My ejuices barely taste at all! Help!

[JMC17]

Okay so first of all, hello!
This is my first time posting on a vape forum.
Sorry if the post seems long, I feel the need to explain my situation.

I have been vaping ejuices that I purchased for two months and most of them barely tasted at all.
I started noticing that high VG juices tends to not taste as much as high PG juices.

I'm using the Vaporfi Vox TC mod 60 with the vSix tank, the vShock tank and recently the Viper tank. The atomizers vary in ohm resistance and wattage so there's not a definite answer as to what i'm using.

I was underwhelmed by the juices I was purchasing, some people seemed to think the flavors were insanely good while I vaped them and they barely tasted at all.
Accelerated Steeping seemed to help, I left my bottles in a 90c bath for 8 hours,
but some of my bottles lost their taste while others gained some flavor (nothing big)

I ran across a few vendors that had tasty juices, namely (Evaperated) (Yes i'm Canadian)
and Vaporfi with the 3 shots flavors (One I liked was 3xGummy Bears).
But at that point, I had already spent about 200$ on vape juices so I decided to get into DIY and make my own stuff.

Sorry about namedropping hard but I feel like it is necessary for accuracy and fact checking.
I got my DIY stuff from "fusionflavours.ca" and after sterilizing the glassware, I started making my own ejuices with flavors from "Flavour Art".

The merchant suggests 2-3% usage for eliquid so I started with that.
I'm not sure on the details so I'm hoping you guys can correct me if my technique is wrong..
I want 70% PG and 30% VG so I take 3.5ml of PG and 1.5ml of VG to get 5ml of flavorless ejuice. I then added 0.2ml (4%) of flavoring to the ejuice, shook it by hand for 30 seconds.

I tasted the ejuice straight away and it is very hard to taste the flavor, although I can tell it's different from flavorless ejuice. I put it in a 60c to 70c bath for 8 hours, left it to cool down overnight and tried it again, couldn't taste a difference.

So I dumped it all in the trash and started over, I'll skip explaining this step because it didn't taste much more, just a bit. I basically tried with 0.8ml (16%) of flavoring with the same quantities of PG/VG as last time.

Now today, I tried with 1.6ml of flavoring (32%) with the same quantities of PG/VG as the two other times. I was baffled that it still didn't taste anything like the ejuices I purchased, which I thought didn't taste enough to begin with!
I've put those bottles in a 65c~ bath and will wait about 16 hours to see what happens.

I know that the flavors are good, if I open the Strawberry bottle, it smells very strong and very nice and i'm sure it'd taste great if I tasted it, but it doesn't taste anything at all when smoked through a vape!

This whole deal is starting to make me nervous, why can I not taste like everyone else?
Is it my hardware? Is it my technique? Is it me?
What if I tried 64% flavor? Would that help or is it just going to waste my flavoring bottles?
Do I have to wait weeks for my ejuices to taste like anything even though I bath them for 8 hours?

I have spent so much money into this and i'm still not satisfied!
I have ordered some LorAnn flavors in hope that it will work better..

I really need some help here.

 

[r77r7r]

So I dumped it all in the trash

Retrieve these things, then search for Vapor's Tongue.

 

[subwayaznm]

Also try and Vape a 50/50 Blend of juice. Also rotate your juices and flavors so you can help prevent Vapers Tongue

 

[JMC17]

Retrieve these things, then search for Vapor's Tongue.

Vapor's Tongue happens when you smoke the same flavor repeatedly.
I assure you I didn't spend 200$ one one flavor and my DIY stuff has 7 different flavors.
I'm using glassware so I didn't throw that in the trash, just the liquids.
I only threw my first batch in the trash, I still have the last two batches, they're sitting in a dark place, steeping over time.

The first batch had 7 bottles of 5ml, Banana, Hazelnut, Watermelon, Vanilla Classic, Strawberry, Custard, Bilberry, all from "Flavour Art". Hazelnut and Bilberry were the ones that tasted the most but still were faint.. I removed Bilberry from the other batches because I didn't like the smell coming from the bottle and the faint taste from the first batch wasn't pleasing at all.

I drink water constantly and tested my flavors at different times of the day.
Like I said, not vapor's tongue, I'm well aware of what it is!

 

[JMC17]

Also try and Vape a 50/50 Blend of juice.

I'll try a batch of 50/50 and see how it feels, thanks!
Some of my favorite ejuices that I purchased from vendors are 70%PG/30%VG, that's why I started with that blend.

 

[dc99]

It could be vapors tongue. If you have just recently switched to vaping it can take from a few days to weeks for you taste buds to come back.
Being that you are just starting the DIY I would highly suggest you use one of the calculators to help. Ejuicemeup is my favorite. There are also tons of recipes in it. I suggest starting with simple single flavors. There is a great sub-forum on here for DIY

 

[SonHouse]

It could be that your taste buds are sub-par from smoking. They'll come back in time. Most of the commercial juices out there are mixed strongly enough that they come through loud and clear even for a smoker so that really doesn't strike me as the culprit.

What kind of wattages are you using? Do you have friends with the same equipment that are reporting great flavor? A lot of the new tanks are optimized for generating vapor which is not the same thing as generating flavor. Generally speaking, there seems to be a tendency for reporting great flavor even with setups that really don't have it. If you knew how many setups I've tried over the years that had lots of reports of great flavor and turned out to be disappointing.

 

[JMC17]

It could be vapors tongue. If you have just recently switched to vaping it can take from a few days to weeks for you taste buds to come back.
Being that you are just starting the DIY I would highly suggest you use one of the calculators to help. Ejuicemeup is my favorite. There are also tons of recipes in it. I suggest starting with simple single flavors. There is a great sub-forum on here for DIY

I've been vaping for two months now, I didn't have problems tasting ejuices I purchased. Actually some of my favorite ejuices are the first ones I've ever purchased and they still taste as great as the first time I vaped them.
They just don't taste as much as I'd like them to taste.
I don't feel like I ever lost my tastebuds, it wasn't cigarettes I was smoking and my ejuices have no nicotine.

I tried some calculators after reading your reply and i'm quite surprised, I suspected that in order to keep the same percentage of VG/PG/flavor I had to substract the flavor from the VG/PG according to the percentage but I didn't expect it to do such a difference when doing a 32% flavor batch.
I'll definitely be using the calculators from now on, thanks!

One thing i've noticed is that those flavors says "Soluble in water", would that mean it's 4% of flavoring for 1ml of water and not a blend of PG/VG? But i've never heard of water in ejuices..

 

[JMC17]

What kind of wattages are you using? Do you have friends with the same equipment that are reporting great flavor? A lot of the new tanks are optimized for generating vapor which is not the same thing as generating flavor. Generally speaking, there seems to be a tendency for reporting great flavor even with setups that really don't have it. If you knew how many setups I've tried over the years that had lots of reports of great flavor and turned out to be disappointing.

I'm usually vaping at 50w, I noticed that vaping at 20w takes longer, my mod complains that i'm vaping for too long and the flavor doesn't come through as much. As I climb up the wattage, it takes less time to vape, tastes more but also burns eliquid faster. I usually stay clear of the 60w because most eliquids I have tried never needed that much power.

Have you tried making your own eliquids? Because right now i'm wondering if I needed to mix my flavors with water before mixing it with the PG/VG blend. The vendor says "Soluble in water" and suggest 2-3% for eliquid usage, but doesn't specify if it needs to be mixed with water.

 

[SonHouse]

I'm usually vaping at 50w, I noticed that vaping at 20w takes longer, my mod complains that i'm vaping for too long and the flavor doesn't come through as much. As I climb up the wattage, it takes less time to vape, tastes more but also burns eliquid faster. I usually stay clear of the 60w because most eliquids I have tried never needed that much power.

Have you tried making your own eliquids? Because right now i'm wondering if I needed to mix my flavors with water before mixing it with the PG/VG blend. The vendor says "Soluble in water" and suggest 2-3% for eliquid usage, but doesn't specify if it needs to be mixed with water.

I've been mixing for years. There's a rule of thumb that about 20% is the maximum amount of flavor you want to add but that is subject to different vendors having different concentrations. Generally I am under 10% in my flavorings these days but I also use gear that's solid in the flavor production department.

Anyway, at 50 Watts, you should be getting flavor. How restrictive is your airflow? Another rule of thumb, less air moving through, the more flavor you will get. As with all rules of thumb, the exception proves the rule.

 

[SonHouse]

...
One thing i've noticed is that those flavors says "Soluble in water", would that mean it's 4% of flavoring for 1ml of water and not a blend of PG/VG? But i've never heard of water in ejuices..

Oh, and no, I wouldn't put water in a mix personally. Some folks mix with it and swear by it but I've compared the same e-juice with and without water in it and the watered version will turn black over time. Not sure exactly what's happening there but I don't want it in my lungs.

 

[JMC17]

Anyway, at 50 Watts, you should be getting flavor. How restrictive is your airflow? Another rule of thumb, less air moving through, the more flavor you will get. As with all rules of thumb, the exception proves the rule.

At 50 watts, my air flows are wide open, because the vapor production is pretty high.
When I vape at lower watts, I do nearly close them, keeping just enough to have a high concentration enough of vapor.

Oh, and no, I wouldn't put water in a mix personally. Some folks mix with it and swear by it but I've compared the same e-juice with and without water in it and the watered version will turn black over time. Not sure exactly what's happening there but I don't want it in my lungs.

Oh dear, I wouldn't want that either!
I'm hoping steeping over time will make the ejuices flavor pop out.
I also have additives and LorAnn flavors on the way, should receive them later this week.
I ordered Ethyl Maltol, Citric Acid, Ethyl Vanillin and Menthol crystals.

Hopefully i'll have more luck with the LorAnn flavors.

 

[SonHouse]

...
I'm hoping steeping over time will make the ejuices flavor pop out.
I also have additives and LorAnn flavors on the way, should receive them later this week.
I ordered Ethyl Maltol, Citric Acid, Ethyl Vanillin and Menthol crystals.

Hopefully i'll have more luck with the LorAnn flavors.

No, something other than the flavors is wrong with this picture. I think the LorAnn will tend to be a bit more concentrated but not nearly enough to make up for what you're reporting. Steeping in general is over-rated. It's useful in some creams and tobacco flavors but not really in a fruit flavor which you've alluded to.

Question about your vaping technique. Are you a lung hitter or a Mouth to Lung vaper? Personally, I taste little on the inhale part of the vape, it's during the exhale part that I get the flavor and mostly when I exhale through my mouth. So, are you exhaling through your nose? Or maybe hanging on to the vapor so long that it's all dissipated before you exhale?

 

[BrotherBob]

Welcome and glad you joined.
Might like to read: Tips for Beginners – DIY OR DIE VAPING
Could read the stickies in this forum:
DIY E-Liquid

 

[CagedSpam]

FA has some pretty strong flavors imo. 5% or less total for a recipe, that seems to respond better at lower wattages for me. Maybe try 2% vanilla and 3% strawberry? Or even 1.5% and 2%?

Bilberry and hazelnut are insanely strong - less than .5% most times

Or make sure your base is dialed in? might be some nic throwing off your taste buds.

 

[salemgold]

Flavour Art flavorings are very condensed. Out of all of the flavor brands out there, they are one of them that benefit the most from steeping. Some of them are very good and very strong but, it takes steep time to get full flavor because they are so concentrated from my experience and I have been doing this for about 6 years now.

Vanillas and creams always require steeping no matter what brand you are using. You need to have patience and steep with time rather than any of these "quick steep" methods IMHO. I have tried most of them and actually had some liquid lose flavor rather than gain. Nothing works as well as making it and putting it away to steep. Some will e great after a few days and some may take a week or more. Some reach levels of awesomeness after a month or more.

I never try anything as soon as I mix it. It is always a good idea to wait at least 24 hours before trying it and making any changes at all. Try it. May just surprise you.

Hope this helped and I wish you luck

 

[Canadian_Vaper]

Join the Facebook Group "Canadian DIY E-Juicers" lots of experts and vendors in the group with a vast amount of knowledge and can send you to the right places to get real DIY flavors etc in Canada.

Anyways, some flavors take some time to come through, if you're talking about Lorann Strawberry it takes like a week but it's also a very week flavor...

There's usually two amount suggestions for flavors, one for standalone which is usually higher and one to use in mixes and is usually lower.. anyways for some good juice flavors get flavors from

TFA/TPA, Capella, Flavor West, Flavor Art, Real Flavors....

Lorann is basically on the bottom of my list when it comes to vape flavoring although I used to make a killer Strawberry Banana Creme, 9% Banana Creme, 2% Strawberry, 0.3% Ethyl Maltol, 8 day steep

 

[JMC17]

Oh wow, thanks everyone for the warm welcome!

No, something other than the flavors is wrong with this picture. I think the LorAnn will tend to be a bit more concentrated but not nearly enough to make up for what you're reporting. Steeping in general is over-rated. It's useful in some creams and tobacco flavors but not really in a fruit flavor which you've alluded to.

Question about your vaping technique. Are you a lung hitter or a Mouth to Lung vaper? Personally, I taste little on the inhale part of the vape, it's during the exhale part that I get the flavor and mostly when I exhale through my mouth. So, are you exhaling through your nose? Or maybe hanging on to the vapor so long that it's all dissipated before you exhale?

I think I'm mouth to lung vaper, I really like the potential taste of vaping, so I try to taste it in every way possible. I do exhale from the mouth and nose at the same time. I'll try not to hold on to the vapor before exhaling it to see if I get more flavor out of it.

We'll see if steeping helps for me, my third batch is still in the 65c bath, been 14 hours and a half.

Welcome and glad you joined.
Might like to read: Tips for Beginners – DIY OR DIE VAPING
Could read the stickies in this forum:
DIY E-Liquid

Thanks! I read a post or two but I now realize I probably should have read a bit more.

FA has some pretty strong flavors imo. 5% or less total for a recipe, that seems to respond better at lower wattages for me. Maybe try 2% vanilla and 3% strawberry? Or even 1.5% and 2%?

Bilberry and hazelnut are insanely strong - less than .5% most times

Or make sure your base is dialed in? might be some nic throwing off your taste buds.

I did noticed Bilberry and Hazelnut being the only flavors that came through a bit.
Melon wasn't bad either, it just doesn't taste nearly as much as the ones I purchased from vendors and I thought I could make an ejuice that taste more (not necessarily better) than the ones the vendors sells.

I don't use nicotine, but you say about 5% of flavor for a recipe. I started my first batch at 4% and even though my method was wrong, at 4% on 5ml it wasn't too far off, I tried them straight away and after an 8 hours bath at 60c and they didn't taste anything at all, could barely differentiate them from flavorless ejuice.

If you're fine with 5% flavor, I hope my 32% flavor is going to be good (it's not actually 32% since I used the wrong method, next time i'll calculate it correctly and will error check myself with the online calculators)

Flavour Art flavorings are very condensed. Out of all of the flavor brands out there, they are one of them that benefit the most from steeping. Some of them are very good and very strong but, it takes steep time to get full flavor because they are so concentrated from my experience and I have been doing this for about 6 years now.

Vanillas and creams always require steeping no matter what brand you are using. You need to have patience and steep with time rather than any of these "quick steep" methods IMHO. I have tried most of them and actually had some liquid lose flavor rather than gain. Nothing works as well as making it and putting it away to steep. Some will e great after a few days and some may take a week or more. Some reach levels of awesomeness after a month or more.

I never try anything as soon as I mix it. It is always a good idea to wait at least 24 hours before trying it and making any changes at all. Try it. May just surprise you.

Hope this helped and I wish you luck

Thank you so much, you're giving me hope.
My last two batches are gonna sit pretty and i'll test them every week or so until the bottles are empty.

I used to work with pure capsaicin and that was soluble only in alcohol and oil (and some toxic liquids)
The crystals would take very little time to dissolve in alcohol but could take hours to dissolve in oil.
The solution was tasteless(in terms of scoville) until the crystals dissolved properly.

I was thinking it might be the same principle for those flavoring concentrates.

Join the Facebook Group "Canadian DIY E-Juicers" lots of experts and vendors in the group with a vast amount of knowledge and can send you to the right places to get real DIY flavors etc in Canada.

Thanks a bunch for the invitation, unfortunately I never got into Facebook or any of the social media.
I used to have a Xanga page, but that's a long time ago!

Anyways, some flavors take some time to come through, if you're talking about Lorann Strawberry it takes like a week but it's also a very week flavor...

There's usually two amount suggestions for flavors, one for standalone which is usually higher and one to use in mixes and is usually lower.. anyways for some good juice flavors get flavors from

TFA/TPA, Capella, Flavor West, Flavor Art, Real Flavors....

Lorann is basically on the bottom of my list when it comes to vape flavoring although I used to make a killer Strawberry Banana Creme, 9% Banana Creme, 2% Strawberry, 0.3% Ethyl Maltol, 8 day steep

The flavors I mentioned are from Flavour Art.

Here's the list:

Flavour Art
Bilberry, Hazelnut, Banana, Custard, Strawberry, Vanilla Classic, Watermelon

LorAnn
Peach, Bavarian Cream, Blueberry, Cheesecake, Cream cheese icing

Additives
Ethyl Maltol, Menthol Crystals, Ethyl Vanillin, Citric Acid

I haven't got my LorAnn flavors yet but they should arrive sometime this week.
I've heard about LorAnn being hit and miss before but I'm going to purchase from all vendors over time anyway so I thought I'd try it, especially since Flavour Art seems to be loved by most and I couldn't taste much from it!
At least not within 8 hours of its creation..

For a moment I seriously thought about vaping the concentrate directly, but I assumed that was a bad idea in various ways so I didn't.

 

[JMC17]

So I just tested the melon bottle from the third batch after more than 16 hours in the 65c bath (and leaving it to cooldown over some more hours) and it still is only a faint taste.

I might mix a 50/50 batch and not bath them and see how they develop...

 

[dc99]

Mixing juice is an odd creature. Not enough flavoring and you get nothing, to much flavoring and you get nothing. Most of my fruit flavors are between 13-20%. Something like TFA ripe strawberry works for me between 12-14%. I do like a few drops of EM (cotton candy) in fruit flavors. It tends to brighten fruits.