Will this work....?

[Neilus]

Hiya,
Its my first post here so - hello! Hope youre all having a good vape day!
Ive been doing DIY for about 18 months now, using a single concentrate. But id like to get into making my own recipies. I notice when people do this they seem to mix everything together (nic, vg/pg base, flavours) but my problem here is that i dont necessarily know what each flavour tastes like on its own so its virtually impossile to do a successful mix.
So Im thinking can i mix all the flavours individually (say 50ml, 15% flavour, 10mg nic is my usual batch size), and then having tested them as stand-alone flavours, go ahead and mix together what i think will work...?
Is there anything about the way flavours develop/steep that means you cant pre-mix flavours separately and then combine them (as described)?
Thanks in advance!
Neil

 

[Darth Omerta]

If you do intend to mix up a bunch of single flavors to try mixing and matching for recipe creation then I suggest that each individual flavor has the same PG/VG/nic ratio as the others.

Some do find that there are different steep times for some flavors over others, but once they have all steeped then I dont imagine that they would need to steep again when mixed together, but I dont really use this method. At best I will try 2 different flavors in a dual coil rda(one flavor on one coil and another flavor on the other), to see if there is potential there. Ive combined juices in my tanks when I was starting out, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didnt but I never really approached it from a DIY perspective.

I would recommend making a few 10ml bottles of each flavor and testing them all individually so you know what each flavor tastes like on its own. Then try mixing and matching some flavors. I like to use already existing recipes as a basis for inspiration then tweak them to my liking. That way you've already got a starting point for percentages.

Where many flavors mix at different percentages for single flavor recipes, I feel like this could be a mathematical nightmare when trying to create recipes. For example flavor 1 works best at 10% and flavor 2 is better at 3% with some steeping then you mix them together at 57% flavor 1 and 43% flavor 2, now you need to figure out what percentage of your mix is flavor 2 concentrate and the same for flavor 1. I think it would be much easier for recipe creation to do the 100 drop test bottle method.

 

[DaveP]

I think it would be much easier for recipe creation to do the 100 drop test bottle method.

I second that suggestion. 100 drops is a 5ml recipe size. Ejuicemeup will give you that info in drops (as most calculators do). 5ml is about an average tank size on most RTAs/RDAs, so it's a good size for testing.

 

[Neilus]

Great, thanks. Yeah thats what ive done, mixed up 5ml testers (100%pg as its really about the flavour here) and then give them a week and then test, hopefully then ill be better informed about what flavours might work out.
Good idea about the dual coil RDA test, I have a few drippers i could use. How does that work out...?

 

[Darth Omerta]

It just gives a relative idea of what it might be like to combine 2 flavors. Actually making a recipe for mixing those 2 flavors is a different ball game all together.

 

[Neilus]

Cheers, that makes sense. I guess once I've mixed up the flavours individually I can then experiment with what combos work and what % for each flavour then work backwards and get to a "recipe".
It would be an interesting experiment I think; to mix everything at the start (how most people seem to do it) and then mix an identical juice but with my separate/pre-mix method...I wonder if there'd be any difference?
Cheers guys!

 

[Sylvie]

some of my favorite juices in the past were ones i combined after making them individually.

you can certainly make individual batches and combine them if you like. DIYing means we can DIY how we want, not how it is expected to be done.. i have mostly made my cheesecake, milkshake, vanilla custard, menthol blend and koolada mix in large 240ml bottles ahead of time.. I fill a 30ml unicorn bottle with 20ml of it and mix up 5ml of another single flavor like strawberry or caramel when i start being in the mood for it at a particular time and add it into the 30ml bottle and give it a good shake, wait a day or two and vape. this works for me since i prefer certain flavors like fruits freshly made and often tire of certain flavors quickly.

some flavorings however, do taste better when mixed together ahead of time, like bakery ones.

 

[BrotherBob]

Cheers, that makes sense. I guess once I've mixed up the flavours individually I can then experiment with what combos work and what % for each flavour then work backwards and get to a "recipe".
It would be an interesting experiment I think; to mix everything at the start (how most people seem to do it) and then mix an identical juice but with my separate/pre-mix method...I wonder if there'd be any difference?
Cheers guys!

Welcome and glad you joined.
Yes, for me depending on the flavors, there is a difference.
A word about steeping, I find it can be beneficial to taste each flavor without steeping, then, taste again every week until you start to detect no significant changes between any two given weeks. Danny (ref. below) writes some well thought out recommendations regarding steeping/aging. Eventually, you may find that you can start to apply your own steeping rules of thumb regarding a general categories of flavor.
Might like to read:
dannyv45's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
Hoosier's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
Boletus's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
diy_beginners_guide - DIY_eJuice
http://www.thevaperstable.com/diy/

 

[NCC]

I've come up with some interesting (both good and bad) results when taking 3 or 4 nearly empty bottles of commercially produced eLiquid and combining them to fill a bottle.

I'm very much a novice when it comes to mixology, having just recently started a serious attempt to learn the skill, by reading here and elsewhere ... and by trial & error. One thought about a question in the OP regarding steeping. I haven't seen where anyone fully understands the process, although there are lots of thoughts & opinions on the matter. It seems to me to be a melding of the elements of the mix over time. If so, the joining of pre-mixed eLiquids you describe may need to be further steeped to their eventual harmony, but maybe not for as long.

On the other hand, I don't know what I'm talking about.

 

[Neilus]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys.
Yeah steeping is still a bit of a mystery and as you say NCC lots of spurious claims about how the process actually works (oxygen/flavour particles bonding/recycling blah blah), sounds like a lot of random speculation to me! What ive learned is quite simple: the longer, the better. Ive mixed stuff which has been totally bland after a week, not much better after a month but great after 2 months.
Sure doesnt help using high VG either!

 

[dannyv45]

If you do intend to mix up a bunch of single flavors to try mixing and matching for recipe creation then I suggest that each individual flavor has the same PG/VG/nic ratio as the others.

Some do find that there are different steep times for some flavors over others, but once they have all steeped then I dont imagine that they would need to steep again when mixed together, but I dont really use this method. At best I will try 2 different flavors in a dual coil RDA(one flavor on one coil and another flavor on the other), to see if there is potential there. Ive combined juices in my tanks when I was starting out, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didnt but I never really approached it from a DIY perspective.

I would recommend making a few 10ml bottles of each flavor and testing them all individually so you know what each flavor tastes like on its own. Then try mixing and matching some flavors. I like to use already existing recipes as a basis for inspiration then tweak them to my liking. That way you've already got a starting point for percentages.

Where many flavors mix at different percentages for single flavor recipes, I feel like this could be a mathematical nightmare when trying to create recipes. For example flavor 1 works best at 10% and flavor 2 is better at 3% with some steeping then you mix them together at 57% flavor 1 and 43% flavor 2, now you need to figure out what percentage of your mix is flavor 2 concentrate and the same for flavor 1. I think it would be much easier for recipe creation to do the 100 drop test bottle method.

Mixing together single flavor mixes is a good way to see what flavors work well together but causes a logistical nightmare as far as calculating percentages. There is nothing wrong with that route because at least you will have an idea on what flavor pairings will work. At that point after you discover those pairings you will need to start over and experimenting with percentages of those flavor pairings. All I can recommend is to keep careful notes.

 

[Neilus]

Ive pretty much mixed up 5ml testers now so ill give 'em a week and see how theyre coming on.
I'll probably attemp the Unicorn Milk clone on e-liquid-recipes which seems like a good resource. Ive also come across lots of custard/biscuit/cream combos which seem popular...anyone got any recipes along those lines?
Many thanks!