Ok I'm going for it!!!!

[Clo]

I just purchased DIY supplies and I am going to give it a whirl. My goal is a good Strawberry Menthol 40/60 blend (the 50/50 tends to still be too harsh for me with the PG but the really high VG isn't working for me either). I read through the tutorial on NicVape's website and I did my calculations already and I haven't even received my order confirmation yet. Lol, oh and I forgot to mention I will try a 3mg/mL nic. Here is my question because I have never bought quantities like this...what is the best way to store these base items when they are not being used so they stay good for as long as possible?????

 

[Capt.shay]

For flavor, vg and pg most people just store them in a cool dark place. Long term nic. storage we put it in the freezer in glass bottles with little or no headroom.

Welcome to the DIY room. Don't know what brand flavor you have coming by try a 3 to 1 ratio of straw. to menthol and see how that feels. 60vg/40pg is my standard mix for clearos.

 

[sattv]

Congrats!!! I'm going for it also ...

 

[Kodak]

I store my "not in use" nic in the freezer as described above...my "in use" nic, pg, vg, and flavors are all stored in a toolbox stashed in the closet with a padlock on it--that's just so my nieces and nephew can't open it--I have a second one for my juices that are steeping. I also like the 60vg/40pg blend for my DIY juices.

 

[Hans Wermhat]

Don't sweat it. It's easy as pie. The only thing you can really screw up is getting the measurement wrong on your nic. As long as you have an accurate measuring device for that, you are good. Everything else is just personal taste. I like a thicker mix and make 30/70 and up to 95% VG, but I think I remember you are using a nautilus. The 40/60 will prolly work better in that tank. Good luck!!!

 

[a wandering soul]

protip....

if you want high vg juice but the thickness is causing issues.. use a little bit of distilled h2o and it thins it up rather nicely.

 

[ckquatt]

Another tip. Be sure your drops per ml is correct for whatever applicator you are using. If you're making small test batches, they may call for drops. If you are using these (they come free with Wizard Labs orders)

They are approximately 40 drops per ml. Most recipe apps have the drop/ml set at 20. Make sure you set it accordingly.

 

[Hans Wermhat]

OSDIY sends a couple of free pipettes with your order too. Usually a 1ml & a 3ml. I try to avoid using "drops" as a measurement. It's just not accurate enough.

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

Oh my @Clo how you've grown. lol I have some links for you to peruse which may help you find some recipes. I'd suggest a juice calculator also. The blogs are good reading to help you understand what you're trying to accomplish.

DIY BLOGS
Dannyv45 - dannyv45's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
Hoosier - Hoosier's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
Bill-https://Bill's Magic Vapor's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

DIY
RECIPIES
DIY E-Liquid | E-Cigarette Forum
E-Liquid Recipes | E-Cigarette Forum
For recipes only!!!!!!! | E-Cigarette Forum
EcigExpress Archive Cookbook | Your favorite e-liquid recipes
Clone Recipes | Homemade E-juice Recipes
E-liquid recipes | dot1ml
diyRecipeBook
Mega TFA / TPA Recipe Thread : DIY_eJuice (TFA/TPA)
Solid list of DIY clones! : DIY_eJuice
hic : cerealkillaclone (FA)
ejuicerecipeforum-the place for DIY e-juice lovers
e-Liquid Calculator
TFA_Vendor's Recipes_06_23_14.pdf - Google Drive
E-Liquid Recipes | E-Juice Recipes
E-Liquid Mixing Recipes | Make My Vape
E-Liquid Recipes | Planet of the Vapes
99Juices
Zoho Creator -DIY e-Juice Recipe Book
UK Vapers - Juice Recipes
Recipe mega thread
Accueil - Le DIY pour les Nuls
FLAVOR CHARTS Page | BAKE IT RIGHT
Flavor Profiles that Pair Together in Recipes - Nouveau RawNouveau Raw
Favorite tobacco flavoring discussion - Tobacco flavoring discussion only | E-Cigarette Forum

I use the first calculator listed. They are both good.

E JUICE CALCULATOR
eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator
DIY E-Liquid Calculator Ten Flavors Plus PG/VG Adjusting

Good luck in your journey.

 

[BrotherBob]

There's a ton of reading info on DIY. The more you read, the more successful your likely to be. Your first batch will be ok if you are lucky. Don't give up. It will take a little time, I promise it will be worth it.
One main thing to remember, if a flavor you know you like looks good, chances are you will darn near love it. Do not choose a flavor someone else thinks is fantastic.
Example: some folks are crazy about bananas. I like bananas. But I don't prefer them over lets say strawberry. You get the point? If you know you darn near love strawberry, research the bejabbers out of it to find the best buy for that flavor.
Oh, and don't be bashful to ask for a few pointers. Someone hear will be happy to help.

 

[Clo]

That's a lot of reading I get to look forward to. I figured I like to learn new things so why not try making my own juice. That way I know exactly what's in it and I can make it exactly how I want it.

I want to keep all the pre-made juices I have for as long as possibly without them going bad so I hope keeping them in a cool dark place will keep them from going bad for a good long time. I will get some glass bottles for freezer storage for my nic. I will still be using very low amounts of nic so that bottle I bought is going to last me quite awhile unless I just screw up a ton of batches. Lol.

I think I have the calculations right, I'm not planning on making intricate flavor combinations for now. Probably two flavors for now. My strawberry menthol is my favorite all day vape currently so I think I can manage some of that pretty easily. Think after I get that one nailed down my next will be a strawberry vanilla cream. Lol. Sounds good to me.

 

[ckquatt]

OSDIY sends a couple of free pipettes with your order too. Usually a 1ml & a 3ml. I try to avoid using "drops" as a measurement. It's just not accurate enough.

While I agree with that, making 10 ml test batches for me its kind of unavoidable.

 

[Clo]

protip....

if you want high vg juice but the thickness is causing issues.. use a little bit of distilled h2o and it thins it up rather nicely.

I keep forgetting about this! Thanks! I have a pre-made juice I do want to thin down a little and I will try this.. I think the 40/60 blend might work well for me. I will pick up some distilled water today and try it on my high VG juice.

 

[Hans Wermhat]

While I agree with that, making 10 ml test batches for me its kind of unavoidable.

Same here. I try to avoid using less than 1/4ml of any flavor for that reason. Usually works out for me since I like strong flavors, but not always. TFA bourbon goes in my fave tobacco juice and it's no more than 5 drops per 10ml, so I have to go with drops in that one.

 

[Clo]

Maybe this is not the greatest plan but I was going to try a 50mL batch on my first try with the strawberry menthol. The NicVape website said their flavors were very concentrated and suggested using them at 10%.

 

[Clo]

Dang, my reply got cut off and only half of it posted. Weird. But I may cut down my 50mL recipe and try a 10mL bottle so I don't waste as much if I mess up. Lol

 

[Clo]

The 50mL batch has easy measurements and no fraction of mL's which was why I was considering making a batch that large. I mean heck I am experimenting here so I guess I'm allowed to do a few dumb moves and waste a little.

 

[NGAHaze]

Right ... definitely start with a smaller batch until you know it is something you like. I'd also consider leaving out the nicotine until that point as well. Your nicotine shouldn't affect the flavor much ( or least it shouldn't ) and it is easily the most expensive component of a mix.

 

[MaenadMoogle]

Clo, I'm convinced you're living my life.

I also, JUST got my diy starter kit (it came with everything I needed already! woooohooo)

AND StrawMenthol is my adv so, that was my first goal. . .

Here's my lesson:
Start by making tiny amounts. I tried to do a 30ml for my first batch. And, while it was definitely vapeable, it wasn't what I was looking for. So, doing things in 5ml batches will let you play around with the flavorings without wasting too much of your supplies.

I basically ended up doing 5 different bottles just upping the flavor each time. Like:

1) 5% Strawberry %5menthol
2) 7% Straw %3menthol
. . . . .

ect. till I figured out what I liked.

that way I just had a couple SMALL batches of so-so juice, instead of one big batch.

 

[MaenadMoogle]

The perk with the 5 ml was that most things were pretty even. There were only one or two things that ended up being .50ml or .75ml ect. and I honestly just eyed it up there with a small pipette