First batch, question

[Zombo]

So I just finished my first DiY batch. I used an e-liquid calculator, but after I finished I ended up with more than I should have. I was shooting for 50ml but got about 54ml.

I guess I don't know how to measure with syringes. Do the markings account for the syringe tips? Should I just remove them? I looked at some videos and googled, but somehow still did it wrong.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

Also, I'm using a crock pot atm for steeping. I've never used one before. Do you put water in it? Mine is sitting there with water to the level of my juice, but after about 10 minutes the water temp hasn't changed (even though the pot feels warm to the touch). I guess it takes a while to heat the contents of the crock?

ETA: The water's heat is rising now. BTW, how safe is it to keep the rubber stoppers on while in the CP? Will they melt or leach chemicals? Should I use other caps? Or maybe even some aluminum foil?

 

[Rat2chat2]

Tell ya the truth, I have a hard time with those also.

I think it is so much easier to get it right with a glass graduated cylinder. I like glass because the flavors don't stay in it and the markings don't come off. It was a good investment for me. I got mine at Wizard Labs. Good luck to you and happy mixing. Have fun.

Oh it if it was me, I would not worry to much about the extra mls. The only thing it did was dilute down the nic percentage if you are using nic. No biggie.

 

[Zombo]

I, also, am using a glass beaker from Wizard Labs. I used the syringes because I thought they would be more accurate with the sometimes tiny amounts of flavorings. I guess I shouldn't worry too much about it, like you said the worst is a little nicotine dilution, I can live with that.

 

[Hoosier]

How did it taste before you started stewing?

 

[mattiem]

I guess I am just to lazy to dig out and set up a crock pot and I also follow the keep it simple rule. I set my freshly made creation in a heavy cup (heavy, thick cup holds the heat longer) of very hot tap water. I keep my water heater set VERY high so my water will burn you if you hold your hand in it. As the water is cooling I take the bottle out, give it a good shake and return it to the water a couple of times. Once the water is lukewarm I add more very hot water and repeat. I leave the bottle in the water until it cools and consider my juice speed mixed. For me it is much quicker than having to wait for a crock pot to do its thing.

The main thing I am trying to do is not necessarily steeping. It is basically thinning the ingredients to allow them to mix well. In my opinion there are no right or wrong ways to accomplish this. We each have to find what works best for us. This is just the easiest way for me.

 

[Boletus]

Yes, you do want water in the CP. They do warm up quite slowly, so putting it on "high" until it comes to temp helps. Using a meat thermometer to check the temp is a good idea. Most people find that with the CP on low and the lid partially covering it works, but you will want to experiment with yours to see how it works best.

The volume of fluid in a syringe tip will affect the measurements. One solution for that is to stop when the plunger hits the bottom and then pull back, get some air behind the fluid, and than squirt any remaining fluid back into its container, although using the same syringe for multiple flavors and not rinsing it well between them can cause cross minor contamination. If that is an issue, you can squirt it into the sink or a container for disposal. Disposable plastic pipettes are another option, and measuring by weight also avoids that issue. Whatever you use, you do need decent precision for flavors, especially minor notes at low concentrations. Another approach is that as long as you are consistent with your measurement methods and refine recipes to suit your mixing style and tastes, who cares once you are happy with the product?

Personally, I am a crass barbarian, so I just draw a little water into a syringe and push the plunger down so the needle is filled with water before I start measuring. I wipe off the outside of the needle between fluids with a paper towel and do not otherwise worry about cross contamination. Once I have finished using that syringe in a specific mix, I draw a little more water into the syringe and squirt that into the mix and call it good.

 

[Zombo]

How did it taste before you started stewing?

I didn't try it, I assumed, for some reason, that it would be nasty. I finished it late so I never got to try the final product....will do as soon as I get home.

 

[Hoosier]

I didn't try it, I assumed, for some reason, that it would be nasty. I finished it late so I never got to try the final product....will do as soon as I get home.

That's a shame. You'll never know if the added process at the end did anything or not.

Very few of my mixes get any help from steeping, so I only do it for the ones that need it.

 

[dannyv45]

I guess I am just to lazy to dig out and set up a crock pot and I also follow the keep it simple rule. I set my freshly made creation in a heavy cup (heavy, thick cup holds the heat longer) of very hot tap water. I keep my water heater set VERY high so my water will burn you if you hold your hand in it. As the water is cooling I take the bottle out, give it a good shake and return it to the water a couple of times. Once the water is lukewarm I add more very hot water and repeat. I leave the bottle in the water until it cools and consider my juice speed mixed. For me it is much quicker than having to wait for a crock pot to do its thing.

The main thing I am trying to do is not necessarily steeping. It is basically thinning the ingredients to allow them to mix well. In my opinion there are no right or wrong ways to accomplish this. We each have to find what works best for us. This is just the easiest way for me.

I have a UC and also get lazy just like you. I have a nice insolated thurmos soup container with a tight fitting lid that fits 2 30ml bottles perfectly and keeps fluids hot for hours. This is what I've been using lately for my small quickie mixes. I also rarely speed steep any more except when I'm experimenting with new flavors or mixes using 10ml samples. Now I make my ADV's in large quantities of 120 to 240ml and rotate my stock so by the time I run out of old mix my new batch is fully steeped.

 

[Zombo]

That's a shame. You'll never know if the added process at the end did anything or not.

That makes sense.

 

[Zombo]

I have a UC and also get lazy just like you. I have a nice insolated thurmos soup container with a tight fitting lid that fits 2 30ml bottles perfectly and keeps fluids hot for hours. This is what I've been using lately for my small quickie mixes. I also rarely speed steep any more except when I'm experimenting with new flavors or mixes using 10ml samples. Now I make my ADV's in large quantities of 120 to 240ml and rotate my stock so by the time I run out of old mix my new batch is fully steeped.

I will probably end up doing the same thing...time my batches. I really only vape one flavor anyway (Tribeca)...I'm weird that way....I can't stand most flavors that I've tried. And if I do like one, then I get tired of it real quick. No so with Tribeca, I've been puffing on it all day for over a year now. My first batch is a clone recipe I got from ECF. I can't wait to try other RY4s.

 

[Zombo]

I finished tasting my first batch. The color didn't seem to change that much, if at all, since it was made. I gave it 3 hrs in the CP last night (around 145F), and lots of shaking.

I think I may have ruined the recipe (for my tastes), or maybe it just needs to steep a lot longer.

This was the recipe :
Acetyl Pyrazine (TFA) 0.4%
RY4 Double (TFA) 10%
Tobacco Blend (TFA) 1%
Cotton Candy (TFA) 1%

Now, I wasn't sure which Tobacco to buy from TFA so I settled for something called "Tobacco"...in other words, I took a shot in the dark. When I got it, the smell reminded me of Halo's Longhorn...intense and perfumey...not at all what I was looking for, but I used it anyway.

I hope it will mellow out with age.

Would it be worthwhile to do the above recipe again, but just leave out the Tobacco? I don't have any other flavors atm.

 

[dannyv45]

What exactly were you shooting for with that recipe. A tribeca clone? If so I would have left out the tobacco blend and cotton candy and used 1% AP, 7% RY4D,

Your likely tasting an over the top sweetness and a chemical taste at your present percentages. Also this mix needs a good 5 - 6 hour steep. This mix also has little tobacco taste and mostly a sweet caramel taste.

Many rave about the RY4D but I find it far to sweet for my pallet.

A closer fit for tribeca would be one of my prime 15 recipes found in the halo thread and just add 2% of your favorite caramel.

Here's just one example:

Base 50PG/50VG at your desired NIC strength

Hangsen No.5, 7% (more nutty) tobacco OR Hangsen highway (Less nutty)
TFA AP, 1%
Hangsen Caramel, 2%
hangsen cocoa, 2% (Powdery cocoa note) OR Hangsen milk chocolate (creamer sweeter chocolate note)
TFA MTB (Methylbutyraldehyde), 1% (secret ingredient that gives halo it's mossy, bready, fruity cocoa note)
TFA EM (Ethyl Maltol), point 5% (.5) (This amount is not ment to sweeten but instead add body, roundness and fullness).

The above is what your looking for as far as tribeca goes. This mix needs a 5 hour steep at 150F. Leave out the caramel and you have a prime 15 clone.

Note: Where there are 2 ingredients listed indicates original recipe or enhanced recipe.

The hangsen you can buy at

www.buyhangsen.com

The TFA you can buy directly from

http://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/default.aspx

 

[doctordun]

dannyv45, which Halo thread are you referring to?
I see tons of threads mentioning Halo.

 

[dannyv45]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/108500-halo-freedom-smooth-torque-recipes.html

 

[Zombo]

Yes, I'm shooting for a Tribeca clone. I checked out the various threads (also searched for RY4), but since it's my first time I just randomly picked one of the recipes. I definitely used the wrong Tobacco. It seems to have taken over the recipe, and it's nothing like Tribeca, but at least it's vapable (and already it's starting to lose the overbearing perfumey quality).

I'm going to make a basic batch as you suggest...just RY4D and AP (maybe a little cotton candy) and go from there.

Even though I'm finding DiY to be interesting and amusing, I need to make this clone out of necessity. Since getting into RBAs/Mods recently, my e-juice consumption has sky-rocketed (I can vape freely at work, so no help there heh). At this rate, my vaping will end up costing me as much as my stinkies habit used to. I wouldn't mind ordering pre-made once in a while, but I need a home-brewed ADV.

BTW, is it odd for someone to be so obsessed with one flavor?

I would like to try your Prime 15 at some point....that was my second favorite Halo flavor. It reminded me of hazelnuts and...um...fried chicken! Ok my taste buds may have been a bit off from a 38yr analog habit.

ETA: btw, when you say"Also this mix needs a good 5 - 6 hour steep" you mean in the UC/CP correct?

 

[Zombo]

Wow, so after CP plus a week of steeping, my perfumey first batch (with the wrong tobacco) is pretty tastey! Also, I've been vaping the batch with just RY4+AP, and that's been getting better also (I liked it even after CP+24hrs).

Today I received :

-Hangsen Flue-cured Tobacco
-MFS Tobacco absolute.

Tomorrow (hopefully) I shall have:

-FA Virginia Tobacco
-NF Brown Sugar

I intend to try the Foggman 26 Tribeca clone. Will also get to try my new Amazon.com : My Weigh Ibalance 201 Table Top Precision Scale - SCM201 : Educational And Hobby Weighing Scales : Office Products for mixing.

Also, whats the deal with Tobacco absolute? Does it matter where you get it? I see some recipes say TFA TA, but I didn't see it listed on their site. I ended up getting MFS Tobacco Absolute, but they had something called Tobacco Blend (TA+EM). Did I get the wrong one? Am I going to have to dilute mine? Whats the point of TA+EM...aren't most people going to use a sweetener anyway (depending on recipe)?

 

[dannyv45]

Wow, so after CP plus a week of steeping, my perfumey first batch (with the wrong tobacco) is pretty tastey! Also, I've been vaping the batch with just RY4+AP, and that's been getting better also (I liked it even after CP+24hrs).

Today I received :

-Hangsen Flue-cured Tobacco
-MFS Tobacco absolute.

Tomorrow (hopefully) I shall have:

-FA Virginia Tobacco
-NF Brown Sugar

I intend to try the Foggman 26 Tribeca clone. Will also get to try my new Amazon.com : My Weigh Ibalance 201 Table Top Precision Scale - SCM201 : Educational And Hobby Weighing Scales : Office Products for mixing.

Also, whats the deal with Tobacco absolute? Does it matter where you get it? I see some recipes say TFA TA, but I didn't see it listed on their site. I ended up getting MFS Tobacco Absolute, but they had something called Tobacco Blend (TA+EM). Did I get the wrong one? Am I going to have to dilute mine? Whats the point of TA+EM...aren't most people going to use a sweetener anyway (depending on recipe)?

I never added EM to my TA I just mixed it down. If I wanted to add a little sweetness to my tobacco I used regular sweetener at half a percent. Some have used EM when combining several different tobaccos to tame a predominent tobacco to blend in with the others and bring out fullness but if predomanence and fullness are not an issue stay away from EM with tobaccos it will mute the tobacco taste if over used. If you do use it use no more then half a percent.

 

[Art Mustel]

Danny, I can't find the Methylbutyraldehyde at perfumer apprentice, is it the trimethyl pyrazine?

 

[dannyv45]

Here it is

Perfumers Apprentice - Methylbutyraldehyde 1% (PG)