really confused about diy juice recipes

[spacenoodle]

figured posting this in the juice forums would be very out of place since everyone there seems to know what they're doing

so after perusing the juice forums i have no idea where to start and none of the recipes seem to make sense to me. i noticed many people posting 5% this and 3% that and that's it, and apparently that's a complete recipe? nothing about PG, VG, nicotine. i'm sure it'd make a whole lot of sense if i wasn't a noob to this forum, so any help would be appreciated!

i'm a pretty damn good cook and have spent countless hours in science labs, so stuff like this is right down my alley. just need help getting started. thanks in advance, and happy friday guys!

 

[gotch23]

3%... 5%... that's the percentages of flavor added to the base.

The base itself has a composition, mostly varying amounts of pg/vg.

50/50 pg vg
70/30 pg vg

are popular and offer a good balance of visible vapor (vg) and throathit (pg).
I mostly use 45% pg 45% vg and 10 % demineralized water.
For cloud-chasing i use 70 % vg 20 % pg and 10% water.

 

[spacenoodle]

how do you guys even accurately determine down to 3-5% though? just count drops?

also, any good starter kits for juice diy-ers? thanks!

 

[gingersnaps]

Pg vg and nic are all things you need to choose for yourself. Some like overall mix to be pg/vg 50/50 % or 60/40 or what ever. Btw flavoring itself is normally pg based. Nic depends on what you nic level is. There are calculators that can help put it all together my fave right now is iPhone app ivape.

People are giving you how much of the total mix is flavoring. It's easier to get once you play with the app a bit.


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[klynnn]

Mostly the base consists of your % nic in pg/vg and /or extra pg/vg to reach say a 70/30 composition. Flavoring is usually figured at 15 to 20% when using single flavors by themselves. Each flavoring/company can have different profiles. Capella flavorings are usually good at around 15%. This is not a hard and fast rule though you have to experiment. With some flavors 1 drop can be too much and needs to be diluted. That's why you see so many flavoring lists with %. People have been adding those for quite awhile when they find a good %. Kind of a rough estimate. When you start using multiple flavors most of the recipes I've see use the different flavors in % to come up with 20% of the total mix. Even though you may see a recipe with 50% vanilla and 50%caramel -those 2 added together will usually only be 20% of the final mix. If you haven't already download the ejuice me up calculator as it's free. Hope this helps some. Someone will correct anything I've got wrong to be sure.

 

[gotch23]

Varying methods of determining the fine percentages...

My favorite is to use a really fine scale. Just put the bottle on top and drop in.
Another is to use a 1-ml syringe... also very exact.
Just counting drops also works... less exact though. Approximately 20 drops per ml...
Although if you take notes and just are consistent the last method works just as well.

 

[Caridwen]

Most use some sort of e-liquid calculator.
eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator

Post in DIY and say you've never mixed. Most people there are happy to help you with every step.

If you see someone that's seems pretty helpful, send them a PM. Most people are very happy to help. You can send me a PM if you like if you're more comfortable asking questions that way.

 

[spaceballsrules]

how do you guys even accurately determine down to 3-5% though? just count drops?

also, any good starter kits for juice diy-ers? thanks!

The best way to measure flavorings is to use syringes. 1ml syringes are best for the most accurate measurements of small increments. Drops are not accurate at all, and can vary greatly due to viscosity and the type of dropper. Syringes, Needles, and Pipettes

Use an ejuice calculator to figure out exact proportions, and full customization. Here is a good one - eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator

Avoid starter kits. You end up getting a lot of stuff you just don't need. All you need is:
PG
VG
Nicotine
flavoring
empty bottles
syringes

That's it. If you are working with high % nicotine (60-100mg/ml), then add gloves, apron, face mask, and protective eye wear.

 

[tj99959]

Start out simple! Once you have a foundation recipe it's easy to do all sorts of different things with it.

I mix my "base" in canning jars.
60ml of 100mg PG nic base
190ml of PG
250ml of VG
This gives me 500ml of 50/50 PG/VG at 12mg

I then use flavor concentrates (bought locally), and with most flavors add one drop/ml.

 

[Thrasher]

Most use some sort of e-liquid calculator.
eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator

Post in DIY and say you've never mixed. Most people there are happy to help you with every step.

If you see someone that's seems pretty helpful, send them a PM. Most people are very happy to help. You can send me a PM if you like if you're more comfortable asking questions that way.

+1 the whole reason there is a DIY forum is to help everyone out.
kind of weird you feel everyone knows what their doing and thats the people you want to avoid lol

 

[pizza2me]

Most use some sort of e-liquid calculator.
eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator

Post in DIY and say you've never mixed. Most people there are happy to help you with every step.

If you see someone that's seems pretty helpful, send them a PM. Most people are very happy to help. You can send me a PM if you like if you're more comfortable asking questions that way.

edit: <snip> nevermind... didn't like the way the second one was worded....


double ditto on these noodle. Post away in the DIY sub forum. I'd say a good 50% at least of the discussions are helping new folks out. There are a LOT of great people there and they love to help. And, once you play with the calculator you'll understand much more as well.

Have fun!!!

 

[fourthrok]

I use this e-liquid calculator because I can fine tune things EXACTLY like I want, and it comes out right every time. No estimating. Anyway...I've been using it well over a year and it works well for me. e-Liquid Calculator - DIY e-Juice Recipe Assistant

 

[daviedog]

As gingersnap posted, I use ivape calculater.
Do yourself a favor, get 1 , 3 , & 5ml. syringes. 14guage blunt luerlock needles. Cost about 15usd at amazon.
Nicotine is available in pg vg or 50% mix. Buy 100% pg 100mg nicotine. Much easier to dilute down to your liking. Remember nico is toxic at strong dilutions. Use nitrile gloves, vapor mask, & safety goggles. Appx cost 25usd at Home Depot.
I buy nicotine usp at wizard labs. They are usually B/O, for only a week, but they will get back to you in a prompt manner. Top drawer. Good luck.

 

[gingersnaps]

There's also another calc app called ejuice. I don't use the calc since i prefer the ivape one but I prefer the recipe saving ability in ejuice and there's links to resources thats great for new and veteran users.


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[WillyZee]

welcome to ECF spacenoodle ... I just made my first 5 DIY juices today after reading tons of info in the DIY sub.

Just keep reading stuff over there ... I may be a Vape noob, however I am off and running

 

[Train2]

I highly recommend that ejuicemeup calculator - play with it and you'll see how the math of a recipe can be complicated. It's because as you add another % of a flavor, that added flavoring ALSO changes the PG/VG ratio, and effects the nicotine level (a little).

Since YOU get to choose your preferred nicotine level, and YOU get to choose your preferred mix of PG and VG, the recipe can just consist of the percentages of different flavorings that are in the mix. That, I think, was your main original question!

 

[steved5600]

You need to get a good Recipe software that will help a lot. The others covered that those percentages were just flavors. The rest is base which is made up of PG/VG and PG/VG with nicotine. Here is the software I use on my computer and android.
eJuice Recipe Downloads

android.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.composedchaos.eliquidrecipemanagerdonate
I'd get the pro version as it includes free updates.
make sure you got to the DIY section read the sticky notes spend some time doing your homework before you mix. be careful or you could get sick doing this. Make a mistake with 100mg nic base and at the very least you will get nausea and a headache. Get it in your eyes and wow. spend time in the diy lurk util you can post there.

 

[spacenoodle]

Man you guys are awesome, thanks for all the feedback, I really really appreciate it. I'll be posting soon about the recipes I come up with

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

DIY E-Liquid

Surprised no one has given you this link. You will find everything you need in this forum

And welcome to ecf.

 

[spacenoodle]

Oh and any recommendations where good (and cheap) pg vg nic and flavoring should be bought?