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This forum. It's why it's here. Read the sidebar a few times, maybe even check out DIYORDIE videos on YouTube. If you have any more questions, use the New Mixers Thread for questions.
Cool thank you, I’m on mobile so the sidebar isn’t visible without some digging hahah
Have you been through the sidebar? There's lots of info there, specifically (if I remember correctly) a mix-by-weight tutorial.
Found it - /r/DIY_eJuice/comments/2iq3km/botboy141_guide_to_mixing_by_weight/
I'm far from an expert, but making your own juice is very much about deciding your own preferences. People can get passionate arguing that their way is best, and it is - for them.
Measuring with drops might be easiest but it can be tedious and inexact. How big is a drop? Do you mind counting out 20 or 30 drops of something?
Syringes are cheap but you have to buy quite a few over time. You have to flush them clean when you're done, and measuring is relatively precise. Sucking up vg into a syringe is a b!tch unless you go without a needle, but then it's messy.
If you're comfortable with chemistry and/or scales, measuring by weight I think is agreed to be the most precise method and most cost-efficient in the long term.
Shaking by hand and then leaving the bottle alone to steep is just fine. If you want to shorten steep times, there are methods, but I'd worry about them later.
TFA, FA, and TPA are the most popular flavor producers and are most commonly used in recipes. TFA fruits can have a harsh throat hit. There are ways to moderate throat hit like upping vg, adding cactus, adding marshmallow, etc. Other brands for sure make superior flavors, but you have to read reviews to find out which ones and then often figure out how to convert a recipe to use the different brand.
Nicotine is something you should be willing to invest in. The more money you spend, the better quality your vapes will be for months. I would recommend getting all of your starter supplies, vg, pg, flavors from WizardLabs but get your nicotine from a direct supplier, not a distributor like WL. Simplest way to store nic is to keep it in the fridge, but there are better ways.
Order these fifty 10ml bottles from Amazon for $11.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TLW5LDY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_StNMzb8YX8M16
Also order labels and put the recipe name and date on everything you make. Use these little bottles to mix single flavor vapes for most or all of the flavors you order so you can get to know them individually. They're also great for first mixes of new recipes. Once you find something you like, mix up larger bottles of it. Take notes on recipes. There's a place for them in the mixing calculator.
Read the sidebar.
Make an account at e-liquid recipes to learn about flavors and find recipes. You can also input your flavors and search for what you can make with them. http://e-liquid-recipes.com
Wizard Labs for flavoring. I get my VG from Amazon from the seller Essential Depot. I use the monthly recipe thread for new ideas on flavors. The search bar for more specific flavors. I measure by the mL, but I am about to move to weight because it seems way easier. Fimd yourself a nice storage container for your flavors also. Don't forget bottles to mix in to. Nicotine goes into the fridge and freezer! Don't be afraid of Nicotine. Just be smart and keep it away from children and pets!
It is laughably easy to actually do it.
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Buy a kit. I recommend Nicotine River. But ECigsExpress has one and a couple vendors do as well. I'm not affiliated with any of them.
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Watch the videos up thread posted by u/nakedz.
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Use your kit to mix recipes from a site like e-liquid-recipes.
That is it. It is no more complex than baking cookies. The trick is getting a sense of flavors over time to create new recipes that you like a lot. If the goal to do this is to create your own great recipes, expect a long time of practice. If you are just trying to save money by DIY-ing, use very simple, proven recipes from ELR or AllTheFlavors.com. Save a ton of money and never look back. I've been DIY-ing for about 4 months and basically never buy vendor juice anymore, and that's without having come up with anything on my own that I really like yet.
It's super easy. There are calculators online to work out how much nicotine concentrate to put in if you aren't good with maths. Get some flavourings, experiment with them (a good rule of thumb that I use is about 10% of the juice being flavouring). Bulk out the rest with VG and PG to your preference.
So for instance, I make 10ml of [flavourx+flavoury] ejuice with 0.6mg/ml nicotine at 80/20 VG to PG for a soft hit.
I calculate that I need 0.8ml of my 72mg/ml nicotine concentrate (VG Based)
I put in 0.5ml each of flavourx and flavoury (both PG based)
Now I have 0.8ml VG and 1ml PG, so to bring it to my desired 80/20, I want another 7.2ml VG and 1ml PG.
Shake it up and it's done.
I just watched a diyordie video and he said something about a hot plate and mixer. What is that?
gd expensive is what it is. Just hold your bottle in your fist and shake it up for a minute, works fine.
Really the only equipment you need is some syringes to measure the liquids, and bottles to keep the juice in.
Is something like this a good deal/way to start?
>What is a good website to learn some of the things that go into making juice?
This subreddit. Start by reading the entire sidebar. Then ask questions in the daily/weekly threads. I've gotten good answers 100% of the time doing that.
>And are there any good videos on YouTube I could watch?
Ya, there are some in the sidebar. Or just search YouTube. I prefer getting the links here so I know they've been vetted for quality and accuracy.
>what is mixing by weight and volume?
It's like marrying for sex vs compatibility.
Get a scale, bottles, vg, nicotine, and flavors. Download Juicecalculator. Put the recipes you see on here and other websites into the program and do what it says. EZIPIZI
DO NOT GET SYRINGES AND WORK OFF ML. That shit is wack. Super inaccurate and tons of extra work. Trust me, it's how I started.
Also, be careful with your nic. That shit can kill you. Also, don't buy too much. It goes bad, fast. I bought a liter. It's reddish brown now. Still using it when I run out of the good stuff and I don't want to wait, but it definitely hurts the flavor.
https://vapingbottles.com/blogs/news/diy-e-liquid-mixing-for-beginners
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkm9e7GRsxk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qsyeQtjSFM
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHO1jqaOgPVWlHYwGMhJaBA/videos
What country are you in? as I knocked up a buyers guide for DIY in the UK [here] (https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY_eJuice/comments/6dy00c/list_of_equipment_and_supplies_links_for_anyone/)
You should order nicotine, vg, and pg from vapers tec this weekend. They're having a 20% off sale until Monday the 21st. You can also pick up some Inawera flavors. The sidebar has reviews to help you choose the good ones. INW melon is the bomb. Get the biggest size of it lol. I regret only getting the sample size a couple weeks ago.
You can figure out other flavors, mixing gear, and recipes later. Vapers tec doesn't offer much of that anyways.
Figure out what strength you want and head over to nude nicotine and either buy some pre-mixed base or buy the components and mix your own. Now that you have like a gallon of premix made up for around 70 Bucks head over to wizard labs and pick a ton of flavors. Before you pick them go join a forum or use Google's great search functionality and look up flavors that might interest you and what you need from the proper brand names to make them. Just buy the little dollar 99 bottles until you know what you like.