New to DIY and have a few questions

[Fringeoflunacy]

Okay, so I've been vaping for a little over a month now and I'm eager to try DIY. I've read all the safety warnings about nic base and such, so I'm getting 36mg base to dilute to 18mg to start until I feel comfortable working with the higher nic bases. I'm going to order the The DIY Flavor Artisan's Master Kit - One Stop DIY Shop Store plus a few extra things.

A few things I'm still unsure about though:

Syringes vs pipettes: Which is preferred for measuring small amounts? I'm going to be mixing small test batches to start (1-2ml) and I need to know which is more accurate or easy to use. Right now I'm thinking pipettes since I'll be experimenting with a lot of flavors and it'll be easier to toss a pipette and grab a new one rather than clean a syringe. Opinions?

Testing/Steeping: How long should I let a batch sit before testing it? Would waiting an hour for a 2ml batch be plenty of time to at least get an idea of the flavor? Or would waiting overnight be a better idea? I'll be mixing mostly fruit juices and some bakery, no tobacco.

Labeling: How do you label your bottles? I'm trying to find some cheap, easily removable labels that won't leave pieces/residue. I want to be able to reuse my small test bottles and need some method to label them that can be removed when I make a new batch. Right now I'm just thinking a small piece of masking tape would be easiest/cheapest, but that would leave sticky residue.


I also wanted a few opinions on my plan of going about this. I'm sure some people jump right in and start trying various blends, but I think I'm going a little more analytical on this. I'm going to try all my individual flavors first, so I can get a good idea of what they bring to the table, before I try blending different flavors together. So I'm thinking for each flavor mix a 1-2ml batch at 5% flavoring, 50PG/50VG. Let sit, test, evaluate. Then add more flavoring to reach 10%. Let sit, test, evaluate. Add more flavoring to 15%. Let sit, test, evaluate. Basically just pin down what percentage works best for each flavor. After I figure out what percentage works best I'm going to mix a batch for each flavor at 70PG/30VG, and another at 30PG/70VG, and adjust percentages as necessary for each flavor in each base. So basically for each individual flavor I will know what percentage works best at 70/30, 50/50, and 30/70. I'm going to keep notes on everything I try. After I have a good understanding of the individual flavors I'll start blending them together.

How did everyone else get started? Did you just start throwing flavors together until you found something you liked or did you go all mad scientist like me with the super clinical approach?


Any help/insight would be much appreciated, thank you.

 

[Sicarius]

Nice to see someone doing their homework before diving in.

These would be my choices YMMV

- Syringes are more accurate for what I do
- Flavour blending (steeping) at least a week, but I never wait that long. If it's good it will only get better
- Labelling. I use round yellow stickers and write details on them. PG is also a useful sticky residue remover.
- Everything I make is 70/30 to 80/20 (PG/VG). No need to mess with best balance.
- I would mix a batch of each flavour at 10% and test. Add more if required after a day or two.
- Once you find the best ratio of each flavour then start mixing flavours into combos.

Good luck and post those success recipes.
-

 

[Fringeoflunacy]

Thanks!

The reason I'm messing with PG/VG balance is that my preference seems to vary. I usually go between 50/50 and 70/30, it seems to depend on the flavor. I tend to like bakery stuff closer to 50/50 and fruit is usually closer to 70/30. I haven't tried 30/70 before, but that's why I want to experiment.

 

[cskent]

Syringes are more accurate, pipettes are more convenient. If you're mixing small 1 or 2 ml batches accuracy is important, an extra .1 can make a big difference especially if you start using 100mg nic juice in the future.

Steeping is important with some flavors, others it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Experience will be needed. If it tastes like you expected right after you mixed it, vape it. If it tastes off, let it steep.

I bought some colored labels at Walmart. I think they were $1.67 for a pack of 100. You can use them to color code your bottles, or write on them before you stick them on. Use pencil and they'll be legible even if you get juice on them.

Mixing single flavored juices is a good way to start. You might like them as is or you can start mixing them together once mixed. As long as you keep records of your mixtures you can replicate them later. If you start at 5% and keep adding more flavor until it tastes right you'll be lowering your nic level each time you add some, just something to keep in mind.

How did I get started?, I began with single flavors and went from there trying whatever combinations sounded good at the moment. It's kind of like going grocery shopping when you're hungry though. You end up with junk you never would have bought if you were in a normal state of mind.

 

[nanovapr]

Agreed, you are doing the right things! You will always be making small test batches to try out new things, even when you find some that you like. I recommend syringes as well. They are dirt cheap, get a lot. Get some 1 ml ones, if you need to measure .54 ml of a flavoring, drops don't cut it, and most pipettes are too coarse in small increments (except for the first few increments). Get some 5 ml syringes as well, good for PG and for later/larger batches, for flavoring. I also use 20 ml syringes a lot. If you need to use 15 ml of PG, it is bad to be using smaller syringes and lose count (was that 2 or 3 syringe-fulls I have done so far?) Flush them with very hot water a soon as you use them, or toss them and use new. Pull the plungers and let dry.

Get only Luer-lock syringes if you can. It's a quarter-turn quick-release mechanism for the needle. Get the largest size needle you can. It's easy to blow a needle off the syringe if you try to push too much of something too thick through it too fast. Fortunately this usually happens inside the bottle (time for tweezers or paper clip to retrieve), but is a potential mess.

Pipettes however are very good for measuring VG, it's too thick to conveniently use in a syringe. Several sizes of graduated cylinders can be useful, remember to only measure on the meniscus. VG dripping down the side of a graduated cylinder however can skew that slightly.

Masking tape, or nearly anything is good for short-term labeling. I tend to never be making more than two 'new things' at a time. I use colored hair rubber bands. Put one on bottle, and same color on current atty/carto I am testing it with. I don't try to keep notes on bottles, other than basic identification.

10% is a good place to start, with flavoring. Don't make any snap decisions, I vape something for at least three days before changing anything, unless it is Truly Awful.(tm)

As far as recipes, there are hundreds of them on ECF, start with some of them. Single-flavor ones are best at first.

Keeping notes? I use a spreadsheet for recipes, and while my bottle identification is sparse, my notes in the spreadsheet are intense. I have fields filled with notes, and past versions and comments. While 10% is a good place to start, you will find some flavorings need more or less. i keep notes like "needs more X and less Y. It's good at 11%, trying 13%. Blue rubber band". Eventually you wind up with lots and lots of notes. Once you get that particular flavor down, the early test versions of the notes are not needed, and can be deleted if need be.

Using careful measurements is much better than just adding a few drops.

Keep your recipes at hand, and with no distractions. Turn off the phone, shut the door to keep out kids/pets. If you don't have one, get a junker old laptop for little or nothing somewhere, and keep it right there with you. If you can't do that, print them out to have them nearby. Having to leave your mixing spot to re-check the recipe makes you error-prone, and slows you down.

 

[GoodDog]

I find pipettes useless and much prefer syringes for accuracy and ease of use.

I can't imagine letting a sample of 1-2mLs steep for a week. Overnight is fine and fruit flavors usually an hour or so. Creamy flavors need a little more steep time, maybe a couple of days at the most.

I use a fine-tip, black, permanent marker and right directly on the bottle then cover it with scotch tape. Both come off easily and it's a lot less hassle than peeling off stickers and glue. I started out using a label maker and spending way too much time on labeling, now I only do that for my final 30mL batches and I'm sooo much happier.

I love that you did your homework and look forward to reading about your successes. Soon you'll be an expert and able to help other new DIYers here.