What's the point in DIY?

[mistinthewoods]

I started mixing my own juice about a month after I started vaping. It wasn't my intention, but mixing allowed me to control the nic level in the juice and over about a year and a half I had weaned myself off of nicotine entirely. Now I vape purely for the pleasure of it and not the addiction. Probably wouldn't have done that if I wasn't DIY-ing.

 

[wdave]

RTS Vapes 500mils 48mg pg based nic cost less than 50 dollars,Wiltons vg from hobby lobby is dirt cheap,flavors by flavor Art also cheap,No math needed here.

I'll trade my entire stockpile of juice for a bigger image of your avatar.

 

[RippleInStillWater]

I didn't see my answer in this thread, so I'll throw it in here.

I don't really save money, and that's not my reason to DIY. I experiment quite a bit with flavorings and I chuck quite a few batches that would taste better if I vaped distilled gym sock sweat. That really doesn't bug me because the experiment is fun, but I also come up with great tastes. That is why I do it.

I DIY because mine is better than anything I can purchase. It is customized to my exact taste.

By the time I calculate in everything I've spent on supplies, flavorings!, and the stuff I've run down the drain, I'd be ahead just buying it, but I wouldn't be as happy with my vape.

I'm better at cooking and inventing new recipes than I am at mixing juice, but I get closer every month. Folks love to get an invite from me to sample a new dish and help me come up with a name for it. I enjoy the process. It's fun and tastey, and as a bonus, it fits my diet.

DIY is NOT for everyone. I've read the posts by folks who really try, but never get what they want out of it. I also read folks who stumble into the perfect mix on the first try.

If one has simple tastes, like menthol as an example, the DIY is pretty simple and good for the wallet. If you need something a bit more complex, like a perfect cherry or a tobacco mix, then it can be frustrating without the right mind set, and hard on the wallet.

Thankfully each of us can make that choice for ourselves at this point in time.

BANG!!! Hit the nail right on the head!!!

Wow, there's just too much in here to address everything. I'll just go with the outstanding points.

Iffy, on bragging. Did you miss my little winky? That was a lighthearted statement with a winky to show it. I figured one of those emoticons would have made it clear.

Olef and Bassman, sorry that my bluntness came off as being rude. Yeah, I was blunt because I did mention in the op what supplier I was looking at. Also, if I could do it for a lot less than 7/8 bucks for 30ml, then it would be worth it. Heck, my figures didn't even factor in shipping, Bunsen burners, lab coats, eyedroppers, etc.

I think what I'm looking for is overall cost effectiveness. Yeah, maybe I can make something better than the vendor that I currently use. But do I want to spend the time and effort for it? Are the upstarts going to be really expensive? Do I have to scrounge around the couch cushions for an extra hundred dollars to find a savings? In the long run, I'll bet that's true. But, I haven't worked the hours for that money yet, and I'm still vaping.

This thread has given me a load of good information. I do appreciate good solid info and mentioning of places to go other than ONE STOP DIY SHOP. Apparently, they aren't the cheapest around, as I thought they would be. It's all in the name, here's what it says to me. "We have everything you need for your venture. You buy everything from us, and we can keep your costs down."

Yeah, cheap on some but not on all and limited selection somewhat like most resellers

To complete the costume, of course. Actually, it makes some sense to experiment with the kit, that the first vendor sells. I didn't even look at it before. Comes with all I need, without having to figure it out. The price will be cheap enough because there wont be a hassle in shopping around just yet. With the kit, I'll have everything in front of me to know what to shop around for. A picture is worth a thousand words, and what better picture than a physical object picture.

Man, I need a costume!!! Kits are useless fwiw......

I started mixing my own juice about a month after I started vaping. It wasn't my intention, but mixing allowed me to control the nic level in the juice and over about a year and a half I had weaned myself off of nicotine entirely. Now I vape purely for the pleasure of it and not the addiction. Probably wouldn't have done that if I wasn't DIY-ing.

Indeed, mist, good story congrats on the no nic!

Real quick........

ecigexpress, purevapes (samples only), and the flavor vendors themselves are cheapest for flavors by far......capella's is superior fwiw (have a buy 3 get 5 sale going on) but the shipping time......8-o

nicvape is cheap also, good nic there.........

get 14ga blunt needles and 3ml syringes, maybe some 10ml too.........

A large bottle for mixing your base pg/vg/nic base ready to cut for ease in making samples.....




I have gone absolutely crazy, I probably have 35 Capella's, 50 FA, and around 80 or so TPA flavors here, I have so much damned fun playing with them!!!

 

[vocr]

I'll trade my entire stockpile of juice for a bigger image of your avatar.

I'll pay for Fedex when you send the juice, lol. Just joking, of course!

 

[Iffy]

Awesome architecture!

 

[wdave]

Awesome architecture!

Thanks. Boy they sure know how to grow'em down there in S.C.

 

[carpedebass]

Wow...just...WOW!

 

[zoiDman]

... This seems like a lot of trouble to me, at not that much of a lower cost. I can see it if you paid only a couple of dollars or less per 30 ml bottle, but it's quite a bit higher. Can anyone here rationalize this for me?

DIY isn't for Everyone.

Some do it to save money. Some so they can make Custom Flavors, PG|VG ratios, mg levels. Some do it as a Hobby.

I kinda fit into all three catagories.

 

[mgordon1100]

OK, I've done a good deal of research. There's just so many sites out there selling this stuff, it's hard to research it all. I believe that I found the site to buy from. I guess I'll have to buy in larger quantities than I wanted to make it worth my while. I'm also considering selling off 30ml bottles to my friends, who are taking up vaping, at a very minor profit to cut down my costs. Maybe I'll be able to sell off enough to vape for practically free. The Poor Man's Guide was a fantastic help. I finally figured out how to use the calculator, so now I know what I need to buy, and what to expect out of it. Thank you all. It seemed so complicated to me last week, and the calculators didn't work. Now I have a better understanding.

One more thing. I guess it's more cost effective to buy your base nic with the percentage closer to what you want your final percentage to be. Like, say I want an 80/20 PG/VG mix, then I would buy the base of 100 percent PG. Right? I only saw that they sell 100% either way, or 50/50. What about 50/50? Will that give me more cost effective options if I want to play around with my mix?

 

[Iffy]

Normally, buying the Nic, PG and Vg separately in volume is the cheapest path. BUT, if you watch the DEALS & STEALS forum, you can find some really awesome deals on PG/VG/Nic solutions, which makes life easier for some folk.

Glad to hear that the ECF 'hive mind' has improved your perspective!

 

[mgordon1100]

Well, I am buying nic/pg/vg all separately, but the nic has to come in either pg or vg. Right?

 

[Iffy]

but the nic has to come in either pg or vg. Right?

You are correct. But if you buy a higher nic mg/ml, then it co$t le$$ to 'cut' it with cheaper components.

 

[mgordon1100]

So, putting aside the volume that I'll be buying, does it make more sense to buy the 100% pg of 100mg nic, than to buy the 50/50 mix of 100mg nic?

I'm basing that off of the fact that I'll probably be mixing less VG than a 50/50 mix. I'll never mix more than 50/50. Don't even know when or why I'd use that much VG anyway.

 

[markfm]

Check the pricing. 60 mg/ml is likely more mg of nic per $, better value. You pay a premium for 100, which is actually generally more of a pita to work with, especially for smaller batches.

 

[mgordon1100]

Ha ha! While I was waiting for a post, I was doing some calculations with a 60mg bottle from a different site. Turns out to be cheaper per 30ml bottle of juice that way. Plus, I don't have to come up with all the cash for that 100mg bottle right away. I don't need 16 to 17 30ml bottles anyway. That's just way overkill. It takes me about 3 weeks to go through 30ml. It's not that much cheaper, but I certainly don't have to buy and sit on so much for so long. Then there's shipping. But the site I was just at has flavoring too. I don't have to order from two different sites.

 

[markfm]

If you aren't set, check out voidmist.com

 

[mgordon1100]

Yeah, Voidmist is where I'm doing my shopping. I rather like the fact that I can just buy two 120ml bottles of nic, to 1 120ml bottle of each VG/PG and it all equals out to 20 30ml bottles. Now I have to figure out the flavoring I want, and I'm set.

 

[Iffy]

If you aren't set, check out voidmist.com

Ditto voidmist! Just an hour ago, I ordered four 120ml bottles of 60mg at 60PG/40VG.

 

[mgordon1100]

Only thing is, their flavoring is expensive, compared to RTS vapes.

 

[scalewiz]

I bought 500 ml of 100 mg/ml nicotine for $100.00. VG is about 2.3 cents/ml at Wal Mart. To make 2500 ml of 20% base would cost about $145, final cost is 5.8 cents per ml. Add a little flavoring and you are vaping really cheap.