It will probably get there if you don't feel the need to buy every new thing down the pike. I about broke even for the first couple of months finding my niche. I like Kgo from Hoosier Supply, fluxomizers from Gotvapes, and e-liquid from ECblends. I am now spending about 20-40 a month on supplies down from $150 a month on stinky sticks. If you don't want to DIY on the liquids, you won't find a better price for great quality than ECblend IMHO.
Cheaper? Really?
- Thread starter MurseDubya
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
After the initial costs, there is no comparing of analogs to vaping. Not even close. For example, go to say MadVapes, buy a Variable Volt Box Mod for about $35, buy an eGo battery for about $18, a 510 Kit for about $45, cartos/attys---about $30 worth and, accessories/batteries worth about $40, finishing it off with about $50 of juice. That would give yourself a nice variety of well made, inexpensive vaping product that would last you a while, and that total cost would be $218-----less than the cost of a month of cancer sticks. If you clean the cartos with say Vodka or some other method, say $20/mo or so for new cartos, or less if they are syringe loadable, add the juice, then it's about $30-50/mo to vape on the cheap. I know that's REALLY stretching it, but it would be possible (in my newbe opinion, since that's about what I did substituting an 808 for the 510 and a non-variable Box Mod for the VV though I have gotten a few more packs of cartos, when I first started earlier this year). So if you want to spend say $100 or so for new PV's every couple of months or so or buy more of something else you are still $100-$150 a month better off than you used to be. Oh, and healthier, and smelling nicer for your honey, too (if they don't smoke), and now you have a new hobby to boot! Basically spend what you can afford------but don't forget you should be able to spend about $250/mo on vaping since that's what you used to spend on smoking.............remember???
My year since I quit smoking I spent about $1400 on vape stuff, but I was spending $3650 on cigs, so I'm $2250 ahead. It especially gets cheaper after you stop chasing juice and mix your on. First you have to select what cartos/attys work for you, and what kind of batteries you're going to use. That takes a while, experimenting. Then buy strong 100 mg/ml nicotine in VG or PG, buy VG or PG in the quart size, like at LotionCrafter, some bottles and syringes, and a few concentrated flavors for starters like Flavour Art and/or Perfumer's Apprentice that you use like 10-20 drops max per 10 ml bottle, and then your only cost is replacing batteries and cartomizers/atomizers.
I'm a very heavy vaper, I forget the exact cost I calculated per day, but it was like $0.25 to $0.75 a day, and that was including amortized batteries, cartos, etc. You can go crazy trying new flavoring and barely make a dent. It gets so cheap I start to feel guilty, and end up buying new fancy mods and so on. When you figure a heavy vaper can go through 10 ml of juice in a couple days or less, and some outfits charge $1 a milliliter, you can see what a losing proposition buying the "better" juices is compared to DIY. One of the reasons people keep buying juice is to try new flavors. But you get that even more with DIY, and as your stock of flavoring goes up, there are more combinations to try.
If someone is not going to blend their own, or buy just a few juices in bulk quantity (what's the fun of THAT?), I'd say find a vendor that sells like decent Chinese juice like Dekang at $9 for 30 ml at max nicotine, and cut it with drug store glycerin USP. Most people don't really need more than about 15 mg/ml nicotine, and the flavoring is usually way strong enough that if you cut it 1/3 or even 1/2 with glycerin, you get more vapor, and enough flavor and nicotine. Some sell even 36 or 48 mg juice that can be seriously cut and retain a lot of nicotine. Like that ECblend outfit sells extra-flavored super nicotined juices at only a small premium. Anyway, that's where it gets seriously cheaper. DIY or buy stronger juice than you need and cut it.
Last edited:
Wow Fernand, I never realized how dumb I've been just buying the bottles of 30ml for about $15 each. I guess I'll have to read up on exactly how to DIY, though I'm a little worried about mixing the nicotine wrong--same with the VG/PG. I asked at the store I buy my juice from and they weren't very helpful or interested in teaching me anything. Guess they'd be losing lots of money a month if I started doing it myself!! Thanks to you I think I found my next project........
A packet of 30's cigs cost $15.00 in aust. I know vaping is cheaper for me!!! That's if I can stop myself upgrading PV's
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The DIY technique I figured out for my friend is to do the calculation once for the nicotine you have. You just decide the nic strength you want and multiply by the size of your mixing bottle, say 10 ml, so if you want say 18mg/ml target, that is 180 mg for the whole 10 ml. Then you calculate how much of your nicotine base that is in ml. Say your nic base is 48mg/ml, you divide the 180 mg by the 48 to get how many ml of your nic base gives you that much nicotine. Conceptually you just have to go through this once. So here you want 180mg in the bottle, so you need 180/48 = 3.75 ml. Now you fill a syringe with that much water, 3.75 ml, and pour it in your mixing bottle. Mark the level with a marking pen and/or label. Cover with scotch tape so it doesn't get erased. Shake out the water. If you want, repeat the level marking for the full amount, 10 ml so you know where the full line is. With your levels marked, you're all set. Now it's super fast and easy.
When you go to mix some juice you start out by pouring in enough nic base to the first line. Then you add VG or PG in whatever ratio you fancy, I use all VG, but if you don't mind PG, use some, the exact ratio doesn't really matter, up to close to the full level, then you drip in the flavoring and maybe a few drops of alcohol or water if it's too thick. If you're still shy of the full line, add the final VG/PG. Put the top on, shake, put it under hot tap water, shake, shake and preferably let it sit overnight. Done.
Of course if you want, the same applies to a bigger bottle, or MUCH bigger bottle, but I dunno, there's something calming, therapeutic, about mixing 10 ml at a time, like meditation.
When you go to mix some juice you start out by pouring in enough nic base to the first line. Then you add VG or PG in whatever ratio you fancy, I use all VG, but if you don't mind PG, use some, the exact ratio doesn't really matter, up to close to the full level, then you drip in the flavoring and maybe a few drops of alcohol or water if it's too thick. If you're still shy of the full line, add the final VG/PG. Put the top on, shake, put it under hot tap water, shake, shake and preferably let it sit overnight. Done.
Of course if you want, the same applies to a bigger bottle, or MUCH bigger bottle, but I dunno, there's something calming, therapeutic, about mixing 10 ml at a time, like meditation.
Last edited:
I come in at a budget of $2.25 - $2.50/day, total, compared to pack a day at $9 - $11 in new york. $0.4 carto or atty, $1 towards new/replacement hardware, $1 eliquid. That gets you vaping good liquids on good gear.
Since switching to decent mods, hardware cost has actually dropped. I diy, which compensates for using more eliquid at higher voltages with a tank. (my own eliquid cost is actually more like $0.80/day, 6ml, including shipping and handling costs for what I use).
Since switching to decent mods, hardware cost has actually dropped. I diy, which compensates for using more eliquid at higher voltages with a tank. (my own eliquid cost is actually more like $0.80/day, 6ml, including shipping and handling costs for what I use).
I gotta agree.
The start up for smoking analogs is cheap (a pack and a spark)
while e-cigs (they got a ton of cool accessories, etc) the start up is costly at first but the price for your health is priceless.
And finding a perfect juice is fun and a fraction of cost for a pack of cigs.
The start up for smoking analogs is cheap (a pack and a spark)
while e-cigs (they got a ton of cool accessories, etc) the start up is costly at first but the price for your health is priceless.
And finding a perfect juice is fun and a fraction of cost for a pack of cigs.
As others have mentioned, the startup costs of vaping can be somewhat expensive, especially while you are still in the experimental stage. It takes a while to find the perfect setup that works for you. I didn't worry too much about the costs though since my smoking habit was costing me around $200-$300 a month. I figured as long as I limited my vaping expenditures to that amount that I would be all right.
A year later, I am amazed about how much cheaper it is. My only expenses now are 2-3 bottles of juice and a couple packages of cartomizers. That comes to about $50-$75 a month.
A year later, I am amazed about how much cheaper it is. My only expenses now are 2-3 bottles of juice and a couple packages of cartomizers. That comes to about $50-$75 a month.
I'm a heavy vaper and I spend about $40 a month on supplies without doing any sort of DIY liquid.
@subversive, that's great. Do you buy a small number of juices in big bottles? How much juice a month? Do you use cartos or atomizers? If you're into exploring new flavors, little bottles of ready juice cost more, and so for me DIY is an important cost-cutter.
Your not kidding, I make 30ml for under $2. I see 30ml for $25, thats insane IMO
For most people as long as they don't get into mods n stuff it will be significantly less expensive than buying smokes ever was. It won't be for me because I made my own and only spent $30 every 3 weeks, even though I smoked a pack and a half a day.
HOWEVER smoking analogs costs a lot more than spending money.
There's been jobs I haven't been able to get because I was a smoker. There was losing time to having to get outside (in rain, sleet, snow, wind, blazin' heat), friends that couldn't be around smoke, the stench in my car and apartment that I'd spend a small fortune on cleaning products and deodorizers, the filters and eletricity to run my fans and air purifier, insurance rates and who knows how many potential hospital bills I'm avoiding in the future. And so many more money and time sucks. Not to mention ... I cannot put a price on the feeling of being freed from the worry of the ever increasing cigarette taxes, big tobacco, and feeling like I'm a bit more in control of my life.
HOWEVER smoking analogs costs a lot more than spending money.
There's been jobs I haven't been able to get because I was a smoker. There was losing time to having to get outside (in rain, sleet, snow, wind, blazin' heat), friends that couldn't be around smoke, the stench in my car and apartment that I'd spend a small fortune on cleaning products and deodorizers, the filters and eletricity to run my fans and air purifier, insurance rates and who knows how many potential hospital bills I'm avoiding in the future. And so many more money and time sucks. Not to mention ... I cannot put a price on the feeling of being freed from the worry of the ever increasing cigarette taxes, big tobacco, and feeling like I'm a bit more in control of my life.
I've spent a lot to find that most of the hardware (atomizers, tanks, etc) I don't really care for. The stopping point for me was Boge 510 cartos. I also use some clearomizers in single and dual coil and enjoy them from time to time.
A 5 pack of Boge cartos can last me a month for $8. I go through about 30 to 50 milliliters of juice a month and that can vary from $15 for 30ml to $15 for 50ml, depending on where you buy it. So, an average month when I'm not ordering new hardware and I'm happy with my juice choices I spend $40 or so. In Ga, a carton of cigarettes can vary from $30 to $60 depending on the brand. At 2 packs a day, you need 6 cartons a month, at least $180 at the cheapest price.
A 5 pack of Boge cartos can last me a month for $8. I go through about 30 to 50 milliliters of juice a month and that can vary from $15 for 30ml to $15 for 50ml, depending on where you buy it. So, an average month when I'm not ordering new hardware and I'm happy with my juice choices I spend $40 or so. In Ga, a carton of cigarettes can vary from $30 to $60 depending on the brand. At 2 packs a day, you need 6 cartons a month, at least $180 at the cheapest price.
Glad you posted this thread. It's helping me to curb my "I've gotta have that" thing and start thinking about ways of doing this affordably.
It is cheaper in the long run. As long as you dont go crazy and buy everything. Analogs are 5.25 a pack here and they keep going up almost monthly. I was smoking 2 PAD, so for me, it was getting expensive quick. I have saved a ton of money already. I do spend a reasonable amount on ecig stuff, but I limit it via budget because I know I could go crazy if I let myself. I just got into DIY juice, so now my only cost should be new cartos for the month. I buy a 15 pack from CCV. Those 15 last me close to a month, and at 22 bucks for 15, if I only get 2 days out of them (I get more like 4 days out of them) I am spending 73 cents a day with those. With vender juice @ 16.50 (boba's from ave) for 30ml, I use about 4ml a day, so that is 2.20 bucks a day in vender juice. So my total daily is 2.93. That is way less then the 10.50 I was spending. I recovered my expenses from buying a kit in less then a month. My total upkeep for the month is about 88 bucks compared to 315 a month in analogs. With DIY it gets even cheaper. According to the ejuice calc I spend 9 cents a ml to make my own. So with DIY my cost for the day goes down to 1.09 a day. So yes, the start up cost is more expensive, but the upkeep is super cheep. Even if you were to go out and get a provari or darwin it could "pay for itself" in a month with the money you would use to buy analogs.
Last edited:
Djarum is an Indonesian cig. I loved them till the flavored cig ban. The clove cigars suck. They suck even worse now compared to my vapor version of clove. I am at peace again. I been vaping clove for 11 months now. It is cheaper. I spend about 80 bucks on diy juice every 2 months. Supposed to last 3 but I waste a lot. I get about 1 - 2 atty a month. So that takes it up to 120. I used to spend 9 bucks a day on cigs. That is 270 a month. So every month of smoking pays for 4 months of vaping. Thats how I see it. I now make my own vvpv but I will probably buy a lava tube from volcano depending on how it looks. Try american e liquid store djarum black that is what I vape. 100% vg @ 5.5v on 2.8 atty. Nice.
They make those cool black cloves!! They make other types of cigs, but that's what I know them from. VaporValley.com sells an e-liquid flavor of djarums' cloves and I can't wait to try them.
- Status
Similar threads
