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how much can u save by DYI your own vape
- Thread starter fuzzy212
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ok ill bite
the inital outlay for DIY juice is slightly high. Finding the right flavors and recipe and so forth
buying in bulk with you rnic and pg and vg is where you save the most
but I spend less then .10 a ml for my juice
so thats under $3 for a 30 ml bottle
ive only diy'd for less then a year
and have spent $400-500
but i have enough supplies to last
my nic will last for about 3-5 years
my vg will last 2 years
and atm i have enough flavors to mix 3000 ml or more of my favorite recipes
the inital outlay for DIY juice is slightly high. Finding the right flavors and recipe and so forth
buying in bulk with you rnic and pg and vg is where you save the most
but I spend less then .10 a ml for my juice
so thats under $3 for a 30 ml bottle
ive only diy'd for less then a year
and have spent $400-500
but i have enough supplies to last
my nic will last for about 3-5 years
my vg will last 2 years
and atm i have enough flavors to mix 3000 ml or more of my favorite recipes
For 10 bottles of what you bought, you could spend the same and have enough to mix your own for close to a year.
Bucky205
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I would estimate somewhere around .10 a ml, or slightly less. What always trips me up is going online to order new flavoring, and I start thinking I wish I had this, and then getting that, I will find two more flavors I want. Ends up being a $100 order. LOL It last until I run out of one flavor, and the process starts again. But it saves a ton making your own.
itsmenotyou
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Everything said is right. The biggest thing is spending money of flavors you THINK you will like but and up hating.
Good luck and have a blast mixing!
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Good luck and have a blast mixing!
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thanks for all the feedback. yeah i lke doing new stuff. i also will have test subjects cause half the people i work with vape . i think ima go this route . so far the only flavor i like is the grape jolly rancher
When I first started making my own juice I thought about all the money I would save. Like previously mentioned the startup cost might hurt a bit but just like vaping you had to find a setup you like so you spent the bucks. Now after a year of DIY its not the money at all even though I can make my juice for @ 5 cents a ml, its the quality of the juice I now vape, I know exactly what's going into the juice I vape, no additives, sweetener or whatever else they put into commercial juices. I've ordered bottles of juice from vendors and it was great then reordered the same juice and it was crap, your always rolling the dice when ordering commercial juices. Now my last juice will taste the same as my next batch. There is so many pro's with making your own juice that you will forget about the saving money. The biggest pro of my juice compared with commercial juice is that I was parched all the time, drank gallons of water and up all night pissing, now I drink a fraction of the water and sleep all night. Commercial juice is oversweet, some to the point of syrup and I have 100's of mls of commercial juices I haven't touched in a year and they will continue to sit.
All I make is 2 or 3 ingredient mixes, mostly tobaccos and tobacco absolutes. Hangsen tobacco concentrates are my tobacs of choice. Keep the KISS method and not turn your craft into rocket science and DIY juice building will be a great experience.
All I make is 2 or 3 ingredient mixes, mostly tobaccos and tobacco absolutes. Hangsen tobacco concentrates are my tobacs of choice. Keep the KISS method and not turn your craft into rocket science and DIY juice building will be a great experience.
To slightly echo what @Alter is saying here. With DIY you really can't go wrong. If an idiot like me can make multiple all day vapes anyone can. The thing is people aren't aware of how stupid easy DIY is. And yes vendor ejuice is usually way over flavored which you definitely notice the more you get into subohm whether its tank or via dripper. I'm at that point to where I will never buy a vendor juice ever again unless the vapepocolypse happens and I can't get nic or flavoring ever again. I do mix for about 7 people and they all dig my mixes and uber cheap prices which basically means I vape for free now.
It's like I'm looking in a mirror! <G>
I feel much better when I think about what I would be spending for juice if I walked into a retail vape shop in Chicago. There, for a single 30ml bottle, it would cost me at least $22.00 in ..just taxes.
Ron
Bucky205
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Once you have the exacts for a recipe the cost definitely drops. That why I went with .10 ml or less. There's flavors you don't like when you receive them, experimenting with new flavors. Once you have a recipe nailed, it's really cheap. I like to experiment to much, I'm always like, "Well what if I added this?" Peaches and Cream is killing my average. I keep spending money to try and make it better.
Or, instead of sitting for another year, why not PIF to someone who'd enjoy them?
I've given a pile away already to the few vapers that live in our small town. Its not worth the PIF by Canada post mail with small packages starting at 15 bucks and just goes up from there.
HotRod19579
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Another thing to consider is mixing by volume or mixing by weight.
When I first started, mixing by volume, I spent a very large amount of money buying mixing supplies, syringes, beakers, pipettes, glass pipettes with pump for accuracy, etc... I over spent and I am guessing it was $200+.
I then invested in a $85 scale. All of the other supplies are now collecting dust. I mix straight from the bottles the ingredients come in straight into the bottle I fill from. I can mix a 30ml batch in just a couple of minutes and there is absolutely no cleanup needed. My initial investment would have been much lower if I would have started mixing by weight.
When I first started, mixing by volume, I spent a very large amount of money buying mixing supplies, syringes, beakers, pipettes, glass pipettes with pump for accuracy, etc... I over spent and I am guessing it was $200+.
I then invested in a $85 scale. All of the other supplies are now collecting dust. I mix straight from the bottles the ingredients come in straight into the bottle I fill from. I can mix a 30ml batch in just a couple of minutes and there is absolutely no cleanup needed. My initial investment would have been much lower if I would have started mixing by weight.
Mine was $15. But I never spent much on syringes, either.
Give this thread a read:
http://vapingunderground.com/threads/diy-juice-the-real-cost.144285/
http://vapingunderground.com/threads/diy-juice-the-real-cost.144285/
My 501 lasted about a month, then it died. Now I have 2. One for large scale mixing. The other for mixing just flavors.
I think everyone has said it. It's just the initial cost and recurring costs on flavoring. The bill hurts when you can't seem to check out for less than $100 because you want to buy everything. But you look at prices buying at a local ship vs DIY the price per 30ml is signifcantly lower in diy .
However, the time invested can be pretty high. Atleast for me I am still reading a ton of stuff and researching everyday. If I were to charge by the hour for time reading the cost of DIY is very high. (Thank you everyone who shares because sharing is caring).
Then again, I would prefer to invest in time spent compared to... 1) getting a juice that I have no clue what's really inside the bottle, 2) receiving inconsistent mixes, 3) subscribing to a flavor of the month program where half of what I get is just yucky, 4) don't know how clean and careful the person is that's mixes my juice, 5) make my own choices on specific like tiny flavor nuances like add a touch of peper/cactus/graham cracker/coffee/cream/and so, and 6) I get to participate in a place like this.
However, the time invested can be pretty high. Atleast for me I am still reading a ton of stuff and researching everyday. If I were to charge by the hour for time reading the cost of DIY is very high. (Thank you everyone who shares because sharing is caring).
Then again, I would prefer to invest in time spent compared to... 1) getting a juice that I have no clue what's really inside the bottle, 2) receiving inconsistent mixes, 3) subscribing to a flavor of the month program where half of what I get is just yucky, 4) don't know how clean and careful the person is that's mixes my juice, 5) make my own choices on specific like tiny flavor nuances like add a touch of peper/cactus/graham cracker/coffee/cream/and so, and 6) I get to participate in a place like this.
Bucky205
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LOL, You must have seen my order, BCV order today was just over $120. I remember looking at one point and it was $57, then all of a sudden I'm over $100. At least the elrecipes knocked off 6%, and the shipping was free. I have a ton of flavoring, but I'm always seeing a new recipe I want to try. And you have to restock everything you're out of, in a bigger bottles this time. Now your almost to free shipping. Might as well go ahead and get some VG, and PG since the shipping is free. LOL, It is really easy to drop $100. I have to on occasion force myself to go back and use up flavors I have so they don't go to waste. I hadn't placed an order since mid November, so I was due. No matter, it's much healthier than analogs, and cheaper than buying premium juice. With the new order combined with what I've got, I should have enough on hand to mix close to 3000 ml's of different flavors. Life is good, Vape On!
Bucky205
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Yeah, that's a thought.......Maybe with honey, and condensed milk.....Damn, I need to place a new order... Yep, I suffer from it."It's a sickness, I tells ya."
Now... about that cactus flavor Chris mentioned. Interesting.
Bucky205
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I was mixing up 100 ml's of Mothers Milk this morning and thought about this thread. It probably came closer to .30 ml, by the time I added nicotine 3%. But I like it, I can live with a 100ml of something really good being $3. I went back an looked at a bunch of my other recipe's. If anything the .10 ml is on the low side for me. .20-.40 is closer to my average. I love Caps V1 at 15-17%. and even that the Caps is costing me 1.50 on a 100 ml at 15%. before you add any VG/PG/NIC. By the time you get VG/PG/NIC you're at .20 easy. My average flavoring is costing me .15-.20 a ml. Most of my juices are somewhere between 5-20% flavor. How are you guys doing it for .05 a ml? I posted the recipe so that you guys could see where I'm getting my numbers.
Mothers Milk
Sweet Cream 3%
Cheesecake +GC 5%
Strawberry 10%
Vanilla Custard 2%
Bavarian Cream 3%
Mothers Milk
Sweet Cream 3%
Cheesecake +GC 5%
Strawberry 10%
Vanilla Custard 2%
Bavarian Cream 3%
You know. Another way to look at it is the monthly cost to DIY. I'm not sure but I think I sit at between 70-100. Probably less that and based on my supplies I could vape without buying anything for a few months....and that is my startup cost and not a Maintenon of supplies cost. All in all as a hobby to replace cigs I am still saving money.
Bucky205
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The bulk is definitely the way to go, and I try to watch for sales. Even bulk it seems I'm spending about .10 an ml on most concentrated flavors. DIY is so much affordable it's crazy. Even though I may have spent $3 on my Mothers Milk Clone, it would have been $60 to buy it retail. I can get about four days off that 100 ml. So .75 a day, $23 a month. That's still really cheap, and it's one of the most expensive juices I clone.
Not to nit pick, but if your costs are .30 a mil, a 100 mil bottle cost you 30 bucks. That's not far off the price of store juice.
I buy in bulk and sales. I never pay full price for my DIY supplies. Of coarse, that means I have to look ahead too, and not let myself run low and HAVE to buy at retail full price.
Looking at his recipe, I can see why his cost are a bit higher. He's using much higher percentages than most. So he's spending a bit more on flavorings. And if that's what it takes, he'll never find a retail juice with those percentages.
That may change as he regains his taste buds. I know my % have been reduced dramatically since day 1. I used to use Cheese Cake Graham crust at 2-3%. Now, it taste like ass above .5% Most of my recipes have been adjusted down significantly since regaining my tastebuds. His will too eventually.
A typical recipe can go as low as 1.5% total flavoring for me now.
All mine are high percent(around 20 for TFA's). I'm still way lower on cost per ml. Better yet, I'm not subohming so I'm only using 5ml a day. Vaping can be dirt cheap when you don't follow trends.
So you're at $11 each.
My first DIY bottles were $2 each. Average now is 50 cents.
The only equipment I use is a small silicone spatula and a 10ml-120ml Pyrex measuring cup. We have blunt-tip syringes... haven't used them yet though. All that was maybe $11. Full retail on hinged-stopper glass quart bottles... maybe $10 each.
I vape 10-15 a day. I sub ohm, but don't consider it a trend. I consider it fulfilling a need.
And I agree, the cost doesn't have to be that high. But we don't know where he gets his supplies, or the quality of said supplies. I've noted that a lot of people pay close to double (some more) for their Nic, compared to mine. Yet it kind of balances out. I'm ticking in at around .65 per 30ml. But I still count the cost of my bottles even though I refill them often.
itsmenotyou
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Dont forget to include your shipping cost in your price over all including flavors and shit. I did my math this way
Vg/nic +shipping=x
Flavorings(free shipping because you HAVE to spend almost $100 on flavors)=y
Mixing supplys=x
Add up x y and z
Divided it by total ml of juice and that gave me an intro cost per mil
Sorry for the book and or if I confused anyone. Maths not my thing lol
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Vg/nic +shipping=x
Flavorings(free shipping because you HAVE to spend almost $100 on flavors)=y
Mixing supplys=x
Add up x y and z
Divided it by total ml of juice and that gave me an intro cost per mil
Sorry for the book and or if I confused anyone. Maths not my thing lol
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What shipping cost? If you buy $100 worth, there are none. Just sayin
itsmenotyou
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That's why i said free shiping on them
It was a fun process my first few diy orders but my first gallon and a halfs total cost (including a shitton of gear) was $148 and some change IIRC
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That's why i said free shiping on them
It was a fun process my first few diy orders but my first gallon and a halfs total cost (including a shitton of gear) was $148 and some change IIRC
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Yup, that first gallon is going to set you back on your heels. But from there on out, it's all gravy. Especially if you have a few ADV mastered.
itsmenotyou
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It'll be 2 years of vaping in 4 months and 2 years of mixing in 5months so I've finally got some kinks worked out
mostly thanks to the diy section here
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