Holy Information Overload Batman!

[Bigflyrodder]

Only been vaping about 9 weeks cig free but starting to think of DIY. Looking through these threads it is going to take me years to figure out what to do, where to start, etc.

Is there youtube vid or link to something that does a good job of laying out the basics? Of course I want to know the best place to buy the best ingredients and the best price that product best flavor, etc...lol.

Any ideas? This is a whole new world of befudlement.

 

[Hoosier]

I've been mixing my own for at least 4 years and I'm still befuddled by it all.

 

[Hypatia]

Umm, yeah, it's information overload. I DIY, but really, all I do is unflavored (mix 1 part 100mg/ml nic base into 9 parts of VG = 10mg/ml unflavored juice). When I'm itchin' for a flavor, I have some bottles of Loranns single flavorings that I drip a couple of drops into 6ml Reo bottles, shake, then vape. I'm easy to please, just a hint of flavor can do it for me.

Really, very basic, and even then, it took me 3 months to start adding flavor, lol! I just bought the Loranns from Wizard Labs (which is where I get the nicotine). There's even simpler ways to do it. If you like MBV (I don't know, never tried them), you can buy unflavored nice base in "vapeable" strengths (6-24 or whatever) and add their "flavor concentrates." No measuring 5 different flavors into tiny percentages.

I say, start very slow and as simple as you need. It can be fun and very easy, or it can be demanding and irritating (I hear some like it like that, though ).

 

[PhatRon]

My advice to you on where to buy your stuff would be at WIZARDLABS.COM and then secondly check out RTS Vapes. I use Wizard Labs for most of my supplies.

My Personal DIY must haves minus flavorings:
Nicotine Base
Bottle of PG (got on Amazon from Essential Depot)
Bottle of VG (same as PG)
3x 1ml syringe (for flavorings)
2x 3ml syringe (for PG and VG or Nicotine if Higher strength)
1x 5ml syringe (for mid-strength Nicotine strength or PG/VG)
1x 10ml syringe (for Nicotine if lower strength)
10-20x 10ml bottles (for definite flavor batches)
1-5x 3ml bottles (for test batches)
3x 18 or 20 gauge syringe needles (for PG, Nicotine base, and Flavorings)
1x 14 gauge syrings needles (for VG)
eJuice Me Up calculator

Start at a flavoring around 5-10% on Most flavors if using TFA or Lorann's.
Personally I think a 100% PG nicotine base is easier to work with than VG because it is thinner and is easier to draw into syringes.

 

[Bigflyrodder]

Wizard is sold out of everything until you get down to 24mg, RTS seems to have it. Is that OK? Then I just need a big bottle of VG to mix it into? And flavoring?

 

[piggy]

Noob that started with wizard labs and made 3 10ml juices already that I dare say compares to premium eliquid suppliers.

 

[piggy]

Start at a flavoring around 5-10% on Most flavors if using TFA or Lorann's

Lorann's naturals IMO needs quite a bit more

 

[Bigflyrodder]

Well, I'm in no rush so I'll wait for stock to be available at Wizard Labs!

 

[PhatRon]

Yes that is all you really need, and you can sign up on WL for them to notify you when they have their base back in stock. Best Electronic Cigarettes and E-Liquid - MyFreedomSmokes.com also has some good base but they are a bit more expensive than WL. They have good packaging and very quick shipping times. What are you planning on starting out with your base nic mg/ml at?

Edit: Wizard Labs will also throw in a few little extras for you when you buy from them and they have excellent Customer Service. Here are some of the items they have sent me in separate orders.

I have about 4 more of the 1ml pipettes and 3 more of the 3ml bottles. They also have thrown in a smaller 5ml sample of Irish Cream for me one time too when I ordered some flavors.

 

[Bigflyrodder]

I currently vape a mixture of 18 and 12mg ejuices, most are very high VG (Alien Visions stuff).

 

[Stosh]

Wizard is sold out of everything until you get down to 24mg, RTS seems to have it. Is that OK? Then I just need a big bottle of VG to mix it into? And flavoring?

RTS is fine, I use it a lot because I like the flavor variety they stock. Good nic, good price, my flavors...what's not to like...

edit: I do like Wizard's wide mouth bottles better than RTS....

 

[Bigflyrodder]

That's great! They have VG too or I get that somewhere else?

Dang, was just starting to feel like I had the hang of this whole vaping thing. What size bottle for first order (to see if I can even do this)? Go ahead and get a big one or start smaller?

Really sorry for the questions :-(, just lost.

 

[Hoosier]

I know dannyv45 has a blog on ECF about starting hardware for mixing. I read it posted as recommended reading fairly often. He's got a few blogs about mixing. There are some other blogs on ECF about mixing your own juice too.

Couple of things to think about:
Why not start with the juice bottles you've accumulated over the last 9 months?
You can mix 10ml in a 30ml bottle, but you can't mix 30ml in a 10ml bottle.

 

[Stosh]

VG you can get a WallMart as glycerin or pick it up with your nic concentrate, bit more expensive that way. Size depends on if you're committed to doing DIY or just experimenting and possibly losing interest. The bigger the bottle the more savings in general...

 

[Bigflyrodder]

I know dannyv45 has a blog on ECF about starting hardware for mixing. I read it posted as recommended reading fairly often. He's got a few blogs about mixing. There are some other blogs on ECF about mixing your own juice too.

Couple of things to think about:
Why not start with the juice bottles you've accumulated over the last 9 months?
You can mix 10ml in a 30ml bottle, but you can't mix 30ml in a 10ml bottle.

Have been saving my bottles for exactly that reason, thanks for the advice!

 

[Bigflyrodder]

VG you can get a WallMart as glycerin or pick it up with your nic concentrate, bit more expensive that way. Size depends on if you're committed to doing DIY or just experimenting and possibly losing interest. The bigger the bottle the more savings in general...

I had heard Walmart sells VG, just didn't know if folks turned their nose up at that...lol. Thanks for the direction!

 

[ENAUD]

Only been vaping about 9 weeks cig free but starting to think of DIY. Looking through these threads it is going to take me years to figure out what to do, where to start, etc.

Is there youtube vid or link to something that does a good job of laying out the basics? Of course I want to know the best place to buy the best ingredients and the best price that product best flavor, etc...lol.

Any ideas? This is a whole new world of befudlement.

I too felt a huge bit of information overload when first researching things on the forum. What has helped me lessen the overload was to break it down. Block learning if you will. Take a specific question like say nicotine. Use the search function, I find advanced, and selecting search title only better for my general purposes.
Read up on that subject.
Keep a notebook handy! Very important for me. If I write it down it is more likely to be useful to me in the future. I have a notebook solely for this subject.
Pick another subject, wash rinse repeat...
Another thing is to use the thread tools icon at the top. Click on subscribe to thread if its something that requires more time than presently available to me. Make a note to go back in my notebook.

This is the only way I have been able to sift through and garner what I have learned to date.
Hope this helps.

 

[DebiK]

I will be starting with DIY as soon as my orders get here! I decided to go with all 10ml bottles. I will probably mix up only 5ml in each, but I wanted bottles that I could make 10ml in if I wanted too. As Hoosier said, "You can mix 10ml in a 30ml bottle, but you can't mix 30ml in a 10ml bottle." Same with 5s and 10s.

I will eventually order some 30ml bottles for e-juices I really like. (ADV kinds of juice)

There are videos on YouTube for mixing juices, but I noticed that many I looked at measured ingredients by drops. Because drops can differ from bottle to bottle, I would measure everything with syringes for better accuracy.

Good luck, be safe and have fun!

 

[DebiK]

Keep a notebook handy! Very important for me. If I write it down it is more likely to be useful to me in the future. I have a notebook solely for this subject.

I am HORRIBLY forgetful! This is very, very good advice!

 

[amoret]

So, I have also been thinking of trying DIY, but only for a few teas and a particular coffee that I would be infusing into PG based on directions I was linked to on ECF. I have seriously numb hands, though, and would prefer not to start with really strong nicotine.

Is there a source for say 50 mg nicotine base? I vape 24-26 mg so I am figuring that I could mix that with my infused PG at 50/50 without having to get into extremely precise measurements. (Though the interesting thing is that it would be easier to use pipettes than droppers since I can't feel how tightly I am holding or squeezing a dropper, but I can see when I have the top of a pipette covered.)