questions from a DIY liquid noob

[captainbrianbeard]

so im seriously thinking about starting to make my own liquid. it all makes sense except one part, the base nic liquid. I understand that if i start with 48mg liquid, a certain percentage of that liquid mixed in a, lets say 10ml bottle, will give me the 18mg i want. what i am slightly confused on is the PG/VG ratio. Ive been buy premixed liquid for at least 2 years and that ratio has always been a factor to what liquid i like. I like a little more PG and love juice with a throat hit. Ive never played with the calculators yet but know i will use them when i start mixing. Ive looked at a few suppliers and am probably going to order my first batch of stuff to get started from wizard labs. they let you choose the PG/VG of the nic base liquid. is this what it goes by? if im trying to make a 60/40 or 70/30 liquid do i buy that base liquid? or get 100%pg and no nic vg and mix it in?

im a little confused Any help would be much much appreciated. I cant wait to start making my own juice!

Thanks

 

[Rlafontaine1971]

Easiest way to start is just getting their nic base (70/30 if thats what you want) and adding flavors to it. I think they have it in 18mg, 24mg, and 36mg. If you want to reduce the nicotine level then you will need vg/pg without the nic. Does that help?

 

[StormFinch]

Actually, I use 100% pg based nic liquid because I prefer a higher rate of pg. Nic is only a small part of the equation for the most part and definitely less the other ingredients. For example, I use a 70% pg 30% vg juice at 12 mg from a 60 mg base and mix in a 30 mL bottle so it would look like this when mixing:

Nic (100% pg) - 6ml
PG - 9ml
VG - 9ml
flavorings - 5.85ml
sweetener - .15ml or 3 drops

If I used a 70/30 nic base then the pg and vg would change to 10.8 and 7.2, so it's just easier to use the 100% pg nic.

Your best bet would probably be to download the eJuice Me Up calculator from eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator and take a look at the included recipes to see how it works. Then play with it and input the percentages you'll be using. That should give you an idea as to what you'll need to purchase.

 

[Rlafontaine1971]

Actually, I use 100% pg based nic liquid because I prefer a higher rate of pg. Nic is only a small part of the equation for the most part and definitely less the other ingredients. For example, I use a 70% pg 30% vg juice at 12 mg from a 60 mg base and mix in a 30 mL bottle so it would look like this when mixing:

Nic (100% pg) - 6ml
PG - 9ml
VG - 9ml
flavorings - 5.85ml
sweetener - .15ml or 3 drops

If I used a 70/30 nic base then the pg and vg would change to 10.8 and 7.2, so it's just easier to use the 100% pg nic.

Your best bet would be to download the eJuice Me Up calculator from eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator and take a look at the included recipes to see how it works. Then play with it and input the percentages you'll be using. That should give you an idea as to what you'll need to purchase.[/QUO

What she said...

 

[vsummer1]

Good question, glad you asked if you didn't know. Always be careful! Cleanliness and safety are paramount when mixing. I use the calculator as well, it makes life so much easier.

 

[captainbrianbeard]

Thanks for the replys. Both ways make sense to me. I think i need to download the software and play around with it. Is there an input for desired PG/VG ratio?

On another note, i read in one of the intro threads that adding alcohol to the liquid or flavoring will increase the throat hit? Is this only for VG based or heavy thick VG liquid? I remember reading that either distilled water or alcohol can be used to thin out the liquid and the alcohol provides a TH boost while DW does not. If this is true, i wonder if i could get a TH boost on a lower, say 12mg, concentrated liquid...

 

[Cookster]

Nic and PG give throat hit, so a higher percentage of them should do. Also menthol and cinnamon can increase the sensation of throat hit.

 

[captainbrianbeard]

I used to be a menthol cig smoker but have NEVER found a menthol or tobacco juice i have liked or tasted like an analog. even when i mixed the two pre mixes together. now i just stick to fruit and drink flavors. My dailys are pomegranite and mountain dew

 

[k5blazer]

Others have said it, get the calculator and punch in some fictitious numbers and flavors, it will all make more sense to you. You'll have some questions about the calculator usage, go to the web site, most issues are addressed already.

 

[Cookster]

I used to be a menthol cig smoker but have NEVER found a menthol or tobacco juice i have liked or tasted like an analog. even when i mixed the two pre mixes together. now i just stick to fruit and drink flavors. My dailys are pomegranite and mountain dew

They probably won't ever taste like an analog. Sometimes a little bit of menthol can "brighten" your flavors. There's a flavoring called Koolada, which gives a cooling effect without the taste of menthol, and I use it for a little added oomph. It should go very well with pomegranate & mountain dew. It's made by TFA/TPA.

 

[hitman4274]

I'm all jacked up on mountain dew! Lol

Anyways.. DIY is all about experimenting and finding what works for you. Go play with the calculators find one that has all the options your looking for.
When it comes time to buy what you need I suggest buying your nic base as a 100% of pg or vg and buy both pg and vg by themselves this way you can modify your mixes to what suites you best. It's a lot of fun messing with DIY

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[captainbrianbeard]

Thanks everyone! I'm really excited to get started! Are sweeteners a must? I'm thinking of just using a drop or two of lemon juice for my first round of batches

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[hotrod3539]

Sweetner is NOT a must. some flavors are sweet enough. i recoment having some to sweeten up those flavors that you think need sweetened....its all a matter of personal tastes!! Im a DIY juice noob too and just mixed my first ones last night. Here's what i did...... I got premade base @ 18mg 70/30 pg/vg (made my life eaiser beacause thats the base i like) Got several flavors from both The Flavor Apprentice (TFA) and Flavor West (FW) Got some bottles too (5ml for small test batch and 15ml once i know the mix is yummy for a larger quantity) then i used the e-juice me up calculator and set my flavorings to total up to 10-20% (i like lots of flavor but some will get stronger as they steep/bloom) Saved each recipe (even if it was just one flavor it makes it eaiser to adjust the mix if you know how you did it last time). I measured all mine by ml using pipetts that i ordered from TFA for more precise mixing but did use a few things on the drop method. I put flavor in bottle first then base on top, capped and shook well. I did sample a little in an atty to see how its inital taste was, recapped each one and im using the "Cap, set in cool dark place shake once daily" method to steep/bloom them so i will know in about a week how they taste and i cant wait!!

 

[captainbrianbeard]

ok so ive gotten my stuff and been playing with single flavor juices and its awesome! im not sure if im testing flavors correctly. i believe im using str8v8pings method. 20 or 40 drops 100% PG with 1 drop flavor for 5% or 2.5% flavor, 3 drops on atty, test, 2 drops PG 1 drop flavor to the next step and so on. Once i get to 7.5% - 10% i cant really taste the difference after adding more. Crappy atty? im using a stock joye 510 atty that ive recently cleaned and dry burned before any of my mixing/testing.

one batch of pineapple got screwed up somehow.. not sure about this one. its 5% flavor 70/30 pg/vg at 18mg and i can get a TH worth a damn out of this! its steeping now but how long is long enough for steeping? i mixed in my 10ml glass graduated cylinder and then sat the bottle in hot tap water and shook every now and then until the water got cold at least a few times. i read this would speed up the steep process.
but my question on that is, how long is long enough for the steeping process? I usually vape fruity flavors and have read they usually dont take as long. after a good nuke or hot water bath, cap off steep for a day, and sitting a cupboard for a few more days, is it done? How do i know?

 

[hotrod3539]

Steeping can be a long process for some fruit flavors. Mango, Raspberry, Lemon, strawberry can take 2+ weeks for full steep. I do 24 hrs cap off then cap, shake, leave alone for 48 hrs then shake, remove cap for 1 hr then cap, shake again, then leave alone for 1 week with a shake every day or other day then i sample again after that week and if i feel it needs a couple more days i leave it for another 2 days then sample again and if same as last time then I havent Tried pineapple yet but i did just get the flavor.

As for the mixing method, i measure by ml not drops (more accurate) and i use e-juice me up calculator for figuring and documenting all my recipes (even my 1 flavor ones). Depending on how much tasting you are doing, you might be messing up your tastebuds and they need a little rest. i sample with an hh357 atty and will taste 2 or 3 then just vape some unflavored for a little while then do some more taste testing.

 

[captainbrianbeard]

it must be the flavor, but the pineapple i have isnt giving me any TH at all! i remixed another batch last night and tested it this morning and i got nothing. i was super accurate this time with 10% flavor. the flavor is amazing but the TH just isnt there :/ I also noticed while taste sampling new flavors i made last night that the 20 drop 1 drop method wasnt working for me because the drops out of my pipettes are wayyyy smaller than the drops from my bottle that are going onto the atty. i noticed this as i got to 20% on mtn dew and there was no more juice left! lol talk about super concentrated. it was damn good tho

 

[hotrod3539]

I will mix up some pineapple this weekend an see what happens. I tried the drop method and found the same issue of inaccurate drops so thats why i do the ml measuring. I am playing with the mt dew to find the best percent to mix it at.

 

[captainbrianbeard]

Cool thanks man. I'm using the WL extracts I believe they're TFA. Dew I made at 10% and its really good. I read people liked it at 20 but I couldn't taste the difference. Pineapple at 10% is good as well flavor wise but its the only one out of 5 flavors missing a TH its weird. Maybe it needs more flavor? I noticed while testing some flavors would kick in with a small TH with just PG at higer concentrations

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[hotrod3539]

I just mixed up the pineapple, trying it at my usual 15% to start. WL states where they get their extracts on each one and it is TFA, (i got my pineapple from WL also but do have other flavors directly from TFA) PG will give TH while VG is good for vapor production. i use a 70/30 PG/VG ratio @ 18mg nic. i will update after it has steeped for a few days.

 

[captainbrianbeard]

mine was 60/40 @ 18mg. TH came in after a few days of steeping but its really light. maybe a drop or two of PGA?