Is there a blog or article to help someone new to DIY?

[Baditude]

I'm a long term vaper (in my 5th year). I've dabbled a little into DIY, but in lieu of the upcoming FDA regulations, I'm looking to learn more about DIY in the future.

I have about 500ml of 24mg liquid nicotine base in my 'frig. I know where to get pg and vg. I don't really have any flavoring agents, so am wondering what everyone's favorite flavor suppliers are.

Are there any blogs available for someone just getting started into DIY?
Any place where there are recipes available?

 

[Capt.shay]

I Strongly recomend using weight based mixing. I did a little tutorial that is down bellow here (hang on I'll go get a link) here you go Mixing By Weight: Basics 101. It's not real comprehensive but it gives you the basics.

Welcome to the DIY, you thought batteries could get involved? Ha! I have almost 200 flavors now!

 

[WillyZee]

the thread is long Baditude ... tons of great info though.

The Flavor Apprentice Flavoring Thread

 

[Capt.shay]

Danny and Hoosiers Bloogs are good.

Bull City vaper is my go to for smaller amounts of flavor. Wizard Labs offesr a lot. We also order directly from FA, TFA, INOWA etc.

dannyv45's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
Hoosier's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[retired1]

Two highly recommended blogs.

dannyv45's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

Hoosier's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Also, there are many good free calculators listed in this thread. Just scroll down the page.
and these are excellent too.
DIY E-liquid
eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator
eJuice Calculator 3.0 | EcigExpress Archive Cookbook
Do It Yourself E-Liquid (E-Juice) Recipe Mixing Station!
and Scubabatdan's eliquid calculator(ecf member--close to first post in this thread)
https://www.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=8b6b63875e6271a86f9f

 

[r77r7r]

Some of the other ecig forums have very Very good diy also.

 

[JCinFLA]

Bill's Magic Vapor's blogs are here:

Bill's Magic Vapor's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

Within them you'll find all kinds of tips, hints, lots & lots of recipes, the 100DT details and instructions (it's a wonderful method for making & tweaking 100-drop sample batches), and a whole lot more. It's some of my favorite, most helpful, DIY info. on the ECF...that I refer to a great deal.

I've also read the blogs mentioned above in other posts, and they're also very good and extremely helpful for anyone wanting to DIY.

Oh, almost forgot this - Since you live in OH and Bulk Apothecary is located in OH, too...I hope you've checked out their prices on gallons of PG and VG. It's very reasonably priced and is wonderful quality. S/H should be less for you, too, since you're in OH. Maybe you're even close enough to go pick it up!

 

[Vaslovik]

I'm a long term vaper (in my 5th year). I've dabbled a little into DIY, but in lieu of the upcoming FDA regulations, I'm looking to learn more about DIY in the future.

I have about 500ml of 24mg liquid nicotine base in my 'frig. I know where to get pg and vg. I don't really have any flavoring agents, so am wondering what everyone's favorite flavor suppliers are.

Are there any blogs available for someone just getting started into DIY?
Any place where there are recipes available?

I'd like to recommend 100mg/ml nic. It's simple to mix in 100 ml batches. No calculators needed, you want 10mg/ml juice just measure out 10ml of nic for your batch, 100ml graduated cylinder. Use syringes to add measured flavoring, then add PG and VG in your preferred ratio. Recipes are so very easy to calculate this way.

No doubt others will chime in with their methods of mixing. Mixing by weight I have disregarded because of their militant absolutist stance on that. They just plain put me off with their attitude about it, and my own method has served me very well for nearly 3 years now.

As for flavorings I use Flavor West and I'm happy with them so far, you may wish to use other sources. I'm not willing to argue sources. Recipes are available here on ECF, and all over the web, so it will take some time to sift through them. I started out by just choosing what seemed good to me and going from there. I was out to get close to a Turkish tobacco flavor I was paying $80 a week for from a B&M. I exceeded that, and have not vaped anything but my own juice since.

You can get 100mg/ml nic from Nude Nicotine, which I've used for nearly 3 years now with no complaints. I have 6 liters of their 100mg/ml nic in my freezer, and will keep adding to that as long as I can. A liter of 100mg/ml liter from Nude Nicotine is shipped free.

Be willing to make mistakes and learn from them. You will make a bad batch or two. Just jump in and do it.

I wish you all the best in your efforts with this

 

[zoiDman]

... I don't really have any flavoring agents, so am wondering what everyone's favorite flavor suppliers are.

...

I have used and like Heartlandvapes.

Wholesale Nicotine, Bulk e-Liquid, PG, VG and Supplies Heartlandvapes Wholesale

And dude... If you have ANY Questions, Please Ask. For all the People you have Helped and Given Advise to here on the ECF, answering some DIY Question would be a Great Payback.

 

[sketchness]

I like stuff from all of the manufacturers and mostly get my flavorings from bullcityvapor.com. They ship fast and have a great selection. You can go to the site and sort by brand and then by bestsellers to get an idea of what is good/popular from each flavor company. It isn't perfect but is fairly accurate imho.

I also frequent wizard labs occasionally as well as ecigexpress. Best advice I was given was to buy sample sizes first before springing for larger quantities.

All the manufacturers have there strong suits. Flavor Art = consistent low percentages

Tfa = plays well with others usually won't overpower a recipe.

Capella = great bakery flavors and the best strawberry according to me lol

Hangsen = great tobaccos and their vanilla is killer. Some other interesting stuff too. Pretty consistent flavoring percentages

Inawera = great tobacco fruit and cactus!

Flavor west = cheap price some really good stuff like lemonade and vanilla butternut. Their disclosure is a little spotty but like I said cheap!

 

[IDJoel]

Mixing by weight I have disregarded because of their militant absolutist stance on that. They just plain put me off with their attitude about it

You mean like those that are adamantly opposed to the use of calculators? Sorry, I couldn't resist, but I only tease. I +1 for measuring by volume.
I gotta say that I share your sentiment. They (the "weight-lifters") seam to treat it as more of a religion than one available method. I guess they must be compensating for something.

To @Baditude I will add a plug for @HotRod19579's JuiceCalculator since it hasn't been mentioned yet. His support thread is here on ECF, and you can find the most recent version of his calculator here. It is very similar to the popular EJuiceMeUp but with a lot of additional features. It too is free.

 

[sawlight]

As well as the online calculators, there are apps for your smartphone, I found them more useful honestly.

 

[Hoosier]

Hey @Baditude!

No, no articles or blogs. And if you do happen to stumble across some, feel free to ignore them. Sometimes stumbling is as good as a methodical approach.

I pretend to be an engineer for a living so I'm methodical and I've made a crap ton of bad tasting juice. I've made a crap ton of fantastic juice too. Making something horrible is like a badge of honor for a mixer. Some of us are more decorated than others...

 

[IDJoel]

Removed

[edited]

I will say that I did read your tutorial on mixing by weight (actually I read the entire thread). I thought it was well thought out, clearly pesented, and very compelling. Nicely done.

 

[baseballmom]

Lots of reading here and elsewhere, much good basic info out there which you'll eventually adjust to your needs/tastes....another vote for bullcity or wizard labs, both offer smaller sizes to start off....I use heartland for nic, essential depot for pg/vg. Think about what kinds of vapes you prefer like bakery or fruits, or tobacco or any and all...then try to find a well reputed recipe that might be in your flavor wheelhouse, gives a start and allows you to dabble in customization to tweak if needed.(you can also weigh in on the diketones issue before you start, avoid, or moderation, much on that issue and other threads about this topic)...e liquid recipes has rated recipes, some by popular mixers Wayne walker (enyawreklaw) or notcharlesmanson, thirdworldorder put out some good ones....also recc diyordie videos on YouTube for basic, easy to follow/understand diy info if you want to supplement reading info....good luck, welcome to diy, learn from your bad mixes(we all have had), have fun, prepare to tumble down the rabbit hole with us, great people here and elsewhere involved in diy.

With starter recipes, forgot to mention I would try a simpler 4 and under flavoring one...keeping it simple, also as doing easy recipe...start testing flavors on their own individually so you get good feel of them...capella may be in my opinion only, a good brand for new mixer to work with, easy, forgiving, again opinion only here, take with grain of salt.

 

[Spazmelda]

Good luck @Baditude. I can't offer any more advice than what people have already said. I'm willing to answer questions though, if you have any!

 

[Frocket]

Mixing by weight is quick and convenient, IMO. However, to each their own - if mixing by volume works for you, then go for it.

Personally, I find it easier to just dump ingredients in until the scale hits the right number, but there's nothing wrong with measuring volume - it'll get the same results. Using a scale may be slightly more accurate for small batches (<15ml), but not by much.

Some shake n vape (me), some steep for a long time, some have special steeping methods (crock pot, ultrasonic cleaner). Some like unflavored or a hint of flavor, some like recipes with a bunch of different flavors adding up to 20% or more.

The awesome thing about DIY is you can mix it any way you like. You know exactly what's going in your juice, and you can control everything: nic level, PG/VG ratio, flavor strength, etc. Plus, it's cheap - a big plus for those of us that go through a lot of liquid.

More $ for new mods and atties, yay! At least, until the FDA initiates the Vapeocalypse.

BOOM!

 

[BrotherBob]

The best way to learn DIY is read all the info given here. Then ask questions if not clear.
Might like:
DIY
DIY Resources
You will want to scroll down to Sir2fyablyNutz thread, he lists most of the places you can find recipes.
Re: First DIY Order
How hard is it to get in to DIY liqiud?
Before you buy anything else, it might be a good idea to ask the forum (very common). Could save you heartbreak and $$$.

 

[juicynoos]

Good luck Bad, lots of stuff to keep you busy here already!!!!!
One thing to add...keep a notebook of all your efforts from start to finish, kinda like a DIY diary.