About to begin DIY Liquid - What do *you* keep PreMixed to make mixing juices more convenient?

[sophie_lapin]

I'm waiting for my flavors to arrive, and rather than reinvent the wheel, I want to see how you all do it.

I've found I prefer a 70/30 mix from vendors and was wondering should I make up a 100ml bottles of:

1.) 70/30 no nic

2.) 70/30 mix with nic (just a tad higher mg of nic than preferred bc will be diluted with flavors)


I have been going over Scubabatdan's calculator and can't wait for the flavors to arrive!
Any help or suggestioins on what you do to make things easier will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[DuncanDisordely]

I keep it real simple, I got a massive 500ml bottle of VG, and I buy my nic cut with PG, So......

I add however much PG-Nic to my bottle, then squirt in some VG, then add my flavour. Ratio based on calculators or just my own estimated 70/30 or 80/20.

Strawberry diy flavour from LibertyFlights is a Must-Have for me, I've tried many flavours and I keep coming back to strawberry, as long as it's around 15-20% strawberry my juice is DELICIOUS and I can vape it all day, been vaping it since I started and I don't think I'll ever get sick of it!

Some flavours I tried, all from LF, and disliked:

Bergamot (a type of orange)
Lemon
Chocolate
Apple Pie

Weird how I got sick of chocolate as I love it so much (to eat) and I never liked strawberries (to eat)!

This is all subjective of course, I converted a friend who LOVES apple pie and thats the one flavour I can honestly say I will never vape again yuck - Lemon and Bergamot I can cut with strawberry when I'm running low on strawberry, just to bulk it up into a fruity vape.

I use 52mg nic which is easy to guesstimate from, but the best tip I've seen so far is to buy 100mg nic then your calculations are simple, just like percentages out of a hundred you can squirt a quarter into a bottle for 25mg vape etc etc (I'm sure you get it) - But obviously 100mg nic is hard to get hold of and VERY dangerous, I wouldnt reccomend anyone get it unless they had a lab, white-coat, seeing-eye-dog, nuclear-bunker, deserted-island, death-wish etc etc warning warning (seriously though, read up on it)

Good luck with your DIY'ing and Happy vaping!

 

[DuncanDisordely]

re-read your post and realised I didnt really answer your question! My answer is I keep nothing pre-mixed, I make 30ml at a time when I have a flavour I like and when that runs out it takes seconds to make another batch.

 

[Sdh]

I mix 30ml at a time unless I am making some for others. I am keeping it simple and use 10-15% flavorings. I don't diy sweets. I like the tobacco blends with/without menthol.

 

[Bradder]

The only problem I can see with your pre-mix is that if you prefer 70/30, most flavoring concentrates come in PG so the moment you add flavoring (which can be up to 20%) your 70/30 will not be close. I tend to keep PG pure, VG pure, and 60 mg/ml nic on hand, and pre-mix a 30mg/ml 50vg/50pg which then allows me to add flavors as well as adjust the final ratios as needed. Good luck - you will love it (and do be very careful with high nic concentrates- absorbs through skin very quickly and a small drop on the floor stepped on by an animal or barefoot human can be a disaster).

 

[Liv2Ski]

I keep a 250ml bottle of 78pg/22vg at 12mg/ml premixed base for a few reasons:

1) I use 100mg/ml nic and this way I am donning the safety gear only to make the base.
2) I reduce the likelihood of a spill or accident when handeling the high nic fluid
3) I limit the amount of times I open the nic thus reducing the air that gets into the bottle and minimizing the amount of oxidation (ambering of color in you nic over time)
4) Except my goto flavors I mix many 3ml batches and it is much easier to draw off a base bottle than to mix nic, pg and vg for small batches

 

[DuncanDisordely]

I keep a 250ml bottle of 78pg/22vg at 12mg/ml premixed base for a few reasons:

1) I use 100mg/ml nic and this way I am donning the safety gear only to make the base.
2) I reduce the likelihood of a spill or accident when handeling the high nic fluid
3) I limit the amount of times I open the nic thus reducing the air that gets into the bottle and minimizing the amount of oxidation (ambering of color in you nic over time)
4) Except my goto flavors I mix many 3ml batches and it is much easier to draw off a base bottle than to mix nic, pg and vg for small batches

4 Excellent reasons, good rational there! I think that will be my new method, consider it pinched/borrowed x

 

[Liv2Ski]

4 Excellent reasons, good rational there! I think that will be my new method, consider it pinched/borrowed x

Pinch & borrow away. If it helps then it was worth typing. For the base bottle find a nice blue or brown bottle to limit the UV light exposure since 250mls lasts awhile (even when you are bangin 8 - 10 mls/day). Make sure to label the bottle too. If you have saved any empty colored nic bottles they will work too. Happy DIY and big clouds to you.

 

[DuncanDisordely]

On that note, what's your opinion on freezing juice?

 

[rshields]

Disclaimer: I have only been doing DIY for about a week.

First, Scubabatdan's calculator is an excellent resource. Not just in itself, but as you try to understand what is going on with all the calculations in his calculator you are actually learning DIY Jiuce 101.

Do you have any bought juices around that you don't like very much? My first DIY experiements were to simply try to add some flavorings to existing juices I didn't like. This really helped me gain some understanding of how flavors mix together. Take a small amount (maybe 1 ml or less) of some existing juice and add a few drops of flavoring you thing might improve it. Shake and try. See what happens. A very cheap way to learn about flavor combos and I actually ended up salvaging some juices that would probably have been given away otherwise.

IMO, it is not a bad idea to forget about the nic levels altogether and just make some very small (measured in mere drops) quantities of zero nic juices while you are learning and experimenting.

Then you might discover, as I have, that there is value in chaging the nic level based on the intended flavor. Higer nic values generate a harsher throat hit. Sometimes, this is exactly what you want. But I have created some very enjoyable but delicate flavors where the higher nic levels overpowered the flavor. So there is another possible argument for NOT prediluting large amounts.

I guess the bottom line is that there is a ton of subjectivity in what one finds to be a good juice, including nic levels. So why not hold off on prediluting those large amounts until you have more experince. Later, it might make perfect sense for you. But no need to jump right into that.

As a final note, I have noticed that the really heavy concentrations of nic (e.g. 100 mg/ml) are not necessarily the best value. Depending on what your target dilution is, you might find better value in 60 mg or even less (and improved safety, of course). But to be fair, the differences are not significant from what I have observed. But if you want to maximize your value, do not assume that higher concentrations are better values.

 

[Liv2Ski]

On that note, what's your opinion on freezing juice?

I do not freeze the stuff (anyway freezing point of pg is around -55F anyway). Some people like to keep it in the freezer to slow oxidation but I just keep mine in a dark cabinet. My issue with the freezer is that if you have others in the house (kids) there is a chance someone could grab that bottle or knock it to the floor and we all know how cold glass behaves.

 

[leannebug]

The only thing I keep pre-mixed is some of my nic. I purchase nic in 100mg, so I mix it down to 50. Both in pg base and vg base (I use the pg base for myself, but occasionally mix up vg base for a friend). Everything else I leave alone. Why? Because I alter it slightly depending on the recipe. I also prefer my own brand of vg. If you premix too much, then you will be locked into using it.


Sent from my pod

 

[DuncanDisordely]

I do not freeze the stuff (anyway freezing point of pg is around -55F anyway). Some people like to keep it in the freezer to slow oxidation but I just keep mine in a dark cabinet. My issue with the freezer is that if you have others in the house (kids) there is a chance someone could grab that bottle or knock it to the floor and we all know how cold glass behaves.

Thanks, I didnt know whether it was worth freezing, some peeps advocate the freezer but if it stays fresh in the dark then I'd much rather keep it locked away from the kids!

Love to all!