This is not intended to be an all-inclusive "bible" on DIY e-liquid. I am no expert. Merely some thoughts, basic guidelines and a simple price break down of the tools and consumables required to get started. No time is spent discussing steeping alternatives such as hot water baths, magnetic stir plates or ultrasonic cleaners though I use all of them. This covers a simple recipe at 18mg per ml nicotine strength and a 50/50 PG/VG ratio because that is what I prefer.
There are many websites where you can find recipes and more in-depth discussion of pretty much everything else. Finding good recipes is easily the hardest part of making a good liquid. Some people are happy with a single flavor and maybe a little sweetener. If you have dreams of a complex multi-ingredient masterpiece I can guarantee that you will spend many hours searching for the "right" flavors and the correct percentages. Making something even half as good as the budget liquid vendors can be very challenging.
SAFETY!
This is the most important thing you can and should worry about! You do not want your children, friends or pets accidentally getting into the nicotine. Handle it safely and store it safely.
Handling of high mg nicotine should be done with extreme caution and using proper safety equipment. It can kill. No joke! Over confidence can lead to sloppiness which could lead to disaster. If your only motivation for DIY is saving money and you figure you'll roll the dice on whether or not to purchase the proper safety equipment, just don't.
Nitrile or latex gloves are essential and should be considered mandatory. They are cheap, easily obtainable and why not right? I don't like getting completely safe concentrated flavorings on my hands so I glove up.
Eye protection or a face shield is a very good idea as well. A splash of nicotine in your eyes will surely ruin your whole day.
Proper ventilation or a mask. The prolonged inhalation of nicotine fumes can make you nauseous. If you cannot work in an area with good ventilation you should invest in a filtered mask.
I have seen photos posted of the chemical burns on the hands of a member in the DIY Recipes group on facebook who chose to handle 100mg nicotine without wearing gloves. Also read a story on e-cigarette-forum.com about someone who had a major spill of high mg nicotine on their carpet who had to pull up and replace their carpeting. There have also been stories on reddit and elsewhere of people getting sick after a clearomizer or tank has broken in their pocket and absorbed into their clothing.
Please, be safe and use common sense.
ABBREVIATIONS
mg = milligram, ml = milliliter, pg = propylene glycol, vg = vegetable glycerine
SOURCES
Wizard Labs - WL
ECigExpress - ECX
Essential Depot - ESD
Amazon - AMAZON
Flavor West - FW
Natures Flavors - NF
I do not work for and am not endorsing or recommending any particular company. There are many sources available for most of the ingredients and tools required to be successful in your DIY adventures. Your own research will lead you to the suppliers you prefer.
PRICES - All prices were effective 06/10/2013 and only used as examples.
NICOTINE - Wizard Labs
- 500ml 12mg $20.29 - $0.04058 per ml
- 500ml 18mg $21.69 - $0.04338 per ml
- 500ml 24mg $24.29 - $0.04858 per ml
- 500ml 36mg $29.29 - $0.05858 per ml
- 500ml 48mg $34.29 - $0.06858 per ml
- 500ml 60mg $39.29 - $0.07858 per ml
- 500ml 100mg $56.99 - $0.11398 per ml
Amount of Nicotine Required to Make 30ml of 18mg Liquid and Total Cost
- 36mg - 15ml = $0.88
- 48mg - 11.25ml = $0.77
- 60mg - 9.0ml = $0.70
- 100mg - 5.4ml = $0.62
My preference for a final mix is 18mg nicotine with a 50/50 mix of PG/VG. When starting out I bought nicotine at double the concentration (36mg) of my desired final ratio in a VG base. This makes dealing with nicotine much easier because it is always exactly one half of the final amount to make and all of the VG. The other half of the recipe will be PG, flavoring and other additives. It would have been impossible for me to make a 50/50 final PG/VG ratio with 36mg nicotine in a PG carrier base because in the example recipe I need 50% nicotine as well as 15% flavoring, leaving only 35% available to be filled by the VG. I have seen recipes calling for anywhere from 2.5% (super concentrated and tobacco flavors) all the way up to a total of 30% flavoring.
I also felt much more comfortable in my DIY learning curve dealing with a lower mg nicotine. When learning there are enough other things to worry about. The added stress of safely handling high mg nicotine can be nerve wracking and distracting to the final goal. I still recommend wearing gloves at all times because you will get the liquids on your hands from opening and closing the bottles.
Sure, I could have saved 26 cents on my example but it just wasn't worth it at the time.
Carrier Liquids
1 Gallon Each Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin (esd) $54.49 with Free Shipping = $27.25 per gallon 1 gallon = 3,785.41ml - $0.00719 per ml
Tools and Equipment
- 14 gauge blunt needles - $0.39 (ecx)
- 18 gauge blunt needles - $0.39 (ecx)
- 1ml syringe - $0.99 (ecx)
- 3ml, 5ml or 10ml Syringes - $1.29 (ecx)
- 10ml LDPE Plastic Dropper Bottles - $0.44 (ecx)
- 30ml LDPE Plastic Dropper Bottles - $0.49 (ecx)
- Labels - Avery White WeatherProof Labels for Laser Printers 1"x2.62" 300 Count $12.19 - 0.04063 Each
Recommend purchasing several blunt needles, syringes and bottles. 14 gauge (larger) needles used for VG/Nic and the 18 guage are used for the flavors and PG.
Flavor Examples
- Vanilla Custard 4 ounce - $5.98 - $0.05055 per ml (fw)
- Dulce De Leche 4 ounce - $5.80 - $0.04903 per ml (fw)
4 ounces = 118.294ml
Flavorings can be sourced from many manufacturers or online resellers that cater to the ecig market. The majority will have an ingredient list like the following: Natural and/or Artificial Flavoring, Propylene Glycol and Alcohol.
The percentage of flavoring used contributes to the ratio of whichever carrier base ratio it is in and desired for the final mix.
There are some vendors, Natures Flavors for example, who make flavoring in a VG base. Selections tend to be a bit more limited but if you are sensitive or allergic to PG you will have to work within the limitations.
It is not recommeded to use oil based flavors or ones that contain diacetyl.
Additives
- Sweetener - EZ-Sweetz (2oz - 59.15ml) Liquid Stevia $12.99 (amazon) - $0.21962 per ml
- Ethyl Maltol 10% in PG (ecx) 30ml - $4.99 - $0.16633 per ml
EZ-Sweetz or other liquid stevia brands can also be found in grocery stores. Ethyl Maltol can be purchased in a powder form but you will have to dilute it yourself in PG. 1/4 tsp to 10ml of PG is a standard ratio I have seen from various sources.
Software
eJuice Me Up (http://ejuice.breaktru.com/)
It is highly recommended that you use an eliquid calculator to verify quantities based on the strength of the nicotine and flavoring percentages which make up your recipe. There are many calculators available both online as well as applications for various desktop and mobile platforms.
What about measuring in "drops"? For the most part this is not recommeded as there is virtually no consistency between the size of the opening on a dropper bottle or the viscosity of liquid. We will still use drops but only for very small amounts of various additives. If you want to be able to scale a recipe from a 5ml test batch up to 30ml or more, you will achieve much better results working in percentages and accurate measurements via syringes or other measuring devices.
Example Recipe
I mix directly into the bottle (after cleaning it and letting it dry of course) using syringes to measure out the liquids. If I am making a small test batch of a new recipe I will usually make a 5ml batch in a 10ml bottle because it leaves plenty of room for shaking or adding additional flavor, sweetener or other additives. 5ml is more than enough, in my experience, for testing. If you hate it you can try adding to it or most likely just dumping it down the drain and moving on to the next experiment.
- 50% - 15ml 36mg Nicotine in VG Base (wl) = $0.88
- 35% - 10.5ml Propylene Glycol (esd) = $0.08
- 10% - 3ml Vanilla Custard (fw) = $0.15
- 5% - 1.5ml Dulce De Leche (fw) = $0.07
- 6 drops (.3ml approx) of Ethyl Maltol (ecx) = $0.05
- 6 drops (.3ml approx) of EZ-Sweetz (amazon) = $0.07
- 30ml LDPE Bottle (ecx) = $0.49
- Label (amazon) = $0.04
TOTAL: $1.83 for 30ml (technically 30.6ml because the EM and sweetener are added on-top, larger amounts you would definitely want to calculate the percentages and include them into the recipe) batch of Vanilla De Leche! Greatest e-liquid on the planet? No, but a nice vanilla with a caramel undertone and you sure can't beat that price.
Close the bottle by inserting the drip cap and twisting on the outer cap. Write the name, date, nicotine strength and any other pertinent notes on the label with a sharpie, slap it on the bottle and then start shaking. I've found this recipe tastes best after steeping for about a week. It goes from clear to a nice golden amber color and is perfect for me at about 8 watts in a Kanger Protank.
tl;dr Be safe and make some e-liquid. Good Luck. Any questions?
Fantastic write-up!
Thanks, I wanted to collect my thoughts on the subject and do a price break down just to see the potential savings. Probably need to amortize the equipment purchases and the couple of hundred ml's that went down the drain but that's another story for another time. Lol
Thanks for taking the time to write this up, things like this are more help than you know to people looking to start DIY juice. I'm actually ordering the supplies tonight and this guide really clarifies a few things that I had questions about. I'm only 2 months into vaping but I absolutely love it and plan to keep doing it for awhile. Now, I can vape as much as I want and not worry as much about the cost. Cant wait to perfect a couple ADV recipes and maybe eventually come up with my own recipes. Thanks again buddy, this really is awesome!
Why am I so confused right now?
If I want to make 12mg juice, what strength nic do I need to buy?
I understand simple math, but this has my brain completely cluster-fucked.
I recommend buying 24mg or higher. If you buy 24mg the math is easy. Because the nicotine, which will come in either PG or VG(your choice), is then half the amount of your recipe. So, you make 10ml, 5ml of nicotine and you 5ml more of pg or VG and flavors. You really need to download one of the many free e-juice calculators and just play with it until you understand the basic ratios completely.
Damn, that's a masterpiece. I have several questions to start with. First, I like my nicotine. I'm somewhat confused about the strengths, pro's and cons of 48 or 100% and do these strengths affect the quality of nicotine and what/who has the best quality nicotine.
Second, I like a great tobacco taste with maybe a little flavoring (subtle) ...how difficult are tobacco blends with one-two flavors to make. I've tried some that are sickening sweet and has an awful perfume taste. I don't know what the vendors are putting in these blends but I hate them..I'm very fond of Indigo Vapor's tobacco blends...how hard would it be to replicate or come close to making something along those lines.
Third, I hate artificial sweetner, I'm assuming the flavors have no sweetners added. If I wanted a straight tobacco blend with a subtle caramel flavor, where would I buy the best natural ingredients for this?
Not sure what you mean by 48 or 100% and how it would relate to quality.
Nicotine is sold, at up to 100mg strength which is 10%, suspended in PG, VG or a combination of the two. Wizard Labs is known to have high quality nicotine but they are having a hard time keeping up with current demand so available stock and ordering is sporadic at best right now.
Tobacco's are notoriously difficult and I don't have any good information on those types of flavorings. Never tried anything from Indigo. Sorry.
Please read the warnings about handling high strength nicotine and make sure you use an eliquid calculator to ensure your ratios are correct!
Good luck.
Safety is a moot issue if you just get pre cut juice. I use 48mg so as long as I don't drink the bottle, I'm not going to die from getting it on my skin. Much easier than the gloves goggles routine. I've found it works well if you're not mass producing.
Gloves and goggles is never truly a bad idea but I would consider them essential implements when handling 100mg. It is the most cost effective. For instance, I spent an hour breaking a liter of 100mg down to 60ml amber boston round glass bottles, shrink sealing them and then packaging them for storage in the freezer. I would not under any circumstances, for love or money, do that without being gloved, masked and goggled up. Gloves are pretty damn cheap, bought a case of nitrile gloves, for maybe $40. Just my opinion on the matter. You are always free to do whatever you think is appropriate for you.
I wouldn't either. That's why I buy cut nic. Much safer.
I agree on using lower mg nic and think I made that point when I described initially working with 36mg nic. However, the price break down also shows that higher mg is cheaper in the long run and I wanted to cover both of those bases in the discussion just for clarity and what seemed important. Side note, received a leaking bottle of strawberries and cream flavoring from a vendor one time and wasn't wearing gloves when I opened because there was nothing "dangerous" in the box so I went around smelling like a strawberry patch for a few days. Lol
very nice, just got into vaping but this definitely makes me want to attempt this eventually. Seems like the initial cost would be substantial but seems like a nice way to save money on juice long term. Especially since you could just replace what you need once you get stocked up initially. Thanks for sharing.
I found this just in time. My start up order of equipment and a couple flavors should be arriving from WL any day now. I only ordered some banana and Hawaiian punch flavorings, but since they're so cheap, I can easily see me in the future having a cabinet full of different flavors. Thanks!
Late to the party here, but can you confirm something for me? If I wanted 30ml of 6ml nicotine, 15 of those ml would be 12mg nicotine in PG solution, which is one of the reasons you advocate the higher strength solutions?
Doing something like 1/10 60mg nicotine, 3/10 PG, 4/10 VG and 2/10 flavoring would yield a 6mg juice in approximately 50/50 proportion?
I've come back to this post so many times since it was made....which was before I even quit analogues and started vaping. I'm getting anxious about all the talk about regulations and banning sales online and whatnot. I quit an $11 a day (at least, since our new tax went into effect) habit and my husband was dropping $35 a week on dip before our PVs. I can't afford to have 30 ml of juice all of a sudden cost $30. I think I'm going to make the leap. Thanks for this post. I really appreciate it.
You're welcome and good luck making the leap. Best advice I can give you is start small and see if you can come up with some flavors you like. There are very real cost savings but it can also be frustrating when starting out because you have to wade through so much information looking for and experimenting with recipes and all of the various flavorings available.
I don't understand the nicotine milligrams. I thought you just buy one hundred percent nicotine, and then figure out the milligrams buy how much you put in a certain juice. I'm totally new to this, and I am just curious. If you have 500 ml of 12 mg nicotine, then what is the rest of the fluid? I thought it would just be like, here is 500 ml of nicotine, period. I don't understand the mg part when buying just nicotine. Could you please explain this to me? Thanks!
When you buy nicotine it is in either PG (propylene glycol) or VG (vegetable glycerin) or a blend of the two. Often called the "carrier base". This is really something you need to research and understand very well before attempting to make any liquid. Please be careful.
Oh I am researching. I'm not even planning on buying anything for a few months. Thank you though, I appreciate your help.
Thanks for the post. It has answered my many questions about DIY. I had a problem understanding the amount of flavors but read the notes on the calc page and I think that answered them.
In your Example recipe you list as adding both ez sweetz and ethyl maltol. I was under the impression both were sweeteners, could you say why?
You also talk about steeping, I know a pot of stew tastes better the second day so the vendors that "mix to order" haven’t mentioned letting it steep before use, should they?
Quick question, if I order nicotine base that's 50% PG, do I have to mix additional PG to obtain a 1:1 ratio of PG:VG? If so how much?
I'm ordering through wizard labs and they don't seem to list how much of the nicotine concentrate is PG
No, the liquid is as marked from the vendor. The nicotine does not factor into the PG ratio. You do need to account for the base of any flavorings added to the final juice though. If you have 50/50 base and add 20% of PG based flavoring you will end up with 70/30 and obviously the nicotine strength will be reduced by 20% as well.
I have a question about 100mg nicotine vg/pg base. If I wanted to make a 6mg juice would I want to make it 6% by total volume, and 12mg would be 12%, 18mg 18% and so on?
Yes. Make sure you check out some of the e-juice calculators that are available!
100 mg is the way to go. I like the write-up as well. I get my juice to steep quicker if I leave it in my car for half a day with the windows up in the TX heat.
Be sure not to get any nicotine in you eyes and double check your numbers before a mix.....
Anyone need 100mg nicotine solution? I have pg or vg based available.