Random DIY mixing and More

[JCinFLA]

What do you think of these?

They look like the exact same bottles that most Walmarts carry in their housewares and utensils section, and for summer they're usually also in with the grilling utensils, tools, etc. They usually only 12oz. though IIRC, and come in a 2 pack or you can buy some individually. They're about $1 each.

Since those on Amazon are HDPE, yet they describe them as "Squeeze Bottles"...they must be really thin HDPE plastic.

I'm really not fond of using either of those though (Amazon's or Walmart's), because many aren't very high quality and the whole top cap (not the little red tip cap)...will sometimes pop off...when you squeeze hard enough to get what you want out of them. Also, any of the 16oz. size bottles, which those on Amazon are...will be fairly heavy when filled with VG or PG, if that's what you plan to use them for. I just picked up 1 of my 16oz. HDPE bottles of flavoring, and I'd hate to have to repeatedly pick it up and dispense from it during a mixing by weight session. It' definitely not light weight.

I'd recommend some that OSDIY shop has with the screw-on, twist top black cap with the nozzle that you can open and close. I have several of them for my PG and VG ad they're wonderful. Now way their cap is going to come off while squeezing either. Hang on and I'll send you a link to them.

 

[JCinFLA]

These are made of a super quality, thicker-walled, LDPE plastic. Feels even thicker than the HDPE plastic 16oz. flavoring bottle, to me. But they're easier to squeeze, and the twist top cap is wonderful. They come in 30mL, 60mL, 120mL, and 240mL size. I have several of the 240mL size, and I don't think I'd want anything larger myself...let alone 2 times heavier when full. By the way, that DIY that you see on the 240mL bottle in the graphic is just the watermark on the pic, not on the bottle. If you use the on-going discount code (now 12% instead of 11% Kimber told me this morning)...they'd be $.66 each.

Natural LDPE Boston Round Bottle with Twist Top Cap

Maybe, to save on S/H though...you could find the same or similar ones on Amazon, in case you have Prime.

 

[FranC]

@Heartsdelight @dc99 – both are very valid reasons and I would like to think if someone had a sensitivity to PG, or a high VG objective, then they would choose their nic base accordingly. But as I mentioned, it seems from my general perception that many use a PG based nic. Still finding my footings with DIY so was just curious if there was any particular reason why.

I use pg based because vg is sweet and I like to use as little as possible.I also hate pouring vg. If you're not careful it can get very messy.

 

[FranC]

I found this chocolate tobacco recipe on elr while looking for a recipe to try the gold ducat I bought. I think I should have done a sft on the ducat first. It’s only steeped five days but I’m getting almost a sour twang on the exhale. I don’t really taste the chocolate yet. I’m sure it probably needs a longer steep but I’m already thinking of using a different chocolate.

I'd drop the Ducat down to 2% and use WF Chocolate Chunks.

 

[FranC]

Is it safe to assume you just keep a surplus in the freezer with a smaller usable batch in the fridge or cupboard? Just begun by DIY career so only had a small batch of nic to begin with. But I’ve been keeping it in the fridge when not in use.

Nic supply is in the freezer. Bottle in use is in the frig.

 

[FranC]

VG is supposed to be better for long-term storage.

I've never had a problem storing Pg either and I usually but 2 gallons at a time. Lasts long time.

 

[FranC]

I'm okay with anywhere from 6 to 12mgs/ml, so a little extra or less dilution doesn't bother me. I may premix my base next time just to cut down on the fiddliness.

What do you use to transfer your base/VG/PG to the mixing bottle? I used droppers and syringes and, for larger amounts, just poured. No method was much fun.

Mixing turned out to be a surprisingly sticky affair.

I pre-mix my nic in 120ml bottles so I just pour it out. If I'm using a bottle that's too small for that I usually use a 10ml transfer syringe.

 

[FranC]

Oh, I tried all the usual tricks. A few flavors just happened to be packaged with an extremely tenacious ring that made me resort to knifework.

I have problems with some of them too.

 

[FranC]

These are made of a super quality, thicker-walled, LDPE plastic. Feels even thicker than the HDPE plastic 16oz. flavoring bottle, to me. But they're easier to squeeze, and the twist top cap is wonderful. They come in 30mL, 60mL, 120mL, and 240mL size. I have several of the 240mL size, and I don't think I'd want anything larger myself...let alone 2 times heavier when full. By the way, that DIY that you see on the 240mL bottle in the graphic is just the watermark on the pic, not on the bottle. If you use the on-going discount code (now 12% instead of 11% Kimber told me this morning)...they'd be $.66 each.

Natural LDPE Boston Round Bottle with Twist Top Cap

Maybe, to save on S/H though...you could find the same or similar ones on Amazon, in case you have Prime.

I founds a bunch of listings on Amazon.
Amazon.com: NATURAL LDPE BOSTON ROUND BOTTLE WITH TWIST TOP CAP

 

[hittman]

I'd drop the Ducat down to 2% and use WF Chocolate Chunks.

Thanks, I was thinking to drop the ducat percentage also. It would be a good chance to use the chocolate chunks again. I haven't used it since I did a simple mix with it when I first got it.

I had never really thought of premixing my base until I saw it on this thread. I had saved a glass 500ml bottle from a nic order and cleaned it and use it for my base now. I mix my base at 75vg/25pg and 15mg. By the time I add flavors its close enough to 12mg/70vg/30pg. I usually use a 35ml syringe with a long extra large needle that I got from amazon to get the nic base out of the 500ml bottle but I'm thinking that I have a couple 240ml squeeze bottles that I could use that would make things a little easier.

 

[hittman]

I finally looked through my chefs order last night and don't know what the heck I was thinking when I placed that order. There were ones I was sure that I ordered 30ml instead of 10ml of and others I wondered why I ordered at all. For example, why would I order cap graham cracker v2 when I already have v1, tfa, and now FW? Also, if I remember it correctly from last night, there is one brand I got that the bottles have black writing on a red stripe on the label and I can hardly make out what they are. I just can't read them for some reason. I'm going to have to get a flashlight to shine on them just right and put my own labels on them.

 

[JCinFLA]

WOW! This thread is ready to hit the 1,000 page mark, and it's not even been a year ago yet...that Fran started it. It must be because many times it seems to move right along at a really fast pace!

 

[Fidola13]

So I have 6 mixing bottles. Two are larger bottles that I keep VG/PG in that pour fast but not accurately, the next two are 60ml chubby gorilla's of VG/PG for more accurate pouring, the last two are one big bottle and one chubby gorilla of premixed.

My method using a gram scale that weighs to the hundredth decimal (not sure how efficient this is):

1. Use funnel to fill two chubby gorilla bottles and two larger bottles with VG and PG separately, amount doesn't matter.
2. Decide on a premix amount, say 500ml, and in a single bottle:
3. a) Measure close to the amount of vg using big bottle
b) Measure remaining amount of vg using chubby gorilla for accuracy
c) Measure close to the amount of pg using big bottle
d) Measure remaining amount of pg using chubby gorilla for accuracy
5. Measure the amount of nicotine

Here are two images I made, hopefully this illustrates it better:

This way, you'll have a few less bottles to worry about when you're mixing recipes at least.

You'll notice in the second image the PG% went down to 17% from 30% due to using PG based nic, and PG based flavorings. So that's something you'll have to account for whether you use PG or VG based nic.

I premix my base based on a 15% total flavoring which is where most of my recipes land.

When I put into the calculator I add the word “Flavors” in the flavor spot at 15%.

So all I have to do is add flavors.

 

[Fidola13]

I finally looked through my chefs order last night and don't know what the heck I was thinking when I placed that order. There were ones I was sure that I ordered 30ml instead of 10ml of and others I wondered why I ordered at all. For example, why would I order cap graham cracker v2 when I already have v1, tfa, and now FW? Also, if I remember it correctly from last night, there is one brand I got that the bottles have black writing on a red stripe on the label and I can hardly make out what they are. I just can't read them for some reason. I'm going to have to get a flashlight to shine on them just right and put my own labels on them.

I have a similar problem with one of their bottles too. Black lettering on dark red background doesn’t work well.

 

[FranC]

I finally looked through my chefs order last night and don't know what the heck I was thinking when I placed that order. There were ones I was sure that I ordered 30ml instead of 10ml of and others I wondered why I ordered at all. For example, why would I order cap graham cracker v2 when I already have v1, tfa, and now FW? Also, if I remember it correctly from last night, there is one brand I got that the bottles have black writing on a red stripe on the label and I can hardly make out what they are. I just can't read them for some reason. I'm going to have to get a flashlight to shine on them just right and put my own labels on them.

I had trouble reading some of mine. Good idea to put a clearer label on.

 

[FranC]

At my daughters for the weekend. Spent the last couple hours putting my stuff away.

 

[hittman]

I've decided that I'm not putting my chefs orders away until I mix some sft and get a feel for the new flavors.

 

[FranC]

I've decided that I'm not putting my chefs orders away until I mix some sft and get a feel for the new flavors.

That's what I do and the clutter eventually makes me do the sft'ss....LOL.

 

[NotSoMini]

For my PG and VG I transfer them to the 120ml bullet bottles from NicRiver that has the twist open/close cap. I was using the 240ml size and changed a while ago to the 120s as they are comfortable in my hand. Squeeze directly into the juice bottles. I also buy my PG and VG from them.

I use NudeNic Armor v.2 nicotine again in the 120ml size and extract with a syringe. I like the nic plus I love the packaging as I do not have to transfer to working size bottles. I do not mind the added cost and it was a trade off I accepted for convenience. I vape 6mg with my tobacco juices and 5mg for my non-tobacco flavors so the 120ml lasts me seven months or so.

All my juices are mixed in amber glass boston rounds — 10, 20 or 30mls other than the Fizzy Lemon Sherbert which was recently promoted to 50mls in a 60ml bottle.

 

[NotSoMini]

I finally looked through my chefs order last night and don't know what the heck I was thinking when I placed that order. There were ones I was sure that I ordered 30ml instead of 10ml of and others I wondered why I ordered at all. For example, why would I order cap graham cracker v2 when I already have v1, tfa, and now FW? Also, if I remember it correctly from last night, there is one brand I got that the bottles have black writing on a red stripe on the label and I can hardly make out what they are. I just can't read them for some reason. I'm going to have to get a flashlight to shine on them just right and put my own labels on them.

I have a similar problem with one of their bottles too. Black lettering on dark red background doesn’t work well.

I had trouble reading some of mine. Good idea to put a clearer label on.

With the VT flavors from Chefs, I find the labels can be hard to read.