This better be worth it, haha. I have so many ideas and clones to make! I didn't even get all the flavours I wanted, since my local vendor didn't have all in stock.
Save money, they said. It would be fun, they said. My wallet weeps silently...
Hopefully the low price per ml will make it worth it in the long run. I vape about 100 ml in a month, so the base I've ordered will probably last for many, many months!
Awe. Summer child. I remember when I used to vape 100ml in a month. Now I DIY a 240bottle and it lasts me 8-10 days sometimes. You'll find your nic lowering and your 1gal orders of VG from Amazon becoming more frequent...
Hahaha, I started vaping to quit tobacco, but I'll probably get more hooked on nicotine now.
I can't really order heavy things from Amazon since I live in Sweden. The shipping rates would be higher than buying it here. There's no "big packs" of VG/PG available either, and they're kinda pricy too. 500 ml is 130 SEK (about 15 USD).
It should last for a long time, and you'll definitely save money once you figure out the flavors you enjoy
Until you see a new recipe that looks delicious and you only have 1 of the concentrates. Rinse and repeat every few weeks.
Tbh I have a suspicion that this sub is a front for concentrates manufacturers :) I have loads of TFA, CAP, FA and INW but now you sneaky bastards are showing me amazing looking stuff with FLV, JF........ will it ever end (First world problem lol)
But in all seriousness you will save money just not as much as you think.
I bought 1 gallon of VG and mixed it with a smaller bottle of 70vg/30, 3mg nic and made enough base to last the whole year. It's at 90/10 at 1mg/ml nic. Cost me $50.
Then I bought a bunch of flavors for $1.99 each and a few in larger sizes.
With a sub tank I use very little flavor and barely sweeten it. Coils last so long I toss them before they are shot.
Yeah, you got DIY_Mixeuphoria, it will pass and soon you will be a solid mixologist. Congrats on that Next Level.
It'll probably turn out that way. I'll be a coward in the beginning and not "waste" any flavors/base by making my own flavors/experiments from scratch. I'll stick to making clones to see how different flavours develop over time.
You would be better off sticking to some well known recipes. Good clones are actually a rarity
I combined the top rated recipes from e-liquid-recipes.com with the "My First Order" Flavors list to find a couple of clones I want to try.
Also, I've haven't tried that many juice brands to be honest, so I have no idea what the original should taste like. As long as the percentages in the clones blend well together I'll get a better understanding of how to start mixing on my own!
Yeah, I banged my head alot, see what's great here, half the community already F'ed up, great part no one hides shame/mistakes. Here they post about it, explain in detail where the failure is, So us new DIY'ers are more successful. Half the work is all ready cut out. I recommend read, do some home work. Never hurts to ask man. One of the best places I came across. that's no bullshit my friend! Just saying
It only gets worse from here.
Srsly tho, I track expenses and thus far have spent, in total, a third of what I would have spent the past months on premade juice, and have enough flavor left to last me for a year. Not that that will stop me from continuing to order more flavors. It just helps me ignore the whimpering noises from my cc.
At 8$ a pack x 3 packs a day between me and the wife, I could spend ALOT more and never equal out to what I spent on cigs. And it's funny because I got a lot cheaper since I quit smoking and started saving cash, I now feel guilty when I order something for 30$ every 2 wks or so.
You won't regret it. We will meet you further down the rabbit hole. In the mean time, get to know your flavors. Sample them individually and really get in touch with them, maybe do a couple reviews. It's the best thing you can do for yourself in the terms of spent money and DIY as a whole. Look forward to seeing what you mix up! Cheers!
Thanks for all the great advice. Question, when I hear advice on sampling flavors individually, how are you doing it? Are you making a small mix with the single flavor and some PG/VG to vape? Thanks again, I'm soaking in all of this knowledge as fast I can.
Yea, generally 2-4% depending on the flavor. If it's something really new, maybe 1,3,and 5% or something. I mix it at the same VG/PG ratio and nic level as I would my normal batches. Typically try it S & V, then again around the 5-7 day mark, and save some for the 2 week mark as well. Also fun to play with pairings if you make 5 or 10 singles at a time, which is where it really gets fun. I try to take notes or at least leave reviews here on each one.
I've made 4 x 50 ml bottles so far. Two clones, one recipe I found online and one of my own.
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Cutwood Melon-something-clone - great shake 'n' vape - mostly to see how a straight up fruit flavored juice mix together.
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A very custardy clone - Suicide Bunny - Original Bunny - mainly to see how both sweet and custardy flavors mix together. I know those flavors may need up to three weeks steep time, but it's great after two days.
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A recipe named Strawberry Fog - custardy as well, but with fruit - this to see how both fruit- and custard flavors mix together.
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Finally one of my own - labeled #004 in lack of a better name. I tried to make a fruity peach/raspberry vape with a touch of vanilla and sweetness:
TFA Peach (Juicy) - 7% TFA Raspberry (Sweet) - 6% TFA Strawberry ( Ripe) - 3% TFA Sour - 2% - to bring out the fruit flavors TFA Sweet Cream - 1% TFA Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - 1% TFA Marshmallow - 0.5%
3 mg nicotine, 70 PG/30 VG
The fruits have actually blended quite well together, but it's not as strong flavor as I hoped. There's a hint of something sweet and vanilla-like, but very subtle. Hopefully this will develop over time, or else I will add more of everything, haha.
EDIT: I think I'll make another batch right now with a larger focus on the vanilla flavorings. Maybe a touch of Bavarian Cream as well.
If you think about it in terms of what you got per cost of bottle then it will ease your mind. A $20 bottle of premade will get you 10lbs jug of VG. Another bottle will get you 4 4oz of flavor and 3 bottles will get you 1 liter of 100 mil nicotine. Equates to more than just 5 bottles of juice.
I've been spending too much money on commercial vapes for the past 2 years. Buddy of mine DIY's his juice and made me some. Realized how much money I could be saving on vaping after I watched Dwayne tell me I could save $2500. The next day I spent probably $200 on DIY stuff.
I calculated how much it would cost to make 100 ml 70 VG/30 PG (3 mg nicotine) juice with the gear I ordered. I did a major over estimation on the flavor (10%):
VG - 129 kr/500 ml * 70 ml = 18,06 kr
PG - 129 kr/500 ml * 10.62 ml = 2,74 kr
Nic (32mg) - 129 kr/100 ml * 9,38 ml = 12,10 kr
Flavor = 10% = 10 ml = 25 kr
= 57,90 kr ($6.5) per 100 ml.
This is amazing. The cheapest 100 ml I've found that is really good is made by the Swedish brand Ideal Monster - they have 100 ml juice for 239 kr ($26,80). "Premium" juice brands like Cosmic Fog etc cost around 200 kr ($22.40) for 30 ml.
Since you will need to do a lot of testing in your early days I would highly suggest you get a cheap RDA clone or two if you don't already have some.
Gluck and enjoy the mixing !
Hi, newbie mixer here and you just said something that I've been trying to find out. Do most diy'ers use an rda to test your mixes? I have a topbox mini and thought it would be easier and quicker to test with a few drops on a drip instead of using a tank and rinsing it out (wasting juice). Thinking of getting an inexpensive RDA.
Most do. I usually put I single coil in my tsunami and half wick (pull the cotton through the coil and trim just past the posts.) Rinse repeat with each test.
Edit: there are a couple of ecig classifieds subs us and uk where you can pickup some decent used gear for reasonable prices.
> RDA
Yep. Testing on a dripper is much easier and more efficient due to the reasons you pointed out. Some also claim drippers give better flavor since the coils are a bit closer to the mouth.
If you want to get a really cheap (~$8) one go for the velocity rda clone thats on fasttech as it gets a lot of positive reviews. I'm pretty sure you can get something even better if you increase your budget a bit. If you are an inexperienced builder go for a velocity style deck as it's easy and gets the job done.
Your prob wasting a good 100$ of that I guarantee. Only way to learn is from your mistakes though.
Yeah, probably. I'll make some solid clone batches first so I'm settled for a while, then onto the failures!
I was moreso refering to the flavoring you'll never wind up using lol
I can confirm this, I'm not proud to admit how much I've spent on flavorings since I started DIY in just the last 3 - 4 months but it's over $500 ($220 the other day alone) and I've had my fair share of regretful purchases (I'm looking at you anise) and flavors I know i'll probably never use more than once. But if I held out buying every obscure flavor because I was afraid I wouldn't like it I wouldn't have found some of my favorite flavors and made some of the best recipes I have now.
As it turns out I've spent about the same amount getting started in DIY as I would have otherwise on so called premium juices in the same time frame. I know budgets can be very limited and wish lists can quickly turn shopping carts into nightmares, but I'm sure most people here will say the same thing, when you can afford it, the joy of finding those few obscure flavors you'll never again be able to live without makes it worth all the money you might have wasted on those flavors you'll probably never buy again.
That doesn't mean you just want to go out and buy every flavor because the name sounds awesome, look at aggregate ratings on ELR, check out the reviews and notes on every flavor you're thinking about buying. Make sure it pairs well with what you have on hand or in your shopping cart. You don't have to buy everything all at once, that delay between orders should give you plenty of time to do research and build up a wish list for your next order.
Lastly don't be afraid to buy 10ml bottles, don't just go out and buy a big bottle of a flavor you've never tried before, even if someone else is telling you you won't regret it. There is nothing worse than spending 20 or 30 dollars on a flavor you don't love, and I've seen people do it.
I vape 100ml in a week. Is this bad?
Hey no joke is it bad though lol I have a couple friends that vape 120 a week or more and they seem fine over the 4 years lol ... I think its fine. But personally I wouldnt vape out in the cold too much i feel like pneumonia would pop in you because of the vapor..but shit im no doctor lol
I vape in the freezer at my job when I'm doing truck orders. Haven't gotten sick yet.
....just to realize that unflavored is the best flavor...
/s (but really, it's not bad)
I read that thread! Really interesting. I might do that during the cure time, since I don't have much juice left (I'm currently vaping the horrible 6 mg ones I abandoned after getting an RDA).
Do you guys know where i can invest 100$ worth of a giant kit of supplies for flavors, and another 100$ on other things like a gallon of pg/vg/syringes/nicotine. A gallon of vg and pg to be exact. Open to A balance between cheap and good quality also cheap wire and jap cotton. I need websites so just send me to couple of places for each thing ty (:
On flavors, Bull City Vapor, GremlinDIY, ecigexpress -- the sidebar has a pretty good list. Also check out the group buy, there's still one definite slot open for 36 30ml flavors for $100 shipped, and there will be a couple more after that which will receive 33 flavors.
Thanks bro, now I'm trying to figure out which companies carry the best flavors. No joke i have spent countless hours reading before i spend money. I think i might up my budget to 250. I used to vape a 120ml every week and a half on 6 nic. I havent smoked for 2 years now. So proud. But its turned into a hobby. I feel excited kinda like when i was little and I would buy the giant box of crayons. Infinite amount of colors 💕