total DIY liquid noob, need tips

[rez667]

Hello ecig forum people.

I have been vaping for about a year now, and i am venturing into making my own liquids. I got 60mg 50/50 nicotine, and some flavors(ry4, caramel,Belgium creme, and butterscotch) and a bottle of PG. I used a calculator to get a desired nicotine level and flavor mixture and it tasted like... horrible -.- I do not have any VG, so the mixure was like 82/18 pg/vg @ 22 mg nicotine. I had my flavoring at about 20%. So my questions are:

1,) do i need to let the flavors steep? all my supplies are from my freedom smokes
2.) will adding a higher level of VG make it less crappy tasting?
3.) can someone please help me, cause I really want to make my own liquid

Thanks in advance,

-Rez

 

[Arnie H]

Hello Ecig forum people.

I have been vaping for about a year now, and i am venturing into making my own liquids. I got 60mg 50/50 nicotine, and some flavors(ry4, caramel,Belgium creme, and butterscotch) and a bottle of PG. I used a calculator to get a desired nicotine level and flavor mixture and it tasted like... horrible -.- I do not have any VG, so the mixure was like 82/18 pg/vg @ 22 mg nicotine. I had my flavoring at about 20%. So my questions are:

1,) do i need to let the flavors steep?
2.) will adding a higher level of VG make it less crappy tasting?
3.) can someone please help me, cause I really want to make my own liquid

Thanks in advance,

-Rez

Hi and welcome to the forum.

1. Some amount of steeping is usually a good idea, depends on whats in the mix (tobacco, chocolates, etc)
2. Increasing the VG, would generally have the opposite effect, and may mute the flavor somewhat. I cannot confirm this fully though.
3. Time and patience. Experiment and have fun. Improve and tweak. It is often an evolving process.
4. The particular flavor combination may just be NASTY. At least to you, or there may be a chemical reaction taking place.

 

[rez667]

Thanks,

I am hoping i just have to let it steep. Because it tastes like pure PG.. which is not very pleasant :-(

the mixture is 10%ry 4% Belgium 4% caramel and 2% butterscotch. I just got them all in the mail today from North Carolina.

-Rez

 

[happydave]

VG has a sort of sweet flavor on its own. but it does not carry the flavor as well as PG. %20 sounds like a lot of flavor try cutting the flavor in half. when i make test batches (5 mL) i will use some hot but not boiling water and let the bottle float in the water for a few minutes and pull it out hand shake it and put in back in the hot water for while repeat this process for about 10 minutes. is this not the best way of steeping but it will give you a good idea of what the final product will be like after steeping.

also RY4 is 3 different tobacco flavors and vanilla. so adding anything to it will make for a very "complex" flavor.

 

[rez667]

VG has a sort of sweet flavor on its own. but it does not carry the flavor as well as PG. %20 sounds like a lot of flavor try cutting the flavor in half. when i make test batches (5 mL) i will use some hot but not boiling water and let the bottle float in the water for a few minutes and pull it out hand shake it and put in back in the hot water for while repeat this process for about 10 minutes. is this not the best way of steeping but it will give you a good idea of what the final product will be like after steeping.

I will try that tomorrow. I am open to any suggestions. I am also going to pick up some VG at the local vape shop tomorrow. It seemed alot easier on paper. lol. Story of my life

 

[happydave]

i wasted a few hundred mL before i got the point that i could make awesome juice consistently. take lots of notes about everything like exactly what went into each bottle, what the end result tastes like, does the flavor remind you of anything, the temp in the room where you are mixing. you will begin to notice some patterns.

 

[happydave]

also think about getting a RBA dripper. it will keep the cost of coils down and allow for quick and easy flavor changes. some things you will make can wreck a coil in minutes.

 

[rez667]

And i Misrepresented my flavor percentages. the accurate numbers are 8% ry 3% Belgium 2% butterscotch and 2% caramel for 10 mL of liquid

 

[rez667]

also think about getting a RBA dripper. it will keep the cost of coils down and allow for quick and easy flavor changes. some things you will make can a coil in minutes.

I havent heard of a RBA dripper. I will look into that.

 

[happydave]

I havent heard of a RBA dripper. I will look into that.

http://www.totallywicked-eliquid.co.../mini-direct-drip-atomizer-dda-2-product.html
i have a few of these they are great but you gotta drill out the air flow hole a bit. it takes about 2 seconds. but just make sure you wash it out well after you drill it. the stock air flow hole is just too small.

 

[happydave]

And i Misrepresented my flavor percentages. the accurate numbers are 8% ry 3% Belgium 2% butterscotch and 2% caramel for 10 mL of liquid

try bringing the total flavor to around %10 if your using a mostly PG mix if your using mostly VG then you might add more than %10 flavor. its a lot of trial and error.

 

[mightymen]

download this calculator works great easy to use.

eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator

It's all about flavor what one person likes another hates.

Pick two or three flavors at 5% each and try to adjust to your liking.

Make smallest batch first until you get to where you like it than make a larger batch.

Have you been vaping nicotine at 22mg ?

Good starting point 50%pg/50VG adjust to your likeing more VG more vapor more PG more flavor.

 

[rez667]

download this calculator works great easy to use.

eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator

It's all about flavor what one person likes another hates.

Pick two or three flavors at 5% each and try to adjust to your liking.

Make smallest batch first until you get to where you like it than make a larger batch.

Have you been vaping nicotine at 22mg ?

Good starting point 50%pg/50VG adjust to your likeing more VG more vapor more PG more flavor.

I usually do 24% but its a bit harsh in the morning. And with the higher PG level I figured the lower level would be a good idea anyway, for less throat hit. I was looking for that calculator, thank you for the link. And since you all twisted my arm so much.. I am going to what my wife is now calling my chemistry lab, to make another batch.. with less flavoring I now have a new new addiction..

thx again, and please keep the suggestions coming. I really appreciate all of them

-Rez

 

[spaceballsrules]

DIY is very easy, but you have to do it in baby steps. First, don't try complex flavor mixes to start off with. Try single flavors. With the flavors you have now, just do individual bottles of each, and tweak the percentages of those first before mixing them together. You need to know what you are working with before you throw it all together, unless you are working from a recipe that has been written by an experienced DIYer. Working with individual flavors will also help you determine whether or not you even like that particular flavor. Just because the flavor is butterscotch does not mean that it will taste the way YOU want it to taste, and butterscotch from one flavoring company will not taste the same as the butterscotch from another. One might be really good, and the other might taste like mud to you.

Steeping will make a huge difference in how a mix tastes, especially when it comes to deeper flavors such as tobacco. It takes time for the flavor to take shape once it is diluted. Fruit flavors typically take the least amount of time to steep. I always steep for 2 weeks before judging a flavor, and I give flavors 2 months before I pass final judgement on whether I like it or not. You can speed steep, but I have never found it to be beneficial, although others have had great success with it. When it comes to DIY, time and patience are your friends, as Arnie H. already stated.

The first mix you should make is a flavorless PG/VG/nic blend. Once you get your VG, mix up your ideal PG/VG ratio with your desired nic content and taste that. You need to know what your base tastes like so you know what you are working with.

 

[rez667]

I just made a smaller batch, with a total of 10% flavor. It still tastes like before. I think I will let the flavors steep for a bit. In the mean time, i am going to order a dripper, and do the 50/50 mixture with no flavor. Thank you so much for all your help. Hopefullly I will have a little knowledge to help someone.

-Rez

 

[rez667]

One more question I got flavor Concentrate. I just read that concentrates are much different then 0mg flavors when mixing. Do I need to adjust for my flavors being concentrates? Or should i just do trial and error?

thx again,

rez

 

[happydave]

One more question I got flavor Concentrate. I just read that concentrates are much different then 0mg flavors when mixing. Do I need to adjust for my flavors being concentrates? Or should i just do trial and error?

thx again,

rez

I start around 5% - 10% total flavoring and I only use concentrates

 

[spaceballsrules]

I start around 5% - 10% total flavoring and I only use concentrates

Agreed, although some flavoring concentrate manufacturers recommend starting as low as 1-2% with their flavors.

 

[Arrakis]

I'm still somewhat newer at DIY mixing myself (2-3 months), but I'd like to echo two things spaceballsrules said that has helped me avoid a lot of frustration.

1. Definitely stick with single flavors at first...that's absolutely the best thing that helped and saved me from a lot of wasted liquid. A lot of flavors are pretty damn good on their own, so don't feel like you'll be missing out. I still like making some that way.

Then just take those single flavors and start trying combos you think might work in your tank, RBA, etc. From there you can start to roughly estimate a 2 flavor combo to try based on that. Over time you'll start to get a feel for what might go good with what, what suits your tastes, and at what percentages.

When I started trying DIY recently, I bought about 12 flavors to start with, and made a single flavor with each at a 50PG/50VG mix. Then I just started tasting transitions from one to the next and mixing flavors in my tanks and dripper. Some were kind of surprising...either not nearly as good as I expected, or far better than I expected.

2. Be conservative on your percentages at first. You can always drop in a little more flavor at a time if you need to adjust, and make note of how much you added. I'd highly recommend looking at some of the specific flavor percentage charts floating around out there for the specific ones you bought, then maybe back off just a little to start. For example if the recommended levels say 10-15%, I'll usually start with 8%. If it says 5%, I'll try 3%...and so on.

It really does vary widely what kind of percentages work well with some flavorings. Some are pretty awesome at 1%. One of the flavors I bought at first was TFA Hibiscus. It smells absolutely horrible in the bottle (like REALLY horrible), and I didn't think I'd like it at all, but at 1% it's actually an awesome vape (to me anyway). Then I tried it at 2% and it almost made me throw up. On the other end of the spectrum, some I can't get much flavor out of until I hit at least 10-12%.

 

[mmm...baconfat]

^^^^^^^^
Yes, what everyone else said...and I think your ry4 % is a bit high but that depends on what brand flavorings you got....when I mixed tfa ry4 double at 4% it still seemed strong and took at least a month for it to steep into anything remotely vapeable.

Play around and never throw anything away for a while because you're likely to find something horrible thats been steeping for a month turning into something awesome. Then sometimes......not so much