Just thought we could sort of condense our knowledge of little tips and tricks into one thread for beginners and vets alike. Doesn't matter if it's relating to flavors, steeping, syringe use, base storage, etc. All knowledge is welcome here.
1. I've found that Vanillin is very versatile and a 'must' in my flavor collection. It works well as a complementary note to chocolates, tobaccos, fruits, and other vanillas. Example - I was recently using 2 %Vanilla Bourbon (alc based extract) in one of my tobacco recipes, but it was gunking up my coils pretty bad. By cutting the Bourbon down to 1% and adding in 1% Vanillin, I maintained the vanilla flavor and made it a bit more coil friendly.
2. This is an obvious one. Mixing in smaller batches and using a dripping atomizer really helps save money and time. I work with 5 or 10ml batches as testers and have an HH357 on hand to test flavors out before they hit the tanks. Also, you should really spend some time with a recipe before deciding it needs tweaking. Sometimes, I'll like a vape right away (after a steep), but I'll realize one of the components are overpowering after a few tanks worth of sample time.
3. I heard this here on the forums but can't remember the poster, so credit to whoever said this. Filling your syringes with distilled water when they're not in use helps keep air particles out/dust and, in my opinion anyway, helps maintain the life of the rubber parts so the disposables last longer.
4. Another poster-forgetter (sorry guys lol). Clear plastic tape on your syringes (disposables) helps to keep the numbers and makings legible even after repeated washes.
5. For those who like higher VG juices but have trouble wicking, try diluting your VG itself by 5-15% with distilled water. Some even say that saline solutions and alcohol (wer2cool, I'm looking at you) work well with the water at certain ratios, but I've never tried it. This allows you to use very high VG %'s without sacrificing wickability.
6. I've found that sometimes I need to use more than the 7 flavors that the ejuicemeup calc provides room for, and I've found a solution (for the lazy people who don't like to do the math on their own, such as myself). Lets say you have, among a million other ingredients, 10% blueberry and 5% blackberry in a blend. Just put "Blue10/Black5" as the flavor name and put the percentage at 15%. Remember what that means when you're mixing and you've just saved space on the calculator.
7. Always mix a flavorless batch when you buy new PG, VG, or nic. Always. This helps get an idea of the TH of nic, and lets you send it back immediately if you get a bad batch of any base ingredient.
8. This one only applies to those who have a few go-to recipes that they know they'll be vaping/making large batches of for a long time. You can mix a 'flavor blend' to add to your base at a total % to save time, rather than adding each individual ingredient at a given %.
For example, say you love 10% Chocolate with 5% Coffee and 5% Vanilla. You can simply make a large amount of this 'flavor blend' by adding 50% Chocolate, 25% Coffee and 25% Vanilla into a large bottle without any base (just the flavor concentrates). You then plug this into your calculator as "My favorite coffee" at 20% and you only need to mix a single 'ingredient' (the flavor blend you just made) in future batches.
9. Another obvious tip that might be helpful to beginners. Research different vendor's version of a flavor (ex - there are a million vanillas out there and each get differing reviews) and find one you think you might like at a suggested %. When you finally get your hands on it, mix it solo before throwing it into a blend, as this will give you a real good idea as to whether or not it tastes like you thought it would, and in some cases, might give you an idea you didn't expect ("this would taste really good with some banana, even though I planned on mixing it with coconut").
10. Adding a tiny bit of menthol and koolada (.5% menthol with .3% koolada works for me) to fruits, certain beverage vapes, and ice creams can really add a nice dynamic without feeling like its been mentholated at all.
Thats all I can think of for now, I'll add more later when they come to mind (probably mid-mixing session). Feel free to chime in with any information you're willing to share that you find helpful.
1. I've found that Vanillin is very versatile and a 'must' in my flavor collection. It works well as a complementary note to chocolates, tobaccos, fruits, and other vanillas. Example - I was recently using 2 %Vanilla Bourbon (alc based extract) in one of my tobacco recipes, but it was gunking up my coils pretty bad. By cutting the Bourbon down to 1% and adding in 1% Vanillin, I maintained the vanilla flavor and made it a bit more coil friendly.
2. This is an obvious one. Mixing in smaller batches and using a dripping atomizer really helps save money and time. I work with 5 or 10ml batches as testers and have an HH357 on hand to test flavors out before they hit the tanks. Also, you should really spend some time with a recipe before deciding it needs tweaking. Sometimes, I'll like a vape right away (after a steep), but I'll realize one of the components are overpowering after a few tanks worth of sample time.
3. I heard this here on the forums but can't remember the poster, so credit to whoever said this. Filling your syringes with distilled water when they're not in use helps keep air particles out/dust and, in my opinion anyway, helps maintain the life of the rubber parts so the disposables last longer.
4. Another poster-forgetter (sorry guys lol). Clear plastic tape on your syringes (disposables) helps to keep the numbers and makings legible even after repeated washes.
5. For those who like higher VG juices but have trouble wicking, try diluting your VG itself by 5-15% with distilled water. Some even say that saline solutions and alcohol (wer2cool, I'm looking at you) work well with the water at certain ratios, but I've never tried it. This allows you to use very high VG %'s without sacrificing wickability.
6. I've found that sometimes I need to use more than the 7 flavors that the ejuicemeup calc provides room for, and I've found a solution (for the lazy people who don't like to do the math on their own, such as myself). Lets say you have, among a million other ingredients, 10% blueberry and 5% blackberry in a blend. Just put "Blue10/Black5" as the flavor name and put the percentage at 15%. Remember what that means when you're mixing and you've just saved space on the calculator.
7. Always mix a flavorless batch when you buy new PG, VG, or nic. Always. This helps get an idea of the TH of nic, and lets you send it back immediately if you get a bad batch of any base ingredient.
8. This one only applies to those who have a few go-to recipes that they know they'll be vaping/making large batches of for a long time. You can mix a 'flavor blend' to add to your base at a total % to save time, rather than adding each individual ingredient at a given %.
For example, say you love 10% Chocolate with 5% Coffee and 5% Vanilla. You can simply make a large amount of this 'flavor blend' by adding 50% Chocolate, 25% Coffee and 25% Vanilla into a large bottle without any base (just the flavor concentrates). You then plug this into your calculator as "My favorite coffee" at 20% and you only need to mix a single 'ingredient' (the flavor blend you just made) in future batches.
9. Another obvious tip that might be helpful to beginners. Research different vendor's version of a flavor (ex - there are a million vanillas out there and each get differing reviews) and find one you think you might like at a suggested %. When you finally get your hands on it, mix it solo before throwing it into a blend, as this will give you a real good idea as to whether or not it tastes like you thought it would, and in some cases, might give you an idea you didn't expect ("this would taste really good with some banana, even though I planned on mixing it with coconut").
10. Adding a tiny bit of menthol and koolada (.5% menthol with .3% koolada works for me) to fruits, certain beverage vapes, and ice creams can really add a nice dynamic without feeling like its been mentholated at all.
Thats all I can think of for now, I'll add more later when they come to mind (probably mid-mixing session). Feel free to chime in with any information you're willing to share that you find helpful.
