Funnels - essential for me. My hands aren't as steady as I'd like. 👍🏼

I'd get rid of all together the mixing by volume.

Under essential equipment, put a scale, probably link to the LB-501 since that's the most popular

>• Nicotine Base - This can be ordered in a PG base, VG base or a combination thereof. While a PG base is easier to work with, I typically recommend a VG base in case you ever decide you wish to make MAX VG juices. Always order your nicotine solution in a higher concentration (mg/ml) than your end goal juice.

I think maybe taking out the “recommend” part and just give a little pro and con of both. And with one shots and lazy mixing becoming a lot more popular, throwing in something a little more detailed about different concentrations. Maybe:

Nicotine Base- This can be ordered in a PG base, VG base, or a combination thereof (typically 50/50, but some companies do offer 70/30.) PG based will be easier to thoroughly mix with a shake before using, and will be easier to transfer using a pipet or syringe. VG will allow you to cut back on any unwanted PG in your final mix if max VG juice appeals to you, but can be harder to get a proper shake and will be harder to transfer with a pipet or syringe. You can order your Nicotine in a strength that is closest to what you usually vape (1.5 mg/ml, 3 mg/ml, 6 mg/ml,...) The important thing to remember with this option is that your final mix, after flavors are added, will be a lower Nicotine concentration than your starting base.

I am not a wordsmith, so someone can probably make that better.

Then I’d probably take those nitrile gloves out of “Essentials” and put them in the “Non-essentials.”

And the “speed steeping” part might be a bit controversial. Especially if you do as it says and search “speed steep” here and sort by top, you will get the myth busting post.

I think there is one piece of equipment that never gets mentioned, and that is an atty, preferably a simple rda for testing single flavors and for your finished experiments. Now, its probably true that you can use a regular tank, but it could get ugly, requiring you to waste a lot of coils, especially if your using flavors like menthol which will stick to your coils and never completely go away.

I have a drawer of unused syringes. I've only used them for filling small tanks. Pipettes too. No paper towels here in Heathen Village. I use butt wipes.

I have also never used gloves. 100mg nic, no reported deaths. Yet.

I would much rather have pg carry my nic personally so I don't know about that recommended deal there. Shaking vg is annoying.

I use the eliquid recipes app to store my recipes and notes and don't really care beyond that.

I need bottles, a scale, beakers, and then the various elixirs and such.

I mention this only because just as taste can be subjective, our needs often vary from person to person. A shopping list can get spendy quick and most of us turned to diy not to flourish in our creative bustling but to save money.

I read this list as a rookie and have a drawer full you can have back.

Also. LOL speed steeping

I feel the entire article needs to be simplified. Why would a beginner care about the chemical formula of PG? I'll make an attempt at rephrasing it, taking the other comments into account:

The essentials

VG or Vegetable Glycerin - This is the main component of most e-liquids, a viscous liquid that produces clouds. You will need a large bottle of this.

PG or Propylene Glycol - This compound is used mainly to carry flavor and reduce viscosity. You will usually need far less of this, as you will also get PG from flavorings and, depending on choice, nicotine base. Some avoid PG altogether due to adverse effects.

Nicotine - Generally a 2% to 10% dilution (20 to 100 mg/ml) suspended in either PG or VG. PG based nicotine is far easier to work with and tends to hold up better over time. If you want to avoid PG and aim for max VG, go for VG based nicotine. There is also the option of nicotine salts to consider, but you may want to start with regular freebase before you explore this route.

It is usually best to order these ingredients separately, but if you want a small budget investment just to try your hands at DIY, you can order a premixed combination. A common example is a 70/30 VG/PG ratio with 3 mg/ml nicotine strength. This means you only need to worry about the flavoring. It does however limit your options, the ratio will be thrown off and the nicotine strength will be reduced by the flavoring.

The quality of the ingredients has a big impact on the experience. Both PG and VG need to be pharmaceutical grade, so make sure the bottle reads USP, EP, BP, or your regional equivalent. High quality nicotine is essential, ordering from a reliable vendor in your part of the world can make all the difference.

Flavors - This topic requires a bit of research. Picking a handful of flavors randomly never leads to any success stories. The usual recommendation is to find highly rated recipes that sound appealing and order those flavors. Another route is to find the most popular and versatile flavors and browse reviews to figure out how to use them. No matter how you go about it, putting in some effort before you order will save you a lot of grief later on. If you don't care to learn how to mix and only want to save money, there is also the option of one-shots, premixed recipes.

Bottles - Starting out, you'll want a handful of 10 ml bottles for testing recipes and flavors. This is considered the smallest feasible size for accuracy, without wasting too much on failed experiments. Some larger bottles such as 30/60/100 ml will come in handy when you've found recipes you enjoy. LDPE is the most convenient material as it is soft and easy to squeeze.

Measuring - A scale with 0.01 gram accuracy is necessary, and a 500 gram capacity will cover most of your mixing needs. Something in the $15-30 range will do, but avoid those with auto-shutoff if possible. While you can measure by volume too, it is much more of a hassle and will save neither time nor money.

Pipettes - Small disposable plastic pipettes may come in handy as some flavor concentrates come in bottles without drop tips.

This is all you really need to get started, but start small. A liter of VG (or premix), 250-500 ml of PG, 100 ml of nicotine, 10-20 flavor concentrates and bottles, a sufficient scale and some pipettes is a good sized starter kit. You don't want to spend a fortune on your first order for two important reasons. First, you won't know for sure that you'll enjoy mixing until you've tried it. But more importantly, once you've tried some flavors and recipes, you'll have a far better idea of what to order next time. Then you can scale up your supplies according to your own needs and make much better decisions about what flavors you actually want. So start small and work your way up.

There is plenty of additional gear that may add comfort or convenience, such as funnels, condiment bottles, protective gear, an RDA for ease of sampling, the list goes on. But that is all optional and to a large degree depends on your personal needs and what your vendors have to offer.

When it comes to nicotine, local regulations may limit your options and there may be shipping restrictions. As for safety, even diluted nicotine needs to be respected. It's not very dangerous to a healthy adult with built up tolerance, some caution is enough for most people, but if you know you'll end up splashing it all over yourself, you might want to consider gloves or goggles. Be super careful with kids and pets though as even a few drops can be lethal to them.

Awesome series your doing here. Love them, lots of information for someone starting out with diy! Keep up the good work!!

how do the pipes help with hard flavors?

Cheap labeler that is great. If you buy it, use the return key for every label, otherwise the text will be huge and the labels will be too long. I use the name of the recipe on top, then return key, then vg/pg and nic

Edit: oops forgot the link

DYMO LabelManager 160 Handheld Label Maker (1790415) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005X9VZ70/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_UZpnBb6C8GT0D

I’m not sure if this is the right area for this question but how is the quality of nicriver nicotine will I be disappointed if I’m expecting the same quality as what comes in most commercial juice

You forgot to include a Socially Awkward Sad Dad in Texas to the list of equipment needed.

Distilled water! I use 5% to thin out the vg, no pg for me.

I'd remove the mixing my volume and the speed steeping sections. None of that speed steep stuff works lol.

I might add under record keeping that accounts at atf or elr will keep record of your mixes and flavors with ease.

"Speed steeping" and "mixing by volume" bits should go. The numbed of bottles suggested is laughable.... and only buy 10ml bottles? That's crazy. Twenty 10ml bottles wouldn't have lasted.me a week