Amongst all the good stuff you make, while you learn you will definitely make a lot of stuff you don't like. I'd say 30ml is way too much unless you're following a recipe that you're sure will be good. A few ml is enough to taste, then you can continue.

Works better to make many small testers with variations of the same recipe and compare all at once. Then once you find the best combo, make bigger bottles. Otherwise you end up dumping a lot of nic, pg and vg to finalise each recipe.

I use 5ml bottles for testing. Campbells soup can for scale. Aren't they cute?!

Yeah I use 5ml to 10ml for testing. I like 10ml. I can drop 5ml into my tank, and depending on what I want to add or change, I can use my 5ml that's left to tweak it. Add 0.25 super sweet, or if I think I went heavy on an ingredient like 6% and I want to try it at 4%, I can add another 2% to the next 5ml and have a 10ml tweaked version of the original. Drop another 5ml in my tank and have 5ml left over to start with the next step.

So there were plenty of comments about test batch sizing, but one thing I wanted to give you on your surely long way of mixing is: Don't use syringes. It's a pain in the a**
I've been using Syringes for like half a year, and just recently I finally got myself a precision scale. It's so much better.
If you need help on finding a good scale, check this subreddit, there are plenty of threads suggesting scales. Also, read up on the beginners guide, they also covered that.
Good luck and have fun mixing!

Yes. 30 mls is too much for a test batch. You'll want to be mixing testers in 10 ml bottles.

Also, you don't need to make less of the amount a bottle can hold for headroom. There will be enough room in there with the proper amount.

Yes 30 mL is definitively way too much. For example 30 mL is more or less what I vape per week. Try to test with 2 to 5 mL. I usually prepare 10 mL as test because I'm not too adventurous so my new liquids are always, if not great, at least almost vapable.

About the containers: if you use nic boosters you can keep the empty bottles to make your experiments.

I use 15ml bottles, but make only 10ml if I find a recipe or want to test/mix something. This gives me plenty of room to shake the living hell out of it while also being enough liquid to mix accurately and test.
Also, if I were you, don't go down the washing bottles route (unless you have glass bottles). If you are just testing flavors or making test mixes, get yourself a shit ton of plastic bottles.

10-15 is what i mix usually

30 is too much for me since that will last me about 4-5 days, yes i dont use that much juice

I'm gonna be jumping into DIY pretty soon also. I planned on getting some 5 and 10 ml bottles for testing and then some 30ml bottles for when I actually like something I make. I've seen a thread about cleaning bottles but I've also see lots of people mention they just buy them in bulk and never re-use them? Is is that hard to clean them? I have some Chubby Gorilla bottles from the juice I recently ordered and planned on using them for DIY then. Is that not a good idea?

Note: using an rdta, rda users experience will differ. Personally, I always mix a minimum 30ml. I’m too impatient to wait after I mix something, so I’ll mix the full 30 and vape it over the course of a week. It’s all good and well to taste it right off the rip with a small quantity, but it takes at least 5 ml of juice to properly break in a wick, which leaves you with like 2 refills depending on the size of your tank. I like to know the performance characteristics of a flavor during actual use, which is why I go ahead and vape it for the usual week I would vape anything I consider a finished product. Which sucks when you make something garbage, but if it sucks you can just flush it down the drain, it’s like, a couple cents of product.

It depends.

I always make 30ml testers of any recipe I'm developing, but I can usually make a version 1 that's reasonable. If you're confident enough... A big test batch gives you more iddea of what you want to change.

These are right at 5ml and work well for testing new creations. But you can also use 3ml syringes, or just bottles you've accrued over the years of buying juice (my strategy, have hundreds upon hundreds of glass since 2011).

And I've found that most flavors don't stick around in glass, when cleaned properly. The exception, for my taste buds, is from my "Extreme Ice in everything" days, strong cinnamon candy, and certain Acetyl Pyrazine/Diketone based flavors. If you want to reuse bottles though, it's best to keep like with like, so it won't matter if the bottle has a slight menthol residue if you're using it for another menthol flavor.

Further, there's no "correct" way to DIY. I still mix by volume, even though I agree weight is more accurate and consistent. This way works for me and that's okay, I don't sell juice. It's easy to get caught up in making an ISO9 lab in your basement, just like we search for the best wire, wrapping, wick, tank combos. We never enjoy what we have because we believe there's something out there better. As long as it's working for your needs, don't sweat the small stuff. It's a process so just get started and keep learning!!!

I use 30ml bottles but usually will make 20 to 25ml of juice, allows me a little room to add to if needed. I'm pretty comfortable with what flavours I like or not. Also I prefer the size as it's easy to work with compared to some of the smaller bottles I've used.

I sometimes use 30ml bottles if I haven't got any 5ml, 10ml or 20mls clean, I only make 10 mls in them.

I find it works ok but not great.

I go with 10 ML tester, I also have 5 ML's for single flavor testers. You can get 50 10ml bottles for like $10. 30 ml is way too much for me, I'd rather tinker at a lower amount.

I only use glass Boston rounds. Easier to reuse.

I mix 15ml. Since you have syringes it is super easy. I label nic, PG, and VG syringes. Still wash them when done but dont want to contaminate anything.

>I have two empty flavor glass bottles that are 15mls, but if I put my test batches in there, wouldn't the previous flavorings held in there leech?

Everyone else has commented to your primary concern but I noticed this little nugget and nobody said anything.

The biggest boon about glass bottles is with a quick rinse, or a deep sterilization, you can remove any and all aromas. Glass is not permeable like the plastic bottles. The negative is that they break if mishandled and they aren't cheap.

I mix 10ml samples in 30ml bottles: what's the issue? I am meticulous in cleaning my bottles (my test bottles as well as empty commercial bottles) and have never had an issue with leeching. HOT water and dish soap do wonders. To make life easier I have kept and reused every bottle I've ever bought. I use 3, 10, 15 and 30ml bottles for testing and now make 60ml batches of a couple of my juices. I've got 200ml bottles waiting until I perfect my ADV recipe.

I started with 10-30ml batches when I made garbage juice at first! You’re going to make some pretty mediocre stuff whilst learning, so stick with low batches starting off. Once you learn the basics and find some solid recipes you like, you can start producing bigger batches of the good stuff 👍

This might be controversial, but I exclusively do 30mL test batches. I've found it easier to be consistent than doing 10mL tests. I do have the benefit of my employer footing the bill for ingredients, but it's definitely a sweet spot. If you can afford it, then I'd say go for it. 1 drop makes too significant of a difference at 10mLs.

Was just ruminating about this not five minutes ago. My test batches are 20 mL. The basis for that is... if a vjuice tastes really good to me, then that's about a 2 day supply. After two days, it's a good idea to give it a rest and mix another batch. So yeah, I can see someone making 30 mL test batches. Except you may have to consider how much of that are you going to vape if it doesn't suit you. Even at 20, I have had some bottle sit around for 2-3 months... so you'll have to try to use it up even if it's not as good tasting as some of your other concoctions.

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And the reason for even pondering it? Well, I'm vaping a stand-alone flavor now. At first try, it didn't really do much for me. After a few more days steep, shook it and did a smell test... and thought CRAP, I gotta vape this. Switched from the Wasp Nano to the Wismec Theorem. Do I love it? Nah. Is it good? Yeah. Do I wish I mixed 30 mL versus 20? Eh... kinda iffy on that. Already considering things to throw in with it to see if it's a possible ADV.

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Use your judgement. If you've done your reading and watching vids regarding mixing along the same flavor profiles... you'll be alright. If you're really new to this... you may want to go with everyone else's suggestion of 1 mL testers.

Way too big IMO. I'd suggest 5ml or 10ml batches.

Thats really up to you. Tho, 30ml, is a good bit. Using that amount you will be a able to test a good amount whike letting it steep.

I usually do 20ml for testing because I can't keep my hands off it lol.