2 Things I wish someone had told me long ago re:808s and upscale juice.

[Ralikar]

1) If you are in the 808 world like I was for over a year... LEAVE! the 808 world is too expensive! Had I know 5 cartos are $5 in the 501 world I would have bailed long ago... They are $10 in the 808 world. A 1300 X2 costs $30, a 1100 regular Ego like 14$. LEAVE!

2) juice. DIY! DIY DIY! I just ordered my second batch and can now make for $35 what I was paying $120 for. If only I had known. You don't have to do it the hard way at all--do it the easy way at first. Wizard's Lab will sell you the nic juice in the strength and PG/VG you want for cheap. Go to Capella for noob-proof single flavors. Dump in the % of flavor into the pre-made juice and BAM! 36mg cinnamon Danish of 80/20 or 70/30 etc. It is that easy... Do the difficult combos later if you want. If you're vaping JC summer peach for $20/30ml, you can buy 30ml of 36mg in any PG/VG premade combo at WL for $2.75, toss in $2.50 or so of Capella raspberry (15% or so) and be set. Save your money!!

GL!

 

[carlton M]

DIY- Forever! Now all my $$$ goes to buying flavors! It's better now that I found Vaping Zone super concentrated- check 'em out!

 

[recidivus]

Couldn't agree more, although I wouldn't have learned half of what I know now if I was satisfied with my first 808. It's a logical first step. Smoker wants to stop smoking and sees cigalikes as a more reasonable replacement than some sharpy with a tank on it. Less parts to fiddle with it should be better/easier. I get it, I did the same thing at first. DIY are the same as the 808 to start, premades just seem easier and DIY can sound daunting to a new vaper. No syringes, safety, measuring, just top up and go. That said, the price of DIY is ludicrously low once you start buying the bases in larger quantities (easily half the cost, EASILY). It may not sound like much but it adds up, and the money saved can go to new hardware.

 

[VaporPhreak]

Completely agree on the DIY point. My DIY Double Mint Menthol works out to right around $0.13 per ml. I was paying $4.25 for a 10ml bottle before, now only $1.30 for the same amount of juice. And considering I burn through upwards of 5ml a day... yeah, DIY is the best.

As for 808 vs 510, I cant really speak to that. I never really got into cartos until the 510 carto's started coming on the scene. And now, I am 510 tank man.

 

[six]

I started out with 510 and stuck with it.

I've been seriously considering DIY juice lately, but there are a few juices I use regularly and enjoy quite a lot that are difficult if not impossible to replicate the flavor of (according to my reading anyway). The juices I get from AVE and BWB account for 2/3 of my vaping. I'd be a little stressed without my AVE 555, Bobas, PGHype and my BWB Applewood and Honey Flue Cured.

 

[CommaHolly]

Oh, I don't know,,,,,,,If I want to, I can get 20 808 cartos for 20 bucks,,,,,,I usually buy the Smokeless Image ones though,,,,,a bit more pricey, but they are bottom coil, and can be refilled many many times,,,,,,,Maybe I'm just not that picky, but if I boil them and dry them out for a day or two, I can refill them without flavor issues. I think I've gone a month on 6 cartos, and that's TWO of us. I did just order more, though. By keeping one carto to a juice, though, I think we could go much longer before having to replace.

As for DIY, we are headed down to 0 mg nic, so I do think that's probably the way to go for us, for at LEAST the single flavors,,,,,peach, strawberry, etc,,,,,,,,,save that money for the ones we love that are more complicated,,,buttery nipple, etc.

 

[recidivus]

Wait, what? Buttery nipple? How on earth is that concocted? Is it better than the regular cream?

 

[nansc]

If you want to try some simple combo mixes they have some great ones on ECX in their recipe book.http://www.ecigexpress.com/cookbook

 

[CommaHolly]

Wait, what? Buttery nipple? How on earth is that concocted? Is it better than the regular cream?

I have no idea, but man is that stuff GOOD!!!!!!!

Buttery Nipple

 

[CommaHolly]

If you want to try some simple combo mixes they have some great ones on ECX in their recipe book.http://www.ecigexpress.com/cookbook

oh my gosh,,,,,,thank you!

 

[Fiamma]

For the first year I vaped I was terrified to try DIY. I found a juice vendor who would mix to my specs, the juice was very very good and I was happy.

I sorta got talked into DIY by people I met on the vaping channels. I bought some supplies, did a cost analysis and decided the most expensive 30 ml bottle I could make was 3.20 in cost with the brands I had then. Since then I've discovered other Vendors and have further cut that cost as I need to use less of their flavorings in the bottle.

I also discovered single flavor juice making and some 2 flavoring mixes along with all the multiples I had learned to make. I just don't buy much juice any longer at all, but I still patronize the juice guy I started with when I do. He's a great guy and makes super juice

The money I'm now saving goes for consumables, dripping atties, cartos, drip tips, etal.

I love DIY

 

[CommaHolly]

ok, you've talked me into it,,,,, I am definitely going to give it a try!

 

[Ralikar]

I am a DIY noob so I do have the authority to speak on this... The vet DIY people reccomended Capellas to me as a source of easy, non-chemically/perfumey flavors which make great noob stuff at 5-20%, usually 15%. The VET DIY people you will notice mix their stuff from tons of places, many with a more chemically base and need several ingredients to make things work. I tried a single sample of a chemically company and it was like crap for MY taste so I threw it in he trash. So:

Noob school like me= Juice+Capella its hard to screw up a single flavor that bad
Vet DIY: lots of ingredients, perfected to their subtle taste preferences

Just a tip so you don't blow $50 on some company's flavors that don't work for you.

 

[juicejunky]

Great thread.

When I started 808's were harder hitting at 3.7 to 4.2 than the 510 cigarette size ones. They also had the 5V passthru. I only stayed in 808 land for 3-4 months, but it did have it's place in my vaping conversion process. Mods are scary to noobs.

It took me 18 months to try DIY, so I am slow in that department. I'm still at the one flavor stage, but I do mix my own NIC base 70PG/30VG at 12-18mg from 60mg nic. I'm kicking myself I didn't do this earlier for some flavors. So cheap and I know what's in my juice. My favorite everyday juices are still vendor made, but I'll get there.

Noob school like me= Juice+Capella its hard to screw up a single flavor that bad

Thanks for the tip. I need some noob flavors.

 

[funkfist]

It's really funny because I started with 510, built my own mods, bought a few mods, moved on to VV then I realized this crap is getting to be a hassle so I sold off all my mods and went to 808. I'm sure you'll be back in the future ;P

 

[CommaHolly]

too funny, Funkfist!!!!!! I love my 808! Although I do think I am going to get an X2 for vaping in front of my computer,,,,,,long batt life and a pass through can not be beat,,,,but the reg 78mm batts are great for being out and about!

 

[Kemosabe]

check out elite vaporworks for 808 horizontal coil cartos. its $8 for a pack of five and they are identical to Volts. they also give you the snazzy little plastic case, and its free shipping \o/

Oh, I don't know,,,,,,,If I want to, I can get 20 808 cartos for 20 bucks,,,,,,I usually buy the Smokeless Image ones though,,,,,a bit more pricey, but they are bottom coil, and can be refilled many many times,,,,,,,Maybe I'm just not that picky, but if I boil them and dry them out for a day or two, I can refill them without flavor issues. I think I've gone a month on 6 cartos, and that's TWO of us. I did just order more, though. By keeping one carto to a juice, though, I think we could go much longer before having to replace.

As for DIY, we are headed down to 0 mg nic, so I do think that's probably the way to go for us, for at LEAST the single flavors,,,,,peach, strawberry, etc,,,,,,,,,save that money for the ones we love that are more complicated,,,buttery nipple, etc.

 

[CommaHolly]

check out elite vaporworks for 808 horizontal coil cartos. its $8 for a pack of five and they are identical to Volts. they also give you the snazzy little plastic case, and its free shipping \o/

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kemosabe]

im a DIY fan as well. i sort of stumbled into it by first gettign a syringe to fill cartos, then some flavorings to "spruce up" some dull juices, then a measuring cup to get more accurate and some pipettes to transfer liquids, before i knew it, i had a complete diy set. so i just scooped up some nic on sale and it was all over. i ended up finding clones to some amazing flavors. now THAT is the best. but, DIY can waste *some* money but not much. lewarning curve, messing up a batch- that can be really frustrating. trying to salvage it, etc.

 

[Kemosabe]

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no sweat. youre gonna love em