my first diy attempt

[tungstun]

I just got my first set up supplies today. I started off by making a 5 ml bottle comprised of 1 ml 150mg nic base, 3 ml pg, and 1 ml lor ann peppermint. It tastes awesome. However, I am not sure if it is the new ce2 carts i am using or the juice i made but i am not getting near the vapor production I used to get. I used to use the carts from v2 and after they dried out i picked up some juice from a local vender in the mall that produced a good amount of vapor. I haven't tried the mall juice with the ce2 cart but i am thinking its my juice since i am such a noob. any help would be appreciated. thanks.

I also just read another post indicating a "water bath" and letting it sit for a few days. Can someone also explain why i would do these things and how it helps my mix.

 

[Onehempcat]

I think you would benefit from a bit of VG. I believe that produces vapor.
You will get GREAT non-noobs to answer though. I just been paying attention the last week. I THINK!!!! HA HA HA

 

[donnah]

WoW! Where did you get 150mg nic juice! Be careful with it! and yes, from what I understand vg is used for vapor production.. I use 10 to 20% vg. Letting your juices sit for awhile, or steeping as it's called, allows the flavors to mesh with each other. I've not tried the water bath but I think it speeds the process along by way of heat.. cooking it a bit. I don't use cartomizers.. I switch and mix flavors too much for that, plus direct dripping is too easy and I can taste the flavor a lot more. I've tried a few cartos but I always feel like I need to drip.. plus I'm afraid that it will need refilling before I can get back home to refill it. Let us know how adding vg does. I've tried to vape 100% vg but did not like it at all!

 

[ledouxmike]

VG from what I've read running straight VG is harder on the atty's. They'll need cleaning more often and won't last as long.

 

[tungstun]

I picked up the 150mg from dfwvapes.com. 40 bucks for 30ml plus shipping.

 

[MaxUT]

Vapor production
The more VG, the more vapor. Some of my juices are more than 90% VG and they definitely out perform those which have less.

Hot water bath
This speeds up the steeping process in several ways. First, warming the juice makes the VG and PG temporarily thinner which helps mixing. Second, heat increases the convection currents in the liquid while it's sitting there in the water, causing a mixing effect. Third, heat increases the activity of the individual molecules of the juice ingredients. A single flavoring might consist of a dozen different chemicals and until each of those chemicals is uniformly distributed throughout the juice it won't be completely mixed. Making those molecules bounce around faster will speed up this process.

VG harder on attys?
VG seems to cause more residue build up in the atty but is easier to remove than PG juice deposits if you're into cleaning attys (I use an ultrasonic cleaner). I have one surviving Joye 510 atty, purchased in July 2009, that I still use with VG juices. I run it at about 4.5 volts and it makes a lot of good vapor.

Nic liquid
150mg nic juice, $40 for 30 mL. That's as much nic as 45 mL of 100mg juice. Toxic stuff.
I recently paid $28 for 120 mL of 100mg juice. It pays to look for bargains and sales, then stock up. That saves on shipping too.
There's no reason to use high strength nic unless you want to spike flavored eliquid and minimize diluting of the flavor. Consider also that you will need to dilute the high nic stuff more, using up more of your VG and/or PG.

 

[MaxUT]

Just got an email from Box Elder Chemical: they're having a 50% off sale now through March 26.

Box Elder Chemical Supply

Their shipping is expensive, so be sure to check that out before submitting an order.

 

[Hoosier]

Did I read that right? 1ml of peppermint oil in 5ml of juice? 20% peppermint oil if my eyes are working... Maybe it's my brain...

Even for me, that's strong. That may be your issue. Oils tend to be very strong and I use them at much lower starting points than most. (Then again Loranns says oil on many flavorings that are not really oils, but I think Peppermint is actually an oil.)

On the 150mg, meh, I've used it. It added bitter too quickly for my tastes. As long as you take precautions, it nearly as safe as 100mg which I use all the time. (By "added bitter" I mean it oxidized too quickly for my use and made my mix's flavors a bit bitter.)

I don't test flavors with cartos even though I have mixes that only taste right in a carto.

 

[SteveFromNY]

At least 50% VG in mixes or bust...

 

[tungstun]

MattUT: Thank you very much for the link. I got a little sad when i saw what you paid for your nic base. I then realized that with a lot things in life there is a learning curve. I have still spent about the same as if i were buying analogs. Good to now about the sale though. i'll have to check it out. as it stands i have about 150ml of unflavored juice so i might be good for a bit. especially since i now have to cut it again with vg for the vapor production. which i believe i will have to add a bit more nic base since i am cutting my 30mg/ml to 15 mg/ml or there abouts. i will have to play with pg/vg ratios.

Hoosier: I played a little bit with peppermint percentages last night. i believe you are right and 20% is a little too strong. I tried a 10% mix and it seemed a little too weak. so i settled on a 15%. I did however have to up my wintergreen flavor percentage to about 25% since it is somewhat of a light flavor in and of itself.

All: Thank you so much for the assistance with my first mixing attempt. I may have failed in some aspects but the lessons learned are priceless.