DIY Serious Help! Help A Poor DIY:er In Need

[ILoveDIYEvenThoICantMixIt]

Hello everyone out there that actually knows how to make DIY E juice. I need some serious help from you guys!

Long story short, I am a fan of DIY and e juice is not an exception. I have been mixing my own stuff since May/June. But even now to this day I couldn't be more dissapointed in my results. They have all been bland, tasteless and just plain horrible.

To clear things up this is my current setup I'm using:
Aspire Nautilus 2
ELeaf iStick TC60W Mod

And I am mixing with these liquids:
Capella Falvourings
NicBase PG-32 Diluted Nicotine
NicBase VG
GreenLabel PG

Now to some recipes I have been trying recently without any pleasing results:
Nicotine juice 32 mg (100% PG) : 1.88ml
PG dilutant : 1.25ml
VG dilutant : 6.00ml
Double Watermelon (CAP) 0.50ml
Dragon Fruit (CAP) : 0.37ml

Total : 10ml 6mg Nic

Nicotine juice 32 mg (100% PG) : 1.88ml
PG dilutant : 1.25ml
VG dilutant : 6.00ml
Vanilla Custard v2 (Cap) 0.40ml
Yellow Peach (Cap) : 0.70ml

Total : 10ml 6mg Nic

These are just two examples of some versions I've tested, from 70/30 VG/PG ratio to 50/50 VG/PG Ratio. I've tested from 5-15% flavouring and dosens of steeping methods. Some are just plain waiting, warm water bath and breathing. Some combinded and some not.

Now what I am wondering from you guys who can do this properly, what am I doing wrong? Am I using bad flavourings? Bad combinations or is Capella just not too good? Is my setup not good enough? Are there any special processes that need to be done to succeed? Larger badges of juice when you mix?

As you can see I am completely lost and my hope is starting to fade when it comes to DIY. If I don't get this to work soon imma start going back to buying jucie

Thanks for any help you can give! It's really appreciated

 

[stols001]

I am far from a DIY master, but I will say that I tried some varied flavors from different vendors, and started out with ONE flavor at a time mixes that I would mix in my tank. I didn't start with a "set" of flavors or a "set" recipe although I certainly have read many of them. I also taste tested a lot of commercial flavorings.

I wouldn't recommend "one" line of flavorings unless you have a specific purpose in doing so, but I mixed my one flavor mixes and let them steep shaking only in a cool dark place for at LEAST a week, and then tried combining flavors that I liked within my tank which started giving me a "sense" of what would work well. You may not be at a high enough percentage for your palate, for one. Sometimes "speeding" the steeping is counter productive. I will say that I am a "reluctant" sweetener, as I've progressed in DIY. Certain flavors are naturally sweet like marshmallow, merengue, and cotton candy and those can be used for "depth" and sweetness, but I do find that in 55 ml mixes, I enjoy 1--4 drops of sucralose (I think it's FA "super sweet" but I don't pay a ton of heed to who makes what, just which flavors and combinations I like.

In this fashion I have gotten pretty good at knowing what "I" like-- which is why I didn't want to so much "follow" or "copy" a recipe, what I like are desserts, fruits and some of the alcohol flavors and I found that out by starting slow. But, it was a lot easier for me to get a "sense" of flavors that way, so if I make something I do not like, I know that I can usually amend it, and it is much easier to pour out a tank of 3 separate flavors that suck, than whole mixes.

I have some Capella flavorings and I use them like everything else-- by discovering what THAT standalone did at various percentages and kind of built on that.

I'm not saying you have to do it that way, but I am sharing what worked for me. I think certain makers do well with particular flavors but I also quite often will use two flavorings from different makers to make a coconut, (both coconut) with a bit of sweetener or either merengue or marshmallow and etc that I know will "sweeten up" the coconut to the point that it's a good stand alone vape, and each maker's coconut is a little different so it provides depth.

Hope this helps, even a little bit. DIY can be super tricky and so I a) set low expectations for myself b) didn't fiddle and let things steep naturally and c) read a lot and did a lot of trial and error. I am not disappointed in my results, and two of my flavors that I've given to a kiddo who has been around (along with starter kits, as he's down on his luck) he stated he would buy. He did not hesitate to hate the Orange Creamsicle that was one of my failures that I thought he MIGHT like although I did not, so I know that I'm able to make flavorings that suit not just me but also others. Never followed a single recipe that I did not "write" myself.

Good luck,

Anna

 

[zoiDman]

Hello everyone out there that actually knows how to make DIY E juice. I need some serious help from you guys!

Long story short, I am a fan of DIY and e juice is not an exception. I have been mixing my own stuff since May/June. But even now to this day I couldn't be more dissapointed in my results. They have all been bland, tasteless and just plain horrible.

To clear things up this is my current setup I'm using:
Aspire Nautilus 2
ELeaf iStick TC60W Mod

And I am mixing with these liquids:
Capella Falvourings
NicBase PG-32 Diluted Nicotine
NicBase VG
GreenLabel PG

Now to some recipes I have been trying recently without any pleasing results:
Nicotine juice 32 mg (100% PG) : 1.88ml
PG dilutant : 1.25ml
VG dilutant : 6.00ml
Double Watermelon (CAP) 0.50ml
Dragon Fruit (CAP) : 0.37ml

Total : 10ml 6mg Nic

Nicotine juice 32 mg (100% PG) : 1.88ml
PG dilutant : 1.25ml
VG dilutant : 6.00ml
Vanilla Custard v2 (Cap) 0.40ml
Yellow Peach (Cap) : 0.70ml

Total : 10ml 6mg Nic

These are just two examples of some versions I've tested, from 70/30 VG/PG ratio to 50/50 VG/PG Ratio. I've tested from 5-15% flavouring and dosens of steeping methods. Some are just plain waiting, warm water bath and breathing. Some combinded and some not.

Now what I am wondering from you guys who can do this properly, what am I doing wrong? Am I using bad flavourings? Bad combinations or is Capella just not too good? Is my setup not good enough? Are there any special processes that need to be done to succeed? Larger badges of juice when you mix?

As you can see I am completely lost and my hope is starting to fade when it comes to DIY. If I don't get this to work soon imma start going back to buying jucie

Thanks for any help you can give! It's really appreciated

Hi ILoveDIYEvenThoICantMixIt. Welcome to the ECF.

Just taking a Quick glance at those 2 Recipes would tell me that I Wouldn't like how they Taste. Because they include No Sweetener.

Those 2 Recipes are basically Candy recipes. Would try to make Candy without Sugar?

5 ~ 15% is a Normal Range for most Capella Flavorings. But without a Sweetener, I wouldn't have much luck at any Percentage.

I like to use The Flavor Apprentice Sweetener. But some like to use Cotton Candy (ethyl maltol) Flavoring as a Sweeteners.

 

[Letitia]

Welcome to ECF. Love your handle. First list your recipes by percentage. Just the flavors, don't need the pg/vg ratios. Dragonfruit needs a steep. All custards and most creams also need a longer steep. For custards 2-6 weeks unless you are just shooting for mouth feel. I would advise you to go to Bull City Flavors and order a couple of recipes that include flavor bundles. That would give you a nice start up collection of flavors to play with. Mix the recipe and mix the individual flavors as singles to get familiar with them. Trial and error. Just part of it. I've only been mixing a couple of months and am just now having some success. Been pretty lucky, at least it's all been vapable.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Welcome to ecf.
Some good advise so far. First thing you need t know is how to find the forum for DIY here at ECF.

DIY E-Liquid

A simple great starter type of diy is from Capella. Mix their BlueBerry Jam @8%. If you would like a smidge of sweet in that I would suggest marshmellow @ 1.5%. Shake and vape and it gets better as it ages.

There are several different flavor makers that cater to DIY vapers. All can have the exact same flavor names, but be vastly different in taste. The biggest part of diy is finding what flavors work for you. Please do not get discouraged. It takes time. Members here can help.

There are other shake and vape type of flavors available from several different vendors. I like to steer new mixers to some of those so they can have something to vape while learning how to diy and what flavors work for them. It also helps build confidence in yourself that you can do this.

If this thread is not already in DIY, a mod will eventually come and move this thread there. At least they used to.

 

[AzPlumber]

How long have you waited before declaring them tasteless?

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Hi ILoveDIYEvenThoICantMixIt. Welcome to the ECF.

Just taking a Quick glance at those 2 Recipes would tell me that I Wouldn't like how they Taste. Because they include No Sweetener.

Those 2 Recipes are basically Candy recipes. Would try to make Candy without Sugar?

5 ~ 15% is a Normal Range for most Capella Flavorings. But without a Sweetener, I wouldn't have much luck at any Percentage.

I like to use The Flavor Apprentice Sweetener. But some like to use Cotton Candy (ethyl maltol) Flavoring as a Sweeteners.

Actually zoiDMan, Caps watermelon is very light in taste, it does get better with age, but can take up to 2 months to fully develop and the Dragonfruit is fairly sweet in itself. He just didn't use enough of it. I am not surprised he was disappointed.

The custard probably needs a little cream added and yellow peach maybe isn't the best choice.

I only use sweetner as a very last resort. I try to rely on flavoring to give me that little added sweetness a mix may need.



my coils last longer......

 

[go_player]

These are just two examples of some versions I've tested, from 70/30 VG/PG ratio to 50/50 VG/PG Ratio. I've tested from 5-15% flavouring and dosens of steeping methods. Some are just plain waiting, warm water bath and breathing. Some combinded and some not.

Now what I am wondering from you guys who can do this properly, what am I doing wrong? Am I using bad flavourings? Bad combinations or is Capella just not too good? Is my setup not good enough? Are there any special processes that need to be done to succeed? Larger badges of juice when you mix?

I don't have any of those Cap flavors (though I do have the Vanilla Custard V1,) but from what I can tell from the intertubes you seem to be using them at pretty reasonable percentages. They might even be a little low in some cases, for a Nautilus (well- maybe not the Yellow Peach- that might be a bit high.) The V2 custard in particular needs a long steep. Some people like it without one, but most people who use it tend to steep it for a while- like a month or more. Are you trying to avoid DAAP?

The Yellow Peach and the Dragonfruit are not flavors CAP is famous for, and there are (for most people- flavor preferences are very individual) better peaches and dragonfruits. The Double Watermelon is a bit more widely used. CAP's V1 Custard is the flavor they are perhaps most famous for, and is a lot of people's favorite single flavoring. The V2 is very polarizing- some people think it's as good as the V1 (after a long steep, usually) and some people hate it.

I'd stay away from any method of accelerating steeping (including breathing- the juice that is... you should probably continue to breathe in general, especially given the steep time on the Custard) while you're trouble-shooting. Once you get things dialed in you can experiment with them if you want, but until you do it's just one more variable you don't need to contend with.

It would help if you could elaborate a bit on what you don't like about what you're mixing. Tasteless and horrible at the same time is hard for me to unravel . Are you just not getting much in the way of flavor, or are you getting an unpleasant flavor? And if the latter, can you describe it a bit?

One thing you might try is mixing up a small batch of unflavored juice, at your preferred nicotine strength, and, say, 30/70 PG/VG (wouldn't go much higher VG than that in a Nautilus) and see if that tastes bad to you (rather than just bland, and very mildly sweet, which it should be.) If so it's most likely a problem with your nic.

If the problem is more that you're not tasting very much... well, that's a different issue, and it would help to know a bit more. Which coils are you using in your tank? What wattage do you vape at? Do you vape mainly commercial juice? If so, what kind of commercial juice do you like? How good would you say your sense of smell is, relative to the average person (kind of a hard question there .) And- this is kind of sensitive, so don't answer if you don't want to, but do you still smoke at all, and if not how long has it been since you entirely stopped?

@zoiDman might have put his finger on the problem, especially if you're used to commercial juice. There are exceptions, but a lot of commercial juice is both pretty highly-flavored and uses a lot of sweetener. Commercial juice has to appeal to recent smokers using all kinds of equipment, so a lot of it involves bright fruity flavors at pretty high concentrations and lots of Sucralose.

 

[zoiDman]

Actually zoiDMan, Caps watermelon is very light in taste, it does get better with age, but can take up to 2 months to fully develop and the Dragonfruit is fairly sweet in itself. He just didn't use enough of it. I am not surprised he was disappointed.

The custard probably needs a little cream added and yellow peach maybe isn't the best choice.

I only use sweetner as a very last resort. I try to rely on flavoring to give me that little added sweetness a mix may need.



my coils last longer......

I've used Cap Watermelon before. Couldn't Imaging mixing it without some kinda of Sweetener. As with just about Any Fruit flavoring.

But I might like things Sweeter than some. And, of course, Taste is Subjective.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I've used Cap Watermelon before. Couldn't Imaging mixing it without some kinda of Sweetener. As with just about Any Fruit flavoring.

But I might like things Sweeter than some. And, of course, Taste is Subjective.

But, for me that is what the DragonFruit is for. It is naturally sweet and not just a little bit.

 

[go_player]

I've used Cap Watermelon before. Couldn't Imaging mixing it without some kinda of Sweetener. As with just about Any Fruit flavoring.

But I might like things Sweeter than some. And, of course, Taste is Subjective.

I fall into the "rarely uses straight-up sweetener" camp, at least for recipes I develop myself. If I mix someone else's recipe I'll generally mix it _exactly_ as written, the first time (with a few exceptions.) But I find the flavors generally sweet enough for me (again, there are exceptions.)

But tastes and palates do differ, not just between individuals, but even in the same individual over time. To paraphrase Wayne Walker, you're never going to get the same "pop" from a subtle layered recipe as you will from a few fruit flavors and a lot of Sucralose. And for a lot of beginning DIYers the results will be disappointing unless they mix much more like a commercial juice maker would. There's a reason they mix that way.

 

[zoiDman]

I fall into the "rarely uses straight-up sweetener" camp, at least for recipes I develop myself. If I mix someone else's recipe I'll generally mix it _exactly_ as written, the first time (with a few exceptions.) But I find the flavors generally sweet enough for me (again, there are exceptions.)

But tastes and palates do differ, not just between individuals, but even in the same individual over time. To paraphrase Wayne Walker, you're never going to get the same "pop" from a subtle layered recipe as you will from a few fruit flavors and a lot of Sucralose. And for a lot of beginning DIYers the results will be disappointing unless they mix much more like a commercial juice maker would. There's a reason they mix that way.

My theory is if someone Posts saying that they Don't Like a Recipe, then something in the Recipe needs to change. Or be Removed. Or Added.

The Percentages mentioned sound Reasonable. And the Flavoring are what I would call "Good Pairings". Meaning that they should work Well together an about any Ratio.

So to me, and considering what I like, I would lean towards the Lack of Sweetener. But I'm just playing the Percentages (pun intended).

Many find Flavorings sweet enough. But if the OP was one of these people, I would think those Recipes would work. Maybe not a Game Changers. But doable.

But if the OP lean towards Liking Sweeter things, or as you mention, have a Background in Retail e-Liquids, then adding a Sweetener would be my 1st Suggestion.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I fall into the "rarely uses straight-up sweetener" camp, at least for recipes I develop myself. If I mix someone else's recipe I'll generally mix it _exactly_ as written, the first time (with a few exceptions.) But I find the flavors generally sweet enough for me (again, there are exceptions.)

But tastes and palates do differ, not just between individuals, but even in the same individual over time. To paraphrase Wayne Walker, you're never going to get the same "pop" from a subtle layered recipe as you will from a few fruit flavors and a lot of Sucralose. And for a lot of beginning DIYers the results will be disappointing unless they mix much more like a commercial juice maker would. There's a reason they mix that way.

Totally agree with you. I was lucky that I never got into the commercial buying of ejuice, I began mixing my own very early in my vape journey. But zoiDMan isn't new, he just likes sweets. lol

 

[go_player]

Totally agree with you. I was lucky that I never got into the commercial buying of ejuice, I began mixing my own very early in my vape journey. But zoiDMan isn't new, he just likes sweets. lol

Oh, I certainly didn't mean to imply that @zoiDman was new, or that there was anything wrong with his preferences. I do think that a lot of people's palates change over time when they DIY, such that they wind up eventually using less flavoring and less sweetener. But others just like their juice sweet, and there's nothing wrong with that (especially since it won't give you cavities, and coils are a lot easier to replace than teeth.)

 

[zoiDman]

Totally agree with you. I was lucky that I never got into the commercial buying of ejuice, I began mixing my own very early in my vape journey. But zoiDMan isn't new, he just likes sweets. lol

Yeah... Like you also, I was into DIY since about the time I got here to the ECF. And was buying Flavorings from Linda even before TFA was called TFA.

Check out the Date on this Thread...

Pizza Flavored e-Juice

LOL

 

[classwife]

Moved you to DIY E-Liquid from General E-Liquid Discussion

 

[zoiDman]

... I do think that a lot of people's palates change over time when they DIY, such that they wind up eventually using less flavoring and less sweetener. ...

I know for Me, this Couldn't be Truer.

Because I started to do DIY because I Couldn't find e-Liquids that were Strong enough. And I did Years of "Melt Your Face" flavoring percentages.

But I burned out on them. And slowly moved to Lower and Lower flavoring levels.

Today, I make Flavored e-Liquids that most would consider to be Flavored Middle of the Road. But I just use them to Prime New Wicks. Then I fill the Tank or Squonk Bottle with Unflavored.

Or sometimes just use Unflavored. Unflavored with a Drop or Two of Sweetener that is.

 

[go_player]

Pizza Flavored e-Juice

I hear you liek bold, pizza juice, _and_ mudkips.

 

[go_player]

Or sometimes just use Unflavored. Unflavored with a Drop or Two of Sweetener that is.

Well, VG is classified as a "sugar alcohol" by the FDA, and is used as a mild sweetener. So when someone says "I don't add sweetener" they are likely not technically correct. And as we all know, technically correct is the best correct.

 

[zoiDman]

Well, VG is classified as a "sugar alcohol" by the FDA, and is used as a mild sweetener. So when someone says "I don't add sweetener" they are likely not technically correct. And as we all know, technically correct is the best correct.

Yeah... But Nicotine and PG can have a Slightly Bitter taste.

So what's ya gunno do.

By curious to hear what the OP has to say.