CHIT CHAT in VOLTVILLE

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dwsizme

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You folks getting into DIY, I use syringes for almost all of my measuring and pipettes when I need really small amounts. I have 20ml, 10ml, 5ml and, of course, 3ml syringes and 1/2ml pipettes. I use a 14ga blunt tip needle for nicotine, PG and premixed base, 18ga for measuring flavors and no needle for the VG because it's so darned thick even at room temperature. A trick is to put some Scotch tape over the graduations on all the syringes so that they don't wear off. All it takes is a quick rinse to switch liquids. I do all my mixing right in the bottles so there is no pouring needed, no funnels needed either. I mixed 200ml of base and an additional 75ml of flavors today using this method and it only took about a half hour.

The syringes confused me. I didn't know which size needles to get. Didn't understand the 18ga thing. Didn't know what size I needed. I bought too small of a funnel....the vg totally wouldn't go thru it...duh. Now I know.
I bought a plunger type...is it a syringe? at Walmart. It's for medicine in the baby dept. I had a little cup I got from some other previous medicine and I have a few glass droppers. I'm only mixing 15 ml at a time because I'm new at this. I figure I will do more and buy more when I learn more. I saw a video where the guy put the bottom plug on the syringe/plunger thing and took the plunger part out and poured/dropped in that way. It works ok and then I wash everything out after. I don't think I should have gotten my nic in vg because it is so darn thick, but after researching it for what stored best in the freezer they were saying vg was best. I think the next batch tho I will buy it in a pg base, or a 60/40 maybe. There's just too much info here and it gets confusing.
Anyway, I just mixed up 15 ml of 6 mg batches of Bubblegum (smells wonderful) and Apple and I put a little of the Sinnabun in the Apple mixture. So hopefully it will turn out good. I'm trying to KISS for now and once things turn out then do a few recipes. That's the plan anyway. :p
 

dwsizme

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I'm impressed too. You DIY folks rock !!

Heck, I just impressed myself, too! :laugh:


I have a plastic 10ml graduated cylinder that I use. I did pick up a 5ml medicine dropper last night from the grocery store. I'm curious to see if it helps any. If not, I've got my pipettes to use!

That's what I want. The graduated cylinders. (and a bigger funnel!) :)
 

Tail11

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Heck, I just impressed myself, too! :laugh:




That's what I want. The graduated cylinders. (and a bigger funnel!) :)

Well, if you want a bigger funnel, don't look at the link I posted awhile back. Those might be too small for you.

I never thought at 50 years old I'd be mixing e juice and using mods. I had issues in my high school chemistry class that I thought would have cured me from mixing things!!! :ohmy:
 

BWhare

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Here I go again....

Someone, somewhere on the forum stated that all he could ever taste was cabbage when he vaped. Had I been him, I'd have given up quite quick - no doubt. But.. he was stubborn (like me) and kept vaping until he found some kind of menthol stuff that at least gave him something he could actually taste. My own experience has had no reasonable taste at all. I can tell when things taste really bad but I have no idea of what actually tastes good.

I used to try and win contests but the only ones I could win were liquids - and I can't taste liquids in the manner in which they're intended - so I stopped entering contests that had liquids as a prize (I mean, there are all kinds of people who enjoy winning tasty liquids so they are the ones who should win - not me).

I queried a forum thread about my lack of functional taste and Rave was the one who posted that her taste buds still weren't functional even after a very long time. She gave me hope. I've found that mine are probably the same so I've given up in a way. A few days ago, I found that my DIY "felt" a little thick. Being a semi-bright person, I immediately started drowning my mixes with extra PG and VG just to see if what I was tasting was actual flavor. I'm still experimenting with it but there is what I would call a dawning of a perception of what may be a chance of something akin to a flavor there.

I live in the hope of.....

And maybe, if I can pull it all together, I'll tell you the story of the Russian Blue clone kitty that came to my door in the pouring rain one stormy night.....
 

awsum140

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If you got to Wizard Labs or any number of sites that sell flavors, they sell syringes in all sizes. They come with LuhrLok (SP) fittings for the needles. 14ga is quite large and easily pulls PG or mixed "base (PG/VG/nicotine), but VG is just too thick, even when at room temperature. That's why I take the needle off and just use the syringe to pull in the VG. It does help to have a bottle with a wide mouth, though. 18ga is smaller and works well for thinner liquids, like the flavors themselves. 20ga is kind of small and is generally used to fill CE3s but can also be used with flavors since they are, usually, almost like water in consistency.

Buying your nicotine premixed with a PG/VG base is much easier, you don't have to mix a base, just use it right out of the bottle. The disadvantage is that you can't change the PG/VG ratio as easily and the same is true of the nicotine level. In the beginning it may pay and make your life much easier.

Above all, have fun and enjoy what you mix!
 

BWhare

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Aug 13, 2012
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The syringes confused me. I didn't know which size needles to get. Didn't understand the 18ga thing. Didn't know what size I needed. I bought too small of a funnel....the vg totally wouldn't go thru it...duh. Now I know.
I bought a plunger type...is it a syringe? at Walmart. It's for medicine in the baby dept. I had a little cup I got from some other previous medicine and I have a few glass droppers. I'm only mixing 15 ml at a time because I'm new at this. I figure I will do more and buy more when I learn more. I saw a video where the guy put the bottom plug on the syringe/plunger thing and took the plunger part out and poured/dropped in that way. It works ok and then I wash everything out after. I don't think I should have gotten my nic in vg because it is so darn thick, but after researching it for what stored best in the freezer they were saying vg was best. I think the next batch tho I will buy it in a pg base, or a 60/40 maybe. There's just too much info here and it gets confusing.
Anyway, I just mixed up 15 ml of 6 mg batches of Bubblegum (smells wonderful) and Apple and I put a little of the Sinnabun in the Apple mixture. So hopefully it will turn out good. I'm trying to KISS for now and once things turn out then do a few recipes. That's the plan anyway. :p

If you're having trouble with VG being too thick, you can just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. When it warms up, it's much more "liquid" and is easier to pour or suck into a syringe. Justa thought.....
 

Tail11

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Dec 13, 2012
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The syringes confused me. I didn't know which size needles to get. Didn't understand the 18ga thing. Didn't know what size I needed. I bought too small of a funnel....the vg totally wouldn't go thru it...duh. Now I know.
I bought a plunger type...is it a syringe? at Walmart. It's for medicine in the baby dept. I had a little cup I got from some other previous medicine and I have a few glass droppers. I'm only mixing 15 ml at a time because I'm new at this. I figure I will do more and buy more when I learn more. I saw a video where the guy put the bottom plug on the syringe/plunger thing and took the plunger part out and poured/dropped in that way. It works ok and then I wash everything out after. I don't think I should have gotten my nic in vg because it is so darn thick, but after researching it for what stored best in the freezer they were saying vg was best. I think the next batch tho I will buy it in a pg base, or a 60/40 maybe. There's just too much info here and it gets confusing.
Anyway, I just mixed up 15 ml of 6 mg batches of Bubblegum (smells wonderful) and Apple and I put a little of the Sinnabun in the Apple mixture. So hopefully it will turn out good. I'm trying to KISS for now and once things turn out then do a few recipes. That's the plan anyway. :p

I always get a mixture of PG/VG for my nic. I watched a video on you tube. The guy always put his nic in first, then vg, then pg and his flavors. He always got the "hard stuff" out of the way first. I think we watched the same video ;)

On the needles, the higher the number, the smaller the needle is. I usually have no greater than 14 gauge on blunt tips.
 

dwsizme

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Aug 26, 2012
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Here I go again....

Someone, somewhere on the forum stated that all he could ever taste was cabbage when he vaped. Had I been him, I'd have given up quite quick - no doubt. But.. he was stubborn (like me) and kept vaping until he found some kind of menthol stuff that at least gave him something he could actually taste. My own experience has had no reasonable taste at all. I can tell when things taste really bad but I have no idea of what actually tastes good.

I used to try and win contests but the only ones I could win were liquids - and I can't taste liquids in the manner in which they're intended - so I stopped entering contests that had liquids as a prize (I mean, there are all kinds of people who enjoy winning tasty liquids so they are the ones who should win - not me).

I queried a forum thread about my lack of functional taste and Rave was the one who posted that her taste buds still weren't functional even after a very long time. She gave me hope. I've found that mine are probably the same so I've given up in a way. A few days ago, I found that my DIY "felt" a little thick. Being a semi-bright person, I immediately started drowning my mixes with extra PG and VG just to see if what I was tasting was actual flavor. I'm still experimenting with it but there is what I would call a dawning of a perception of what may be a chance of something akin to a flavor there.

I live in the hope of.....

And maybe, if I can pull it all together, I'll tell you the story of the Russian Blue clone kitty that came to my door in the pouring rain one stormy night.....

I heard that PG holds the flavor and VG mutes the flavor. Have you tried liquids with low VG? I started with the SI liquids, but when I tasted the Niquid I liked them better. SI is 90 pg I think, and Niquid is 60pg/40vg. Then I didn't like the SI high PG anymore. I guess I like the muted sweetness of the VG. But maybe you can kill tastebuds after awhile. Mine were all over the place for a long time. Loved menthol at first....now I can't stand it.

If you got to Wizard Labs or any number of sites that sell flavors, they sell syringes in all sizes. They come with LuhrLok (SP) fittings for the needles. 14ga is quite large and easily pulls PG or mixed "base (PG/VG/nicotine), but VG is just too thick, even when at room temperature. That's why I take the needle off and just use the syringe to pull in the VG. It does help to have a bottle with a wide mouth, though. 18ga is smaller and works well for thinner liquids, like the flavors themselves. 20ga is kind of small and is generally used to fill CE3s but can also be used with flavors since they are, usually, almost like water in consistency.

Buying your nicotine premixed with a PG/VG base is much easier, you don't have to mix a base, just use it right out of the bottle. The disadvantage is that you can't change the PG/VG ratio as easily and the same is true of the nicotine level. In the beginning it may pay and make your life much easier.

Above all, have fun and enjoy what you mix!

Oh so the smaller the gauge, the bigger the hole in the needle? Ok. Thanks. I'm going to copy your post and keep it in my notes. :)

If you're having trouble with VG being too thick, you can just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds. When it warms up, it's much more "liquid" and is easier to pour or suck into a syringe. Justa thought.....

The one video I watched about mixing he said to heat the liquid to blend it, then cool it off before you put the nic in, because you don't want to heat up the nic. So I don't know if I want to heat it up. Will that lower the potency of the nic?
 

dwsizme

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Aug 26, 2012
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Michigan
Well, if you want a bigger funnel, don't look at the link I posted awhile back. Those might be too small for you.

I never thought at 50 years old I'd be mixing e juice and using mods. I had issues in my high school chemistry class that I thought would have cured me from mixing things!!! :ohmy:

This is the funnel I got.....Funnel - 28 MM - MyFreedomSmokes.com
Who knew it was so teenie. Small as a Barbie hat! :laugh:
 

Tail11

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This is the funnel I got.....Funnel - 28 MM - MyFreedomSmokes.com
Who knew it was so teenie. Small as a Barbie hat! :laugh:

LOL! It is! Perhaps you'd be better served with a larger beaker? Then you can swirl everything around enough to get the VG broken down a bit and it would be easier to pour into your bottles with your barbie hat! ;)
 

Tail11

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Where is Debra? I took a picture of my battery holder. I think of her every time I reach for my X2! It's actually a toothbrush holder! ImageUploadedByTapatalk1360375160.727809.jpg
 

Raynes

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Apr 29, 2012
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Here I go again....

Someone, somewhere on the forum stated that all he could ever taste was cabbage when he vaped. Had I been him, I'd have given up quite quick - no doubt. But.. he was stubborn (like me) and kept vaping until he found some kind of menthol stuff that at least gave him something he could actually taste. My own experience has had no reasonable taste at all. I can tell when things taste really bad but I have no idea of what actually tastes good.

I used to try and win contests but the only ones I could win were liquids - and I can't taste liquids in the manner in which they're intended - so I stopped entering contests that had liquids as a prize (I mean, there are all kinds of people who enjoy winning tasty liquids so they are the ones who should win - not me).

I queried a forum thread about my lack of functional taste and Rave was the one who posted that her taste buds still weren't functional even after a very long time. She gave me hope. I've found that mine are probably the same so I've given up in a way. A few days ago, I found that my DIY "felt" a little thick. Being a semi-bright person, I immediately started drowning my mixes with extra PG and VG just to see if what I was tasting was actual flavor. I'm still experimenting with it but there is what I would call a dawning of a perception of what may be a chance of something akin to a flavor there.

I live in the hope of.....

And maybe, if I can pull it all together, I'll tell you the story of the Russian Blue clone kitty that came to my door in the pouring rain one stormy night.....
I can hardly wait to hear about the kitty.!!!
I'm hoping you get to where you can taste your vapes super soon.
 

Raynes

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Apr 29, 2012
1,447
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Alabama,USA
If you got to Wizard Labs or any number of sites that sell flavors, they sell syringes in all sizes. They come with LuhrLok (SP) fittings for the needles. 14ga is quite large and easily pulls PG or mixed "base (PG/VG/nicotine), but VG is just too thick, even when at room temperature. That's why I take the needle off and just use the syringe to pull in the VG. It does help to have a bottle with a wide mouth, though. 18ga is smaller and works well for thinner liquids, like the flavors themselves. 20ga is kind of small and is generally used to fill CE3s but can also be used with flavors since they are, usually, almost like water in consistency.

Buying your nicotine premixed with a PG/VG base is much easier, you don't have to mix a base, just use it right out of the bottle. The disadvantage is that you can't change the PG/VG ratio as easily and the same is true of the nicotine level. In the beginning it may pay and make your life much easier.

Above all, have fun and enjoy what you mix!

I didn't know you can get all that stuff premixed.So all you have to do then is add flavor?
 

BWhare

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The one video I watched about mixing he said to heat the liquid to blend it, then cool it off before you put the nic in, because you don't want to heat up the nic. So I don't know if I want to heat it up. Will that lower the potency of the nic?

All you need to do is heat it up a bit to make it more fluid. If you're adding VG to your mix, you'd just add the heated VG to the bottle. It really wouldn't be much more than body temperature by the time you added the nic. When I first started, I'd put everything in a bottle and then try to heat the bottle to body temp (I'd stick it in my armpit or sit on it for a bit) just so it would mix easier. Later on, I found that it was just as easy to warm the liquids up a bit to start and they'd start mixing. The nic just melds in on its own. You're not boiling it or anything that extreme so the nic isn't going to be harmed/degraded. The main reason I have to warm things up first is because everything is in my rather chilly basement (where I am now). It's great for storage (maybe I'll live longer) but not so good for actual mixing.
 

dwsizme

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Aug 26, 2012
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All you need to do is heat it up a bit to make it more fluid. If you're adding VG to your mix, you'd just add the heated VG to the bottle. It really wouldn't be much more than body temperature by the time you added the nic. When I first started, I'd put everything in a bottle and then try to heat the bottle to body temp (I'd stick it in my armpit or sit on it for a bit) just so it would mix easier. Later on, I found that it was just as easy to warm the liquids up a bit to start and they'd start mixing. The nic just melds in on its own. You're not boiling it or anything that extreme so the nic isn't going to be harmed/degraded. The main reason I have to warm things up first is because everything is in my rather chilly basement (where I am now). It's great for storage (maybe I'll live longer) but not so good for actual mixing.

Maybe I'll try that.....then I'll be able to get it thru the "barbie hat"! LOL
Thanks. :laugh:
 
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