It's DIY Time For Me

[Real-ist]

Howdy Folks

Given all the flack going on, relative to hindering MY --> ADULT choices in life, I come here seeking knowledge of others. Bare with me as find my way in DIY Land.

 

[Daniel Forsyth]

Thanks. My recipe (I think) will be a pretty basic 70/30. A splash of Menthol, a splash of Mint and 16mg +/- of Freebase or Pure Nic. Sounds simple enough. (Shrug)

Minty!! A two flavour recipe is a very simple one and always good to start with minimal flavours. Feel free to pop on over to Random DIY Thread and you will be able to plenty of good info from plenty of very nice people!! Random DIY mixing and More

 

[Daniel Forsyth]

Welcome to ECF
Have fun with your new juice mixing!! You'll be able to get lots of great tips on the Forum, this is where I learnt how to mix it up!

 

[Real-ist]

Welcome to ECF
Have fun with your new juice mixing!! You'll be able to get lots of great tips on the Forum, this is where I learnt how to mix it up!

Thanks. My recipe (I think) will be a pretty basic 70/30. A splash of Menthol, a splash of Mint and 16mg +/- of Freebase or Pure Nic. Sounds simple enough. (Shrug)

 

[Coyote628]

Check out the DIY forum group here at ECF.

 

[Real-ist]

Thanks for having me, everyone.

Enjoy your weekends, Folks.

 

[Falconeer]

I agree with the comments that you don'tneed a lot of kit - pre TPD I just used a measuring jug, tipped the liquids into an empty distilled water bottle, shook it up a few times for one day and I was good to go.

There is a separate section on ECF with info, recipes, hints and tips - well worth a visit.

One other thing - note what you mix when experimenting, so that when you make a winner you can replicate it.

Good luck and enjoy the journey!

 

[Falconeer]

Back in the pre TPD days when I last made my own liquid, things were much simpler, As I only then vaped unflavoured I could mix by volume alone.

I'd buy a 250 ml bottle of premixed 50/50 PG/Vg and the same sized bottle of nicotine at twice the strength I wanted and combine the two in an empty litre distilled water bottle - so I didn't need a lot of kit.

 

[DavidOck]

I used syringes and graduated cylinders for a few years. DO put a strip of cellophane tape over the markings on the syringes

Then I did get a scale, and mixing got a lot easier and more repeatable. Be sure it will go to 0.01 gm.

 

[bombastinator2]

TLDNR: cheapskate vaping
My specialty is cheap. How to vape for the lowest possible $/mo. and lowest effort input. The result is juice that is in no way special, and isn’t particularly consistent. I think I can do it for about $usa20/month though.

Cheapskate dos:
1. Get only the stuff you need.
Don’t bother with the DIY kits. They’ve got a bunch of stuff in em you don’t really need and may never use. You will need measurement equipment, but those and possibly some funnels and juice bottles is more or less it. Even 100mg nic base can be washed off if dealt with promptly. It doesn’t affect instantly. Paper towels are handy.. there will be spills. Mix over an impervious hard (like in a kitchen) surface and you can wipe anything off.
2. Buy wholesale.
Juice components can have very long lives if properly stored and don’t take a lot of space. You can often get away with buying in bulk. The savings can be huge.
3. Buy off label.
“Vape” supplies often get a major bump for being vape, but are often the same. USP Food grade kosher VG and PG is the same no matter whether it’s meant for restaurants, livestock, health and beauty, or vaping. For vaping frequently doubles the price though. SS316L wire of a given diameter is used for lots of things. It’s just tough marine grade stainless. Candymaking flavoring is often vastly cheaper, but you need to make sure it doesn’t contain stuff that can be eaten but not breathed. Like oils or diacetyl. They’ll sell butterscotch or cinnamon stuff for example that you don’t want to go near. (Well maybe occasionally a little cinnamon. Cinnamon oil is mighty good in vapes if not good for you. It needs to sit mixed for a loooong time)
4. Don’t go nuts with measurements.
Using single flavors makes things much simpler as the ratio is already worked out. I eventually stopped using measurement devices as my bottles were always the same. I could do it by eye. Made things a lot faster. Less consistent, but faster.
5. Storage matters.
Nic base lasts a whole lot longer in the freezer. Unprotonated Nic is broken down by light and heat. Freezers block both. I keep Nic in the freezer, flavors in the fridge, and bases under the sink in gallon jugs. Their unrefrigerated shelf life is years.
6. Squeeze bottles rock.
I got a bunch of empty squeeze bottles at the dollar store. I transfer bases to them as needed. Their spouts make getting things into little juice bottles easy.

 

[somdcomputerguy]

Welcome to ECF, Real-ist.

 

[BrotherBob]

are with me as find my way in DIY Land.

Welcome and glad you joined.

 

[bombastinator2]

I agree with the comments that you don'tneed a lot of kit - pre TPD I just used a measuring jug, tipped the liquids into an empty distilled water bottle, shook it up a few times for one day and I was good to go.

There is a separate section on ECF with info, recipes, hints and tips - well worth a visit.

One other thing - note what you mix when experimenting, so that when you make a winner you can replicate it.

Good luck and enjoy the journey!

Something that is accurate to the 1ml or a food scale that zeros (which is even more accurate than that) is handy. I was told to get a plastic graduated cylinder, which does work but is kind of a pain. A big syringe with no needle is what I’ve been using lately since I’m titrating down. When I was just holding steady I just bought a bunch of unicorn bottles and marked them. Then I just filled up to the line and didn’t measure out anything. You may already have a food scale. If not a 20ml plastic syringe is often cheaper. It’s mixing flavorings that gets the touchiest. I simply avoid it by only buying single flavors. Even 2 though and the scale needs to come out if you want any consistency.
With flavorings the ratio is more important than the actual amount.

 

[Darksand]

I had a ton of flavors, but in the end i found my ADV flavor and i am vaping it for years now.
So 99% of my vape is this flavor and sometimes i just buy some juices from shops to try.

I went this far, i just made my own booster syrup pots of 200ml 30MG VG with 5x strength flavorings, enough to put in a liter bottles and add PG/VG, no more syringes, no more measuring.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

I'm more concerned with experimentation of small quantities, test batches and such.

Keep in mind that even a 0.01 scale might not register just one drop of anything. So there's that limitation. Unfortunately a 0.001 scale will but at the affordable price points are very inaccurate at the low and top end of the scale's capacity. Generally a 0.001 sucks for eliquid so you want to stick with 0.01 and understand it's limitations.

I and many others on vape forums use the ~$40 AWS LB-501 scale. It doubles as a postal scale for me for small packages.

Others are satisfied with this one, too.

If you're just making simple one-flavor (or two-flavor) juices and merely experimenting with what percent to use for those 1 or 2 flavors, you should be fine with almost any 0.01 scale.

 

[Real-ist]

To start, I think I'll get a scale. I have syringes in many sizes that will be handy as well. Knowing DIY would eventually come, I've saved quite a few 60ml premix bottles, but they're too fiddly when they're below half full. Given that, I have 10/120ml Gorilla bottles to use in rotation.

I have some nice 30ml bottles I'll use for testing small batches by weight, to minimize waste.

 

[Real-ist]

Keep in mind that even a 0.01 scale might not register just one drop of anything. So there's that limitation. Unfortunately a 0.001 scale will but at the affordable price points are very inaccurate at the low and top end of the scale's capacity. Generally a 0.001 sucks for eliquid so you want to stick with 0.01 and understand it's limitations.

Right. Scales, like micro torque and in/lb are tooled for specific use and applications within a specific range. I don't think I'll be chasing that degree of accuracy in one scale. And I don't plan to have more than one scale.

I and many others on vape forums use the ~$40 AWS LB-501 scale. It doubles as a postal scale for me for small packages.

This is one I've glanced over. If it works for others, it should suit for my mixing needs as well. I haven't looked at any others just yet.

Others are satisfied with this one, too.

If you're just making simple one-flavor (or two-flavor) juices and merely experimenting with what percent to use that flavor, you should be fine with almost any 0.01 scale.

Overall, I'm not in a yank to need something just yet. With Amazon, I've had plenty of recent deliveries of which the packaging (should have been) could have been a lot better than it was, regardless the time if year it us. I'm hesitant of the thought, ordering a scale through them.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

I've had plenty of recent deliveries of which the packaging (should have been) could have been a lot better than it was

Oh I hear ya. But just so you know the scale itself is packed well enough in it's own packaging to withstand Amazon's lack of proper shipping packaging. But I'm sure you can find it elsewhere for a few bucks more. AWS sells direct for $46 shipped https://awscales.com/american-weigh-500-x-01g-bowl-scale/

 

[ShowMeTwice]

My AWS LB-501 scale registers 1 drop as 0.03g. It does so consistently. 2 drops usually come out to 0.05g, and from that, I believe 1 drop to be 0.025g on average, depending on what flavor, and from what flavor house.

The weight of a single drop of any flavor all depends on the ingredients used for each flavor. Some flavor houses tell you the weights.

The AWS LB-501 does not register 1 drop at 0.03g instantly. It needs to sit for several, to many, seconds before registering 1 drop. If you think about it, it makes sense.

Decent high-quality scales with higher resolutions are very costly. IMHO, those are not needed for DIY, especially if one is only doing 1 or 2 flavor mixes.

I regularly mix 5ml and 10ml batches of new, or test, mixes that I create. Once I'm satisfied with a 5ml or 10ml test mix, then I mix larger batches.

The majority of my mixes are around 7% total flavoring, some are only 1-2%, only a few are over 10%, none over 15%. LOL, I have one single flavor mix that only uses 1 drop in 30ml (uses MF Guava, a super highly concentrated flavor). Most of my mixes use 5 or more flavors, some are 8 flavor, some are 2 flavor. All depends on what I'm looking to make, really.

I don't regularly use TPA/TFA, CAP or FW flavors, as many of their flavors require high percentages (more flavoring). Much prefer flavor houses that use more highly concentrated flavors. Such as....... SSA, WF, VTA, INW, FA, FLV etc. etc. Or ultra high concentrates, such as MF flavors.

From what I've seen on ELR, ATF and in several DIY FB groups, the AWS LB-501 seems to be the most widely used scale. However, there are many other fine scales that offer 0.01 resolution.

Nice thing about the AWS LB-501 is they include an AC adapter, which is important for mixing. Why? The AWS LB-501 can run on batteries, but, it will auto shut-off after X amount of time. That's the LAST thing you want happening during a mixing session.

For other scale recommendations, I would highly suggest asking in Fran's DIY thread. Her thread is the single active DIY thread on the ECF. Folks there use several different scales.

 

[bombastinator2]

If your syringes are marked (tends to rub off) and they’re in the sizes you need, and you’re not going complicated recipies you don’t even need that. Scales do provide more than 10th ml accuracy but if your doing more than a ml for each flavor and you pay attention to you meniscus you should be fine. That said, a food scale of sufficient accuracy that zeroes is generally well under ten bucks