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My DIY Guide for Newbies--Carts and Liquids
I typed up the below for some friends of mine who were following me into the e-smoking thing by buying the DSE601 e-pipe. Below is based on my personal experience with that pipe, but much can be translated to any e-smoking device. I am in fact a newbie, but I have done a ton of reading over the weeks and since I got my e-pipe recently, a bunch of experimenting. Based on that I think the below can be of some help to newbies. Any more experienced folks want to add-on, feel free!
* I am not a scientist nor do I work with or for any of the companies listed below nor do I even know anyone at these companies. I have nothing to do with the smoking or e-smoking industry other than as a customer of the latter.
** I am new at this so I don’t have long-term personal evidence of what will happen with your equipment, etc. This is based on what I understand and have read, but my experience is short-term.
*** Anything you choose to follow below is at your own risk.
I decided to make my own smoking juices versus buying. This is both because what I have experienced on the market doesn’t come through on the pipe very well and I want to exactly control my ingredients particularly after recent news. This also gives me the flexibility of a far greater array of flavors. Lastly these DIY steps will save tons of money. Below I will explain exactly what you need and I will provide links when possible. I will also describe what each is for and how it is used.
You will need some blank cartridges. Each cartridge comes with a polyester wicking material which is what gets soaked in the e-juice. You can in fact wash this wick out, but I think that is unnecessary given how cheap it is to replace the wick yourself. The cartridge itself, which is a hard plastic shell, can be re-used indefinitely, so it is really only the wick that needs to be changed. I have heard suggestions to change the wick after every 5 refills or so, but your mileage may vary. Eventually the polyester will wear down, so you cannot expect each to last forever. That said, you certainly can refill the same wick a number of times (just be sure to use the same juice as combining will produce a mixed flavor which may not be desirable.) Again these carts can be used over and over again with only a change of the wick.
The wicking material is made of 100% polyester. You can buy this from a number of local sources and then simply cut to size as you need. There are a couple of places to get these. One place you can go is to a pet shop and into their fish section. There you will find something called Fluval: Fluval Water Polishing Pad at PETCO You will separate the sheets and cut to size as you need. I have used fluval in a different form and it worked, but I actually found something I think is a near match for the wicks you find in the original carts. At Walmart I purchased a bag of something called “High Loft Quilter’s Polyester Batting” from Morning Glory. You can find this in the craft area. Unfortunately there isn’t an on-line link for this. There are a few keys here that you MUST follow. First, make sure that what you get is 100% polyester. You do not want any mixes such as with cotton. Second, make sure that it is NOT treated. You do not want to be vaping fire retardant chemicals….The way you will know this is to look for a warning label on the bag about it being a fire hazard. If you don’t see this warning or if you see something about it being “fire safe”, don’t get it. Get the smallest bag you can as you will likely have enough to last the rest of your life. I think it cost me about $4. Now the best thing to do is to take one of the original clean wicks out of the extra carts you bought and use that as a template against this polyester to make your own wicks. After 5-10 minutes you should be able to cut a bag full for easy access when needed. This doesn’t need to be an exact science mind you. You want it to fully fit in the cart fairly tightly, but not so tight that that liquid cannot seep through. Additionally, the carts you bought will come with little rubber end caps (at least they do for the DSE601). Make sure you keep these and it is a good way to cap off a cart you aren’t using when you switch flavors (which you will). Save the bullet casings as well for easy storage (again comes with the DSE601 so YMMV).
To fill/refill the wicks, the best thing to use is a syringe with needle. To be honest I have not used this yet as I have been using the eye droppers I got when I ordered some JC juice. That said and I think a syringe will work better so I ordered one from Amazon. You can probably get one at the local pharmacy, but I am not sure what you have to prove when talking to the pharmacist. I didn’t want to deal with this, so I used Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Disposable-Leu...tchen & Dining The needle will allow you to get into the wick and deliver the juice from the bottom up. I am assuming this gauge will work with the viscosity of my liquid, but this is something I cannot verify for now. Cost is $.63
You will need some kind of container to put your juice in. I washed out the small bottles I received from JC, but going forward I want larger bottles. Here is what I ordered and because they were so cheap, I ordered 30 of them: Cylinder and Boston Round Bottles with Dropper Caps - US Plastic Corporation I ordered the 15cc (1cc=1mL) white which also comes with a dropper top. This can be good if you have it in a place where you don’t want to take your syringe. It can also be good for just a quick topping off of the cart. My total cost for 30 with shipping was around $15.
You will also want something to mix your ingredients in. I wound up buying a baby plastic syringe from Walmart which came with a little container in which I mix my stuff. To be honest I thought I’d be able to use the plastic syringe for extracting ingredients, but that didn’t work out. So at least I can use the container to mix. That said and you might have something better given the syringe didn’t work out. Walmart.com: Ezy Dose: W/Dosage Korc & Mini Medicine Spoon Oral Syringe, 1 ct: Health & Beauty I think it cost a few dollars.
I also recommend you get an eye dropper. This will be used for the ingredients. I used ones that came with my JC stuff, but here are some from Walmart (as if you needed to see what an eye dropper was!): Walmart.com: Flents: Eye and Ear Medicine Droppers, 2 ct: Health & Beauty
Now for making the juice! The base of the juice will either consist of Propylene Glycol (PG) or Glycerin (VG). The “V” stands for vegetable, but glycerin can come from animals as well. PG is what you will find in the majority of commercial juices, although you can also find VG based liquids. PG is much harder to find and will be more expensive (not sure how much more expensive). PG breaks down in the body as pyruvic acid which is natural in your body. Some people can have an allergy with PG that manifests itself in different ways. Some get a sore throat others itch or experience some cramping. I have not heard of anyone with a major reaction requiring a doctor visit. PG is found in many substances you ingest including food colorings. When I used the commercial liquids they were made with PG. Interestingly I did experience some very mild itching that went away pretty quickly. I cannot be 100% sure what caused this. Anyway, because glycerin is so much easier to find in the store that is the route I have taken and will assume you will as well. If you want PG you might be able to find it at a pet store or co-op. Glycerin is found in many items such as tooth paste, pastries, diet bars, hair products, etc. It breaks down in the body as glucose a form of sugar. However, unlike other sugars, glycerin rates low on the glycemic index which means it does not spike your body’s insulin levels (like a candy bar would, etc.). Glycerin is also much thicker than PG and will put out more voluminous vapor that will hang in the air better. It’s cool stuff! Having used glycerin I can tell you that I have had no adverse reactions. Some people claim it can cause excess gas. Of course everyone is different and your experience the first time and subsequent times can change as well. You can find glycerin in many places including your local pharmacy, craft store, and cake shop. Pharmaceutical grade glycerin (look for the USP designation as well) might be thicker but people have reported no issues using it. Walmart has one in their pharmacy first aid section: Walmart.com: Humco: Skin Protectant Glycerin Usp, 6 oz: Health & Beauty Many people have used this with no problems. That said and I got some that is marketed for cake icing. I doubt it is different, but I like the fact that it is targeted at food product one ingests. I found mine at Michael’s which is a local craft store. I think you can also find it at Hobby Lobby. Anyway, here is the same product at Amazon: Amazon.com: Wilton Glycerine-2 Ounces: Kitchen & Dining The bottle doesn’t discern whether it is made from vegetable or animal, but someone checked with them and they mentioned it was made from plant extracts. I am not sure it matters, however.
If you are using VG you will find it thicker than PG as mentioned. As a result you may need to cut the VG down a little with either distilled water (make sure it is distilled otherwise you can get growth on your atomizer over time) or something like Vodka or Everclear. I used distilled water but I know of people using the alcohols I mentioned. One possible benefit of the alcohol is a potential for a throat hit. I don’t care about that so I am again using the water. You can get distilled water at any grocery. A jug will be less than dollar and given how little you need to use, a jug will last the rest of your life (although it will have an expiration some years out…the water and your life for that matter!)
Lastly you will need the flavorings. I highly recommend LorAnn’s flavorings which are used to make candy. They are sugarless and very powerful. You will get very small bottles, but since you are using only drops, this will last a long time. You can order LorAnn’s on-line, but you may also find it locally. You can check Walmart as some have suggested they found it there (I didn’t). You can also check your local craft store. I actually found mine at a local cake supply store and I was lucky that they had pretty much the full array of LorAnn’s: https://www.lorannoils.com/c-6-super...andy-oils.aspx Whether you get LorAnn’s or a different maker, you must ensure that it is water soluble and not an oil based mixture. I noticed that most of LorAnn’s that are oil based say so in the name (e.g. Anise Oil). Here is a website someone created to indicate what flavors are safe: http://www.exogenesis.co.uk/Loranne1.htm (great job whoever you are!)
As an important note, most people are coming to this from actual smoking so they need nicotine. In that case people can buy unflavored stuff from a variety of vendors in different strengths. You will need to then mix this into your overall mix. I do not come into this via any sort of nicotine addiction (I had the occasional cigar) so I do not need nor want the nicotine. As such I cannot offer any real advice on this part, but you will see much posted about it on this site.
With the e-pipe I find you really have to create a strong flavor in order for it to show-up in the vapor. This is one of the benefits to making your own juice. The recipe I will give below is created with that in mind. This might turn out to be too strong for a different e-smoking device. Also, taste is obviously highly subjective so you will need to experiment with the amount of flavoring you use. I try to ensure that the end mix has a good smell to it. Below is based on a 4mL mix, but you can scale it as necessary. For 8mL just double the formula, etc. When I say “drops” below I literally mean drops, not the whole dropper.
4mL Glycerin
4 drops of distilled water (or Vodka/Everclear if you’d like)
15 drops of LorAnn’s flavoring
(again nicotine mixture as suggested elsewhere on this site if required)
Some weaker flavors may require more drops. Again experiment and adjust as you feel necessary.
Pour this into your container, cover, and shake well. I have also used a toothpick or the dropper to mix the juice first and then pour it into the bottle. With this you are ready to vape away. Just use your syringe or dropper to well soak the wick and fill the cart. It is also helpful if you have a label maker and can label your bottles. You may also want to label the outside of your casings as you change to different flavored carts.
That’s about it I guess. It takes very little time to make these juices after you try it a few times. Also with the other stuff mentioned above, you should be set for life and not have to buy anything (accept for different flavors as desired) until your atomizer and/or batteries give out for good (likely you atomizer first). Remember to clean the atomizer from time to time as recommended by the manufacturer.
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Originally Posted by IronEagle
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