Welcome, Everyone.
This is your thread to chat about anything remotely DIY-related that might not fit into one or our other Weekly/Monthly threads or that you’re just not comfortable posting to the front page. If you’re a New Mixer check out the DIY Beginners Guide and the links below then feel free to ask about anything you’re still not clear on.
Current Weekly/Monthly threads (Archive of all weekly threads):
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Weekly ‘Suggest a Recipe for my Flavors’ Thread - You picked a bunch of flavors that either sounded good or were in recipes that looked good but now you want more ideas for what to do with them? Ask here and get suggestions.
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Weekly ‘What are you Vaping?’ Thread - Talk about the latest recipes you’ve mixed up whether they’re yours or someone else’s.
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Flavor of The Week - Every week the community gathers to discuss one flavor category and share recipes, notes, ideas, advice, pairings and more. After that the Noted crew (/u/ID10-T, /u/mlNikon & /u/CheebaSteeba) try as many flavors in that category as they can and discuss their impressions, opinions and notes.
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Throwback Thursday - The newest weekly thread/project to revamp and improve the resources in our sidebar with feedback from the community.
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FAQ Friday - Where I (and a few other contributors) tackle one Frequently Asked Question as comprehensively as possible.
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Monthly Recipe Thread - Share your recipes here with or without development notes.
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Monthly Clone Request Thread - Want a recipe or idea for how to mix your favorite commercial juice? This is the place to ask. Check out FAQ Friday: Clone Requests for some ideas on how best to ask and get closer to accomplishing your remix.
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Monthly Clone Challenge - A community driven effort to tackle one clone request at a time.
Highlights from last week:
Well you can’t appreciate the highs without the lows and last week we were inundated with some, let’s say, lower than usual quality content. I’m not going to cover the lowlights aka Shitty Shitposts because they don’t deserve any more attention but you know things weren’t spectacular when one of the top 10 posts was last week's Questions Thread (I’m so honoured)
At the top of the heap we’ve got /u/Dampferich, who seems to have created an account just to share an old YouTube video that has nothing to do with DIY. Makes sense.
/u/heimsins_konungr shared their spiritual journey to perfecting their green tea recipe Shinto with some help from the community. It’s absurd that of the 5 flavors in that recipe, I am missing 3 (well, it’s only absurd if you know how many flavors I have)
/u/imNAchogrl shared her misleading revelation that FA’s Crema Catalana was the same as Crème Brûlée but was quickly informed in the comments of the actual difference. Guess what: Not only are the real life counterparts different but the concentrates themselves bare little resemblance ;)
/u/Sooullessgemini asked about the cleanest nicotine which is one of the most frequently asked questions with the #1 answer almost always being Carolina Xtract or VapersTek (aka Chemnovatic) I’d put it in the sidebar but an overwhelming amount of evidence suggests no one looks there before posting anyway.
/u/CircoModo1602 wondered if combining nicotine salts and freebase nicotine would result in some sort of chemical explosion or just reduce throat hit. I recall experimenting with that back when Nude first released them but can't remember the results.
And then there’s /u/xGRANITEx posting yet another enticing recipe at the 11th hour, just in time to make the cut in the highlights. This is why he does it, for the glory of my mentioning his name every week.
We have an official Discord server if anyone wants to join and chat: https://discord.gg/ufVTyAQ
I’m very new to this and I made up my own recipe for funsies:
Cap cappuccino v2. 3%
Cap Bavarian cream. 2%
Flavor art fresh cream. 1%
TFA sweetener. .5%
First mixed 9-18-18
80vg 3mg
I just tasted it today (6 days steep) and it’s pretty good, but seems a little muted. Not much coffee or cappuccino flavor. Mostly just creamy.
My main question is about coffee flavors and how long they need. Will the coffee type flavor come out with a longer steep or should I increase the cappuccino percentage? Use a different coffee flavor? I also have flavor art coffee espresso.
I have mixed up some recipes I found here and ATF, but I wanted a go at a coffee flavor and didn’t really find much for straight coffee/cream recipes. By all means, throw a link or suggestion for a good one if you’ve got it.
V2 and DX flavors normally require really long steeps. Usually to give the puke flavor time to settle and fade into the background, but...
Also, CAP flavors are usually quite weak.
Good to know. I take V2 to mean version 2 but what does DX mean?
V2 was what Capella called their scaremonger-induced line, DX is what TFA used for the same thing. (When the bad science came out about diacetyl and panicked everyone, the flavor companies tried to cash in. But in their rush to remove diacetyl, they forgot to not make the flavors taste horrible.)
When you start out do you scale down recipes as to not waste product if you mess up? Does it change anything? Like steep time etc..
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I've only worked with essential oils as far as scent mixing.. and cooking of course. I am new to vaping and finding premixed purchased flavors to be kind of a disappointment.
Sorta.
You generally want to make a test batch of a recipe on the small side. Just how small is personal preference and confidence. I generally go with 30ml batches, as that allows me to fully evaluate the recipe... but I rarely mix something I don't enjoy. Others prefer 10ml test batches. I find that with 30ml, it's exceedingly rare to need to dilute flavors, as .1% flavoring can be weighed out fairly accurately for a 30ml. Margin of error with 10ml is a little too tight.
And yes, a 10ml batch steeps much more quickly than a 500ml batch.
BTW, if you don't like commercial juice, it's likely you prefer less insanely sweet flavors. In that case, DIY is for you.
I typically do 10ml batches when I'm working on a recipe. If it's something I found on ATF then I'll either do a 20ml or 30ml depending on if I think I'll like it or vape it quickly. I do 60ml batches if I know I like the recipe and will be vaping it in my tank as that uses the most juice.
Smaller bottles will steep faster. Certain flavors will fade in time, others will develop more over long time periods. It's all different things to take into consideration.
I don't really mix below 10ml because there is less room for error and you'll be using very small amounts of flavor where it's easy to go overboard. The larger the batch the more room for error if you accidentally add a little too much.
Has anyone ordered INW Creme Brulee recently?
Besides you, /u/alfredpudding
I just got some in the other day for the first time. I know there's some worry about a potential reformulation, so I'm probably not the best person for notes but I'll add what I can.
I mixed 1.5% at 80/20 vg/pg, 0mg nicotine, on September 27th. This has been steeping for 3 days. On the knuckle test I get a hint of the caramelized suger coming through. It's dark and sticky sweet, as caramelized sugar should be. I don't detect a whole hell of a lot of anything else right now, but based on other reviews that's to be expected. There are no glaring off notes or odd flavors that I personally detect. Little to no throat hit from the flavor itself either. As it steeps a bit longer I'll add an update to this post. You may be better off throwing a 10ml on to your next order and comparing side by side if you still have some of your older bottle left.
Side note; my 10ml bottle came from Nicotine River.
Thanks! I’ll probably wind up doing that in order to get to the bottom of this mystery
I’m suspecting there could be a slight reformulation on Black for Pipe as well. Someone sent me a recent bottle from Vapers Tek and I have compared it to an old bottle from Bull City and an older bottle from Vapers Tek and there might be a slight difference. It’s hard to tell if it’s actually different or if there’s like a power of suggestion thing going on in my brain that’s telling me the new one is different. I’ve got a 100 ml bottle coming direct from Inawera that I need to test before I can say for sure that something is up. If it is a reformulation, it is a pretty small one. Comparable maybe to old vs. new Gold Ducat.
Recently went from DL to MTL (using a Breeze 2 right now).
Tried mixing a recipe I've made a few times with salts instead of freebase. It was great after shaking it up, but after 3-4 days the flavour was completely gone. Is there something obviously wrong with the recipe? Not vaping enough (2-3ml a day) to be experiencing olfactory fatigue.
1.5% Apple, Fuji (FA)
0.1% Cactus (INAWERA)
2% Green Apple (CAP)
1% Super Sweet (CAP)
0.5% Two Apples (INAWERA)
0.5% WS- 23 30%
I skip the sweetener when mixing this with freebase for DL vaping. MTL needs a little help with the flavour IMO...
Pods don't do well with nuance flavors and additives. Percentages are also very low for pod juices
Yeah these percentages are great for my DL setup. So maybe just bump them up a bit (or a lot)? ...except for the WS-23, .5% is plenty.
I have a question about nicotine storage. I used to buy the nicshield bottles (leur lock with argon gas) from Nic River but they seem to have stopped selling them after the switch. The convenience of using a syringe for my nic was great and now I'm trying to figure out how to store and use the new nic I got from them. I've been using pipettes for the time being and considered using the standard VG ketchup bottles but I'm worried about leakage and /or the plastic allowing the nic to oxidize too quickly. What do you guys do with your nic? As long as I don't have to go back to using 7 droppers full each time I mix a bottle I'll be happy!
As always, store nic you need in the immediate future in Amber glass dropper bottles. Store the rest in the freezer.
Should I still freeze my nic (100%PG, 100mg, 150ml in a plastic bottle), if it’s gonna be used 1-2 months later?
Are flavorings such as TFA Strawberry supposed to be used in a mix? If I use it alone would it be too boring to vape?
Im new I dont want recipes yet just make my own juice. Im looking at flavor concentrates and they are cool but afraid that flavors Im looking for like cloves, tobacco, tobacco-cherry would be too boring alone and this is why concentrates exist.
Uh... you can't vape flavor concentrates straight, you need to dilute them. And most flavors are far better in combinations than by themselves, although some are enjoyable enough. Many tobacco flavors (at least the good ones) can be vaped as the sole flavor and enjoyed. Most other flavors, with the odd exception, you want at least two flavorings per juice.
When you say ‘alone’ do you mean ‘in a pg/vg bade with no other concentrates’?
Edit: I have fat thumbs and a qwerty board. Base.
I bought some cap grapefruit to use in some recipe (I think it was Wayne's) and now want to try it in other recipes.. but I can't really taste it in single flavour testing and now I'm stuck on how to use it as an accent. It's not really citrusy or anything. Anyone have experience with it?
Has anyone ordered INW Black for Pipe recently from Vapers Tek and noticed anything different about it? There’s a fella that I’ve been chatting with on ELR that got some and said it tasted like cotton candy, burnt caramel, and vanilla. Sounds to me like maybe the wrong thing was pulled and mislabeled. But with INW being INW, I’m a little scared. The color and taste description sort of match INW US Light Mix.
Anywho, just wanted to see if anyone else has noticed anything funky with it. I just ordered 100 ml direct from INW, so if they done fucked with it, I’ll be pissed. And depressed.
All is well with mine, I think. I might mix a little test batch in the am to be sure. Since you said something I'm getting some caramel and vanilla from a sniff test, but that same smell is still there that it shares with dark for pipe.
Thanks for checking it out. I think there’s two possibilities here: he either got the wrong thing sent to him, or he’s just so used to NETs that he’s getting all these odd tastes that I’ve never picked up on. I’m leaning towards option 1, but I suppose we will see.
I ordered some on the 10th and just mixed with it today. I didn't notice anything but I wasn't looking for it either. I'll look when I get home and report back.
E: I would also be pissed, I mixed almost a liter of different recipes and almost all of them have black for pipe.
Is there a scale out there that isn't rediculously expensive that goes to .01 and can weigh more than the lb-501?
Check tmart.
Every so often they have a sale. The BZ3002T and HZ3002T are the scales you're looking for. Sooner or later, the price is right. Max capacity 3kg. It's what I use. (And I paid about what a lb-501 goes for around here for it. Timing is everything.)
Awesome. Would you mind sending me a link? I've searched tmart and Google and can't find either of those.
Nevermind - I found them, just not on tmart. I'll keep my eye out for a sale, cheapest I saw was around 275 right now.
I couldn't find those scales. Do you have a link? Searched on tmart and Google.
At what point does a juice remain unchanged from steeping? If I let it steep for 6 months well that be any different than 3 months or 3 weeks.
It depends.
No, really. A citrus flavor will probably disappear totally by six months, while it may last to the three week point. A tobacco usually develops further the longer it's steeped. With DX/V2 flavors, after a year or two the vomit flavor should mostly fade. Custards benefit almost as much from a long steep as tobaccos. Candy flavors just don't give a flying fuck. Fruits tend to not like steeping (at least the non-candy ones.) Haven't really had a floral juice stick around all that long, haven't noticed them really changing much past two or three weeks tho.
I usually let my cream flavors steep for 2 weeks. I have a problem mostly with blackberry. If it steeps too long the blackberry fades and the cream takes over completely or it is too much blackberry and its harsh. I'm using Capella blackberry.
> With DX/V2 flavors, after a year or two the vomit flavor should mostly fade.
That made me giggle. From my little experience with them so far I'm even doubting even a few years would make them bearable.
I want to buy a big multi pack of different flavors that are common in e-juice recipes. Are these packs from The Perfumers Apprentice appropriate? They seem small (4mls) compared to all the other flavors I've bought before (all 15mls).
Not really. You're really best off waiting until a sale and loading up on individual flavors then.
If you insist on getting a whole lot of flavors now, research every flavor you think you want, put it on a list, and then look for a vendor that sells really small sizes. I know at least one that sells 3ml in squeeze type dropper bottles.
Just remember, any time someone selling things starts bundling items, it's usually in order to get you to buy something you wouldn't buy on it's own, like the Lifetime channel.
Thanks!
Why do you recommend really small sizes?
Well, unless you've fully researched every flavor, it's best to minimize the amount you spend, rather than the cost per ml. And if you use up a 3ml bottle quickly, great, re-up with a ounce or so. Then... there are flavors where a 3ml bottle is a lifetime supply. Like TFA Cinnamon Spice, mix the 3ml with a 1l bottle of PG and use that for your cinnamon @something less than a percent. TFA Taro is similar, apparently, but not quite as potent.
Wizard Labs sale in my email, 15% with code fall18, 9/29-9/30. I grabbed a bunch of menthol crystals, FLV Pink Guava, Wild Melons, and Thai Chai, some LA menthol/eucalyptus, and Climbing (which I'm very excited about because Longing is one of the only recipes I like). Oh, and TFA Mary Jane! Because I like herbal/vegetal/floral crap, and I hear it's not much like cannabis but IS like some kind of plant.
I've heard it suggested TFA Kona+TFA Mary Jane actually works to mimic a less tasty strain of herb. Just sayin'... You still would need to come up with thc from somewhere tho...
I hadn't heard a lot about Kona, and I just went on the TFA site and saw this was written about it by the company:
"Fresh brewed Kona coffee **** I had discontinued this flavor because of some negative reviews, but as soon as I did I received several howls of protest. The bottom line is - some people don't like this one, but others simply love it! - This is just another example of the wide range of tastes! Everyone is different....
But be forewarned, this flavor is very strong, and to many people this one smells bad! (apologies to the fans. Bob, I know you and your sister-in-law love this one! -and you're not alone....)
True Kona coffee does have a strange smell, and this is why this flavor is not for everyone. It is very strong, but this is how the fans like it."
TOTALLY INTRIGUED. I'll have to pick this up next chance. I don't know what the "strange smell" is, but I want to!
FYI for anyone wanting to get into mixing by weight (or get a second backup scale) the AWS LB-501 is currently at the lowest price I've seen it in the last few years ($21.99)
Grab one before it goes back up
Can I make juice while being sick (stomach flu)? Can the virus/bacteria live in the e-liquid and make me sick again later on?
You almost certainly are capable of mixing while ill (assuming you're capable while well). As for bacterium and virii surviving in juice... that largely depends on how long the juice sits, what concentrates are used. (the toxic FW flavors am provide sugar that bacteria thrive on, some ethyl-rich flavors may have a disinfectant type effect.)
I've found references to this via sub search but would hear from others if possible: I generally split nic into 30ml amber glass bottles and freeze it. I keep one active 30ml LDPE squeeze bottle (from dropperbottles), which means that when it's running low I thaw out a glass Boston round and transfer it to a fresh LDPE.
Assuming I go through my nic in 5-ish months, is there confirmed downside to just freezing the nic in LDPE bottles to begin with? I'm not particularly worried about the LDPE itself; I'm wondering if a difference in seal might have an impact.
I wish I could help but I’m pretty new here. I do what you do with nic and as I understand it, the dark glass is to keep out light(?) Why do want to change your method?
I appreciate the assist! I'm getting some new nic in later in the week and figured I'd save extra steps down the road if possible. It's not a big deal at all, but it means I need to bust out the syringes and stuff more often if I store in amber.
Yeah I hear you. Simplify. I just pour the nic into the glass bottles with a small funnel. Then I just let it come up to room temp for about 30 minutes before I mix. I use the Boston rounds with a glass dripper top and drip straight into my mix bottle. Works for me.
So I know FW Yellow Cake is terrible for you but it's made some fantastic tasting juices for me, is there any fructose free flavorings that will give the same flavor profile/feel as it does? I don't mind having a little diacetyl etc. but fructose is just too much...
Does anybody know what to do with FW cappuccino? It smells and tastes like rocks or something. I tried adding a little TFA sweet cream and TFA almonds to try to bring out the coffee, but it's not working. I'm just starting out and I've watch the few how to use on YouTube, and I did the exact opposite of what they suggested. I wound up getting a bunch of foundation flavors with nothing to Accent them with.
I'm vaping a Blackberry Turkish tobacco that I made right now and it's awesome.