A few questions on DIY

[Levitas]

Thinking of dipping into 'doing it myself' and I want to ask...

-Where can I buy the absolute highest, top-shelf quality flavorings? Nic-base/vg?

-Where can I find the most cost effective equipment?

-What exactly would I need? I can make a pretty safe assumption, but, there would probably be something I'd overlook.

I'm sure I'll think of more questions to the answers I get and any help is fully appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[Pamdane]

Get a variety of bottles in sizes from 5 ml to 30 ml. Look for sales.
One of the nic companies has their juice on sale til tonight. 60 mg is prolly safest to start. Get some type of gloves. You will need syringes from 1 ml to 5ml to higher. Coat the numers with clear nail polish.
Recipes can be found on the DIY forum. Capellas and TPA are my favorite. I find FA is too perfumish for me. Loranns is ok, but they have some with dark food coloring.
If you like the Loranns, you can get the color to clear up by heating it to about 100* and letting it cool- after your recipe is blended. This also speeds up the steeping process.
My findings only. YMMV.

 

[Levitas]

What is capsules or tap?

What company is having the sale? Do they have good nic-base?

 

[Wil]

There is no answer to your first question... This is very dependent on the flavor you're looking for. I've been kicking around the idea of publishing my thoughts on various flavorings, but it's a huge undertaking, and there are new flavors and companies almost daily.

For example, I was just talking about cheesecake on another thread. I like the LorAnn's cheesecake flavoring. It's about the only LorAnn's flavoring I really, really dig. I use a lot of Perfumer's Apprentice stuff, and I like the way they do business and I really like the quality of their flavorings. However, I personally find their cheesecake flavor to be abominable. It tastes like sweetened cream cheese, but it smells like a fart. I don't mean to be crude, but it just does...

In that same note, Perfumer's Apprentice makes the ONLY chocolate flavorings I've found that don't taste like alcohol. So go figure... There's just a lot of trial and error involved, but if you ask for opinions on any one flavoring, you'll get an earful...

Equipment... You can spend as much or as little as you want.

You'll definitely need bottles, and I find that they vary greatly. Some I like, some I don't, and often for no obvious reason. I'm gonna be a daddy in a few months, so I buy bottles with child-resistant caps whenever possible, but they're more expensive. Good advice earlier, keep an eye out for sales. US Plastics has bottles at wholesale prices, so if you want 100 or so, they're a good source. Otherwise, I typically just keep my eyes open for bottles that meet my specs and buy when they're cheap.

As far as other stuff goes, I use a couple of relatively cheap plastic beakers and cylinders, which you can usually get pretty cheap (couple of dollars each) and that's about it. You'll need rubber gloves, but they're cheap at any pharmacy. Oh, and get some cheap, very small funnels. You'll be surprised how often you'll use these...

Otherwise, you'll need nic, pg, and vg. Look for reviews. I get mine locally and it's of excellent quality. I buy 100mg/mL nic, which you have to be very careful with, but it's very cheap. You can usually get all of this in the same place at a reasonable price. You can find pg and vg a little cheaper if you're willing to buy it by the gallon, but I just don't see the margin in it...

Hope that's helpful... It's easy to spend lots on flavorings, but it's so worth it... Mixing your own is so much cheaper than buying it premixed that you can afford to experiment a bit. I find that it costs me about a nickel/mL, give or take. And it's fun, until you hit on a fart smelling brew!

 

[Levitas]

Wow, that's pretty elaborate there.

Okay, so I need bottles, beakers, funnels, syringes along with the obvious: flavors, nicotine-base, and vg (I prefer 100%vg or as close as possible). Different companies offer different great flavors, which is of course, subjective. No company offers cleaner or higher grade flavorings? Or are they all pretty much the same?

As far as a nic-base goes, where might I be able to procure some? Along with straight vg for cutting?

Does anyone have a ....-load of links to help a newbie out? Also, where do you look for sales? In the suppliers forum?

Thanks again! Keep them tips a comin'

p.s. Congratz on the kid! boy or girl? Your life is going to CHANGE all for the better of course

 

[Randyrtx]

For starting out I recommend One Stop DIY Shop. Also check the link in my sig for other suppliers.

For measuring I use either a 50ml graduated cylinder or 3, 10, or 30ml syringes with large blunt needles from OneStop. You can get large syringes at Tractor Supply Company or feed stores that carry veterinary supplies.

For mixing, I use amber glass bottles I hoarded from when I used Johnson Creek liquids, also some 4oz. amber liquid medicine bottles I got for free from Walgreens. Glass Bottles - Specialty Bottle is a good place for bottles, also.

ETA: Box Elder for Nic base, PG and VG, Essential Wholesale for PG and VG.

 

[Wil]

We have, by all indications at this point, a healthy baby girl coming around December 21... I can't wait!

This is where I get my base, when it's on sale. They routinely run 40% off sales, but it doesn't look like they are right now. Keep an eye on the DIY sub-forum under Tips & Tricks. Like I said, I'm close, so this is a quick ship, but I haven't realy tried lots of them. This is clear, and holds up well. Someone will usually tip off the group when there's a good sale...

Best Electronic Cigarettes - MyFreedomSmokes.com

I get most of my flavorings from The Perfumer's Apprentice:
Perfumers Apprentice - Professional DIY Flavors

or FlavourArt:
Flavourart. La sartoria degli aromi

Both of these also sell through resellers, but I find they're cheaper straight from the source.

You can pick up the LorAnn's at kitchen shops or craft stores with the candy making supplies. I find this to be of the lowest quality... usually...

There are also a couple of other companies I'm going to be trying out soon, but I can't even remember their names at the moment... I have them bookmarked on another computer.

And, you can get most of the supplies you'll need from Madvapes:

Welcome to MadVapes LLC

For what it's worth, I've never used a syringe. They're vital if you're trying to make extremely precise measurements on a small batch, but I find they're more trouble than they're worth. You can get pretty close to accurate using pipettes (I use the little ones they sell at Perfumer's Apprentice, above). Sometimes you have to make adjustments going to a larger scale, though. I mix most things in 3mL batches first, then if I really like it I'll take it up to 10 or 30 mL, which may require a bit of rework due to the inaccuracy of using pipettes.

It's all in fun, as long as it's just for personal use. Just remember, WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN THAT YOU DO! You never know when you'll hit on that perfect mix, and often you won't realize how good it is until a couple of days later after it's had time to steep. If you can't remember what's in it, it can be very frustrating!

 

[El-ahrairah]

I DIY with just three 1mil pipettes and a handful of bottles. I don't like investing money unless I have to, so I cut the chemistry set out and rely on my steady hands to keep spills to a minimum. Some people need/feel safer with the extra protection, but I'm comfortable working with nicotine and I use 60mg base. I think that if I were using 100mg, I'd probably use gloves and whatnot. I also eyeball my measurements because Mama taught me to cook by eyesight.

If you don't want to spend a lot on bottles, just use the re-use the bottles from the juice you already have. I've only bought a couple bottles (I like the way the transparent bottles look), most come from bottles of juice that I've bought from vendors.

As for deals, it's hard to really say where to go. What I do advise though is to find vendors that people mention frequently and if they have a newsletter, signup for it. You could even have an e-mail address just for newsletters/coupons so that you know who has what deal going on without cluttering your regular inbox.

 

[Levitas]

Okay, I see many places to obtain the "stuff" from, so I guess I have some homework to do. Keep them recommendations coming.

Another question or so...

-When originally mixing the nic-base to create the mg/ml I want (~12mg), and let's say for example I have a 36mg base. I would want to cut it all into a 12mg before adding flavoring? or cut it as I make each bottle?

-How much flavoring does one usually use? (I know that is also subjective, and I know of the recipes found here) But, I was wondering how I should add this alltogether into a finished product.

Trying a 3ml before making larger amounts is no doubt the way to go. But, as I had previously asked, how do I go about it?

36mg cut into 12mg - well, nic-free vg in 50/50 portions will obviously cut it into 18mg. But to get to 12mg, what then? 1 part no-nic, 2 parts 18mg? and what about when adding flavoring, (again, how much? ) will that not also lower the overall juices nic-strength?



Edit: To say, that I have to go into work for a couple of hours. I will check back with any further responses. Once again, thank you all in advance!

 

[bjannr]

I believe the company having a 50% sale right now is Box Elder. I think it ends tonight.

 

[Randyrtx]

I don't premix my base, I just mix it up as I go. For a great calculator go here: eJuice Me Up - e-Juice e-Liquid Recipe Calculator

Also check out the DIY e-liquid Subforum. You might want to ask a mod to move this thread there, in fact.

Flavoring amount depends on the specific flavoring you're using and your taste. For some, 3% is enough, for other 15-20% may be needed.

 

[Pamdane]

Go to the "deals and steals" thread, not sure which forum division. You'll find many sales there, you just have to read back a few pages.
I re-corrected the spelling the spell checker "fixed" in my post.
Liberty flights was selling sample size flavorings for about $.79 plus you can use the coupon code("coupon codes" thread).

 

[Wil]

Okay, I see many places to obtain the "stuff" from, so I guess I have some homework to do. Keep them recommendations coming.

Another question or so...

-When originally mixing the nic-base to create the mg/ml I want (~12mg), and let's say for example I have a 36mg base. I would want to cut it all into a 12mg before adding flavoring? or cut it as I make each bottle?

-How much flavoring does one usually use? (I know that is also subjective, and I know of the recipes found here) But, I was wondering how I should add this alltogether into a finished product.

Trying a 3ml before making larger amounts is no doubt the way to go. But, as I had previously asked, how do I go about it?

36mg cut into 12mg - well, nic-free vg in 50/50 portions will obviously cut it into 18mg. But to get to 12mg, what then? 1 part no-nic, 2 parts 18mg? and what about when adding flavoring, (again, how much? ) will that not also lower the overall juices nic-strength?



Edit: To say, that I have to go into work for a couple of hours. I will check back with any further responses. Once again, thank you all in advance!

Again, this depends on how exact you want to be. Depending on the flavor, you will use somewhere between 5% and 20% flavoring. A 12 mg/mL base becomes a 10 mg/mL juice when mixed at 20%. If that bothers you, you can mix per recipe.

I don't. I start with an 18mg/mL base and flavor from there. I do pretty much the same thing with my pg/vg mix. I start with 70/30, but obviously this is going to change a bit when you add 20% flavoring in a pg base...

Basically, I get my base how I want it (like I said, in my case, 18 mg/mL, 70pg/30vg). I add 3 mL to a bottle, which I measure in my graduated cylinder, which isn't terribly accurate. Then I start with 2-3 drops per mL of a new flavoring, using a small pipette. Pipettes vary in size, amount delivered, and even accuracy. Mix and test. I drip to test. I use standard 510 attys with a drip tip for this purpose only (I use eGo tanks otherwise). Make sure they're clean so you get an accurate idea of what's happening. Add a couple more if necessary. I've found some flavorings need up to 15 drops/mL with my pipettes.

I ALWAYS try new flavors by themselves first. The idea of a snickers flavored vape is great, but it will be impossible if you don't know exactly what your chocolate tastes like alone, and your caramel, and your peanut...

This is at least the way to come up with ideas and flavors. Once you get an idea of what you want, then you can refine it so that the end product is the right nic level and pg/vg mix you want on a larger scale. You have to know exactly how much flavoring you're using before you can really nail these for your final mix.

Oh, and get eJuice Me Up. It's a free, excellent program. Anyone have that link handy?

Thanks, RandyRTX... I was writing that, and missed that you threw it up there...

 

[Levitas]

Oh wow, just dl'd and installed that program... super awesome!

Can't wait to try this out, thanks guys. I'll probably have more questions before long.

 

[iamtopher34]

120 ml of 100 mg Flavorless Nicotine Liquid
Box Elder Chemical Supply
im new to this as well but i just jump in and try my fist order was from rtsvapes shoud be here tomarow and i orderd flavor from the companies some.one said earlier in this thread good luck im just reading and watching as much youtube as i can

 

[iamtopher34]

120 ml of 100 mg Flavorless Nicotine Liquid
Box Elder Chemical Supply
im new to this as well but i just jump in and try my fist order was from rtsvapes shoud be here tomarow and i orderd flavor from the companies some.one said earlier in this thread good luck im just reading and watching as much youtube as i can

 

[iamtopher34]

Sorry for 2 post but i wanted.to say there are apps for android and iphone if you have one or the other

 

[salemgold]

This nic is extracted from tobacco plants here in the US. It is the best quality nic that I have used to date and they have 50% off right now 120 ml of 100 mg Flavorless Nicotine Liquid
Clear, odorless and tasteless which is what you want They offer a 30 day money back guarantee so you can't go wrong with that. OSDIY is a good place to get the flavorings from Good luck!

FYI - This is their info-
All of RTS Vapes' nicotine liquid originates from flue-cured tobacco grown in North Carolina. For your information, North Carolina produces more flue-cured tobacco than any other state in the United States. With our unemployment rate near 10% in North Carolina we decided to try a United States solution to inconsistent Chinese nicotine liquid.

The tobacco leafs are handpicked by North Carolinians. The tobacco leaves are delivered to a North Carolina laboratory for nicotine extraction. After extraction random samples of our pure nicotine liquid are tested for impurities and strength. We are proud to state all of our tests have shown from 99.82% to 99.93% pure nicotine.

Our pure nicotine liquid is then reduced by North Carolinians to less potent strengths using Propylene Glycol USP Grade or Vegetable Glycerin USP Grade.

 

[Levitas]

I think until I get my finances in order, I am just going to order a small amount of nic-base with a couple of flavors. Just to get my fingers wet, so to speak.

 

[Randyrtx]

It's really easy with the right supplies. I myself only started DIY a couple months ago. I only use tobacco flavors right now, but I already have several I like enough for all day vapes.

Good Luck!