Walt

Bravo!!!!

Welcome!   

Hello! I'm very new to vaping, so please don't be mean. I started with the SMOK pod system then upgraded to the SMOK T-PRIV with TFV8 Baby (standard) tank. I accidentally gutted the pre-installed coil when trying to figure out why I leaked an entire 5ml of juice the first time I used it. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Completely accidental. Thankfully it also had the dual coil with it, no leaks since switching! I also purchased the TFV8 Baby V2 tank with it, which I haven't opened yet. I'm vaping CBD oil (150mg per 30ml) with 6mg of nicotine juice together. Great flavor mix I put together I might add. One of my local shops is amazing with great flavors and prices! My problem is, I'm having trouble finding the best seeing for me. Should I just start with the lowest and keep going up until I find the right one? Right now I'm at 43.0 watts on normal. Sometimes my clouds will be huge and others not so much. There's also a whistling sound at times, but not always (I guess turning the.... Airflow?..... part in the bottom changes that). I have successfully stopped smoking my filtered cigars for a full week and plan to lower my nicotine mg in two more weeks! I also have trouble sometimes with coughing a lot, like I've just talked a huge toke from a blunt (something I haven't done in 16 years) and that tends to be a problem sometimes. Eventually I'll be vaping to simply enjoy the amazing flavors available, but I'm lost on how to find the best settings to use. Any and all advice given is appreciated very much! TIA

In general the higher the resistance the lower the power needed, kinda, sorta.....
The mass of the coil, the heat flux of the coil, and the design of the vapor chamber of the atty also play a big part in this.  Two exotic coils @ .5Ω will require a lot more power than a simple wire single coil @ the same resistance.  As far a flavor, the design of the atty is the most important factor.  I have atties that will produce wonder flavor at 20W and 1Ω and others that require more exotic coils to reach their flavor potential.  I have a Siren II atty that I build @1Ω and use with single 18650 mods and get great battery life.  It is a single coil atty and I use simple wire and get great flavor.  The draw is restricted although direct to lung and the vapor production is limited although satisfying to me.  

I'm headed the same direction lately.  Rediscovering variable wattage mode and the beatitudes of simple wire.  Not sure I'll ever go back to a AIO EGO but definitely enjoying the change.  

A .2 coil with a fully charged battery will pull about 21A, so you probably won't blow yourself up.

Decided to give squonking a try. My Fuchai 213 Squonk kit came today. (Why is it when you're waiting on vape mail the mail is always late??!!) I got the yellow color, though it's more gold than yellow. Also got a Dead Rabbit RDA. The reviews of the Cube RDA (that came in the kit) weren't particularly favorable for whatever reason, but it's working well so far, of course it's only been a couple of hours! I have the Rabbit if the Cube falls out of favor! The mod is comfortable to hold, menu easy to navigate, I'm good to go!

Holy Crap!  You're a machine today.  
Let's see, I've been up for about an hour and a half and I've stared at the PC monitor a lot.  I did build one TC coil and tested a Cylon.  I found out it runs about 40°F hot.  Also discovered another battery bit the dust.  100% Sag right off the charger.  Probably time to replace that one, lol.  

At this instant it is strawberry cream.  By this afternoon it could be apple pie.  I have a dozen or so "home brews" that are favorites.  I still have a few commercial juices around.  Honorable mentions would be:  Dis Dat Ish cyclone, Naked 100 Lava Flow.  8 Mile Watermelon Blast and VTMN Island. 

Starting a new mod company.  Calling it Last Vape.
 

Thank you!  I was hoping it wasn't another invasive species from China.  

Forget the wattage.  it's not important.
whatever coil you put in, set the voltage at about 3.7 V.   then vape it and adjust up from there. somewhere in there you will find a sweet spot. Make a note of the wattage (watts are a product of voltage accross the resistance (ohm))
whenever you use a different ohm coil, do the same thing.  If your using the same coil, vape the wattage you found works.  
the higher the voltage (or wattage - same difference) the more you will shorten coil life. So if you want longer life, be conservative in your power settings. 
A brand new coil will take higher power for a while.  But you are likely to burn it out faster. there is always a trade off.
I usually vape any coil I make at 3.9 - 4.2 volts and let the wattage fall where it may. (I get long coil life - 2 to 4 weeks). You can't adjust voltage and wattage separately.  they are tied together.  When you "raise the wattage" you are really just increasing the voltage across the coil.  Raise the voltage and the watts goes up. lower the voltage and the watts go down. 
Its fine to remember the wattage and use that number to set your mod as manufacturers seem to realize that people focus in the wattage. But it's really the voltage you are changing. 
It's like a car.  The speedometer doesnt make the car go.  You dont "raise the speedometer", (wattage), you give it more gas (voltage). 

Too cool, too cool!!!  
We've done a lot of recordings by recording live tracks and mixing them for the purpose of letting potential clients know exactly how we sound.  Mistakes and all left in.  This is our first go around at actual "studio" recordings.  Everybody is learning a lot.  There is some pressure as one member has a benchmark quality he wants to achieve but the album will not be for sale.  We plan on having it pressed into vinyl just for us and close friends.  There is no marketing pressure involved at least.  

Wishing you and yours  a happy healthy new year

Happy New Year, everyone! May this coming year bring nothing but positives with much love and joy and good health to your loved ones.

Happy New Year to all!

Thx!
Got both mods as Christmas gifts... I've always enjoyed vaping 2 mods at the same time with different flavors to avoid flavor burnout vaping the same flavor all day long.. I really like these two, one with King Cookie and the other with Pina Colada.. appreciate your reply bro!

I like the look of that mod.

Belated Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving!

I'll try to answer as best as I can and my answers/recommendations are based on United States information.
The only mac compatible software for updating firmware that comes to mind is eScribe, which is used for updating the firmware on DNA chipsets.  Something comparable (actually much better, in my opinion) to the smok alien 220w you have been using is any mod using a DNA 250 chip.  
As far as your specific requirements:
escribe (Currently with US and International versions for mac, but again, for DNA chipsets only) Maybe not under $100, but you can find the Lost Vape Triade DNA250C for about $120.  It can't jumpstart a car, operate a spaceship or function as a PS4 controller, but it is an excellent mod. Since it's just a mod, you can use just about any tank you can get your hands on. It uses 3x18650 rechargeable batteries. The Triade is solidly built.  Mine is going on 3 years old and I've never had an issue with it so I've never had to take it apart.  That being said, it does appear to be fairly easy to disassemble/reassemble.

1st piece of advise using a mech mod, read, learn and understand Ohms Law so you don't become a statistic. That IMHO is the 1st step in using a mech.

The best set up is the one that works best for you. Vaping is extremely subjective so what works well for one person may not for another. If you've found something that makes you happy, that's probably the one you should stick with.   

Happy Halloween