DIY Disaster!!!

[Caterpiller]

I just wanted to add to this a bit -- if it does turn out to be 100% or anything close to that, you should get not only gloves, but a plastic apron, eye protection at the very least though a full face mask would be better, and either EXCELLENT ventilation or a fume hood... or let a professional do the mixing for you, because that 100% is not to be trifled with, it's serious poison.

That's the reason why ECF frowns on the discussion of anything over 100mg, I think is the limit, and it's possible that all these posts might get deleted because of that... but it would seem to be an emergency, if
it really does turn out to be that strong.

Andria

Andria, if it turns out to be 100% pure nicotine I will be looking for the safest way to dispose of it, and would not even consider working with it.

Just in case, I will take considerably more precautions when running the test on it.

Thank you for your concern and advise, it is greatly appreciated.

 

[zoiDman]

This was my first go at DIY, and it has been a learning process.

I completely agree, I will try a flavourless batch first in future.

I'll also give the nic base a solid shake before use in future.

And for this particular nic base I will get a test kit and check the percentage before trying to use it again.

DIY does take some Practice. But I am Sure that you will get it down.

For me, the Key to doing Flavored mixes is I have to know that my Nicotine, PG and VG are all Good. And Relatively Tasteless.

I have seen Many Post where people who are New have Struggled to make a Flavored Mix that Doesn't taste Weird. And have tried Multiple Suggestions of Adding more of this Flavor or Using Less of another. Only to find, after a Lot of Frustration, that it was the Nicotine Base or the PG/VG that was the Problem.

There is a Possibility that the Nicotine Base you received was Way Over 100mg/ml. Because just like it is Important for Us to shake our Nicotine Base before using it, it is Just as Important for a Vendor to do the same Before they put it into a Smaller Bottle.

 

[Ramsay Bolton]

I made my first DIY juice today.

Using 100mg nic, PG/VG, and TFA flavourings.

30ml batch: 8.5ml PG, 15ml VG, 3.6ml nic, 3ml flavour.

Flavour broke down to: 1ml Caramel Capoccino, 1.5ml Waffle, 0.5ml Maple Syrup.

TFA Caramel Cappuccino is extremely strong!.

If you search the forum, you'll discover that you should start off with
1 single drop of TFA Caramel Cappuccino per 10ml of juice (3 drops per 30ml).
Even 1 Drop per 10ml may even be too much.

Maybe I got a bad/rancid bottle, but this crap tastes and smells like burning
rubber mixed with vomit. Just the stench from a closed bottle is enough to
knock you off your feet and send you into a permanent coma.

Sorry for the rant, but what I received is beyond nasty!.

.

 

[Caterpiller]

TFA Caramel Cappuccino is extremely strong!.

If you search the forum, you'll discover that you should start off with
1 single drop of TFA Caramel Cappuccino per 10ml of juice (3 drops per 30ml).
Even 1 Drop per 10ml may even be too much.

Maybe I got a bad/rancid bottle, but this crap tastes and smells like burning
rubber mixed with vomit. Just the stench from a closed bottle is enough to
knock you off your feet and send you into a permanent coma.

Sorry for the rant, but what I received is beyond nasty!.

.

That's interesting Ramsay. I put 1ml in a 30ml batch, which is 3% Caramel Cappuccino. This flavour smells great, just like a creamy cappuccino. Very strong as 100% in the TFA bottle, but nice and not overpowering at 3%.

I really don't think this flavour has anything to do with my issues, and I'm looking forward to working with this flavour in the future.

I think you got a bad batch of this flavour, but I guess I could be wrong.

First I need to test the nicotine base.

After that I need to test the PG and VG on their own.

Next I'll try a PG/VG/nic mix. Only then will I start working with flavours again.

 

[zoiDman]

...

First I need to test the nicotine base.

After that I need to test the PG and VG on their own.

Next I'll try a PG/VG/nic mix. Only then will I start working with flavours again.

That sounds like a Great Plan.

 

[Caterpiller]

Another update:

I spoke to my Malaysian vendor today. They assured me that they sent me 100mg nic base in 100% PG.

But when I told them the issues I'd had, he said maybe they mixed it wrong or mixed in some 'cooling agent' by mistake!!

Wow, it's quite scary how unsure they were.

He did say he would send me a whole new bottle free of charge and get it straight out to me. Which is great customer service as he simply took my word for it.

But still a little scary.

In the meantime I've ordered a nicotine test kit from the US. It may take a couple of weeks to arrive.

I will test both the old and the new bottle before using either.

I've also placed an order for nicotine base with Nude Nicotine in the US. So will be interested to see if they can deliver to Malaysia.

 

[Caterpiller]

Sorry, the order is with RTS Vapes, not Nude Nicotine.

I got confused after trying so many US websites looking for a vendor who could deliver to Malaysia for a reasonable fee.

RTS was the best, and quoted me on shipping. Just waiting for them to process the order.

 

[dannyv45]

But when I told them the issues I'd had, he said maybe they mixed it wrong or mixed in some 'cooling agent' by mistake!!

I understand that because of your location it's hard to source NIC but if the vender is that unsure of there quality control I would try to source from a different vender. What they said would be of great concern to me.

 

[dannyv45]

Sorry, the order is with RTS Vapes, not Nude Nicotine.

I got confused after trying so many US websites looking for a vendor who could deliver to Malaysia for a reasonable fee.

RTS was the best, and quoted me on shipping. Just waiting for them to process the order.

RTS is a very good vender.

 

[Caterpiller]

I understand that because of your location it's hard to source NIC but if the vender is that unsure of there quality control I would try to source from a different vender. What they said would be of great concern to me.

I'm in complete agreement with you Danny.

Although I've ordered from RTS and there customer services have quoted me $45 USD for shipping 500ml (more than the price of the nic base itself), I'm still waiting to see if they process my order without issue, and whether it arrives here.

It may be stopped by customs, I'm not sure of the rules here for importing nic base.

If RTS deliver I'll probably accept that paying more is worth while for a quality product.

But if I can't get nic base from the US, I may need to work cautiously with my local supplier.

 

[oplholik]

What is this "cooling agent" they speak of?

 

[Caterpiller]

What is this "cooling agent" they speak of?

I'm really not sure, but judging by the conversation I had with the vendor, it's some kinf of flavour enhancer.

I think it is sold as a flavour that you add just a drop or two into your final blend, a little like you would use a sweetener.

Now i've been storing all the flavours I purchased from this vendor along with the nic base and PG/VG in a big tool box I bought for this purpose.

Even though everything is sealed, including the box, there has been an awful ordor coming from the box, that I have been thinking is bad or over powerful nic base.

This morning I took a close inspection of each bottle in turn, and actually I think this horrid odor was coming from a 15ml bottle label 'TFA Maple Syrup'.

This is also the only flavour I used in both my first two 30ml batches of DIY!

I through out the Maple flavour this morning, and the bad odor seems to have gone.

If they have sent me a 15ml bottle of 'cooling agent' labelled as Maple Syrup this might go some way to explain the terrible first batches I made, as I put a whole 1ml into the 30ml bottles.

I'm not sure yet, and there may still be an issue with the nic base, I'll wait to my test kit arrive and reserve judgement until then.

 

[oplholik]

Good to see you are being so thorough with this. Unless you poured that bottle down the sink, you might want to keep it around till this is all over with.

 

[crxess]

Not to difficult to make a 1% nic base to test out. At worst it would = 10% nic and at best it is correct or close.
Your cooling issue sounds very much like a mislabeled bottle of coolada. Cooling hit and no menthol taste.

Glad some have gotten usable bottles of TFA CC. Mine, after almost a year still smells like a house in fire.

 

[Caterpiller]

Not to difficult to make a 1% nic base to test out. At worst it would = 10% nic and at best it is correct or close.
Your cooling issue sounds very much like a mislabeled bottle of coolada. Cooling hit and no menthol taste.

Glad some have gotten usable bottles of TFA CC. Mine, after almost a year still smells like a house in fire.

I hear what your saying, but being brand new to DIY, I don't want to be mixing unknow strength nic and relying on a taste test.

I'll wait for the nic test kit before using the nic base again. Although I'm more hopeful that the nic might be okay, now I beleive the miss labled 'Maple / Cooling agent' may have been the biggest factor. We'll see when I can test the nic strength.

As for the Caramel Capoccino, I've been using up all my store bought juices while waiting to start my DIY production. So I'm now vaping some bland flavours I really didn't like. I added 6 drops of TFA CC to 10ml of a particulalry bland juice I had laying around, and immediatley I have a not so bland juice with a nice capoccino flavour. I'm a fan.

 

[crxess]

I hear what your saying, but being brand new to DIY, I don't want to be mixing unknow strength nic and relying on a taste test.

I'll wait for the nic test kit before using the nic base again. Although I'm more hopeful that the nic might be okay, now I beleive the miss labled 'Maple / Cooling agent' may have been the biggest factor. We'll see when I can test the nic strength.

As for the Caramel Capoccino, I've been using up all my store bought juices while waiting to start my DIY production. So I'm now vaping some bland flavours I really didn't like. I added 6 drops of TFA CC to 10ml of a particulalry bland juice I had laying around, and immediatley I have a not so bland juice with a nice capoccino flavour. I'm a fan.

I'd offer to forward mine to you, ...........but I wouldn't do that to anyone. Perhaps they have adjusted the formula since the original release. Seriously more than a damp toothpick stir in a 10ml mix was disaster.
and the Stench when opening .......almost unbearable. I would open mine out doors.

 

[AndriaD]

I'd offer to forward mine to you, ...........but I wouldn't do that to anyone. Perhaps they have adjusted the formula since the original release. Seriously more than a damp toothpick stir in a 10ml mix was disaster.
and the Stench when opening .......almost unbearable. I would open mine out doors.

I had one that affected me like that... Capella Cake Batter... seriously nasty, smelled like old rotten butter. For a while I kept it in its own little ziplock just so I could open the cabinet where the flavors are... finally I just tossed it. Dreadful stuff.

Andria

 

[vapee]

I once had a caramel that tasted of dodgy cheese, but i don't think i left it to steep enough, alot of flavors can change if you shake them and leave the cap undone in say a cupboard or somewhere it won't get knocked over for like a day or so. What color is the nic base btw? Usually when new theyre quite clear and become yellow over time getting darker yellow after a while.

Apparently with pure nicotine as theres no pg or vg usualy it lets the nicotine escape easier so you could either have a rush or worse get ill just from breathing it in the air, it could still in theory be 50% and maybe not have this property but I have no idea really.

Its usually also easier to deal with flavors 1 at a time and without nicotine then once you have a nice mix can add nic n see if its still good. Also if you want those particular flavors thees dozens of flavor manufacturers with some differences in their flavor even if its supposed to all be the same.

 

[Caterpiller]

....... What color is the nic base btw? Usually when new theyre quite clear and become yellow over time getting darker yellow after a while.......
QUOTE]

From memory it was a little darker than the PG and VG (Which both look crystal clear to my eyes), but not much. After adding 3.6ml to a 30ml bottle of PG/VG, the final mix still looked almost completely clear.

Only when I added 3ml of the flavourings did the mix take on a yellow tint. In fact even then it was only faintly coloured and looked pretty much clear unless compare to the PG/VG without any flavourings.

 

[vapee]

Ah at least we can maybe rule out that the nic is an older batch, thats great they offered a replacement though!