Ok, made my first decent ejuice batch. Just a single flavour... Lorann banana cream at about 12%.
I figured out what I was doing wrong on my previous batches - lesson for newbs here....
All I had was a 30ml bottle to mix in and was making 3ml sample batches (didn't want to waste more liquid than I needed to). Anyway, my first two batches came out chemically and like they had a strong throat hit despite being 12mg nic
What I've discovered is that 3ml sample won't fully mix in a 30ml bottle. There's just too much room for the liquid to disperse or stick to the sides of the bottle. So who knows what concentration of what liquids is actually ending up mixing together.
I upped my 'test batch' size to 7ml and that did the trick. That's enough fluid that even in a 30ml bottle it can fully mix.
Next time I order ejuice or what not I'll get a 5ml bottle and then I can probably go back to mixing 3ml batches. But even then, I'm hesitant in that... when dealing with such small numbers all it takes is a couple extra drops or fractions of ml to potentially screw up the ratios.
So I'll probably make 5ml batches (or I may just stick with 7-10ml batches to ensure a good mix). 10ml is an expensive way to 'test'... but at least I will get a genuine result (versus a 3ml batch that might be crap, but if the juice had fully mixed it wouldn't be crap).
Anyway, I just started doing this and figured I'd share a lesson learned for other newbs out there like me.
If you're looking for bottles these have been working great for me and are super cheap. Someone on this subreddit linked them before, so thats how I found em. Good to know about mixing small amounts though. I've been mixing with 8ml to make sure the ratios turn out.
Seconded, it might actually have been me that linked them because of the reviews. The reviews suck but they are great. I was very pleasantly surprised. Who knows, they may have changed suppliers after the initial poor reviews. You can't beat the price at only $0.17 a bottle with free shipping. They also have other bottle sizes.
Oh, when you order them, they'll say it will take like a month, it doesn't. Shipping took around 4 days for me.
Yeah, I got them pretty quick too, and definitely nice quality. I have you tagged as "DIY [juice] master", so I wouldn't be surprised if you did!
Far from it. I try really hard though. Thanks for the ego boost. It sure is the wild west right now. ;)
My hope is that in 6 months, we'll have most starting points for commercial flavor percentages nailed down and posted openly (getting closer everyday). This is what crowdsourcing is all about. Juice vendors have spent hundreds of hours individually, tens of thousands of hours collectively, and I respect that. They're never going to share that info though, even though I'm sure they've all benefited from our posts.
In a year, I'd like to see enough 'boutique-level' recipes accessible enough that people can hop right into DIY, mix up some amazing juice recipes their first day (after reading up obviously) and spend their time actually making recipes vs making 10+ dilutions of every flavor to see what works. If a dozen of us have run 10+ fresh and steeped tests on X Pear and we all work from 4-6% with 0.5%-4% as a background note, the next dozen guys shouldn't have to go through that.
We're working up basic theory at this point. No one would think of throwing in a cup of salt when making brownies. We do that fairly often with juice just trying to figure out what 'salt' tastes like.
That isn't to say I'm anti boutique. I order from boutiques all the time and have a great respect for a great number of vendors. I'd just like everyone to have the option to cook well at home as well as enjoy eating out.
Anyhow, sorry for the brain dump and thank you very much for the compliment.
10ml is the minimum I will make now, I did the exact same thing. The issue with small batches is a tiny change can have huge implications.
Actually another good tip is to mix up like 60ml or so of 50/50 liquid (or whatever you like) at your favorite nic level. then you only need add flavors. Yes adding flavor will lower the nic level a little but its great for making test batches. 8ml of liquid, 2ml of flavor = 10 ml of liquid with 20% flavor... easy
I do 10 ml also, and some of my ingredients are at one drop per 10ml (10% ethyl maltol, for example).
I also always start with VG/PG bases, one at a bit higher nic concentration than the final I desire, and some with no nic to bring up to volume after adding flavor. I mix in a graduated cylinder, then pour in a bottle to steep. First I add the nic base (if I'm making 6mg/ml for example, I start with 10mg/ml and put in 6ml), then add flavor and top with no-nic base up to 10ml. I usually make the bases at 60/40 and 70/30 so that when I add flavors (often PG based) the % comes down to 50/50.
I did an excel spreadsheet so I can calculate the actual percentages of VG/PG after adding the flavors, then I adjust the base I use to make the mix so the ending percentages are right. It helps keep track of my favorite recipes too because I put in each flavor and the volume I've used. I actually have really been liking the 60/40 mixes, so may stick with those in the future.
I start a new recipe @ 5ml in a 10ml bottle, 0 nic. I have a board drilled out to exactly the 5 ml depth for the bottles i use. So I add my flavors, then fill to the line with my big bottle of 50/50. Works like a charm.
Also, warm your bottles after the mix on a coffee warmer; this thins them so they will mix very well when shaken.
> I have a board drilled out to exactly the 5 ml depth for the bottles i use.
Huh. That is really clever in its simplicity. What exactly do you mean by drilling out a board?
[Edit - I think I understand now. Ah hell, that is even more clever than I thought. You mean you just drilled out a board to place your bottles in for various measurements? e.g. placing a 10ml bottle in the 5ml hole and filling to the top of the hole = 5ml?]
I always test at 50/50 12mg, so I usually take 10 or so bottles and fill them with 5ml VG and 2ml 60mg nic. That way I can just mix flavorant and top with PG.
I still measure the VG and nic when I make up those 10 bottles though. Placing them in front of master and just squeeze filling them would be a hell of a lot quicker. Is that what you mean? I have graduated cylinders and such but it is a pain in the ass to mess with funnels etc.
You have the idea. I use a Forstner bit that makes a flat-bottomed hole. I have a couple of pieces of "2-by" pine that have various holes drilled to accommodate flavorings, empty bottles, etc., and some of the holes are drilled to precise volumetric depths on the bottles.
When trying new flavors I don't bother with the nic; I try and adjust the flavor profile by itself without worrying about the small contributions made by PG (nothing), VG (a little sweetness), and nic (a little peppery hint). So I will mix my flavorings pretty precisely using a 1ml syringe and write down the percentages (e.g., .5ml = 10%), then top off the bottle to that 5 ml depth with my 50/50 mix. Works like a charm, and if I decide to dump it I don't feel like I'm wasting much. When I do a "final" batch I do 10 ml, measuring each ingredient on its own for a final result of 6mg/ml nic and 50/50 PG/VG.
I use the 6cc natural bottles you can get here -
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=25040&catid=750
I used to get them from TFA but they no longer sell them and they suggest you get them here. I like using 6ml bottles to make 5ml batches because there's enough space to tweak things if you need to.
Also, they make great carto tanks - I've made tanks out of these bottles for a couple years. They're immune to tank-cracker juices and you can prime a punched carto by plugging the battery end of the carto and squonking the bottle a few times. And - I can change the carto in a filled tank without losing a drop of juice :)
If you want to know how to make a carto tank out of a 6ml plastic bottle check this video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQNxfvmRaDY
When experimenting, don't use Nic. It's so much cheaper without it. Once you find something that works, mix a small batch with nic. It might need minor adjustments, but you'll have most of the trial and error done. Also, I add Ethyl Maltol to almost every mix, at least 1%. It smooths out flavors and adds a little sweetness. I add malic or citric acid to most fruits at 1%, as it adds a little tang or tart that fruits have. Less than 1% menthol to most fruits also gives them some depth and makes them taste more accurate.