeks to steep. Steeping allows it to fully blend, deepening and enriching the flavor over time. Although some companies allow their e-juice to steep in the warehouse, other companies send it freshly mixed. If you just received your e-juice and it doesn’t have any flavor, it’s probably not vapors tongue – it probably needs steeping.

Don’t Worry… Just Give It Time…

It you get a case of vapers tongue, don’t worry – it’s bound to happen at some point. If you recently quit smoking you can expect a few occurrences early on, but it’s frequency should diminish over time. Experienced vapers will undoubtedly experience flavor exhaustion from time-to-time, but in most cases it’s short-live and only lasts a few hours. If you have a spell that lasts longer, drink lots of water, switch up your flavors and try a few of the tips mentioned above. With a little time and some minor adjustments, your favorite flavors should come back vibrant and strong – just like before

TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS:

It can be very frustrating when there seems to be issues with your device. Sometimes it could be something simple like running low on liquid, running out of battery charge, or simply burning out your atomizing device (cartomizer/tank/clearomizer). Having the power of knowledge is something that can save you time, money, energy, as well as prevent you from going back to smoking. Here are a few common problems that arise with electronic cigarettes.

EGO BATTERIES:

Problem:

I charged my battery and nothing happens! The button on my vape doesn't light up at all!

Answer:

Click the battery button really quick five or six times. This will unlock the battery. Click fast like you are double-clicking a mouse. Click it like this to lock and unlock the battery. This is a good feature to have if you want to carry your vape in your pocket or purse and do not want it to activate unintentionally.

Problem:

My battery light is on, and my clearomizer is screwed on, but there is no vape!

Answer:

This is most likely a centre-pin issue. Usually this happens when the centre pin connected to the battery, where the clearomizer/cartomizer/tank connects to the battery is recessed because of a previous attachment causing it to slightly collapse. This is something that happens to the best of us, and can easily be fixed. There are a few things you can do at this point. You can take a nail-file, the kind attached to a nail-clipper, and raise the centre-pin gradually by the edges of it with the file. You may need to raise it by three or four different angles to evenly graduate the centre pin back to its original spot. Make sure that you do not use too much force, because this may cause the pin to completely dislodge from the battery. If you are using mostly ego threaded devices such as the ego cartomizers or our clearomizers, you do not have to completely tighten them onto the battery for them to work. Over tightening can cause the pin to collapse again, depending on how loose the pin has become. Here is a good video made by someone else that shows the problem and the fix:

To prevent this issue, do not wrench down when you screw things onto your battery. Just do enough to make sure it makes contact.

CLEAROMIZERS:

Problem:

My clearomizer is leaking juice from the bottom, what is going on, or is this just junk?

Answer:

Clearomizers can have the tendency of leaking for a couple different reasons. If it is new, it is usually because it has been overfilled, or there is liquid in the centre air-tube, and it is leaking from the battery connection. You can confirm it is this by trying to take a puff, and seeing if you can get a clear, clean hit or if it’s gurgling. There is an easy solution for this, for clearomizers. Simply blow through the cartomizer through the mouthpiece, with a tissue at the end to catch the liquid coming out of the air-tube. This may be more difficult if you are using a juice with a higher amount of vegetable glycerine because the liquid would be thicker.

Problem:

My clearomizer is STILL leaking...I blew out all the fluid from the air hole, but liquid is actually coming out from the side of the clearomizer where the metal meets the glass... It’s getting everywhere, I am wasting juice, and my pocket is full of juice. Do I have to throw this away?

Answer:

This usually happens with the rebuild able clearomizer. What will happen is the bottom connection of the clearomizer is not completely screwed on to the body of the clearomizer. Just simply get a good grasp on the bottom, maybe with a little pair of pliers, and gently but firmly screw the body of the clearomizer on, making sure that it is completely mesh with the indentations of the screws correctly. Don’t over tighten!

PROBLEM:

There is still juice leaking, even though I tightened it completely on, and it is still coming from the side of the glass itself. What happened?

Answer:

This is where the clearomizer may be too far gone. It may be because parts of the clearomizer were over tightened and subsequently cracked under pressure, might be because the clearomizer became too hot from constant repetitive vaping, or it might even be from shipping, falling, or some other type of trauma. There is not much you can do at this point, and it is up to your discretion if it’s worth taping up and letting the show go on, or if it is too much of a headache and not worth the time or energy.

CARTOMIZERS:

Problem:

I just received my cartomizer. I just filled it up, but now when I try to take a hit and fire the battery, I get no suction, and then all of a sudden I’ll get a surge and liquid will pop into my mouth! After that happened, I take a puff, and it goes from being completely clogged to giving little gurgles and I am getting little, if any vapour out of it. What’s going on?

Answer:

What happened in this case is the cartomizer was overfilled, and the excess liquid is preventing it from functioning properly. Take the cartomizer off of the battery, and take a napkin/tissue and use your pinky finger to poke into the battery connection area of the cartomizer and dab the area. You will see when you take your pinky out that there will be liquid saturating the napkin. Use a dry part of the napkin, and with your pinky repeat the process. Do this until you see no more liquid on the napkin when you try to wipe it. Also you should clean the battery connection plate/centre-pin of your battery with a q-tip, to wipe off extra juice. Now simply try to inhale through the cartomizer and check to see if you receive a clear hit, without it being connected to the battery. If there is still an obstruction, then put the napkin on the end of the cartomizer, and gently blow through the cartomizer, and repeat the cleaning process. Repeat these instructions until you can get a clean, clear hit through your cartomizer.