Hi guys, new mixer here.
Ex smoker, vaping since January. It didn't take me long after switching to realize that the cost of buying retail juice is just obscene, comical even. I could go on a rant about it, but let's just say I've been very eager to get out from under the thumb of price gouging commercial e-liquid companies.
So I finally got my first order of supplies from nicotine river. I spent 50 bucks for 18 flavors, 1000ml vg, 500ml pg, 150ml PurNic freebase in 48mg, and a few syringes. I bought a 500g x .01 scale separate on ebay along with some WS-23.
Total cost around 65 dollars for everything.
First impressions are that the future looks bright and I'm going to be vaping for pennies. If I can manage to stop blowing money on vape gear that is. I've already come up with 2 recipes I really enjoy. However, there is one glaring problem..
This nicotine is trash.
I had to do some testing to figure out what the hell was going on, but the verdict is in. Recipes without nicotine are 10/10 bliss. The same recipes with nicotine at 3mg are absolutely ruined. Harsh, peppery, gross. Borderline unvapable. I can get away with using it at 2mg in mixes with heavy cooling agents but that certainly isn't ideal.
The date on this nic batch is January 17, 2019 and it does have a slight yellowish rust colored hue when you look down through it. Nothing crazy but from reading here I knew a little about what to look for. It's clear but not crystal clear.
So where do I get quality freebase nicotine? Can I use salts from Nicotine River instead? Another vendor or type of nic? I've been vaping 3mg commercial until now. I don't know what kind they were using because none of them tell you their ingredients, but all my old bottles of Blizzard melon burst do say "Nicotine from 100% foreign tobacco." My old bottles of butterscotch reserve and Yogi java give no information.
Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and get a little guidance from some seasoned vets. I plan on staying here awhile and eventually contributing.
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I have tried about 6 or 7 different nic and Carolinaxtract is the best for sure. Keeps nicely as well, had a bottle for a year that I kept in the fridge when not in use. That bottle was just as clean a year later. Had a backup bottle stored in the freezer for 2 years without any change. Used that for about a year so 3 years from purchase and the nic never degraded.
Since I dropped down to 1.5mg nic didn't make sense to spend so much on Carolinaxtract anymore. Now I use Vaperstek and am happy. For those times I need a 3mg kick I will use salt nic, picked some up from nicotineriver.com and it is pretty clean. I did get a bad batch of NR freebase nic once, was terrible just like the OP. Since it was only a small sample bottle I didn't complain, just never ordered freebase nic from NR ever again.
Just order some salt nic if price is a concern, if price doesn't matter and you want the best then get Carolinaxtract.
I'll second Carolinaxtract, fantastic freebase nic (haven't tried their salt yet). When I first started mixing I bought way too much, I've had the same bottle almost a year and a half, store in my freezer when not being used and it's still crystal clear. I mix at 6 for freebase and it's super smooth
Do they ship internationally, do you know offhand?
After I move to a new flat looking to start getting into DIY (Don't have the space at the moment) because of weird laws in my country about buying vape juices (You can only buy 0 nic juice, but importing up to 120ml of nicotine is fine). Starting to put together a list of resources to buy mixes and equipment from that would ship to Japan.
Removed for the link to nicotine - not allowed because reddit is dumb. /u/Mechnasty here is the text of this otherwise great comment by /u/Lulzorr without the offending link:
> Carolina xtracts sells really high quality nicotine. It's pretty much all I've ever used since trying it. Their 120ml 100mg samples are sealed perfectly and do not see sunlight or air until you open the bottle yourself. It may be more expensive than the usual places when you factor in shipping but you get what you pay for.
> They also sell nic salts but i haven't tried them.
Lmao, i completely forgot reddit went full nanny state. My bad.
Would it have been better if i had linked to their process page/information rather than the storefront?
Nah, just assume or at least hope that anyone smart enough to make their own juice can google a brand and find their site. I like being as helpful as possible too, but better safe than sorry lest we forget the diy juice classified subreddit getting completely nuked without warning.
>ID10-T
We're going to need you to stencil your name and division number on your mattress and bring it down to the OOD for inspection.
Don't forget to fill out the ID10T form.
This. Been buying my nic from them for two years, I'm yet to be disappointed. Also recently tried nudenicotine(.com) for salts, bought the hit and smooth both at 100mg and have been mixing them 50/50 for my AIO's with good results.
As far as the best goes, I have never had an issue with nic from Nude Nicotine. It's a little pricier than some vendors, but the quality is extremely good.
I like nude nic.
That's a brave thing to state in this sub these days.
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I remember when they were the best of the best back in the day. Now they just can't seem to keep any sort of consistent shipping times. Waiting months for nicotine is ridiculous.
I've ordered salts from them and had it in 4-5 days. 3 times in the last year.
NicRiver sells Chemnovatic which is a usually a very good brand (Freebase). Vaperstek sells it also. The stuff I've got from them has been pretty much flaweless. It's usually very clean tasting and doesn't effect the flavors. I have read though that the best is from Carolina Extracts. I haven't seen the need to spend extra on it though.
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For salts I've only tried PurNic smooth salts from NicRiver. I think it's good.
My PurNic from NicRiver is fine for me too. I don't even store them in the freezer like I did with their freebase nicotine. 6 months later and the nic salts still taste the same. The freebase stuff was a little harsh but it wasn't bad tasting, I just don't like the throat hit.
Do you actually mean 3% (30mg per 1ml) or 0.3% (3mg per 1ml)??
I’ve used tons of different nicotine out there. Liquid barn is the only consistently good vendor. I dont know if its the nic source, their production or just luck but its the one I recommend my family. Nicriv must have changed something recently cause theirs definitely went way down hill for me. And I just dont trust nude nicotine. Never tried Carolina extracts.
I just bought purenic and experienced a gross taste as well. It had a distinct “chemically” taste. I bought some from Carolina xtracts and it was perfect. I highly recommend their stuff if cost isn’t too much of an issue.
I have a chemistry background and looked into extraction methods. Most likely all manufacturers use an ether/petroleum ether solvent extraction method. Maybe the petroleum ether is low grade and has impurities that contaminate the dry nicotine product. Also it seems some methods apply on trash tobacco leaf unsuitable for other tobacco products - the alkaloid profile of the tobacco shows up in the extraction in some methods. Supercritical extraction (Carolina extracts, others?) uses wayyy cleaner chemistry. It uses supercritical co2, which exists outside the typical gas/liquid/solid phase ranges as a solvent. The only downside of supercritical extraction I see is the selectivity, where the co2 temp/pressure needs to be precisely tuned. It will target a broader range of alkaloids, including nicotine. Caffeine free coffee and nicotine free cigs are produced via this method FYI.
edit Solvent extraction using ether/petroleum ether/kerosene/whatever can yield high purity nicotine just like supercritical extraction, given that the manufacturer uses high quality reagents and a proper method. There are just many more places to cut corners to make the process more economical (at the cost of contaminants). When my nicotine had a notably 'bad' taste in it, I got sketched out trying to think how it was introduced in the first place, that's all.
That settles it. Supercritical nicotine for the win. It's more than the others but not really expensive overall. There are probably variations in quality in VG and PG as well. Do you have any thoughts on those processes and suppliers? We should put together a list of top shelf ingredients.
VG and PG are used in tons of places and the manufacturing is mature and high quality. I'd probably just look out for USP grade stuff.
"USP" grade is usually higher quality, but it be meaningless as well sometimes... unfortunately! https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guidances/ucm124747.htm
Why not get the kit from NR? I do that a couple times a year to replenish supplies more than anything. Syringes don't last long.
I've only had a problem with one nic from them. My fault. Was living in my car. Temp fluctuations. I could watch it turn. Sucked. Still used it. I diy for the same reason you do. I average $2 a bottle and enjoy most of them. I like simple and not super sweet. Occassionaly I'll but a premium and break it down with a little VG and a little nic. 100mg works great for that. Makes a $20 bottle of gross several $5 bottles of nice.
I didn't get a kit because I'm mixing by weight. I already had a bunch of empty juice bottles and a box of nitrile gloves also. The only extra I needed was the syringes to get the nicotine out of the bottle.
Makes sense then.
I don't get mixing by weight. What is the advantage?
No mixing, no washing beakers in between flavors, less chance of contaminates, no clean up.
I enter my recipe into an online calculator and it tells me how many grams per ingredient.
Then I just put an empty bottle on the scale, zero it out, and drip in the amounts, setting the scale back to zero after each one is added.
It's super easy. I'm so glad I went with the scale instead of the starter kits.
Buy a 10 dollar digital scale and try it out. I guarantee you won't go back after that.
That's funny, I heard Nic R had the good nic. Did you check experation date? What is it that makes it bad? I'm newb, that's why I ask.
I heard that they were a good one stop shop. That's why I went there. I'm pretty newby myself but I do know that light, temp, and air ruin nicotine. This nic was foil sealed in a white opaque container. I don't know why it's bad. I just know that it's 4 months old based on the batch date and has a slight hue when it should be crystal clear. I also saw some white flakes but I dunno if that's normal or not. I won't be buying it again that's for sure.
This is a great thread! I’ve been considering a switch to a new brand of freebase nicotine. I’ve bought vaperstek 100mg in vg a couple times. I was happy with the quality, but noticed the second batch I bought started getting quite peppery after about 6 months in the freezer. My last order was to NR, got the 100mg chemnovatic and smooth nic salt. The nic salt is very good, smooth even at high levels but the chemnovatic isn’t that good. It’s more peppery than what I’m used to (vaperstek) and has an odor and taste to it. I would highly recommend the nic salt from NR but not the chemnovatic. Maybe I’ll spring for Carolina xtract this time, seems like the consensus best available. Are there any other nicotine brands/manufacturers worth checking out?