What hardware do I need to get before the Vapocalypse ?

[Saippenu]

First, hello all, I've been lurking occasionally for years but was mostly being a sponge without much to contribute.

I have been in denial about what is coming with the FDA until I returned here recently and now realize that it is Probably going to come true.

I am ok on what to order to make my own juice( I have already started ordering) but I find myself to be clueless about what hardware I need to stock up on.

I know that it's alot to ask but I currently just own 8 egoC batteries and I use the disposable Kangertech bottom clearomizers where you change the coils weekly.

So basically, I have no hardware that is sustainable for the long ( possibly forever) drought that is now upon us.

I am an electronic technician with access to all that implies so I am not afraid of DIY hardware repairs over the next decade or so....but I don't know what to buy.

If any kind soul has the time, I would seriously appreciate a list of all that I need to sustain myself for 10 years or so. Any parts that will be unavailable or wildly expensive to get in the future is what I am looking for.

I realize that brands and models are subject to individual opinion. I am not looking for "best brands" though your opinions on what types and brands of gear will be most sustainable (and probably not available in the near future) is what I need to know I guess.

In the past I've taken the easy road so I am pretty clueless about the more advanced setups. You name it and I'll do my homework though.

I wish I hadn't waited so long to wake up and smell the vapor

Thanks a bunch for any and all help you can offer.

I don't buy top of the line just to get the name, but I will spend up to $700 to get what I need. Beyond that I might need to consider quitting my 40 + year nicotine addiction. Blah ...Noooooooo.

 

[mostlyclassics]

The hardware I suspect will disappear is mods and tanks with their coils. Others may disagree about the mods, since flashlights can be modified into mods (hence the name "mods"). Suitable batteries and the bits and pieces to rebuild the coils in tanks are used for so many other things that they'll be around.

I'm also figuring the Deeming Regulations will last my lifetime, which is only prudent. After all, the law essentially banishing that substance we can't talk about here (begins with "m") was passed in 1937, but was only overturned by the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds in 1969.

MODS: Mods come in two flavors, regulated and mech.

Regulated mods have fancy circuits inside them for both safety and to allow the user to vary the voltage/wattage going to the coil in the tank. Mechs simply provide a shell to house the battery and an attachment point for the tank.The user affects the amount of current going to the coil by varying the resistance of the coil he/she makes himself /herself.

The fancy circuits in regulated mods may die of old age in the future (even without being used); mech mods theoretically should last indefinitely.

I favor regulated mods, though I have some mech mods in my vapemageddon stash. Heat and moisture can adversely affect the lifetime of the fancy circuits and components, so the regulated mods in my stash are vacuum-packed with silica gel packets in the boxes. I've also gone with the most bullet-proof regulated mods, IMO: ProVari 2.5's. Others may disagree, but these seemed to me to be the safest bet. They're not the fanciest; they're not the most technologically advanced. But, IMO, they'll last the longest time. So, I have 20 of them in my stash, stored in the coolest and darkest place in my basement. Keeping them company are seven mechs, like REOs, with lots of replacement parts, such as switches. Just in case . . .

TANKS: Again, I looked for durable tanks with rebuildable heads. I settled on Aspire Nautilus 5.0 ml. tanks. Again, they're not the fanciest, but it looks like they'll get the job done. Nearly all the parts are stainless steel. The only weak part is the Pyrex glass reservoirs: these can be broken if dropped on a concrete or tile floor. But I have a bunch of glass replacements, plus several metal tanks for when the glass ones are all broken. I have 24 Aspire Nautilus tanks in my stash.

The heads seem to be easy to recoil with a few simple tools. But, to be safe (in case I come down with the Shaking Palsy or go blind or something), I have about 200 replacement heads. Since I go through about 16 heads per year (I vape DIY menthol, which is easy on coils), with rebuilding I should be safe.

Again, other people's mileage may vary on my choice of tanks, but the Aspire Nautilus tanks are what I settled on.

You didn't ask about it, but it's prudent to assume NICOTINE will disappear. The actuarial tables say I'll meet my Maker in about 22 years; I've stockpiled enough high-test 100 mg./ml. nicotine concentrate to last me 35 years or so. All my rocket juice is in glass bottles in a chest freezer which I keep at minus 15 degrees farenheit.

Good luck preparing for the vapocalypse! You'll get other answers, but mine make sense to me.

 

[Eskie]

I would add to that any regulated mods you purchase will benefit from replaceable batteries. Li batteries only survive so many charge cycles, so it's far easier to obtain a replacement battery than a non-replacable internal battery in many regulated mod Of course, if you really want to future proof, you should check out an unregulated mechanical mod which are far less likely to fail (although you really need to understnad how they work and use safely. For tanks, it all depends on your vaping style. Low wattage tootler or high wattage cloud chaser. That will help greatly in tank selection.

I would recommend checking out the RTA forum here for rebuildable tanks. Having a solid and easy tank designed for you to build out is really the only way to future proof yourself. Some tanks, like the Nauti, do have third party RBAs to rebuild the coils yourself, but tend to be finicky. Rebuilding Aspire coils is also possible, but again, finicky. Tanks with decks designed specifically for rebuilding are typically far easier and better performing.

As to juice, well, lots of nic in the freezer, but it sounds like you've got that covered.

 

[philbh]

If I understand correctly , we can continue to Buy hardware for the next two years. I am building a stockpile but I haven't gone nuts just yet. Am I wrong?

Sent from my A1-840FHD using Tapatalk

 

[mostlyclassics]

I would add to that any regulated mods you purchase will benefit from replaceable batteries. Li batteries only survive so many charge cycles, so it's far easier to obtain a replacement battery than a non-replacable internal battery in many regulated mod

Excellent point, Eskie.

Another thing about batteries, either loose or buried in a mod, is that they die in a few years, whether they're used or not. If they're used, they only go through a couple of or a few hundred charge/discharge cycles before they're candidates for the Battery Cemetery.

The good news is that batteries appropriate for vaping should be around for a long time. They're used in a bunch of non-vaping applications.

 

[mostlyclassics]

If I understand correctly , we can continue to Buy hardware for the next two years. I am building a stockpile but I haven't gone nuts just yet. Am I wrong?

philbh, the Deeming Regulations are unclear on this point, but it seems to me that after August 8, 2016, it will become progressively more difficult to buy vape-specific items on the internet. And individual states are hopping on the bandwagon by restricting internet sales as well.

Given that 499-page FDA monstrosity, I don't regard stocking up now, before August 8, 2016, as going nuts. I regard it as prudence.

YMMV, of course . . .

 

[philbh]

Well I've got six mechanical mods , 5 regulated mods , 15 atomizers all rebuildable, so maybe I am going nuts after all. I'm sure batteries won't be a problem. I have enough Nic to last my lifetime

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[mostlyclassics]

Well I've got six mechanical mods , 5 regulated mods , 15 atomizers all rebuildable, so maybe I am going nuts after all.

Hee hee! From my perspective, that's not nuts. That's a good start.

 

[Sara Love]

If I understand correctly , we can continue to Buy hardware for the next two years. I am building a stockpile but I haven't gone nuts just yet. Am I wrong?

Sent from my A1-840FHD using Tapatalk

stocking up is a good thing if you live in a state that does not allow the purchase of tobacco products online. After 8/8/16 most vape gear and juice will be deemed a tobacco product.

 

[Forkeh]

I would get a couple of real sturdy, well reputed, regulated box mods that run on replaceable batteries. I know they're not your usual style. But with good care, they hold up a lot better than Ego style devices. The replaceable batteries really help with that. Plus you can potentially repair them with your experience. I don't know if you've ever gutted an Ego....but the chances you're gonna fix that, not great in my opinion. Everything is so tiny. Alternatively, if you're absolutely against box mods, with the tech you've been using, I think you'd be completely satisfied with a ProVari. And they're really old tech. Good tech, but old tech. So they're dirt cheap these days. Now you won't be subOhming on a ProVari, but you're not doing that now anyway. Get more than one.

As far as your topper goes, well that's a bit of a pickle. You can buy a bunch of extra coils, and I do mean a bunch. And some extra tanks. If you have any inclination at all, I strongly recommend you look into rebuildables. A couple attys and tanks, and you can just build your own coils. It's actually not hard at all. You don't have to do anything fancy. Simple coil builds are easy peasy. But that way you have yourself covered if/when your replacement coils for your tank are unavailable. Sure you coild rebuild the stock tanks if you can figure out how to get them apart, but rebuilding on a rebuildable is SO much easier.

 

[Maestro]

If you're an electronic technician, I can't believe you're still buying atomizers. Building your own coils should be like falling off a log. $10 worth of supplies will last you for years and you're FDA proof. I strongly recommend get a re-buildable tank.

 

[bnrkwest]

The basics- replaceable battery mods, 2 regulated and 2 mech's would be a minimum to buy JMO.

Rebuilables atty and tanks, RBA and or RTA, 2 of each would be a minimum JMO

Nic- depending on your Nic level a couple liters of 100 mg/ml would be minimum amount.

What I bought for regulated mods is several Provari's, for mech's I bought nemesis and Reo.

 

[Saippenu]

Yup rebuild-able tanks are on the shopping list. I haven't decided which ones to get and I forgot to mention that both of my thumb joints are shot so I drop my e-cig regularly. Glass tanks won't do for me and that's what I am seeing for most rebuildables. I looked into rebuilding them years ago and decided that as cheap as they are, calculating out what my labor is worth, it just made more sense to buy them. Obviously that has changed now. It's not a matter of cost any more, it is a necessity.

As luck would have it Provape has a special today that wasn't there yesterday. I have just purchased 5 Provari 2.5s. Darn things are selling out so fast that what's in your shopping cart goes zero stock if you hesitate for a minute !

Phil; my state has an ENORMOUS tobacco tax so even if supplies are available for the next two years they will be insanely expensive to get. I am not taking any chances.

Thank you SO much for all of your help. It's very kind of you to spend the time on me.

I am looking into mechanical and will likely get a few just in case. I am not thrilled with the safety issues and even less thrilled with having to use a meter on the thing while vaping ....sounds like a hassle. But a few years down the line when my supplies are running low on the provaris it may start looking real good.

 

[Saippenu]

Thank you Bnrkwest !

 

[bnrkwest]

Yup rebuild-able tanks are on the shopping list. I haven't decided which ones to get and I forgot to mention that both of my thumb joints are shot so I drop my e-cig regularly. Glass tanks won't do for me and that's what I am seeing for most rebuildables. I looked into rebuilding them years ago and decided that as cheap as they are, calculating out what my labor is worth, it just made more sense to buy them. Obviously that has changed now. It's not a matter of cost any more, it is a necessity.

As luck would have it Provape has a special today that wasn't there yesterday. I have just purchased 5 Provari 2.5s. Darn things are selling out so fast that what's in your shopping cart goes zero stock if you hesitate for a minute !

Phil; my state has an ENORMOUS tobacco tax so even if supplies are available for the next two years they will be insanely expensive to get. I am not taking any chances.

Thank you SO much for all of your help. It's very kind of you to spend the time on me.

I am looking into mechanical and will likely get a few just in case. I am not thrilled with the safety issues and even less thrilled with having to use a meter on the thing while vaping ....sounds like a hassle. But a few years down the line when my supplies are running low on the provaris it may start looking real good.

Kayfun lite was recommended to me for Provari and they have a metal tank and short acrylic tank insert if wanted so can take dropping, I have 4 and 3 Kayfun mini's.

 

[bnrkwest]

Oh for safety get some kick's and short stops for the mech's I bought several of each. One reason I got a mech Reo also is their collapse of a hot spring for shorts. For the nemesis I will use a kick for extra safety as they will work for shorts as does the stop short.

 

[Saippenu]

Kayfun lite was recommended to me for Provari and they have a metal tank and short acrylic tank insert if wanted so can take dropping, I have 4 and 3 Kayfun mini's.

Ok I got 5 of the Kayfun lites..the ones with atomizer on it not just the tanks. Those tanks are perfect for me, thank you so much !

 

[Maestro]

Great choice. A provari 2.5 and kayfun mini v3 is what I use and it's as close to perfect as I've ever used. You'll love it.

 

[cape1234]

Very interesting tips.
Provari 2.5, Kayfun lite, I think will be the best for survival.

 

[Saippenu]

I am sitting here vaping on my brandy new Provari 2.5 with an Iclear 30s atomizer and WOW I had no idea what I've been missing all these years. This thing is amazing. The flavor, throat hit and clouds....I had no idea. I feel like I just upgraded from a Chevy Cobalt to a Porche !

All of my Kayfuns are here too but I am waiting until my week off in another week to start learning to build my own coils.

Fun Fun ! Thank you all so much for cluing me in