I've been considering diving headfirst into DIY. There are so many juice combinations I want to try... most of which involve fruits and cream. Yum.
However, the initial investment is turning me off a bit. I need to buy flavors, bottles, PG and VG (I vape 0 nic), probably a scale for measuring... So. Those of you who recently got into DIY for the first time - how much did you spend and what did you spend it on? Flavoring? Bottles/scales/syringes/whatever else?
Also, is there a relatively comprehensive list of what makes up a solid starter kit in terms of tools? I'm not entirely sure what I need in terms of syringes, droppers, etc. The "getting started" guide in the sidebar seems to be focused more on cost and less on materials. Thank you!
The initial investment isn't so bad; PG costs about $22 a gallon if you get it from your local Tractor Supply store or you can get a gallon each PG and VG from Essential Depot for about $55.
I don't use PG except for what's in flavoring, and I buy a 500ml bottle of VG from my local health food store for about eight bucks. Recommend staying away from the rebranded Humco glycerin sold in big box drugstores and Walmart unless it's an emergency - I can taste the difference and it ain't good :)
You can pick up a scale for < $25 or a handful of syringes and needles for a lot less than that; while you're in Tractor Supply picking up your PG they can hook you up with everything from 3cc-60cc syringes and sharps - the only thing they don't have syringewise is 1cc syringes for measuring flavoring.
I go through a bunch of 6ml bottles (but I also make tanks out of them) and use those and recycle 50ml bottles to hold finished liquid. I think I bought two 50ml bottles about two months ago.
Short version - you should be able to get everything you need to get started for well under $100 unless you buy gallons of PG or VG.
What ratio of VG/PG do you usually use? I prefer 80% VG and higher, so depending on how much flavoring I use I may not even need PG... Do I need syringes and needles if I'm measuring by weight? That seems to be the most efficient way.
How do you mix your flavors up? Just shake them a bunch?
As mentioned the only PG I use is in flavoring; my body doesn't like PG at all. I buy my nic based in VG and make sure that the stuff that's Not VG (flavorings, distilled water) add up to 20%, so my final mix is usually 80% VG and 20% PG-based flavoring + distilled water.
I prefer to measure by volume, but that's just me. I can generally do the math in my head, which is something I probably couldn't do if I was mixing by weight.
To mix? I shake them a bunch, drop them into a big bowl of hot tap water and let that come down to room temperature then sit them on the shelf for a week if I can to let all the flavor molecules get happy with each other and with the carrier liquid.
I just received all my gear and started DIY last weekend. My initial investment was $130. And I probabaly got a bit more than I really need for the time being.
Really glad I got into it! Many thanks to the people on this sub. I lurked for a good 2 months before I decided I was ready. Read the sidebar info numerous times. Everything here was very helpful.
I went with Nude Nicotine's nic, a good bit of Inawera, some TFA and Wizard Labs for PG,VG and lab stuff.
That's my problem... I go through the TFA website and want some of this, and this, and those, and that...
If I could do it over, I would go more minimalist. Get a couple syringes, 1 graduated cylinder, PG, VG, nic.
For flavorings: pick 1 or 2 recipes you really want to lock down. Get the main flavourings for those and pick up any additives that you might want.
I wanted some really nice citrus juices and a good fruit punch. Problem is, I bought multiple lemons, limes and punches. I only really used the Inawera for citrus and TFA's Hawaiin Drink+ Inawera for the punch. So, I have options but don't necessarily need all of it.
As for additives, do get Ethyl Maltol, citric acid, koolada and sweet cream. Just having these around multiplies your flavouring options x10. IMO
Tell me about it... But a tip for their site is to sign up for bulk. It will give you access to the 4 oz bottles and larger and it is a serious drop in price per ml. When I order, it tends to be almost 100 per order after shipping, but that is also every 4-6 months and the 4 oz bottles last a LOT longer than that unless it is the only flavor you're mixing.
As a first order to get your feet wet and the basic things you'll need, you can get by with about a $50 order or so, but it will be pretty bare bones. Even a smaller start than that, though, will make more juice for the price than almost any online vendor. Mt Baker and /u/lollerwaffles being some of the main exceptions.
I'm so disappointed that grizzly doesn't sell 0 nic. $8 for 30ml? Fuck yes.
I really don't buy much vendor juice at all anymore, it is harder to justify the cost, but his is one I am definitely curious about.
About 300 for me but I went full r-tard on buying lots of nic because I was/am afraid that it is going to be banned or taxed out of reality. For the non-paranoid, check out VTNW or Mt. Baker for a starter kit that should cost about half of that. One thing, get your Nic in 100% VG and add the PG to the mix per the "ejuice me up" calculator's suggestions.
I dropped about 150 at wizard labs (including a good 30 bucks worth of nicotine, pg, vg, 40 different flavors, syringes, glass amber for nicotine, plastic bottles for mixed juices, graduated cylinders, etc).
another 50 or so at home depot/harbor freight for gloves, goggles, sheet pans to mix in, and some other random things that escape me at the moment..
i would say you could get started for 75 bucks if you have a few flavors you want to make over and over and no nicotine in the eqation means your safety equipment isnt as required (gloves, goggles, respirator)
i probably paid a bit more than needed with the wizard labs order, but it was easy to order everything from one place, and lucky for me, it was local pickup, so same as a trip to any other store to pick up supplies..
Respirator? What is this Breaking Bad?
huh... turns out it was under $35:
>Item Sku Qty Subtotal
100mg Unflavored Nicotine Base
Size
30ml
Base
PG
6-01-0001-00-12-20 1 $10.99
Jungle Juice by Flavor West
Size
10ml
7-14-0268-00-08-99 1 $2.99
Menthol Crystals
Size
20 grams
DIY-MENTHOL-20G 1 $4.99
Vegetable Glycerin USP
Size
250ml
6-46-0002-00-18-00 1 $8.99
Blunt Tips
Gauge (Size)
18 gauge
6-04-0013-14-19-00 1 $0.39
3ml Syringe with 18 gauge needle 6-29-0053-00-03-21 1 $1.39
Subtotal $29.74
Shipping & Handling $4.99
Discount (ECFFORUM) -$1.48
Grand Total $33.25
Thank you, EcigExpress
Probably about $130 for PG,VG, nicotine and flavors. I bought a starter kit from BullCityVapor.com that included a bunch of syringes, bottles, pipettes, gloves and mask (7.50). Bottles are relatively cheap unless you are planning on giving bottles away or selling your creations. You should be able to wash them out and re-use them as needed (at least, that's what i do)
My ADV's from my local vape shop are relatively simple flavors (vanilla cake, apple pie and peach) I found recipes that looked about right on one of the threads here and ordered those flavors from bull city also (15ml to start)
I've got enough supplies to make juice for myself for at least six months. I was spending $40-$50 a week on cigarettes, so I'm better than ok with that. For me it equated to buying 3 cartons of analogs all at once.
It depends on you and your ambitions. It's not always necessary to accumilate a lot of gear to DIY successfully.
DIY can be as simple as adding flavors to a commerical eliquid, extending it with purchased nic or you can order pre-mixed flavors (MBV, NN, there's others) and dilute it with your nic% in pg/vg ratio + reusing old bottles. You'll save $ immediatley and have a custom flavor with very little added investment.
The next step would be using nic % in pg/vg ratio + a few flavors ($1.50 - $4.00 each) and a couple of pipettes or droppers + cleaned reuseable bottles. The key to keeping start up costs low is to buy nic% already mixed with pg/vg and ready to use IMO. Find reciepes that use no more than 3 flavors to keep mistakes minimal.
Many of the people on DIY boards are hobbyists and some approach semi-pro levels. That's not always the best place to start for everyone as it can get overwhelming pretty quickly. Few can jump right in at that level. In the short run I don't think there's a lot of saving due to gear, flavor stock and unvapeable mistakes. However, mixing from scratch will produce the most saving $ in the long run.
Around $1,100
have 60+ flavors from TFA all 32oz bottles
4 gallons of vg
2 gallons of pg
2 gallons on NIC
and 300 30ml bottles from dhgate (i dont reuse bottles)