New to DIY e-Liquid...dvice?

[Johnny Skillish]

Hello DIY e-liquid Community!

I am new to DIY e-liquid making and am reading everything I can here on the forum, and watching vids but like everything else, it's important where you get your data from. (ie...YT vids? WHO to watch?)

As I've been reading I've become more concerned in terms of info on testing the ACTUAL strength of the nic, along with just WHAT is the most important knowledge to have UP FRONT BEFORE I even break the seal on ANY nic, or flavoring.

I will continue to read and learn here from you all, but I would greatly appreciate it if you all could tell me a couple of things that you learned up front, or wished you knew, or needed when starting your DIY that maybe you could share with me.

Also, I have a couple of friends who do not drink alcohol and were concerned about it when I told them about Ethyl Alcohol in the flavorings/liquids. One of them gets UA tested and was worried about a pos. UA for alcohol from vaping. Is this an issue for her??

I purchased 100mg strength nic in PG from Wizard Labs, along with PG, VG, and some flavor concentrates.

I will continue reading and learning!

Thank you all up front for your help!

 

[dannyv45]

Hello DIY e-Liquid Community!

I am new to DIY e-liquid making and am reading everything I can here on the forum, and watching vids but like everything else, it's important where you get your data from. (ie...YT vids? WHO to watch?)

As I've been reading I've become more concerned in terms of info on testing the ACTUAL strength of the nic, along with just WHAT is the most important knowledge to have UP FRONT BEFORE I even break the seal on ANY nic, or flavoring.

I will continue to read and learn here from you all, but I would greatly appreciate it if you all could tell me a couple of things that you learned up front, or wished you knew, or needed when starting your DIY that maybe you could share with me.

Also, I have a couple of friends who do not drink alcohol and were concerned about it when I told them about Ethyl Alcohol in the flavorings/liquids. One of them gets UA tested and was worried about a pos. UA for alcohol from vaping. Is this an issue for her??

I purchased 100mg strength nic in PG from Wizard Labs, along with PG, VG, and some flavor concentrates.

I will continue reading and learning!

Thank you all up front for your help!

I can understand your concern about nicotine content. There are test kits you can buy to test this. Heres one such kit.

Nicotine Test Kit

As far as alcohol. I don't think there would be a detectable amount from the flavoring but if it concerns you use flavors that use a Pg or VG base. there are many out there.

Also learn everything about mixing pg/vg/nic bases and learn to use an e-juice calculator such as the e-juice me up calculator.

 

[Johnny Skillish]

I can understand your concern about nicotine content. There are test kits you can buy to test this. Heres one such kit.

Nicotine Test Kit

As far as alcohol. I don't think there would be a detectable amount from the flavoring but if it concerns you use flavors that use a Pg or VG base. there are many out there.

Also learn everything about mixing pg/vg/nic bases and learn to use an e-juice calculator such as the e-juice me up calculator.

I should have bought the test kit with my order, but didn't know I should. Now I will!
I downloaded the e-juice me up calculator which I will learn to use properly. It's great. Especially with the recipes within!
The chemist at Wizard Labs said he'd never heard of a pos UA for vaping, but didn't seem for sure.

Thank you for your help!

 

[dannyv45]

Your welcome and enjoy the world of DYI mixing. If you have questions please ask.

 

[Johnny Skillish]

Your welcome and enjoy the world of DYI mixing. If you have questions please ask.

Thank you SO MUCH! And believe me, I will! LOL

 

[Johnny Skillish]

Your welcome and enjoy the world of DYI mixing. If you have questions please ask.

Hello DannyV!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm making some decent juices now!
Definitely botched a few with over-flavoring though and had to cut them! LOL
Still trying to salvage a couple, but just made a decent, actually, very good DRY4 recipe from tc1.
So things are moving forward!
just a quick question, if you please...when starting out with a flavoring you've never used, or just lack of experience, especially in a mix of say 3-4 flavors, how do you know which %'s to start off with? I've read 5% and go from there but...?? And do you just flavor up, or cut down, if too weak, too strong?! And how do you REALLY know BEFORE it steeps? (I have learned a bit about the quick hot steeping method) And how do you know how long that would take for your recipe anyway?
I guess more than just a quick question, huh? LOLOL
Still learning, and reading, but making progress!

Thanks dannyv45!

Vape on!
-Johnny Skillish

P.S. Love your signature..."OH MY, I just unscrewed the wrong end of my clearo and it spilled all over me."....too funny!

 

[dannyv45]

Hello DannyV!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm making some decent juices now!
Definitely botched a few with over-flavoring though and had to cut them! LOL
Still trying to salvage a couple, but just made a decent, actually, very good DRY4 recipe from tc1.
So things are moving forward!
just a quick question, if you please...when starting out with a flavoring you've never used, or just lack of experience, especially in a mix of say 3-4 flavors, how do you know which %'s to start off with? I've read 5% and go from there but...?? And do you just flavor up, or cut down, if too weak, too strong?! And how do you REALLY know BEFORE it steeps? (I have learned a bit about the quick hot steeping method) And how do you know how long that would take for your recipe anyway?
I guess more than just a quick question, huh? LOLOL
Still learning, and reading, but making progress!

Thanks dannyv45!

Vape on!
-Johnny Skillish

P.S. Love your signature..."OH MY, I just unscrewed the wrong end of my clearo and it spilled all over me."....too funny!

First lets start with flavor percentages. There's no hard and fast rule as far as percentages go. You should buy your flavors from a known seller and look at the minimum percentage amount then drop it by 1% this will give you playing room to adjust if it's to weak. If it is to weak add more flavor in 1% increments. It really all depends on the flavor some are weak and some are strong enough to knock your socks off. A good test for how a flavor will taste when mixed is to put a dab on an unsalted cracker and warm it in the toaster oven then taste it. If your still in doubt as to how much flavor to use ask on the forum and remember to give the brand name of the flavor. (TFA, FA, Hangsen, VZ super concentrate etc...).

As far as steeping I recommend to start off with to use a thurmos cup. Fill it with tap water as hot as you can get it then drop your bottled mix into it and cover it. Let it cool to room temperature then remove the bottle and shake like hell. Then repeat the process 2 more times. You can tell something is happening when the color changes. The amount of color change depends on the mix. Some hardly change at all and some change to a dark brown with others being every color in between. Myself I use an ultrasonic cleaner to steep my mixes, there are a few good threads on here that you should read about it.

 

[souleaterzer0]

I would recommend finding a fellow member that has the same tastes as you and use their percentages/recipes. Almost all the flavor percentages recommended by other members are too strong for me since I use RBAs and genesis type atomizers. I never go above 15% flavor in any recipe. Read Hoosiers blog if you haven't already. I usually start out at half the recommended percentage and go from there, adjusting ever so slightly every couple days if it is a bakery or fruit flavor. Tobaccos need longer steep times so I wait at least 2 weeks before adjusting.

If I can't find a recommended percentage on the forum I go by smell. If the flavor is super strong smelling, or smells like a chemical ( TFA Caramel Cappucinno) and almost gags you, use at a very very low percentage. The opposite is true as well if you smell the flavor and can barely smell anything you will probably have to go with a higher percentage and longer steep time to get the true flavor. I always start using less flavor than I believe I need because its easier to add a drop or two of flavor than dilute a whole bottle.

I have not noticed any real help by heating my recipes in hot water and shaking. Well that isn't true... I do heat up my bottles that have alcohol based flavors in them to evaporate some of the alcohol off. I don't have a ultrasonic cleaner (I want one sooo bad) so I can't say anything about that. Nothing beats a couple good shakes and leaving alone for a while with the cap on. If you do want to heat and shake, do not put your bottle in the microwave! My microwave will forever smell like menthol lol. Just put a little water in a measuring cup and heat it up(not boiling), then put your bottle in and wait till its at room temp to remove and shake.

 

[Johnny Skillish]

First lets start with flavor percentages. There's no hard and fast rule as far as percentages go. You should buy your flavors from a known seller and look at the minimum percentage amount then drop it by 1% this will give you playing room to adjust if it's to weak. If it is to weak add more flavor in 1% increments. It really all depends on the flavor some are weak and some are strong enough to knock your socks off. A good test for how a flavor will taste when mixed is to put a dab on an unsalted cracker and warm it in the toaster oven then taste it. If your still in doubt as to how much flavor to use ask on the forum and remember to give the brand name of the flavor. (TFA, FA, Hangsen, VZ super concentrate etc...).

As far as steeping I recommend to start off with to use a thurmos cup. Fill it with tap water as hot as you can get it then drop your bottled mix into it and cover it. Let it cool to room temperature then remove the bottle and shake like hell. Then repeat the process 2 more times. You can tell something is happening when the color changes. The amount of color change depends on the mix. Some hardly change at all and some change to a dark brown with others being every color in between. Myself I use an ultrasonic cleaner to steep my mixes, there are a few good threads on here that you should read about it.

I really appreciate all of this GREAT ADVICE Danny!

Thanks a lot for taking the time.

I've made a few pretty darn good juices already, and am also seeing improvement in my ability in the percentages. Not a lot yet, but a little bit is giving me more confidence to try some ideas I have for some juices.

I'll post them if they come out the way I hope!

Wish me luck! LOL

Thanks again!

-JS

And I will keep reading and learning.

 

[Johnny Skillish]

I would recommend finding a fellow member that has the same tastes as you and use their percentages/recipes. Almost all the flavor percentages recommended by other members are too strong for me since I use RBAs and genesis type atomizers. I never go above 15% flavor in any recipe. Read Hoosiers blog if you haven't already. I usually start out at half the recommended percentage and go from there, adjusting ever so slightly every couple days if it is a bakery or fruit flavor. Tobaccos need longer steep times so I wait at least 2 weeks before adjusting.

If I can't find a recommended percentage on the forum I go by smell. If the flavor is super strong smelling, or smells like a chemical ( TFA Caramel Cappucinno) and almost gags you, use at a very very low percentage. The opposite is true as well if you smell the flavor and can barely smell anything you will probably have to go with a higher percentage and longer steep time to get the true flavor. I always start using less flavor than I believe I need because its easier to add a drop or two of flavor than dilute a whole bottle.

I have not noticed any real help by heating my recipes in hot water and shaking. Well that isn't true... I do heat up my bottles that have alcohol based flavors in them to evaporate some of the alcohol off. I don't have a ultrasonic cleaner (I want one sooo bad) so I can't say anything about that. Nothing beats a couple good shakes and leaving alone for a while with the cap on. If you do want to heat and shake, do not put your bottle in the microwave! My microwave will forever smell like menthol lol. Just put a little water in a measuring cup and heat it up(not boiling), then put your bottle in and wait till its at room temp to remove and shake.

Outstanding guidance friend, thank you!

Yeah, that chemically smell and taste...I did that with Graham Cracker (TFA) in a Smores recipe I tried to make. Unvapable! WAY overflavored! LOL Just have it sitting on a dark shelf in my pantry closet with my other juices waiting to dilute it and salvage hopefully into what I was attempting to make.

Did the same thing with 555 Dk Tobacco (TFA). Man is that a STRONG concentrate! Unbelievable! LOL

I'll keep it up with the great advice from you guys.

Thanks again for your help, and when I'm able, I will "pay it forward"!

Peace!
-JS

 

[Shopan]

I am getting into DIYing and saw a Video that shows to test your Flavors by trying a 20% mix in a 1ml batch...seems to me this would give you an idea of what you need to do to get the flavor you want andnot waste too much flavoring...Not to mention the steeping times would be smaller and you can always make bigger batches if you have the numbers for what is right...