What is your set-up like? Mainly hardware (mixing equipment, measuring equipment, storage, steeping equipment, and lastly but not leastly liquids) wanting to get into D.I.Y. myself but want some kind of image to go off on. Thanks in advance.
For about 100$ on nicotine River you can get a gallon of VG and enough nic and flavoring for about 3-4 different recipes, or 1 liter of VG and enough flavoring for 10+ recipes, along with a 1000ml boro flask or beaker and at least 10 or so 120ml bottles. A scale should be easy to source locally
Got tired of mixing vg/pg/nic so I get my 70/30 3mg base from ecigexpress for $18.99 (1000ml)
Then I just grab whatever flavors I want while I'm there.
I'll grab recipes from here or from http://e-liquid-recipes.com/
I mix straight into the bottle by weight on a $12 scale from amazon.
Shake and Vapes take me about a minute to mix up and go.
What do you use to get nicotine out of the bottle? I used to use syringes but now it gets too thick in it
I buy gallons of VG and PG and decant into 16oz squeeze bottles (like ketchup/mustard condiment bottles). I get 120mL of 100mg/mL nicotine and decant that into 30mL dropper bottles which are stored in the freezer until needed.
I mix in 60mL chubby gorilla unicorn bottles using a digital scale sensitive to 0.01g. The 16oz squeeze bottles make it easy. Flavors I buy in 30mL bottles (unless it's something I've never tried before and am not sure I'll like it) and just drip directly into the unicorn bottles.
I have a cardboard box which is stored in the bedroom that comes out when I'm mixing. It holds all my flavors, a microfiber towel to put on the counter, working nic bottle, PG and VG, scale and cleaned, empty bottles. Big bottles of PG and VG are under the bathroom sink. Big bottle of nic is in the freezer in a plastic bag.
I just clean the kitchen counter, do my mixing then put it all away.
Steeping liquids go in one side of the medicine cabinet in the master bath, on the top shelf where the little one can't reach and where she hardly ever goes.
Beakers and graduated cylinders are in a box on the top shelf of the closet because I got smart and bought a scale.
EDIT: Added pic: Imgur
Nice, so for a beginner would a scale be ideal or would you recommend graduated cylinder and healer of the such? ... And the extra virgin olive oil is for??? ITALIAN juices lol. But no seriously this is what kind of info I'm looking for with a picture to boot. Thank you.
Yeah, I'd TOTALLY AVOID using the olive oil. And the food processor is not for mixing the finished liquid. Oh, the toaster is not for heat steeping either ;)
I'd definitely recommend a scale, as do many of the mixers here. I haven't used the cylinders since the first time I mixed and went looking for ways to avoid doing so many dishes afterward. Only dishes I do now are emptied bottles and the syringe I use for the nicotine. Cleanup takes about 5 minutes now.
Edit: so since my last post, I mixed up a 30 and cleaned up. Thought I'd make the point that even though I can't keep things out because I have a very smart and curious 8 year old and no extra rooms, mixing is dead easy and takes very little time. The time sink is in single flavor testing if you want to get into creating your own recipes. If you just want to mix the thousands of recipes out there that are given to all of us by the really good mixers here, there's almost no thought or effort involved.
I try and keep it simple. I have a shed in my backyard which is finished and serves as my home office/man cave.
I keep everything there except my Nic which is stored in my freezer.
I take the Nic out and dilute it down to 60mg from 100 and keep that in a plastic 30ml bottle. I secure that because I have kids.
For my VG and PG I bought some cheap condiment bottles off of Amazon (link below) which makes it easier to work with.
Then I have my flavors and my scale.
I'm kind of a one flavor guy. I have one recipe that I really love so I really just stick to that. I've done it so many times I practically have it memorized. That's just me though.
So when it's time to mix up a new batch I bust out my 30ml Nic bottle, PG/VG, flavors and scale and mix it into a 100ml drip free reagent glass bottle I got from Nicotine River. Takes me like 5 minutes to whip up a batch, shake it up and let it rest.
I have two reagents that I cycle between so I have something to vape while the other steeps.
I transfer juice to a 30ml unicorn bottle for carrying it around and refilling my mod.
Easy peazy.
Plastic Squeeze Condiment Bottles with Red Tip Cap 16-ounce Set of 6 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OZOW6E0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_gy1Vzb36437WP
https://www.nicotineriver.com/collections/diy-tools/products/reagent-bottle
https://www.nicotineriver.com/collections/diy-tools/products/chubby-gorilla-unicorn
I have about 250 flavors, a couple gallons of VG and PG. 100mg nic.
My hardware is the LB-501 scale, about 400 empty bottles. 30-60-120ml. Then about 200 glass in 30 amd 60 ml.
I have 3ml pipettes which are rarely used. VG and PG are in condiment bottles. I mix in borosilicate glass beakers and plastic. Glass is for flavors that tend to "soak in". I have a couple cheap stick mixers for large batches.
That about covers it. I just mix on the kitchen table. Take a seat and make a 5 or 10 juices then clean up.
https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY_eJuice/comments/6z3vss/bottles_andor_techniques_used_while_mixing/ maybe worth a read
https://vapingbottles.com/blogs/news/diy-e-liquid-mixing-for-beginners also
and some vids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkm9e7GRsxk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qsyeQtjSFM
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHO1jqaOgPVWlHYwGMhJaBA/videos
I use a 4ftx4ft card table up against a wall with two of those small wooden folding 'tv dinner' tables to the left hand side for lining up empty mixing bottles, syringes, paper towels, wet wipes, hundreds of blank mailing labels and other etceteras.
Rolling computer chair for ease and comfort. I have 'shelves' on the card table which are just overturned ~ 1ft deepx3.5x2ft tupperware containers on top of which I line up all my 4oz and larger flavorings and some lesser used 30ml flavors in front of the currently in use gallons of VG/PG, which I split into quarts then the VG into a squeeze bottle as I generally mix Max VG(Max, not 100%) . The rest of the 30ml flavorings are lined up in front and to the side of the shelf along with my graduated cylinders and the in use nic(always amber glass, all frozen except for a 15 or 30ml).
I try to keep the flavorings lined up in rows and sorted left to right by type(bright, light fruits to the left, then darker fruits and berries then in the middle the 'enhancers', the marshmallows, koolada, ethyl maltol, etc, then biscuit/sugar cookie types down to the right end where the custards and creams sit...this way I barely have to glance up to know where a flavoring is).
Even so, I'm a caveman who still mixes volumetrically with syringes! Just what I'm used to, will probably switch to weight soon enough, I do own scales but not ones convenient for mixing. I ALWAYS steep in glass, usually in 60-120ml amber, cobalt or green dropper bottles(Vivaplex brand from Amazon, good quality, reusable, about $10 for a 12 pack) inside 5 different empty, deep wooden cigar boxes each marked for steep times ranging from shake&vape up to 3 month+ and varied times in between, but I have a hundred or so unicorn/plastic dripping bottles ranging from 20-75 ml for after steep use or sale to friends. No heat steeping or breathing, only time in the dark boxes, the room itself is kept cool and dehumidified.