Newbie starting up

[TheProphet]

I've been vaping for about 10 months now, and I want to start getting into DIY. Figured I'd buy small amounts at first till I know what I'm doing. Goal is for a mango/kiwi cream with a hint of Lychee. Is this a decent order to get myself started?

Flavor apprentice Lychee 20ml
Flavor apprentice kiwi double 20ml
Flavor West Whipped Cream 20ml
Syringe with blunt tip needle 16ga 5cc (4)
5ml slender tip bottle (3)
PG, 4oz
VG, 4oz
Flavor Apprentice Mango 20ml

 

[ukeman]

Your tastes sound very similar to mine.

First things that comes to mind is:
TFA Lychee (TFA TPA are same) may not be for you; I don't care for it but try it at less than 3%.
I prefer Hangsen and/or Flavour Art Lychee, even Capella Lychee.
I love TFA Sweet Cream
Most Mango from vendors are pretty good. But I use Hangsen, Inawera, and some Capella (very strong, not as spot on, but gives a "real" mango taste).
Don't know about Kiwi.

Depending on what your coil builds and devices are, I'd consider using more VG than PG but thats me.

I have been into tropical fruit DIY for almost a year now, so let me know how this goes and I can share more info with you later....

 

[TheProphet]

Your tastes sound very similar to mine.

First things that comes to mind is:
TFA Lychee (TFA TPA are same) may not be for you; I don't care for it but try it at less than 3%.
I prefer Hangsen and/or Flavour Art Lychee, even Capella Lychee.
I love TFA Sweet Cream
Most Mango from vendors are pretty good. But I use Hangsen, Inawera, and some Capella (very strong, not as spot on, but gives a "real" mango taste).
Don't know about Kiwi.

Depending on what your coil builds and devices are, I'd consider using more VG than PG but thats me.

I have been into tropical fruit DIY for almost a year now, so let me know how this goes and I can share more info with you later....

One stop DIY shop doesn't have Hangsen or Inawera. Ill swap the Lychee over to FA though. My builds on my dripper usually sit at .5-.6, while my tanks sit around the 1.8-2.0 area (protanks). Plan is to try for an 80/20 VG/PG blend.

 

[Boletus]

Flavor apprentice Lychee 20ml
Flavor apprentice kiwi double 20ml
Flavor West Whipped Cream 20ml
Syringe with blunt tip needle 16ga 5cc (4)
5ml slender tip bottle (3)
PG, 4oz
VG, 4oz
Flavor Apprentice Mango 20ml

Are you shooting for 0 mg nic? Or was it left out of the list?
Flavorings: if the cost is low enough, no great shakes, but 20 ml could be a lot if you end up not liking any of them.
Syringes: I would get at least one 1 ml. Starting out, you will want to make small test batches (10 ml or less), so you flavoring measurements can be pretty small. Looks like you are planning 5 ml test batches, so yes, definitely at least one 1 ml; maybe get two 5 ml and two 1 ml.
You might want a 14 gauge needle for VG, although you can also use the syringes without needles for that.
Some glass bottles might be nice for speed steeping with heat. But it looks like you are starting with fruit flavors, which usually require little or no steeping, so maybe not.

Recommended reading (you may have already done some of this):
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/announcements-news/144783-warning-e-liquid-diy-safety.html
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/127760-diy-warning-please-read.html
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/277267-purity-pg-vg-peg-short-version.html

And danyv45's and Hoosier's blogs are also helpful:
E-Cigarette Forum - Hoosier - Blogs
E-Cigarette Forum - dannyv45 - Blogs

 

[TheProphet]

Yeah, I'm shooting for 0nic, sorry forgot to mention that. I could probably step down the size of the flavorings. Total as I have it comes out to $35, which isn't a problem but you're right about if I don't like them.

Looks like the place I'm looking at doesn't carry the syringe size I need, since the max they have is 5cc. What are some other good (reasonably priced) retailers to buy from, as I'd rather buy everythign from one place to avoid multiple shipping costs?

 

[Boletus]

Pretty good syringe selection here:
Filling Syringes and Needles
Although I wish they had the 3" long needles.

Get some clear packing tape and put it over the markings before you start, and then you can reuse those disposables for a long time.

 

[Soignee]

Hi Prophet. Check out Bull City. They carry Inawera and Hangsen (along with TFA etc...) and syringes and bottles. Inawera and FA both have very tasty Mango. Check them out.


Sent from Stoooopidtalk!

 

[ukeman]

I expect you may be on a budget, and YES start small in the case (more than likely) some of your mixes (and flavorings) don't come out as you hope, so its good to get small bottles of flavor concentrates too. And from different brands.

I like to use 5ml bottles and make 2 or 3ml of one flavor samples... Fruit don't take much time to steep (in general) so you can sample them just about right away.
If they are good then you can use the chosen % in your mix or just add the different samples together in the desired ratio's.

Cream for fruits should imo be used around 1 to 3% to smooth out the flavor. I use TFA Sweet Cream in all my fruit mixes.
(TFA SC will not imo be good at more than 4%, but I like it the best of many creams I've tried, for fruits.)

Start with conservative estimates (%'s) and work up. You can get the %'s that folks like for a particular flavor here:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr..._hQ6Fu8HdEwwR2dLRUJlVjlabEN1NG1ucktuUVE&gid=0
For one, but there are more around.

 

[TheProphet]

Sweet, thanks. Built my cart at Bull City and it came to $20. Till I got to shipping. Double what I've seen from other places. Prices for the flavorings and the VG/PG are great though.

 

[K31Scout]

Tractor Supply sells syringes and PG by the gallon. All feed/grain stores have those items as well.

 

[ukeman]

There are many sites that sell varied brands (ecigXpress, RTS, VapingZone, etc etc) but invariably none of them will have everything. Its crazy and some are better shipping $ than others. Its crazy and takes a researching.

Thats' why its good to peruse the DIY threads for favorite brands of a certain flavor, what percentages, vendors etc.

Btw in one of my mixes (actually the only one i really like so far)... I use 2 different brands each; of Pineapple, Mango, just because I've gotten familiar with each and like certain accents that different brands of same flavor give to the mix.

For the Mango I use either Hangsen or Inawera, or FA ....
but I take one of them at 2 or 3% and add 1% of Capella Sweet Mango for its realistic accent ( i wouldn't use the Capella mango over these; just for accent).
Same with Hangsen Pineapple; its so strong that I use just 1% added to 2 or 3% Inawera or FA Pineapple.

Lychee I use either FA 4 to 5% or Hangsen 4 to 6%.

 

[Soignee]

Sweet, thanks. Built my cart at Bull City and it came to $20. Till I got to shipping. Double what I've seen from other places. Prices for the flavorings and the VG/PG are great though.

They are good people at BC. As you figure out what your needs are and can consolidate, your cost will go down. Consider it an investment in lowering your future costs...you can always pm me and see if I have some things I'm not using any more...my tastes are undergoing radical changes!

 

[Boletus]

...Consider it an investment in lowering your future costs...

Seriously, that first purchase may cost almost half as much as an equivalent amount of premade juice , but after that, assuming you decide to stick with DIY and buy bulk ingredients, you may well end up with an 80-90% cost reduction.

 

[ukeman]

There may some sites that sell very small flavoring bottles, for not too much. Get extra flavors, play around with different things as you (or anyone else seeing this thread) see fit.
I do know that Pure Vapes sells 3ml samples of FA, and I think RTS may do the same with other brands, not sure.
At lease you won't be stuck with 10ml bottles of flavorings you don't like.

 

[TheProphet]

Since Bull City has a specific section for PG free flavorings, is it safe to assume that all the flavors I order that aren't from that section are PG based and I'll need to alter my PG/VG ratio accordingly?

 

[Soignee]

Since Bull City has a specific section for PG free flavorings, is it safe to assume that all the flavors I order that aren't from that section are PG based and I'll need to alter my PG/VG ratio accordingly?

Yes.
Are you using a calculator?

 

[TheProphet]

I will once the supplies get in and I start planning it out. Right now I'm just trying to read everything I can and figure out how the calculators work.