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:
/u/AlfredPudding released Alfred’s Pudding
/u/FullerAwesome thinks we’re awesome
while /u/juthinc thinks we’re dummies
FOTW became sentient and asked us about creams
/u/padishar123 went crazy with their latest order
/u/CircoModo1602 updated us on their mad science experiment
/u/Dampferich posted about RY4 (again)
The questions thread is getting more upvotes for some reason…
And, last but certainly not least, /u/therapy420 asked about pairing your vape flavors with stuff.
We have an official Discord server if anyone wants to join and chat: https://discord.gg/ufVTyAQ
Am I allowed more than one question? 😁
As I go through my SFTs I'm keeping a list of flavors I want to order next time ("hmmm I want to try this with blank) so my question is: as someone who LOATHES cream/dessert things in vapes but LOVES weird stuff like florals, teas, and herbs, what is something I'm not thinking to order because of my cream/dessert aversion? Because flavor science is weird and a few drops of something may do magic without tasting creamy/desserty (like marshmallow comes to mind). ~~If he's around I'd love to page u/HocusKrocus as he seems to be the resident expert on these flavor profiles?~~ (whoops misspelled) But any input would be appreciated!
Chocolate.
No, really. Yes, good chocolate flavors in vaping are tough to come by, but chocolate goes with so many flavors it's crazy.
Beyond that... Really I'd need to know what you have to know what you're missing. And what you're trying to make.
And cooling agents and citrus.... Mostly to make sweet tea.
Oooo that makes sense actually, I'll dig into the sidebar for chocolate posts!
This is a screen cap of what I've put in my ATF inventory, and this is a quick list of things I've not added to inventory yet but have on hand, plus what I'm going to do some research into before my next order (with question marks next to them, yes I just added chocolate to it). I'm also going to look at mango and have LA Lemonade on my to order list (there is a wild mess of notes I took while listening to a Noted podcast that I didn't upload a pic of because it makes no sense to anyone but me).
Since I've only ever had a few juices that I've enjoyed, it's hard to describe what I'm trying to accomplish... I'm looking to make refreshing, not too sweet. The first recipes I've mixed up to break the monotony of single flavors are these ones if that give you an idea of the fruity profiles I find appealing/ordered flavors based on.
I'm going to tread into the florals more once I get to them on singles.
(Edit for clarity)
Have you tried Grack? And I've got s recipe or three you might like...
A one
And a 1-2-3 (sorry. Had to do that.)
BTW, I personally would go with INW Elderflower and INW rose (mainly because they're the ones I have). And FA Marzipan can give a cherry almond sweetness to a mix. And you're missing a few other ingredients for most of the recipes I listed.
For chocolate:
FLV milk chocolate
FLV chocolate Deutsch ONLY if you want coconut in your mix (think German Chocolate cake. Which originally was called "German's Chocolate cake" after a brand of chocolate, and had nothing to do with krauts.)
FA chocolate + FA cocoa + AP. (Supposed to be a good Belgian chocolate flavor)
HS Australian chocolate
BF Chocolate Truffle (good luck finding any. Hope you speak Russian.)
TFA DCC if all else fails.
Or FA Cocoa + TFA White chocolate in a pinch.
I have found Capella Vanilla Whipped Cream to be very useful, and I love florals/herbals and so far haaaaaaaaaate cookie/cake/chocolate/cheesecake oh my gawd blarf hork. I do find vanillas and creams to be useful mixers though, and this is a forgiving one. Also, honeysuckle is way way way way more useful to me than I would've thought (it didn't appeal to me mentally at all).
edit: OH! And coconuts are also very useful as "cream" at low percentages.
Ooo thank you for this! There isn't an easy way to search "creams for people who hate creams but know they serve a background purpose sometimes". I had seen FA Fresh Cream in some floral recipes so I have that written as a possible buy, would you recommend the Capella Vanilla Whipped over that or should I just give it a try with both?
Yes blarf hork indeed. I'm a sucker for actually edible pastries/desserts so I thought I'd love them as vapes and nope! Gave several hundred mls of store bought juice away when I first started out.
Absolutely ditto on that pastry juice experience! Except for Green Tea Kit Kat and Limoncello Torrone Parfait:
https://www.bullcityflavors.com/limoncello-torrone-parfait-by-head-in-clouds-discounted-full-recipe/
(A HeadinClouds recipe--I don't know if this person ever posted here but they are insanely talented although if you're not MTL, adjust his/her recipes down) I haven't liked "desserts you should chew" as vapes. At all. Ice cream, milkshakes, drinks--all good.
That would be a great and useful thread topic!! Besides coconut, I've seen avocados said to do that, and I believe the poster upthread remembered the creamy one as VT correctly (I don't have). And there are lots of others! I am a slow wake-upper, and I know I'm going to be remembering "uncream creams" all day! You should seriously make that question its own thread.
I do have FA Fresh Cream and I can't remember what I've used it for. I have seen CAP VWC used as a sub for it, and I have used CAP VWC as a sub for FLV Cream with I think great success.
FA Cream Fresh, FA Vienna Cream, and TFA Bavarian Cream are used in so many things that I would never recommend against them to someone building a mixer library. I know I've used them, but I think often together, in little tiny %s, in other people's recipes. Nothing stands out.
What I think are the most useful To Me actual cream-related-creams are CAP VWC and INW Vanilla Cream, and TFA Sweet Cream and TFA Whipped Cream are my second choices. Just easy, forgiving flavors.
--Also, I just remembered someone is testing a buttload (actual measurement) or creams this week or last week. Might be right in this thread. Need coffee.)
>FOTW became sentient
Wait... Self aware? Skynet is here...
Anyone ever bought a bottle of liquid and immediately knew what the recipe is? I bought a bottle of "Agent O" by Ponyboy Vapes and it's literally Orange Dreamsicle by u/vurve . Very disappointed that I spent $16 on something that I could have made myself for pennies.
My first order is here (!!!!!!!) and I'm about to embark on a metric eff ton of single flavor tests. I've read both the posts on this (and soooooo many flavor reviews....this sub is amazing!). My question: any last words of advice? What have I probably forgotten? Wish me luck? 😁
Premixing a base for single flavor testing will save some of your sanity and having a little cheat sheet makes the process a little faster, too.
I started out mixing one SFT at a time, this is the best advice ever.
Ooo I like the printed label! I saw that a premixed base was a good idea in the FAQ Friday, will definitely be doing this thank you!
Can you help me understand that cheat sheet? I’m cornfused.
Mix a base that assumes 8% flavor. Mix up some unflavored. You can use the two (and a bit of math) to create pretty much any percentage flavor that you'd actually use. (I believe in adding nic to a SFT so you taste the flavor you'll experience when you mix for real.)
Single flavor mixes may leave you wanting more. I've been mixing for about a year and have noticed that for a good pineapple juice I have to mix two different pineapple concentrates.
I've been really curious about starting DIY lately. I'm running through juice just way too quickly to justify purchasing my regulars.
I've pretty much ruled out DIY entirely for the past two years, though, simply because I feel like I don't have space to store all the necessary components. Can anyone direct me to what is currently a good starter kit to get going with that also doesn't have a shit ton of beakers or tubes or....whatever? Something that's just the bare necessities?
Since I've been passively interested in this for a while I've already looked up videos and watched tutorials on how to do it, so I feel like I at least have the basic understanding. That being said, handling nicotine worries me. Are there any other safety measures regarding handling nicotine other than just wear rubber gloves and be extra careful with it?
What you need:.
A good scale. Capable of .01g accuracy and at least 350g max weight, but more is better.
VG.
Nicotine.
Flavors.
Bottles.
That's pretty much it. You may get a bit of PG if you don't like vaping max VG.
All you need to handle nicotine safely is common sense, a fairly steady hand, and the patience to take the time to handle it carefully. A 30ml bottle of 100mg/ml PG based nic is enough to make a liter of juice, and is in a convenient bottle to mix from, as you can drip it into your bottle on your scale and never have the nic contact you.
To add to what u/juthinc said:
Don't get a kit.
LB-501is pretty much the standard for scales. 500g max. .01 increments, and no auto shutoff.
I use essential depot for vg and pg, but it's more or less the same thing you'll get from diy shops if that makes you more comfortable. As long as you get the kosher shit you'll be good.
I find chemnovatic nicotine to be the highest quality, I get mine from vaperstek. I buy the 120ml 100mg nic in PG, then divide it into 4 amber glass dropper bottles when I open it. Keep it in the freezer.
For bottles you can search Amazon for 30ml / 1 oz ldpe dropper bottles for a smaller quantity, I buy in bulk from heartland vapes.
I'd have included more specific data if OP had given indication of where he's from. Different suppliers, a different scale, etc, would be suggested if he was from Europe or Oz or canaduh. But yes, if he's from murica, then everything you suggest is good.
Awesome. That all looks great and is super helpful.
First of all, I assume flavor is entirely subjective and dependent on what you want to make, but any suggestions there too?
Also, is freezing the nicotine important? Without getting to personal or detailed, I kinda actually don't have access to a freezer. It's hard to explain, but that's one reason why I think the nicotine part of DIY might be undoable for me.
The nic will be fine as long as you keep it cool and dark. Doesn't have to be a freezer. If you have access to a fridge that works, otherwise a drawer or whatever, just out of the sun.
For flavors, go to All The Flavors and search around, sort recipes by rating, and pick a few that sound good. There are tons of awesome recipes there. I get the majority of my concentrates from Bull City. There is also the monthly recipe on this sub, another great place to look for ideas.
> First of all, I assume flavor is entirely subjective and dependent on what you want to make, but any suggestions there too?
Yes and yes.
If you like fruit flavors - first off, WS-23 and/or FA polar blast. Just because fruits are better cold than warm. Then... LA lemonade, INW lemon mix, and then pretty much any recent fruit works as a mix. I'd go with FA blackcurrant, the blueberry Trinity, INW cherries, TFA cherry extract, FA Lime tahity, FA Fuji, FLV cranberry, FLV Boysenberry, CAP Sweet tangerine,... You get the idea. I'd also grab some TFA sweet tea. And TFA raspberry sweet and INW raspberry Malina.
If you are interested in florals - INW Elderflower, TFA honeysuckle, INW rose... It could take forever
I've hit on a weird tip for deconstructing recipes that we don't know the components of. Cutting the sample down again and again with unflavored really brings out different things at different concentrations. For example, if I'm trying to figure out what's making up a heavily mentholated mint blend (I usually am), at 100% strength the recipe may be too of-a-piece to figure out what exactly is in there. But at 50, then 25, then 12.5, 6.25 ad infinitum--you can sometimes really identify different flavors as they become more apparent. This may be obvious to everyone but me but I though I'd share in case it helps someone!
I feel like there was an avocado flavor that people were mentioning could sub as a cream--but now, looking for it, they all seem greener than that. Did I dream this creamy avocado?
Genmaicha? I love this roasted brown rice tea:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genmaicha
Any ideas about how to recreate this profile? FE Sweet Rice seems wrong, but maybe I just haven't hit the right matcha levels. And some AP?
Anyone using their flavors as sugar free additives to a coffee?
I bet Rich Cinnamon would be great for that purpose, butt is there some hidden danger of screwing up your stomach or any other possible issues?
Definitely. In fact, I’ve used far more Rich Cinnamon in coffee than I ever have in mixes.
Shouldn’t be any issues unless you have some rare allergy.
can i make a lemonade concentrate from lemon and sweetener instead of buying the already mixed lemonade?
Depends which lemon you’re working with. Something like /u/ID10-T’s Real Lemonade is a good example of a lemonade without a lemonade concentrate but the majority of highly regarded lemonade recipes require LA lemonade. It’s worth getting it.
ah, thanks guys! I actually am from South Africa, so there is a local company which does concentrates, which are pretty potent, and generally use less that the familiar CAP, LA etc. There is access to the international concentrates as well, though pricing is a bit higher comparitively. they dont have Lemonade, so that why the question. ive tried micing the lemon, and so far, i mix it on a 1:1 ratio with sweetner, and it seems accurate enough for me for now. The thing about their lemon, is that it really is accurate to a natural lemon (consistency may say its actual lemon juice,lol).
Thanks again
If I know my flavors I generally don't have a problem making something pretty good , unfortunately the only butterscotch I've messed with is butterscotch ripple , and no almond flavors , so I have no idea where to start with this , any help is appreciated.
A delicious butterscotch haystack with candy coated almonds that results in one of the best, most complex flavors.
It's a juice I bought while my b&m was having a sale and its very good. Not looking to clone just make my own take on it.
Normally, you want to build a caramel base, and use butterscotch as the accent to turn the whole thing into a butterscotch. It's a tough flavor, really. Almonds... there's so many ways to go almond - marzipan, ameretto, actual almond. Marzipan would give you the sweetness of the candy coated almond, while giving some almond flavor. You'd want to accent it with another almond tho.
Yeah I have a terrible time with caramel the 2 that work best for me are Fa and Fw salted but I don't think either of those is in there. It really taste like those haystack things.
What marzipan? Inw or Fa? I have no experience with that either.
I was thinking of playing around with mixing my ADV as a flavor base. Does that change the steep times at all when I mix it with vg + nic?
So, I stumbled across a mix I'd made up back at the end of april recently. Black as hell, which was a touch disturbing... every ingredient was pretty much clear, and it wasn't exposed to sunlight.
Anyhow, it got me thinking... it's the only mix I ever used sweetener in (specifically, it was Sugar Daddy). Maybe the darkening of juice over time is related to levels of sucralose? Just a thought.
That is interesting. I don't know how much it matters to anything in reality, but I always prefer a clear or light juice over a dark juice (not tastewise, just a probably unfounded bias). I kinda even wish the color level you'll probably end up with would be noted in recipes!
I'm having trouble finding recipes that would suit my taste and im not sure where to look. I'm ready to place an order to make one of my favorite juice (A Better Betty Clone) but can't find other recipes that would suit my taste.
I like fruit/candy flavors (Melons, Berries, Gums, etc.). Any tips?