For those of you DIY newbies who have been feeling intimidated about jumping into the DIY arena, I thought I would share my first-month experiences in the hopes that I can encourage you to, as Shia says, "JUST DO IT!" Lame reference, I know, but it still makes me chuckle.
I have been mixing my own juice for about a month now and at first DIY most certainly felt intimidating. MLs, percentages, flavor profiles, vendors, scales, recipes, all can seem a bit overwhelming, but once you jump in and do it, the entire process really isn't all that difficult to "JUST DO IT!"
My strategy has been to read, read, watch YouTube videos and then read some more. There is so much info out on the web; here, on YouTube, on sites such as diyordie.com (/u/enyawreklaw's site). If you do lots of reading and watching before you start you will learn quite a bit and should start feeling confident to "JUST DO IT!"
My next step was to pick some recipes by /u/enyawreklaw and make an order for supplies. If found BCV and GremlinDIY (flavorings) and Amazon (mixing supplies/tools) to have the best prices for what I needed (search for coupon codes). I have spent about $250 total but am set up to make TONS of juice. Seems like a lot of cash to spend but think about it this way, at $20-$25 per 30mls for off-the-shelf juice, that $250 would only buy 300-375mls of juice. When compared to the 3600ml+ of juice I can make with my DIY supplies, even if I throw 1/2 of it out because of bad mixes, it's a no-brainer. "JUST DO IT!"
By following the most popular recipes on here and on http://e-liquid-recipes.com/, I have been really lucky to make some awesome juices (my friends agree). I have found some new ADV's to replace my favorite off-the-shelf juices, and most of all, had some fun! "JUST DO IT!"
Now that I have some DIY mixing experience under my belt, and an arsenal of flavorings, I am feeling more confident to start exploring and trying out my own ideas for mixes. So really, DIY is a win-win all the way around. I hope that sharing my experiences with the community will encourage some of you who are on the fence about DIY to "JUST DO IT!"
I haven't taken the plunge into DIY just yet as I'm waiting for my tax return and researching as much as I can. I must say I've never seen the amount of encouragement and support in any other hobby. It's really uplifting to see to say the least. Thank you to everyone who contributes to this side of vaping and makes it what it is. And a big thank you to people like yourself that encourage and welcome the beginners with open arms.
The more you read and research the better you'll feel about getting started.
Confirmed. Recently started myself and have two flavors I'm tinkering with and already another order of flavors on the way. Root beer float and a strawberry banana and cream. I'd post the recipe, but it's neither are where I want them exactly. It's a lot of fun and the prices for how much you can make are surreal.
Snap. I really want to contribute by posting the recipes that I'm working on right now, but they're no great shakes.
Thing is, I've only been at it (DIY) for two weeks, and the simple three flavour recipes I'm hammering away at aren't anywhere near worth sharing. I'm vaping them, but I wouldn't want people to waste their time with my simple concoctions.
Everything that I'm doing is based on what the members of this community are choosing to share with us. If it wasn't for what I've learned lurking in this sub for a couple of weeks, I probably wouldn't even be half way to where I am right now.
Maybe one day I'll have something worth sharing, but for now I'm glad that others who are more experienced than I have the grace to share what they have spent some serious time perfecting.
EDIT: Share and share alike...
Right now I'm working:
Cap Dragonfruit: 1% TFA Marshmallow 2% TFA Strawberry Ripe 3% FW Kiwi 4%
Thank for the shoutout man. Just do it is definitely something that the mainstream vapor needs to hear. A lot of times they say "I want to start mixing but ___". I just want to tell them how simple it is and that it will be the best vaping decision they've ever made.
I'm in the same boat, brother! I just made me some delicious vapes that genuinely are on par - if not better - that premium off-the-shelf ejuice :D
So weird to think I can have delicious all-day vapes for a fraction of the cost of the real premium stuff. Elated, right now. Also feeling a little bit like a mad scientist, I just wanna keep making more and more!
Just placed my first DIY order myself. Fingers crossed :) I just ordered the flavors for one recipe to get started.
For anyone trying to get into it you don't have to spend 250 bucks, my first DIY order was about 70$ for around 700ml of liquid and some supplies.
Nice, I priced out supplies for someone who suggested the startup cost was too much earlier this afternoon.
When you look at it as an initial investment that costs $70ish which will still make you 500+ml of juice, vs. how much you'd spend buying 500mL of decent store-bought juice, it's a complete no-brainer.
This is true, I know I could have spent less than $100 to get started but I decided to jump in head-first and went a little nuts. :) At this point though I have a cabinet full of a variety of juices that are steeping away and now a month later are starting to reach their maturity and be ready to use.
Ive been thinking about just doing it. Thanks for the push ;)
Certain there ust be a hundred threads on this here. Can someone link a really good post that describes what all materials I should start with? Keep in mind I am in Canada, not sure how feasible it is to order supplies from the US. So even better if a Canadian DIY'er can help
Sign up at E-liquid-recipes.com as OP suggests. Set your preferences to show weight vice # of drops. Buy a scale (mine's from walmart for $20) with 0.01g increments and a 500g max. Look for a couple of recipes you want to make (don't buy a whole cabinet of flavours you may not use) and add those to your cart (I recommend diy-ejuice.com from Alberta or flavourfog as their customer service and selection is excellent). Add 500ml-1L of pg and vg to your cart. If you order from diy ask him for nic in the special instructions. If he has any available he can set you up.
I'm all set up and my only regret was starting with syringes! I'm from Ontario so feel free to pm me if I can ease your mind on something or provide more insight. (I'm outside the country til Tuesday though so I may not respond today/tmr via my resort's dreadful wifi!)
All the best!
This is super-basic, but will be enough to make 500mL of juice for ~$70.
Actually, I just placed my first order an hour or two ago. I kinda just went all in. Bought about 20 flavors, and some base and supplies. I should be good to go for quite awhile I think :)
Nice! Congrats. You may want to check out that list anyway, especially for things like the VG/PG/Nic squeeze bottles. It makes mixing so much more pleasurable.
If you plan to mix by weight instead of volume, that's another 'JUST DO IT' moment. It is so fast. Just input all your flavorings in to ELR right now, and recipes will spit out the exact amount of each ingredient you need to put in by weight.
Great post. I'm actually waiting on my first order right now. Should be here Tuesday. I ordered close to 30 flavorings from BCV after I read the "My First Order" Flavors on the sidebar and chose some select recipes I can't wait to make from e-liquid-recipes. For 30 flavors, 600ml of pg/vg(480ml vg/120ml pg), nicotine and some bottles I spent $99. I already own a scale. Just the idea that I can make 600ml+ of juice and still have some flavorings left over sounds real sweet. I'm stoked.
Making an account on e-liquid-recipes and adding flavors to your flavor stash and clicking "What can I make?" makes life really easy.
I honestly don't understand where this fear of trying DIY comes from. The cost of buying a small amount of PG, VG, nic and a couple of flavors is insignificant enough to just take the plunge. Like you said, just do it.
If it's fear of failure, don't be afraid. You will fail, a lot, everyone does. It's how you learn. Worst case scenario is that you add too much nic and get dizzy, but you'd have to be very reckless to manage that.
You don't step into a boxing ring and instantly become world champ, you take a few punches to the face and try to figure out how to avoid that. You don't pick up a guitar and sell platinum over night, it'll sound like crap at first but it's fun and you slowly get better at it. You will fail in the kitchen, waste ingredients, get discouraged, dust yourself off and try again. You don't get into DIY and mix heavenly juice on your first attempt, even following a praised recipe. You WILL fail, a lot, and that is how you learn.
> I honestly don't understand where this fear of trying DIY comes from. The cost of buying a small amount of PG, VG, nic and a couple of flavors is insignificant enough to just take the plunge. Like you said, just do it.
For me, it's because I had never tried DIY juice, I didn't trust my ability to make my own recipes, and I didn't have the experience of making a huge bottle of juice and thinking 'Huh, I only spent a couple bucks on the raw materials for that. Neat.'
Now, the thought of spending $12-25 on 30mL is pretty sickening. But I didn't have that perspective until trying DIY first hand.
Hell, it wasn't until after a week or two of mixing that I even found ELR, let alone how to add my flavoring to it and filter recipes.