So, will I always be needing to buy more hardware?

[barmanvarn]

Not talking about upgrades, but am referring to the hardware I have....

Still a newb so forgive the incorrect assumptions I've made along the way so far.

I'm using a Halo G6 and am doing in my carto refills.

I first learned that you can't just refill cartos forever. So I purchased some blanks and found a local place to get liquid.

Refilling is easy in my opinion but after some time I realized that refilling cartos and then using them up at home was a bit of a waste of time. So I purchases a mini-tank. Now I'm reading that they don't last forever as well and have to be replaced.

1) How long will a tank last before I have to replace it?
2) Is there another option I should look into?

I'd prefer an option where all I have to buy (assuming no battery issues) is liquid. Is this just not possible?

 

[riouxk]

Depends what kind of cash you can spend. A good mechanical mod and a dripper or kayfun could be a good bet. Everyone is different though. I own a mech and kayfun and can't see ever buying something else.

 

[Iceblast]

There is no need for tanks if you are happy with what you got. But get some replacement coil heads cos the one that comes with the tank is efficient for about a month if you use it well.

 

[Lessifer]

the coil/wick in any setup will eventually wear out, liquid and heat tend to do damage to just about everything. The differences between the different types of equipment are exactly "what" you need to replace. In a carto/carto tank, you replace the whole carto, and possibly the tank itself if it wears out. In most clearos, you replace the atomizer head as it wears out, and possibly the tank eventually. In a rebuildable atomizer, you replace the wick and coil, which you build yourself.

 

[barmanvarn]

I like the tank for home use since I can just fill it up faster/easier and can use my cartos when I'm out and about.

I'll have to call up Halo and ask about how long the mini-tank is supposed to last. I'm liking it so far. Since I work from home, I do 99% of my vaping at home so it seemed cheaper to use a tank at home.

 

[Completely Average]

There is only one way to avoid spending a ton of money on a constant barrage of maintenance and upgrades, and that's to spend a ton of money on a selection of the best gear up front.

Start off with a high quality mech mod, at least two 30amp high drain IMR batteries, a good recharger, a Kick2 module, Kayfun or Russian tank-based rebuildable atomizer, and a good dripping atomizer. Then buy 100 foot spools on Kanthal wire in 26, 28, 30, and 32 gauge, and some organic cotton balls, and you're pretty much set. About once a year you'll want to think about replacing the batteries, and you may run out of cotton, but other than that you should be set on hardware for the next 3-5 years at least.



And for the record, I still use my 6 month old Halo Triton tanks. They still look and work like brand new. They don't last forever, but you don't have to worry about needing frequent replacements.

 

[*deleon517*]

As long as you are vaping there will always be something you need to continue buying. Im at the point where the most expensive part I have to replace is batteries. I make my own liquid which is about 1/4 of what I spent on it, during the early day's of vaping. I use rebuildables so I also have to buy wick and wire, which is also cheap. So it all depends on which route you take.

 

[barmanvarn]

There is only one way to avoid spending a ton of money on a constant barrage of maintenance and upgrades, and that's to spend a ton of money on a selection of the best gear up front.

Start off with a high quality mech mod, at least two 30amp high drain IMR batteries, a good recharger, a Kick2 module, Kayfun or Russian tank-based rebuildable atomizer, and a good dripping atomizer. Then buy 100 foot spools on Kanthal wire in 26, 28, 30, and 32 gauge, and some organic cotton balls, and you're pretty much set. About once a year you'll want to think about replacing the batteries, and you may run out of cotton, but other than that you should be set on hardware for the next 3-5 years at least.



And for the record, I still use my 6 month old Halo Triton tanks. They still look and work like brand new. They don't last forever, but you don't have to worry about needing frequent replacements.

Good info. I guess I understand that I may have to replace the tank every now and then, but the less frequent that is the better. How exactly will I know when my tank is toast?

 

[Completely Average]

Good info. I guess I understand that I may have to replace the tank every now and then, but the less frequent that is the better. How exactly will I know when my tank is toast?

When you can't get it clean, when it looks like its starting to degrade.

You know that sort of hazy look cars get on the plastic headlights after a few years? If your tanks look like that then you should have already replaced them.

 

[2naphish]

There is only one way to avoid spending a ton of money on a constant barrage of maintenance and upgrades, and that's to spend a ton of money on a selection of the best gear up front.

Start off with a high quality mech mod, at least two 30amp high drain IMR batteries, a good recharger, a Kick2 module, Kayfun or Russian tank-based rebuildable atomizer, and a good dripping atomizer. Then buy 100 foot spools on Kanthal wire in 26, 28, 30, and 32 gauge, and some organic cotton balls, and you're pretty much set. About once a year you'll want to think about replacing the batteries, and you may run out of cotton, but other than that you should be set on hardware for the next 3-5 years at least.



And for the record, I still use my 6 month old Halo Triton tanks. They still look and work like brand new. They don't last forever, but you don't have to worry about needing frequent replacements.

agree 100%...

i get a charge out of these posts (in a good way) cause if you stay vaping and GET INTO IT there is no way you are not going to spend as much money as you were on cigs. it is just a boatload more fun and a lifesaver to boot. at least in my case if not yours. i wouldn't trade the fun i have on the ECF (and all the good people i have met) and enjoying my hobby vaping for anything i know of. best to everyone... <*}}}>{

 

[Completely Average]

agree 100%...

i get a charge out of these posts (in a good way) cause if you stay vaping and GET INTO IT there is no way you are not going to spend as much money as you were on cigs.

Wanna bet?

Between me and my wife, we smoked 2 packs per day. $6.25 per pack, that's $12.50 per day. That works out to $4,562.50 per year.

There is no possible way I'll ever spend anywhere close to that on ecigs. Even with two SVDs, two mech mods, two Kayfuns, a Trident, 500 feet of Kanthal, over 400ml of juice, a Kick and a Kick2 module, and my Halo Triton starter kit I've yet to spend $500 since last August.

 

[barmanvarn]

I agree that it's fun (and way more healthy) but I also hope to save money vaping over analogs. Yeah, you vets to vaping are probably laughing at that statement.

If, in the end, I find that I'm spending as much money vaping as I was on smoking, I'll have to just quit completely as there is no way I can justify spending what I was spending before every month. Especially since I'm trying to save up to buy a house.

 

[barmanvarn]

Wanna bet?

Between me and my wife, we smoked 2 packs per day. $6.25 per pack, that's $12.50 per day. That works out to $4,562.50 per year.

There is no possible way I'll ever spend anywhere close to that on ecigs. Even with two SVDs, two mech mods, two Kayfuns, a Trident, 500 feet of Kanthal, over 400ml of juice, a Kick and a Kick2 module, and my Halo Triton starter kit I've yet to spend $500 since last August.

That's kind of my thinking as well, but as I'm new to vaping and the forum and I didn't want to start some kind of crazy debate on costs as I'm sure there are a ton of threads on here already (and I don't know how friendly this forum is when it come to debates.) LOL

Now that I have all of the hardware I need/want (for now), I'll start tracking my costs so that I can see what I'm spending on this.

 

[Katya]

I agree that it's fun (and way more healthy) but I also hope to save money vaping over analogs. Yeah, you vets to vaping are probably laughing at that statement.

If, in the end, I find that I'm spending as much money vaping as I was on smoking, I'll have to just quit completely as there is no way I can justify spending what I was spending before every month. Especially since I'm trying to save up to buy a house.

Nobody's laughing. Promise. I'm somewhat frugal but I like to try new things, so I always buy new stuff--out of curiosity. But I don't buy a LOT of stuff--one new clearomizer, a 5-pack of cartomizers, new battery now and then (but never Version 1 ).

What kind of tank do you have? If you have one of those with replaceable coils, your tank will last a very long time. You'll just need to buy new replacement coils, and those are usually inexpensive. If you really want to save money--learn how to rebuild your coils yourself.

And if you want to save money on eliquid--learn how to DIY. We have a DIY subforum here and I suggest you pay those folks a visit. With a little knowledge and some inexpensive equipment, you can make your own ejuice for close to nothing--after an initial investment is some PG, VG, nicotine base and a few bottles of flavoring.

Vaping can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you make it--it's really all up to you.

Good luck!

 

[Katya]

agree 100%...

i get a charge out of these posts (in a good way) cause if you stay vaping and GET INTO IT there is no way you are not going to spend as much money as you were on cigs. it is just a boatload more fun and a lifesaver to boot. at least in my case if not yours. i wouldn't trade the fun i have on the ECF (and all the good people i have met) and enjoying my hobby vaping for anything i know of. best to everyone... <*}}}>{

I respectfully disagree. I've been vaping for a long time and honestly, after the initial investment in hardware and other incidentals, I couldn't spend as much as I used to spend on cigarettes even if I tried. Honest.

 

[disambiguated]

If you get good tanks (I use the Innokin iClear 30s and the Kanger T2) and take care of them, they'll last for a long time. Atomizer heads are consumables; you'll eventually need to either buy more or learn to re-build them yourself.

I'm a hoarder, so I have 12 T2 tanks and 12 iClear 30s tanks, along with ~50 iClear 30s atomizer heads (which don't seem to be rebuildable) and ~40 Kanger T2 heads (which are rebuildable, but I don't bother; I just keep the ones that can't be cleaned anymore, in case I ever have to learn to rebuild them due to government bans).

 

[barmanvarn]

I'm currently using the G6 mini-tank. From what I've read, you can't replace any of the components on the tank. I'll track how long I use this one and see how it goes.

I'm a geek so I've started a spreadsheet to track what I've spent (and saved) thus far. We'll see how it goes over time.

 

[Jcdew67]

I smoked almost 2 packs a day for many years.I now only vape and have been for 4 years. I still only use ego batteries with a Evod. Why spend more than you have too?

 

[barmanvarn]

I smoked almost 2 packs a day for many years.I now only vape and have been for 4 years. I still only use ego batteries with a Evod. Why spend more than you have too?

I do understand that modding and experimenting can certainly add to the cost of vaping. I went through this w/ my Jeep where modding your rig is only limited by the size of you wallet. LOL

Not about to go through that again. For now I'm just looking to spend frugally and wisely based on the setup I've built thus far.

 

[ispytech]

I really think it depends on what you want to get out of it. If you are just looking for something very easy then you can stick with the cartomizers and simple set up. If you are looking for the best experience possible you can move up to a variable voltage / variable wattage device and a tank system of some kind. If you are not comfortable with rebuilding coils and wicking them yourself there are some very nice clearomizer tank systems out there. The Aspire Nautilus is a good one. These things can be found online at vender websites or on ebay, usually with free shipping. If you think you would like to try rebuilding then try out a kayfun or similar tank system. They are really not hard to build on. If you are going to do that I would go with a variable voltage / variable wattage device as most of these have short protection and an ohm meter built in. The Vamo V5 is a good one to start out on, it's not very expensive either. Good luck and Vape ON!!!