Considering DIY: Are "starter kits" a good buy?

[bwh79]

Like these ones (2) (3) from nudenicotine.com. Or, failing that, what setup would you recommend for a first-time DIY-er?

 

[Boletus]

If you want to spend as little as possible, the kits are not that great. My starter kit was one 3 ml syringe with a blunt tip, some left over bottles from pre-made juice, nicotine base, VG, distilled water from a grocery store, and a couple of flavorings. In retrospect, a 10 ml and a 1 ml would have been better than the 3 ml syringe, but I got by with it OK for my first few mixes. Cheap plastic goggles and disposable gloves can be gotten at any hardware store. Don't forget to have some paper towels handy.

 

[CampbellMC]

Well it is a good starting point, although not a huge selection of flavors, it seems like they are mostly "predone" flavorings, not so much mix your own. There are many sites though in the states where you can probably get better prices, and MUCH more selection. Do a list up of exactly what you need and compare between another supplier.

 

[bwh79]

Here's a list of what's in the basic kits, and my thoughts (and questions) on their necessity:

Nic base, PG and/or VG: Required, obviously. I'll need to get these whether in a kit or individually.

Flavorings: Required (unless I want to make unflavored juice, which I don't).

Sweeteners: No idea. Do most people add sweetener to their juice, or is the sweetness from the VG enough? Do the flavorings themselves have any sweetness to them, or is it akin to buying unsweetened baker's chocolate?

Mixing Vials: I suppose I can just mix directly in the bottles?

Dropper Bottles: Like you, I've got a few of those leftover from pre-made juice, and will have plenty more become available as I use up my current supply.

Syringes: The kits all come with multiples of each size. Do I really need more than one of each?

Needles: Again, the kits come with multiples. Do you switch out needle tips between ingredients, or is a quick wipe with a paper towel enough to keep cross-contamination to an acceptable minimum?

Transfer Pipettes: Some of the kits have these, but the cheapest one does not so I presume they're not an absolute necessity. Why are they even there, when the kits that have them already have more syringes and needle tips than the one that doesn't? Do they do something a syringe doesn't, or make something easier to do than with a syringe?

Vial Rack: Well if I don't use the vials, then I won't need a rack to hold them in either, now will I.

Nicotine Test Kit: I know how to math, so presuming I measure carefully I shouldn't need such a thing?

Gloves and Glasses: Natch.

Thoughts?

 

[HMav]

Nude's starter kits really aren't a "deal", but I was happy with mine (especially with the black Friday discount) and it was pretty nice to know I had everything to mix juice all in one shot.

I feel like I got what I paid for, and it is an easy intro into DIY. Their flavors so far haven't been bad at all (better than 80% of the pre-made I've tried, and WAY better than all the "house mixed"). It's also really hard to screw up and wind up with something that is unvapeable, kinda like making kool-aid or boxed cake.

I think it's definitely worth it if you aren't yet sure how deep into DIY you are willing to go but you want to be able to experiment a little and see some of the cost savings of DIY.

 

[CampbellMC]

Most syringes you get say "Single use" the numbers will wear off quickly (use clear nail polish to make them last longer). When you are getting ready to make a juice that has multiple flavors you will want a syringe for each flavor + base you are using, it is much easier washing them all at the end rather than washing between each step, and the more you leave your work area, the more chance for errors. A quick "wipe" of equipment won't clean them off properly, and you really don't want cross contamination, these flavors are quite strong and even a little bit of cross contamination (especially in the sizes they offer) will throw off your flavors for each additional mix. As far as sweeteners, yes you will want some, many things are not "sweet" enough on their own and very low percents of sweeteners can be found in most mixes. However I have heard that sucralose is a coil clogger. Droppers are very handy to have, I only ordered 4 in my first round and I am kicking myself for it. When you get into mixing different flavorings and doing 100 drop tests they are very handy, can make up a test batch in about 2 minutes, and then run to the sink and quickly rinse it all off at the end.

If you are on the fence about DIY, or just want to get a feel for it before you jump right in, these kits may serve you well. For actual DIY juice from scratch it is lacking in supplies though in my opinion.

 

[Boletus]

Here's a list of what's in the basic kits, and my thoughts (and questions) on their necessity:

Nic base, PG and/or VG: Required, obviously. I'll need to get these whether in a kit or individually.

Flavorings: Required (unless I want to make unflavored juice, which I don't).

Sweeteners: No idea. Do most people add sweetener to their juice, or is the sweetness from the VG enough? Do the flavorings themselves have any sweetness to them, or is it akin to buying unsweetened baker's chocolate?

Mixing Vials: I suppose I can just mix directly in the bottles?

Dropper Bottles: Like you, I've got a few of those leftover from pre-made juice, and will have plenty more become available as I use up my current supply.

Syringes: The kits all come with multiples of each size. Do I really need more than one of each?

Needles: Again, the kits come with multiples. Do you switch out needle tips between ingredients, or is a quick wipe with a paper towel enough to keep cross-contamination to an acceptable minimum?

Transfer Pipettes: Some of the kits have these, but the cheapest one does not so I presume they're not an absolute necessity. Why are they even there, when the kits that have them already have more syringes and needle tips than the one that doesn't? Do they do something a syringe doesn't, or make something easier to do than with a syringe?

Vial Rack: Well if I don't use the vials, then I won't need a rack to hold them in either, now will I.

Nicotine Test Kit: I know how to math, so presuming I measure carefully I shouldn't need such a thing?

Gloves and Glasses: Natch.

Thoughts?

My thoughts, but do note this is just my perspective:
Sweeteners: not needed right away. A lot of flavorings are already sweetened. But when you go into making custom mixes, then sweeteners can be useful.
Mixing vials: If using a syringe, you can just add everything to the destination bottle as you measure.
Syringes and needles: I don't use multiples, I just rinse with DW between flavors, but some mixers are more particular about possible cross contamination.
Pipettes: Meh, syringes work fine.
Nicotine test kit: Actually most useful for verifying the stuff you buy is what it says it is.

But you know the basic starter kit is not that expensive, so if you just want to get your feet wet to see if it is something you will continue to do, it's not a bad way to go. But if you are determined and want to make every cent pay off in finished product, go with what I posted earlier. Another note about the "Basic" kit; it ships with 36 mg/ml nicotine base, so if you are looking to make high-nic juice (30 mg/ml or above), that may not be a good choice.

ETA: I will shamelessly plug one of my blog posts with some tips and links to additional reading, including Danny's and Hoosier's blogs.:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/boletus/6859-general-tips-new-e-juice-diy-ers.html

 

[sparkky1]

I would look at these two and see if you could put together more things as in flavors.

E-Liquid - One Stop DIY Shop Store
Bull City Vapor - Best Prices on DIY e-liquid Supplies

 

[sketchness]

The $30 kit isn't a horrible deal. But the $100 kit is pretty terrible. So if you must have one get the $30 kit.

Lot and Lots and Lots of recommendations. From Boletus and his frugal ways to some dork like me with too much stuff and 100 flavors. But mostly I measure in to 30, 60, or 120 ml bottles. Personally if I had it to do over again I would have bought a scale and a couple beakers and gone that route. A starter scale is like $8

 

[Boletus]

Flavorings: Required (unless I want to make unflavored juice, which I don't).

Do mix up a small batch of unflavored and try it before you start using your flavorings. You will want to know what you are building on when you start adding flavors. Also, it's rare, but sub-par nic, PG, and/or VG can happen, even with good vendors. Much better to know if that is the case before you put in the time, effort, and money into making mixes.

 

[Boletus]

...Personally if I had it to do over again I would have bought a scale and a couple beakers and gone that route. A starter scale is like $8

Bwh, that is worth serious consideration. There are significant advantages, although it is a less common approach at this time, so it might be worth some time to read the "Mixing by weight" threads.