Harsh DIY liquid

[The tourist]

Hi everybody,
I've been making my own liquid for a few months but it seems a lot of my mixes come out harsh, or with a bite. I'd like to achieve that smoothness I get from premium liquids.

I exclusively use TPA flavorings, nic from my freedom smokes, and have tried pg/VG from wizard labs and essential.
I usually follow recipes from breakthru software. I have tried adding TPA smooth and/or ACV in some of the mixes but I still get a harsh throat hit and several friends agree that some of the liquids I make are harsh.

I have seen some people use saline? Would that help?

I rarely go above 20% total flavorings. Most of the time I am well under that percentage.

Any help or advice is appreciated.

I forgot to add that I make batches in 6,12,18mg. 50/50 ratio. I measure everything accurately . Most of the time it is the higher mg mixes that have the worst harshness but I also vape 18 from online vendors and the throat hit/harshness is much worse in my DIY liquids. What are their secrets ?

 

[rdwilliamson]

Steeping your eliquid will help dramatically. I leave the cap off of mine for 24 hours and then let them sit for a week. Night and Day difference.

 

[Mstbleu]

Hi Tourist, I mix my juice at 8mg and always add 1% marshmallow to the mix. I think it smoothes out the disparate flavors and takes off the rough edges making for a smoother, less harsh blend. Of course, ymmv ...

What flavors are you mixing?

 

[DTails707]

I was having this same issue but found out if your dripping that's totally normal drip ejuice is usually 3,6,&12 mg 3mg is the best for dripping

 

[Gqballa]

I vape and diy 0 mg. I found leaving the top off for 24 hours relives the harshness it got when I vaped right away.

Make a small batch with no nic and see if you get the same harshness

 

[Crunktanium]

Long steep time works like magic which is what premium vendors are doing. Personally I just air my juice manually for a few days squeezing out the old air and allowing fresh air to enter the bottle. This helps the steep with minimal chance of introducing contaminants in the air.

I have only open steeped some really large batches where bottling right away is not an option. I do those in a sterilized tomato sauce jar with a paper towel secured with a rubber band over the top. The paper towel will allow some air to circulate while helping to keep dust and other particulates from getting in the juice. Since these batches are typically 500ml or more they need at least 48 hours. But the smaller the amount of juice or bottle the quicker it will air out. Before the steep however I shake the juice like a mad man and use a mini mixer to force lots of oxygen into the mixture.

 

[michaelsil1]

First find out what is harsh! Vape PG alone then VG by itself if both of those are smooth then add some Nicotine to the PG and VG mix. If it is still smooth then it's your Flavoring.

 

[The tourist]

Thanks for the tips everybody. If I drip I usually do 3-6mg. It seems to be the higher mg DIY that seems harsh, even though I will not get that harshness from brands I buy at 18mg.

I do let them steep but I haven't been taking the caps off. I just put them in a dry dark place for days/weeks. Not all seem harsh, it seems the citrus/ fruity ones that have a bite to them.

I will also try vaping them separately as suggested to see if I can pinpoint what is harsh..

Thanks again guys!!

 

[dannyv45]

Try increasing your VG to lets say 65vg/35PG then add 4% saline solution. It really does the trick for harshness and throat irritation. I've also noticed the NIC from myfreedom is a bit harsh and this helps.

 

[LucentShadow]

First thing that stuck out to me is that most of the TPA flavorings that I use are far too strong to use at anywhere near 20%. Concentration varies a lot with TPA, so I always test them to determine how much is needed for 'full flavor'. This number will not be the same for everybody.

I'd also take a look at if any of your flavorings have alcohol in them. Some TPA flavorings are carried in ethyl alcohol, and some people find that to be quite irritating to vape (myself included.)

 

[zoiDman]

First find out what is harsh! Vape PG alone then VG by itself if both of those are smooth then add some Nicotine to the PG and VG mix. If it is still smooth then it's your Flavoring.

This is Something that Many DIY-ers forget to do when they Buy a Batch of Nicotine Base. Or a Bottle of PG or VG.

Test You Base Ingredients.

 

[doghair]

Try increasing your VG to lets say 65vg/35PG then add 4% saline solution. It really does the trick for harshness and throat irritation. I've also noticed the NIC from myfreedom is a bit harsh and this helps.

Any recommendations on sourcing the saline? Walgreens/Osco or something? I am having the same rookie problems with harshness and want to try some of the advice in this thread, great stuff, it's appreciated.

 

[dannyv45]

Any recommendations on sourcing the saline? Walgreens/Osco or something? I am having the same rookie problems with harshness and want to try some of the advice in this thread, great stuff, it's appreciated.

Any large chain pharmacy, Walgreens, CVS etc.... If you can't find what you need just ask the pharmacist.

 

[The tourist]

Thanks again, I haven't had a chance to test my components individually but I have left several juices that I know are harsh to me with caps off over night. I also have some steeping in a cool dark place that I am visiting daily and squeezing air out of and shaking .

Will test them and report back soon. I also want to try the saline

 

[MissAmerican]

Maybe switch your nicotine brand? Also try making juices with other flavoring brands along with the ones from TFA. Some of the best juices contain a mix of different brands (in my opinion anyway ).