assistance from the expierenced

[jfarris0202]

Good morning,
I am posting for advice. I'm a journeyman vapor that is looking for help with getting DIY juices. I have read the safety precautions with the different types of flavoring, but am a little nervous on the nicotine. My questions would be 1. What MG of nicotine to purchase? 2. What is the trusted sites? 3. What type of budget would I need to start from scratch? 4. How much juice does the ingredients yield, meaning If I got 125 ml or 250 ml of nicotine how long will it last, how much juice does the bottles of flavoring make? Not to concerned about vg and pg since it's rather inexpensive for larger quantities. Thank you in advance for the assistance.

Johnny

 

[FranC]

1. I don't buy anything over 60mg nic. Too dangerous.
2. I buy most of my flavors,etc from ECX. Some from TPA and Capellas.
3.You can just start with some nic,mixers and a few flavors. Nic is the biggest cost.
4. On average I mix with 10% flavoring. How much you use depends on how much you vape.

 

[dannyv45]

I agree with all of the above and to answer your question on cost or savings. Calculating the cost of all materal going into a mix as well as your mixing hardware the initial start up cost (bottles, syringes, initial pg/vg/nic/flavoring etc...) can be from $50.00 - $75.00 on the conservitive side to start up.

Now that I have all my supplies It cost me on average about $3.30 per 30 ml bottle to mix it myself. The cost savings over buying vender juice is substantial. Research is the key to success and I can help get you started there.

Read my blogs before getting started

E-Cigarette Forum - dannyv45 - Blogs

then read hoosier's blogs.

E-Cigarette Forum - Hoosier - Blogs

then read the stickies at the top of the page.

this will explain a lot of the how's and why's.

 

[Stosh]

This is a vendor I have used for quite a while, good quality.

Stock up on nicotine concentrate & flavorings.

RTS Vapes Labor Day Sales 2014 - 15% off sitewide

Coupon Code Labor2014

 

[dannyv45]

This is a vendor I have used for quite a while, good quality.

Stock up on nicotine concentrate & flavorings.

RTS Vapes Labor Day Sales 2014 - 15% off sitewide

Coupon Code Labor2014

Great sale going on there right now and if you email them and ask them to price match there 1 litter 100mg NIC to match the sale price of 49.95 that myfreedomsmokes is running they will do that by emailing you a coupon code for that price, Use that code along with the 15% code and you will have some significant savings there.

 

[Satiated]

I agree with all of the above and to answer your question on cost or savings. Calculating the cost of all materal going into a mix as well as your mixing hardware the initial start up cost (bottles, syringes, initial pg/vg/nic/flavoring etc...) can be from $50.00 - $75.00 on the conservitive side to start up.

Now that I have all my supplies It cost me on average about $3.30 per 30 ml bottle to mix it myself. The cost savings over buying vender juice is substantial. Research is the key to success and I can help get you started there.

Read my blogs before getting started

E-Cigarette Forum - dannyv45 - Blogs

then read hoosier's blogs.

E-Cigarette Forum - Hoosier - Blogs

then read the stickies at the top of the page.

this will explain a lot of the how's and why's.

I read both the blogs but as I poured my Nic out of the bottle into the funnel I ordered but it came out rather thick (it's vg nic) and spilled on to the table. I wasn't expecting it to come out so fast. I Had my safety gear on and cleaned the spill up. My question is : Can I leave it in the sun for awhile to get it to be thinner?
It was shipped to me without the PG so I need to break it down into little bottles to freeze without the PG. I was trying to get this done while my boys are gone so I have no distractions.

 

[Boletus]

I read both the blogs but as I poured my Nic out of the bottle into the funnel I ordered but it came out rather thick (it's vg nic) and spilled on to the table. I wasn't expecting it to come out so fast. I Had my safety gear on and cleaned the spill up. My question is : Can I leave it in the sun for awhile to get it to be thinner?
It was shipped to me without the PG so I need to break it down into little bottles to freeze without the PG. I was trying to get this done while my boys are gone so I have no distractions.

The general feeling on this forum is that temperatures up to 150 deg F do not harm nicotine or VG/PG in the short term (months), and many agree that a hot water bath at 150 is a great way to steep mixes. I don't know if that would affect longer term storage, but if you are freezing it, I suspect not. At any rate, you can set it in a tub of hot tap water, changing the water once or twice to get it near 120 deg F, and that should make it pour better.

[edit] BTW, direct sunlight is considered not good for nic.

 

[Satiated]

Thanks so much for the reply. I think this piece of information should be added to the Sticky note. Do most people use a funnel. The funnel needed to be a little wider but it was the only one I found that sid it fit into a 30 mil bottle.

 

[Soignee]

Bull City is a good site. You can pick up Vapers Tek Nic and Inawera flavors at the same time. They also have several other brands too. Wizard Labs is also a great vendor they have good Nic too. You can calculate your Nic by getting a juice calculator if you're really .... about an exact number.


Sent from the depths of a hot kitchen behind the line via Tapatalk

 

[Boletus]

Thanks so much for the reply. I think this piece of information should be added to the Sticky note. Do most people use a funnel. The funnel needed to be a little wider but it was the only one I found that sid it fit into a 30 mil bottle.

The only alternative to a funnel I know of is a big syringe (10 cc or more). If you go that route and you are using VG-heavy mixes, get the fattest needle (lowest gauge number, e.g. 14 gauge, or lower if you can find it), and warm up the source bottle first to make life easier. If you are filling 30 ml or smaller bottles, that is probably better than a funnel. For bigger bottles (100 ml and up), a funnel will be easier and faster. You could temporarily tape the funnel to the bottle, but don't use duct or electrical tape, because the glue could gunk up the bottle threads.

Whichever method you use, put everything in an empty sink or something that can catch spills, like a plastic tray or shallow tub.

 

[DetraMental]

I can understand wanting to stay safe with the 60mg of nig but if you're want to save you'd do better by wanting to go with the 100mg/ml that's what I started with. It goes a long way. As long as you practice safety you'll be safe with it. You're gonna have to with 60mg/ml anyway so why not go 100mg/ml and get the most bang for your buck?

 

[dannyv45]

If your going to use a syringe then poor it into a bowl first and then use the syringe with no needle to suck up what you need. You can also warm it in hot water until it thins. Myself I just use a syringe with no needle for small amounts of 10ml or less and use a measuring cylinder for larger amounts.

 

[Maurice Pudlo]

As for all the suggestions about nicotine concentration, may I suggest you start with 2 bottles in your first order, the first being 48-50mg/ml and your second being 100mg/ml.

By the time you work through the first bottle you will have developed safe working habits. At that point you can use the empty bottle to dilute your one remaining 100mg/ml nicotine into two 50mg/ml bottles by simply cutting it 50:50 with either VG or PG depending on your preference.

This will ensure you limit any potential risk of contact with 100mg/ml nicotine to just a few times a year. If you feel you are sufficiently dexterous to work with 100mg/ml sometime down the road more frequently that is a decision best made after you've gained some experience.

Welcome to the world of DIY by the way.

Maurice

 

[Crunktanium]

Starting out the savings is much less than once you have things needed like measuring glass. I can make 100ml (rarely do I make less and often more) of juice for under $5 but I buy bulk and that's using 30-120ml size flavorings. If I bought cheaper nic like those $50 deals going on (paid $60 for 500ml) and flavors in 16-32oz I could get it down to under $3/100ml. My biggest cost is actually the bottles which I also buy in bulk to get the best prices possible. To make bulk feasible though you need to have enough friends or family that also vape. Without buying bulk you can still save a good bit of money and often times get better juice. Hell if you made 100ml for less then $10 that's under $1 per 10ml bottle.

I usually make around 120-240ml of no nic juice at a time then add nic later as desired. This works great if I want to drip or tank it up or if a friend may want higher strength then I use. I started out making lots of nic juice that I got board with and I can't drop the nic. I could make a no nic bottle and combine to cut them both but I just toss the old in bags and make something else. It cost me so little to make I don't even worry about it. When the vapoxalypse hits I will be sitting with a lifetime supply and a pump action to guard it with my life.

 

[jfarris0202]

Okay thank you all, I have searched the sites, set aside a hundred dollars and ready for the plunge. Last question, what consumables (beaker, measuring, syringes etc..) do you recommend. I don't want to get the wrong stuff and waste more cash. Thanks again.

 

[Boletus]

Okay thank you all, I have searched the sites, set aside a hundred dollars and ready for the plunge. Last question, what consumables (beaker, measuring, syringes etc..) do you recommend. I don't want to get the wrong stuff and waste more cash. Thanks again.

If you really want to save money up front, you don't need more than one 1 ml syringe for flavorings, one 10 ml syringe for everything else, and some empty bottles from pre-made juice. Get a smaller needle for the small syringe and the fattest one you can get for the big syringe (see my response above for details). Total budget, about $3-5 plus shipping. If you want to start out with small batches (up to 50 ml), that will be enough. For bigger batches, then things like beakers, graduated cylinders, and larger bottles are useful.

Safety equipment to include disposable gloves and safety glasses/goggles are recommended if working with high strength nic base. If you will not do your mixing in an empty sink, a tray or shallow tub to work in will be good in case of spills.

 

[Crunktanium]

I use Pipettes they cost me next to nothing in bulk from Amazon and far outlast syringes. I just find that certain flavors that crack certain plastics destroy the rubber on syringes anyway so I prefer pipettes. Gloves and a pipette or two most companies will include with each order to get started. You only really need a glove on the hand you handle nic so no need to buy a bunch right away.

Any glasses will do (dollar store) to protect your eyes (cut 100mg nic down 50% when you get it and you eliminate most of the danger) if you really feel a need to use them. Shot glass from Amazon is about $5 and goes to 120ml which should be plenty. I recommend Arrow brand for greatest accuracy based on trials and reviews by others. Grab two just in case it can't hurt to have another shot glass in the house. You can even use a ruler to make even markings on a 10ml bottle to get 1ml increments if you really want to start cheap. Of course it wont be dead accurate but neither is any cheap glassware or syringe.

And finally I highly recommend this dirt cheap mini mixer to really incorporate everything well and cut down on steep times. I used to use a drill with a paint can opener attached and rubber bands but a mixer is safer. Other people use Ultrasonic Cleaners to speed steep but it's serious overkill starting out.