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Your true vaping costs - The penny pinchers' thread

Giraut

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How much does vaping REALLY cost you? Have you ever figured it out?
Being a bit of a skinflint, I have. Here is my detailed budget (I'll talk euros, being that I live in Euro-land right now):

Mods

The mods I vape most are:

- A Dovpo E-LVT, purchased EUR 80. This is my main out and about mod. It's tough and I'm a careful owner, but it's also made in China. So I expect it to last no more than 6 months. I vape it around 8 hrs/day.

Cost per month: 80.00 / 6 * (8 / 16) = EUR 4.44

- An eVic, that I bought for EUR 90 about 8 months ago. It stays at home, doesn't leave its resting base when I don't use it, and shows no sign of quitting. I expect it to last at least 2 years.

Cost per month: 90.00 / 24 * (8 / 16) = EUR 1.87

I vape other hardware on occasion (I have a vast and unreasonable collection of vaping stuff), but nowhere near as often as those two mods. I'll leave it out of the equation for the sake of simplicity.

Batteries

- Both the E-LVT and the eVic take 18650 batteries. I use Samsung ICR 18650 cells, at EUR 14.30 a pop. I assume they'll last 2 years before losing too much capacity.

Cost per month: (14.30*2) / 24 = EUR 1.19

USB charger

Both the E-LVT and the eVic charge through USB (which is why I bought them, incidentally). I use fast USB chargers (that go up to 2A), because I also use them to charge my cellphone. They cost EUR 15 at my local store. They've never failed, so I'll assume they'll last 5 years. I use 2 of them.

Cost per month: (15*2) / 60 = EUR 0.50

USB charge cable

A micro-USB cable that gets used every day typically lasts me 3 years. There too, I use fast charge cables that go up to 2A, and I have two of them that I use in rotation. I get these things here at EUR 12.

Cost per month: (12.00*2) / 36 = EUR 0.67

Atomizers

I use the Smok Dripper RDA almost exclusively. These atomizers cost me EUR 6.50. They're made of brass, and bits of it are gold plated, but the gold plating takes 2 to 3 months to go. They still work fine, but for the sake of argument, I'll assume something will go wrong with then within 6 months (plating, threads...).

Cost per month: (6.50*2)/6 = EUR 2.16

Silica rope

Silica lasts a lot longer than cotton, so it's cheaper in the long run. I use 3mm silica rope, that I get at EUR 1.90 for 2 m. I rebuild my coils/wicks every 2 weeks on average, on both my mods, and I use about 5 cm of silica rope each time.

Cost per month: [(0.05 / 2 * 4.34) * 2] * (1.90 / 2) = EUR 0.21

Kanthal

I use 32 ga. Kanthal exclusively. I get it at EUR 1.90 for 10 m. I rebuild my coils/wicks every 2 weeks on average, on both my mods, and I use about 5 cm of Kanthal each time.

Cost per month: [(0.05 / 2 * 4.34) * 2] * (1.90 / 10) = EUR 0.04

Juice

I get 18 mg VG nic base at EUR 6.90 for 100 ml. Not the cheapest, but I trust that particular supplier. I also get plain-jane VG at EUR 2 per liter at my local chemist, and I get most of my flavorings at EUR 4.95 for 10 ml. Finally, I get deionized water at EUR 0.79 for 100 ml and saline solution at EUR 1.29 for 100 ml at my local chemist also.

My usual recipe for a 10 ml bottle of juice is:

- 3.33 ml nic base (cost per bottle: (3.33 / 100) * 6.90 = EUR 0.23)
- 0.25 ml flavoring (cost per bottle: (0.25 / 10) * 4.95 = EUR 0.12)
- 0.50 ml deionized water (cost per bottle: (0.50 / 100) * 0.79 < EUR 0.01)
- 0.50 ml saline solution (cost per bottle: (0.50 / 100) * 1.29 = EUR 0.01)
- 5.42 ml glycerin (cost per bottle: (5.42 / 1000) * 2.00 EUR 0.01)

Total per bottle: EUR 0.38

I vape about 5 ml per day. Well, probably a bit less, but let's say 5 ml as a worst case scenario.

Cost per month: (0.38 / 10) * 5 * 30.4 = EUR 5.78

Juice bottles

I wash and reuse my juice bottles, and they come from vaper friends who give me their empty bottles. So the cost is null. So far, they've lasted me 8 months without leaking. However, for the sake of argument, I'll assume I'll have to replace them some day. Let's say they'll last a year at the most. My favorite supplier sells them at EUR 3.69 per set of 10. I have about 20 in rotation:

Cost per month: [(3.69 / 10) * 20] / 12 = EUR 0.61

Electricity

Yes, e-cigarettes run on electricity as well as juice. When I charge my mods, the battery is usually 75% depleted, both on the E-LVT and the eVic. Considering the batteries are 2600mAh (2.6Ah), at 3.7V on average, that's (2.6*3.7)*0.75 = 7.21Wh. Assuming the charging process is 50% efficient (wall wart, charging circuitry inside the mod...), that's 14.43Wh = 0.01443kWh consumed per charge. I pay my electricity EUR 0.055/kWh.

Cost per month: [(0.01443*2) * 30.4 * 0.055 = EUR 0.05


GRAND TOTAL:

- Mods: 4.44 + 1.87
- Batteries: 1.19
- USB charger: 0.50
- USB charge cable: 0.67
- Atomizers: 2.16
- Silica: 0.21
- Kanthal: 0.04
- Juice: 5.78
- Bottles: 0.61
- Electricity: 0.05

TOTAL PER MONTH: EUR 17.52
TOTAL PER DAY: EUR 0.58


(To be honest, I haven't taken into account the cost of shipping, because I either buy my stuff locally - either here in Belgium or when I travel abroad for work - or I buy in bulk to such an extent that shipping is usually free or neglibible compared to the cost of the order.)

I'm pleased to say that, all things taken into account, that's a little over 10x cheaper than smoking, which is a complete bargain considering the added health benefits :)


Your turn now: how much do you spend on vaping?
 

moecat

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Great topic! My consumption rough estimates:
1. Juice ... $1.47 / day max
2. Replacement coils ... $0.57 / day max, and dependent on what type of coils
3. Tanks/clearos ....$0.27 / day (depends how shopping crazed I get)
4. Batteries ... $0.03 / day
5. Devices ... $0.50 / day

$2.84 for me ... easily at least a 25% daily savings (maybe up to as much as 43%) over the old stinkies :D
 

UncleRJ

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Good thread!

I will have to give it some consideration before I add my estimates.

But I do tend to think that you are not giving your mods enough credit.

In my experience if a regulated mod last past 30 days, it should work until something (like the user) does something that will cause it not to work.
 

moecat

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But I do tend to think that you are not giving your mods enough credit.

In my experience if a regulated mod last past 30 days, it should work until something (like the user) does something that will cause it not to work.
Remember, it's easy to give in to one's impulses and go mod crazy with all the product that comes out so frequently.
 

UncleRJ

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Remember, it's easy to give in to one's impulses and go mod crazy with all the product that comes out so frequently.

Are you quoting from the "Book of DUUHH"? :D
 

jack

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Great point Giraut and Moecat , that's what I tell smokers . Not meaning anything bad, but when some people say they cant afford to vape , look at what you spend per day . Yes, the initial outlay may cost but after that you spend pennies . Two packs a day can be 80+ $ a week , every week !!
 

moecat

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Are you quoting from the "Book of DUUHH"? :D
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jae

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I'm figuring probably around $30-40 per month, although i haven't sat down and worked it out. I only buy devices once every few months, and i usually buy juice in bulk, so it tends to last a good while. So it may be a good bit lower than that.
 

UncleRJ

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Great point Giraut and Moecat , that's what I tell smokers . Not meaning anything bad, but when some people say they cant afford to vape , look at what you spend per day . Yes, the initial outlay may cost but after that you spend pennies . Two packs a day can be 80+ $ a week , every week !!

Absolutely correct!

While the inital investment can seem a bit daunting, it make perfect sense when you do the math.

And lets not forget the additional enjoyment factor with all the new flavors that are now available to them.

Seriously, does anyone that has made the switch really want to go back?
 

Giraut

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But I do tend to think that you are not giving your mods enough credit. In my experience if a regulated mod last past 30 days, it should work until something (like the user) does something that will cause it not to work.

My experience is that, while the electronics are usually fine, the go-go button invariably ends up letting itself go after a few months: it loses its springiness, and eventually fails. It's happened to me 3 times already. I try to solder a new switch whenever possible, but it's a PITA. Typical el-cheapo Chinese electronics...

The 510 thread too can be fragile - on any mod, not just regulated devices. If you switch toppers too often, you may wear out the thread. It doesn't really happen to me though, because I use a thread protector, and I tend to leave the same atomizer on permanently anyway.
 

KatyLoo

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I'm not exactly interested in creating a spreadsheet to calculate my savings, but here is what I know: for nearly a year now I haven't spent more that $50.00 per month, usually it's closer to $25.00. Using 2 REOs with 3 RM2s and DIY juice.
 

Roger Schaeffer

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Well spent about $1500 in 6 months going from 1st gen to 2nd Gen to 3rd Gen.Pretty well set up now. can build so rarely need to buy replacement heads.I buy Juice in bulk or DIY . Ishould be able to keep down to 75$ a month now. I DIY my analogs for for 1.50 a pk 1+ pack a day. So for me the best I can hope for is to break even in the future. That is unless they pass a law to tax the bulk cigarette tobacco labeled pipe tobacco to avoid the tax. Then analogs would be close to $5 a pk DIY. But My apartment does not stink- I feel better- I have a hobby. Its All Good
 

Damwow

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Don't have my phone handy, but I put a couple of smoking apps on it when I quit, one of them I think it's vape mate, allows you to enter every purchase you make and you can literally see if you are in the hole or not compared to the data you put in about your smoking habits. I did this religiously at first and remember how good it felt when I was in the black. It calculates your average cost of vaping each week as well. I really wish I had kept it totally up to date. I need to try to remember at least my bigger purchases and go back and fill in what I missed. I think, but could be wrong it was also the app that let me enter a reward for myself and the cost of it. It would alert me when I had saved that much money from smoking.

It has become a hobby for me though so you have to keep that in mind. My husband that used to buy my cigarettes at the tobacco store, and balances the checkbook every month says, bottom line, even when you do buy new stuff I see the savings! Not to mention how happy the whole family is that mom finally really quit!
 

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