Hi all, new to DIY. Advice needed

Status
Not open for further replies.

DIY Apprentice

Senior Member
Jul 26, 2019
81
88
Ireland
Well I wish you all the best with quitting smoking - I've had a few relapses myself over the years, but I'm hoping that this time I've finally kicked the dirty habit!

Anyway, now that I've re-wicked my coils and juiced them up nicely I'm going to have a quick puff then I'm off to bed!

Peace
Haha thank you if all fails there is a shop with cigarettes in it haha. 15.20 per pack is not what i want though
 

AngeNZ

ShutterBug
Supporting Member
ECF Veteran
  • Mar 24, 2018
    11,343
    88,203
    New Zealand
    I am not sure the flavour is the problem i have no idea though when i taste from the bottle i am getting the taste but when i vape all flavour is gone

    It could be the 15% flavouring is muting - which causes a lacklustre or 'crappy' taste.

    If you can, try some small 10ml mixes using your flavourings at say brown sugar 2%, maple pecan 5% and cinnamon 1% - if you can taste the flavour in that, then it shows you that your previous mix was over-flavoured
     

    stols001

    Moved On
    ECF Veteran
    May 30, 2017
    29,338
    108,119
    The flavors you are mentioning make me think "steep" which means you gotta just wait some time. Think, several weeks at least.

    You could also be overflavoring. I have no idea with that manufacturer honestly. But, 15% is not outside the realm of POSSIBLITY if your flavorings are not super strong.

    I would make smaller test batches of various percentages and I'm sorry but you will probably have to wait a while.

    Anna
     

    MyMagicMist

    Ultra Member
    ECF Veteran
    Mar 28, 2014
    1,159
    2,465
    53
    Forgot to add the photo of the tiger coil....d'ohView attachment 828857

    Thank you sincerely for that. Your photo here of it helped me confirm how I thought tiger coils were made. I had tried using two strands of say 26 awg round wire and twisting them. Now, I see a round and a ribbon wire are used. So, yes thank you. :)
     

    bombastinator

    ECF Guru
    ECF Veteran
    Verified Member
    Sep 12, 2010
    13,319
    26,519
    MN USA
    Haha sorry. I bought in the vg/pg and the flavours but i mean i already had in mind what % of which flavour to use ofcourse within the recommendations. First one was brown sugar, cinnamon swirl and maple peacan all averaging at 5%
    Cinnamon swirl is not a flavor that should need much steeping. Odd that there wasn’t much flavor. Flavorings are very individual though. There are people here who use 2% and those who use 25%. Also different people taste flavorings differently. You’re starting fancy. Perhaps try the flavorings individually and see how you like them before stirring up something complicated.

    If you can taste one flavor but not another you know where the issue lies
     

    MyMagicMist

    Ultra Member
    ECF Veteran
    Mar 28, 2014
    1,159
    2,465
    53
    That is crazy stuff and i thought vaping is supposed to be cheaper than smoking hahaha

    It actually is once you can get over some of the initial costs. I've spent one tenth as much as I would have smoking for two years. That's to say if I would have spent $2,000 in a year for cigarettes I've spent $200, or less on vaping per year.

    Making my coils and using an RDA has cut back on costs too. I can get a 250 ft spool of Kanthal A1 26 awg wire, get roughly 600 coils out of it at around a whopping $0.02 for each coil. Granted, if I use SSL316, NiChrome I'll pay a little more. Then, I stop and consider "gee, $200 or less a year, sure I can spend a little more once in a while".

    The biggest cost items are the mods, then batteries, wire, cotton/rayon, base juice, flavorings. I'm using a base juice of 100% VG at 18mg/ml nicotine. I've cut that down currently with some TFA Peppermint II at 10%, so I'm vaping roughly 90% VG/ 10% PG. I use it with sub-ohm coils.

    Well hope you can find info you need. Apologies if I'm a bit brief.
     
    Last edited:

    John Phoenix

    Ultra Member
    ECF Veteran
    Apr 12, 2011
    1,527
    880
    New Orleans
    Perhaps try the flavorings individually and see how you like them before stirring up something complicated.

    THIS. I have found some flavors are often muted when mixed with other flavors depending on the brand as well as the PG/VG/Nic ratio or some flavors you just can't get good flavor out of at all. Buying lots of sample bottles of say 3 or 5 mil might help. It's why I don't mix too many flavors but just a few I have found to like and buy everything else pre-mixed.. it can be a real pain in the .... figuring out what works best for you. I've vaped a lot of bad homemade mistakes !
     

    HigherStateD

    Ultra Member
    ECF Veteran
    Mar 11, 2019
    2,250
    5,277
    Phoenixville, PA, U.S. of A.
    Hi, i used the recommendations and i picked a percentage on each somewhere in the middle of minimum and maximum, of anything it could be it is definitely not how much flavour i used
    If you create a recipe, and add a flavor, it will suggest a percentage.
    If your not getting ANY flavor, I'd add more in until you can taste it, little by little.
    Aslo, commercial juice tends to have LOADS of flavoring added, IMHO, and the pecan and brown sugar I've tried (TFA) are on the weaker side.
     

    DIY Apprentice

    Senior Member
    Jul 26, 2019
    81
    88
    Ireland
    It actually is once you can get over some of the initial costs. I've spent one tenth as much as I would have smoking for two years. That's to say if I would have spent $2,000 in a year for cigarettes I've spent $200, or less on vaping per year.

    Making my coils and using an RDA has cut back on costs too. I can get a 250 ft spool of Kanthal A1 26 awg wire, get roughly 600 coils out of it at around a whopping $0.02 for each coil. Granted, if I use SSL316, NiChrome I'll pay a little more. Then, I stop and consider "gee, $200 or less a year, sure I can spend a little more once in a while".

    The biggest cost items are the mods, then batteries, wire, cotton/rayon, base juice, flavorings. I'm using a base juice of 100% VG at 18mg/ml nicotine. I've cut that down currently with some TFA Peppermint II at 10%, so I'm vaping roughly 90% VG/ 10% PG. I use it with sub-ohm coils.

    Well hope you can find info you need. Apologies if I'm a bit brief.
    Haha ye i would have around 4.5k a year on smokes. Your info is good. I came across a few articles, i am not sure if this is a rare case or not but they were going through more than 30ml per day on the eliquid. I am pretty certain they were talking about the commercial eliquid. Ofcourse if price is not an issue and to just get off the smokes all is good but if it were to save on money it can be counter-productive if going crazy on the commercial eliquids. I would like to learn more on the equipment to get the best flavour with the option to have the best power. I have a powerful tfv12 but no longer have a mod that can power it fully i only have the crown 4 mod
     
    Last edited:

    DIY Apprentice

    Senior Member
    Jul 26, 2019
    81
    88
    Ireland
    If you create a recipe, and add a flavor, it will suggest a percentage.
    If your not getting ANY flavor, I'd add more in until you can taste it, little by little.
    Aslo, commercial juice tends to have LOADS of flavoring added, IMHO, and the pecan and brown sugar I've tried (TFA) are on the weaker side.
    I still find it strange that the flavour apart from the alcohol taste would be quite nice but it does not taste when vaporized or should i let it steep for a week. It has only been a day
     

    daillewe

    Senior Member
    ECF Veteran
    Oct 11, 2013
    136
    245
    Cardiff, South Wales, UK
    I am afraid of the type of coil you wick manually. I only tried it once when it came with the tfv8 and never tried again. I have a big bottle of de-ionized water that i heat up and clean the coils in i usually get a good bit longer out of each coil

    It takes a bit of practice but it's not too difficult wicking a coil
     

    uthinkofsomething

    Ultra Member
    ECF Veteran
    Jun 7, 2015
    2,157
    8,410
    45
    Toledo, Ohio
    Hi @DIY Apprentice . Can you say again the percentage you used in each mix?
    And just to make sure I have it right, this was 3 flavors in one mix, or was it 3 different bottles with one flavor each, that you made?
    And please don't take this the wrong way, I'm just asking: are you sure you're measurements are reasonably accurate?
    It makes me sad when someone doesn't like their juice...:(
     
    • Agree
    Reactions: HigherStateD

    DIY Apprentice

    Senior Member
    Jul 26, 2019
    81
    88
    Ireland
    Hi @DIY Apprentice . Can you say again the percentage you used in each mix?
    And just to make sure I have it right, this was 3 flavors in one mix, or was it 3 different bottles with one flavor each, that you made?
    And please don't take this the wrong way, I'm just asking: are you sure you're measurements are reasonably accurate?
    It makes me sad when someone doesn't like their juice...:(
    Hi. Yes i made different batches one was 3 flavours and i used 5% x 3. And the next batch i used 8% maximum recommended being 10% and the second was 4% maximum being 5% i used the needle to get accurate flavour and filled the pot to 100ml after the flavour was in the pot
     

    DIY Apprentice

    Senior Member
    Jul 26, 2019
    81
    88
    Ireland
    It takes a bit of practice but it's not too difficult wicking a coil
    I got the wick in the coil no problem but i made other mistakes that put me off i ended up damaging the coil somehow so it was not lighting up evenly i went back to pre made coils the same day i tried those one out
     

    uthinkofsomething

    Ultra Member
    ECF Veteran
    Jun 7, 2015
    2,157
    8,410
    45
    Toledo, Ohio
    Hi. Yes i made different batches one was 3 flavours and i used 5% x 3. And the next batch i used 8% maximum recommended being 10% and the second was 4% maximum being 5% i used the needle to get accurate flavour and filled the pot to 100ml after the flavour was in the pot
    So in the 3 flavor mix you used 15 mls of flavoring total, 15% of 100 mls? You should be tasting something really, however some commercial liquids do use a pretty high % of flavoring and plenty of sweetener, and you may be used to that.
    Also a possibility that the flavors are working against each other a little somehow, it can be complicated with flavorings.
    I honestly don't have any better advice. Give it a few more days. Try a new mix with maybe just over the recommended % for single flavor mixes, but in a multiple flavor mix make one the main and support with others...
    Don't throw out the stuff you have now though, give it a little more time.
     
    • Agree
    Reactions: HigherStateD

    uthinkofsomething

    Ultra Member
    ECF Veteran
    Jun 7, 2015
    2,157
    8,410
    45
    Toledo, Ohio
    I got the wick in the coil no problem but i made other mistakes that put me off i ended up damaging the coil somehow so it was not lighting up evenly i went back to pre made coils the same day i tried those one out
    It truly is easy once you know how to do it. Low wattage just to get it glowing a little, squeeze lightly with ceramic tweezers, and brushing across it with something (like the tweezers) while it cools. That's how you get rid of hot spots (uneven heating). There are many videos on youtube with basic installing of coils and wicking. They make it look easy, and it is.
     
    • Love
    Reactions: HigherStateD
    Status
    Not open for further replies.

    Users who are viewing this thread