I almost always use glass for my mixes and the sft's get small plastic bottles
I am not 100% certain however I thought someone mentioned something about the VT concentrates having alcohol. I did not get any harshness the first time I mixed the LMP although with the second bottle I did air it. I have not tried mine yet since I switched to FE lemon. Did you use VT or CAP LMP?
I was expecting harshness in my Fizzy Lemon Sherbert due to the amount of lemon in it and I get no harshness in this mix. Right or wrong — I convinced myself the 1% FA Marshmallow made it nice and smooth for me. I do let this steep.
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Yeah, as soon as you suggested this earlier, I decided it made good sense: a few days in the bottle and then into a tank for however much longer. I've got a lot of Zeniths lazing about in a drawer; this would be a good way to make them earn their keep. And so convenient: I can bung a bunch of them into an ice cube tray, shove 'em in a cupboard, and pull them out to screw on a mod and test.
The biggest problem I have when I don't vape daily is tanks leaking.
The tank u use will need to have jfc, otherwise once your wick is saturated it just continues to get more and more saturated until leaking occurs..
The second thing to consider is that it takes quite a few drags to clear out the juice that's in your wick and get fresh juice from your tank in, so be prepared for that, and test accordingly.
I certainly don't think that is bad logic. But, if the batch is thoroughly shaken or mixed, to begin with; I am skeptical as to how much benefit is gained from further shaking.
When I first started DIYing; I was taught to mix, shake, and then repeat shaking every day or two, for the first week. But, as a lazy kind of guy, I would get the initial shake, and maybe one additional shake, and then promptly forget about all the rest. I have never noticed a difference.
Now, I just give my new mixes a thorough blending with my Badger hand mixer, and call it good. I always give the bottle a shake, just before filling a tank, but I doubt that is really doing anything.
I agree that shaking/mixing in a tank does not seem very efficient/effective. That is why I don't do in-tank mixing. I know there are those who do do that, and it seems to work for them, so there could be something to it.
At any rate, it should be easy enough to test. Again, mix a batch, divide it in two, pour one directly into a tank, and let the other bottle-rest for a few days. After a few days, pour the bottle-rested one into an identical tank, and vape test both to compare.
@Zazie — I use the Zeniths too. To be honest I feel there is a good amount of cotton in the coil. If I let the tank with a fresh coil sit for an hour or so or for a couple of days I do notice the different in taste. I do not do this for steeping purposes and for me it relates to the taste of the cotton/coil I get which I find unpleasant. Regardless I have had no leaking issues and I do keep the AFC open.
@Zazie, the one thing I neglected to include about my repeated test vaping was; the one thing I don't do, is to make any changes to the recipe (or remix) until the original batch has aged 4-6 weeks.
As I do my test vaping, I write down my my thoughts and perceptions... what I am tasting; how that compares to what I thought it was going to taste like; how what I am tasting compares to what others thought it tasted like; and, what I might want to do to change it (increase/decrease percentages; possible substitutions; or possible outright variations the basic recipe might be useful for. But, I do not actually start mixing any of those yet; because, often, the recipe continues to develop/change, and my earlier opinions change along with it. Only after it has fully matured, do I go back reviewing all my notes, and decide what (if any) changes I may want to apply.
If I am fairly certain a recipe is going to need adjustment, and/or I am in a rush
, I will mix small side-by-side batches (each with a possible variation), that can all age at the same time.It is kind of like making spaghetti sauce. I mix in the basic ingredients, season it, but don't allow it to simmer long enough. I taste it, adjust the seasoning based on premature taste, and continue to simmer. Now, it has simmered longer, and when I taste it again, it is flat out over-seasoned.
I didn’t care for the zenith I bought. The .5 coil flooded constantly and the other one would too after sitting overnight.
I've always thought of mixing as akin to cooking. For that reason, as a beginner, I will follow recipes as written and wait till the dish is done, so to speak (i.e., after at least the length of time a bottle of juice is likely to sit in my larder till I've vaped through it) before arriving at any conclusion. To build on your spaghetti sauce comparison, would you judge a Bolognese after an hour's simmer?@Zazie, the one thing I neglected to include about my repeated test vaping was; the one thing I don't do, is to make any changes to the recipe (or remix) until the original batch has aged 4-6 weeks.
As I do my test vaping, I write down my my thoughts and perceptions... what I am tasting; how that compares to what I thought it was going to taste like; how what I am tasting compares to what others thought it tasted like; and, what I might want to do to change it (increase/decrease percentages; possible substitutions; or possible outright variations the basic recipe might be useful for. But, I do not actually start mixing any of those yet; because, often, the recipe continues to develop/change, and my earlier opinions change along with it. Only after it has fully matured, do I go back reviewing all my notes, and decide what (if any) changes I may want to apply.
If I am fairly certain a recipe is going to need adjustment, and/or I am in a rush
It is kind of like making spaghetti sauce. I mix in the basic ingredients, season it, but don't allow it to simmer long enough. I taste it, adjust the seasoning based on premature taste, and continue to simmer. Now, it has simmered longer, and when I taste it again, it is flat out over-seasoned.
Of course, I also fully intend to mix testers of two rice puddings as soon as I get my flavors, using recipes I have concocted myself that incorporate suggestions made here. But that is reasonably beginner's enthusiasm. I won't do it on a regular basis.
I did wonder if the cotton would influence the flavor unduly. I'm just looking for any easy way to test, since I'm limited to Zeniths and two bridgeless atomizers that I'm not too expert in using. I mean, if I need to use a clean tank and fresh coil for each testing, that'll add up to lot of washing up. Plus there's the matter of breaking in a coil. I suppose I could dedicate a tank to each mix-in-progress and empty the tank after each test and pop the tank into a Zip-Loc till the next test. And get more used to the bridgeless atomizers, too.
I've been using Zeniths exclusively since last November, when I switched from a cigalike, and I have never had leaking problems with any of the three coils I use, even on a mod that only gets used every few days.
It occurs to me, though, that the only way to shut off the juice flow in the Zenith is to open the fill port, and I seem to remember reading somewhere that if it's left open too long, leaking will ensue. If that's true, there's the end of my grand scheme.
The flavorings in those sizes that I've received (WF, CAP, and INW)...have all been in plastic bottles with the dropper tips and caps. But, to be sure if that's what they're using for all brands of the flavorings they carry...I bet they'd be able to tell you 1 way or the other, if you gave them a quick call.
Yep, I mentioned it. Both of the VT flavorings in the LMP recipe contain alcohol.
There is nothing wrong with concocting your own recipes.
There are quite a few mixers here that do exactly that.I lack the creativity, inspiration, and motivation (in other words; I'm lazy
), to create my own. I can tweak, and modify, with the best of them. But, design from scratch? Eh,... no. 
Of course, having personal experience with the individual ingredients you intend to use, helps to shorten the learning and experimentation curve. But, if you understand the challenges, and don't get discouraged by early attempts being lackluster; one can create truly unique and pleasing recipes that you may have never discovered any other way.
Also, using others' recipes is not without their own perils. Many recipes to be found across the web, are failed/untried experiments and curiosities; reposts (sometimes with errors and/or typos, as well as undisclosed substitutions and/or percentage changes); just plain bad recipes; and always dependent on sharingthe same/similar palate as the author. That means kissing a lot of frogs to find the occasional prince.
Anna (@stols001), is just one example I can think of off the top of my head; who almost immediately moved to creating her own recipes. If I recall correctly, she started doing single flavor testers. And then used those testers; blending various combinations of them together, to see what they may taste like.
I thought that was a rather creative way to learn about her ingredients, learn what appealed to her, and conserve her investment, by re-purposing those SFTs.
There are so many different ways to DIY... and none of them are wrong. It is more about finding what works best for you. If you can keep it fun, and rewarding, chances are that you will become a successful DIYer.
So... sit back, don't be afraid to experiment, don't lock yourself into doing things only one way, and above all... enjoy the journey!
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Sounds like the perfect solution!I bet they'd tell you 1 way or the other, if you gave them a quick call.
Thank you, for all your input!
I received the holy vanilla today. I just need to dig back through my screenshots to find the recipe I ordered it for.
Mixed a 10ml test batch of this today. Didn't have marshmallow, so I substituted vanillin. If I like it as much as I think I will, I'll mix a large batch later. Thanks.
@Zazie, the one thing I neglected to include about my repeated test vaping was; the one thing I don't do, is to make any changes to the recipe (or remix) until the original batch has aged 4-6 weeks.
As I do my test vaping, I write down my my thoughts and perceptions... what I am tasting; how that compares to what I thought it was going to taste like; how what I am tasting compares to what others thought it tasted like; and, what I might want to do to change it (increase/decrease percentages; possible substitutions; or possible outright variations the basic recipe might be useful for. But, I do not actually start mixing any of those yet; because, often, the recipe continues to develop/change, and my earlier opinions change along with it. Only after it has fully matured, do I go back reviewing all my notes, and decide what (if any) changes I may want to apply.
If I am fairly certain a recipe is going to need adjustment, and/or I am in a rush
It is kind of like making spaghetti sauce. I mix in the basic ingredients, season it, but don't allow it to simmer long enough. I taste it, adjust the seasoning based on premature taste, and continue to simmer. Now, it has simmered longer, and when I taste it again, it is flat out over-seasoned.
You know you are a closet genius right Joel???
I don't know how many times I've made a mix - steeped it - tested it and thought this needs 2% more of this, and 1% less of that. And then added to the 'steeped' mix those changes.
From now on I'm going to try really really hard to only NOTE my thoughts and adjustments, until I've let the mix finish steeping.
Unless it really tastes like ....
- then I'll start a new readjusted mix to steep Similar threads
