Weary About Trying Other Juices

[timedivider]

Hey All,

I worked for a vape shop a couple years back which only sold one brand of e-cig and juice. This juice was a higher PG content, had all of the bells and whistles on the label. Long story short, it was a more corporate product. I've found myself weary of trying a lot of the home brew juices (as there seem to be thousands of possibilities.) Most of the weariness stems from the fact that I'm familiar with the origin of the juice and have first hand knowledge of the production process. The juice I used/have been using is created in a more formal lab environment with toxicity/quality checks and balances.

All that aside, how safe have you found home brew/smaller batch juices to be? Am I weird for being weary of trying other juices?

 

[Rickajho]

Welp, I've been using many of those "home brew" juices for well over two years and I'm still... alive.

 

[nik12937]

I think it's good if anything to be cautious. There are many ways juice can get contaminated if not handled properly. That being said, most juice vendors I've come across with their own established websites usually list somewhere their process with creating and handling juices. The only reason I'm still mostly purchasing Dekang juices (from EV Cigarettes) is due to very agreeable pricing. I'm in college and don't have much extra money to throw around.

You could always try some DIY juices if you're up to it. If you take basic precautions like gloves and such while handling the high mg/ml juice concentrates, and understand ratios to get your mg strength where you want it to be, it's very cost effective and lets you tailor your juices to your liking. Once I have more space to work in I'll be going that route. As of right now my parents are nice enough to let me live at home until I finish school, so the only place I have to myself is my basement where I work on our vehicles. Way too dirty.

 

[epicdoom]

I don't make my own but buy from a local shop a family member there makes the liquids I trust them I know what is in mine
Flavor = FDA approved flavoring for food goods
VG = USP food grade
PG = USP food grade
Nicotine = 99.6% pure
Its my understanding that these items can be purchased by anyone even from Walmart for the Flavor PG and VG. Nic will need to be online purchase. most shops I polled use the same stuff with a few adding sweetners in

 

[kuyalongboards]

Yes yes. Do tons of research. Try other "brand name" flavors and compare.

 

[happydave]

unless i make it my self... i stick with big well known brands. i really liked totally wicked e-liquid i still use some of there flavor concentrates in my DIY e-liquid.
there are a ton of different things they could put in the e-liquid, that are considered "food grade".
MSG being one of them. im horribly sensitive to MSG and one brand of e-liquid does give me the exact same effects as when i accidentally ingest MSG...

 

[klynnn]

Ive been cooking for the last 50 years so I figure making ejuice isn't much different. I really don't understand why everyone is freaking out.

 

[Nate Rager]

I am actually more comfortable buying from the mom and pop type shops than I am from buying from the big companies. Some of the big companies do have great flavors. But, I can almost taste the amount of care that goes into their juice. I like supporting the guy making juice because he enjoys making juice. Not because it is turning into a massive industry and he just wants a piece of the pie. I am not talking in safety standards. I mean more so in the amount of passion the creator / mixologist has for the product. I like buying juices from people that are active in the community. People that started vaping like you and I did and decided that they could do a better job of making the juice. There is a certain amount of pride that goes into it with the small time companies. I will always support the smaller companies.

I think of it this way. You can go to the grocery store and buy a pie. Will it be tasty? Probably. Or you can go to the small bakery down the street and buy the same kind of pie that will most likely be much much more delicious. It was made by someone that is passionate about baking. Not a high school kid that needs a summer job.

 

[happydave]

Ive been cooking for the last 50 years so I figure making ejuice isn't much different. I really don't understand why everyone is freaking out.

the issue is that some rather large unscrupulous vendors in the past have done things like put diethylene glycol in the e-liquid because it makes for a smooth throat hit.. BT also uses diethylene glycol as a humectant for tobacco, it also makes the burning tobacco smoke easier on the throat .
diethylene glycol is pretty toxic, and does not belong in e-liquid

the reason why i would recommend Totally Wicked, is that TW has published gc-ms test data for there e-liquid. and nothing out of the ordinary as been found.

 

[StefanDidak]

I'm picky about where I buy my e-liquid from and generally will ask questions about ingredients. My basic rule is that if someone is selling e-liquid but are not comfortable showing pictures of where they make their product... well, then it's a place I probably wouldn't want to buy from. I stay very far away from home-brew liquids unless I make them myself for my own consumption. There are a few exceptions but that's only because I happen to know the people and the way to go about the liquid they make. You're not weird for being wary of trying other juices.

 

[klynnn]

Actually when I go to the store and buy a pie I say yuk. Mass produced cardboard with a tsp of some kind of chemical filling. There is nothing better than homemade anything these days and the way the country is going you will find out soon. 40 years ago my favorite thing was tastycake today it is garbage. I doubt there is anything but chemicals in it. Learn to make your own and if you don't start now you won't get the chance.

 

[klynnn]

I make my own juice and have been for the last 2 years. This isn't rocket science people.

 

[happydave]

I make my own juice and have been for the last 2 years. This isn't rocket science people.

nor do you need to be a rocket surgeon to make really tasty e-liquid.
you just need to fallow the proper safety precautions.

 

[Stringplucker]

I am actually more comfortable buying from the mom and pop type shops than I am from buying from the big companies. Some of the big companies do have great flavors. But, I can almost taste the amount of care that goes into their juice. I like supporting the guy making juice because he enjoys making juice. Not because it is turning into a massive industry and he just wants a piece of the pie. I am not talking in safety standards. I mean more so in the amount of passion the creator / mixologist has for the product. I like buying juices from people that are active in the community. People that started vaping like you and I did and decided that they could do a better job of making the juice. There is a certain amount of pride that goes into it with the small time companies. I will always support the smaller companies.

I think of it this way. You can go to the grocery store and buy a pie. Will it be tasty? Probably. Or you can go to the small bakery down the street and buy the same kind of pie that will most likely be much much more delicious. It was made by someone that is passionate about baking. Not a high school kid that needs a summer job.

I agree with all of the above, and will add this...I've met with and vaped with the person that mixes my juices. Knowing the person that mixes your juice is important to me, and knowing she vapes the stuff that she mixes and sells to the public is even more important to me. This way allows me the ability to know who to talk to when something isn't right.

She's my go-to person for custom, as well as generic flavors. She's willing to talk with me about the last batch, and is open to any suggestions on changes. She supplies juices to the majority of vape shops local to my hometown, which isn't local to me. Because it isn't local, and her website prices are higher than where I first purchased them, she gives me special pricing and free shipping. She has a day job, but because of her passion for the perfect vape, she started mixing her own...and it's grown exponentially from there. Each bottle has the special bit of attention that you just can't get from a factory that makes extremely large batches.

Knowing the above, I trust her...which is more than I can say about Chinese juices, or juices from the big named juice houses.

Unless you have done your homework, and fully trust the information you gather from a new supplier, you should be very leery...very leery indeed!

 

[Bryong70]

I DIY, this way I know exactly what is in my juice. Also save lots of money, typical juice at a store is about $16 for 30ml bottle where I live. For me to make myself, costs about $2 at most, per 30ml bottle. This includes tools and bottle.