D.I.Y Juice and accessories from UK Suppliers

[xirokx]

Hi there,

I am a fairly new vaper, I would like to begin making my own juice and wondered if anyone could recommend a good competitive supplier who could provide me with all the essentials, preferably based in the U.K. if thats where you veterans purchase your D.I.Y juice making essentials from, otherwise I dont mind going further a field if neccessary..

Basically I need everything so:

- PG
- VG
- Nic
- Flavours
- Dropper bottles

I was looking at liberty flights and paradise vape but have been told they are not the most competitive or best suppliers for D.I.Y. juice making...

So I would really appreciate and be grateful if you could recommend your suppliers to me, whom are of course tried and tested

Thanks in advance...

 

[Rusty]

I use liberty flights but others that spring to mind are cloud9vaping and misteliquid. There are many out there to choose from so other people may have more varied experience than myself.

Russell

 

[xirokx]

thanks for your reply

how do you find the quality of liberty flight VG and PG?

I know their flavouring must be good as its sealed and its from Flavourart

 

[Rusty]

I only buy the chinese unflavoured eliquid and add flavourings, I buy my glycerin from Boots. I love the chinese VG unflavoured over the EU sourced one, which I believe is FArt stuff.

I have never had anything that I consider poor quality from LF in almost 2 years.

 

[xirokx]

sorry to be a pain but to clarify,

so you purchase the following items from these suppliers:

- VG - Boots
- PG - LF
- Flavouring - China

Where do you get your dropper bottles and syringes?

thanks for your help

 

[xirokx]

how do you calculate the yield from what you purchase?

 

[Rusty]

No xirokx,

I buy the Chinese unflavoured eliquid from LF along with the FArt flavourings and the 5ml bottles and I buy my VG from Boots. I do not understand what you mean by yield.

I tend to buy 24mg unflavoured eliquid in 30ml bottles. I 3/4 fill a 5ml bottle with eliquid, top up to almost full with VG then add a few drops of flavour. This gives me a flavoured eliquid of about 18mg/ml - which suits me.

Mixing takes a lot of practice and it took me a long time to realise that I do not like much flavour in my liquid, so I always shy on the low side of flavourings and add more as I vape some of the bottle until it suits. The tobacco FArts, I could not get on with as they were too strong for this method.

Cheers

 

[xirokx]

Thanks

what I mean by yield is for example lets say i bought:

50ml PG with 24% nic
50ml of VG
10ml of strawberry flavour

How many 10ml bottles would this make? how does one calculate it?

Is this the VG you buy from boots: Boots Glycerin B.P - 200ml - Boots

It says its a cough medicine lol

thanks for all your help appreciate it..

 

[Rusty]

Can I just correct the 24% eliquid figure first. 24mg/ml is 2.4%.

If you buy 50ml of 24mg eliquid and mix with 50ml of VG and 10ml of strawberry flavouring. That would give you 11 x 10ml bottles - however, the nicotine content will only be 11mg for each of the bottles.

A quick way of working it out is;

mg/ml x ml = total nicotine content

total nicotine content/total volume = each bottle's mg/ml strength.


Back to your example;

Total nicotine content = 24mg/ml x 50ml = 1200mg

Total volume = eliquid + VG + flavouring = 50ml + 50ml + 10ml = 110ml

strength of new 11, 10ml bottles = 1200/110 = 10.9mg/ml


A bigger example may be to buy 50ml of 52mg/ml liquid, 100ml of VG

total nicotine = 52mg/ml x 50ml = 2600mg total volume without flavours = 50ml eliquid + 100ml VG = 250ml

strength of 25, 10ml bottles of unflavoured = 2600/ 150 = 17.3mg/ml


I hope this helps a bit,,,,I'm confusing myself

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Nicotine - In the UK LF has some of the better deals at the moment (the bulk range). One problem with LF is sporadic stock on a lot of their range, particularly the bulk nicotine and flavourings.. MistELiquid is also not bad. I've also bought from China (Healthcabin, HeavensGifts, Eastmall). The absolute cheapest supply is from the US (vendors like Nicvape, although judging by recent activity on their thread in the suppliers sub forum, I'd be a bit wary about ordering from them for the time being).
Flavourings - Perfumers Apprentice range from LF or Ecigwizard. Flavourarts range from LF or Flavourart UK. Decadent Vapours is sold by Totally Wicked. Flavorwest range is sold by MistELiquid. Cloud9 has a nice range as well. Who knows what you will like best..

Syringes, dropper bottle, pipettes, are much of a muchness. Liberty Flights is fine.

VG and PG - get them from Boots. 200ml of glycerine is £1.69. 500ml of PG is around £8, which has to be ordered through the pharmacy, it's not a stock item.

 

[xirokx]

thanks guys, rusty I am totally baffled....I just wanted to find out how many bottles of 24mg nic juice I would get if I bought the above...

200ml of glycerine is £1.69

do you have a link for this? Is it the link I posted above? I noticed you mentioned I would have to order it via a boots pharmacy, do you have the exact name I need to ask for?

I am thinking of getting just VG from boots as the PG I purchase would include nicotine which I am not sure boots would sell...

Thanks for your help

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Yes it's the link you posted, and it is used for coughs and sore throats. Glycerine (VG) is available off the shelf from Boot's or any pharmacy. Make sure it is labelled "Glycerin B.P.". Just walk in an pick it up. PG (Propylene Glycol) is available without nicotine from pharmacies but will be a special order, and you would have to ask them to order it for you if you wanted it.

In answer to "how many bottles of 24mg nic juice you would get if you bought the above" the answer is none (unless you just vape the unflavoured base of course). If you start with a 24mg base, by the time you've added flavouring it will be lower strength. If you add 10% flavour and nothing else, it would be 21.6mg juice for example. If you are going for 24mg juice as the target strength, I would get at least 36mg and preferably 50mg base.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Just to expand, if we assume you bought 50mls of 50mg base, then it works.

You would be able to make slightly over 100mls of 24mg juice with what you listed (or 10 x 10ml bottles). If we assume 10% flavouring (may or may not be a good percentage depending on the flavour, but to keep it simple) then each 10ml bottle will contain:

4.8ml of 50mg/ml PG base
4.2ml of VG
1ml of flavouring

Is it getting any simpler? It takes a while to get your head around.

 

[xirokx]

thanks for your help yes it makes more sense, Im not a real math person when I am half asleep

I cant believe the boots VG is such a great price compared to E Cig suppliers, also cannot believe its used for cough medicines and sore throats, I will pickup a bottle tomorow. Do I need to dilute it further? or is it ready to mixed with PG and flavouring straight out of the bottle?

Re: the PG I will however get this through a E CIG supplier as I would like to have at least 60ml but will ensure it contains 50mg of nicotine as per your above post, it becomes diluted when mixed with flavouring and VG....thank you so much for that invaluable piece of data.

Currently my vaping heaven is 24mg juice, fruity flavour with a strong throat hit and lots of vapour. Is there a general rule people follow when mixing their own liquid in terms of what percentage of flavour to use if you like a good strong after taste of flavour? i.e. 25% or 30% or less?? Someone suggested I start off trying 60% PG and 40% VG mixes and then change accordingly, what do you suggest in terms of flavour and PG/VG mix to try and get close to my vaping heaven? they all must be 24mg per bottle in strength aswell

thanks for your help, really appreciate your guidance

 

[Papa Lazarou]

VG (straight) is very thick and gloopy. Luckily PG is much thinner, so if you are doing a 60% PG, 40% VG mix then I don't think it will need any additional thinning. If you ever do need to thin VG or a mix, distilled or de-ionised water is ideal or you can use a bit of vodka. Tap water is not recommended because of the minerals it contains.

Flavour percentage really depends on the flavour, and personal taste. For example Flavourart Lime is very very strong, and 5% is quite enough (to me). But 10% is probably a reasonable starting point with most fruit flavours, and if you like them really strong then you could well get to more like 25-30%. But they do vary. Really you're going to need to do some experimentation You can do this in very small amounts (say 10 or 20 drop mixes) to save waste if you make something that's unvapeable, before scaling it up to 10mls or more at a time.

VG/PG ratio is again personal preference, I prefer mostly PG with 10-20% VG, but many like a 50/50 blend. In general, PG carries flavours better and gives a better throat hit. VG tends to dull the throat hit and flavour but produces much more vapour.

 

[xirokx]

For example Flavourart Lime is very very strong, and 5% is quite enough (to me). But 10% is probably a reasonable starting point with most fruit flavours, and if you like them really strong then you could well get to more like 25-30%

thanks for that really useful info I had no incline a flavour could differ when you think about it does make sense...

You can do this in very small amounts (say 10 or 20 drop mixes) to save waste if you make something that's unvapeable, before scaling it up to 10mls or more at a time.

another great idea, man you are a godsend

If I wanted to experiment, would you say a 5ml test is adequate? or is that too much? that is the total amount produced to be 5ml...or would you rather go for a 3ml? does the taste differ if you produce 3ml or 30ml? I suppose not as the quantities increase so it balances out...what do you think?

Lets say I wanted to do an experiment so aimed to produce say 3ml of 60% PG and 40% VG to test - what percentage of flavouring would you use? 10%?? and if its weak add a few more drops?

thank you

 

[Papa Lazarou]

For the initial testing for flavour strength you could use as little as possible really. 3ml would be fine. If you are accurate then 3ml should taste the same as 30ml. Doesn't always work out that way (probably because of inaccuracy in the measuring) but in theory it should! Yeah I think 10% is a reasonable starting point for most fruit flavours. Just see how you go really. Remember it's easier to add more than to take it away. There's the issue that some flavours take time after mixing to develop (they can change and "mellow" following mixing) but you will no doubt learn all this as you go along.

 

[xirokx]

thank you for your continued help and advice

There's the issue that some flavours take time after mixing to develop (they can change and "mellow" following mixing) but you will no doubt learn all this as you go along

how long do you leave liquid to rest after mixing before you try it out?

also there are so many calculators out there, which one do you use?

I will start out with 10% flavouring and see how I get on thereafter..

thanks

 

[Rusty]

A good online calculator can be found here E-Liquid Calculator - An easy way to mix your own E-Liquid. The flavour changes slightly over time, as do your taste buds. It is ok to use straight away though

 

[xirokx]

thank you so much for all your help and advice

I have ordered all the essentials now, I chose to order the PG and flavours from FA in italy and got some bits from LF i.e. bottles, syringes etc

I picked up some Glycerin from boots today so that the VG covered..

Just waiting for everything to arrive now, am excited will no doubt come back for more help soon

thanks for your help and support