Start up cost for Diy

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AzPlumber

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Yeah Frankster you'll be surprised. When I use a FlavourArt tobacco, i start out with 4 drops in a 10ml batch and that is usually enough. Also, some of the flavors need to set for a few days, some people call it "steeping". tobacco's and Coffee's definitely need to set, some will let them set for up to two weeks. Not sure what happens chemically during this time but it makes a big difference. You can also use hot water bath to help speed this up a bit. Just put your finished bottle of DIY in a cup of hot tap water until the water cools, i usually shake a few times during this process.
 

FRANKSTER

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FRANKSTER

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Yeah Frankster you'll be surprised. When I use a FlavourArt tobacco, i start out with 4 drops in a 10ml batch and that is usually enough. Also, some of the flavors need to set for a few days, some people call it "steeping". Tobacco's and Coffee's definitely need to set, some will let them set for up to two weeks. Not sure what happens chemically during this time but it makes a big difference. You can also use hot water bath to help speed this up a bit. Just put your finished bottle of DIY in a cup of hot tap water until the water cools, i usually shake a few times during this process.

Thanks...4 drops for 10 ml? that's like nothing
 

Lyndagayle

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It may seem like nothing but believe us when we tell you that FA tobaccos are STRONG! I've never gone over 2% flavoring on an FA tobacco. Some do but most of us hover at 1-3%, which is only 3 or 4 drops in a 5 ml base. Wait at least one day before you start adding more. It's so easy to overdo the flavoring because you want it right then and there and there are only a handful of flavors that can be vaped right out of the shoot. Fruit flavors are more forgiving than tobaccos and sweet flavors. Start low and work up. It's much easier to add more than it is to try to fix a bottle that you've over loaded. Just ask my kitchen drain. lol
 

FRANKSTER

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It may seem like nothing but believe us when we tell you that FA tobaccos are STRONG! I've never gone over 2% flavoring on an FA tobacco. Some do but most of us hover at 1-3%, which is only 3 or 4 drops in a 5 ml base. Wait at least one day before you start adding more. It's so easy to overdo the flavoring because you want it right then and there and there are only a handful of flavors that can be vaped right out of the shoot. Fruit flavors are more forgiving than tobaccos and sweet flavors. Start low and work up. It's much easier to add more than it is to try to fix a bottle that you've over loaded. Just ask my kitchen drain. lol

Thanks for the info. How about the tobaccos from TPA , Loranns and seedman's...are they that concentrated...or you can go 10-15 percent on them. I bought 2 tobaccos from TPA. thank you again
 

Lyndagayle

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Thanks for the info. How about the tobaccos from TPA , Loranns and seedman's...are they that concentrated...or you can go 10-15 percent on them. I bought 2 tobaccos from TPA. thank you again

As you well know, everyone's tastes are different. I have tried all of TPA's tobaccos and found they were quite stout at 2% so start there and work up. You may find you like them mixed at 10%. One of our more seasoned DIY'ers, Hoosier, has posted that he likes some FA tobacco flavors mixed at 10+ percent. You'll have to play around to find your sweet spot but again, remember it's much easier to add more flavor than it is to add more base to diminish a flavor. Somehow when you start mixing more base to reduce flavor, more times than not, you'll end up with a great big batch of yuck! That is my experience YMMV.
 

markfm

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Seedman commercial concentrate, and tpa tobacco blend, I usually use at 12 - 15%. I recently did a decent tob at 8% seedman commercial, but it had another 13% of caramel and vanilla.

For people who like lower %, super, I've been doing this for a while.
 
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FRANKSTER

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As you well know, everyone's tastes are different. I have tried all of TPA's tobaccos and found they were quite stout at 2% so start there and work up. You may find you like them mixed at 10%. One of our more seasoned DIY'ers, Hoosier, has posted that he likes some FA tobacco flavors mixed at 10+ percent. You'll have to play around to find your sweet spot but again, remember it's much easier to add more flavor than it is to add more base to diminish a flavor. Somehow when you start mixing more base to reduce flavor, more times than not, you'll end up with a great big batch of yuck! That is my experience YMMV.

The 10 percent is a far cry from the 2 and 3...you are right better to work up...thanks
 

Ms. Creant

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Thanks for the info. How about the tobaccos from TPA , Loranns and seedman's...are they that concentrated...or you can go 10-15 percent on them. I bought 2 tobaccos from TPA. thank you again
I would suggest that you start with mixing small = 3ml samples with plain pg/vg mix and no nic. That way if you don't like it you are not wasting your nic base.

I use some Lorann's flavors and to me, they are pretty strong but most people I've read comments from, on Lorann's flavors say they aren't strong.

I start flavoring at 1 drop or less per ml and I usually don't have to add very much more than that.
 

Taintedhalo

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Watch for sales too. I picked up enough nic juice to last my mother and me for at least a yr and half for $54. The pg I get at tractor supply. Yep its food grade says everything on the label that the stuff from rts does. Best of all you get a gallon for $20 and no shipping and handling. The vg I get from walmart $4 and again no shipping. The flavorings I get from onestopdiyshop 5 for $6. Got to look on her special deals. Now since I am set for nic and pg and vg for less than I paid for 2 cartons I bought every week. (bought mom's too) I figure I can buy 10 flavorings a month at $17 (includes shipping and handling) and still be way ahead of the game. There is a thread here called deals and steals where people post the latest sales. It has saved me a lot.
 

FRANKSTER

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I would suggest that you start with mixing small = 3ml samples with plain pg/vg mix and no nic. That way if you don't like it you are not wasting your nic base.

I use some Lorann's flavors and to me, they are pretty strong but most people I've read comments from, on Lorann's flavors say they aren't strong.

I start flavoring at 1 drop or less per ml and I usually don't have to add very much more than that.

Hello there...I thought that the nic base would change the flavoring some what...I am not sure?
 

Ms. Creant

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Hello there...I thought that the nic base would change the flavoring some what...I am not sure?
Indeed it will, but that should not affect the percentage of flavor you use by a whole lot in no nic juice vs. nic juice. That covers the concerns of the original post, cost of DIY and saving money by not wasting nic juice to test flavors.
 

FRANKSTER

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Watch for sales too. I picked up enough nic juice to last my mother and me for at least a yr and half for $54. The pg I get at tractor supply. Yep its food grade says everything on the label that the stuff from rts does. Best of all you get a gallon for $20 and no shipping and handling. The vg I get from walmart $4 and again no shipping. The flavorings I get from onestopdiyshop 5 for $6. Got to look on her special deals. Now since I am set for nic and pg and vg for less than I paid for 2 cartons I bought every week. (bought mom's too) I figure I can buy 10 flavorings a month at $17 (includes shipping and handling) and still be way ahead of the game. There is a thread here called deals and steals where people post the latest sales. It has saved me a lot.[/QUOTE

Thanks for the info. I was wondering if you or anyone here can explain the pricing for flavor arts on pure vapes.
I did not want to start a thread just for this question, but I cannot for the life of me understand some of the pricing in the juice business.

At pure vapes, you can get 3ml of FA hazelnut for 1.50$ with no flavor enhancers or tobaccos---also you can get 30ml of hazelnut for 7$...I am confused because why would someone pay 1.5$ for 3ml when they can get 30ml for 7$...that is 50 percent cheaper for the 30ml of the same flavor on the same site.

Can someone please explain this for me because I have never seen such strange pricing...what am I missing here? I want to make sure I am right on this because I might purchase some flavors.

Thank you
 

Sedateme

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That's pretty common for flavorings... the difference in price per ml goes way down when you buy bigger bottles. There are a couple of reasons for it: it's more work to make a bunch of little bottles, and people at first will buy a ton of little bottles to sample different flavors to see what they like. If 80% of my flavoring sales are 3ml bottles, that's what is going to be a little more pricey... supply and demand. Most flavor vendors price the same way... TPA offers 4ml bottles for $1.40, while a 1oz bottle (just over 30ml) is $5.50 depending on the flavor. What you are seeing is totally normal.
 

markfm

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For someone totally new, just sampling to see which if any flavors they like, getting a bunch of 3ml samplers simply works for them. They can try 5 flavors for just slightly more than the cost of one 30ml.

The pricing scheme is consistent with other flavor vendors, whether they are just passing through the cost directly with a small markup or simply following the model used for flavor sellers. Look at Natures Flavors, 1 ounce of something is $12.50, while 16 ounces is $49 -- it's a factor of 4 cheaper to buy by the pint. For a steeper example, try perfumers apprentice, 4ml of Bavarian Cream is $1.40, while 30ml is $5.50; it might seem silly to buy just 4ml, unless you are unfamiliar with the products and want to test multiple.

At a reseller level, if a person does a rebottle, breaks say a 16 ounce of flavoring into smaller ones, the cost of the flavoring is relatively small, it's the cost of the resale bottles and touch time to make the labels, etc. A 3ml bottle runs 40 cents, while a 30 ml is $1. 3 ml of the flavoring may have cost 50 cents, while 30 ml is $5. That gets you to about $0.90 and $6.00 base cost. The seller may be choosing to only charge $0.60 for the time to label the little one, with $1.00 to label and obtain markup on the bigger one.

(Extra Credit: come up with the rationale on TPA's tobacco blend alc pricing. 15ml at $3.80, 30ml at $10 :) I always buy multiple 15ml, Linda has had consistent pricing on it all year. The tobacco blend PG pricing actually makes more sense to me, but I buy the alc version since I DIY some 0PG, easier to stay with just one flavoring rather than buy both variants. I actually just sent TPA an email to see if it is a whoops in pricing.)
 
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sidetrack

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I just tallied up my cost to date (11 mo.) of DIY stuff, $600.00. Quite a bit but I am set for years in 90% of the flavors. I have about 150 flavors of FalvourArt,TFA, Lorann, and Capella's. It cost me about $.30 per day to vape 2 ml. It's gonna take me a bit to realize a gain dollarwise in this category. Add to that my hardware(900mah ego type) and I am spending about $199.00 per year to vape. I was spending $1825.00 on cigs per year so I am perfectly happy with going a bit overboard on flavors initially.
 

FRANKSTER

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For someone totally new, just sampling to see which if any flavors they like, getting a bunch of 3ml samplers simply works for them. They can try 5 flavors for just slightly more than the cost of one 30ml.

The pricing scheme is consistent with other flavor vendors, whether they are just passing through the cost directly with a small markup or simply following the model used for flavor sellers. Look at Natures Flavors, 1 ounce of something is $12.50, while 16 ounces is $49 -- it's a factor of 4 cheaper to buy by the pint. For a steeper example, try perfumers apprentice, 4ml of Bavarian Cream is $1.40, while 30ml is $5.50; it might seem silly to buy just 4ml, unless you are unfamiliar with the products and want to test multiple.

At a reseller level, if a person does a rebottle, breaks say a 16 ounce of flavoring into smaller ones, the cost of the flavoring is relatively small, it's the cost of the resale bottles and touch time to make the labels, etc. A 3ml bottle runs 40 cents, while a 30 ml is $1. 3 ml of the flavoring may have cost 50 cents, while 30 ml is $5. That gets you to about $0.90 and $6.00 base cost. The seller may be choosing to only charge $0.60 for the time to label the little one, with $1.00 to label and obtain markup on the bigger one.

(Extra Credit: come up with the rationale on TPA's tobacco blend alc pricing. 15ml at $3.80, 30ml at $10 :) I always buy multiple 15ml, Linda has had consistent pricing on it all year. The tobacco blend PG pricing actually makes more sense to me, but I buy the alc version since I DIY some 0PG, easier to stay with just one flavoring rather than buy both variants. I actually just sent TPA an email to see if it is a whoops in pricing.)

Thank you...the pricing on the tobacco blend alc does not seem to make sense. What does OPG mean and thanks for the info
 
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