Measuring concentrates and making funk

[Nicklemile]

Hi all. I have been reading a lot about DIY for the past 5 weeks. I ordered the makings "PG / VG, 100mg nic-vg, a hand full of flavors and blunt needle syringes with little lines. I wanted to make a 30ml of strawberry Lime Peach for my first attempt. I found a recipe on a site and I decided to give a go. I read a while back that 20 drops make 1ml. *Here is the recipe I made. 15 drops of Wizard Labs Lime Oil, 40 drops Strawberry "20 of each brand", 10 drops Capella Juicy Peach, 7 drops Signature Honeysuckle, 4 drops Sugar Daddy Regular Sweetener, 5 drops Smooth. And shook it--- a lot. I made the equivalent of what floor cleaner smells like. I made a second 30ml this time with the syringe. Same resultants.

I didn't give up. I found another recipe." Syringe" 1ml Nonnas Cake, 2ml Jack Strawberry, .5ml Lemon Sicily. This smells rotten when vaped. Real funky. I think I'm just going to put them in the cupboard and let them steep and vape store bought liquid.​

Please don't judge me.

My Question. Sorry for the long intro.

On the syringe there are 5 marks between numbers. Are those marks milliliters? I assume yes. And the numbers are centiliters. ml/cc. Do 20 drops = 1ml? and if so why did the second 30ml taste like the first. And will steeping these 3-30ml liquid bottles of funk help?
I would like to make a liquid to be vapable.
Any help for a noob want-to-be DIYer?​

I'm not giving up. I bought this tonight from ecigexpress.

(Golden) Butter by Capella Flavor Drops
Cactus by Inawera
Caramel by Inawera
Coffee by Inawera
Biscuit by Inawera
Banana Flavor by Flavors Express
Watermelon by Flavors Express
Rum by Flavor West
Hazelnut Praline Flavor By Signature (TFA)
Cinnamon by Flavor West
DX Peanut Butter Flavor By Signature (TFA)
DX Banana Cream Flavor By Signature (TFA)
Sweet Cream Flavor By Signature (TFA)
Coconut Flavor By Signature (TFA)
Bavarian Cream by Flavor West
Dairy Milk By Signature (TFA)
Yellow Cake by Flavor West

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Hi. Do not be discouraged, these recipes have to steep(age) in order for the flavor to blend and meld together for the tastes you are looking for.
A couple of them may even have alcohol(you can tell by the smell) and they need to breathe in a dark cabinet with lids off for a few days for the alcohol to disappear.

There are some vendors that cater to what is called 'one shot' flavoring, most of which are true shake and vape recipes(requires maybe overnight steeping).

onestopdiyshop has several of their own and some really goods one at that.

good luck

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

On your question of is 1ml = 20 drops......that is an average. It depends on what is used to make those drops. If you are just dropping right out the the flavor bottle, and buy only from on flavor maker, and the bottles themselves are identical(except for contents and label of course) then you may be a more accurate reading.

If you are mixing from different flavor makers and the bottles vary(lots of types of bottles used in DIY) the the amount coming out may be bigger or smaller than another flavor makers bottle. See the problem. Syringes are a better measurement. And what size are the syringes that you have? The marking mostly do measure 1ml lines, but the bigger ones 30 , 60 and higher has 2 ml between lines. Just count the markers between the numbers. Its easy to figure out.

 

[bombastinator]

Something that complex sounds a bit over ambitious for a first attempt. Myself I started with single flavors and then added a bit of other stuff later. Cactus? Really? I’m gonna avoid that one myself. That’s the sort of flavor you buy when you have a known recipie you want to follow. I’m a bit familiar with some of the stuff you bought. The creams and bananas will likely taste quite similar to each other. At least I find it so. Creams also tend to be very potent. Again, ymmv though.

 

[SupplyDaddy]

Steeping may help your 3 bottles. Only time will tell.
Drops vary so are not a good measurement system in my mind.
depending on the size of the syringe, those marking should be milliliters.

I always suggest simple mixes to start with. Your watermelon should make a good one at 8% (2.4ml), maybe add 1/2% of sweetener (.2ml). at 3mg nic, you would use .9ml of the 100mg nic you have.

 

[SupplyDaddy]

Cactus? Really? I’m gonna avoid that one myself.

My wife likes that one, straight with a touch of sweetener. I do cut a lime for her when I mix a new bottle though

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Sometimes I see a recipe and just use common sense as to how the flavors would meld together into a final flavor.

When starting out, I stayed simple. Something like a fruit and cream. Every company makes a strawberry, but which will my tastebuds vote as best? Also, there are many creams...and all the companies make their own version of each.

I have made sooooo many little 5ml test bottles...but, I know it is the only way. My tastebuds demand it.

 

[Janusz]

​

On the syringe there are 5 marks between numbers. Are those marks milliliters? I assume yes. And the numbers are centiliters.​

​

I never saw any syringe where numbers indicate centiliters. All syringes I used and saw use only milliliters.... marks between numbers indicate tens of milliliter... so if you fill your syringe five marks above number 1 it means you have one and half milliliter liquid in your syringe.

10 milliliter = 1centiliter....

 

[Nicklemile]

On your question of is 1ml = 20 drops......that is an average. It depends on what is used to make those drops. If you are just dropping right out the the flavor bottle, and buy only from on flavor maker, and the bottles themselves are identical(except for contents and label of course) then you may be a more accurate reading.

If you are mixing from different flavor makers and the bottles vary(lots of types of bottles used in DIY) the the amount coming out may be bigger or smaller than another flavor makers bottle. See the problem. Syringes are a better measurement. And what size are the syringes that you have? The marking mostly do measure 1ml lines, but the bigger ones 30 , 60 and higher has 2 ml between lines. Just count the markers between the numbers. Its easy to figure out.

Thank you for shedding some light on this. I am beginning to see that DIY is like baking where you need to be exact in the processes. If you just wing it, most of the time you don't get what you want.
It makes me think on just how did those premium juice makes get the quality they do? Perplexing. Needs an answer. The journey is afoot. lol...

 

[Nicklemile]

I never saw any syringe where numbers indicate centiliters. All syringes I used and saw use only milliliters.... marks between numbers indicate tens of milliliter... so if you fill your syringe five marks above number 1 it means you have one and half milliliter liquid in your syringe.

10 milliliter = 1centiliter....

Thanks for helping. For clarification. On my syringe there is a "1"l l l l"2''l l l l"3"l l l l"4"l l l l"5"l l l l6 Then on mine each mark is 2ml. So I doubled the flavors and that could be why it didn't vape well. I need to get smaller syringes.

 

[Nicklemile]

Steeping may help your 3 bottles. Only time will tell.
Drops vary so are not a good measurement system in my mind.
depending on the size of the syringe, those marking should be milliliters.

I always suggest simple mixes to start with. Your watermelon should make a good one at 8% (2.4ml), maybe add 1/2% of sweetener (.2ml). at 3mg nic, you would use .9ml of the 100mg nic you have.

Thank you. Looks like I need to get smaller syringes. All mine are 1/2" wide. looks like 2ml per line.. I didn't see, or look that close when I started.
I just realized that my Nic is 12 not 6.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Thank you for shedding some light on this. I am beginning to see that DIY is like baking where you need to be exact in the processes. If you just wing it, most of the time you don't get what you want.
It makes me think on just how did those premium juice makes get the quality they do? Perplexing. Needs an answer. The journey is afoot. lol...

Oh yes very much like baking. It is the percentages of one flavor mixing with another percentage of another flavoring that makes or breaks a recipe. ie...If you want a dominate flavoring of strawberry and decide to add a cream to it, you could start with something like 5% strawberry and 2.5% of cream.

While this is just a basic type of recipe (and your taste buds may require more or less of each flavoring) then you just have to find a strawberry that tastes good to you. Problem is each maker has their own versions of how they think a flavor should taste. And all are not created equally. Most of them have really good strawberry flavors( a staple flavor widely used flavor in DIY) but each have their own nuances.

Trial and error.....but have fun with it and start with small bottles like 5-10 mil. You can alway make more if you have a winner recipe.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Thank you. Looks like I need to get smaller syringes. All mine are 1/2" wide. looks like 2ml per line.. I didn't see, or look that close when I started.
I just realized that my Nic is 12 not 6.

What is the total ml that your syringe holds? And yes, get some 1 ml syringes, 3 , 5, 12 and 20. That should give you a good mixture of sizes to use.

And use an online DIY calculator. Ecigexpress has one on their site. Its free. Just plug in what it asks for and it does the calculating of how many ml to add.

If you need help, just ask. Usually someone here 24/7/365.

 

[Myk]

Don't do drops. Don't use recipes that are given in drops. Drops can't even be reliably worked into percentages because different liquids have different viscosities. Different needle sizes create different sized drops (and the person making a recipe with drops probably couldn't be bothered to buy any measuring equipment and is using an eye dropper).
I'm sorry to anyone who actually uses drops but you can be fairly sure when you see a recipe given in drops the person writing it didn't know what they are doing, you can be very sure even if it works for them it won't work for you because your drops aren't going to be the same.

The only time I use drops is when I get a bunch of flavors I mix up a few ml of each at 2-5% to get an idea of how strong they are at that percentage. Then for blends I think sound good I use a RDA to get an idea of how they work and at what percentages. It just gives me a starting point for a recipe.

Strawberry Peach is a good combo. Mine is 6% strawberry, 2% juicy peach, 1% raspberry, all TFA. 10% water, all VG and nicotine.
I'm betting the floor cleaner comes from the lime. That's a lot of citrus to put with strawberry unless that's a very potent strawberry.

Aging them in a good plan. You have nothing to lose, vapable liquid to gain. Age them until they taste good or you need the bottles, or you get sick of looking at them and tasting them.

The numbers are ml. 1 would be 1ml. .5 would be .5ml. 10 would be 10ml. The lines between the numbers are whatever comes up to equal the next number.
On my 3ml syringes the lines are .1ml. On my 6ml syringe the lines are .2ml. On my 20ml syringe the lines are 1ml. On my 60ml syringe the lines are 1ml. On my 12ml syringe the lines are .2ml. A smaller syringe than I have may have .5ml lines.

Use the Inawera's at 1-3% unless your taste tells you one needs to be stronger. I've never used the other brands (I have used TFA a lot but not Signature).

Try this. Only make 5-10ml, I'm making this up based on other recipes I make and knowing Inawera and TFA but I have no idea how this will taste, 1% Coffee (IW), 1% Caramel (IW), .5% Sweet Cream. Let it steep for a week before vaping it with any expectations (coffees, chocolates and tobaccos tend to benefit from steeping).
From there you can decide what flavors need increased, and which ones need decreased to suit your desires. I would get that pretty well tuned in and then you might decide to try a little Rum, hazelnut or cinnamon.

 

[Janusz]

Thanks for helping. For clarification. On my syringe there is a "1"l l l l"2''l l l l"3"l l l l"4"l l l l"5"l l l l6 Then on mine each mark is 2ml. So I doubled the flavors and that could be why it didn't vape well. I need to get smaller syringes.

OK... so if you fill your syringe ... let's say one mark above number 3 it means you have 3.2 ml... if you fill it two marks above 3 it means you have 3.4 ml... to have 3.5 (three and half) your liquid in syringe has to be above number 3 and bettween third and forth mark... there is not enough space to make enough thick printed lines that is why you do not have every ten of milliliter marked on between whole milliliters numbers.

Also drops are not very good to use because depending on viscosity and bottle they can differ in size... those bottles that contain flavorings make 1ml from 30-40 drops... most often people use 35 drops =1 ml

 

[Myk]

Baking is a good analogy to the drops. Someone might be a great baker using dashes and handfuls but nobody can repeat their recipes unless they take the time to actually measure before passing it on.

 

[Nicklemile]

What is the total ml that your syringe holds? And yes, get some 1 ml syringes, 3 , 5, 12 and 20. That should give you a good mixture of sizes to use.

And use an online DIY calculator. Ecigexpress has one on their site. Its free. Just plug in what it asks for and it does the calculating of how many ml to add.

Thank you.. Good advise. I'm gunna take it.

 

[Nicklemile]

Only make 5-10ml,Let it steep for a week before vaping it

Using either or both TFA Strawberry or Flavor Art Strawberry Jack for a strait single flavor with sweetener, How long to steep? and will heat help quicken the process?

 

[Janusz]

Baking is a good analogy to the drops. Someone might be a great baker using dashes and handfuls but nobody can repeat their recipes unless they take the time to actually measure before passing it on.

For complex recipes it is true but for simple e-juice......

.....Making good simple e-juice does not have to be complicated or time consuming. You do not have to have/use syringes, funels, scale or complicated recipies... you do not have to have a lot of patience...

Use baby feeding bottle with ml scale (I bought 4 such bottles for less than $10)... they have very wide openings ....easy to pour vg...

Pour 80ml of VG... add whole bottle (13ml) of Capella's Vanilla Custard... fill half of capella's empty bottle with pg based 100% nicotine (7ml) and add it to your vg/flavor mix. Since both nicotine and flavoring are PG based you do not have to add any glycol and you will end up with 100 ml tasty custard 80VG/20PG 6.5 mg nicotine e-juice without syringe or counting drops....

Close baby bottle and shake it well. Put it in dark and warm place and after a few days shake again and enjoy.

Time neccesary :around 10 minutes.
Cost of 100ml 6.5mg nicotine 80vg/20pg home made e-juice will be around $4

 

[bombastinator]

I’ll just leave this here...