This is my first DIY order. Am I forgetting anything?

[englishmick]

Looks like Liquid Barn doesn't sell funnels or pipettes, so I will grab some of those when I make my order at Bull City later. Is there a funnel size you would recommend?

I tried funnels and I wouldn't recommend them. Especially with 80% VG nic. It's very thick. I remember filling up a funnel and sitting there holding the funnel until my fingers cramped up waiting for the VG to drip through it. I picked up several sizes of funnel including a tiny glass one, think they are all in a box in the attic now. Same with syringes. Even without a needle it was slow and messy to suck the stuff up and push it into the mixing bottle.

Now I just pour the nic from the bottle into a graduated cylinder. If you go slowly that works pretty well. There might be a better way but I didn't have any luck with funnels or syringes. Cylinders aren't super accurate but they are cheap and easy to use. Never tried pipettes though.

Another option is to stand the nic bottle in warm water for a while. When it warms up it gets thinner and you might have better luck running it through a funnel.

 

[Redbird11]

Is it 100% Stevia with No Additives or Bulking Agents?

I'm Lucky, in that I Dis-Like the taste of Stevia. So I don't have to worry about it being 100% or Not.

I'm not sure. It's called Splenda and it is a powder I have had sitting around awhile.

 

[zoiDman]

I'm not sure. It's called Splenda and it is a powder I have had sitting around awhile.

Don't... Use... Splenda.

"Splenda usually contains 95% dextrose (D-glucose) and maltodextrin (by volume) which the body readily metabolizes, combined with a small amount of mostly indigestible sucralose. Sucralose is made by replacing three select hydrogen-oxygen groups on sucrose (table sugar) molecules with three chlorine atoms.[12] The tightly bound chlorine atoms create a molecular structure that is stable under intense conditions. Sucralose itself is recognized as safe to ingest as a diabetic sugar substitute,[13][14] but the sugars or other carbohydrates used as bulking agents in Splenda products should be evaluated individually. "

Splenda - Wikipedia

Get yourself some Cotton Candy Flavoring (Ethyl Maltol) or TFA Sweetener (Sucralose) where you buy your DIY Flavorings. And Stay Away from Grocery Store Flavorings.

 

[Redbird11]

Don't... Use... Splenda.

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I was just joking. I had no intention of using fake sweetener powder in my ejuice. Yeah I plan on grabbing some sweetenter when I buy some more flavorings.

 

[Katya]

I'm not sure. It's called Splenda and it is a powder I have had sitting around awhile.

What my learned friend Z just said--do not use Splenda or any other sweetener you might have in your cupboard. Just because something is suitable for eating doesn't make it suitable for vaping.

Sucralose, ethyl maltol, marshmallow flavoring, or erythritol are all good vaping sweeteners.

 

[zoiDman]

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I was just joking. I had no intention of using fake sweetener powder in my ejuice. Yeah I plan on grabbing some sweetenter when I buy some more flavorings.

You would be Surprised how many people see something like Slenda and start thinking that it might be a Good Idea to use.

 

[Redbird11]

You would be Surprised how many people see something like Slenda and start thinking that it might be a Good Idea to use.

Yeah I have read about people doing that and that does not sound like a safe or smart idea at all.

 

[Katya]

So I am getting ready for my first order for DIY. I just wanted to do a basic order to get started.

Now, since I'm here.

I never ordered a kit.

I started my DIY journey gradually and unwillingly. I bought some nic base, VG, PG and couple of flavors I thought I might like. I had some syringes, pipettes and a bunch of little (3-10 ml) squeeze bottles and droppers from old ejuices at home. I used Bill's famous 100 Drop Method of mixing

The Flavor Apprentice Flavoring Thread

where basically 1 drop represents 1% of your finished product. It went rather well, so I ordered more flavors and other stuff, as needed. And I took it from there.

Of course you can get a kit, if that's what you want, but I always recommend starting small, mixing a few sample batches (with or without nicotine) and building from there.

But that's just my experience and it worked for me, so I thought I'd share.

Good luck!

 

[Redbird11]

Now, since I'm here.

I never ordered a kit.

I started my DIY journey gradually and unwillingly. I bought some nic base, VG, PG and couple of flavors I thought I might like. I had some syringes, pipettes and a bunch of little (3-10 ml) squeeze bottles and droppers from old ejuices at home. I used Bill's famous 100 Drop Method of mixing

The Flavor Apprentice Flavoring Thread

where basically 1 drop represents 1% of your finished product. It went rather well, so I ordered more flavors and other stuff, as needed. And I took it from there.

Of course you can get a kit, if that's what you want, but I always recommend starting small, mixing a few sample batches (with or without nicotine) and building from there.

But that's just my experience and it worked for me, so I thought I'd share.

Good luck!

Thanks for sharing your experience. The "kit" I am getting is not really a kit. Liquid Barn just sells the scale I was going to buy for the same price as Amazon and it includes some mixing bottles with it. And I will definitely be starting small. No big crazy batches at the start.

That is one of the reasons I am just buying some of the premixed base and a couple of flavors when I buy the scale. Basically its just to get used to the process of DIY. Then I will buy the actual nic base, some pg and vg, and order a wider selection of flavors.

 

[Katya]

Sounds like a plan!

 

[vaper1960]

This is a very handy and affordable kit (I actually bought one even though I had been doing DIY for months) It's such a good deal and comes with lots of useful stuff (and five 30 ml flavors):
DIY Kit for vapor eLiquid Heartlandvapes Wholesale
Maybe also get the scale and 500 ml unflavored base from LB.

 

[Redbird11]

This is a very handy and affordable kit (I actually bought one even though I had been doing DIY for months) It's such a good deal and comes with lots of useful stuff (and five 30 ml flavors):
DIY Kit for vapor eLiquid Heartlandvapes Wholesale
Maybe also get the scale and 500 ml unflavored base from LB.

That Kit does seem like a lot of value for the price. Thanks for letting me know about it.

 

[vaper1960]

It's a great kit... for a couple dollars more you can upgrade to the better quality nicotine (that's what I did)
Hey, if you do still order anything from LB, get that one-shot "Water Malone" for sure.

 

[Redbird11]

It's a great kit... for a couple dollars more you can upgrade to the better quality nicotine (that's what I did)
Hey, if you do still order anything from LB, get that one-shot "Water Malone" for sure.

Water Malone is actually in my order. The only one shot they had that really looked good.

 

[JCinFLA]

I used Bill's famous 100 Drop Method of mixing

The Flavor Apprentice Flavoring Thread

where basically 1 drop represents 1% of your finished product. It went rather well, so I ordered more flavors and other stuff, as needed. And I took it from there.

Same thing I did! I loved using Bill's 100DTT for any/every new recipe when I first started DIY. Was a surefire way to "tweak" the taste to my own liking...while using only minimal amounts of the ingredients. I'd adjust the flavoring percents accordingly on my recipe cards then, for longterm use making larger batches. I still use it to tweak new recipes from the get-go.

 

[Letitia]

BCF is a great site for flavors. They have 2 ongoing discount codes; VU6 for 6% off or freeshipping for free ship over 49.00. These codes aren't stackable btw. Sign up for the newsletter for sale alerts. RS, River Supply, is a good all in one shop but seldom offers coupons. They do have some good flavors in the clearance section though. Free shipping over 50.00 no code needed. Heartland Vapes is a good place for plastic bottles, free ship over 50.00 no code needed. I personally haven't tried their nic but they have an excellent reputation in that regard. Sign up for all these newsletters for sales.

 

[Blackl1sted]

I use these funnels for mixing into the 30, 60ml juice bottles. They are big enough that the VG will flow slowly but will flow without having to lift the funnel out of the bottle. I think they work great and fairly reasonable price. FUNNELS

 

[PeterKay]

Here's what I use: plastic disposable pipettes. Easy to use and replace, no glass to break on you at any point, cheap. No need to really clean them if you use same pipette for the same stuff all the time. I stick a piece of masking tape on each pipette I use and write what I use it for. Some of my flavorings came in 50ml glass bottles with no dripper tip so these pipettes come in very handy. I also started to use these for my nicotine, as the long pipette allows me to reach all the way down the bottom of a glass nic bottle when it's running low. However if you use long blunt needle or a micro tubing with a syring you'll get the same effect.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Esoteric-H...0977W98C7EB&psc=1&refRID=NF55QNTY80977W98C7EB

Funnels- I have similar experiences as @englishmick : I bought around 50 plastic funnels when I first started and only used two: easy to overflow them, takes forever, some stuff goes down the side of the bottle you are pouring from anyway. So I don't use them.

VG and PG- I use 1l bottles (about a quarter of a gallon). I use chubby gorilla bottles with a wide opening so I pour directly from the bottle. Hardly spill anything. I pour most of the stuff from big bottle and then finish it off with VG or PG from a 60ml gorilla bottle, so for example: I'm to add 43.3g of VG, I start pouring from the big VG bottle until I get around 42g, once that's done I finish it off with pure VG from 60ml gorilla bottle until 43.3g, I found that method makes it easier to be more precise.

 

[PeterKay]

Another option is to stand the nic bottle in warm water for a while. When it warms up it gets thinner and you might have better luck running it through a funnel.

I agree with everything you said except for that one- the higher the temperature, the easier your nic will degrade. Warming it, and cooling everytime you mix- I wouldn't risk spoiling the nic that way. My nic comes out of the fridge cold, and it goes back in being pretty cold as well. Much easier to adjust the mixing method than dealing with a spoiled bottle of nicotine and having to order again, especially with the current situation in US.

 

[Redbird11]

I use these funnels for mixing into the 30, 60ml juice bottles. They are big enough that the VG will flow slowly but will flow without having to lift the funnel out of the bottle. I think they work great and fairly reasonable price. FUNNELS

Thanks for letting me know about those. They look like pretty good quality.