Let's talk budget on rebuilding..

[Animalistic93]

Hey guys, you may have seen my posts (or simply by my post count) that I'm pretty new here, and pretty new to vaping in general.
I've been vaping for JUST over a month now (3 months+ off cigarettes!), and I'm enjoying the heck out of it, don't get me wrong here, but I'm looking to expand, and I want to get into this as a hobby, not just as an alternative.

I was just curious...what kind of an early on budget will I need to get a decent mod, batteries, a charger, and an RDA? I know wire and cotton is fairly cheap, so I'm not worried about those aspects of it

I have my eye on getting a "Big Dripper" RDTA, because it has that homey feel of a tank, with a dripper, but I don't want to shell out $120 and be disappointed, since I am currently in a slight bind on splurging, haha.

Thanks!

 

[M3CH M0D M4DN355]

Congrats on being 3 months smoke free!

That's quite a tough question to answer regarding budget for a setup, I assume you are looking for a mechanical mod? Do you want an authentic piece or a clone? There is a huge array of mech and regulated mods out there for all tastes and budgets so will certainly find something that suits your needs.

As for batteries and a charger, I would personally suggest you buy the best you can afford and not to "cheap out" in that area, my favourite 18650 batteries are the Sony VTC5.

The big dripper does look very cool but I don't think they are available right now but apparently a clone is on the way.

Good luck and I wish you all the best!

 

[K_Tech]

Hi Animalistic!

Like MMM said above, giving someone a budget is tough to do - especially not knowing what your tastes are. You can spend $30 on a clone, and the sky's the limit on originals (when you can find them in stock).

My two favorite clones at the moment are the EHPro Kayfun (About $40) and the Infinite Magma (about $25).

100% agree that getting the Sony VTC series of batteries is a good start - I would get at least two or three batteries, so you're looking at around $40 for batteries and another $30 or so for a good charger.

I just saw a tweet from Lightning Vapes that their Efest LUC V4 chargers are 28.99, and you get a 15% off coupon code if you "like" them on FB or follow them on Twitter. I have had the Efest LUC V2 for about a year now, and it's still going strong. That price is about the best you'll find right now.

 

[Dogboltt]

The intellicharger i4 version 2 gets great reviews. Been using mine for the past 9 months with no issues.
Shop around and you'll get it for ~ $22 delivered

 

[dice57]

Well, must say, the Big Dripper Dripping tank by Sub Ohm Innovations, is quite the excellent dripper tanked. Works a vape outstandingly. It has been cloned. Can get on the pre-order at Vape95

Honestly, the safest way to get into re-buildable atomizers is with a regulated device, and probably the least expensive over all. Something like the dna30 clone hanna mod, will get you up to 30 watts regulated, and one can go down to 0.5 with it. Has an ohm meter built in, most regulated mods do, and are charged via usb, so just need the mod and one imr high drain 20-30 amp continuous battery. Or can choose from the 50-100 watt mods out there. Total investment for Big D clone and box mod, about $150 or less.

If one goes straight mech right off, then need the mod, couple batts, an ohm meter, do not build without one, Please, and of course the charger. Batts and chargers you don't want to mess with, 2 good batts and charger are going to run ~$50, a decent clone mech, $30-$50, ohm meter $20 then the rba of choice.

Then if you want to expand your collection after maxing out the regulated, one should be skilled and knowledgeable enough to safely venture into the mech world.

Just to give you an idea, 30 watts is about the same as a mech with a 0.5 ohm build, a 50 watt vape would be the same as a mech with a 0.35 ohm build.

Whatever path you choose to follow, make sure to get a thorough understanding of ohms law, amp ratings of batts and proper care and maintenance. Vape is progressive, the longer one vapes, the more knowledge and skills are acquired, and generally the better ones vape and gear gets.

Vape long and Prosper.!!!

 

[Kaezziel]

I just want to say that I agree with everything that Dice said...
Best to start out with a higher powered regulated device... 30-50 Watts... that will give you a good, solid vape with a lot of flexibility on your builds, but will also give you a built in safety measure while you get used to the whole rebuildable thing...
As for which RDA? There are soooo many to choose from... I say find one that you like and give it a shot! I just picked up a 22mm and 28.5mm Tobh (Tobeco clones) I think they were around $20 each...

 

[eratikmind]

The putty cat (dice57) said it quite well.

I can only suggest that, if deciding upon a purchase of an item and presented with 2 viable options, choose the one of higher quality.

Buy once, cry once.

 

[realsis]

They are coming out with some really nice high powered regulated devices. Some like the ipv3 150 watt will even be getting firmware support that the owner can upgrade themselves when the firmware comes out and it will increase the wattage even more. Yihi the manufacturer of the chip inside the ipv3 will be doing the firmware upgrades. I think the ipv3 150 watt will be a very good unit. The cost is around 140.00 and they will start shipping out on Sept 10. They are available for pre order now from watts up vapor. I suggest looking at high wattage regulated devices that you compare the specs also look if they will be supported with future upgrades. Also look at the warentee offered. I know ipv3 has a full year warranty. That's hard to find with vaping products. But do your comparing and look at specs and support. As far as RDAS are concerned you can get some good clones for around 45.00 dollars. Some very good flavor producers are the kaifun, taifun, aqua, Rose, and fogger 4.1. In my opinion. These all will give you a great flavor and vapor. These are all bottom fed. The Aqua is a dual coil while the rest are single. However I've heard you can run a dual on the rose as well. The easiest to build will be the kaifun by far.kayfun is great to learn on. So if you get a mod for around 140 and a decent clone for about 44 dollars your looking at about 184.00 to start up, give or take. Then you will want a ohm reader, kanthal wire, and cotton wick or wicking media. That all together is about another 25 dollars so to start up with a nice new technology mod and a decent clone, your wire and wick and ohm reader for about 200 dollars give or take. And you will be set. Of course you can always go cheaper on your mod, depending on what your looking for. So 200 dollars would be a HIGHLY range price. Hope this helps. Best wishes

 

[VannyPak]

choose the one of higher quality.

Buy once, cry once.

Agreed. Price wise you're looking about 150-200 for a good setup.

 

[Cmbrstefan]

It also comes with trial and error. I bought a vision spinner 2 with mini pro tank 3 a week later I was introduced to dripping and then ended up with a Toby Atty v2. Saw the plume veil, liked it more got a mechanic instead of a Vv/vw and so on. No one can say what is best for you. It is you that will learn over time what will fit you. Not every one is the same.
It all trial and error.
But congrats to the 3 month. I just got off 2 weeks ago.

 

[tj99959]

While I agree with the above posts, I also disagree. IMO it is not in your best interest to start out with high wattage builds. The idea is to learn, not enter some sort of contest. There is plenty of time for all that later. After we know how to do builds we can take it in any direction we desire, before learning how we are/were just a bunch of thumbs fumbling in the dark.
So look at that first setup as a learning tool, and you won't go wrong.

 

[Animalistic93]

Thank you to everyone who posted here! I was asleep, so I couldn't reply individually, but I've got a decent idea in my head about where to begin, and how much it'll run me personally!

 

[bosun]

I would recommend walking before running (G). Start off with something simple. I've read good things about various PV's like the MVP. For a dripper I recommend an IGO-L. That's what I use and you can't go wrong for ten bucks to find out if coil building is for you. Then you can go crazy like me and so many others (big grin)!

 

[K_Tech]

I would recommend walking before running (G). Start off with something simple. I've read good things about various PV's like the MVP. For a dripper I recommend an IGO-L. That's what I use and you can't go wrong for ten bucks to find out if coil building is for you. Then you can go crazy like me and so many others (big grin)!

Yup. Excluding batteries and charger, my first mech/RDA combo cost me less than $40. I thought that was a good investment in something that I was, at that point, still unsure about.