"Damnit, it Just Works"...or "How I Said Thank You to the Forum"

[GunMonkeyINTL]

So, there's that, first; Thank You.

I mentioned previously that my return to this forum was brought on by the deeming regs. When I first came here, it was to find out how to get the most out of my evod2 tanks, and what the next step beyond my spinner bat was.

I came back to the forum to check my sanity and learn how to outfit my foxhole for the long-haul battle against my addiction, in light of the FDA's attempt to disarm me.

I guess I can't say I was afraid of DIY juice, but my few "falls off the wagon" led me to believe that "premium" store-bought juice was my best chance at staying on the wagon with each attempt that I climbed back on.

I was SO wrong.

I've only made a few bottles of juice so far, and none have been bad. First was unflavored (that I mentioned in a previous post), which was shockingly vapable. Next I added a few "blunt" drops- again, not bad.

The next couple were just one-flavor tests with things like "Orange Dream Bar" and "Booster" from Flavor West. Again, totally vapable. I'll use up those bottles, for sure, and make notes in the eJuiceCalculator for future use.

Now, I'm finally worked up to trying to chase my favorite ADV; Sick Twisted's First Born, a "cinnamon roll with pistachio ice cream and a 'hint' of hazelnut".

I just took a shot in the dark and ordered the three main constituent flavors in that discription, and mixed up a small bottle (recipe recorded in eJC, of course). It it TOTALLY tasty! It's not ST First Born, of course, but it's good in its own right.

I'm fighting the urge to record my notes until it's had a few days to blend, but I know, without reservation, that I can make the next batch better.

But, forget all that; it's not important. That is just preposition to what I really wanted to say about what makes DIY just right.

For my preferred build, wattage, vaping style, and throat-hit goal, somewhere around 4-5mg in a 85/15 mix is right. Try to buy that. I dare you. (No, don't really. You'd be wasting your time).

The other thing is flavor-strength. I can actually blame more than one of my falls off the wagon of flavor burn-out. What tastes great at the vape shop, and still tastes good later that night, starts to taste disgusting at 0430, trying to get ready to go work a 12 hr work day, eventually.

My preferred builds are around 0.8ohm on a reduced-chamber RDA in single-coil config, so I'm extracting a ton of the available flavor in any given juice. With my DIY experiments, I've been using somewhere around half the flavor recommended, and I found, by total accident, that 5-6%ish flavors keep me from getting burnt out. I can actually vape until the nicotine says "there, you're good", and put it down. It's no longer the flavor telling me it's time to scrape my tongue.

So, synopsis, for those that stuck it though my drunken-autistic rant:
Just try it. It's not hard. It works. And, if you take the difference potential you realized when you built your first coil, and multiply it by 105.27541, you have some idea of the potential effect in your own juice.

And, lest I fail to mention, according to the eJC, my first 14ml experiment chasing my ADV cost exactly $0.46 to make. Around 2 days of truly premium vaping (I saw everything go into the bottle. I can guarantee you it is premium juice) for less than 50 cents- and the FDA can't take it from me.


So, and I thank you for sticking through my drunken-...... (I'm really autistic) smart phone tap-fu that may seem pointless, but hopefully someone will read this, realize that DIY juic is not, somehow, a compromise in vape quality, and give it a try.

For all the steps I've taken since my first Blu kit, DIY juice may be the biggest jump I've made in beating my addiction.

 

[B2L]

I've been mixing my own for years so your preaching to the choir here but thanks for sharing your story, it's great to see someone realize what DIY can be

 

[Pamawoman]

Thanks. This gives me hope for when I make my first attempt at DYi.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Thanks for posting this. We are having an influx of newcomers to DIY be it newbies or veterans because of the deeming regs, so any and all help is appreciated.

 

[GunMonkeyINTL]

Thanks. This gives me hope for when I make my first attempt at DYi.

Start tomorrow. Actually, order some flavors tonight. Stop by Walmart and tractor supply tomorrow for some VG and PG, and a couple syringes.

There is less than $50 in this box, and there is more in there than I could totally explore in a week's vacation with nothing else to do.

Find a scrap of paper and write down, with unfettered honesty, what the BEST things about your premium juice buying experiences were, and what were the WORST.

Reconcile the two lists, and then make THAT.

You're not hampered by your favorite flavor not being available in the VG/PG ratio you want, or having to settle for a nic level that makes you alter your favorite build to accommodate its particular throat hit.

It's not rocket surgery, and there is no one out there more qualified to make the right juice for you.

Buying "premium" juice from the store is like trusting a barista to put the right sugar and cream in your coffee. I drink black coffee, so that is a bad example, for me, but I'm sure you can smell what I'm steppin in.

 

[IDJoel]

Preach it Brother GunMonkey!

You are absolutely right! DIYing is to e-Juice as building is to vaping gear. You can be as finicky and geeky as you want to be, or keep it down and dirty simple. You can make it whatever you want. The possibilities are endless. And you only have to please yourself.

 

[Falconeer]

An interesting post - thanks!

I've been DIY ing my own juice now since just after the New Year and have found the basics are really simple. I've actually found that my real favourite is unflavoured 16 strength 50/50 PG/VG - which is a dawdle to make and lengthens the life of my coils greatly.

I do know from my winemaking days however that when experimenting it really is a good idea to make notes - it's the very Devil when you make something really good and can never quite replicate it because you didn't write down what you did.

More power to your elbow, and hoping your post will encourage others to try DIY.

 

[IDJoel]

I've actually found that my real favourite is unflavoured

I've been vaping my own juice exclusively for the last year. I started by "doctoring" one house recipe of a local brick and mortar shop (who also happened to sell the concentrated flavorings they used to make it). It started with just trying to "bump" the flavor. Then I needed to adjust the nicotine. Then I thought, "Why am I doing all this fussing? I have all the stuff now, and I can do it more economicly, AND I can make it just the way I want." That was when I fell down the rabbit hole. I have gone from 3 and 4 flavor simple recipes to personal concoctions with 14! And back again to those simple 3 or 4.
For the last month I have been in a flavor quandary. I like many of the recipes I have but none sounded good (I tend to do the same thing with dietary cycles). After the third time in a row of running out of juice because I couldn't decide what I was in the mood for next, I said "screw it!" and mixed up a 120mL batch of Unflavored to my usual parameters (8mg/mL 30P/70V). I figured this would hold me over for a day or two until I could get a real mixing session in and I could keep the rest in reserve for my next indecisive brain freeze.
Well, it turned out I kinda liked it! I still like flavors in my juice but it is kind of nice to just give my taste buds a rest from time to time. Also, having a small batch of unflavored on hand has provided another benefit, It is great to have ready-made for testing new flavor concentrates as I buy them.
I always like to do a single flavor test on anything I haven't tried before. And having this unflavored base blend means I just do a quick mix of the blend and the new single flavor and in less than ten minutes I have a really good idea of both what the flavor is and at what percentage I will likely want to start using it. (Yes, the nic gets a bit diluted, and the PG/VG ratio gets thrown off some. But it gets me into a reasonably close proximity.)

it really is a good idea to make notes - it's the very Devil when you make something really good and can never quite replicate it because you didn't write down what you did.

If I could offer someone just getting into DIY, only one piece of advice I wished I had followed when I started, it would be "write EVERYTHING you do down!" It doesn't matter how. In a note book, on a note pad. In a computer spreadsheet or word processor document. I put mine right in my recipe/calculator program. Find what works for you and then DO IT. Every TIME.
If I had done this I would probably have at LEAST three recipes that are better than anything I am able to make today (one of those came from trying to recreate my first "perfect" mistake that I failed to document and I still hadn't learned my lesson).
Not to mention the 100's of milliliters of supplies, and hours of frustration, I could have saved by documenting failures. And thus avoided duplicating those.
Such a simple idea; and yet so often overlooked.

Thanks for the great advice!

 

[Falconeer]

I honestly learned the writing down thing the hard way - when I lived in the country and was really really serious about making my own wine I made a moselle type with German yeast, sugar, vitamin B, gooseberries and rose hips...I entered it into the local show and won First Prize...but either there was a pinch of something else or I had tweaked it somehow...I was never able to get it the same again.

When I started Vaping, like so many I was trying to get a taste like tobacco - in my case either Gold Block Pipe Tobacco ( a light burley/virginia mix) or Player's or Senior Service plain British Virginia cigarettes but everything I tried tasted terrible.

Quite by chance playing with nic strengths I tested some unflavoured juice I'd mixed in a Nautilus Mini and thought "Wow, near enough Senior Service!" I tried it in a GS Air tank next and it had the same effect near enough as Players. I've stuck with this since.

 

[Hoosier]

Welcome to our world. It's vastness intimidates some, but once over the threshold, few, if any, return to the other world.

It just works....

 

[dannyv45]

I save a bunch and feel a bit more secure in regards to what big government and big tobacco have in store for our vaping future.

 

[Frocket]

Thanks. This gives me hope for when I make my first attempt at DYi.

It can be challenging to get started, simply because you're not familiar with everything you need, and you may not know what flavors you should get, or where to get them.

A simple starter kit (TL;DR):

Nic Base - 100mg/ml, I recommend PG base, since it's thinner and easier to work with. Plenty of vendors around, just Google 100mg nicotine. Keeps basically indefinitely if stored in a freezer.

Diluent: PG/VG, USP or kosher grade. I just grab mine from Amazon. Walmart usually has it, but I'm not currently living in the States.

Measuring tools: blunt syringes, graduated cylinders, basically anything to measure ml. 10ml syringes work pretty well for PG/VG, smaller 1ml syringes are probably more accurate for flavors/nic if used in small quantities.
Option B is to get a 500g/0.01g scale and mix by weight, but not necessary to get started. Once you get started on DIY, you can pick up a scale later on and try it. I get mine from Amazon.

Bottles: whatever size/material/format you prefer. I get cheap 15ml bottles from Amazon and just toss em when I empty them. If you really want to save money, reuse whatever bottles you have.

Flavors: this is the rabbit hole - lots of vendors, hundreds of different flavors, and it's tough to tell which ones you'll like without trying them first. The Flavorers Apprentice and Capella are a good starting point. Get a variety of small bottles, and don't forget "blending" flavors - cream/marshmallow/sweetener are a must have, IMO. Most recipes benefit from a blending flavor or two, just to soften other primary flavors.

That's pretty much it. Grab a juice calculator, maybe look up some recipes, and start mixing. If whatever you cook up isn't very good, it's not a huge deal. I usually do 15ml bottles, so if one sucks, I just toss it - it's only a couple ¢/ml.

Try unflavored - personally, I keep some on hand, simply because sometimes I'm not in the mood for flavor, or not sure what to cook up next. Unflavored can get kinda boring, but it's always vapeable for me.

BOOM!

 

[wheelie]

Congrats! Now you to can afford to run a Smok TFV4 all day long. LOL CHEERS!

 

[Frocket]

Congrats! Now you to can afford to run a Smok TFV4 all day long. LOL CHEERS!

Or my Griffin 25, which just got two twisted 26ga nichrome coils thrown in @ 0.2 ohms. I get the feeling this build is gonna rip through juice quick.

Unflavored 75% VG is so good, I probably won't add any flavor. Thick and sweet.

BOOM!

 

[JCinFLA]

@Frocket - Just ran across your posts above, and it's great to see you helping other members now, who are learning how to DIY.

I remember when you posted that you'd decided to start DIY back on May 9th, after the FDA garbage came out. It's kind of an endless circle hopefully, isn't it? As each of us learns how to DIY, and finds out how satisfying it is...it's fun being able to help the next person learn that, too.

That's one of the things I like the most about the ECF...there are many many people who willingly pass along their knowledge to others.

 

[Frocket]

Yup, jumped in with both feet and not looking back. The math on it still doesn't quite make sense to me, and I find myself double checking the costs all the time - less than a $ for 30ml of juice. Even taking into account startup costs, it's crazy cheap.

Now I don't feel bad when blowing through 20ml a day, especially since living overseas and dealing with 2 week shipping times.

BOOM!