SO, you think you are ready for DIY?

Protective gloves and eye wear are needed for working with 100 mg nicotine bases. The stuff is 10% nicotine and dangerous if not handled properly. I also use a respirator fitted with organic vapor cartridges when using 100 mg base. These respirators look like a gas mask and are available at reasonable cost at hardware stores.

 

Read the stickies, wear gloves when handling nic, use (preferably blunt-tip needle) syringes to measure your liquids, especially your nic.

Drops don't calculate easily. Your PG, VG, nicquid, and flavorings will all measure with different drops per ml. Each dropper or needle or bottle has a different drops per ml. Syringes are the best way to measure accurately and consistently. Every time.

Anything you add to nicquid will lower its strength. if you buy 50/50 12mg liquid, adding your flavors will drop the nic. Just remember that.

There is a TON of information here. Some good threads of note:

DIY Shopping List:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/371817-diy-shopping-list-must-haves.html

Where to find glass bottles:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/376936-so-many-juices-so-few-bottles-help.html?highlight=glass+bottles
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/376547-good-glass-jars.html?highlight=glass+bottles

Flavor Percentages:
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/336110-flavor-apprentice-flavoring-thread.html
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/e-liquid-recipes/259070-flavour-art-single-flavor-percentages.html?highlight=flavour+art+percentages
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/74109-guide-diy-flavoring.html

There are, of course, many useful threads. I found all of these with a quick search of the DIY forum.

 

this.... i totally agree with syringed its the exact same amount all the time every time. every dropper, even different liquids in the same dropper can be different.

 

also agree - syringe is the way to go. I bought some 1ml syringes with 22gage needles to use for flavorings and it has totally changed my whole DIY scene - my juice is way more consistent from batch to batch.

BTW - the very best syringe tip I ever read is to pull the plunger out and pour the liquid in from the top for thick liquids. To mix with my 100mg nic in all VG . .I put the needle in and pull the plunger out - then pour the base in from the top, then put the plunger back in, unscrew the needle and dispense.

I can't tell you how much easier this one tip has made my DIY mixing life. I broke 2 syringes trying to push 100%VG nic through a 16 gauge blunt tip needle.

 

Fantastic BakuPeg! I was going to suggest that you "Blog this post", then realized you already had. Good stuff.

I've got a couple hundred syringes, fresh in the package, although...

for my flavours, I use the dropper bottle but with a fair bit of accuracy all the same. You see, every time I get a new dropper bottle of flavouring, I drip into a 1ml receptacle until full while counting drops. Then I label that bottle with how many drops per milliliter it dispenses. And helps me to get through my recipes a little quicker, and I don't have to measure the same flavour every single time I use it. It's always the same liquid going through the same dropper, so there are really no variables to alter recipes.

 

I move that this becomes a sticky!!!!!

 

I'll second that motion!

 

Good info here. I'm a newb and new also to trying the DIY "game". I admit I haven't folowed all of the OPs and other folks who followed up suggestions although I am able to say when it comes to safety I have read the stickies relating to that topic and follow those guidelines strictly. Also, I know my tired old brain isn't up to the mental exercise of doing the math so I am also using a DIY calculator that is in the stickies so at least I got a couple things right while I cut corners. So far I've only made about 5 batches and am having to continue to tweak my flavorings to get them where I want them. However, after reading this thread I'm now off to the great sticky zone up above to read all of them and not do anymore until I've done so. I suspect that once I do the proper amount of homework then it will save me some effort and probably help me cut back on how many small experimental batches get washed down the kitchen sink as unvapable. The main reason for this post is to let you know that while convincing me personally to go back and do my homework may not be a major victory at least you'll know that at least one person (and probably a lot more who may not speak up) did read and follow your advice. Anyways thanks for the reminder that if I stop trying to put the cart before the horse that things will go smoother. I guess maybe this old dog can learn a new trick or two!

P.S. As far as this being a sticky goes I don't know if I'm pretty typical or not, but I did read about the safety precautions and commited that to memory and into action and skimmed over a lot of other info in the stickies. It was my excitement about my new hobby that got the best of me and I got sidetracked away from the stickies and couldn't resist just jumping right into the regular threads and experimenting with DIY. So if you more experienced folks think this type of thread is important maybe you may want to consider leaving it a regular thread so others like me that get sidetracked by all the interesting regular threads will see it and just maybe give it a bump every day or two to keep it visible? Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.

 

Good thread. Best advice from a recent DIY juice maker is use a juice calculator program and use syringes for accurate measurements. Also start with a low flavor % you can always add more. Invest in an ultrasonic cleaner to clean equipment.

Good start!

 

Amen sister about the read read read before asking questions---that would be nice...lmao

I read 3- 6 months back before I ever made a peep on this forum and I used the search feature all the time--still do.

 

Kudos to this post, as I've just reached this point personally in vaping !

 

Bumping a smart post.

 

bump for good info's sake

 

Great advice. Thank you.