Lots of good information for the beginner. The only thing that made me cringe is the bottle of lemon juice from the store. You made it a point to mention that you don't want to get the VG from "tractor places"; I agree. The bottled lemon juice you get from the store contains sulfites, and that's something I really don't want to vape.
The safer alternative would be to get powdered citric acid from a Health food supplier, and make a proper 10% mixture in PG.
Follow up - I added this information in the description and added an annotation. Both credit you for the information. Thanks again.
No problem! I posted a thread about a supplier that has the CA at an inexpensive price, fast shipping too! Hope this works on mobile
Pureformulas kicks ass. Thanks again for that thread. They're based in Miami and i'm just north of Palm Beach; so they always ship to my house in like 2 days. It's awesome. Good Citric Acid, & they usually carry VG, too. And Kava. I like Kava.
I just saw your edits for the first time since I replied with that 10% coupon code. You spelled my name wrong; but no worries. lmao. Funny to see that.
Edit: I still have their 16oz VG bottle over half-full. It's the same NOW brand; so you can get 10% off of that with NOW10OFF, too. Hahaha
E2: 16oz VG for $5 and change, but they're out of stock. I think they had 4 left after I snagged mine. They have 4oz bottles of VG for like $2.41, and gallons for around 40.
Thanks for doing the video, I'm just getting started and picked up a small starter kit yesterday.. i have a few questions if you don't mind..
How often do you clean the syringes and what do you use?
What safety equipment do you recommend?
Do you recommend steeping by letting the mixes sit or by using a slow cooker? Is there a benefit to either or do they accomplish the same thing?
You're welcome. I clean them after every use. Rinsing them out with water. And I dedicate a syringe to every flavor and never use it for anything else.
Safety equipment. Well when I started out I made sure to wear long sleeves and jeans with rubber gloves and eye protection. I've gotten into a good routine and process to I pretty much don't use anything anymore. I do still wear gloves from time to time depending upon what I'm mixing. Only because when you get a little bit of a strong flavor on your finger the smell lasts for hours and hours.
I have a mix video almost ready to go. I'm fighting with the bad audio synch trying to export the render.
Edit - sorry - missed the last part. I use an Ultrasonic Cleaner for steeping/curing to jump start the process. I usually let mixes sit for a few days to a week before the first tasting. There are tons of opinions regarding this process and there's no definitive consensus on the best way other than just time.
I have a limited number of syringes until my next order: so i wash my syringes with Isopropyl alcohol and let air dry. Take care, though; as your fingers will rub off the measurement markings in an instant.
IMO for steeping in order of "bestness"
- Time
- Magnetic Stirrer w/ Hotplate
- Ultrasonic Cleaner
Good point about the markings on the syringes. I've had no issues with my 1ml ones, but the 3 and 10 ones are prone to having the markings rub off. I used a piece of clear tape and put it over the markings. This prevents that issue. I've heard others say they've used clear nail polish, too. I don't have that handy and tape works well.
Great video, had a question about the bottles though. You stated that you reuse the glass bottles with the glass droppers (10minute mark) but I've been having a major issue doing this. Almost everyone I have (about a dozen from old juice I picked up from B&Ms) started to have the plastic bits slowly rise and get distorted and yesterday one actually looked like it was ripped in half. Have you had any issues with this and do you have any advice? I don't have many flavors yet so I don't really need to order more bottles anytime soon, especially since money's tight atm, so I was really hoping to make these last until I can really start getting into making a lot more batches.
Also thank you so much about the tip about the large cylinders for VG, my kit came with them and I never thought to use them, been using syringes and killing my hands lol.
Hey, Thanks.
I re-use my bottles in two ways. First, I just refill them with the same mix when I get low or empty. There are several mixes that are in my standard rotation. The other is clean and re-use. To clean the bottles, I use Dawn dish soap and scrub them out with a bottle scrubber ( baby section in store ). Then I fill a bowl with Dawn and warm water and drawn that up into the dropper and expel it into the sink. I do this several times, then let both the bottles and droppers soap in the bowl for an hour or so. Then I give them a generous rinsing and let them air dry. Haven't had any issues doing this. Hope this helps.
And I'm glad the cylinder tip helped out. I'm going to post another video of me making a mix later today that shows me using them. Take care and feel free to send any other questions over. I'm not an expert, but if I know, I"ll be sure to answer or try to find an answer for you.
Ok so I guess I just over did it with the cleaning then. I used boiling water and a bit of vinegar to get the smell from old juices out (which didn't even work). The heat must off distorted the droppers :/ Thanks for the response though, next time it'll just be soap and water.