Do you like money? Why everyone *should* DIY.

[Walrus]

An economics lesson.

I'll use Totally Wicked as my example. I do this because they are my favorite and if you can't pick on those you love, who can you? It also helps this example that they are also the most expensive. You can substitute the numbers used for what you pay.

30ml is roughly one fluid ounce. A gallon is 128 fluid ounces. A 30ml bottle from TW (any strength, 0-36) costs roughly $30. Therefore, a gallon of TW liquid would cost $3840. No typo... three thousand eight hundred and forty dollars. A gallon of Propylene Glycol costs $22.

My typical percentage of Lorann's flavorings in my recipes runs around 20%. So... to flavor that gallon of PG, I'd use roughly 25 ounces of Lorann's. Roughly 6.4 bottles (4 oz). Almost all of their flavors cost $13 for a 4 oz bottle. Soooo, now we have $83.20 in flavoring costs.

Hold the phones... we've just increased what our store-bought e-juice would have cost us. In adding the flavoring, we now actually have 153 ounces of our DIY liquid. That's now $4590 worth of TW liquids, for a DIY cost of $105. Savvy?

You don't save as much if you aren't into the 0-nic stuff... but using the same info above... if you are into say... 18mg liquid. Buy the 36mg instead! By cutting it with PG, you still save thousands of dollars.

I purposefully left Glycerine out of the discussion just to keep it simple. Glycerine is $9.50 for 16 ounces (from the right source), and I use maybe 35-40% in my recipes. It's not necessary.

Let's sum things up:

Cost per Gallon (0 Nic)

DIY - PG $88
DIY - Glycerine $133
TW $3840


A little more perspective... that 30ml bottle for $30? The same just cost you 68 cents to make yourself.

Any questions?

[yvilla]

Great post Walrus!

I've actually been beating this drum for a long while now too, but you've done it with so much more flair.

[bri1270]

Nice one Walrus...cutting 36 from now on...

Actually, since my ultimate goal is to get to 0 nic, this works great for the wallet and for the psyche.

[Duckies]

Doesn't cutting the 36 with PG affect flavor and throat hit?

I just ordered a bunch of 36 to cut, but am thinking now about ordering low nic just so that I can use it while I step down.

Or am I missing your point entirely, and you are talking about cutting 36 with Lorann and PG?

[Lika]

Bravo Walrus

I think I've known those little bottles are expensive but to actually see those Bold Red numbers are quite staggering. Good work. DIY for sure.

[Nuck]

If you require nicotine though, the numbers for home made go up very quickly. For instance, 36 mg VG or PG from East Mall would cost you 1920.00 US to make a gallon. You would still have to cut it with some flavors and at 20% flavor you'd end up with roughly 29mg juice. (this would reduce the nic juice cost to 1536.00)

This would be worst case though and still shows how much you can save, but the price does scale up quickly with nicotine content.

[Walrus]

Doesn't cutting the 36 with PG affect flavor and throat hit?

I just ordered a bunch of 36 to cut, but am thinking now about ordering low nic just so that I can use it while I step down.

Or am I missing your point entirely, and you are talking about cutting 36 with Lorann and PG?

It does affect the flavor and hit. That's why I use Lorann's. I'm working on increasing throat hit in a safe way that doesn't color the flavor too much. If you start with something really potent anyway, you find that cutting it is a good thing... for instance, TW's Menthol. It's crazy strong. Cutting it down brought it down to a 'i can use it without crying' level.

[Duckies]

Appreciate the clarification!

[LuckySevens4U]

It does affect the flavor and hit. That's why I use Lorann's. I'm working on increasing throat hit in a safe way that doesn't color the flavor too much. If you start with something really potent anyway, you find that cutting it is a good thing... for instance, TW's Menthol. It's crazy strong. Cutting it down brought it down to a 'i can use it without crying' level.

LOL on the crying level. OMG. TW's menthol DOES rock. You're too hardcore for me Walrus, but I just use the 11 mg and it's soooooooo wonderful with a great smooth menthol taste and nice throat hit. It just kicks. I do that in the morning with my coffee for a few drops then I just move down to a smaller mix I made of a little over half of the TW and then some PG or VG with it and I smoke on that the rest of the day unless I feel I need an extra kick then I just put a straight 11 drop in. This is just so good and perfect.

I so love and enjoy all that you do with your recipies here, but it's just all too much for me. I like it simple. LOL

[Walrus]

If you require nicotine though, the numbers for home made go up very quickly. For instance, 36 mg VG or PG from East Mall would cost you 1920.00 US to make a gallon. You would still have to cut it with some flavors and at 20% flavor you'd end up with roughly 29mg juice. (this would reduce the nic juice cost to 1536.00)

This would be worst case though and still shows how much you can save, but the price does scale up quickly with nicotine content.

Sure... the less you cut it, the more you'll spend. It's still savings though It also helps your supply last longer... which nowadays seems important since it's such a bitch to get stuff through customs in a timely manner.