DIY: What an endeavor...

[PC Doctor STL]

So while I have been vaping for well over 2 years now (no analogs since), I have delved into the mystical world of DIY e-juice. I never realized the amount of challenges I would face with attempting this what seemed to be small feat. Please bear in mind I have no desire to become a manufacturer, I am just simply tired of paying for something I feel I can produce myself (the way I want it).

2 weeks ago I ordered my nic, PG, VG and ECF recommended concentrated flavors. Not to mention all the empty bottles, syringes, beakers, etc. I have also invested in a crock-pot from Goodwill for warming and a nice ultrasonic cleaner to assist in my steeping process (I am very impatient).

I have read over the forums regarding DIY (recipes, procedures) for what seems like eternity. So feeling prepared I jumped right in last Thursday mixing up my first 3 10ml bottles. Of course being impatient I tasted them right away which turned out to be worse than the juice I bought from the toothless flea market vendor 2 years ago. At that point I knew the experts were right, I needed to wait for the natural (steeping/aging) process to come to fruition. Being somewhat OCD I didn't have time to wait and was anxious to get the mixes right so I could start mass producing this stuff, document it all and be done. Into the Ultrasonic we went and what a difference it made after a little over an hour, my OCD was paying off. The juice was noticeably better, yet still harsh and left my mouth dry like drinking a bottle of extra dry red wine.

Back to the forums I went and after hours more of research I learned about the great uses of vinegar, Lemon Juice, EM, MM, sweetener, etc. etc. I started with the ACV and WOW what a difference. I have EM and Vape Wizard on order (prior to reading forums) which should be here tomorrow, and I intend to visit my local grocery today to pick up Lemon Juice. The waiting game begins again!!

I guess what this whole post boils down to is the fact that this forum is full of awesome information and awesome people who are willing to share their stories/experience for the benefit of helping others. I fully intend to do the same with a small fear of producing redundant posts. It would take a person months to read through all the pertinent posts in relation to DIY, so at this point I take my basic knowledge and build on that through trial and error as well as searching the forums when I face a challenge.

Thank you to all of the members of this forum for being so unselfish and taking the time to figure out what my OCD will not tolerate me doing. I am in hopes that one day soon I too can be a useful contributor to this wonderful community. Thank you all again!!!

Eric

 

[DoubleEwe]

DIY was the best vaping decision I have made.

Personally I don't use any of the additives, they don't seem to work well for me. ACV and lemon juice I have tried, but the lemon juice for me added a hint of burnt hair to the taste of the juice, ACV just muted the overall flavour within a couple days.

Magic Mask I have heard just numbs receptors, giving the impression of a smoother taste, but I have not tried it, so it maybe the best thing since marshmallow for your e-juice.

Another thing you might want to consider is the use of Saline. I have heard good things about this, but once again not tried yet personally.

 

[PC Doctor STL]

DIY was the best vaping decision I have made.

Personally I don't use any of the additives, they don't seem to work well for me. ACV and lemon juice I have tried, but the lemon juice for me added a hint of burnt hair to the taste of the juice, ACV just muted the overall flavour within a couple days.

Magic Mask I have heard just numbs receptors, giving the impression of a smoother taste, but I have not tried it, so it maybe the best thing since marshmallow for your e-juice.

Another thing you might want to consider is the use of Saline. I have heard good things about this, but once again not tried yet personally.

How long have you been doing DIY? I am always intrigued to hear of other DIY journeys..lol

 

[DoubleEwe]

About a year or so, started badly (using 'unknown' flavouring brands). Then switched to the usual suspects and had instantly better results.

I am very picky, so at the moment I have only 1 recipe that I have made more than once. A few others are nearly to where I want them.

It is all good fun, apart from the steeping, I am an 'all natural' kind of guy and that spills into my steeping methods, a month is how long I always plan to wait before I try mixes. Sometimes I do manage to wait that long. Shaking the bottles twice daily and blowing 'fresh' air into them on occasion.

I was a member of one of those juice subscription services for a while, that was a good way to try out different flavour profiles that I would not have tried usually, it was good for finding inspiration. Now my DIY is all about perfecting a number of flavour profiles that appeal to me. 5 or 6 different recipes will do, that I can vape daily of course.

I have found that for my tastes, sometimes it is impossible to make the exact flavour profile work, such as with Peanut Butter. No matter which Peanut Butter flavouring I used I found that it always didn't taste right to me, regardless of percentages used. So, I had to knock that one on the head and choose a different path.

What about you? (@Eric Marshall ) are you on the quest for any specific flavour profiles? Any overall aim?

 

[BrotherBob]

Welcome to the forum.
I have been mixing for a year and still discover new information.

 

[rgerber]

So while I have been vaping for well over 2 years now (no analogs since), I have delved into the mystical world of DIY e-juice. I never realized the amount of challenges I would face with attempting this what seemed to be small feat. Please bear in mind I have no desire to become a manufacturer, I am just simply tired of paying for something I feel I can produce myself (the way I want it).

2 weeks ago I ordered my nic, PG, VG and ECF recommended concentrated flavors. Not to mention all the empty bottles, syringes, beakers, etc. I have also invested in a crock-pot from Goodwill for warming and a nice ultrasonic cleaner to assist in my steeping process (I am very impatient).

I have read over the forums regarding DIY (recipes, procedures) for what seems like eternity. So feeling prepared I jumped right in last Thursday mixing up my first 3 10ml bottles. Of course being impatient I tasted them right away which turned out to be worse than the juice I bought from the toothless flea market vendor 2 years ago. At that point I knew the experts were right, I needed to wait for the natural (steeping/aging) process to come to fruition. Being somewhat OCD I didn't have time to wait and was anxious to get the mixes right so I could start mass producing this stuff, document it all and be done. Into the Ultrasonic we went and what a difference it made after a little over an hour, my OCD was paying off. The juice was noticeably better, yet still harsh and left my mouth dry like drinking a bottle of extra dry red wine.

Back to the forums I went and after hours more of research I learned about the great uses of vinegar, Lemon Juice, EM, MM, sweetener, etc. etc. I started with the ACV and WOW what a difference. I have EM and Vape Wizard on order (prior to reading forums) which should be here tomorrow, and I intend to visit my local grocery today to pick up Lemon Juice. The waiting game begins again!!

I guess what this whole post boils down to is the fact that this forum is full of awesome information and awesome people who are willing to share their stories/experience for the benefit of helping others. I fully intend to do the same with a small fear of producing redundant posts. It would take a person months to read through all the pertinent posts in relation to DIY, so at this point I take my basic knowledge and build on that through trial and error as well as searching the forums when I face a challenge.

Thank you to all of the members of this forum for being so unselfish and taking the time to figure out what my OCD will not tolerate me doing. I am in hopes that one day soon I too can be a useful contributor to this wonderful community. Thank you all again!!!

Eric

Well Eric, I 'd have to say that your post is a great contribution to our vaping family here. Thank you!

 

[nyiddle]

I've been vaping about 2 years (or more now, I don't even know..) I started DIY-ing about 6 months ago, primarily out of fear of additives and junk people might be putting into their e-liquid. My all-day-vape was tested and came up positive for having a truckload of AP and a bit of diacetyl in it, and that was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. I was pretty certain my ADV had no diketones in it since it seemed like an entirely fruity flavor. Changed my perception of what might/might not be "safe" to vape (although the "is diketones safe?" discussion is a whole 'nother thing for a whole 'nother time). With that change in perception I decided to switch to unflavored/a little bit of flavoring/only lab-tested e-liquids.

My mixes are VERY simple. I'm very used to the taste of unflavored VG/nic now (it was a little weird at first -- kind of tastes like Vaseline till you get used to it) so most of my juices are primarily just VG/little bit of PG/nic/tiny bit of flavoring, and nothing else. I really like fruity flavors, particularly citrus or cherry-reminiscent stuff. I still have a load of pre-mixed juice from vendors (primarily MtBakerVapor and Bombies) so I dillute that with VG/PG and vape it when I'm not vaping my own mixes. I have enough pre-mixed e-liquid and DIY supplies to last me well over a year.

I'm not too deep into DIY -- I only have about 8 flavorings -- but my buddy has been getting really into it, even selling some of his juice to co-workers and stuff. His mixes are really nice. One of his flavors in particular, "LemBis" is like a lemon biscotti cookie situation. Really tasty straight away, but steeping brings out the cookie flavor a lot, and smooths out the lemon. I could actually provide you the recipe if it sounds like something you're interested in.

 

[dcfluegel]

yeah - DIY has been, hands down, one of the better decisions I made (after extensive reading on battery safety...) in regards to vaping and the ECFG forums have been invaluable... the only two additives i use regularly really are EM and sweetener at this point, though I have been experimenting some with acetic acid in pg as an additive to 'brighten' fruit flavors... jury is still out on that one, at the moment...

and +1 on the ultrasonic - was a game changer for me

 

[dcfluegel]

I've been vaping about 2 years (or more now, I don't even know..) I started DIY-ing about 6 months ago, primarily out of fear of additives and junk people might be putting into their e-liquid. My all-day-vape was tested and came up positive for having a truckload of AP and a bit of diacetyl in it, and that was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. I was pretty certain my ADV had no diketones in it since it seemed like an entirely fruity flavor. Changed my perception of what might/might not be "safe" to vape (although the "is diketones safe?" discussion is a whole 'nother thing for a whole 'nother time). With that change in perception I decided to switch to unflavored/a little bit of flavoring/only lab-tested e-liquids.

My mixes are VERY simple. I'm very used to the taste of unflavored VG/nic now (it was a little weird at first -- kind of tastes like Vaseline till you get used to it) so most of my juices are primarily just VG/little bit of PG/nic/tiny bit of flavoring, and nothing else. I really like fruity flavors, particularly citrus or cherry-reminiscent stuff. I still have a load of pre-mixed juice from vendors (primarily MtBakerVapor and Bombies) so I dillute that with VG/PG and vape it when I'm not vaping my own mixes. I have enough pre-mixed e-liquid and DIY supplies to last me well over a year.

I'm not too deep into DIY -- I only have about 8 flavorings -- but my buddy has been getting really into it, even selling some of his juice to co-workers and stuff. His mixes are really nice. One of his flavors in particular, "LemBis" is like a lemon biscotti cookie situation. Really tasty straight away, but steeping brings out the cookie flavor a lot, and smooths out the lemon. I could actually provide you the recipe if it sounds like something you're interested in.

oh man... would love to see the LemBis recipe - that sounds rocking!

 

[nyiddle]

oh man... would love to see the LemBis recipe - that sounds rocking!

Gotcha:

4% Lemon Sicily (FA)
1.5% Cookie (FA)
Couple drops of Joy (FA) -- (he wouldn't give me a %, but it's very low).

He mixes it at 70/30, though you can adjust to your preference. We have @Humbardy to thank, though he's not very active.

 

[AndriaD]

So while I have been vaping for well over 2 years now (no analogs since), I have delved into the mystical world of DIY e-juice. I never realized the amount of challenges I would face with attempting this what seemed to be small feat. Please bear in mind I have no desire to become a manufacturer, I am just simply tired of paying for something I feel I can produce myself (the way I want it).

2 weeks ago I ordered my nic, PG, VG and ECF recommended concentrated flavors. Not to mention all the empty bottles, syringes, beakers, etc. I have also invested in a crock-pot from Goodwill for warming and a nice ultrasonic cleaner to assist in my steeping process (I am very impatient).

I have read over the forums regarding DIY (recipes, procedures) for what seems like eternity. So feeling prepared I jumped right in last Thursday mixing up my first 3 10ml bottles. Of course being impatient I tasted them right away which turned out to be worse than the juice I bought from the toothless flea market vendor 2 years ago. At that point I knew the experts were right, I needed to wait for the natural (steeping/aging) process to come to fruition. Being somewhat OCD I didn't have time to wait and was anxious to get the mixes right so I could start mass producing this stuff, document it all and be done. Into the Ultrasonic we went and what a difference it made after a little over an hour, my OCD was paying off. The juice was noticeably better, yet still harsh and left my mouth dry like drinking a bottle of extra dry red wine.

Back to the forums I went and after hours more of research I learned about the great uses of vinegar, Lemon Juice, EM, MM, sweetener, etc. etc. I started with the ACV and WOW what a difference. I have EM and Vape Wizard on order (prior to reading forums) which should be here tomorrow, and I intend to visit my local grocery today to pick up Lemon Juice. The waiting game begins again!!

I guess what this whole post boils down to is the fact that this forum is full of awesome information and awesome people who are willing to share their stories/experience for the benefit of helping others. I fully intend to do the same with a small fear of producing redundant posts. It would take a person months to read through all the pertinent posts in relation to DIY, so at this point I take my basic knowledge and build on that through trial and error as well as searching the forums when I face a challenge.

Thank you to all of the members of this forum for being so unselfish and taking the time to figure out what my OCD will not tolerate me doing. I am in hopes that one day soon I too can be a useful contributor to this wonderful community. Thank you all again!!!

Eric

If you want to avoid that tedious steeping, check out the TFA thread for info about the "HFM" (high flavor mixing) technique. The strawberry & cream I make is about 30% flavor, and it's good right after you mix it; about a day or two later, it's GREAT.

The whole point of the HFM technique is so that you can get a close idea of what a recipe will taste like, right when you mix it, so if it needs any tweaking, you don't have to wait around with your thumb up your .... to know how it's going to taste. If you come up with something really good at 25%-30% flavor, later you can work on reducing the flavor and determining how long to steep it, if that's what you want, knowing it's already a good recipe.

Andria

 

[PC Doctor STL]

Well @DoubleEwe first of all thanks for sharing, interesting to hear other experiences. I really am looking to just create my own take on juices I have either somewhat liked or would like to have. I have tried so many over the past couple years and while I have a few staples that I spend my hard earned dollars on, I would like to find some new flavors. I'm really bored with what is available locally and my B&M changes stock so frequently I never can keep a fave for more than a month or so.

For instance I have a tobacco that is my all day/everyday vape that I absolutely love, but am tired of forking out the dough. I would love to duplicate it or put my own spin on it (which I'm in the process of discovering). In the evenings I like to switch to the custard type flavors and some of the not so sweet fruits. So eventually I will delve into the custard world, but have my hands full now.

Here is what I am working on now for myself and my wife;

Chocolate Marshmallow (Mrs. Eric)
Swedish Fish (Mrs. Eric)
Tobacco (Me)
Cherry Tobacco (Me)

I am aware that it is very ambitious of me to start with so many flavors especially being new to DIY, but I welcome a challenge and once started I will not give up until I have whipped it.

I find that the flavors for my wife seem to be fairly simple, just a matter of tweaking the percentages to her liking (which I may be close to). However the tobacco is a whole other level. There are so many tobacco concentrates available to choose from and while I have tried many tobacco juices it seems that the Virginia Flu Cured is the one I identify with best, or should I say most closely resembles my purchased juice. I am bored with the staples, such as Cowboy, Winston, RY4 and all the other tobacco flavors you find at every B&M vape store. I want something enjoyable yet not real harsh. I am toying with mixing French Pipe and Virginia Flu Cured at the moment and that may have some promise. As much as I would like to experiment with the tobacco concentrates they tend to be a little expensive and I don't want to have 25 bottles of $5 concentrate sitting around because they suck, know what I mean?

What is your flavor of choice?

 

[PC Doctor STL]

Well Eric, I 'd have to say that your post is a great contribution to our vaping family here. Thank you!

Thank You @rgerber

 

[PC Doctor STL]

If you want to avoid that tedious steeping, check out the TFA thread for info about the "HFM" (high flavor mixing) technique. The strawberry & cream I make is about 30% flavor, and it's good right after you mix it; about a day or two later, it's GREAT.

The whole point of the HFM technique is so that you can get a close idea of what a recipe will taste like, right when you mix it, so if it needs any tweaking, you don't have to wait around with your thumb up your .... to know how it's going to taste. If you come up with something really good at 25%-30% flavor, later you can work on reducing the flavor and determining how long to steep it, if that's what you want, knowing it's already a good recipe.

Andria

Thank you @AndriaD I will definitely give it a read because it sounds like it may fit my style...

 

[PC Doctor STL]

I've been vaping about 2 years (or more now, I don't even know..) I started DIY-ing about 6 months ago, primarily out of fear of additives and junk people might be putting into their e-liquid. My all-day-vape was tested and came up positive for having a truckload of AP and a bit of diacetyl in it, and that was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back. I was pretty certain my ADV had no diketones in it since it seemed like an entirely fruity flavor. Changed my perception of what might/might not be "safe" to vape (although the "is diketones safe?" discussion is a whole 'nother thing for a whole 'nother time). With that change in perception I decided to switch to unflavored/a little bit of flavoring/only lab-tested e-liquids.

My mixes are VERY simple. I'm very used to the taste of unflavored VG/nic now (it was a little weird at first -- kind of tastes like Vaseline till you get used to it) so most of my juices are primarily just VG/little bit of PG/nic/tiny bit of flavoring, and nothing else. I really like fruity flavors, particularly citrus or cherry-reminiscent stuff. I still have a load of pre-mixed juice from vendors (primarily MtBakerVapor and Bombies) so I dillute that with VG/PG and vape it when I'm not vaping my own mixes. I have enough pre-mixed e-liquid and DIY supplies to last me well over a year.

I'm not too deep into DIY -- I only have about 8 flavorings -- but my buddy has been getting really into it, even selling some of his juice to co-workers and stuff. His mixes are really nice. One of his flavors in particular, "LemBis" is like a lemon biscotti cookie situation. Really tasty straight away, but steeping brings out the cookie flavor a lot, and smooths out the lemon. I could actually provide you the recipe if it sounds like something you're interested in.

Cool, thanks for sharing with me @nyiddle

 

[AndriaD]

Thank you @AndriaD I will definitely give it a read because it sounds like it may fit my style...

The only kind of flavors that don't work well with HFM/no steep are tobacco flavors -- with those, sometimes .5% can be the diff between really good and gag a maggot. I have a cherry-vanilla pipe tobacco mix which is pretty good, and I got around that limitation by using 2 different tobacco flavors, both on the sweet side -- the total recipe is about 20% flavor. But unfortunately, with tobacco flavors, steeping usually is required; that cherry-vanilla pipe tobacco really wasn't very good at 1 week, but after 6 wks, it's pretty good. Tobacco flavors are nearly always like that, pretty nasty at first, but they mellow and meld with the rest of the recipe after some-odd-weeks.

Also, TFA's Blueberry Extra doesn't seem to benefit from using a real lot of it; it gets kind of muted if you go beyond a certain point. Most others I've found do just fine using higher percentages.

Andria

 

[PC Doctor STL]

The only kind of flavors that don't work well with HFM/no steep are tobacco flavors -- with those, sometimes .5% can be the diff between really good and gag a maggot. I have a cherry-vanilla pipe tobacco mix which is pretty good, and I got around that limitation by using 2 different tobacco flavors, both on the sweet side -- the total recipe is about 20% flavor. But unfortunately, with tobacco flavors, steeping usually is required; that cherry-vanilla pipe tobacco really wasn't very good at 1 week, but after 6 wks, it's pretty good. Tobacco flavors are nearly always like that, pretty nasty at first, but they mellow and meld with the rest of the recipe after some-odd-weeks.

Also, TFA's Blueberry Extra doesn't seem to benefit from using a real lot of it; it gets kind of muted if you go beyond a certain point. Most others I've found do just fine using higher percentages.

Andria

@AndriaD is there somewhere that will give me the flavor profiles of all the tobacco concentrates? I am having a hard time picking what might work for me, other than I know I don't want cowboy or any of the other "staples" sold at B&M stores.

 

[AndriaD]

@AndriaD is there somewhere that will give me the flavor profiles of all the tobacco concentrates? I am having a hard time picking what might work for me, other than I know I don't want cowboy or any of the other "staples" sold at B&M stores.

I don't do much with tobacco flavors, but definitely check this thread: https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...ion-tobacco-flavoring-discussion-only.667055/

I've found that I tend to prefer Inawera's tobacco flavors, but I haven't tried too many of them -- nowadays I only like the sweet ones, totally opposite to my preferences when I smoked.

Andria

 

[nyiddle]

@AndriaD is there somewhere that will give me the flavor profiles of all the tobacco concentrates? I am having a hard time picking what might work for me, other than I know I don't want cowboy or any of the other "staples" sold at B&M stores.

By "staples" I assume you mean stuff like RY4? I'm quite a fan of that sort of tobacco flavoring (in small quantities). It adds that Camel-esque dryness. Reminds me of their Turkish Royal/Silver/Gold cigarettes.

.. Man, those were good cigarettes...

 

[DoubleEwe]

Well @DoubleEwe first of all thanks for sharing, interesting to hear other experiences. I really am looking to just create my own take on juices I have either somewhat liked or would like to have. I have tried so many over the past couple years and while I have a few staples that I spend my hard earned dollars on, I would like to find some new flavors. I'm really bored with what is available locally and my B&M changes stock so frequently I never can keep a fave for more than a month or so.

For instance I have a tobacco that is my all day/everyday vape that I absolutely love, but am tired of forking out the dough. I would love to duplicate it or put my own spin on it (which I'm in the process of discovering). In the evenings I like to switch to the custard type flavors and some of the not so sweet fruits. So eventually I will delve into the custard world, but have my hands full now.

Here is what I am working on now for myself and my wife;

Chocolate Marshmallow (Mrs. Eric)
Swedish Fish (Mrs. Eric)
Tobacco (Me)
Cherry Tobacco (Me)

I am aware that it is very ambitious of me to start with so many flavors especially being new to DIY, but I welcome a challenge and once started I will not give up until I have whipped it.

I find that the flavors for my wife seem to be fairly simple, just a matter of tweaking the percentages to her liking (which I may be close to). However the tobacco is a whole other level. There are so many tobacco concentrates available to choose from and while I have tried many tobacco juices it seems that the Virginia Flu Cured is the one I identify with best, or should I say most closely resembles my purchased juice. I am bored with the staples, such as Cowboy, Winston, RY4 and all the other tobacco flavors you find at every B&M vape store. I want something enjoyable yet not real harsh. I am toying with mixing French Pipe and Virginia Flu Cured at the moment and that may have some promise. As much as I would like to experiment with the tobacco concentrates they tend to be a little expensive and I don't want to have 25 bottles of $5 concentrate sitting around because they suck, know what I mean?

What is your flavor of choice?

I think you are right to go straight into making multiple flavour recipes, when you make single flavour mixes you have no idea how the flavours are going to 'play' with one another, so the percentages of a good single flavour mix will not necessarily equate to being good in a multiple flavour recipe.
Also it is good to try a range of different flavour combos (like you are doing), it saves you from getting bored and needing a change when you come to the testing phase. (and having to vape up all you have created to empty the bottles)

The chocolate marshmallow for Mrs Eric might be difficult to achieve, but then again that is me thinking of English Chocolate rather than American 'chocolate'. The chocolate flavours I have tried (from vendor mixed juices) tend to taste more like cocoa powder rather than rich, velvety, creamy chocolate.
I have only tried 3 Marshmallow flavourings, TFA Marshmallow, TFA Toasted Marshmallow and FA Marshmallow. I like TFA Marshmallow the most. The toasted is just like a weaker version of the standard marsh, but with added brown sugar. FA Marshmallow to me tastes more savory, a slight earthy taste, maybe a bit of mild spiciness in there too, but a good mouth feel.

For the tobacco there is another alternative, which is to make your own extract. I have done this (cold maceration process) and it is easy to do, you just need to make sure you have good filters. You just get a pack of your favourite rolling tobacco and empty the contents into a jar (or do a smaller amount as an test), cover it in PG and leave it for a month (shaking/rotating daily). Then filter.

I only dabbled with using my tobacco extract briefly, I went way too high on the percentage (10%) and it was not my cup of tea. I will revisit once I get some complimentary flavourings (caramel, butterscotch etc).

At the moment my flavour of choice is a Kiwi Marshmallow mix.

I am not sure whether you have checked it out, but there is a website which is good for getting an idea of the typical % used of flavourings along with user ratings. Cant link to site, but google 'e-liquid calculator' the site is e liquid recipes or something. Once on there click on the 'user' tab on the top right hand corner, select 'flavor list' from the drop down menu. Now you can search for the specific flavouring, or terms like 'tobacco' and see what comes up, just click on the word 'rating' in the table to sort by rating. It will also show you user recipes using the flavouring you have selected.