New Member Greeting and Ejuice DIY Help!!!

[Ann Blair]

Hello I'm a noobie to DIY ejuice making but vaping for 5 years. I'm not good at online tech things but I bought all ingredients: I hope. and I'm really confused about the nicotine value. I know what I want to end up with but don't know how to add the nicotine value in the calculator I have 125ml bottle and 100mg to start with its 50/50 but I don't know how to add this in? I have 500ml VG and 500ml PG
4 flavors in PG bases, a bunch of bottles syringes Lehr lock things.
I just can't figure out the nicotine and how to measure drops of flavorings to equal % I'm so lost revving to go but stuck.

 

[r77r7r]

Welcome!

 

[Hawise]

Welcome to ECF!

It sounds like you would benefit from a good app or mixing calculator. I'm not familiar with the options at the moment, but you'll probably find some good recommendations if you hop over to our DIY forum, which is hiding under the e-liquid forum.

Just to clarify, is the nicotine you have 125 ml of 100 mg/ml nicotine? If so, the formula for figuring out how much nicotine you need in a juice is:

(Desired nicotine level in mg/ml) * (Amount of ejuice you're making in ml) / 100

Anyway, a recipe calculator will work out the nicotine you need as well as converting your ingredients from percent to mls or grams, as you prefer.

Welcome and good luck!

 

[NCC]

There are a number of useful calculators online. I like this one...
DIY E-liquid | Steam Engine | free vaping calculators
I measure by volume, mainly with various sizes of syringes. But for larger volumes a graduated cylinder can be useful. For measuring small volumes, as in flavorings, I find small syringes with their fine graduations my best friend. There are blunt tipped needles for this task. Thick liquids like VG require a small gauge (large bore) needle. I use 12 gauge for this purpose. They're available pretty cheaply on Amazon. And you can get some longer ones to easily reach to the bottoms of most bottles.
Hope there's something useful in my post.

 

[vaper1960]

Sounds like you are off to a good start (and welcome) I love using syringes for small measurements (don't need the blunt needle but they are good to have for other uses) Don't use drops method (can vary between 20-30 drops/ml... sometimes even 40 drops) Only do this if you make something, try it and it's too weak. Always mix your base first (nic, VG, PG) I like to mix 100 ml because it translate directly into %. What nic level do you like? What device? What is the VG/PG ratio you currently use? I know... lots of questions. The first time you try a flavor, just do a small 10 ml batch (and only one flavor each) Then after you try those (and adjust strength) try mixing those together if you want. What flavors do you have (and what brands)? Don't obsess over measuring. Do you have a plastic bottle over 100 ml? That would be great for making the base (unflavored) How much flavor to use depends on the brand (some will be 4 %... others 8 %) Right after mixing (base and or test batch) shake the heck out of it to mix well. You can "label" bottles with a "sharpie pen". I'll stop and let this all sink in... don't want to overwhelm you.

 

[MJCSD]

Hello and welcome to ecf

 

[Falconeer]

Hi and welcome.

Once you try it I think you'll find mixing your own is really fairly straight forward as well as being quite fun and saving you money.

It is important to know the strength of the nic liquid you have and if it is in PG or VG and then you can work from there using any online calculator.

I make up 100ml batches of unflavoured 50/50 PG/VG and use nicotine liquid which comes in VG.

When I used to use flavourings, once I'd got the base liquid made I'd decant it into a 10 ml trial bottle and add the flavour one drop at a time, give the bottle a good shake and test vape some of the mix in a dripper atomiser and continue adding the flavour until I got it where I wanted... and I'd take notes as I went along.

This last is important - a cautionary tale here - back in the 70s and 80s I was an avid home wine maker. I made a Moselle type wine based on rosehips and German yeast which won prizes at local shows BUT I invented the recipe as I went along and didn't write it down and was never able to replicate it properly.

 

[somdcomputerguy]

Welcome to ECF, Ann.

 

[DeloresRose]

Definitely find one of the calculators that offers the way you plan to measure- by volume it will give mls, by weight it’ll give grams.

I worked by volume for years and used pipettes, cylinders. I’m going by volume now and have a nice kitchen scale for it.

Percentages are given so that they can easily be translated no matter which means of measuring you use. It is a serious pain to translate mls to grams, or the other way around

To calculate nic, there will be - almost always the first thing you enter in the calculator- a space for the pg/vg and strength.
After putting in all the ingredients, there will be a place to enter your target strength and og/vg ratio.

Hope that helps.

 

[vaper1960]

This last is important - a cautionary tale here - back in the 70s and 80s I was an avid home wine maker. I made a Moselle type wine based on rosehips and German yeast which won prizes at local shows BUT I invented the recipe as I went along and didn't write it down and was never able to replicate it properly.

Good point. I did the same years ago with home brewed beer. My best dark german beer and I can't remember how much of each ingredient I used (I made up the recipe myself) Just like cooking too... they are all similar to DIY juice making.

 

[BrotherBob]

Hello I'm a noobie to DIY EJuice making but vaping for 5 years. I'm not good at online tech things but I bought all ingredients: I hope. and I'm really confused about the nicotine value. I know what I want to end up with but don't know how to add the nicotine value in the calculator I have 125ml bottle and 100mg to start with its 50/50 but I don't know how to add this in? I have 500ml VG and 500ml PG
4 flavors in PG bases, a bunch of bottles syringes Lehr lock things.
I just can't figure out the nicotine and how to measure drops of flavorings to equal % I'm so lost revving to go but stuck.

Welcome and glad you joined.
The trick, all you have to know is what target nicotine strength you require.
re: E-Liquid Nicotine Strengths Explained | NicVape E-Liquids and DIY Supplies
Whats confusing is how folks/sites describe their nicotine (input) strength. Some say I'm at 12 percent or 12 mg etc..

 

[Ann Blair]

Thank you all for your help. I was smiling at the posts about writing recipes down because I couldn't remember the name of this forum. Should have written it down too. I vape 6 to 9 MG nicotine normally so that's what my desired end result is. So you suggested to mix the PG and VG ahead of time also the nicotine target amount to have a base to start with? I like Cloud 9 ejuice Pearl, blueberry smurf, Oregon Blackberry and strawberry sometimes all mixed together. So fruit flavors. I bought Capella and flavor art just 4 flavors all fruits well 3 fruits and 1 sour its called.
Most recipes are suggesting multi flavors. By the drops sounds easy to do. I'm sure I will be asking for help a lot. I'm most worried because I bought nicotine with 50/50 % pg/VG and I read someone said it's a mistake? So if the nicotine I have says 100ml / that's my first # in the formula on the calculator and my target is 6mg?
So I smoked real cigs for 30+ years and I prefer more of throat hit. So more PG I think. Currently vaping on Smok Mag p3 with tvf16 tank I do have a dripper atty it's what I started with to try or test out the batch. What about steeping first mixed-up juices so will I like the batch later or will it be good to go then? Thanks so much for the help and warm welcoming.

 

[DeloresRose]

Thank you all for your help. I was smiling at the posts about writing recipes down because I couldn't remember the name of this forum. Should have written it down too. I vape 6 to 9 MG nicotine normally so that's what my desired end result is. So you suggested to mix the PG and VG ahead of time also the nicotine target amount to have a base to start with? I like Cloud 9 ejuice Pearl, blueberry smurf, Oregon Blackberry and strawberry sometimes all mixed together. So fruit flavors. I bought Capella and flavor art just 4 flavors all fruits well 3 fruits and 1 sour its called.
Most recipes are suggesting multi flavors. By the drops sounds easy to do. I'm sure I will be asking for help a lot. I'm most worried because I bought nicotine with 50/50 % pg/VG and I read someone said it's a mistake? So if the nicotine I have says 100ml / that's my first # in the formula on the calculator and my target is 6mg?
So I smoked real cigs for 30+ years and I prefer more of throat hit. So more PG I think. Currently vaping on Smok Mag p3 with tvf16 tank I do have a dripper atty it's what I started with to try or test out the batch. What about steeping first mixed-up juices so will I like the batch later or will it be good to go then? Thanks so much for the help and warm welcoming.

The problem with making the base ahead is not all flavors/ recipes are going to use the same total percentage. Many of mine do, so it’s no big deal for me to make base because I know which recipes I can use it for.

The pg/vg if your nic base is not going to be a problem, especially since you use a lower nic level and are not shooting for max vg. It’s actually easier to use and pour than 100% vg base.

What you will want to consider is, what pg/vg will work best for your devices. For RDAs, I do fine with 30 pg/70vg. Most of my tanks are DL, so this works fine for them, as well.

For my pods, I use 50/50.

Before anyone yells at me because they use much different juice just fine with their devices, I’ll say there is no law against using whatever ratio you like that works for you. This is simply what works for me. But I honestly don’t get a lot of TH from pg, I get that from my nic.

 

[DeloresRose]

And about steeping... some need it more than others. This is one of the things you might want to take notes for. Any juice can be vaped right away, but some really bloom over time. Vanilla, bakery, and stuff like that will really change. Fruits seem to be very good at first then fade over time.

I try to make enough Cinnamon Danish to last a month, but only 15-20 mls of a fruit.

 

[vaper1960]

I agree with what DeloresRose said. Your 50/50 nic is fine. I suggest you make around 70VG/30PG (I'll warn you some people just post numbers and it might be PG first or VG first... drives me nuts) Even though the amount of flavors you use can affect the ratio, I wouldn't worry about it 9for now) Keep it simple... make a 100 ml batch of "base" first (100 ml is easy because it translates into percent... 70 ml VG, 30 ml PG and your nic... close enough) Eventually get into exact measuring (I'm trying to make this easy) Don't do drops... too much difference depending on drop size (anywhere from 20-40 drops/ml) Use a syringe for the flavors (or if you can afford it, a scale) I have a 120 ml plastic bottle and marked off 10 ml lines (sharpie pen) and just pour in the VG and PG and "eyeball" it. The extra airspace (20 ml) helps for shaking after mixing. Mine has a pour spout too. Make small test batches (10 ml) of each flavor by itself until you get an idea how strong to use it. RDAs are perfect for taste testing. Go ahead and taste them after a few days, then again after a week. Fruits don't need to steep very long but other things do. Ask here (or look at DIY websites) for suggested % of flavor to use. Start a bit low (you can easily add more after later on) If it's too strong, dilute it with more base.

 

[Brandonbav]

Welcome to ECF!

It sounds like you would benefit from a good app or mixing calculator. I'm not familiar with the options at the moment, but you'll probably find some good recommendations if you hop over to our DIY forum, which is hiding under the E-liquid forum.

Just to clarify, is the nicotine you have 125 ml of 100 mg/ml nicotine? If so, the formula for figuring out how much nicotine you need in a juice is:

(Desired nicotine level in mg/ml) * (Amount of ejuice you're making in ml) / 100

Anyway, a recipe calculator will work out the nicotine you need as well as converting your ingredients from percent to mls or grams, as you prefer.

Welcome and good luck!

eJuice Me Up is the one that I found to be the best. It comes with quite a bit of preloaded recipes or you can start from scratch. I like it because I use alchohol based flavorings compared to PG/VG. I personally think it has everything you need from a beginner to advanced eJuice maker.

Just a tip I learned the hard way if you use more than 1% it can clog your coil up depending on what kind of setup you are running. Something else I learned over the last 9 months of doing my own eJuice is for flavorings if you are just doing like Fruit Punch, other fruit combinations or a single flavor you will only need about 8-14% depending on your taste. I keep my Fruit Punch at around 11-12% but I like it stronger then other people and I like it sweeter too. Now with sweetener if you want to go above 1% max because you want it sweeter you have other options like Marshmallow, Honey and several others and you can just Google it and it will come up.

Before closing even if you are using fairly expensive materials you should be able to make a 60ml bottle for less then $5. To be honest when I was making it for others too and would be able to get orders high enough to get free shipping I figured out that I could make a 60ml bottle for about $.50 if I could get deals, discounts and free shipping. I also like that if I want 47%VG and 53%PG with 5.8 nicotine level I can. Now I never have but just saying that there are so many pluses to doing it yourself.

Brandon

 

[bnrkwest]

I mix my base first to my desired strength in a squeeze bottle. Then when I want to mix up some flavored juice just add desired mixed base in a small bottle, add drops, shake & vape. I'm a lazy mixer LOL Also to test a recipe just mix in plain PG/VG to try it, that way you don't waste your nic.

 

[BrotherBob]

Thank you all for your help.

Very few of us will unlikely see your appreciation reply above, might be better If you like a particular reply(s), you can click "like" (the thumbs up) icon,or other icons, at bottom right hand corner of this post (Thumbs up symbol). This action will notify the poster of your chosen noted response.

 

[Weaslvapr]

Welcome to ECF. I am a newbie here as well.