First, I lOVE this Forum. Lots of great advice and many knowledgeable folks. Much appreciated!! Now... I've just started making my own. My results, to date, have been disappointing, to say the least. I'm using a premixed base from e-liq.com, (60VG/40PG, 3mg Nic). I have used Capella flavors only, so far. I've tried Tangerine, Sweet Strawberry, Creams, Hazelnut, and several others, using recipes I've found here, mostly. Steeping 1 or 2 weeks, (so far). Flavoring %'s ranging from 12-18. Everything I've made so far sux.. Any thoughts on the e-liq premixed base? Anyone else using them? Haven't seen much on it here. Any other advice is appreciated. Thanks!!
DIY not going so well..
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...and a bit peppery in the middle back of your tongue and at the top of your throat. (that is the nic) Straight VG/PG (no nic), on your tongue, should not give any tingle.
I had a few hundred ml of base that tasted of STRONG PG. It tainted EVERYTHING I mixed until I licked a drop from my finger and recognized the same bad flavour. Sorted in the bin.
Cheers
I
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Did you try the base by itself yet? Did you try lower percentages? My range is .15% up to 3% for any one flavor. It is easier to add flavor than take out. Everyone is different and taste things on a different level. Try 3% flavoring. Here is a small list copied from one of our DIYers blog. @Hoosier
"Hoosier's levels of flavoring from too little to too much:
I have tried at higher percentages UNTIL I read this. Then, the light bulb went on above my head.
Here is a couple blogs for reading to help out. Hoosier's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
dannyv45's blog | E-Cigarette Forum and also, DIY tips from Str8 | E-Cigarette Forum
Hope this helps.
"Hoosier's levels of flavoring from too little to too much:
- Nothing (Did I forget to add the flavoring?)
- Something Odd (This does not taste like the flavor I put in there.)
- I Can Taste Something Kinda' Like It (I can detect the higher or spice notes, but not the actual taste)
- Hooo, It's There, but Real Light (Getting close now, let it steep before adding any more)
- Bingo (Duh, we have a juice)
- Hmmmm, That Is Close, But Has A "Je Ne Sais Pas" of Oddness (Dang didn't let it steep and I overshot)
- Kinda' Close, but the Perfumey/Chemically Kills It (Going into the too much realm here and may be due to ignoring the steep part of #4.)
- Whoo, Did I Forget to Put the Flavoring In? (Too much flavoring can actually make things impossible to taste.)
I have tried at higher percentages UNTIL I read this. Then, the light bulb went on above my head.
Here is a couple blogs for reading to help out. Hoosier's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
dannyv45's blog | E-Cigarette Forum and also, DIY tips from Str8 | E-Cigarette Forum
Hope this helps.
Only thing I have to say is that if you start off with 3mg base, and then add stuff to it that's not also 3mg, the result will be less than 3mg (science, yo.) With 12-18% flavor, you're looking at about 2.4-2.6mg/ml in the final product. Same thing with the PG/VG ratio -- when you add flavors (primarily PG-based), you throw off that 60/40 ratio of your nic base. You are adding PG, but not adding any VG, and so the mix becomes skewed more heavily towards the PG side. Again, with 12-18% flavors, you will end up with around 54VG/46PG to 51VG/49PG.
I would suggest getting a stronger nic base (6mg/ml, maybe, or, see below) and then add flavor, as well as PG and/or VG, to achieve your desired strength/ratio. If the math is too hard for you (it's not that hard though, really) there are several juice calculators you can use to help you out. Personally I don't use one, so I can't make a recommendation, but you can find links posted all over the place, here.
Additionally, if you buy in higher concentrations, the price of nic base goes up much more slowly than the strength. A 120ml bottle of 100mg/ml costs about twenty bucks. For 12,000mg of nic, overall. To get that same amount of nic in 3mg strength, you would need 4000ml (four liters) which can cost up to 100 dollars or even more. For the same amount of nicotine, just with a lot more PG/VG in it. But the PG/VG could be had for pennies on the dollar, if you bought them separately and mixed it down yourself. Essentially, what it boils down to is you end up paying 5-10x regular price for the PG/VG, to have it mixed in beforehand instead of doing it yourself. Kinda defeats the purpose of "DIY" if you're paying someone else such an exorbitant amount to DIFY (do it for you.)
Peppery at 3mg is unacceptable imho. I think the base is a problem. At 3mg it should' be tough to taste the nic. Nude nicotine has a sample for just a couple of dollars.
Also my first 3 months nearly everything I mixed was pretty terrible. While mixing in theory isn't hard getting a mix that is right takes time. Some are lucky and hit on something they like right away. Others not so much.
Good luck I hope you get it figured out.
Also my first 3 months nearly everything I mixed was pretty terrible. While mixing in theory isn't hard getting a mix that is right takes time. Some are lucky and hit on something they like right away. Others not so much.
Good luck I hope you get it figured out.
Fantastic info, all. THANKS! 1st, I'm gonna vape a little of the base, solo. See what I get. Then, I'm going to make some single flavor mixes at lower %. I am very math-savvy, so the calcs are not a prob. Thanks again. Now, back to the drawing board...!
BTY, I actually bought 2 bottles of base mix. 1 is 6mg nic. The other is 0. I mix the two together accordingly to achieve 3mg.
Now thats what i'm talkin about , i can relate because nobody on planet earth has more first hand confirmed experience and knowledge about e juice that Sux than i do .
I am going to read the feedback from people who actually have a clue about mixing successfully because i'm in the same boat you are so you would not want advice from someone like myself.
Here is an easy mix. 70 vg/ 30 pg 6 mg with 3% Ripe Strawberry and 0.5% sweetner. Shake and Vape!!! Use this and move forward. 
I make mine in 30 ml bottles for easier measurements of .15% which is 1 drop anything smaller than that would be very hard to mix IMO. Hope this helps.
I make mine in 30 ml bottles for easier measurements of .15% which is 1 drop anything smaller than that would be very hard to mix IMO. Hope this helps.
As mentioned before its easier to get a 100mg nic and make your own base by adding pg or vg.....
Ill usually start with the nic, in my case its vg based, then flavors, then fill in the rest with vg, as only pg i use comes from flavors themselves.... but even if i used pg, leave it all to the end and the mix calc will tell you how much of each you need, i think using something like 3mg or 6mg nic would conplicate things more...
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Ill usually start with the nic, in my case its vg based, then flavors, then fill in the rest with vg, as only pg i use comes from flavors themselves.... but even if i used pg, leave it all to the end and the mix calc will tell you how much of each you need, i think using something like 3mg or 6mg nic would conplicate things more...
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I addition to all the good DIY advice above, you may want to consider your vaping gears. Using a high nicotine concentration base gives you greater flexibility to adjust your flavoring for instance. I DIYed before RBA and never get the best of my juice before I built my own coils shifting from Kanthal, to Nickel ending with Ti in TC on a Kayfun. That's a little workout... Also, for any new mix I've been making, I noticed a need for my taste to adapt before full and steady enjoyment.
I know that cap's tangerine works fantastic from 10-15% as a single flavoring.
So, if everything sux, it means whatever is common to all attempts is where the sux-age is coming from.
I'd call the base. It shouldn't have any taste except for a slight sweetness. Any twang at 3mg/ml is horribly bad nic. (As someone who needed 48mg/ml to make the switch to vaping, I know how flavorless nic should and can be.)
Or, it could be the hardware...
So, if everything sux, it means whatever is common to all attempts is where the sux-age is coming from.
I'd call the base. It shouldn't have any taste except for a slight sweetness. Any twang at 3mg/ml is horribly bad nic. (As someone who needed 48mg/ml to make the switch to vaping, I know how flavorless nic should and can be.)
Or, it could be the hardware...
Being that you said your base is already premixed vape it plain and if you have a harsh peppery taste it's a crap premixed base likely caused by cheap NIC. You'll need to get better quality. No matter how accurate you are with flavor if the base is crap the juice will be crap. I find it best to get seperate NIC, VG and PG and create your own base. It's far easier to troubleshoot when each component making up the base is seperate. And in the long run it's also cheaper. To troubleshoot individual components of a base you would vape the VG alone and then the PG alone that will tell you one or the other or none of them are bad. Then mix up your base with NIC to your vaping strength once you've ruled out the VG/PG and vape that straight (No Flavoring added). At 3mg there should be no peppery or harsh NIC taste. If there is get better quality NIC.
Read my blog on testing and preparing a proper base and also read that man's blogs above me he's a seasoned pro at this. And it wouldn't be a bad thing to read the rest of my blogs while your at it
How to adjust your base to reduce that peppery harsh Nicotine taste | E-Cigarette Forum
Read my blog on testing and preparing a proper base and also read that man's blogs above me he's a seasoned pro at this. And it wouldn't be a bad thing to read the rest of my blogs while your at it
How to adjust your base to reduce that peppery harsh Nicotine taste | E-Cigarette Forum
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I made up a batch of the tangerine at 15% a coupla days ago. Anxious to give it a toke. How long should it steep?
It's a shake n vape like the vast majority of my recipes.
And if you don't taste it before you steep it, how in blazes will you know if steeping does anything except keep you from vaping it right away?
And if you don't taste it before you steep it, how in blazes will you know if steeping does anything except keep you from vaping it right away?
I'm doing much better, thanks to some good advice from you all!
Here's a simple recipe I came up with. My first success...
Cap Sweet Strawberry 6%
Cap Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 8%
1 Drop Cap Marshmallow / 15 ml
VG/PG 60/40
3mg Nic
Here's a simple recipe I came up with. My first success...
Cap Sweet Strawberry 6%
Cap Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 8%
1 Drop Cap Marshmallow / 15 ml
VG/PG 60/40
3mg Nic
Only made a few batches and I can match the SUX level so far.
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