Hi everyone!
I've been vaping since early 2012. Since then I've tried probably over 500 different flavors from different vendors. There are only about 8-10 juices from all those that I would consider to be my ADV!
Now that I have a pretty good idea of what kind of things I like and dislike, I'd like to start making juice myself so I can tailor everything according to my taste, and save some money on the way.
I like Mother's Millk by Suicide Bunny, and it also happens to be one of the most widely cloned juices. I think this recipe here is the most popular clone in this sub, so I think I'm going to start with that.
I'm buying all the flavor extracts from Wizard Labs, Bull City Vapor and Ecig Express. Please let me know if there are any better sites.
I've got a few questions before I get started:
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I'm buying nic from Wizard Labs. It's not possible for me to store the nic in the freezer. Can I just leave it in a dry dark box along with the rest of my flavors? How long would it last? Is it gonna get peppery in a few months? I heard Nude Nicotine doesn't have this problem.
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The flavor extracts are REALLY cheap on Wizard Labs. Since everyone here recommends them I assume they are just repacking bulk bottles?
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What else would I need? I'm trying to stay under $100 to get started. I'm guessing I'll need some 1ml, 5ml, 10ml syringes and some sort of a beaker or two to mix the flavors in? Ofcourse glass and plastic bottles to store the finished juices.
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Mother's Milk for me takes about 4 weeks in a dark drawer to start tasting right. I assume it'd take even longer for fresh mixes? Will they be good enough with just a warm bath and vigorous shaking? Do ultrasonic cleaners make that big of a difference?
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I LOVE custards and creams. Are there any particular flavors concentrates that you'd recommend? I know I have to get Capella's Vanilla Custard, what else would be fun to play around with? What should I stay away from (other than acetoin and diactyl stuff)
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What sort of additives should I get? From what I've read so far pear is used a lot, even in juices that don't taste like it. Apparently it helps bringing out the flavor and what not. What additives, like Ethyl Maltol etc. are good to have?
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Does anyone know what tobacco base(s) Backwoods Brew uses? Their tobaccos are fantastic, and I'd like to play around with that!
My apologies for asking so many question, some of which are probably very stupid. I've been putting off DIY for so long, I think it's time I do it while the Christmas sales are still up!
Thank you for reading!
Hey! You've really done some research so good on you! Don't forget your calculator and safety equipment.
>I've got a few questions before I get started:
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I bought my nic from wizard labs about 4 months ago and it tastes fine to me and the few friends of mine that also vape. I store mine in a tote bag on the floor where it's cool,dry and no light gets to it.
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Pretty sure that's the case. I use wizard labs often but branch out a lot too. I spend between 20-50 bucks each purchase and recently tried out bull city vapor. They really have a lot of options and prices are on par. Also different sizes available like 4 oz.
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Get a good pen and some labels. Write your whole recipe on it with the date and slap it on the bottle or you'll kick yourself later. Try and have a dedicated area for everything because being clean is important. You can get dirty real quick.
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I have a 13 dollar ultrasonic cleaner and it really hasn't blown me away but it does make things a bit easier than my old technique which was a hot water bath. It runs on a 3 minute cycle so I jam half a pair of old tweezers into the "on" button and let it run for about 45 minutes or a few round of bf4 and I check on them. Shake them, sniff them,let them breathe for about ten minutes and repeat til about 3 or 4 cycles. Dry them off, place labels and forget for a week.
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No clue on custards
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I like pear,lemonade,orange and sweetener for my must haves.
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No clue on that either. I hope I helped a bit. I'm typing this on mobile and a bit tired.
where did you get your 13$ ultrasonic cleaner from?
I have the one in the link below, it has a 3 minute shut off. I assume its the same one...
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Professional-Ultrasonic-Jewelry-Eyeglass-Cleaning/product/B001DKDAVW
Hey thanks for your reply! Yah I've been a lurker here for months lol.
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That's great to hear. I'm in Canada so obtaining nic, especially for cheap is quite difficult. I was gonna hoard a 250ml of 60mg nic. Should be enough for 3 liters of finished juice at 6mg, which is what I vape!
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Yah I'm a nut when it comes to labeling properly lol. I made this for myself a while ago. I buy my ADVs in bulk, and break them down to smaller bottles to keep the majority of it fresh. But thanks, that's always a great advice. I don't wanna make an amazing mix and have no clue on how to recreate it 3 months later!
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I didn't know they run that cheap! I guess it's worth it for $13 if it helps even the slightest at automating a mundane task.
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Any particular brand for those?
You've been a great help, thank you so much :)
Having just ordered stuff for the first time after a couple of weeks of digging, I could help, perhaps.
>I'm buying nic from Wizard Labs. It's not possible for me to store the nic in the freezer. Can I just leave it in a dry dark box along with the rest of my flavors? How long would it last? Is it gonna get peppery in a few months? I heard Nude Nicotine doesn't have this problem.
Buy from NudeNicotine? The purity is higher. For keeping it fresh, and if you are doing this only for liquid for yourself, why buy a gallon? Estimate how much you vape over 3 months and get a smaller bottle. I got me a 120ml bottle of nic. I also got myself this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AS4NCM _it's Argon and it "settles" on the fluid in the bottle, sealing it off from oxidation.
>The flavor extracts are REALLY cheap on Wizard Labs. Since everyone here recommends them I assume they are just repacking bulk bottles?
Yes. They are not the cheapest, and don't have all the different brands though. Consult http://vapingunderground.com/threads/flavoring-sources.7229/ for a sheet with a list of sources with prices. The price per ml, and the shipping cost are what matters, of course.
>What else would I need? I'm trying to stay under $100 to get started. I'm guessing I'll need some 1ml, 5ml, 10ml syringes and some sort of a beaker or two to mix the flavors in? Ofcourse glass and plastic bottles to store the finished juices.
Right about that. You can mix them right in the bottle or cylinder you will be storing or steeping them in, so no need for the beakers. I went with 10ml and 1ml pipettes (like these: http://www.amazon.com/SEOH-Serological-Pipet-individually-wrapped/dp/B008J4BRFQ/) , a 10ml pipette pump (by SEOH on amazon), a glass 50mm funnel, and some of these vials (http://www.nudenicotine.com/product/conical-vials-for-mixing/), besides the bottles.
> Mother's Milk for me takes about 4 weeks in a dark drawer to start tasting right. I assume it'd take even longer for fresh mixes? Will they be good enough with just a warm bath and vigorous shaking? Do ultrasonic cleaners make that big of a difference?
Yeah, its just science, warmness and agitation help mixing, in addition to just mixing that happens over time.
> I LOVE custards and creams. Are there any particular flavors concentrates that you'd recommend? I know I have to get Capella's Vanilla Custard, what else would be fun to play around with? What should I stay away from (other than acetoin and diactyl stuff)
Stay away from all custard flavors if you really want to stay away from diketones. There's no good, safe way to get that taste without them compounds.
> What sort of additives should I get? From what I've read so far pear is used a lot, even in juices that don't taste like it. Apparently it helps bringing out the flavor and what not. What additives, like Ethyl Maltol etc. are good to have?
The sidebar has a link called "notes - additives - flavor enhancers"
Yah it's just for myself. I was gonna get 250ml of 60mg liquid. That'd be good for 3 liters of juice in 6mg. I could go with higher concentration, but I don't want to mess things up in my first try. Both Wizard Labs and Nude Nicotine sells 60mg nic in 250ml bottles.
That wine preservation system looks totally cool! I've never thought something like that existed. I'm in Canada and it's 3x more expensive on Amazon Canada, I'll try to source it from somewhere else. Thanks for the tip!
Yah I've been following that flavor sources spreadsheet, it's extremely helpful!
Good call on the pipettes! I'm gonna order a whole bunch of those! Thanks for the Amazon links!
I don't really mind diacetyl or acetoin in small concentration. I hear the V2 versions of the Capella creams and custards are free of those? I'm gonna order both V1 and V2 to see how much is the difference.
Thanks for help!