The cost of living crisis has many of us feeling the pinch, and our pennies are not stretching as far as they used to, but there are lots of ways you can save money by switching up your vaping routine. We’ve put together 15 money-saving tips for vapers to help you get the most bang for your buck and make your vaping experience more wallet-friendly!
Switch from disposables
Disposable vapes may be a convenient option if you are heading on a trip or night out, but when used long-term they are definitely not the most cost-effective way to vape. Making the switch from disposables to a reusable vape kit is a cheaper and more environmentally conscious option, and also gives you more freedom to experiment with different flavours, nicotine strengths, and vaping styles. The average disposable vape costs around £6 and contains 2 ml of e-liquid, meaning you are paying around £3 per ml. On the other hand, a 10 ml bottle of e-liquid costs between £4 - £5 and contains 5 times as much e-liquid at only around 40p per ml!
Switch from a prefilled pod kit
Prefilled pod kits are a super convenient and user-friendly way to vape, especially if you are a new vaper and just getting to grips with using a vape kit. However, switching to a refillable pod kit can save you money, and they are nowhere near as complicated as you might think!
While the initial cost of a refillable pod kit may be a little more than that of a prefilled one, the battery inside is more powerful and will likely last longer than that of a prefilled pod kit. Buying bottles of e-liquid as opposed to prefilled pods is also more cost-effective, as a pack of pods usually contains 4 ml of e-liquid for around £6, whereas 10 ml bottles of e-liquids can be purchased for around £4 - £5 each.
Use the right nicotine strength
If you find that you are vaping quite a lot, or are struggling to satisfy your nicotine cravings, you may not be using the correct nicotine strength. Matching your nicotine strength to your previous intake from smoking is an important step, and you may find that moving up to a higher strength has you vaping less and going through less e-liquid.
If you are unsure which nicotine strength will best suit you, take a look at our blog post ‘Which strength e-liquid should I use?’ for some handy pointers.
Try nic salt e-liquids
Another way you may be able to reduce how frequently you are vaping is to switch from a freebase nicotine e-liquid to a nic salt one. Freebase nicotine is characterised by its throat hit, but it absorbs slower than nic salts so you may find you need longer vaping sessions to satisfy your cravings. Nicotine salts absorb into the bloodstream within seconds to quickly put a stop to cravings, so they may find you have to top up your tank less often!
Switch to short fills
When you next stock up on e-liquid why not take a look at switching to a short fill bottle? Short fills are bottles that contain more than 10 ml of nicotine free e-liquid, and leave room for the addition of nicotine shots if needed. A 50 ml short fill will usually cost around the same price as 3 – 4 10 ml bottles, giving you much more e-liquid for the same price.
Many short fills are available in a high VG formula and leave room for the addition of enough nicotine shots to create a 3 mg/ml e-liquid. For example, a 50 ml short fill will contain 50 ml of nicotine free e-liquid with room for one 10 ml 18 mg/ml nicotine shot, creating 60 ml of 3 mg/ml e-liquid.
There are some short fills available with a 50/50 formula, however we have a little hack that can turn any high VG short fill into a 50/50 e-liquid. By adding two 100% PG nicotine shots to a 50 ml short fill (you may need to decant a little to make room for both nicotine shots) you can produce a 6 mg/ml 50/50 e-liquid, perfect for use with starter kits. If you prefer a nicotine free vape, you can add two non-nicotine PG booster shots to create 70 ml of nicotine free 50/50 e-liquid.
Take care of your coil
How long your coil will last depends on a number of factors, but there are also a multitude of ways you can extend the life of your coil, giving you more vaping time between coil changes.
The most important one is to prime your coil. Dropping a little bit of e-liquid on the exposed cotton on a new coil before installing it, and letting it sit in the tank for 10 – 15 minutes before you start to use it, ensures it is fully saturated and ready to go.
We have lots of other tips for getting the most out of your coil in our blog post ‘How to extend the life of your coil’.
Fully charge your batteries
It can be tempting to unplug your device before it is fully charged but this can actually end up costing you in the long run. If a battery is repeatedly stopped from reaching a full charge it can deplete the battery life much quicker, meaning you have to charge it more regularly and will likely have to replace it earlier than you would have needed to. Letting the device reach a full charge whenever you charge it could not only prolong the life of your device, but also save you precious pennies on your energy bills!
Use a battery bay charger
If your device takes external batteries, a battery bay charger is a great investment. While you can charge the batteries through the device, this often takes longer and many devices will continue to charge the batteries even once they are full. Battery bay chargers can safely charge your external batteries quickly and will stop charging once the batteries are full, cutting down on your energy consumption and prolonging the life of your batteries.