Questions about DIY e-juice

[Jdb636]

I've been vaping for about a month now and would like to make my own e-juice. I ordered some supplies off of amazon but am hesitant to get started until I educate myself a bit. I've done a lot of research but still have some unanswered questions.

1. What's the deal with using distilled water and or PGA to make juice:
Is this just a replacement for PG due to certain allergic reaction? Can I just go to my local liquor store and pick up a bottle of ever clear?

2. Adding sweetener:
I've heard about adding sweeteners for DIY e-juice. It is to my understanding that these sweeteners are different from flavorings such as the lorann flavors that I have purchased. What is a good sweetener to use and where is a good place to purchase it.

3. Different types of VG, PG and nicotine:
I purchased 32 Oz. of each VG and PG, I see no manufacturer on the bottles, all it says is "Vegetable glycerin 99.7% pure USP good grade" and "Propylene glycol 99.9% pure USP food grade" the nicotine I purchased from amazon is by dreliquid.com 40mg/ml 50/50 vg/pg. Are these products good for DIY e-juice or is there better stuff that I should have bought?

4. Premixing base:
I've heard about people premixing base VG with no nicotine or flavoring. I assume this us to find a base that tasts good before you go ahead and start mixing nic. and flavorings? Should this be steeped before testing? What is a good ratio to start with?

I admit that I should have done a lot more research before I ordered my supplies as I didn't realize at time of purchase that there was this much that went into DIY e-juice. All of my supplies were purchased from Amazon my list is as follows:
32 Oz. both VG and PG
100ml nic. 40ml/mg 50/50 VG/PG
24- 1dram lorann flavorings
1ml, 3ml, 10ml syringes
15ml dropper bottles

My goal is to create a few different flavors of my own personal e-juice in batches once I've found a method that works well. Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing your replies!

 

[Susan~S]

Hello and welcome to the forum Jdb. Glad to have you here!

For all things DIY head on over to the DIY ELiquid Forum. You will not be able to post there until you get in your first 5 posts and the servers update at :25 past the hour. Make sure to read all the "stickies". Also check out the blogs by ECF members Hoosier & dannyv45.

For a juice mixing calculator consider using eJuiceMeUp

DIY Recipe Sites

* ECF E-Liquid Recipes
* EcigExpress Archive Cookbook
* ....................
* E-Liquid Recipes UK
* kritikalmass - E-Liquid Recipes
* One Stop DIY Shop - Recipes

 

[klynnn]

Best Lorann Oils Vaping Spreadsheet - 2013 | Best Vapor Flavors

 

[sketchness]

Welcome to the heaven and hell world of DIY.

1. PGA and distilled water is used to thin typically heavy VG bases. I personally don't thin my recipes but I am also using a dripper. Someone else can give you tips about the types of PGA they use. Theoretically everclear should work.

2. Sweetener is typically pure sucralose mixed with pg. You can buy the powder form and mix yourself or buy premixed. And I wouldn't try it with splenda it has other ingredients besides sucralose. Sweetener Flavor Concentrate by TFA (0.27oz)

3. As long as what you have is USP you should be good. The nicotine should work but looks very expensive. Wizardlabs.com or bullcityvapors.com have Nicotine MUCH cheaper.

4. Premixing usually refers to mixing a new flavor with PG/VG and letting it steep for a few days to see if you like it prior to putting nicotine in it. Nicotine is more expensive is the rationale behind this. I always put a little of the plain vg and then plain pg on a dripper and taste them individually when I get something I haven't tried before. Just to make sure the individual ingredinets are to my liking. I I DONT DO THIS WITH NICOTINE UNTIL DILUTED. I will dilute it down to my prefered level of 6mg/ml and taste just to make sure I like the taste of the nicotine. Not sure what I would do if I didn't like it lol.

I personally haven't liked the Loranns flavors I have tried. but i have only tried a couple I could buy at a local Brick and Mortar shop. I have liked the Capellas, Flavour Art, The Flavor Apprentice, and some of the concentrated flavors I have bought from vapingzone.com

Good luck and let us know how it goes over in the DIY section

 

[ra6317]

For a one stop shop, I would suggest Wizard Labs or Vapor Shots, although I purchase my VG and PG from Amazon as well. For a sweetener, don't be afraid to use liquid stevia. I've had no problems with this and it works. It also doesn't leave an aftertaste...for me anyhow. Marshmallow, and whipped cream flavors will add sweetener as well as a little smoothness to you results. Quite a few other flavors will add sweetness as well.

I researched the flavorings in the Lorann sample pack you purchased when I began DIY, and if I'm not mistaken, some of those flavorings are not water soluble, so you may run into trouble there.

I don't premix anything. The only thing I may try to premix later on are a few flavors in a base that I can just add to my mixes. Some flavors have a pretty high alcohol level and I would think that allowing those flavors to breath will tame them down before mixing.

 

[Jdb636]

Thanks for the reply sketch, in reference to #1. the PGA/DW question that I asked, isn't the PG used to dilute the typically thick VG or does the PG serve another purpose (besides throat hit)? I'm just trying to get a handle on the exact purposes of each potential ingredient. Is the PGA/DW used to further thin the VG, also does it effect taste at all? Maybe I should mix up different base combinations such as VG with PGA and or DW, or VG/PG with PGA and or DW. And see how I like it, does that make sence lol?

 

[mountaingal]

All of the above are good ideas. Except for this:
"I don't premix anything. The only thing I may try to premix later on are a few flavors in a base that I can just add to my mixes. Some flavors have a pretty high alcohol level and I would think that allowing those flavors to breath will tame them down before mixing."

I make a 250ml batch of 18mg/ml 30/70pg/vg. I add 6% RY4 tobacco and 2% chocolate to it. I consider it a base mix.The beauty of this is the tobacco ages as you use it. Then I add flavors to it in small 15 or 20ml bottles. I am kind of lazy and with a base already made, it is just pick a flavor and add. Do take your time and use calculators that are available. Make sure you have a spill plan, mine is paper towels and windex. A well ventilated area is needed. A small funnel is great to have. Most fruity flavors don't need to steep in my opinion. You will find different opinions on this. I am a chef and like to mess around with flavors. Good luck! PM (private message me) if you have any ?????s

 

[Dfinch]

You've got some great advice here so far. I'll just comment on your #4 question. Many DIYers make flavorless liquid because it's awesome all by itself. The nic has a peppery taste that many people like. It's also good for clearing a flavor out of your dripper when you want to change, if you're using a dripper, or to tame a flavor that you've mixed too strong.

 

[sketchness]

Thanks for the reply sketch, in reference to #1. the PGA/DW question that I asked, isn't the PG used to dilute the typically thick VG or does the PG serve another purpose (besides throat hit)? I'm just trying to get a handle on the exact purposes of each potential ingredient. Is the PGA/DW used to further thin the VG, also does it effect taste at all? Maybe I should mix up different base combinations such as VG with PGA and or DW, or VG/PG with PGA and or DW. And see how I like it, does that make sence lol?

PG provides throat hit and also thins the liquid. And nearly all mixes have some sort of PG in them as most flavorings are some combination of PG and alcohol. Flavor emulsifies in PG quicker as it is a thinner viscosity. Some ejuice mixes seem to work better with more PG in them but I haven't quite figured this out just yet.I can't really speak to the flavoring effect of PGA as I don't use it. Obviously the point of using distilled water is that it will impart no taste or minerals that will be in tap water\other sources. I personally don't add anything to my mixes as I mostly use a dripper. my mixes are typically 80% vg. If it goes into a tank i just add 1-3 drops of distilled water to that tank full.

Just think when you finally get it figured out you will come across threads about adding Apple Cider Vinegar, salt water (Sodium Chloride), lemon juice, vape wizard, ethyl maltol, acetyl pyrazine, smooth, oakwood and a whole host of other stuff to enhance your liquid. It is dizzying at times. When you get one right it is awesome. At that point you hope you have written down what was in it.

Make a couple test mixes at different percentages. Maybe single flavors at first. I wouldn't worry about the DW/alcohol at this point. you can thin by the tankful as needed. I have wasted a bunch of flavoring and supplies trying stuff that was awful. I am certainly not an expert, luckily there is lots of information on this site regarding the topic.

 

[Jdb636]

Thank you everyone for the info! I will most likely get to mixing something up tomorrow afternoon. I will report back and let everyone know how it turns out.

 

[Jdb636]

So I mixed up 4 different 10ml batches today in an attempt to find a good base to start creating my juices, no flavoring just VG and PG.
VG/PG:
60/40
70/30
80/20
85/15 VG/vodka

My fiancé and I were dripping these mixtures on .3ohm dual coils at 50watts. We didn't notice much difference between the 60/40 and the 70/30 although the 80/20 was pretty nice. The 85/15 vodka mixture was most satisfying most likely due to the added throat hit of the vodka and thicker vapor feel on exhale but was a little too runny. I decided to mix up a 10ml bottle of 80/20 VG/PG (didn't want to get into making flavors with alcohol just yet) at 6mg/ml nicotine, it was perfect for what we were looking for. I think that will be our base line for our future e-juice. We would like to come up with 3-5 different flavors using this base.

 

[wshanncap]

Just a tip...I get all my DIY juice from Flavorless Nicotine Liquid & Supplies for Wholesale & DIY e Liquid...cheaper than Amazon and it's good clean stuff and ships from Florida.