About to start my first diy liquid

[AshMan]

Got a diy kit coming and about 19 flavors and will be attempting my first diy soon. Got some recipes on e liquid recipes website set as favorites and looking forward to the fun of experimenting and diy.

Plan on starting making some Pre set recipes and as I go along I'll probably try my hand at making a from scratch recipe. Looking forward to gaining some wisdom in here about it.

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[excalibur-x]

There are countless advice topics here and all over internet. I know it can be overwhelming.

Couple of months ago I was in same position. I made a plan but I needed someone to confirm my plan is OK.

Is my DIY plan feasible ?

Now I have some juices I make in big batches and I use them daily. When I try something I find a similar recipes that have good reviews and adjust it to what I want.

My advice: use low % for flavoring. If there is not enough taste you can still vape it or add little bit more. If you use too much flavoring, juice will taste harsh and unpleasant. Sometimes too much flavor will hide the flavoring or it will taste completely different like burned rubber.

P.S. You will need a scale and juice calculator.

Link for calculator: Juice Calculator
Support pages for this calculator are on this forum.

The scale I use is SF-400C
I would not use it for selling gold, but for mixing it's great. Cheap and you can use 12V AC-DC adapter instead of battery.

 

[DaveP]

I like mixing by weight and it's my primary method, but there are times when a syringe is just quick and easy.

Buy some large syringes and pipettes in the 10ml and larger size with 14 gauge blunt tip needles. Even though you mix by weight you'll need a good way to transfer liquids. Pouring with a funnel works, but it can get messy with thick liquids.

When you do your flavor mix recipes, also make some unflavored nic base in the nic percentage you vape. It's good to vape by itself and as a base for testing new flavors. I usually do two 100ml bottles or more during a mix session along with my 50ml flavor mixes. They come in handy for vaping plain unflavored when you get "Vaper's Tongue" and nothing tastes right.

I test new flavors in 10ml LDPE needle bottles with unflavored mix and the flavors. It's quick and easy to draw up 10ml (minus the flavor amount) and squirt it into the small bottle, then add the flavor and shake.

 

[Iv3shf]

To have a look on the other side, I primarily use volume, and use weight for bigger batches.
I bought 1ml, 2.5ml, 5 ml and 10 ml syringes.
I have the small syringes beacuse I like trying new recipes so I do it in 10ml bottles.
It takes time to clean syringes every time, but even longer is to wait for each drop to come down and look at the scale.
For bigger batches I go by scale and transfer with syringes as DaveP, as calculator I use ejuice me up, it takes into account weight and volumes and has lots of recipes, still the best IMHO.
Now you have both sides of the same coin..

 

[AshMan]

Nice. Great info. Yeah I have a scale already coming in the mail.... been researching but I like the additional info in here as well. Thanks!

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[Capt.shay]

Nice. Great info. Yeah I have a scale already coming in the mail.... been researching but I like the additional info in here as well. Thanks!

If you have been researching it then you have probably seen the sticky at the top of this page Mixing By Weight: Basics 101 . If you have any measuring questions, feel free to ask there.

Welcome to the DIY and happy mixing

 

[AshMan]

If you have been researching it then you have probably seen the sticky at the top of this page Mixing By Weight: Basics 101 . If you have any measuring questions, feel free to ask there.

Welcome to the DIY and happy mixing View attachment 661061

Thanks. Kind of excited about seeing what happens when I mix. Should be a lot of fun making up juice. And I like a challenge too. But basics of it seem fairly simple.

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[numsquat]

When you do your flavor mix recipes, also make some unflavored nic base in the nic percentage you vape. It's good to vape by itself and as a base for testing new flavors. I usually do two 100ml bottles or more during a mix session along with my 50ml flavor mixes. They come in handy for vaping plain unflavored when you get "Vaper's Tongue" and nothing tastes right.

I test new flavors in 10ml LDPE needle bottles with unflavored mix and the flavors. It's quick and easy to draw up 10ml (minus the flavor amount) and squirt it into the small bottle, then add the flavor and shake.

I now do the same except I don't even use nic, just make a 100ml bottle of 70vg/30pg. Since I make 3mg and 1mg batches and my nic seems pretty clean, I really can't pic up any nic flavor at those levels.

I will vape the plain at times also for vapor tongue but mainly use it to make 5ml syringe batches with single flavors (tank is 5ml, so basically a tank full) to experience each flavor. Once I started doing this when I get new flavors or mixing two flavors (like two different strawberries for example) it has helped me a lot with recipe adjustments, just getting to better understand the flavors.

 

[AshMan]

I now do the same except I don't even use nic, just make a 100ml bottle of 70vg/30pg. Since I make 3mg and 1mg batches and my nic seems pretty clean, I really can't pic up any nic flavor at those levels.

I will vape the plain at times also for vapor tongue but mainly use it to make 5ml syringe batches with single flavors (tank is 5ml, so basically a tank full) to experience each flavor. Once I started doing this when I get new flavors or mixing two flavors (like two different strawberries for example) it has helped me a lot with recipe adjustments, just getting to better understand the flavors.

That's really good info on small batches to test the flavors. I like that.

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[DaveP]

That's really good info on small batches to test the flavors. I like that.

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I use 60ml glass Boston Rounds to mix my 50ml flavors. That gives me 10ml air space left unused for shaking room. It's almost impossible to shake and generate tiny bubbles when a bottle has almost no air space at the top. The clear bottles let you judge steeping progress as the liquid turns from clear or almost clear to its final steeped color.

For test flavors I just use 15ml LDPE bottles with needle tops and put 10ml in them. That leaves shake room and the needle top works with any tank I've used. 10ml is enough to fill almost any tank twice. It's enough for a good evaluation of flavor.

If I like the 10ml test batch I do 50ml after that. If not, then I haven't lost much.

 

[zoiDman]

Got a diy kit coming and about 19 flavors and will be attempting my first diy soon. Got some recipes on e liquid recipes website set as favorites and looking forward to the fun of experimenting and diy.

Plan on starting making some Pre set recipes and as I go along I'll probably try my hand at making a from scratch recipe. Looking forward to gaining some wisdom in here about it.

About the Best Advise I can give you, or Anyone else who is New to DIY, is to Keep Detailed and Accurate Records about EVERYING you Mix. And Don't ever "Tweak" a Recipe without writing what you did Down.

That, and tasting a Freshly Mixed recipe is Encouraged. But I Wouldn't make any Changes or Add Anything to a New Mix until it has sat in a Cool Dark Place for at Least 3 Days.

Some mixes Don't all that great when you 1st Mix them. Or don't taste like what you are Looking for. But after 2 or 3 Days of Sitting, they Taste Much Better/Different.

 

[numsquat]

I use 60ml glass Boston Rounds to mix my 50ml flavors. That gives me 10ml air space left unused for shaking room. It's almost impossible to shake and generate tiny bubbles when a bottle has almost no air space at the top. The clear bottles let you judge steeping progress as the liquid turns from clear or almost clear to its final steeped color.

For test flavors I just use 15ml LDPE bottles with needle tops and put 10ml in them. That leaves shake room and the needle top works with any tank I've used.

I do 55ml in a 60 for shake room, 50ml if just reusing the bottle of same juice since there's always a little left in the bottle.

I use the same 10ml needle bottles for new recipes/changes in recipe, once I feel I'm good them go to 60ml bottles or bigger if the flavors in the recipes don't fade (like lemon flavors, which I usually mix in 30ml because they have faded in 60ml before).

The 5ml syringe works for me for quick flavor test. One tank usually give me a pretty good idea on how the flavor works.

 

[AshMan]

About the Best Advise I can give you, or Anyone else who is New to DIY, is to Keep Detailed and Accurate Records about EVERYING you Mix. And Don't ever "Tweak" a Recipe without writing what you did Down.

That, and tasting a Freshly Mixed recipe is Encouraged. But I Wouldn't make any Changes or Add Anything to a New Mix until it has sat in a Cool Dark Place for at Least 3 Days.

Some mixes Don't all that great when you 1st Mix them. Or don't taste like what you are Looking for. But after 2 or 3 Days of Sitting, they Taste Much Better/Different.

I've read about steeping and it makes sense to allow the flavors time to bond to each other.

Shake and vape is an option for some I'm ok with the process of steeping. And yes a good log is for Sure needed.

Any examples of a log as a template?

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[zoiDman]

I've read about steeping and it makes sense to allow the flavors time to bond to each other.

Shake and vape is an option for some I'm ok with the process of steeping. And yes a good log is for Sure needed.

Any examples of a log as a template?

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When I started doing DIY, I used 3-x-5 Cards and an Old Recipe Box. Worked Great. But found an a Medium Sized spiral notebook was easier.

I would Log the...

Date of the Original Mix.
Target mg/ml.
Target PG/VG Ratio
Complete Recipe in Percentages. And in ml's (or Drops) for the particular Mix.
OEM Names of the Flavorings
Special Notes like... Added 10 Drops of Water on 2nd Mix. Left Cap Off while Steeping. etc.
Listed any "Tweaks" like... Added 2 more Drops of Pineapple__Date. Added 1ml of PG to improve Wicking/TH___Date.
Possible Improvements: Add less Vanilla next time. Use More Sweetener. Needs longer Steep Time. etc.

Stuff like that.

 

[zoiDman]

I've read about steeping and it makes sense to allow the flavors time to bond to each other.

Shake and vape is an option for some I'm ok with the process of steeping. And yes a good log is for Sure needed.

Any examples of a log as a template?

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BTW - Putting a piece of Blue Painter's Tape on your Bottles and then writing the Mix Name (or some Mix Code) with Sharpie Marker is a nice way to keep everything Organized when you Mix more than 1 Recipe at a time.

Once you have some "Keeper" Recipes, a P-Touch labeler makes Very Nice labels.

 

[numsquat]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0r2ah7u0nd5pwu9/Screenshot 2017-05-30 17.21.52.png?dl=0

Here's a screenshot of a recipe I'm working on.

 

[numsquat]

BTW - Putting a piece of Blue Painter's Tape on your Bottles and then writing the Mix Name (or some Mix Code) with Sharpie Marker is a nice way to keep everything Organized when you Mix more than 1 Recipe at a time.

Once you have some "Keeper" Recipes, a P-Touch labeler makes Very Nice labels.

I use scotch tape, then write on with a sharpie, then another piece of scotch tape on top. Fold one small end of the tape over for easy removal. For permanent labels just print on paper then scotch tape.

I think I like scotch tape.

 

[zoiDman]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0r2ah7u0nd5pwu9/Screenshot 2017-05-30 17.21.52.png?dl=0

Here's a screenshot of a recipe I'm working on.

I like your Notes in the versions.

 

[numsquat]

I like your Notes in the versions.

I try to write what I taste plus I will usually do several taste test over various time periods. That particular recipe has been hit and miss. My wife still gets vanilla milkshake, a friend of mine gets chocolate milkshake, I get mocha and vanilla and a little chocolate. Will be revisiting it later this week to see how the flavors are doing. Hoping I have one more adjustment before I'm really happy (btw that recipe is really good at this point).

One thing I don't do a good job at is having the original recipe and changes in the notes. I will write down what I want to change next version but don't have the previous recipe versions typed in the notes. It works for me though. On that recipe if you take out the chocolate and mocha (as it is now) you should get a real good vanilla milkshake, it is where I actually started before the chocolate and mocha.

 

[zoiDman]

I try to write what I taste plus I will usually do several taste test over various time periods. That particular recipe has been hit and miss. My wife still gets vanilla milkshake, a friend of mine gets chocolate milkshake, I get mocha and vanilla and a little chocolate. Will be revisiting it later this week to see how the flavors are doing. Hoping I have one more adjustment before I'm really happy (btw that recipe is really good at this point).

One thing I don't do a good job at is having the original recipe and changes in the notes. I will write down what I want to change next version but don't have the previous recipe versions typed in the notes. It works for me though. On that recipe if you take out the chocolate and mocha (as it is now) you should get a real good vanilla milkshake, it is where I actually started before the chocolate and mocha.

The thing that is Cool about those Notes is you have a running Perspective of how the Recipe is Evolving. Something that is Very Important if you move away from it Now, but come back to it sometime Down the Road.

It's just Hard to do all that from pure Memory.