I did SOMETHING obviously WRONG in a recipe.

[Uri Burstein]

I had just received my ingredients for making e juice. I usually use a nefarius which works just fine, however I decided to use the atomizer that came with the Smok Devilkin. Just in case. So I looked up a recipe on e liq. I believe I followed the instructions. I was using a 50 50 vg pg base and pure nicotine. Since I only am using one juice, I totaled the amount as opposed to the 5 ingredient recipe. I was going for a 6 mg juice. OH MY GOD. I felt like my throat was on fire. I realize there is a factor for steeping, but I never thought I would get such a jolt. As a total newbie, incompetent for sure, can you advise me where I went wrong? Thank you. Uri

 

[suprtrkr]

If you are saying you used enough nicotine to make up the totals of four ingredients, that;s what you did wrong. You're probably way over 6mg. Can you tell us what you mixed, exactly? How many milliliters of which? And how did you measure it?

 

[bombastinator]

By pure I am assuming pure brand rather than 1000+mg/ml? That WOULD be bad...

Seriously, @suprtrkr is right. We need a lot more exact numbers to tell what you did.

 

[DeloresRose]

If you are saying you used enough nicotine to make up the totals of four ingredients, that;s what you did wrong. You're probably way over 6mg. Can you tell us what you mixed, exactly? How many milliliters of which? And how did you measure it?

Agree, we need more info to assist. Did you use an eliquid calculator?

 

[Storm52]

Deleted. Not helpful.

 

[Hawise]

Could you tell us:

• How much juice you made (total ml)
• How much nicotine you added
• What the nicotine was (concentration should be listed in either mg/ml or percent)

It might not hurt to list the recipe along with how much of each ingredient you used.

Sorry if it's starting to feel like an inquisition. We're really happy to help you figure out what went wrong; we just need to know a few more things so we can get there.

 

[Train2]

Missing info - or confusing...
1 - you didn't use "pure nicotine". That would require like a whole gasmask, bunny suit, special room ventilation, etc. And you might be dead.
2 - what did you mix? How many mls of flavor, how many mls of 50/50 PG/VG, and how many mls - and what strength - nic? (100 mg/ml? 70mg/ml?)

I had just received my ingredients for making e juice. I usually use a nefarius which works just fine, however I decided to use the atomizer that came with the Smok Devilkin. Just in case. So I looked up a recipe on e liq. I believe I followed the instructions. I was using a 50 50 vg pg base and pure nicotine. Since I only am using one juice, I totaled the amount as opposed to the 5 ingredient recipe. I was going for a 6 mg juice. OH MY GOD. I felt like my throat was on fire. I realize there is a factor for steeping, but I never thought I would get such a jolt. As a total newbie, incompetent for sure, can you advise me where I went wrong? Thank you. Uri

 

[Frenchfry1942]

May be a bit embarrassed now.

Finding a friend that does DIY or watching several/many YouTube videos may help.

There is also much to read in the DIY sub-forum.

Good luck!

 

[Diver9543]

First off, you are not the first person to mess up a recipe. I have done it myself and the folks on here have been wonderful at helping me. A few suggestions that I have received.
Write it down. Keep a log of each batch of ejuice you make. This will help identify what went wrong but also to be able to recreate a recipe that came out right.
Use a calculator. I use ejuice Me Up eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator I'm sure there are others out there, however, this is the one that worked for me from the beginning.
Talk to other DIYers. There is a great DIY area in this forum. DIY E-Liquid Great understanding and helpful folks.
Good luck in your DIY and vaping lifestyle.

 

[Uri Burstein]

Thank you all for your replies. The recipe was nicotine juice, 100 ml/100mg strength , .31 grams, pg 7.3 grams, vg 15.14 grams, and various juices totaling 23.4 grams. I used a scale and was careful to tare it each time. I substituted the shown pg and vg for 50/50. I did watch quite a few u tube tutorials, but I think I should have watched when I was mixing. The nicotine i received from e liq. An 8 ounce bottle. I am VERY certain of the grams I put in for the nicotine . So I don't know where I went wrong and I would be very obliged if you can help. I truly like this forum especially since I wasn't belittled in any way. I thank you in advance. Uri

 

[DeloresRose]

Well, without knowing what the recipe is, or your flavorings, I can say this much- it doesn’t sound wrong.

It could be...
just needs to steep. Shake it good, let it set in a cool dark place for a week or so, shake it and try it again. Repeat if needed. Some are good in a couple days, some take weeks or even months.

I’ve never used that nic, but I’ve had good luck with the many brands I’ve tried. Could be it’s just bitter or harsh. Maybe others have experience with it?

Could be those particular flavors, or that brand, you don’t like. That is as common as air, truly.

So it sounds to me like you indeed have a basic understanding of how this works, now all you need is to find out where the bad flavor is coming from and fix that.

I’d say, try mixing a bit of unflavored base plus nic, and see if that’s the culprit. If not, do single flavor tests of your other ingredients.

I’ve been mixing five years. Most flavors I’ve used, or know the brand well enough that I can surmise how they’ll respond in juice. But I used to single flavor test every one of them before using in a recipe. Let me say, I learned a lot like that.

But so far I think you’re on the right track.

 

[Uri Burstein]

Hi Delores. Thank you for your advice and kind words. That idea of trying to isolate the ingredients is great. Just to elucidate, I didn't have more than one juice, a blackberry. I wanted to keep it simple.

And actually, just to get an idea of the flavor, I threw just a couple of drops beforehand into the nefarius along with a store bought juice, and it was fine. It is possible I was kinda gung ho with this, and steeping it correctly, may solve the issue. Even good pieces of food need to marinate I guess.

I am going to order nicotine from another company. Just in case. Also, I will go for a 70/30 or 60/40 vg to pg base. Altho the 50 50 wasn't totally off base according to the info I gleaned from tutorials. In any case, I appreciate your feedback. And all the forum members who helped as well.
All the best. Uri

 

[Izan]

Thank you all for your replies. The recipe was nicotine juice, 100 ml/100mg strength , .31 grams, pg 7.3 grams, vg 15.14 grams, and various juices totaling 23.4 grams. I used a scale and was careful to tare it each time. I substituted the shown pg and vg for 50/50. I did watch quite a few u tube tutorials, but I think I should have watched when I was mixing. The nicotine i received from e liq. An 8 ounce bottle. I am VERY certain of the grams I put in for the nicotine . So I don't know where I went wrong and I would be very obliged if you can help. I truly like this forum especially since I wasn't belittled in any way. I thank you in advance. Uri

Hi mate,
Just to be clear;
You are making 20ml of 15mg/ml juice...correct? Which e liquid calculator did you use?
To add .31 grams of 1000mg/ml to your mix, you would need about 6 drops. You did not mention which scale you are using, but .31 grams displayed may or may not be accurate on a scale with a .5 gram sensitivity.
I would suggest making 100ml of 100mg/ml base and put the rest of the 8.oz bottle in the freezer, double wrap in foil and place in a labeled Tupperware.

Please post your recipe:
Flavours (Brand) and % used
Total amount to make
Target nicotine level
Target PG/VG ratio

ETA: PLEASE wear gloves.
ELIQ only sells 1000mg/ml nicotine in the 1/2 oz size.
You are working with VERY STRONG nicotine. Dangerously strong in my opinion.
I seriously suggest you mix your super strength nicotine down to approx 100mg/ml. From the 15ml/1/2 oz bottle (10ml would make 1 liter of 10% (100mg/ml) base. 15ml will make 1.5 liters of 10% (100mg/ml).
PLEASE handle your nicotine with the utmost care and keep it away from living things and things that living things come in contact with.


Cheers
I

 

[DeloresRose]

IMO, all juice could use a couple days of steeping

Hi mate,
Just to be clear;
You are making 20ml of 15mg/ml juice...correct? Which e liquid calculator did you use?
To add .31 grams of 1000mg/ml to your mix, you would need about 6 drops. You did not mention which scale you are using, but .31 grams displayed may or may not be accurate on a scale with a .5 gram sensitivity.
I would suggest making 100ml of 100mg/ml base and put the rest of the 8.oz bottle in the freezer, double wrap in foil and place in a labeled Tupperware.

Please post your recipe:
Flavours (Brand) and % used
Total amount to make
Target nicotine level
Target PG/VG ratio


Cheers
I

I agree, the +/- will be greater with a small batch, but whenever I suggest making a base, someone inevitably says, “but if your recipes have a different total flavorings, your nic % will be off.”

And they’re right, but I still do it because the amount it’s off is negligible, and they’re likely to about as off doing the small volume tests, and having base to test with makes my life easier.

 

[Uri Burstein]

IMO, all juice could use a couple days of steeping



I agree, the +/- will be greater with a small batch, but whenever I suggest making a base, someone inevitably says, “but if your recipes have a different total flavorings, your nic % will be off.”

And they’re right, but I still do it because the amount it’s off is negligible, and they’re likely to about as off doing the small volume tests, and having base to test with makes my life easier.

 

[Uri Burstein]

Thank you Izan and Delores. I was using an american weigh scale. I believe its accurate to 2 numbers after the decimal point. Izan, Im not sure what you mean by 1000ml, as far as I know, its 100 ml 100 gram nicotine, is that right? Im a bit unsure how the 1000 fits in. You are correct I used as far as i remember 6 drops. It did measure to .31 grams. The nicotine was the first ingredient I used after assuring that the scale was at 0.00. Every ingredient was tared at O.00. In any case, I need to write down these measurements for future use so i can accurately remember them.Do you think that the 50 50 base i used was too high on the pg side? Anyway, I was making a 100 ml bottle, now Im a bit confused, But the ingredients went just about to the top of the bottle. Also, I did take the precaution of placing both the nicotine and the end result in a double bag in the fridge. I will leave it for a week and try it again. Once again thanks for the help. Please let me know if you think i did do something wrong. Take care. Uri

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Thank you Izan and Delores. I was using an american weigh scale. I believe its accurate to 2 numbers after the decimal point. Izan, Im not sure what you mean by 1000ml, as far as I know, its 100 ml 100 gram nicotine, is that right? Im a bit unsure how the 1000 fits in. You are correct I used as far as i remember 6 drops. It did measure to .31 grams. The nicotine was the first ingredient I used after assuring that the scale was at 0.00. Every ingredient was tared at O.00. In any case, I need to write down these measurements for future use so i can accurately remember them.Do you think that the 50 50 base i used was too high on the pg side? Anyway, I was making a 100 ml bottle, now Im a bit confused, But the ingredients went just about to the top of the bottle. Also, I did take the precaution of placing both the nicotine and the end result in a double bag in the fridge. I will leave it for a week and try it again. Once again thanks for the help. Please let me know if you think i did do something wrong. Take care. Uri

The only thing I will add to the already excellent advise, is that Blackberry does take a steep time but who made that flavor is more important. ie. FlavourArt Blackberry is very potent and floral and it takes less to use than say TFA Blackberry . Also TFA Blackberry is a completely different taste then FA's. FlavourArt(FA) would smell perfumy and taste quite horrid if trying to vape it without letting it steep for a long time. That may be the source of your problem.

 

[DeloresRose]

Thank you Izan and Delores. I was using an american weigh scale. I believe its accurate to 2 numbers after the decimal point. Izan, Im not sure what you mean by 1000ml, as far as I know, its 100 ml 100 gram nicotine, is that right? Im a bit unsure how the 1000 fits in. You are correct I used as far as i remember 6 drops. It did measure to .31 grams. The nicotine was the first ingredient I used after assuring that the scale was at 0.00. Every ingredient was tared at O.00. In any case, I need to write down these measurements for future use so i can accurately remember them.Do you think that the 50 50 base i used was too high on the pg side? Anyway, I was making a 100 ml bottle, now Im a bit confused, But the ingredients went just about to the top of the bottle. Also, I did take the precaution of placing both the nicotine and the end result in a double bag in the fridge. I will leave it for a week and try it again. Once again thanks for the help. Please let me know if you think i did do something wrong. Take care. Uri

I believe what @Izan meant is, to get .31 grams in 6 drops it would have to be 1000 mg/ml nic.

Now stay with me here one second, please.

The amount of nic in the solution is stated as milligrams per milliliters.

So, if yours is 100mg/ml, there are 100 milligrams in every militer.

Sorry if that sounds condescending, I don’t mean it that way, but sometimes it needs to be spelled out so that we’re all saying it the same way.

I have not used weight based measurements, so I’d have no idea if 100 mg/ml or 1000 mg/ml is closer to six drops. But I’ll take Izan at his word on that.

Double check what you entered into the calculator and what measurements it calculates, just to be on the safe side. You sure won’t hurt yourself with 1/10 the nic you’re shooting for, but it won’t satisfy you, and getting 10 times as much would be rather bad.

 

[Hawise]

Hi Uri,

I think you're using 100 mg/ml nicotine base. I'm not totally clear on how much of the other ingredients you added, so is the following correct?

• You added .31 g of 100 mg/ml nicotine base.
• The recipe called for 7.3 g of PG and 15.14 g of VG, but you used 50/50 for both of those, adding (7.3 g + 15.14 = 22.44 g of 50/50)
• The total amount of eliquid you made was 23.4 g, so you added 0.65 g of blackberry (23.4 - 15.14 - 7.3 - .31 = 0.65).

If that's correct, then:

• Using 50/50 instead of the separate PG and VG shouldn't be a problem. It might affect how the juice wicks, but it shouldn't cause an overly dramatic change in the flavour.
• Your final nicotine level would be roughly 1.3 mg/ml, which is fairly low and not what you were aiming for, but it wouldn't make the juice horrible.
• Your flavouring percentage would be about 2.7%, which is on the low end but not unreasonable. It shouldn't have caused the problem.
• Steeping: steeping can help, but with a single fruit flavour it's often unnecessary. I don't think you're suffering from a lack of steeping.

You also mentioned that you're not using your usual atomizer. Is it possible that you had the wrong settings for an unfamiliar atomizer, and the juice was burned and/or too hot?

 

[Izan]

Thank you Izan and Delores. I was using an american weigh scale. I believe its accurate to 2 numbers after the decimal point. Izan, Im not sure what you mean by 1000ml, as far as I know, its 100 ml 100 gram nicotine, is that right? Im a bit unsure how the 1000 fits in. You are correct I used as far as i remember 6 drops. It did measure to .31 grams. The nicotine was the first ingredient I used after assuring that the scale was at 0.00. Every ingredient was tared at O.00. In any case, I need to write down these measurements for future use so i can accurately remember them.Do you think that the 50 50 base i used was too high on the pg side? Anyway, I was making a 100 ml bottle, now Im a bit confused, But the ingredients went just about to the top of the bottle. Also, I did take the precaution of placing both the nicotine and the end result in a double bag in the fridge. I will leave it for a week and try it again. Once again thanks for the help. Please let me know if you think i did do something wrong. Take care. Uri

Uri,
You had posted that you ordered "pure" nicotine concentrate from e liq. An 8.oz bottle appears to be about $100.00. The nicotine concentration would be 1000mg/ml. Please confirm via markings on the bottle or the packing slip that came in the box. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!
What is the nicotine concentration of the bottle you are using?
A photo of the label or markings on the bottle may help also.

"100 ml 100 gram" nicotine is not the normal labeling convention. It should list content as MilliGrams per Milliliter (mg/ml) or percent. The 100mg/ml nicotine I use is a 10% concentration.
ETA: PLEASE wear gloves.
ELIQ only sells 1000mg/ml nicotine in the 1/2 oz size.
You are working with VERY STRONG nicotine. Dangerously strong in my opinion.
I seriously suggest you mix your super strength nicotine down to approx 100mg/ml. From the 15ml/1/2 oz bottle (10ml would make 1 liter of 10% (100mg/ml) base. 15ml will make 1.5 liters of 10% (100mg/ml).
PLEASE handle your nicotine with the utmost care and keep it away from living things and things that living things come in contact with.


If you have a chance, please post the recipe as you found it.
For example:
MOM'S ADV-
5% TFA Double RY4
2% TFA Newyork Cheese cake (Graham crust)
.5% TFA Hazelnut

50/50 is a fine place to start, but we need to get the nicotine situation resolved first.

Can you post a screen capture of the recipe calculated in whatever mixing calculator you use?

Cheers
I