My E-Liquid has a Funny Taste

[the_damn]

Hi All. I have made my own liquid on and off over the past few years. I recently started back and have encountered a recurring issue that I can't figure out...

The issue is the juice / vapor starts tasting weird. Sometimes this happens instantly, sometimes the juice seems 'fine' for a while before it gets weird. The best I can describe the taste is like a plastic or manufacturing residue taste ... like I mixed it in a dirty jar. Also, the weird taste sometimes seems different & it's very hard to put a finger on.

I'm wondering if maybe I'm doing something wrong. Here's my general process:

* Buy 100mg/ml nicotine from reputable vendor (e.g. MyFreedomSmokes)
* Mix with PG/VG (30/70) to make 10mg/ml strength nicotine (PG/VG from Amazon)
* Mix 5% flavor RY4 Double (also from MFS)

For mixing, I use a mason jar that's been cleaned with water & dish soap and then rinsed again with clean water, then dried with a paper towel. Put all the above ingredients into jar, put the lid on, shake. I then use a new, sterile medical syringe + needle to disperse the liquid into 30ML plastic dropper bottles. I'm using dropper bottles I got from a local vape shop, and the only marking is a single '8' on the bottom (seems to be China mfg code ABAK).

See anything wrong here? Thanks!

 

[the_damn]

Oh looks like there's a sub forum for DIY, hopefully a mod can move this post there?

 

[uthinkofsomething]

Oh looks like there's a sub forum for DIY, hopefully a mod can move this post there?

I think if you want to request that you can actually report yourself and ask that the thread be moved.

 

[uthinkofsomething]

You're method should be fine. Are the bottles reused, did you wash them?

 

[vaper1960]

Oh looks like there's a sub forum for DIY, hopefully a mod can move this post there?

@classwife can fix that for you
Sounds like the old "process of elimination". What is different since you made juice before? Could be anything... the nic, the flavor(s), the atomizer (drop-in coil or rebuildable) More info needed (the old "twenty questions")

 

[Mordacai]

I'm wondering what the coil looks like when it starts tasting off?

 

[DaveOno]

I would try a different brand of flavor.
Swap out one of the elements.

 

[JCinFLA]

* Buy 100mg/ml nicotine from reputable vendor (e.g. MyFreedomSmokes)
* Mix with PG/VG (30/70) to make 10mg/ml strength nicotine (PG/VG from Amazon)
* Mix 5% flavor RY4 Double (also from MFS)

Since you said you've been making it on and off for the past few years....I'm wondering how and where you've kept the ingredients during that time. Has your VG, PG, and flavoring been kept tightly capped and in a cool, out of sunlight place in your house? Are they in their original containers? How about your 100mg/mL nic base...where has it been kept and in what kind of container? I'd think those things might be something to think about possibly, as far as potentially affecting the taste of your eliquids.

Also, about your VG & PG from Amazon - Did you by chance buy it from Essential Depot on Amazon? I remember several people saying they had gotten some "off tasting" PG and/or VG from them in the last year or more.

 

[chanelvaps]

Since you said you've been making it on and off for the past few years....I'm wondering how and where you've kept the ingredients during that time. Has your VG, PG, and flavoring been kept tightly capped and in a cool, out of sunlight place in your house? Are they in their original containers? How about your 100mg/mL nic base...where has it been kept and in what kind of container? I'd think those things might be something to think about possibly, as far as potentially affecting the taste of your eliquids.

Also, about your VG & PG from Amazon - Did you by chance buy it from Essential Depot on Amazon? I remember several people saying they had gotten some "off tasting" PG and/or VG from them in the last year or more.

good point right here. I only buy VG from Nic river as others have had a plastic taste to me and one of them was from Amazon

 

[HigherStateD]

I've used pure brand from Amazon. Tastes as good as nic river. Bull city brand definitely had an off taste to me, but ry4d has an off taste to me too. OP, does unflavored taste off to you too?

 

[the_damn]

I've re-used bottles in the past, but this one was brand new.

Nothing 'different' about this batch so to speak. I haven't had any stored ingredients, so the batch was made with items that were all just purchased online in the last couple of weeks.

I'm using a Voopoo Argus Air device that I just bought yesterday, set to 22W on 0.6 ohm coil. I get the funky taste whether using either of the 2 pods that came with the device. Before this I was using a Smok VapePen 22 for a few weeks -- my juice tasted fine on the Smok device at first, but then started tasting funky (I blamed the coil going bad). I've only used 1 coil for any duration here so it is hard to say what the coil looks like amid all of this / when things start tasting off.

I was actually using store-bought juice on the Smok device for the first couple of weeks ... so I wonder if that was masking any bad taste when I switched to my own juice (i.e. is the Voopoo I switched to yesterday giving me the true, bad flavor whereas the Smok was masking it at first).

I was mistaken on buying the PG/VG from Amazon, looks like I got it from LiquidNicotineWholesalers.

I haven't tried unflavored, or experimented with process of elimination to troubleshoot this much. Seems like that's my next step... just wanted to check my method to make sure no obvious errors stood out.

I'll do some messing around here soon and report back. Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[Plumes.91]

Maybe you're just becoming more aware of the inherent subtleties of the RY4D flavoring you've been using, because you've not used it in a while. A lot of juices/flavorings have a weird taste when you're first coming back to them after a long break from them. Maybe if you chain vape that RY4D for a day or so, that weird flavor profile will meld to the back or dissipate entirely.

 

[HigherStateD]

Maybe you're just becoming more aware of the inherent subtleties of the RY4D flavoring you've been using, because you've not used it in a while. A lot of juices/flavorings have a weird taste when you're first coming back to them after a long break from them. Maybe if you chain vape that RY4D for a day or so, that weird flavor profile will meld to the back or dissipate entirely.

Or, in my case, when switching hardware, realize that ry4d, and most vanilla, caramel, and creams, have an underlying plasticy taste, and switch entirely to fruits and spices.

 

[Misty]

Oh looks like there's a sub forum for DIY, hopefully a mod can move this post there?

I think if you want to request that you can actually report yourself and ask that the thread be moved.

Thread moved to DIY