Hey everyone,
I've been mixing my own juices for 3 or so months now and so far I'm finding my results very underwhelming. I'm turning to you hoping for advice, or maybe something I'm overlooking in my quest for cheaper vaping. :)
So far I've mixed around 20 different recipes that I got from http://e-liquid-recipes.com/. I've tried desert-style recipes as well as fruity ones. I've only mixed recipes that received lots of positive reviews and have always used the listed flavors from the listed brands. I've used PG and VG from two different brands. I've tried all my mixes immediately after mixing, at 1, 2, 3 and 4+ weeks of steeping. While I notice a strong difference after different steeping periods (especially in Rhodonite, which is very strong in the apple flavor immediately after mixing, which tones down a lot over time), all of my liquids always seem to be lacking in flavor, and all of them seem to have the same unpleasant undertone in flavor that I find very hard to describe. It was the reason I switched my PG/VG brand, thinking it might have been the cause.
I always mix in a clean environment, using clean tools/materials. I've tried my juices in different tanks and RDA's, but they always come out very muted, with that weird flavor undertone. I wouldn't be surprised if the weird flavor is a result of the general lack in flavor though, but I'm not sure. I have never noticed the weird flavor in any bought juices I've ever tried. There have definitely been some disgusting ones, but that "off" taste was never there. It's what leads me to believe (and hope) it's not just my sense of taste.
I mix by weight (I used to mix by volume, but I found mixing by weight a lot more pleasant to do and the end result was the same). All recipes I've tried have called for 30 PG/70 VG. I've also tried making the mixes without nicotine, which still gave the same results. Otherwise I would have switched brands for that as well.
Does anyone have similar experiences, and have you been able to overcome the problem? Does anyone have suggestions, or is there something obvious I'm missing?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Edit: Sorry for the slow reply, I got sick over the weekend. And thank you to everyone who replied. I've tried some new mixes and it seems I was simply not shaking enough. I always gave the aroma bottles a shake before pouring them into a new mix, but nowadays I shake them like my life depends on it and it definitely helps, even after no steeping time. I can't say if it fixes all of my mentioned problems, but things definitely got better!
Regarding the weird undertone, it could be the lack of sucralose. My best friend runs a B&M and would describe probably about half or more of my juices as having a "bitter" taste to him even though everyone else at his shop loved them. He incorrectly thought I was over flavoring them, or that some of the flavoring vendors that I was using that he wasn't familiar with were bad. Neither one of his assumptions were correct. So two nights ago, I get home from staying at his place for a couple days and start finger testing all my mixes at my house trying to figure out wtf he was talking about (he seemed to complain about the "bitterness" worse when he tasted them off of his finger). I couldn't figure it out, and in my head all I can think is that literally the only difference is lack of sucralose and I'm using better vendors. I remembered that I left a few bottles over at his place and out of curiosity I told him to add some sucralose and then see what he thought. He said the mixes were good after he did so. The "bitterness" he perceived was just a lack of the level of sweetness that he was used to.
This almost certainly the answer to OP's dilemma. An additional factor is by using better vendors (usually translated as very little FW) you are not adding natural sugars like fructose that lives inside so many FW flavors.
Try mixing without nicotine to see if your nic sucks balls.
Also, try some of the recipes on the alltheflavors site -- they're better.
Also make sure that if you follow a recipe, don't substitute flavors from different brands.
Make sure to shake those flavors before using.
> alltheflavors
Thanks for the tip. I will definitely check it out. Like I said in my post, I've already mixed without nic, to see if it was the cause (it wasn't :(). And yeah, I always stick to flavor+brand for recipes.
It's a paid subscription, but feel free use my code "NCM" for a free month trial.
So if you don't pay you can't see the recipes? I'm still a little confused about the site, as I don't have an android phone so I can't purchase the app. The only way I could use it is through the computer on the web. But yet I'm able to look at some recipes and haven't signed up or paid yet. How does the whole process go down for somebody that's not using the app, but only on a computer?
I have the same issue. Ive probably mixed up about 15 or so different recipes. Always let them steep for 2 weeks or more. None of them have been all that great. Very light on flavor, sometimes harsh, sometime just very bland. I mix by weight, shake the living shit out of each mix, and have even tried them sans nic with little to no change. I keep trying though! hopefully ill find that good mix!
The website I use has both the volume listed as well as the weight of each ingredient for a recipe, so I'm going by that. Of course this information could theoretically be wrong, but seeing as how popular the website is I'm assuming mistakes in this would be caught quite quickly.
DIY mixing is kind of interesting in that flavor perception differs so much between people. Like, if I made a chocolate cake and you knew you liked chocolate cake in general, odds are you would enjoy mine.
Where things get tricky is that we're using pre-formulated mixtures of pretty potent flavor compounds and due to our physiology we may taste things completely differently.
The only way to figure out what you like is to buy flavors and try them. I'd recommend the smallest/cheapest amounts you can, taste them all as single flavors at different percentages and keep notes.
Also keep in mind that most recipes have never been mixed by anybody but the person who thought it up, also depending on the age of the recipe it could be designed for a completely different setup than what you use now.
TL,dr: less faith in recipes by other people, more experimentation with your pallette.
I would imagine the different flavorings and even pg/vg mixtures would have varying weight per ml.
Have you considered that maybe measuring by weight may not be as accurate as you expect?
For the pg/vg there might not be much variance but if a recipe calls for 1ml of a flavor and you are weighing it by using the weight of another flavor per ml, things could be off.
Also depending on the type of scale you're using a gram could be a gram, 3/4 of a gram or 1.5 grams. Even scales that go to the tenths of a gram typically do not register precisely especially when weighing a small amount.
That might not be the whole problem but I'd imagine it would contribute
> For the pg/vg there might not be much variance but if a recipe calls for 1ml of a flavor and you are weighing it by using the weight of another flavor per ml, things could be off.
That's assuming that the recipe was made by a person who finds the specific gravity of every flavor they have. I think the majority of recipes out there are done by simply 1ml = 1g for flavors. The only time I change that is if it is a VG flavor.
While yes a gram could be measured wrong that's why you also buy weights to calibrate and test it. Either that or throw a nickel on there and see if it weighs 4.9-5.1g.
UNDERWHELMED MY ASS. I CAN BARELY CONTAIN MYSELF!!
Rly doe, sometimes I get a bad taste from too much PG, try making a 90/10 mix or even max VG. And it might sound obvious but if all your flavors taste off it could be your mod as well.
I've tried the juices in 2 different tanks, 4 different RDA's, wicked with 3 different brands of wicking material in fresh coils and on four different mods. If the problem still lies in there somewhere, I think I'm about ready to give up vaping ;)
Oh oops, just read that you mentioned that sorry. Yeah man, I don't know what to tell you, there has to be a common factor in there somewhere. Maybe it's just the ratio of pgvg, try altering that, or just making sure you're using food grade VG? I wish we could help more pal. Please update if you figure it out. Best of luck!