Hello! Newbie from Arkansas needs some advice.

[Kyle&Ann]

My wife and I have been vaping for a little over two weeks. We are so thrilled not to be smoking cigarettes anymore...we already feel better in many ways.We are both educators and even though we are relatively new, we have been doing some extensive research. I am also very much a DIY person in most aspects of my life and of course I am already headed towards DIY e juice. We have a best friend who is a chemist (smartest guy we know) and he is educating himself on this subject so he may help us.

We are preparing to place an order for nicotine, PG/VG, flavors and equipment. As soon as we receive some information from those much more experienced than us...we will do so. We have read the threads pertaining to 100mg nicotine and have taken them very seriously. However, we have received some advice indicating this is the route we should go. Also with the help from our friend and my background as a HazMat trained firefighter, I am confident in our ability to handle this dangerous substance safely.

Here are our questions...

1. I don't know how to post a thread in the DIY forum. How do I do that?

2. In what quantities should we order the nicotine, PG and VG? We do not want to order to much but at the same time, we do not want to have to reorder to often. Does that make sense? We have our websites to order from selected....we just need help on the quantities needed to get us set up and going.

Thanks very much for taking the time to read this thread and for helping us out!

Kyle & Ann

 

[MoonLit_Water]

You need at least 5 (i think) posts before moving on to the DIY section. And there You will find answers to all Your questions. Nic juice PG and VG have a decent shelf life, extended by storage in a freezer. 1 or 2 years shouldn't be much of a problem, but browse around the forums get Your posts up then head on over to the DIY section. People with more experience than I have will be more than happy to help You out any way they can..

 

[gavind4]

Welcome & congrats to both of you! You need 5 posts, then you will be free to use the rest of the forum(reply counts). If you smoked a pack a day, then you will use about 5 ml. a day. Hope that helps. Best wishes.

 

[cskent]

If you have kept track of your daily liquid consumption you can use a ratio equation to figure out how long a given amount of 100 mg nic base will last. You may want to order extra, however, since you'll likely mix some liquids that are not to your liking, resulting in waste. You didn't tell us what your target strength will be, and that would have an impact on any recommendations for order quantities. If you're mixing to 6 mg you won't need a whole lot of nic base, but if your target is 24 mg you'll need quite a bit more. I'd suggest you figure on purchasing enough, plus a bit extra, to give you approximately 6 months of order-free vaping.

 

[Kyle&Ann]

Thanks so much to those who have replied. We really appreciate it. We went ahead and placed an order last night. This is what we ended up ordering...

RTS Vapes:
6 120 ml cobalt blue glass containers
120 ml of 100mg VG based nicotine
1000 ml PG
1000 ml VG
120 ml sucralose

US Plastics:
10-30 ml plastic dropper bottles

TPA:
4 oz - Blueberry (extra)
4 oz - Red Bull
4 oz - Strawberry
4 oz - Kiwi
4 oz - Green Apple
1 oz - Cinnamon Cookie

We think we are good to go for a while. Our favorite vapes so far are Sweet Tart, Strawberry Kiwi, Green Apple. Looking forward to trying the cinnamon cookie and many more in the future! Thanks again for those who replied.

Kyle&Ann

 

[Kyle&Ann]

We forgot to mention that our target strength is 18-12 mg for the nicotine.

 

[sailense]

I've actually found 100mg nicotine harder to work with than 36mg nicotine for 12-18mg juice just becuase 36 divides evenly into 12 and 18. With the 100, you're going to have to mix sub-ml proportions, and I find those a lot more fiddly than when mixing in whole ml.

For example, if you're making 30ml @ 20% flavor with a target of 18mg:
100mg nicotine
PG nicotine: 5.4ml
PG or VG no nicotine: 18.6ml
Flavor: 6ml

36mg nicotine
PG nicotine: 15ml
PG or VG no nicotine: 9ml
Flavor: 6ml

Of course, you're going to use more juice in the lower concentration.

Edited to add: I'm using the ejuice calculater here: eJuice Recipe Calculator

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

You have a very good order that will certainly last a while. I DIY myself and the only thing I see much different that what I order is that I have a lot more flavors and a lot less PG and VG. Also, I have a lot of smaller bottles in different sizes, and tons of pipettes, a dozen syringes and some glassware for measuring, mixing, etc. Once I found what I liked in an ADV, I order flavors in 120 mil concentrates and these last for months. Great job. Get a good online calculator or download and it's a piece of cake. Congrats on your new hobby. Join the DIY section and enjoy!

 

[Chessiesmile]

Welcome fellow Arkansans! Congratulations on quitting the cancer sticks, and welcome to the wonderful world of vaping. My husband and I have been vaping and smoke free for One year, seven months, four weeks, 18 hours, 15 minutes and 1 second. but who's counting. lol I started making our juice the second week of vaping, with the help of this forum. I always use 100 mg and have 240ml at all times in brown glass bottles in the freezer. My fear of government interference in the ability to purchase nic, is the reason for the amount. I want to have at least a years worth, so that I can slowly step down to 0 nic, if it becomes impossible to purchase in the future. I wish you continued freedom, and many tasty recipes in the future.

 

[yardbyrd]

The sound of glass rods mixing liquid in beakers is heard and an odd blue Byrd is seen flying straight down toward the floor of the "Hello! Newbie from Arkansas needs some advice" thread. A plain, brown, wooden perch, with a bevel cut on one side of the "T" appears and the avian lands on it gently. A platinum YB medallion around his neck begins to glow green and you hear a deep, smooth, male, translated voice coming from him:

"Hail, greetings, and salutations DIYers! Your post drew our attention, and since my assistant, James, has been involved with DIY almost a year he asked me to stop by and pave the way for him."

YardByrd flips his right wing and a cobblestone road appears. An old man, balding with white hair, a white goatee, and gold rimmed glasses suddenly appears. He is wearing "Osh Kosh 'B'Gosh overalls and a green flannel shirt; for some reason he sports ruby cufflinks! He bows toward YardByrd. Yardbyrd nods his way and disappears, perch and all, leaving the man, his black work boots reflecting light, there standing on the road. He speaks:

" Check Tractor Supply; gallons of 100% pure (approx. 3700 ml) of PG can be purchased for $20-$25 plus tax. VG, bought from Walmart (Humco), CVS, and other drug stores can be examined; you will find it is 99.5% pure, vegetable glycerin, CVS should offer dates on it's bottles, at a cost of approximately $4 for 6oz. When ordering your NIC consider carefully starting with 100%. It is wise to buy nic in PG or VG only (Not a PG/VG ratio) as it can limit the strength and ratio of e-liquids possible to mix. Have you downloaded a freeware e-liquid calculator, like E-Juice Me Up, to plug in your proposed recipes prior to mixing to check viability? If not I urge this to be considered. Have you thought of where you will mix? A well ventilated area, hopefully with a sink, is desireable. Consideration should also be given on how and where all mixing materials will be stored. Are you going to order at least one 7-10ml large bore (18 or 20 gauge) blunt needled syringe?

Finally make sure you have a method, in place, to record all recipes and keep notes copiously. You wouldn't want to be mixing, adjust a recipe, find it is perfect for you, only to find you don't have good record of exactly what you did. Finally how will you label your creations? I put name, nic level, PG/VG ratio, and mix date on a file folder label, cut in half, and if it has a sticking problem I fasten it with a piece of scotch tape. I hope my experiences in these areas assist you in your DIY learning curve; I love DIY. Good luck!"

James casually takes his left ruby cufflink, in his right hand, and twisting it rays of scarlet light shoot out from it, retract, and suddenly he is gone.

 

[Coastal Cowboy]

You can also cut the 100mg nic juice to a 72mg strength and achieve the same ease of use.

 

[Kyle&Ann]

All great advice! Thanks so much. I do have access to a lab and my best friend is a chemist. I just talked to him this morning while taking some compost to our local composting facility. He assures me that we have the correct glassware and measuring instruments. I have sent him some thread links for him to study. I think we will be good to go as soon as the orders start arriving.

This forum is great and we really appreciate everyone's information. Keep it coming.

Yardbird...you are a trip LOL. Thanks for the very interesting response. You rmind us of one of our geocaching friends!

Woooo Pig Soooie to you Chessiesmile! How bout them Hawgs!

Thanks again....Kyle&Ann

 

[MoonLit_Water]

In case You haven't stumbled on it yet here is a calculator for use in DIY
and a thread on TPA Flavorings

 

[Kyle&Ann]

Thanks MoonLit...

Going to check it out now.

Kyle&Ann