How To Use
Guides from our counters
Fix it, use it, get more out of it.
Every guide here answers a question customers bring to our Michigan shops, written around gear we stock. One job or one question, start to finish: what you need, what order to do it in, what usually goes wrong, and how to avoid damaging something you paid for.
VAPES AND DISPOSABLES
Charging, battery life, settings and flavor. Every guide below is a vape question we get at the counter.
Start here: what is it doing?
Find the card that matches what your device is actually doing. Most of these are a two minute fix.
It will not take a charge.
No light, or a light that comes on and nothing happens. Almost always the charging port or the cable, not a dead device: pocket lint and dust sit on the contacts and block them.
Clean the port dry, then try another cable and power source. Vuse not charging: the full checklist
You want to keep vaping while it is plugged in.
That is pass-through charging, and very few disposables support it. Most have a chip that locks the firing button while the cable is in.
Unplug it and wait. Can you hit a vape while it is charging?
You cannot find a charging port.
Some disposables recharge and some do not. The Breeze Prime does not: there is no port on it, so there is nothing to plug in.
Check for a port before you buy the next one. Can you recharge a Breeze Prime?
It died much sooner than you expected.
The number on the box is the manufacturer's estimate for ideal use. A JUUL pod holds 0.7ml and is rated at about 200 puffs, and long deep inhales get through that far quicker.
Check the real-world numbers. How many puffs are really in a pod
It lights up when you pull, but no vapor.
Not a charging fault, which is why the charging fixes do nothing for it. Usually a flooded coil, a spent coil, or a pod that is not seated.
Reseat the pod, clear the contacts, let a flooded coil dry. It lights up but will not hit
You cannot tell when it has finished charging.
From flat, 60 to 80 minutes on most pod devices. Finished is a steady green light or the light going out, depending on the device.
Still going after a few hours? It is the cable or the power source. What the indicator lights mean
There is a boost button and you are not sure what it does.
Boost fires a second mesh coil alongside the first: bigger clouds, hotter vapor, and the battery drains 40 to 50% faster, so the puff count on the box goes out of the window.
Use it when you want it, not as the default. Boost mode explained
Not on the list?
Bring it into any of our Michigan shops and we will look at it with you.
Vape guides
Vuse Not Charging? Green Light and Fixes
Why a Vuse Alto shows a green light, blinks, or refuses to take a charge, and the cleaning and cable checks that fix it.
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Can You Hit a Vape While Charging?
What pass-through vaping is, which devices actually support it, and why we tell people to unplug first anyway.
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What Is the Breeze Prime? Prime vs Pro
The difference between the Breeze Prime and the Breeze Pro, what the five Breeze Life circles mean, and whether either one recharges.
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How Many Puffs in a Juul Pod?
The real puff count per pod, how it compares to a pack of cigarettes, and what makes one pod last twice as long as another.
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How Long Do Disposables Last?
What the puff count on the box means in real use, and how to tell when a disposable is nearly done.
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What Boost Mode Actually Does, and How to Use It on Each Device
What boost changes, what it costs in battery and e-liquid, and how to switch it on and off on all six devices we sell.
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Mr. Vapor Flex: How to Use It
How the Flex works, how to recharge it, how to take a hit, and what to check when it stops working.
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Vape Airflow Control: Dial In Your Draw
How to set airflow for a tight or an open draw, and what it changes about flavor and vapor.
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Vaper's Tongue: How to Get Flavor Back
Why your e-liquid suddenly tastes of nothing, and the simple fixes that bring the flavor back.
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How to Make Your Own E-Juice
Ingredients, gear, mixing a first batch, the safety basics and how long to steep it.
Read the guide →PODS AND COILS
Which pod or coil fits your device, how to prime it, and how to make it last.
Which Pod or Coil Fits My Vape?
Our best-selling pod systems, mod kits and tanks, each with the replacement pods or coils that fit it.
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Dry Hits: Preventing and Fixing a Dry Coil
Why a hit tastes burnt, how to prime and wick a coil properly, and the habits that stop it happening again.
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Geekvape L200 Coils
Which Z Series coils fit the L200 (Aegis Legend 2), how to install and prime them, and how to make them last.
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Nautilus Aspire Coils
Which Aspire coils fit which Nautilus tank, how to prime them, and how to get more life out of each one.
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Drip Tips: 510 vs 810
Which drip tip size fits your tank, and what the material changes about the draw.
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Vape Coil Building for Beginners
The tools, wire and wick you need for a first DIY coil, and how to get started safely.
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How to Build Coils
Wrapping, installing and wicking a coil, start to finish, for your first build.
Read the guide →MODS, TANKS AND E-LIQUID
Box mods, all-in-one boro mods, squonkers and the juice that goes in them: what each one does and who it suits.
What Is a Boro Mod? AIO Vapes Explained
What AIO means, how the boro tank and bridge work, and how a boro device compares to a box mod with a tank.
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What Is a Squonk Mod?
How a squonk mod feeds an RDA from a squeeze bottle inside the mod, and how it compares to dripping by hand.
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VG vs PG: Picking a Juice Ratio
What VG and PG each do, and which ratio suits a pod, a sub-ohm tank or cloud chasing.
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What Is Bypass Mode on a Vape Mod?
What bypass does on a box mod, how it compares to a mechanical mod, and who should use it.
Read the guide →WAX AND DRY HERB
Wax pens, nectar collectors, e-rigs, 510 batteries and grinders: settings, loading, cleaning and the parts that fit.
Which Coil or Atomizer Fits My Wax Pen?
The coil or atomizer for every wax pen, nectar collector and e-rig we carry: Lookah, Yocan, Dr. Dabber, Focus V, Ooze and Smok.
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510 Battery Guide: Every Cart Battery We Carry, With Prices
Every 510 battery on the shelf with today's price: discreet, twist pen, box style with voltage and preheat, character designs, and cart plus wax in one.
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How to Use the Lookah Ant Wax Pen
Load a small dab, five clicks on, two for 3.2, 3.6 or 4.0 volts, hold to heat. Cleaning and the coils that fit.
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How to Use the Lookah Seahorse: Every Model, Step by Step
Five clicks on, two for voltage, three for session mode, then what is different about the 2.0, Pro Plus, King, Queen, X and Max.
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How to Use an Electric Nectar Collector: The Lookah Giraffe, Step by Step
Five clicks on, two to change voltage, hold and touch the tip. Settings, cleaning and which replacement tips fit.
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How to Use the Lookah Mini Dragon Egg E-Rig
Water to one third, the three heat settings, loading the 910 coil, and the one part you must not soak in alcohol.
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The Best Grinder for Herbs
Two part against four part, aluminum against acrylic, and what the extra chambers and the screen actually do.
Read the guide →SMOKE SHOP GLASS AND ACCESSORIES
Glass, rigs, bangers and cleaning: one job or one question, start to finish, using gear we stock.
Smoke Shop Buyer's Guide: Dab Rigs, Bongs, Pipes and the Parts That Go With Them
What actually goes with a rig, a bong or a hand pipe: bangers, caps, torches, bowls, grinders, cones and the right cleaner for each material.
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How to Clean a Bong, Dab Rig or Pipe
Which cleaner fits glass, quartz or silicone, then step by step for a bong, a bowl, a dab rig and banger, a pipe, and how to keep it clean longer.
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Quartz Banger Guide: Sizes, Angles and Fit
10, 14 or 18mm, male or female, 45° or 90°, thermal and flat top, then the carb cap and dab tool that go with it.
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How to Use a Dab Rig
Setting one up, heating the banger, taking the dab and cleaning it afterwards, written for somebody doing it for the first time.
Read the guide →HOOKAH
Setting up a hookah from water to coals, and fixing a harsh or weak draw.
NICOTINE POUCHES
Brands, strengths and flavors side by side, so you can pick a pouch before you come in.
LOOKING FOR A SPECIFIC DEVICE?
Search by brand or device name, like Vuse, Breeze Prime or Geek Bar. Our search looks at products and guides together.
New guides go up as we write them, and this page is always current. If what you need is not here yet, ask us in store and we will walk you through it.
For adults 21+. Use only with materials that are lawful in your jurisdiction. Follow the manufacturer's instructions.