Q & A with One Stop DIY Shop

[Kimerpuff]

I get a number of questions emailed to me and if one person has a question, perhaps others do to!

Also if you have a question for us, please feel free to post here and I will respond with the answer.

 

[Kimerpuff]

We do get a number of questions on if we can we mix liquid, or can make VG e-liquid for customers.

We are a DIY store, thus we do not mix liquid, we are here to help customers mix their own

We do not at this time carry a VG based e-liquid, something perhaps for the future!

 

[Kimerpuff]

We have had a couple people ask about Flavourart Flavorings. I am currently working with them to become a reseller

Not sure on the length of this process, but we can't wait!

 

[Kimerpuff]

I had a question about tobacco Absolute. The customer was wondering how to get the last bit from the vial.
When I work with the Tobacco Absolute I warm it up some. It is thicker then molassis, so I put the container in a baggie and squeeze all the air out before closing, then submerge it in a bowl of hot tap water. I let it sit for 5 minutes or so, while I am doing something else and then come back to it and it is much more fluid! This is also useful anytime your working with it, not just the end of your vial.

Have a great day and mix it your way!

 

[mace bewley]

Any plans for larger bottles of PG/VG, and Unflavored Liquid? What about higher MG's??

 

[Kimerpuff]

Thanks for the question Mace!

As for bigger bottles that is something we will have to consider. I will look into the larger bottle sizes. Il'l see what I can find out

As for higher MG's we are as high as we can go at this time.

 

[savagemyth]

I had a question about Tobacco Absolute. The customer was wondering how to get the last bit from the vial.
When I work with the Tobacco Absolute I warm it up some. It is thicker then molassis, so I put the container in a baggie and squeeze all the air out before closing, then submerge it in a bowl of hot tap water. I let it sit for 5 minutes or so, while I am doing something else and then come back to it and it is much more fluid! This is also useful anytime your working with it, not just the end of your vial.

Have a great day and mix it your way!

Use warm unflavored liquid and inject into the vial with a pipette, repeat and empty until the vial is clean. That works the best.

 

[RenaissancePuffer]

Use warm unflavored liquid and inject into the vial with a pipette, repeat and empty until the vial is clean. That works the best.

This method indeed works great. I've made some tobacco drops using warmed up PG and tobacco absolute. The warm PG will thin out the tobacco absolute quite nicely. Thanks for sharing this tip!

 

[RenaissancePuffer]

We get asked all the time for instructions on how much flavoring to use. Well, the simple answer is: There is no simple answer

We try and list our recommended dilution for our highly concentrated flavors, however, taste is so subjective. There's really no single answer for each person. For vapers who are still smoking, you may require more flavoring to satisfy the palate. For others, some flavors are just simply too strong.

For Flavour Art tobacco flavors, you really want to start with 1% dilution. That is such a small amount of flavoring. You almost have to mix up a 5ml batch in order to flavor your liquid using these tobacco flavors, or you have to dilute the flavor yourself with PG or some other dilution base. Just to give you a general idea of how strong these flavors are - It only takes 1-2 drops of the Flavour Art tobacco flavoring to flavor 5ml worth of unflavored liquid. Of course, this is to my taste, you may be different!

For LorAnn Super Strength flavoring, it also depends on the flavor itself. I've found the Cheesecake and Marshmallow to be fairly mild, so you will likely want in the 15-20% range. Others like Cherry, which is very strong, you may only want 5-10%. They are all different.

For Professional Flavors line, you will get a nice flavor for your liquid with 10%. These too are different, some may require less, some more.

You can experiment with your flavors without wasting your e-liquid. You can mix up a small batch in a 3ml bottle. Just drop 10-20 drops of PG into the bottle, and add your flavoring, according to the suggested %. If the flavor is too weak, add a second drop. If it's too strong, add in some dilution base liquid. Once you have a flavor strength that you are happy with, you can mix up a batch with your e-liquid, and you're set!

My best advice is to work in small batches. Always use the same size dropper to dispense your flavoring and dilution base liquid. This will give you a more accurate measurement to base your ratios on.

Example: I have a 6ml bottle of Black Cherry Professional Flavor, and I want to mix up 30 drops of flavored liquid. Since I know the % of flavoring that I want is 10%, I will use 27 drops of e-liquid, and 3 drops of Black Cherry.

Example: I want to mix up 30ml of Black Cherry flavored liquid using 10% flavoring. I will measure out 3ml of Black Cherry flavoring and 27ml of e-liquid.
​

It's all about trial and error, and finding what tastes best to you!

 

[mace bewley]

When mixing EM or Menthol crystals is it possible to use PG as oposed to PGA?? I have been sober almost 15 years and have no liquor in the house nor the desire to buy any.
Thanks in advance!!

 

[Kimerpuff]

Oh absolutely you can use PG! I would warm it some to help the EM dissolve but be careful not to warm the PG to much or your EM may re-crystallize on you.

please see next post - the forums sneezed on me! hehehe

 

[Kimerpuff]

Oh absolutely you can use PG! I would warm it some to help the EM dissolve but be careful not to warm the PG to much or your EM may re-crystallize on you.

Our dropper bottles are not fans of microwaves. If you have a mini measuring cup or even a house hold liquid measuring cup, mix your desired EM with PG within then give it a 5 second visit to the microwave. Stir and repeat until your EM is dissolved.
Please let me know how this works for you Mace, I can also have Ren give you a call this evening if you need?

Have a great day and mix it your way!

 

[mace bewley]

Thanks Kimer!! Worked beautifully! Vaping MY first batch of Capp..... Mmmmm!
I will certainly be a repeat customer!

 

[Kimerpuff]

Oh I am so jealous!!!! bubblegum is really good but not doing it for me on a rainy day

I am glad you enjoying your product! You have made my day! Thank you!

 

[Kimerpuff]

There have been a few threads in places I am not able to post about syringes. Before we opened, wow coming up on a year now, I did alot of research on needles. They are quite handy, and many feel they cannot live without them.

Almost every state, minus two I believe allows you to own a specific amount of hypo's (hypodermic needles, sharps ect)

A poster from NY thought they were not allowed to but this is actually incorrect. NY allows any person over the age of 18 to own up to 10.
Minnesota is the same, 10 hypos. The reason being part of the war on drugs vs the war on aids. By allowing the general public to purchase these without a prescription, they hope to stop the spread of HIV.

I would suggest googling your state, with the following (instert your state here), hypodermic laws.
For MN we get:
Subd. 2. Sales of limited quantities of clean needles and syringes.
(a) A registered pharmacy or its agent or a licensed pharmacist may sell, without a prescription, unused hypodermic needles and syringes in quantities of ten or fewer, provided the pharmacy or pharmacist complies with all of the requirements of this subdivision.

Part of the reason we have never sold sharps or hypo's, is we do not have a license to do so, see your state licensing board for more info.


The blunt tip needles we offer are for craft use, and thus excluded from the hypo licensing and use issues.

If you want a hypo or sharp, go to your pharmacy and tell them what you want. If they do not subscribe to your states program, thus allowing them to sell sharps then ask them where you can go. Due to the size most vapors use, telling them its for a craft/hobby would make sense as 16 gauge needles, for example, would hurt like heck!

 

[RenaissancePuffer]

One question that comes up from time to time is if we offer pre-flavored liquids, or can flavor liquids for our customers. We certainly "could", but we feel like that takes all of the fun out of DIY, and leaves the adventure and experience of DIY completely out.

While there is a lot that we could offer to the vaping community, there are already a number of suppliers out there who have either simplified DIY to the point where all you do is drop in your flavor into the bottle, and voila, you have your flavored liquid. There are also a number of vendors who sell pre-flavored liquids.

We want to remain true to the DIY flavor artisans out there and supply the materials to really learn how to take a blank canvas, and paint your own picture.

After all, DIY does stand for Do-It-Yourself!

 

[VaporChef]

I have two questions for you today, Kim.

1.
Re: mixing EM crystals into liquid form - I guess if you can use PG instead of PGA - what other solvents would work? Could I use plain old vodka instead of PGA? Or a mix of vodka and PG or VG? Could the PG-allergic use a mix of VG and distilled water? I would love to understand pros/cons of such variations if you know.

2.
How does the wish list feature of your website work? For most of the items in your store, we must choose options like size, etc. Fine. So I tried to put a certain 6ml PA flavor into my wish list, but on the wish list page, the item merely has a link back to the PA flavoring page - the actual size/taste choice I wanted to keep track of doesn't appear there. Nor are the choices I made pre-selected when I use the wish list's link back to the flavoring page.

Also, for the generic test item in my wish list, there is only a Remove button - I don't see any way to add it to the shopping cart. Am I doing something wrong, or is the wish list feature still under development? (great idea to have this, BTW)

Thanks!

 

[Kimerpuff]

1.
Re: mixing EM crystals into liquid form - I guess if you can use PG instead of PGA - what other solvents would work? Could I use plain old vodka instead of PGA? Or a mix of vodka and PG or VG? Could the PG-allergic use a mix of VG and distilled water? I would love to understand pros/cons of such variations if you know.

You can definatly use vodka, the higher the proof the better so keep that in mind. We suggest any clear high proof liquor if you wish to go that route.

You can use PG, I suggest warming the PG a bit before adding the EM and then shake, heat, shake until your crystals have disolved. Placing a dropper bottle with your mixture in a bowl of hot water works well for this. That way you wont over heat it. I have never tried VG, it would be a good experiment! I don't see why it wouldnt work.

2.
How does the wish list feature of your website work? For most of the items in your store, we must choose options like size, etc. Fine. So I tried to put a certain 6ml PA flavor into my wish list, but on the wish list page, the item merely has a link back to the PA flavoring page - the actual size/taste choice I wanted to keep track of doesn't appear there. Nor are the choices I made pre-selected when I use the wish list's link back to the flavoring page.

This is under development by our e-commerce company, it should be improving as they work out the kinks! I would suggest using it to keep track of flavors or items you want, then when your ready to order open another window to add items to your shopping cart, using your wish list. Sorry, until they finish it, items arnt moving over properly. I use wish lists all the time, they are very handy!!!

 

[RenaissancePuffer]

We get asked quite a bit about PGA alternatives, mostly in regards to its solvent use with Tobacco Absolute or Ethyl Maltol.

If you are unable to get PGA where you live, 80 proof clear unflavored vodka will work fine, however, it may require some assistance on your part. Also, as an alternative, warmed PG and/or VG will also work well.

I suggest to take the vodka, PG, and or VG and warm it by placing it into a sealed container (a dropper bottle will work fine), then placing it into a ziplock bag then submerging the ziplock bag into hot water for roughly 5 minutes.

Once the ingredient is heated thoroughly, you can take it out and measure out the desired amount. Add in your Ethyl Maltol and/or Tobacco Absolute and shake the bottle. This should evenly distribute the ingredients and blend them together well. You can take this one step further, and take your sealed container with the mixture, put it back into the ziplock bag, then submerge it into hot water for another 5 minutes. Remove the container from the bag and shake the container well.

Let the mixture come to room temperature, and check for separation or crystals reforming. If crystals reform or separation occurs, repeat the process with the hot water, but be sure to shake the bottle every minute while it is heating up in the hot water. Also, you may need more heat in your water.

Take care when using dropper bottles in water that is too hot. If the water is boiling, your bottle may melt and your mixture will be wasted.

Happy mixing!

 

[badmemory]

Hello just wondering if you plan on getting bottles with childproof caps. I have a few from another company, but would like to get all my DIY stuff from one company.