Once I got to the point I was dropping $30-$40 a week on premium juice for dripping and was burning through all of it, I actually came across a video someone posted on how to DIY. Assuming I can get some good flavors going for myself, the startup cost of $66 compared to buying a couple juices for that price seemed to be a no brainer.
I bought 250ml of VG and PG, and 250ml of nicotine at 36mg (I vape at 2mg so this seemed to be plenty strong enough), a ton of capella and flavorart flavors recommended by this subreddit, syringes, and safety equipment. I even own starsan sanitizer because I was really into homebrewing beer for a few years (I don't do it now because of space concerns in my apartment, but the DIY eliquid appeals to me the same way brewing does).
Anyways, just wanted to say hello and thank you for all the helpful posts I've been diving into the past day or two. Looks like I'll be spending a lot more time here when my shipment comes in :-D
EDIT: Read further and realized that star san might not be safe for sanitation. Just a heads up.
Look up /u/botboy141's mixing by weight in the side bar. Buy scale, mix by weight, profit. Much easier and consistent than volume, can confirm.
Also, dripping I assume you're using high or max VG juices -- buy twice as much (if not more) VG than PG. You'll go through it much faster.
Try a few recipes from this sub, then just have fun. I went in the other night and laid out all my flavors and mixed up about 6 batches that sounded good together in recommended percentages. I normally keep things simple (single or 2-3 flavors max) and haven't mixed up an ass sauce yet.
I'm only a few months in but really enjoy it. I dropped about $150 for everything to start and that has lasted me probably 2-3 months of my wife and I and mixing random bottles for friends.
I have a scale that should be able to measure, I'll give that a try right from the start.
I guess I'll have to buy more VG in the near future... I like 80vg/20pg blends usually.
Are there any general guidelines to flavor percentages or is that going to drastically vary by the type of flavoring used?
Make sure your scale is accurate to .01g +/-.
The percentages depend on the flavoring. I'm told too much can be just as bad as too little but I don't think I've ever experienced that (or I've never mixed too much!). Most are 5-10% in single flavors, usually 15-20% max total flavor in any one mix but check the sidebar and some googling will give you recommended percentages for most flavors/brands.
Okay, that seems to be the overall consensus.
This might be my first recipe. Adapted to what I bought a little:
Ingredient|ml|g|% :---|---:|---:|---: Nicotine juice 48 mg (100% VG)|1.25|1.58|4.2 PG dilutant|1.8|1.87|6 VG dilutant|21.25|26.8|70.8 CAP Vanilla Custard V2|3|3|10 Graham Cracker v2 (CAP)|0.6|0.6|2 Sugar Cookie V2 CAP|2.1|2.1|7 Totals|30|35.95|100
Strength: 2mg/ml
PG/VG: 25/75
Flavor total: 5.7 ml (19%)
Remember to rate it at e-liquid-recipes.com!
It's such a fun thing to do. Congrats! I just got my initial order in, too. My VG didn't last long at all.
What recipes did you start with? I made Nana Cream, Nanner Bear, Honey Peary, White Gremlin, and Key Lime Pie on my first day and surprisingly they all turned out really well. It's such a great feeling to vape a juice that you made yourself.
I think my next purchase (other than more VG) will be a decent set of scales and a set of 50-250ml flasks. It seems like it can be a lot faster, precise, and less things to clean if you mix by weight.
The cool thing about this subreddit is that you can learn sooooo much and not even have to post anything. I've been searching through old posts for a couple weeks now.
What's that white gremlin recipe?
Heres one:
10% TFA Vanilla Cupcake 4% TFA Ripe Strawberry 4% TFA Blueberry 2% TFA Marshmallow (credit)
and heres the one i used (because i already had the ingredients mostly):
6% FW Yellow Cake 6% TPA Strawberry 4% TPA White Chocolate 2% TPA Bavarian Cream (credit)
If you have any input let me know, i haven't tried the original but i am gonna put in an order for it at the beginning of next week, i love their juice.
I haven't tried anything yet but I stocked up on flavors because it was free shipping after $65, so I just sort of grabbed a ton of stuff.
In my arsenal to start: Blueberry Cinnamon Crumble (CAP) Cake Batter (CAP) Sweet Strawberry (CAP) Vanilla Custard V2 (CAP) Cheesecake (Graham Crust) (TPA) Cinnamon Danish Swirl V2 (CAP) Pear (FA) Graham Cracker V2 (CAP) Italian Lemon Sicily (CAP) Pineapple (LA) Orange Creamsicle (CAP) Sugar Cookie V2 (CAP) Sweet Cream (TFA) Vanilla Swirl (TFA)
My buddy and I also took the plunge. Our total bill came to around $115, thanks to how awesome Wizard Labs is. Thanks to this subreddit and the collection of information on flavor concentrations we're already happily vaping some really tasty stuff.
Btw, TFA Pizza tastes like bagel bites. When we tried the first batch of it we couldn't stop laughing. Would definitely suggest getting an 8mL of it just for shits n giggles.
If you want decently easy sanitizing, put them in the oven for 20 mins at 225F.
I make sure to rinse them with distilled water after washing them out so that there's no mineral deposits left from the oven drying.