Hey all! I've seen a few "guides" come and go, get resurrected, have even contributed to a couple, but decided that writing while I was still learning, I didn't really have things wrong, but realize that it was in fact- incomplete. Here's what I sincerely hope is a complete guide that helps everyone from beginners to intermediates.
Here you go. If you want me to add anything to the OP, just message me, thanks.
You will need these basic components:
*Nicotine (NIC) (really, NIC is optional, but assumed this is your smoking replacement, not nicotine-free recreation)
*Propylene Glycol (PG)
*Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
*Flavor concentrates
*Mixing kit (bottles, syringes, gloves, etc..)
Optional but strongly recommended components:
Liquid or Crystal Sucralose -OR- Ethyl Maltol (sweetner) - I strongly recommend liquid sucralose.
E-juice calculator software
Pen and notepad
Small avery-type labels (sticky)
5-pack standard CE3 or CE4 clearomizers (assuming you are using 510 gear)
Quick Start:
Mix your base.
Add your flavor(s).
Add sweetner (if needed).
vape away.
Walk through:
First let's start with the PG/VG/NIC:
Basic:
I have found it easiest to order NIC base already mixed in PG (PG NIC BASE). I buy 36mg PG NIC base (from WL) and then equal amounts of VG to make a good 50/50 18mg base. You can buy NIC in concentrated form, but you have to take much more care, precaution, and wear protective gear. Some vendors also offer premixed 50/50, 60/40, and 70/30 base with whatever NIC mg you want (6,12,18,24,36).
I have found 18mg base to be a good happy medium for the 10-15 cig per day smoker.
Measure out 5ml or 10ml of base into a bottle. I do not recommend creating smaller batches. Smaller batches will yield less consistent results, resulting in more loss in the end.. This is a fact you will need to accept.
The beauty of this is that compared to pre-mixed juices, the base is DIRT CHEAP.
Advanced:
Many flavor concentrates are PG based, and when you are using 15-20% flavoring, this will offset your 50/50 base to 60/40 or greater. Why should you care? Because PG equals Throat Hit (TH), and VG makes fluffy clouds of vapor.. offset it too much and you will end up with a harsh hit that produces low vapor and ultimately can take away from your vaping experience. The eJuiceMeUp calculator (and others) has the functionality to compensate for that and measure out what amount of extra VG you need to balance the mix. You will want to keep extra VG on hand if you plan to compensate.
Flavor Concentrates:
There are several good brands out there. There are also many passionate endorsements of this brand or that brand. I strongly suggest you start with sample packs from each of the main vendors. There's TPF/TPA, Lor-ann, Hangsen (tobacco), and a few others. Each brand and flavor has its own unique attributes, and you will need to understand that those attributes will absolutely make or break a good juice.
Basic:
Measure out the recommended percentage for that flavor. If you don't know it, you should start at 5, 10, 15, or 20% respectively. You will find that there are no good "generic" recommendations. There are charts you can find here on ECF that have recommended percentages for each flavor based on brand. Some concentrates are much stronger than others, so take this next part with a level of caution. Many sites suggest starting at 5% for any flavor and working your way up from there until something tastes good to you. Here's my general rules with LA (Lorann) flavors:
Floral flavors: 7-10%
Subtle Dessert or fruit flavors: 18-22%
Strong Dessert or fruit flavors: 12-15%
Tobacco flavors: 5-8% (LA does not make tobacco flavors, but this is a good starting point for most brands)
Especially potent flavors such as menthol, spearmint, clove, cinnamon, or anything else with a "kick": 3-5%
I strongly suggest you do not attempt to mix different flavors together until you get a feel for mixing single flavors first.
The pen, pad, and labels:
I promise you that once you start experimenting with mixing, you will forget how much of this you mixed with that. You think you will remember and you are dead wrong. You will run out of one of your well-liked mixes, go to create more, and stumble.. “Did I mix 15% or 10% flavor?. Did this require 2 drops per ml of sweetner, or was it 4?”..
Always write down the mix percentages of EVERY experiment. Update those notes as you make changes. Once I have a mix perfect, I will then write the flavor(s) and all percentages on a small avery label, and label my bottle with it. I then carry it into the other room, adjust my ejuice calculator recipe and save it. I will usually name it exactly what it is, like Banana, Strawberry-banana, or Pina Coloda. This will save you frustration. Name them whatever you want though!
** Note: Many fruit and dessert flavors are unsweetened. Just like the vanilla extract in your cupboard, it will taste nasty and sharp without additional sweetener. I generally stick to 2 drops per ml of liquid sucralose as the starting point for sweetening flavors.
Additionally, some flavors will be naturally sweet. For instance, licorice is already super-super-sweet without any additional sweetener.
Advanced:
I always dab my fingertip on the lid of the sweetener, rub it in and then taste my fingertip to get an idea on the strength and sweetness of the concentrate! This will destroy your palette, so have some diet coke or pepsi handy so you can rinse (hey, it’s what works for me!).
Steeping:
Steeping flavors is the art of letting the flavor concentrate “marinate” over time with the base (and anything else in the mix) after mixing.
Many tobacco flavors become infinitely better after steeping. As mentioned in countless other threads: A good batch will taste good before steeping. No amount of steeping will make a bad batch any better. Steeping can make a good batch into a great batch.
Most dessert and fruit flavors are perfectly vapeable after mixing and do not need steeping. Some of them can actually sour over time. I’ve had licorice start to sour after about 3 weeks, for instance.
Samples / Examples / Resources:
You can purchase everything you need from either a single-source vendor, or from several online.
If you are close to a vape shop, you can sometimes find DIY supplies, but most of them sell finished products. It’s good to be able to buy your clearomizers, batteries, and accessories locally when possible. Here’s a site that will help you find if there’s a store near you (in the USA):
Electric Cigarette | Eliquid | Supplies | Electronic Cigarette | Ejuice | Vapor Search USA
Most of us tend to buy from 2 or 3 different vendors because we prefer different lines of different products from various vendors. Vendor suggestions are:
LorAnn Oils
Wizard Labs
High Desert Vapes
Ecig Express
Hangsen
…Or ask around the e-cigarette forums.
Sweet Licorice
50/50/18 base – 10ml
(LA) Licorice – 20% (2ml)
Mix and vape.
Pina Coloda
50/50/18 base – 10ml
(LA) Coconut – 12%
(LA) Pineapple – 4%
(LA) Butter Rum – 8%
Liquid Sucralose – 4 drops
Here you go. If you want me to add anything to the OP, just message me, thanks.
You will need these basic components:
*Nicotine (NIC) (really, NIC is optional, but assumed this is your smoking replacement, not nicotine-free recreation)
*Propylene Glycol (PG)
*Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
*Flavor concentrates
*Mixing kit (bottles, syringes, gloves, etc..)
Optional but strongly recommended components:
Liquid or Crystal Sucralose -OR- Ethyl Maltol (sweetner) - I strongly recommend liquid sucralose.
E-juice calculator software
Pen and notepad
Small avery-type labels (sticky)
5-pack standard CE3 or CE4 clearomizers (assuming you are using 510 gear)
Quick Start:
Mix your base.
Add your flavor(s).
Add sweetner (if needed).
vape away.
Walk through:
First let's start with the PG/VG/NIC:
Basic:
I have found it easiest to order NIC base already mixed in PG (PG NIC BASE). I buy 36mg PG NIC base (from WL) and then equal amounts of VG to make a good 50/50 18mg base. You can buy NIC in concentrated form, but you have to take much more care, precaution, and wear protective gear. Some vendors also offer premixed 50/50, 60/40, and 70/30 base with whatever NIC mg you want (6,12,18,24,36).
I have found 18mg base to be a good happy medium for the 10-15 cig per day smoker.
Measure out 5ml or 10ml of base into a bottle. I do not recommend creating smaller batches. Smaller batches will yield less consistent results, resulting in more loss in the end.. This is a fact you will need to accept.
The beauty of this is that compared to pre-mixed juices, the base is DIRT CHEAP.
Advanced:
Many flavor concentrates are PG based, and when you are using 15-20% flavoring, this will offset your 50/50 base to 60/40 or greater. Why should you care? Because PG equals Throat Hit (TH), and VG makes fluffy clouds of vapor.. offset it too much and you will end up with a harsh hit that produces low vapor and ultimately can take away from your vaping experience. The eJuiceMeUp calculator (and others) has the functionality to compensate for that and measure out what amount of extra VG you need to balance the mix. You will want to keep extra VG on hand if you plan to compensate.
Flavor Concentrates:
There are several good brands out there. There are also many passionate endorsements of this brand or that brand. I strongly suggest you start with sample packs from each of the main vendors. There's TPF/TPA, Lor-ann, Hangsen (tobacco), and a few others. Each brand and flavor has its own unique attributes, and you will need to understand that those attributes will absolutely make or break a good juice.
Basic:
Measure out the recommended percentage for that flavor. If you don't know it, you should start at 5, 10, 15, or 20% respectively. You will find that there are no good "generic" recommendations. There are charts you can find here on ECF that have recommended percentages for each flavor based on brand. Some concentrates are much stronger than others, so take this next part with a level of caution. Many sites suggest starting at 5% for any flavor and working your way up from there until something tastes good to you. Here's my general rules with LA (Lorann) flavors:
Floral flavors: 7-10%
Subtle Dessert or fruit flavors: 18-22%
Strong Dessert or fruit flavors: 12-15%
Tobacco flavors: 5-8% (LA does not make tobacco flavors, but this is a good starting point for most brands)
Especially potent flavors such as menthol, spearmint, clove, cinnamon, or anything else with a "kick": 3-5%
I strongly suggest you do not attempt to mix different flavors together until you get a feel for mixing single flavors first.
The pen, pad, and labels:
I promise you that once you start experimenting with mixing, you will forget how much of this you mixed with that. You think you will remember and you are dead wrong. You will run out of one of your well-liked mixes, go to create more, and stumble.. “Did I mix 15% or 10% flavor?. Did this require 2 drops per ml of sweetner, or was it 4?”..
Always write down the mix percentages of EVERY experiment. Update those notes as you make changes. Once I have a mix perfect, I will then write the flavor(s) and all percentages on a small avery label, and label my bottle with it. I then carry it into the other room, adjust my ejuice calculator recipe and save it. I will usually name it exactly what it is, like Banana, Strawberry-banana, or Pina Coloda. This will save you frustration. Name them whatever you want though!
** Note: Many fruit and dessert flavors are unsweetened. Just like the vanilla extract in your cupboard, it will taste nasty and sharp without additional sweetener. I generally stick to 2 drops per ml of liquid sucralose as the starting point for sweetening flavors.
Additionally, some flavors will be naturally sweet. For instance, licorice is already super-super-sweet without any additional sweetener.
Advanced:
I always dab my fingertip on the lid of the sweetener, rub it in and then taste my fingertip to get an idea on the strength and sweetness of the concentrate! This will destroy your palette, so have some diet coke or pepsi handy so you can rinse (hey, it’s what works for me!).
Steeping:
Steeping flavors is the art of letting the flavor concentrate “marinate” over time with the base (and anything else in the mix) after mixing.
Many tobacco flavors become infinitely better after steeping. As mentioned in countless other threads: A good batch will taste good before steeping. No amount of steeping will make a bad batch any better. Steeping can make a good batch into a great batch.
Most dessert and fruit flavors are perfectly vapeable after mixing and do not need steeping. Some of them can actually sour over time. I’ve had licorice start to sour after about 3 weeks, for instance.
Samples / Examples / Resources:
You can purchase everything you need from either a single-source vendor, or from several online.
If you are close to a vape shop, you can sometimes find DIY supplies, but most of them sell finished products. It’s good to be able to buy your clearomizers, batteries, and accessories locally when possible. Here’s a site that will help you find if there’s a store near you (in the USA):
Electric Cigarette | Eliquid | Supplies | Electronic Cigarette | Ejuice | Vapor Search USA
Most of us tend to buy from 2 or 3 different vendors because we prefer different lines of different products from various vendors. Vendor suggestions are:
LorAnn Oils
Wizard Labs
High Desert Vapes
Ecig Express
Hangsen
…Or ask around the e-cigarette forums.
Sweet Licorice
50/50/18 base – 10ml
(LA) Licorice – 20% (2ml)
Mix and vape.
Pina Coloda
50/50/18 base – 10ml
(LA) Coconut – 12%
(LA) Pineapple – 4%
(LA) Butter Rum – 8%
Liquid Sucralose – 4 drops
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