HELP!!! New DIY Vaper
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Hi, and welcome to ECF. This is going to be the forum you want: DIY E-Liquid
Tons of helpful folks, links to juice calculators (you will use them to determine how to mix your ingredients) recipes (if you want them) and tons of helpful folks. Most people choose a juice calculator they like (some of them can save past recipes) and use that one pretty consistently. You are correct in that you will need some nicotine base (can buy it various strengths, most folks use 100 mg/ml as the base, and if you plan to use PG in your mixes, often PG based nicotine is easier to handle than VG (although you can purchase either, and sometimes a mix) as VG is rather viscous, and flavors. Will also need some graduated cylinders or needles to measure milliliters (though some folks mix by weight, I have done both) bottles, a few beakers, gloves can be useful. Some vendors sell mixing "kits" and some folks find those useful starting out or can mix/match as you wish. I'd suggest starting with fairly small amounts of flavors to start until you find flavors/recipes/ingredients that you really like.... Etc.
Welcome to ECF, I think you will have fun DIY and it's great savings. But you can also ask any other questions you have here...
Anna
Tons of helpful folks, links to juice calculators (you will use them to determine how to mix your ingredients) recipes (if you want them) and tons of helpful folks. Most people choose a juice calculator they like (some of them can save past recipes) and use that one pretty consistently. You are correct in that you will need some nicotine base (can buy it various strengths, most folks use 100 mg/ml as the base, and if you plan to use PG in your mixes, often PG based nicotine is easier to handle than VG (although you can purchase either, and sometimes a mix) as VG is rather viscous, and flavors. Will also need some graduated cylinders or needles to measure milliliters (though some folks mix by weight, I have done both) bottles, a few beakers, gloves can be useful. Some vendors sell mixing "kits" and some folks find those useful starting out or can mix/match as you wish. I'd suggest starting with fairly small amounts of flavors to start until you find flavors/recipes/ingredients that you really like.... Etc.
Welcome to ECF, I think you will have fun DIY and it's great savings. But you can also ask any other questions you have here...
Anna
Also what volume of flavourings should I be adding? I have been told that 10% flavouring volume should be used but this seems a bit high. For example if I wanted to make a 30ml bottle would I add 3ml worth of flavouring?
Flavoring is really individual. I started out low and slow with DIY, and my mixes are probably between 5--8% flavoring (excluding any sweetener). I started with single flavor mixes and then combined in my tank, but it's also possible to follow a recipe that looks good. I'd suggest starting with smaller mixes, and if you are concerned, you can always flavor UP, but if you over flavor then you are left with perhaps trying to add other ingredients than flavors to flavor down.
There's no set percentage, everyone kind of finds their own sweet spot. I find most commercial eliquid overflavored now that my tastebuds are returned. 10% is not unreasonable, however.
Anna
There's no set percentage, everyone kind of finds their own sweet spot. I find most commercial eliquid overflavored now that my tastebuds are returned. 10% is not unreasonable, however.
Anna
Thanks for you quick reply. I dont suppose you could direct me to somewhere which would tell me what the acronyms mean? lol
Short awnser: yup. You want to give the bottle a good shake to mix the stuff together before you vape it but that’s it.
Long awnser: there is steeping where you either let the bottle sit for a week for the flavors to mature of use any of a number of speed steeping methods involving with a crock pot, a microwave oven, or a sonic cleaner. It’s not required though.
Here’s a tutorial though you really don’t need it.
I’m not sure how far I trust a guy with four nostrils. It could really suck if he got a cold
Long awnser: there is steeping where you either let the bottle sit for a week for the flavors to mature of use any of a number of speed steeping methods involving with a crock pot, a microwave oven, or a sonic cleaner. It’s not required though.
Here’s a tutorial though you really don’t need it.
I’m not sure how far I trust a guy with four nostrils. It could really suck if he got a cold
10% is not particularly high. Some people make out like it is, but so much depends on what you are mixing. 10% might be high for a tobacco you intend to steep/mature for a month but for some flavor apprentice's (for example) I go straight in at more than 10%.
I make liquid for friends and one of my most popular has 9%, 5%, 2% and some sweetener.
My opinion is 3ml in 30ml could taste weak. The point is (if I may) the flavor is already diluted into PG to sell to you. No two people taste things the same and you should always start with lower than higher, of course.
Well, tell us about you, how long have you been vaping, what juice do you currently use?
Without much info, all I can add is - read & watch, read & watch!
The enjoyment is in doing it yourself. As an old timer, no one was willing to just take our hands and do it for us. Lot's and lot's of time spend reading & watching...welcome to one of the largest libraries on the planet... hth
Without much info, all I can add is - read & watch, read & watch!
The enjoyment is in doing it yourself. As an old timer, no one was willing to just take our hands and do it for us. Lot's and lot's of time spend reading & watching...welcome to one of the largest libraries on the planet... hth
Thanks for all your help guys. So have you guys ever tried to make you own actual flavourings?? I love the idea of being able to make my own flavourings but I have been told it is very hard to produce successful results.
How do you guys know how to look out for contaminants such as diacetyl and acetoin and how can I find out if a certain flavouring has these in?
How do you guys know how to look out for contaminants such as diacetyl and acetoin and how can I find out if a certain flavouring has these in?
Some flavoring companies will list that, but not all. I may be misremembering but I believe some of that information may also have been collated by some folks on a spreadsheet in the DIY forum.
It is rather difficult (and usually not recommended) to make your own flavorings with some exceptions, like Naturally extracted tobacco and at one point I was told teas can work. Typically though commercial flavorings have been used and often trying to "create" a flavor from scratch can cause undesirable byproducts or other issues with the vape. While it may seem counterintuitive, commercial flavorings have been used the longest, and have been studied, to a point.
Reading more over on DIY board will help with a lot of these questions. But especially starting out, I'd think even Naturally extracted tobaccos might be a bit daunting. I may be learning how since my husband vapes them....
Anna
It is rather difficult (and usually not recommended) to make your own flavorings with some exceptions, like Naturally extracted tobacco and at one point I was told teas can work. Typically though commercial flavorings have been used and often trying to "create" a flavor from scratch can cause undesirable byproducts or other issues with the vape. While it may seem counterintuitive, commercial flavorings have been used the longest, and have been studied, to a point.
Reading more over on DIY board will help with a lot of these questions. But especially starting out, I'd think even Naturally extracted tobaccos might be a bit daunting. I may be learning how since my husband vapes them....
Anna
There's a ton of tutorial video's on DIY on You Tube:
There's a sub-forum here on ECF that you can focus your questions at experienced mixers: DIY E-Liquid
You'll probably need to decide if you will mix by weight or volume. I went with volume just because I thought that would be more familar for me.
Start looking for e-liquid recipes that sound appealing to you (google search).
e-Liquid Recipes
E-Liquid Recipes | DIY E-Juice | e cig Liquids
Popular E-Liquid Recipes - 99Juices
Recipes for Dummies
Then make a list of flavorings that you'll need. Try to estimate how large of a bottle for each flavor that you'll need to purchase depending upon the percentage of that flavoring needed in the recipe. Recipes that ask for 2 - 3 ml or 5 - 6% you might want to get a 30ml bottle; recipes that only ask for less than a ml or 1 - 2 % you may only need a 10ml bottle.
I'd suggest to make just a 30 ml batch innitially, just to make certain that you like the recipe. You don't need to be making 100ml of something that doesn't turn out to your expectations.
You'll need to use a recipe calculator to make your nicotine base (nicotine, Pg, Vg) at the nic concentration and Pg/Vg ratio you want. Some people use a 50/50 ratio; I prefer a 30pg/70vg ratio. You can add the flavorings either during or after the nic base is created.
E-Liquid Calculator
Make an educated guess of what mixing supplies you will need. You'll need several syringes (50ml, 30ml, 10ml, 3ml, and several 1ml), a couple of blunt needles, a funnel, and mixing beakers. I like getting my flavors and supplies from Bull City Flavors. I get my nic and Pg and Vg at Wizard Labs.
Don't expect to get your first order of supplies right. I probably made 3 separate orders in the first couple of weeks because I realized I had forgotten something that I needed later.
There's a sub-forum here on ECF that you can focus your questions at experienced mixers: DIY E-Liquid
You'll probably need to decide if you will mix by weight or volume. I went with volume just because I thought that would be more familar for me.
Start looking for e-liquid recipes that sound appealing to you (google search).
e-Liquid Recipes
E-Liquid Recipes | DIY E-Juice | e cig Liquids
Popular E-Liquid Recipes - 99Juices
Recipes for Dummies
Then make a list of flavorings that you'll need. Try to estimate how large of a bottle for each flavor that you'll need to purchase depending upon the percentage of that flavoring needed in the recipe. Recipes that ask for 2 - 3 ml or 5 - 6% you might want to get a 30ml bottle; recipes that only ask for less than a ml or 1 - 2 % you may only need a 10ml bottle.
I'd suggest to make just a 30 ml batch innitially, just to make certain that you like the recipe. You don't need to be making 100ml of something that doesn't turn out to your expectations.
You'll need to use a recipe calculator to make your nicotine base (nicotine, Pg, Vg) at the nic concentration and Pg/Vg ratio you want. Some people use a 50/50 ratio; I prefer a 30pg/70vg ratio. You can add the flavorings either during or after the nic base is created.
E-Liquid Calculator
Make an educated guess of what mixing supplies you will need. You'll need several syringes (50ml, 30ml, 10ml, 3ml, and several 1ml), a couple of blunt needles, a funnel, and mixing beakers. I like getting my flavors and supplies from Bull City Flavors. I get my nic and Pg and Vg at Wizard Labs.
The above are not the only links you can use, they are just what I use. You'll get plenty of advice of where other people get their supplies.
Be sure to keep detailed records of your mixes, that way you'll remember what works and what doesn't. It may seem overwhelming trying to make intelligent choices at first, but my advice is to jump right in and LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES. .
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If you mean produce a flavor, then no, I've not heard of this. It would be expensive too, surely?
If you mean develop a recipe, they yes.
Flavor concentrate are not expensive and even 'one-shots' mixed up with all the other ingredients (PG/VG/Nicotine) are so much cheaper than ready-made liquid.
Most shop/brand liquid is already far too expensive with outrageous mark-ups. The makers like to justify the price, but the price has never been good really. In the early days (5+ years ago) I guess the price could be justified because of the associated costs and low-volume sales but these days it's a bit of a joke. $16-25 for 30ml.... I make 100ml for $6 to $10 often using expensive ingredients.
You just need a recipe, an e-juice calculator and ingredients to get started. I use anything from 2 flavors upwards. These days, one-shots are increasingly my choice.
The UK got into these very quickly when they clamped down on e-cig laws.
Funny how these vendors managed to charge so much for 30ml of ready-made but they can't seem to force the prices up on flavor concentrates.
It seems like the vapers most eager to give advice are in to mixing with a lot of different flavoring in reletively high percentages. That's what they like to do but there are other approaches. Make make an unflavored batch and use it to dilute an eliquid you already have that you already like. Try 50/50 or even 25/75. If that's successful it's the confidence builder you probably need at this point. My mix is 50/50 pg and vg, 12mg nic and just 1% of an all-in-one flavoring. It tastes fine. Because of the very low percent of flavoring I don't tiire of it so I don't need a whole bunch of different mixss around for variety. (You didn't smoke 10 different flavors of cigarettes.)
For supplies, 1 gallon each of PG and VG for about $20 each, 1 liter of 100mg nic diluted in pg for about $50, a bottle or two of all-in-one flavoring and/or dilute your commercail pre-mix. In the beginning I mixed with syringes. These days I mix 200 ml once a month and measure with graduated glass cylinders. Some people measure with a small digital scale.
I buy my 'base' liquid already pre-mixed (PG/VG/nic) and sometimes (now most of the time..) add 1 or 2 flavors to that. I add 4 and 5 percent of the flavors into a 30 ml batch. I use this calculator: eJuice Me Up.
Hi and welcome. You're getting good advice, but I will add try making small batches at first, until you get the recipe balanced for the flavor(s) you want. Once you have the recipe down, then you can make bigger batches. For small batch mixing, I found plastic syringes useful for measuring. Nowadays I have my basic flavors long refined and tend to mix in batches of .5-1 liters, so I use lab glass for measuring. That's an expensive option, but it's very accurate (with the proper technique, of course) and I like the idea of being able to wash them completely clean. Some folk like lab "glass" in plastic as the plastic versions are less "sticky" so the more viscous fluids don't cling to them and it's easier to pour them out. (Remind me to tell you the story of trying to measure VG in a 10mL glass cylindrical graduate, lol.) Also FWIW, I stick to The Flavor Apprentice flavorings, and they list ingredients and cautions etc. on their website.
Arun, these mini funnels could come in handy to get the ingredients into the juice bottle.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clear-Mini...8&qid=1503163684&sr=1-9&keywords=mini+funnels
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clear-Mini...8&qid=1503163684&sr=1-9&keywords=mini+funnels
Welcome and glad you joined.
Hopefully, you have your ADV gear and settings down pat and are ready to mix. If you are not happy with your equipment and unsure about how optimal you vape with purchased e-liquid, DIY may confuse and lead to an unhappy outcome.
The more you study, the more likely you will succeed.
Might like to read the following compilations:
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/blogs/dannyv45.130984/
diy_beginners_guide - DIY_eJuice
http://www.thevaperstable.com/diy/
http://www.ejuicemakers.com/help/
Getting Started: DIY 101 – Mixing Your Own eLiquid
http://diyordievaping.com/category/latestnews/beginnertips/
A Beginner's Guide To Making The Most Highly-Rated Recipes by Scottes777 • r/electronic_cigarette
https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/f...es-and-safety-for-the-first-time-juicer.5096/
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