DIY liquid for broke people - question on cutting

[Automaton]

Hey everyone! I'm thinking about making my own e-liquid and it seems the most cost effective way to do this is to buy high concentrations, and cut it down.

My question is, is it ok to cut entirely with water? Will that take the "punch" out of it?

I was thinking of getting either 60mg or 100mg nicotine, depending on whether cutting entirely with water is a viable thing to do.

 

[jwquantrell]

Hi there,

Yup, I would say you need to read a wee bit more before you engage in the wonderful world of DIY.

Start HERE since Purevapor did an awesome job of putting it into a thread
for everyone.

Just my two cents

Regards
Jim

 

[dee5]

Definately read the guide. You can't cut with water, your atomizer doesn't get hot enough to vaporize it and you'll just ruin it.

 

[Automaton]

I've done some more hunting, and there is a LOT of info out there. Let me know if I have this more or less correct.

So, the more water in a liquid the less effective the delivery of vapor due to the temperature required.

So, for PG-based nic juice, I would probably want to avoid water all together, and for VG only-based nic juice, no higher than 20%?

 

[Automaton]

Done a bit more hunting, and fiddling with this nifty e-juice calculator. I was thinking I'd get 60mg-strength nic juice that's VG-based, and then cut it with PG and 5-10% water down to 20mg or so.

That seems to be the most economical way to go about it, and I hear VG makes great vapor.

 

[KonaNeil]

You'll need flavoring too. Otherwise it'll be like sucking heavy air. If you don't make it satisfying enough, you'll be back on cancer sticks:-(

Also, start with very small batches and expect to screw up some of the early ones.

 

[KonaNeil]

Just looked up your profile. You're 21?? Gawd! I bet I've got ciggys lost in my couch that are older than you;-) Can't you just quit?

 

[trailless]

Just looked up your profile. You're 21?? Gawd! I bet I've got ciggys lost in my couch that are older than you;-) Can't you just quit?

This is my opinion on quitting, I'm only 18. It's not that hard to just go cold turkey at an early age. The difficult part is that we, young smokers, haven't had to deal with the negative effects of inhaling tar. That can range from something as simple as being short of breath or even cancer. I know the risks I take by taking another puff but I don't understand how devestating it could be.

That's when stress plays a big part. Say you're working 3rd shift, 11-7, have to go to school at 9 and gets out at 12:15. On top of that you have an online class in a different language... Stress builds up and a cig is the simplest, LEGAL, way to relieve that stress.

I know the risks of smoking so I'm trying to avoid it by vaping.

my worth, since I put in a little thought

 

[Automaton]

Yup, I accounted for 10% flavor in there as well. Though I'm looking at FlavorArt, and from what I've read I might not need that much, heh. Pinchin' those pennies, man.

Just looked up your profile. You're 21?? Gawd! I bet I've got ciggys lost in my couch that are older than you;-) Can't you just quit?

Nope. I've tried. I have a monstrously addictive personality, several generations in the making. I can get addicted to quite literally anything. The moment I put a ciggie in my mouth, it was all over. If I'm not careful, I will quickly get up to 2-3 packs a day. I keep it around 30 cigs a day at the moment.

When I have tried to quit, I have:
1. Wound up rolling loose tea and smokin' that.
2. Had to call in to work due to out-of-control rage.
3. Smoking despite wearing the highest dose nicotine patch. Yeah. Just begging for a stroke.

I'm concerned that if I try cold turkey, I will actually go insane. Patches/gum didn't work. I'm willing to bet nasal sprays and cig alarm clocks won't be much better.

So e-cigs it is.

trailless - Heh, speak for yourself. I WISH I weren't having any side-effects of smoking. But I am.

I already have a smoker's cough. I've had chronic tonsilitis since about 6 months after I started. I've gotten pneumonia. Keep in mind, I had no history of any respiratory or throat issues before this. My gums are also going bad, very quickly. I have to brush, floss, and rinse 3 times a day just to slow it down.

This is probably due to the insane amount of smoking I do. For the first year I was basically chain smoking.

 

[trailless]

haha, I guess I got lucky and stopped early.

BTW, this DIY liquid seems like the way to go, I still have a lot to learn...(sigh)

 

[Automaton]

haha, I guess I got lucky and stopped early.

BTW, this DIY liquid seems like the way to go, I still have a lot to learn...(sigh)

Yup. It's really all down hill. I did not expect to feel like this in my early twenties. It's really scary to think of how I might feel in 10 years when I feel this bad already.


Yeah, seems like it should be quite cheap. Like the e-cigs themselves, it requires a bit of an initial lay-out, but after that, it's very cheap.

I figure 60ml of 60mg PG nic juice, 120lm of VG and 15-30 ml of flavoring will keep me going for months. Total start-up cost is about $50, but that's what I spend on smoking in a month (I smoke rollies with super cheap semi-legal tobacco).

 

[wolflrv]

I DIY my own juice..and have found that I don't have to cut my VG at all. I use PG-based nic juice..and 20-30% VG in my recipes..I just add enough straight PG to reach my desired nic level, while never adding more VG than 20-30%. It's fine that way.

Early on I tried both PGA and distilled water to cut the VG, but always came up with undesired results. The distilled water will definitely affect your atty.

 

[MaxUT]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-15-off-unflavored-smoke-juice-got-smoke.html

BlueMist Vaping Supplies

DIY Flavors - One Stop DIY Shop Store

 

[Orion]

Some young people has been smoking for years! My sister at the young age of 21 had been smoking for 9 years. I started at the age of 18...or was it 19? I was foolish when my brother got me to try one, and I was foolish when on my lunch break the next day I bought my own pack. And I was foolish 6 months later when I figured I could quit whenever I wanted. And I was in denial of the fact that I couldn't quit cold turkey at that point.

Now back on topic.....

The person who pointed out to mix small batches, listen to them and try mixing your flavor without the nicotine until you figure out how much flavor you like and which ones you like. The advice comes from many people including myself who has thrown out too much nicotine to recollect.

FlavorArt is a recommended brand and has many fans, as does LorAnns, Fairies Finest, Perfumers Apprentice & Capella's

In addition to the nic juice source that MaxUT suggested, they're is also xtremevaping.com

If you go small and only invest in the bare basics you can most likely break even in a short time. Be warned, If you like to play around with flavors and try a lot of stuff, you could be investing $$$$ in things. There was just a thread mentioning this, lol.

Read everything, post any questions here, be safe and good luck!

 

[sjohnson]

My base mix is 50% PG, 30% glycerine and 20% water/vodka/PGA (depending on the added flavor) and I have no problems with atomizers, heat or vapor. I'm not sure what the other posters refer to when stating that water is not good for vapor production or atomizers.

 

[Orion]

My base mix is 50% PG, 30% glycerine and 20% water/vodka/PGA (depending on the added flavor) and I have no problems with atomizers, heat or vapor. I'm not sure what the other posters refer to when stating that water is not good for vapor production or atomizers.

I think it's because her original post refers to cutting/doubling the nicotine juice entirely with water, which wouldn't be a good idea to have 50%+ water in the mix. she's planing on cutting 60mg to 20mg. In that case it's good advice to not use just water.

Now, I've used distilled water to cut my VG with no probs, as do others. So that isn't a prob.

 

[Switched]

My base mix is 50% PG, 30% glycerine and 20% water/vodka/PGA (depending on the added flavor) and I have no problems with atomizers, heat or vapor. I'm not sure what the other posters refer to when stating that water is not good for vapor production or atomizers.

I think it's because her original post refers to cutting/doubling the nicotine juice entirely with water, which wouldn't be a good idea to have 50%+ water in the mix. she's planing on cutting 60mg to 20mg. In that case it's good advice to not use just water.

Now, I've used distilled water to cut my VG with no probs, as do others. So that isn't a prob.

... as stated, she was jumping in with both feet, without informing herself first. Now that she has read, she's a little better informed of what is involved. The OP was about saving as much whilst cutting high nic liquids.

 

[Nikhil]

To answer your question explicitly, water is used not for cutting but to thin liquid so atomizers can handle it better if you are using VG. It reduces the density/viscosity and lowers the vaporization temperature which helps if you're using a lower voltage battery (e.g. most standard models). However, plain VG and PG are very cheap, especially if you buy them in larger quantities.

I'm just 23 but I'm just glad e-cigs are here now, instead of 20 years down the road. Just hoping they'll still be around then. As long as you're enthusiastic about DIY you should do well.

 

[zoiDman]

... You can't cut with water, your atomizer doesn't get hot enough to vaporize it and you'll just ruin it.

I'm a little confused.

Wikipedia says that Glycerol (aka Glycerin) has a boiling point of 545 F.

Glycerol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If water boils at 212 F, where is the problem?

 

[Melee]

Just looked up your profile. You're 21?? Gawd! I bet I've got ciggys lost in my couch that are older than you;-) Can't you just quit?

Bahaha Age has nothing to do with the ability to quit, silly. I'm 23, and been on the cancer sticks for 10 years+. It's sad... but true.