Oops! Wish I'd found this sooner! (ecig.com)

[bluedove3]

Well, we've already made an order from e-cig.com for an E9 starter kit. Fortunately, we chose them because they were cheap, so if it turns out badly we won't be out much.

I'm experiencing a bit of info overload. Planning to go through the guides and reviews a bit at a time, but I do have a question or two if someone would be so kind to try and answer...

How much does your e-cig habit cost you per month?
What systems and methods are most cost-effective? (Taking both start-up and maintenance into consideration)

My honey is the smoker and he has heard good things about e-cigs in general. He likes the idea of being able to "vape" inside without there being any smell or second hand smoke to worry about. I'm very excited about the idea as well, at least if these things really are better for him than "analogs" (I'm learning the jargon, bear with me!) and will pose no threat to our kids.

But we are also rather "financially challenged"... he has been rolling his own smokes from filtered tubes and the cheapest tobacco he can find. His habit is costing about $50 monthly. We were hopeful we could undercut that. I found the ecig.com site and crunched the numbers and figured out we could potentially maintain their system for as little as $15 a month. Of course, that was assuming they were being truthful in their estimates of their merchandise performance and that the products were reliable...
Now that I've found ecig.com listed on the Products and suppliers reported as unreliable thread, I guess I'm back to looking. I knew something must be fishy when I saw they were offering ...... e-liquid.

 

[MacTX]

It is true that you're looking at about $15 - $20 per month (that's a rough estimate - there are a lot of variables as you'll learn over time). However, it will honestly be somewhat cost prohibitive up front. You'll need to purchase a good kit, and you may have to try two or three to find the one you prefer. However, I would tell you to go with a 510 model. I also used to roll my own on pinchy months, and $50 per month on that tells me he's probably close to 2 packs a day. I would recommend a 24mg nicotine level to start with. There's always a bump to 36mg if that isn't strong enough. If his goal is to quit, he can slowly reduce it to a 0mg nic level and just continue vaping 0mg if he wants. However, I chose this as a replacement for smoking, not as a tool to quit. I like to smoke, and this is simply a MUCH less unhealthy way to do it as all the death-causing substances are in analogs, not ecigs.

Get him a 510, a couple of batteries, and a couple of atomizers. Now, he'll have to decide if he wants to use carts, cartomizers, or drip. If his habit is what I suspect, dripping will probably be a home only thing as it is for me as I need to be mobile. So he'll probably want carts and cartomizers. At first, order a few carts at 24mg and some at 36mg and decide which is best. Then he can start using empty carts with blue foam and order liquid to make his own carts.

I know this sounds daunting, and honestly I'M still fairly new to it myself. But you learn pretty quickly. Once he's got the hang of it, he'll just "know" what he needs and prefers. At first you're probably going to spend equal to or more than a monthly analog habit, and that's the kicker. But once you've got it down, you can EASILY keep your habit to actually LESS than $15 per month.

 

[cskent]

MacTX is right about the up front cost. You've got to buy a decent unit at about $35 to $50, then some juice to go with it. I'd recommend one of the 510 units or a compatible so you can keep using the parts if you decide to upgrade. If you want to keep going for a month figure 3 to 4 bottles of juice or so. I vape 2-3 ml per day and I vape more than I smoked. I seem to be about average in my consumption. I use some 24mg and some 18mg juices and have no more desire to smoke analogs.

About the best price for a genuine Joye 510 from a good vendor is:
Joye 510 NO BOX

Dekang juice can be purchased from many vendors but I like Litecigusa.net because they have good prices, have quick service and free shipping on orders over $15:
E-Cig Liquid for Electronic Cigarette, Liquid for E Cigarettes | E Cigarette Liquid Selection including Flavored E Liquid!

You could probably get your equipment and first month's supply for around $60, then next month start stocking up on spare parts and juices. But, that's my recommendation, I'm sure others will have theirs. In the mean time do more research and ask questions here on ECF and you'll find more answers and probably more questions to ask.

In the mean time, welcome to ECF. It's a great community and gives a lot of assistance and support.

 

[Vchick]

Welcome Bluedove!

While initially the information overload and all of the maintenance issues seem daunting, I don't imagine you'll be spending more the first couple of months than on analogs.

If you find that he likes the unit and can do with that, you'll find that a couple of extra attomizers, batteries and juice will be all that you need for a while. I don't imagine this will be any more expensive that what you're spending now.

Otherwise, the forum is full of classifieds, (where you can buy/sell & trade all kinds of stuff) pay it forward groups and tons of helpful folks to help you along.

I applaud his rolling his own, when I initially considered that I literally thought all that work going up in proverbial smoke! I'm glad that he's giving this a shot and hope that with like so many of us have transitioned into vaping without looking back! Hope this helps! Vicki

 

[bluedove3]

That sounds like good news all around! I certainly don't mind a reasonable initial investment for a quality product, especially if it means improved health for us all. Heck, he's got a birthday coming up!
He is definitely thinking in terms of decreasing his nicotine consumption gradually, possibly even quitting completely someday... but for now we are exploring this as a healthier, less offensive (I'm a former smoker and cannot stand the smell), and hopefully cheaper alternative to smoking. Since he has done his own rolling, I expect he'll adapt well to making up his own cartridges and whatnot.

Looking forward to learning more! Thanks so much for the input!

 

[Elapid]

I say get some 36mg, even filtered a RYO is a strong cigarette. That and you can always cut it with some PG or VG to go lower if it's too strong.

 

[cskent]

I looked at the E9 and it appears to be a disposable unit. That's great, a cheap intro to the world of vaping. Keep in mind that the prefilled cart's probably don't have very good flavor though. You'll get much better and tastier results with higher quality equipment and juices.

 

[Springbird]

I also "rolled my own" and yup that's a strong ciggie (even filtered). I started on 18mg and moved up to 24. Now I am looking to start cutting it down. It really helps in the beginning if you are getting enough nicotine, otherwise you just want a cig.

 

[TexasT]

Hi bluedove and welcome to ECF!

Best of luck with your hubby's vaping experience. I think you'll find he quits smoking real quick. Please keep us updated on his progress.

Good to see another East Texan on here - actually, there's quite a few of us. We're about 20 miles from Naco.

Ron

 

[xg4bx]

It's entirely possible to keep it cheap. With some maintenance you can get weeks out of a $6-$7 atomizer. Juice can be had for as little as $10 for 50ml which would last the average person at least a month. The only thing that's rather costly is the initial buy-in.

http://www.madvapes.com/Marlb-50ml-24mg-E-Liquid_p_2444.html
http://www.madvapes.com/510-Manual-Battery-Kit-40Black41-no-Box_p_2346.html

$44.00 total. That should hold him for awhile. I'm sure somebody can point you towards something even cheaper.

Also check the for sale and pay it forward threads on this site. People here are awesome at helping each other out.

 

[Vapolamp]

I got lucky and was recommended the 510 to start off with was 35 bucks and I have had no complaints so far, it's a great device! I'm curious to see how long the attys will last though.