Need to save Money $$$ -- Ideas?

[iamthevoice]

Seriously OP, the single biggest profit item in vaping is the juice! And premium juice is easily a good 500% markup just on the ingredient cost alone... and as others have said, why not up you nic content a little. I found myself easily vaping more than twice as much when I dropped to 6mg too quickly. You know that mixing a bottle of 12mg version of your juice and a bottle of 6mg would give you two bottles of 9mg juice which might just be the ticket for you! Good luck.

 

[Alien Traveler]

my bvcs last easily 1 month, how you blowing through one everyday? lols and i am an heavy heavy vapor, easily blow through 10mls a day

if you can do wattage setting, set it to 7watts and try vaping with that and see how long you last
lower the amount you consume from 15 ml to 8ml

the cheapest route, although it is an expensive upfront cost but long term cost it is much much cheaper, maybe have to blow 200-400 in one shot
is to get an rebuildable tank atomizer mod such as kayfun lite clone, ehpro big buddha, aqua, taifun etc... (look up which one you like) where you can rebuild your own coils

then buy your own pg vg from essential depot, 2 gallons for $50, free shipping
then buy vaperstek nicotine for $35 (120ml i believe), pg easier to work with, vg a little harder, more thick
then buy your own juices from places such as flavorwest, get a bunch of flavors at 4oz, if you like it that much get them in 8 or 16oz but it will take u a long time to finish, so start with the 4oz, maybe you dont like the flavors, probably $100
then buy your lab equipments from liquid barn, graduated cylinders, boston rounds, funnel, etc.. probably another $60
then buy your rebuildable equipments from amazon (dewalt 21 piece drill bit, scotch scissors, hakko wire cutter, butane fuel, ceramic tweezers, mini screw driver set, temco kanthal wire 28 gauge) this will set you back around $100
then lightning vapes (torch, ohm meter, volt meter if you using mechanical) for around $40
then ebay for some japanese organic cotton for around $10

an investment like this you will be able to vape literally cost free for the next 2 years, but be prepared to drop 200-400

i might be missing an item or two that i cant think on top of my head but thats what i use and it working great

Wow! You can terrify future DIYers with your calculations.
Let’s keep it simple:

From Amazon: quart of VG and PG, couple graduated cylinders and couple syringes and coupe beakers – for about $50.

From bullcityvapor: 10-15 flavors and 240ml of nicotine for about $65.
Total: $105 (or you can go cheaper by ordering smaller quantities for beginning).
Now you ready for juice DIY (you should have a lot of empty bottles saved from you juices).

For coil rebuilding:
From fasttech: premaid coils (1.8 or 2.4 ohm) – 50 for $3 (or kanthal wire from Amazon for $7), miniscissors and wire cutter for about $3 each.
From a lot of places: organic cotton for $5-$8.
Total: about $15-$20.

 

[KODIAK (TM)]

Clearly the biggest cost is the juice, so my thought is to start there.

Yes. At 10-15ml/day you're going to vape yourself into the poor house especially using premium liquids. You my friend are just going to have to slum around with the rest of us and explore Mt Vapor Baker, ECBlends, Killer Juice etc.

I'm also considering switching from the BVC coils.

I don't understand how you're only getting 1 day from these things. Do they burn out or what?

 

[edyle]

You gotta go rebuildables to save of coils, and you gotta do some sort of diy to save on juice.

I buy 24mg pg-only juice and dilute it with glycerin.

 

[Dumas Mesuri]

You can try soaking the coils in vodka or pga overnight or longer, Don't even need to dry the wick if the alcohol taste doesn't bother you. a drop or two of water or vodka in each tank will make the juice wick better too. If you decide to go with rebuildable I find temco to be the place for kanthal or nichrome Kanthal Wire 30 Gauge RW0107 - 100 FT 0.39oz Series A-1 Resistance AWG is a good wire to start with imo.
I have almost quit diy thanks to Killer Juice. Awesome sales there every week and great regular prices too.
Best of luck on your journey whatever you decide is best for you.

 

[Grimwald]

I vape unflavored liquid and make my own coils for all of my devices. I would not even consider buying a tank that cannot be rebuilt. i use Kayfuns, Protanks, drippers, and Evods

I just bought on sale 1000 mil of 100mg nicotine for $50....enough for 8 years. A few feet of wire, a bag of cotton balls, VG from Walmart and PG from Tractor Supply, and I'm set.

Now that I have everything on hand, my monthly budget is about $10...plus an occasional battery purchase.

 

[MikeB]

Sorry I took so long to get back to my thread. Long day. Thanks for all the suggestions!!!

Is it that you only like very complex flavors?

I actually don't like many juices. I guess I'm picky, but I just kept trying juices until I landed on what works. Once I like one though, its my all-day-vape.

if you want some good juice at a good price check out MadTown Vapor, dino hasn't let me down yet with his juice. If you are willing to shop from china FastTech has some great things and great prices

have you tried cartotanks? drippers?

Thanks for this links! Carotanks, yes. I just switched from those. Quality on Boge cartos was getting really spotty. Drippers no. I vape at work too, and I need the convenience of a tank.

10 Ml's/day??? That's like a dripper experience - without the actual experience.
Beyond that we need to know what you do or do not like about that BVC setup before we even begin suggesting hardware. For that matter you left out a lot of info about those liquids. I have seen a lot of complaints on ECF about those BVC's not lasting long, but if you are using dark, sweet flavors no coil may survive the experience more than one day.

Yup, 10ml. I chain vape and take long 5-10sec pulls. I think its just my vape style that kills them, or it at least contributes to it. I'm not trying to be hardcore or something. Its just how I like it. I smoked the same. Chain smoked, with long hard pulls. I usually could finish 2 cigs while a buddy smoked one.

I love the taste and flavor production on the BVCs. They're the best vape I've personally had. My juice is clear, and only slightly sweet.

As for draining the tank to rebuild, it's really not that much of an issue. After a little experience, you will begin to tell when the tank needs a rewicking. When that happens, just wait until you finish the tank. Alternatively, you can be pre-emptive/proactive and just change the wick in normal intervals. Cost of sterile cotton is super cheap.

My coil and wicking costs per month average less than $1. That is for building 12 coils a month and re wicking each coil after 3-4 days of use (I have 2 Kayfuns and 4 Russian 91s...obviously, not all my tanks see daily use).

I used to be intimidated about building coils and now I actually really enjoy it.

Really great info. I appreciate the detail and perspective.

Have you thought about upping your nic content on your juice? I know for many it is almost always a big no-no, but vaping 10-15ml of 6mg seems like you might benefit from upping to a 12 and vaping less. The cost will be the same for the liquid.

I agree with upping your nic content. I know I vaped alot less when I was at 18 then when I dropped to 12. (now at 6).

Yea, but I've been on 6mg for nearly a year. It was hard (for me) to go down from 9. I really don't want to have to do that again. You are both right though. I have noticed as I lower my nic, I vape more.

 

[MikeB]

Wow - only one day on a BVC? You must be just nuking it.
If you're running enough power thru a BVC to fry it in a day, I would definitely say an RTA is your ticket. Or a dripper. Or something you can build glow plugs on.

I think I am. See above. I chain vape, with long 5-10sec pulls it gets hot. What are glow plugs?

What about something with the old pro coils

Not familiar with those. To Google I will go....

If you're frying authentic aspire BVC coils in one day you're simply vaping them too hot. Most people run the BVC around 8-11 watts and they are getting 2-3 WEEKS on these coils. The BVCs are the future. A 5 pack of coils will run you less than $20 including shipping or you could rebuild them yourself. Also, I would recommend picking up the Beyond Vape Silo tank and use these BVC coils w it.

I just calculated it and I am vaping at ~9watts. But I chain vape, with long 5-10 second hits. I know I hit 10 sometimes because the Provari shuts off. I am using a Silo tank (WAY better air than aspire tank), and the base can get really hot, even if the tip is cool. I don't know why I vape like this. I don't try to, but maybe its the problem combined with the 9watts. I just backed it down to 8watts (3.8v @ 1.8ohms). I'll see how this does.

Juice:
I've had good luck w a few flavors from Mt Baker Vapor. Some of them are not very good. You have to read / watch reviews and go by what your flavor profile is. $7.49 for 30 ml or $40 for 236 ml. Another decent one is Slims e juice. $9.50 for 30 ml. Stick to your guns. If you know you are not the DIY kinda person then why waste money trying something you dont wanna do.

Great recommendation!!! Excellent prices. Any yea, I really have no interest in learning a new hobby at the moment. I just want to vape. I mean, Prime 15 is $20 for 30ml. Based on what you said, I can save a lot by just dropping the premium juice.

Diy or ITC, is your only hope. However ITC costs around $40 for 240ml shipped. Their juice is high quality, and now they offer extra flavor. They are as cheap as you will probably find while still being tasty.

Great info!!!! That could really save $$$!

Prime15 is a great juice. It isn't dark in color so should be easier on your coils than a lot of other options, but you had to fall in love with an expensive one. ...any coil should last longer than a day, with any juice if used correctly. I agree that you are probably burning them too hot ....at the end of the day, as long as halo prime is the only flavor you like, it's gonna cost you.

I do love Prime15, but you're right, she's premium compared to some of the other's listed here. See above, but yes, I'm thinking 9watts with long repeated pulls may be too much for the micro coils... or maybe the wick.

With the new BVC coils. Lemme give you some advice. Do not let your tank get low on juice. The juice in the tank helps disperse the heat. And that will keep your coil burning longer. That's #1. 2nd thing is. If you are going to rebuild something. Rebuild the bvc coil. 3rd thing is. Vaping on a budget. And don't want to diy. Get a bunch of flavors from mtbakervapor. They are cheap. 30 mil bottle = 7.99.
Ps. Don't do a kayfun. It's a hard tank to start building on. And the flavor is a bit muted. If you are going to get a rebuild able. Get a taifun. They are great for flavor. Easy to build on And they hold a good amount of juice

1)The low tank may be an issue too. I vape it nearly to the bottom, and I notice thats often when it goes bad (using Silo tank). 2) Nah. Not interested in rebuilding. If I'm going that route I want something larger I can see and work with. 3)Great info on the juice source!!! and the taifun. I'll Google.

my bvcs last easily 1 month, how you blowing through one everyday? lols and i am an heavy heavy vapor, easily blow through 10mls a day. If you can do wattage setting, set it to 7watts

Was doing 9watts, long repeated pulls. Just backed off to 8watts. I'll see what that does.

the cheapest route, although it is an expensive upfront cost but long term cost it is much much cheaper, maybe have to blow 200-400 in one shot
is to get an rebuildable tank atomizer mod such as kayfun lite clone, ehpro big buddha, aqua, taifun etc... (look up which one you like) where you can rebuild your own coils

then buy your own pg vg from essential depot, 2 gallons for $50, free shipping
then buy. . .
. . .then ebay for some japanese organic cotton for around $10

an investment like this you will be able to vape literally cost free for the next 2 years, but be prepared to drop 200-400

Holy crap thats all very intimidating. Great info! but YIKES!

 

[MikeB]

Seriously OP, the single biggest profit item in vaping is the juice! And premium juice is easily a good 500% markup just on the ingredient cost alone... and as others have said, why not up you nic content a little.

No kidding! I'm seeing that from this thread... I need a new juice supplier. And no, I'm sticking to 6mg. Been here a year. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Wow! You can terrify future DIYers with your calculations.
Let’s keep it simple:
From Amazon: quart of VG and PG, couple graduated cylinders and couple syringes and coupe beakers – for about $50.
From bullcityvapor: 10-15 flavors and 240ml of nicotine for about $65.
Total: $105 (or you can go cheaper by ordering smaller quantities for beginning).
For coil rebuilding:
From fasttech: premaid coils (1.8 or 2.4 ohm) – 50 for $3 (or kanthal wire from Amazon for $7), miniscissors and wire cutter for about $3 each.
From a lot of places: organic cotton for $5-$8.
Total: about $15-$20.

GREAT INFO!!!

You can try soaking the coils in vodka or pga overnight or longer. If you decide to go with rebuildable I find temco to be the place for kanthal or nichrome Kanthal Wire 30 Gauge RW0107 - 100 FT 0.39oz Series A-1 Resistance AWG is a good wire to start with imo.
I have almost quit diy thanks to Killer Juice.

I tried cleaning cartos and atomizers back in the day. They're never quite the same, and the results are hit and miss. Not ready to go down that road again. Thanks for the suggestion though! Oh, and Great links!!!

I vape unflavored liquid and make my own coils for all of my devices. I would not even consider buying a tank that cannot be rebuilt. i use Kayfuns, Protanks, drippers, and Evods. Now that I have everything on hand, my monthly budget is about $10...plus an occasional battery purchase.

Damn! Now thats a budget... I'll have to look into a lot of this, but it all has me thinking at least, even if I decide its not for me. Great info though!!!

 

[MikeB]

Really great info here guys, great ideas and suggestions too! ECF has never failed me... I'd still be a smoker without you guys.

THANKS!

 

[Stacy1]

Dude you can get 8ml flavoring for 1.49 from wizard labs. I wouldnt recommend buying four ounces of a flavor that you dont know if you like. Larger volume is definitely the way to get the most bang for your buck once you know what you want to buy but to start out it's alot cheaper to trash a small amount versus four ounces

 

[Hemptation]

I think I am. See above. I chain vape, with long 5-10sec pulls it gets hot. What are glow plugs?


Not familiar with those. To Google I will go....


I just calculated it and I am vaping at ~9watts. But I chain vape, with long 5-10 second hits. I know I hit 10 sometimes because the Provari shuts off. I am using a Silo tank (WAY better air than aspire tank), and the base can get really hot, even if the tip is cool. I don't know why I vape like this. I don't try to, but maybe its the problem combined with the 9watts. I just backed it down to 8watts (3.8v @ 1.8ohms). I'll see how this does.


Great recommendation!!! Excellent prices. Any yea, I really have no interest in learning a new hobby at the moment. I just want to vape. I mean, Prime 15 is $20 for 30ml. Based on what you said, I can save a lot by just dropping the premium juice.


Great info!!!! That could really save $$$!


I do love Prime15, but you're right, she's premium compared to some of the other's listed here. See above, but yes, I'm thinking 9watts with long repeated pulls may be too much for the micro coils... or maybe the wick.


1)The low tank may be an issue too. I vape it nearly to the bottom, and I notice thats often when it goes bad (using Silo tank). 2) Nah. Not interested in rebuilding. If I'm going that route I want something larger I can see and work with. 3)Great info on the juice source!!! and the taifun. I'll Google.


Was doing 9watts, long repeated pulls. Just backed off to 8watts. I'll see what that does.


Holy crap thats all very intimidating. Great info! but YIKES!

Yea the Vape shop owner and myself ran a few extensive tests on theBVC could. One of the biggest things was. When the tanks have juice I. Them. And you chain Vape The juice helps disperse the heat from te coil. When there is no juice. Well. The heat has nowhere to go. So it burns your wicking and coil up faster. If you stop letting your tank get low. You will see longevity in your coils. I can promise you this. We tested extensively for 4 weeks. He took notes and everything the only 2 coils he burned up....... Was from little juice in the tank. Even if your coils only last 3 days. That is cutting your coil cost down into a third. Next is juice

Bro. Find something at MyBakerVapor At 8$ for 30 mils. You can Vape hard and not break the bank

 

[Tamer El-Meehy]

Regarding your liquid consumption, I would do one or all of the following if I'm in your place I'd try to up your nicotine level a bit. Don't be scared of doing this, nicotine is not the harmful substance in regular cigarettes. It is the addictive substance..well..at least it's not the most harmful substance in cigarettes. And while you're currently vaping at a lower nic concentration, your nicotine intake is still high..so why waste your money when you can easily reach the same level of nic intake with half the money? This will not only help you lower your eliquid consumption, but will also help you change your vaping style of using 5-10 seconds pulls and hence abusing your coil heads.

As for the daily use of BVC coil heads, I would try to experiment with changing my vaping style. My wife has a nautilus mini that I got for her 6 weeks ago, and neither she, nor I, saw the need to change the coil head yet. 5-10 seconds pulls seems to be excessive IMHO, and my guess is that if you're getting the same lung hit from a stronger juice it would help shortening the pull time.

Regarding tanks I'm predominantly a kayfun guy, and they are definitely a good investment if you can get yourself to rebuild. They are easy and produce the best flavor ever IMHO...and they are good step up flavorwise from the BVCs. Having said that, i have no idea what 5-10 seconds pulls would do to the coil and your cotton wick. The taifun GT is a great alternative. it's easier to build than a Kayfun (if you wick them properly) and while they don't fare as good as kayfuns in the flavor department IMO, they have larger tank capacity, they are great when it comes to vapor production and you don't need to drain your tank in order to rewick or recoil. I would get a kayfun and a taifun GT..and Hcigar makes good clones of both.

Like other members said DIY is the definitive way forward. I am barely starting and after this experimental batch that I'm currently steeping, I will work with larger quantities. For me it was easy because i'm an RY4 addict so it's a single flavor process. But like others said in here, I will be experimenting with more complex flavors in the not so distant future. But it has to be done given the budget me and my wife spend on eliquid...and you don't have to wait for a long steeping period if you get a UC or use a crock pot.

The only thing that you need to be extra extra extra careful with is the nic concentration in your base liquid.

Hope this was helpful

 

[KODIAK (TM)]

Yea, but I've been on 6mg for nearly a year. It was hard (for me) to go down from 9. I really don't want to have to do that again. You are both right though. I have noticed as I lower my nic, I vape more.

This pretty much says it all. You are no where near being ready for 6mg of nic and it's not surprising you go through up to 15ml per day. Your body is telling you it wants more.

 

[yoitstj]

This pretty much says it all. You are no where near being ready for 6mg of nic and it's not surprising you go through up to 15ml per day. Your body is telling you it wants more.

Gotta agree here. Go back to 9 mg. Vape a bit less.

 

[KODIAK (TM)]

Gotta agree here. Go back to 9 mg. Vape a bit less.

At 15ml/day chain vaping I wouldn't consider anything less than 18. Even 24mg. Don't understand why folks are wary of such high nic content. 10 drags from a 36mg PV won't even be close to the same 10 drags we got from a full flavor cigarette. The two are totally different delivery systems. (with one being vastly inferior to the other).

 

[MikeB]

Yea the Vape shop owner and myself ran a few extensive tests on theBVC. The juice helps disperse the heat from te coil. When there is no juice. Well. The heat has nowhere to go. So it burns your wicking and coil up faster. If you stop letting your tank get low. You will see longevity in your coils.

Bro. Find something at MyBakerVapor At 8$ for 30 mils. You can Vape hard and not break the bank

I think you may be on to something. I went down to 8 watts, and also started filling my tank at about the half-way point. This one coil, that had already started to slightly turn, is still going. By my previous experiences, it should have been dead this morning. So at the least, I have gotten almost another day out of it.

Thanks for the cheap juice suggestion!

Regarding your liquid consumption, I would try to up your nicotine level a bit. Don't be scared of doing this. As for the daily use of BVC coil heads, I would try to experiment with changing my vaping style. 5-10 seconds pulls seems to be excessive IMHO, and my guess is that if you're getting the same lung hit from a stronger juice it would help shortening the pull time.

This pretty much says it all. You are no where near being ready for 6mg of nic and it's not surprising you go through up to 15ml per day. Your body is telling you it wants more.

Gotta agree here. Go back to 9 mg. Vape a bit less.

Yea, I'm not worried about my nic level a lot. Its relatively safe. However it is very addictive, as was mentioned, and I'm just very resistant to increase it. After a year a 6mg, shouldn't I be adjusted to it? Plus, I'm sure nic level has something to do with how I vape, but a lot of it is that I like the feeling of a thick inhale. As vaping tech has gotten better, I've really grown to enjoy the feeling. It's not as much about the hit I get from the nic, though I'm sure that's part of it. I smoked the same way. Long drags. No short puffs.

Regarding tanks I'm predominantly a kayfun guy. They are easy and produce the best flavor ever IMHO...and they are good step up flavorwise from the BVCs. Having said that, i have no idea what 5-10 seconds pulls would do to the coil and your cotton wick. The taifun GT is a great alternative. it's easier to build than a Kayfun (if you wick them properly) and while they don't fare as good as kayfuns in the flavor department IMO, they have larger tank capacity, they are great when it comes to vapor production and you don't need to drain your tank in order to rewick or recoil. I would get a kayfun and a taifun GT.

Great info! Yea, I don't know what my vape style would do to them either. I guess really it depends on how well/fast they wick. I think my style tends to dry a wick out, and it just barely recovers before I hit it again... I know, I know... I'm hard on my hardware. I've come to realize that in this thread. Habits are hard to change though. Certainly a bunch of ex-smokers can agree there.

If you know of any RTA that is known to wick really well, let me know. I'm going to look into those you mentioned though. I may not be willing to go DIY with my juice, but I think this thread has broken down my resistance to rebuildables somewhat.

 

[Hemptation]

Just makes sense tho. If you are going to chain Vape To continuously heat that coil the heat had to go somewhere More juice in the tank gives the heat somewhere to go I Vape heavy to. Normally between 4.4-4.8 volts with my provari nautilus set up I try to rotate between 2 devices to help prolong the life of my coils as well. They last about 5-7 days before the flavor really diminishes.

 

[ddkl7780]

Buy some juice higher nic then u vape grab some vg dilute it down make more if u dont want to diy. If I dont makemy own I do that all the time after u dilute let it steep more. Depends on the flavors but usually will work. So if u vape 6mg get 18 make 3 bottles. Get a kayfun or rda kanthal and cotton are very cheap. Building simple coils is easy and after a few you'll have it down. 185 for juice and 60 for coils seems crazy to me lol

 

[MikeB]

Buy some juice higher nic then u vape grab some vg dilute it down make more if u dont want to diy. If I dont makemy own I do that all the time after u dilute let it steep more. Depends on the flavors but usually will work. So if u vape 6mg get 18 make 3 bottles. Get a kayfun or rda kanthal and cotton are very cheap. Building simple coils is easy and after a few you'll have it down. 185 for juice and 60 for coils seems crazy to me lol

It is crazy. I didn't realize how much I was really spending unit I figured it out for this thread! Thanks to you guys, though I'm going to get this worked out.