I'm funny about cost: I'll spend freely, even excessively, on things I see as one-time costs, but I will spend days/weeks/etc., trying to reduce recurring costs as much as humanly possible without sacrificing results... Example: I just dropped $500+ on a RO/DI setup so I can stop buying DI water to reduce my mineral content. It'll take over a year to pay back, but it was a one-time expense, and drops my batch costs by $20-$30...
I love PBW. It's the best thing I've found yet to clean my equipment. The cost, though, is horrendous. I'm running a 15 gal setup and using 5 gal of cleaning solution with 5-10 oz of PBW after every batch. Oxyclean works great, but with my water gives me the oft complained about white haze.
With fermenters, I live with it. I just do a StarSan or Vinegar rinse after the Oxyclean. I don't like doing that with my hoses and chiller because I can't see all of the internals.
For now, I'm continuing to use PBW. I'd love to find a DIY replacement, though, to make batch costs cheaper.