Pure VG Problems?

[st-tches]

Hey guys, so I'm really new here and totally excited about this new hobby, in fact I have been so into this right out of the gate that I instantly started getting supplies for my own e-liquids. Since I'm an impatient ....... and I want big vapor clouds I decided to go with a pure VG mix. Here are two of my 'recipes' so far:

Coconut... ish:
7 mL VG (70%)
1 mL Vodka (Not for a throat kick, but because I have no distilled water) (10%)
1 mL McCormick's Vanilla stuff (10%)
Then I topped it off with a couple drops of McCormick's coconut for a hint of it.

Peppermint...?:
9 mL VG (90%)
1 mL McCormick's Vanilla stuff (10%)
Then I topped it off with a couple drops of McCormick's peppermint oil stuff because I've heard oils are strong in flavor and can be harsh on the atty. Also, I know you're not supposed to use oils in e-liquid, but after digging around a lot I found that peppermint is more of an essential oil and not a lipid, so it should be safe (As far as that goes) to vape.

Now my situation:
I'm using Blu e-Cigs (Yeah, I know... I know...) and I cleaned out two cartomizers. Both I used hot water for and the coconut one I ran a small amount of alcohol through it. My method of cleaning wasn't the most graceful but it did well and did it fast, plus I have absolutely no trace of "tobacco" flavoring afterwards so it works. Now I also have been speed-drying the cartomizers by inhaling (Exhaling is warm and you can end up spitting in it) through it, getting progressively harder. After a while they appear to be completely dry and in a small amount of time. I would check the material for moisture and there usually is none.

After doing that I dropped e-liquid into the cartos similar to how you'd fill a Zippo, looking at the saturation. Afterwards I gave them some little taps (Against the mouth end) and swung them as if getting all the juice towards the atty. Then I made sure the part that goes into the battery was completely dry, blew in and out both ends a little to double check, and tested them out.

I get nothing more than a hint of flavoring at best, the coconut mixture has a coconut-y aftertaste but it's barely there, and the peppermint mixture has a VERY slight peppermint after busting a lung on the carto. They both got absolute .... vapor production at first as well. The peppermint mixture is progressively getting much better vapor production, but I'm still not even sure its up to par with the original Blu tobacco stuff, although the last couple puffs as I'm writing this seem to be amazing, albeit not lasting as long in the air. I haven't tried the coconut mixture in the last hour or two, so my memory isn't to fresh on that one. For the peppermint one though, the vapor production seemed to get much BETTER after adding quite a bit more peppermint (Probably 1-2 mLs) to the mixture and shaking, then dripping it over the pre-existent stuff and kind of shaking it down towards the atty, then wiping the atty down, but ironically and unusually the flavor seems to not be as good. I can't taste any vanilla in either mixes, but I don't really care about the vanilla and I'm pretty sure McCormick flavors are just weak, plus AFAIK VG doesn't carry flavor as well.

Anyone know what's going on? Is the VG so thick that it NEEDS to be diluted to the point where it's at around a max of 70% of the mixture to be remotely usable with a Blu carto? And why is my flavor practically nonexistent? I did put a few drops of the peppermint flavor onto a red Camel Wide and that .... packed an amazing punch in terms of mint flavor, so I don't think the issue in the peppermint one is the flavoring itself...

... Help? Lol. Also, thank you very much for putting up with my ridiculously long post.

 

[440BB]

I can't say whether your liquid is the problem, but I suspect your cartos were not really dry. You may want to search here on carto cleaning methods, but assuming it's pretty clean, the drying is the key. On easy way if you're in a hurry is to set the carto, thread side down, on top of an incandescent light bulb for about 15min.

If it's not completely dry to start, the remaining water locked into the filler will make your vapes very weak tasting with little vapor. You might want to get some blank cartos down the road. Good luck!

 

[souleaterzer0]

If I read correctly you are filling the cartos from the top where you put your mouth right? I thought you were supposed to fill using a carto condom by filling the condom with juice then slowly pressing the carto into the condom. After this you might be able to "top off" by putting a few drips in the top through the filter.

Another way I heard to fill the carto is to insert a sewing needle (or something like a paper clip) into the top of the carto through the filler making sure not to hit the coil and fill by letting the juice flow down the needle to the bottom of the carto.

I haven't used a carto in so long. When I first started I used a carto for like 5 days before buying a new ecig that used atomizers. I have never liked cartos.

McCormicks flavors are very very dilute. I have tried using them the first time I made a juice and was utterly dissapointed. I then tried some TFA and tasted the difference at the first puff. All in all I would recommend buying a better ecig like and ego with a clearomizer (10-30 dollars depending where you buy one) and if you want to make you own juices buy some good flavorings like TFA, Capella, Lorann, Hangsen... etc.

 

[Dusif]

Id say get an ego and a protank if you want an easy setup with good flavor... I once had some minis and both flavor and vapour production was terrible... Then i got an ego with a ce4/vivi nova.. Much better with both... But if you want some serious clouds with tons of flavor get a vamo and a genesis style tank... And then mix your vg liquids to about 15% flavor (i too vape pure vg and thats my ratio)... Just remember not to use minty stuff in plastic tanks... Use metal or pyrex for that

 

[JD1]

I think McCormick's is pretty weak and not that popular on the boards here. You might want to try it at 20 percent or more to see what you get. I'd suggest looking at Hangsen, TFA, FA, and Capellas for flavors. I'd also suggest checking out some of the newer clearos as the design on these has improved a lot in the last few months. Check out fasttech for some decent prices.

Hang in there on the your diy endeavors. With so many flavors available, you're bound to find a few that you love.

 

[st-tches]

I can't say whether your liquid is the problem, but I suspect your cartos were not really dry. You may want to search here on carto cleaning methods, but assuming it's pretty clean, the drying is the key. On easy way if you're in a hurry is to set the carto, thread side down, on top of an incandescent light bulb for about 15min.

If it's not completely dry to start, the remaining water locked into the filler will make your vapes very weak tasting with little vapor. You might want to get some blank cartos down the road. Good luck!

Ahh, that makes sense, I am always impatient and I had been assuming that since no liquid was coming out of them after a while that they were dry, but because of the material I may have been a bit stupid in thinking that haha. That would also explain all of my problems! Thanks for the tip, I cleaned another one and am now letting it sit on a bulb, we'll see how this one goes.

If I read correctly you are filling the cartos from the top where you put your mouth right? I thought you were supposed to fill using a carto condom by filling the condom with juice then slowly pressing the carto into the condom. After this you might be able to "top off" by putting a few drips in the top through the filter.

Another way I heard to fill the carto is to insert a sewing needle (or something like a paper clip) into the top of the carto through the filler making sure not to hit the coil and fill by letting the juice flow down the needle to the bottom of the carto.

I haven't used a carto in so long. When I first started I used a carto for like 5 days before buying a new ecig that used atomizers. I have never liked cartos.

McCormicks flavors are very very dilute. I have tried using them the first time I made a juice and was utterly dissapointed. I then tried some TFA and tasted the difference at the first puff. All in all I would recommend buying a better ecig like and ego with a clearomizer (10-30 dollars depending where you buy one) and if you want to make you own juices buy some good flavorings like TFA, Capella, Lorann, Hangsen... etc.

Nah, I think you're thinking of the cartos for 'real' e-cigs, for the Blu ones you pop the mouth piece off and there's a ring of foam with a hole in the center. You fill the foam similar to how you'd fill a Zippo lighter (Looking for saturation). It's odd, but you're also not meant to use your own e-liquid with Blu's cartomizers lol. I do plan on buying an eGo-T, and am actually about to order one, as I can't stand cleaning and drying these damn cartos any more. I just never thought I'd enjoy vaping so much. I'll probably just end up giving my Blu kit to my little brother and make sure he never accidentally uses anything with nicotine in it (He's not too young, but I still don't want my little brother to accidentally get addicted to nicotine rofl).

Nice name, by the way, I love Soul Eater to death (Assuming that's what your name is, if it has nothing to do with the manga/anime I'm gonna feel like an idiot xD), it's a shame the anime had that .... ending though... YAYYY! THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP!!! ... ugh...

Id say get an ego and a protank if you want an easy setup with good flavor... I once had some minis and both flavor and vapour production was terrible... Then i got an ego with a ce4/vivi nova.. Much better with both... But if you want some serious clouds with tons of flavor get a vamo and a genesis style tank... And then mix your vg liquids to about 15% flavor (i too vape pure vg and thats my ratio)... Just remember not to use minty stuff in plastic tanks... Use metal or pyrex for that

Like I said to souleaterzer0, I do plan on getting an eGo-T very soon. The Blu seems to have pretty good vapor production, I can do smoke rings consistently (After much practice with it), french inhales, ghosting, etc, with ease. If it really does have horrible vapor production I can't imagine what I'll be able to do with an eGo xD.

Alright, so 15% flavoring for pure VG? I'll try that when I get some real flavors, where can I get extracts? Will Wallgreens have non-McCormick ones? Those are all the Walmart by me had and I couldn't check anywhere else because I got all the materials at 2 AM haha. Did I mention I was impatient?

Why can't you use mint in plastic tanks? Also, does the basic eGo starter kit (Sticking with that for budget and shipping speed reasons) with the two batteries and five cartridges (I think they're cartridges, since they're seperate from the atty and a cartomizer is a combo between a cart and an atty) come with metal cartridges? I'm guessing no?


Thank you guys so much for the feedback, I think I'll be sticking around this forum for quite a while.

I think McCormick's is pretty weak and not that popular on the boards here. You might want to try it at 20 percent or more to see what you get. I'd suggest looking at Hangsen, TFA, FA, and Capellas for flavors. I'd also suggest checking out some of the newer clearos as the design on these has improved a lot in the last few months. Check out fasttech for some decent prices.

Hang in there on the your diy endeavors. With so many flavors available, you're bound to find a few that you love.

That would explain why the only thread I've seen on here about McCormick flavors is one mentioning that they are very weak. Hopefully soon I'll be able to find other brands of flavor, when I get those and my eGo I imagine my vaping experiences will be much better .


Holy ...., after posting this I now realize this is one hell of a mammoth-sized post :O

 

[SouthernBliss]

1 mL Vodka (Not for a throat kick, but because I have no distilled water) (10%)
1 mL McCormick's Vanilla stuff (10%)

Since the McCormick is probably alcohol based that gives you a 20% alcohol content and that may negatively effect the vape. If your not getting enough flavor swap out the alcohol for more flavoring. I also think that a couple of drops of water makes a big difference in vapor. 99 cents a gallon at your local grocery so not a major investment.

McCormick is regular flavoring and most of the flavorings used are concentrated. That is why it is considered weaker.

 

[BlueMoods]

Use Watkins instead, still good for cooking but, they are double strength - Just make sure to use EXTRACTS only. I use several Watkins and, they do work well. I would also thin to 75% VG max, Preferably with PG or distilled water (also not expensive.)

If you can't get distilled water, boil a pan of water, the larger and more shallow the better. Bring it to a good rolling boil, then let it cool in the pan overnight. (Use a glass or stainless steel pan. That's good enough to thin with, gets a lot of the impurities to settle or evaporate out of the water.) Just don't use the last half inch or so in the bottom of the pan is all. Bottle it up if yo do a gallon or so of water that way.

 

[st-tches]

Since the McCormick is probably alcohol based that gives you a 20% alcohol content and that may negatively effect the vape. If your not getting enough flavor swap out the alcohol for more flavoring. I also think that a couple of drops of water makes a big difference in vapor. 99 cents a gallon at your local grocery so not a major investment.

McCormick is regular flavoring and most of the flavorings used are concentrated. That is why it is considered weaker.

Ah, I also didn't consider there might be alcohol in the flavoring as well, good thing I had only put it into that one mixture. In regards to your comment about the water... Do I literally just drop a couple drops into a mixture after it's finished (Provided I haven't already diluted the mixture with something else) and it'll help? The money isn't an issue (Yet, lol), it's just I left the house at 2 AM and only Walmart was open, and I was in quite a bit of a hurry because I went to a real shotty one (Pun not intended) people have been shot outside of on several occasions rofl, so that on top of it being 2 in the morning and the fact that the people that primarily go to that Walmart are complete trash and I can't stand being near them (That's actually the main reason I always try to get out of there as quickly as possible, otherwise I tend to get irritable and people really start pissing me off xD. So now that I'll have more time I'll probably end up going to a better store tomorrow or the day after and picking up some distilled water.

On the bright side I just ordered a CE4 eGo (It was relatively cheap and I don't have a ton of money to spend right now) and can't fricking wait for it to get here!

 

[st-tches]

Use Watkins instead, still good for cooking but, they are double strength - Just make sure to use EXTRACTS only. I use several Watkins and, they do work well. I would also thin to 75% VG max, Preferably with PG or distilled water (also not expensive.)

If you can't get distilled water, boil a pan of water, the larger and more shallow the better. Bring it to a good rolling boil, then let it cool in the pan overnight. (Use a glass or stainless steel pan. That's good enough to thin with, gets a lot of the impurities to settle or evaporate out of the water.) Just don't use the last half inch or so in the bottom of the pan is all. Bottle it up if yo do a gallon or so of water that way.

Oh sweet, I didn't know boiling a pan of water would work in a pinch. What retail stores sell Watkins and some of the other flavorings good for vaping? Obviously AFAIK neither Walmart near me sells anything but McCormick. Also, are there any retail stores I can buy PG at? I just turned 18 and my mom doesn't know I vape, she thinks it's absolutely terrible for you (Yes, I explained everything about it and that I can make juice myself, and that it doesn't have to contain nicotine) and I cannot convince her otherwise. If it comes down to it I'll order it and hope I can get to the package first like I'm doing with the eGo, and it's not like I'll get into trouble or anything, but I'd rather avoid conflict.

EDIT: Also, sorry for double posting.

 

[SouthernBliss]

Yep, just add it in drops or a percentage. Sometimes I do it as a percentage and sometimes it is till it looks "right". As in it flows enough to come out of one of my metal tipped heads decently. I'd call around about the watkins. I don't think anyone here stocks the flavorings on the shelf so you may end up having to order it on line.

 

[st-tches]

Yep, just add it in drops or a percentage. Sometimes I do it as a percentage and sometimes it is till it looks "right". As in it flows enough to come out of one of my metal tipped heads decently. I'd call around about the watkins. I don't think anyone here stocks the flavorings on the shelf so you may end up having to order it on line.

Alright, that sounds good enough. Huh, as much as I hate waiting for stuff in the mail I do enjoy the hell out of opening stuff I get through the mail, it's so exciting lol, if someone sent me a box of dog .... I swear I'd still get all excited about opening it xD

 

[buffaloguy]

Watkins and Mckormicks flavorings are best left for baking. Some may disagree but they are no where near concentrated enough for our purposes.

Also boiling tap water only kills off any possible bacteria and eliminates chlorine in the water. The heavy minerals are still present. They do not settle to the bottom and even if they did one small movement of that pan will mix them back in completely. Distilled water is water that has been evaporated and recondensed leaving the minerals out which is what we need because this helps to eliminate potential build up of crud on coils as well as leaving many other impurities behind. Tap water will work in a pinch of course and its not altogether horrible but distilled is best. Vodka or pure grain alcohol can also work in place of dw but the juice may need to vent off for awhile with the cap off.

As a VG vaper myself Id suggest going with some super concentrates when you start off. The ones from vapingzone are a great start and will make you feel very confident as you gain experience in diy with more complicated mixes.

 

[st-tches]

Watkins and Mckormicks flavorings are best left for baking. Some may disagree but they are no where near concentrated enough for our purposes.Also boiling tap water only kills off any possible bacteria and eliminates chlorine in the water. The heavy minerals are still present. They do not settle to the bottom and even if they did one small movement of that pan will mix them back in completely. Distilled water is water that has been evaporated and recondensed leaving the minerals out which is what we need because this helps to eliminate potential build up of crud on coils as well as leaving many other impurities behind. Tap water will work in a pinch of course and its not altogether horrible but distilled is best. Vodka or pure grain alcohol can also work in place of dw but the juice may need to vent off for awhile with the cap off.As a VG vaper myself Id suggest going with some super concentrates when you start off. The ones from vapingzone are a great start and will make you feel very confident as you gain experience in diy with more complicated mixes.

Alright, that definitely explains the flavor problem, and I did end up putting a bit more time into drying another cartomizer and after a couple puffs it started up and is producing an alright amount of vapor now. Thanks for all the advice, I'll definitely have to check out vapingzone for some stronger flavorings and get some distilled water as well.

 

[rustafar]

FYI, Walmart sells Lorann flavoring in the cake making area, not the grocery area.
Ask a WM worker were it is. I got 2x 1 dram bottles for $2.50, more than enough to make a batch or ten.

Russ.

 

[st-tches]

FYI, Walmart sells Lorann flavoring in the cake making area, not the grocery area.
Ask a WM worker were it is. I got 2x 1 dram bottles for $2.50, more than enough to make a batch or ten.

Russ.

Yeah, that's where the McCormicks were at the ....ty Walmart, and I did ask an employee but she didn't seem very knowledgeable about flavorings lol. I'm gonna try the nicer Walmart some time soon, and a few grocery stores near me.