Noob E-liquid question

[jjlau90]

Hey all,

I am new to vaping. I was wondering why would people buy bottled eliquid (from hangsen, dekang, liQua, etc) when they sell their flavor concentrate. Isn't buying the concentrates + buying PG/VG + nicotine and making the eliquid yourself MUCH cheaper than buying the bottled eliquids?

Also, places like avejuice, acejuice, Xtreme Juice, eVo ejuice, etc... don't they just buy the flavoring from hangsen, dekang, liQua (the actual companies that make the flavors concentrates) and mix them together to get their own flavors?

Thank guys and looking forward to contribute to this forum!

John

 

[Cliven]

Convenience.

A lot of people don't want to get into mixing their own juice. I mix my own but will still occasionally buy some from some vendors just for the different flavors and mixes.

 

[RandomFellow]

Sure, its cheaper, but what a hassle. And, you'd probably have to buy large quantities. And, some places have their own secret recipes for flavors and they don't sell the flavoring, so you have to buy their mix. There are places that sell basic flavorings, and by mixing these flavorings, ejuice makers have come up with some very good combinations. Some ejuice makers also get high quality flavor extracts from other sources not associated with ejuice manufacturing. All in all, I would highly suggest you just stick with buying ejuice that's already made for you, unless you are really into experimenting with different flavors and want to come up with your own combinations.

 

[jjlau90]

Would it be safe to assume that i would get the same quality eliquid if i was to mix the Hangsen, liQua, dekang concentrate flavor + 80/20 PG/VG + nicotine as bottled Hangsen, liQua, dekang ejuices? Has anyone tried?

 

[Ryedan]

You would get the same quality as far as the ingredient quality is concerned. The problem is that no-one knows the recipes, so it involves a lot of trial and error to get something very close to the flavors of pre-mixed juices. I've been making my own since late last year. I've never tried to reproduce a flavor, but from the experience I have now, some of the more complex ones could be very time consuming to figure out.

 

[Bill's Magic Vapor]

Mixing is more art than science, though science is important since you're dealing with nicotine. Also, the start-up costs for eliquid is expensive. If you know what you want, flavor wise, and you have a good recipe, then it's pretty easy. My first 150 concoctions were largely unvapeable with perhaps, two or three juices that I still use today. Once you get a hang of a little of this, a lot of that, etc. down, then DIY is not only a great hobby/pastime, but is much less expensive than buying it pre-made by the ml. Cheaper? Yes. Easy? With a good calculator, yes. Delicious? Lotsa practice, and good recipes are required to make great juice. But, still, it's fun to try and to work on "projects", just be very patient in the development of your skills. I made only a single juice my first six months, that was an ADV. Now I have several, but it takes what it takes, I guess. Good luck to you!

 

[TruckDrivinMama]

To me, DIYing liquids for the first time was a lot like attempting to bake an exotic perfect souffle. Requires a lot of finesse and attention. My first manys smelled good but tasted disgusting on the PV. It takes patience and lots of time for perfection. At first, i spent and wasted more money buying DIY products than i did from buying pre mixed juices. But if you are determined, you will save big when you get your ratios and recipes down. However, time is luxury for some that cant be afforded

 

[cmdebrecht]

I don't think I will ever attempt to make my own juice. I appreciate the expertise and creativity of the pros out there and enjoy the fruits of their labor. My tastes change so frequently it would cost me a bundle in experimentation to find something that I make and enjoy, only to have to do it again in a week or so.

 

[KjAthena]

If I had found that my tastes ran to a simple one flavor juice I may be more interested in mixing my own. However after buying many types of juice I have found I like much more complex bakery,tea,chocolate and coffee vapes...all very difficult to get right. I am personally mathematically challenged and a bit worried about safety issues of having high concentrations of nicotine in my home with grandkids and pets...so I gladly pay $1 a day to those who make my yummy juices

 

[IMZed]

I enjoy the DIY route. It's a rather fun hobby, although it is rather expensive to start out. I get my pre-mixed ejuice (24mg nic, 50/50 pg/vg) from a friend at cost who buys it wholesale. Then all I have to do is add the flavorings. It's fun, but can be time consuming. I find using the premixed unflavored nic-juice is easier, more accurate, and *safer* than mixing that myself. And less potential for mess. I'll mix single-flavored 30ml bottles and vape from them for a couple days to get a sense of what that flavor tastes like, then I'll start making up recipes in smaller bottles for experimentation. I've only had a few that were real losers, and only two that ended up getting flushed. (Both M-type tobacco straight and combination.)

Many people don't have time or interest to get involved with DIY. I've got both, so I enjoy playing with different flavors. I do enjoy checking out other sites' recipes for ideas, but then I want to re-create these myself. Nothing against the companies that provide their creations, it's just that I like to do this myself.

So, Fly_bo1, welcome to ECF and the fun world of vaping!

 

[jjlau90]

Thank you guys so much. This answered all my questions! =)

 

[mwhite]

I have small children in my house so having all the mixes would make me nervous, even if I kept it locked up. So I choose to play a little extra for convenience and safety.

 

[K_Tech]

Right now, I'm just still discovering what I like, and it's far easier for me to buy samples of popular flavors and try them out than it would be to experiment with juice recipes. Maybe at some point down the line I may get into it, but I'm still getting my feet wet with vaping in general.

 

[jocat54]

I DIY because of convenience...live in the sticks.
I don't know how you could do it wrong using the ejuice calculator. It takes me about 5 minutes to mix 30ml bottle (includes using the calculator, getting it all out and washing it all and putting them away)
I can see where some would not want to do it though.
It is a little on the expensive side to start out...but that will work out in the long run.

 

[Sthur]

Welcome to ECF and vaping. Regarding DIY stuff I am on the convenience boat. Some places have good deals, until I perfect DIY and have time this works best.