Hellooo.
I have read the sidebar, started watching videos and all that, but it is overwhelming for me and I want someone that can recommend me some things and that can explain it all to me.
I don't understand the percentages that well and the different flavor things. I also don't know much about steeping, even though I have watched a video on it. Just getting the best of everything and starting is hard for me, especially since none of the vendors are in my country.
Maybe I'm overthinking or something, but it just seems like a lot to take in without someone showing me what to do.
I know I have to get gloves, a scale, protective gear, some measuring stuff and the liquids, but that is about it. I don't know what liquids are best for me specifically or anything like that.
Thank you for reading. Right now I just want a friend to get me started and all, so you guys don't have to post long things on here. PM's will probably be more effective. Just to save everyone's time.
You should definitely stop by our discord connected to this sub. Bunch of people there, always willing to help and give out advice.
First off, what country are you from? We can figure out the best vendors if we have that info.
Next, here are the items gyou actually need:
Scale
Lots of plastic bottles
VG
Nicotine base
Flavors
(Maybe) PG (or PDO or PEG4000)
A dark cool drawar or cabinet for mixes that need to steep
Some way to create labels. Hockey tape and a sharpie works well. Cheap adhesive labels and a roll of clear tape to wrap over them (after they've been written on) also works. You can figure out yourself what system works best for you, but believe me, label everything.
And of course your vape gear to test mixes on.
As far as what flavors you should get, that's anther story. Partly it deends on what flavors you normally can or can't source reliably. Partly it depends on your personal preferences.
I'm from South Africa. Thank you. I really appreciate it.
Fellow South African here. I get all my flavors, bases, etc. from blckvapour. They have almost everything mentioned in this sub, and my orders usually take less than 24 hours to arrive. There are other vendors around but I have found these guys to be the most reliable. Let me know if you need any more information
Hmm. I do recall a couple mixers from there discussing some vendors, but I don't recall details. But maybe they will now be able to speak up about where to shop. I believe some flavors may be tricky to source there, but chefs in the uk is probably your best bet for getting some of those.
It's so nice to see the sidebar police on annual leave today! 🤣 A really good way to get into DIY that was great for me is to start with pre-made flavour concentrates which give you a great jumping off point for how to work out percentages and mix up your juice, add your nic etc.... It helped me gain some basic experience before moving on to my own totally DIY recipes. Here in the UK we have a great site called www.eliquidflavourconcentrates.co.uk (no affiliation) who sell everything you need fairly cheaply and you can also buy the individual flavourings when your ready. I bet theres similar good sites where you are that do the same. Just one way of getting into it hope it helps! Also work out what VG/PG is best for you generally 50/50 MTL or 70/30 DTL but you're probably already figured that out and get comfortable with your nic percentage etc... Before you begin and then start with a simple two flavour recipe and build up to 10 flavours monstrositys from there!
Thank you. How do I know if it's pre-made? I will try to see if I can find something. Yea, I use 70/30 in my pod. Not really recommended, but I do that anyway and it works well. I will use DTL, so I will have to probably stick to that. Also... what would you suggest for an RDA? Someone said the Drop Solo is trash, but I heard someone else call it amazing. So I don't know what RDA is good anymore. I would love to get the wotofo profile and combine it with DIY, but once again I don't know how much the wotofo uses and how much it will cost me if I do DIY. I vape a lot... pretty much when I'm not in a place where I can't vape. I don't breathe it, but I do vape quite a lot.
Ok so if the product on the site or in the store is labelled as "Flavour (or) Flavor Concentrate" then it's pre made flavouring normally 30ml bottles this is different from the 10ml individual flavours also confusingly "Flavour Concentrate". So what you would do is get an empty bottle the right size. Put your flavour Concentrate in (this is PG based) then add you nicotine (if you use it) then top it off with a vg/pg base mix. Flavour Concentrates are always PG because it carrys flavour and aids dispersal and dilution so if you use 70/30 base and 70/30 nic you will get a 67/33 ish mix which is pretty good for your purposes. Then shake like mad screw the lid on and put it in a warm dark place for anything from 2 days to 6 weeks depending on what the flavour concentrate requires the website you use should have guidelines on what percentage to use for your e-juice of the concentrate and guidelines on how to fix it but a great website and a great calculator to use for this purpose is: https://ecigvape.com/e-liquid-combining-calculator As far as RDA's if you can still get one a Dead Rabbit RDA was always my favourite but watching the big reviewers on Youtube can help. Look for features you like on the reviews don't always trust there word. Some are honest some are sponsored or have financial interests in the products look for something you like that has features you would enjoy on YouTube then Google reviews from the community! 👌 Also say you want to make a 250ml big(ish) bottle of ejuice and don't know hoe much to use look at your product page and if it says (use at 15%) go to a calculator and enter 250(your bottle size) - 15% which will equal 212.5 you can then do 250-212.5 = 37.5 so you need 37.5ml flavour concentrate. The other 212.5 would be some nic and your base. Hope this helps!
I’m sure you will get some help on here, but have you ventured outside of reddit? I really like e-liquid-recipes.com, they have a forum side to the website where there are tons of threads to help out beginners, including threads on single flavor testing notes to help you understand the % better, and members from all over the world that are happy to help with product sourcing issues.
Lots of people on this sub like alltheflavors.com, idk if they have a forum as well, I don’t use it because by the time I discovered it I had already established everything on elr. Good luck to you!!
Thank you very much
Whatever yo do, if you create a ELR account , do NOT trust recipes from theree unless they are from the last year or two. There are a lot of.recipes meant for ancient gear, so percentages used are way too high for anything made in the last couple years outside of pod systems.
There recipes page is a great resource. I haven't exactly gotten creative, but I've found a couple there similar to what I liked to buy. Just like cooking, make the recipe exact the first time, small tweaks (documented!) In subsequent runs to improve it. Simple, easy, quick, and repeatable. Props to those that can take a pile and just toss it together into something tasty, but that's not me.
Once you get used to it, you can.
So you pick out a single flavor, like say... FA Blackcurrant. Then you just scan through your collection until you see a couple flavors that could work with it, like a citrus (maybe JF Lemon) or a floral (like TFA Honeysuckle) a booze (FA Gin?) Grab all of them, and a couple cooling agents, and go for normal usage rates for each... And generally your first attempt will be reasonable. But you then go through the process of tweaking. Sometimes a first attempt is pretty damn tasty, tho..
I would look at alltheflavors and e-liquidrecipes for recipes that you like the sound of, or are similar to what you would buy. Note: similar. Dont fall for clones, at least yet. Both of these websites also have functions which allow you to list your flavours and see what you can make from the database. They should also have a "missing 1,2,3 or 4" option, to see what you can buy to make even more.
Buy PG, VG and nic all separate. Avoid "pre mixed bases" because one mix may have 10% flavouring in total, the next 5 or 15. You will end up with inconsistent ratios of PG to VG. Though this seems to matter less. Definitely get nicotine separate, if you're in the EU, you dont have to buy nicotine shots.
I got a friend into DIY recently. And hes trying to do the same for someone else. You can easily make 1 litre of quality juice with your weekly budget for store bought juice unless you're already super thrifty.
Avoid buying bottles from the same place long term; chefs sell bottles, a pound a go. But you can buy any amount from ibottles for example, works out cheaper in the end. (Using European company's as an example because it's my area).
The discord has a lot of information, but I would say just pick 3 or 4 recipes, perhaps 3 to 4 ingredients each. And overlap at least two of them; for example custards are versatile, can be the base of a pie or tart, or can have fruit, nuts and other things added to modify the profile.
In percentages, it is very simple in practise; if you're making 100ml, 1% is 1ml... which is also 1g for anything that isnt VG based. I hope that helps and I havent over simplified it or taught you to suck eggs
“Don’t fall for clones”
Do you mean clones of known liquids?
What’s wrong with making clones?
Nothing is wrong with cloning recipes. But to go in expecting to find a perfect jam monster or Adirondack right away is stupidly unlikely. I've tried many clones, and they may be satisfying in their own right but only once have I found, not made, a 1:1 clone of a recipe before.
I say avoid them in order to better manage expectations and not end up with a load of dud flavours.
Learn the basics first. Then start cloning yourself. Course you can see what's online; but if you are starting from zero how will you ever learn that Dinner Ladys lemon tart doesnt use FA custard, even though it is the best custard for citrus profiles? (Just an example off the top of my head).
Ah ok. So I should buy VG and PG separately?
Yes. But if you have already got a premixed base, you can buy a smaller bottle of one or the other to fix your ratios... probably almost always extra VG.
Cos if you use 70/30 pre mixed, and add 10% in PG based flavours, and use PG nic, you're going to end up with 57/43. Vapeable, but may run through your wicking ports if you're using a tank. So there are work arounds.
You do not have to use a scale to do DIY. I may get some hate for this and that’s fine but I don’t use a scale.
I find it easier to use a syringe and a pipette and use a DIY calculator that tells me what to add in ML.
All of my flavorings are 100% PG. My nic is 100% VG
For example one of my fave recipe’s is a 30ml recipe and measure is
WF - Hazlenut and Cream - 8% - 2.4ml TFA - Western - 4% - 1.2ml VG - 19.44 ML (always add VG last) PG - 5.4 ML NIC - 1.56 ML
This recipe needs a minimum of 7 days steep but I find it to be better after 14 days steep.
Finished product is 70VG/30PG and 6mg nic
I start by combining flavors and PG then add NIC and mix until well combined. I had my VG last and mix again or shake until well combined.
% will always be the same no matter how many ML you are making — the difference is that the amount added by ML will go up when making larger batches.
I would suggest starting by making one shot shake and vape flavors.
My first recipe was a blue raz Slushie (flavor from OSDIY) only required one flavor and I could try immediately! It was my ADV for a long time. I mixed it at 13% flavor.
I don’t know if I can link the calculator I use but if interested send a PM for link.
OP - get a scale, it's way simpler and you don't have to be a cleaning bitch.
Some find it way more complicated. It’s truly a matter of opinion. I’ve tried both and find the scale to be more complicated and the syringe and pipette to be simple. Of course I’m not lazy either and don’t mind cleaning up one syringe and one pipette.
That's really helpful. Thank you. I don't understand the whole scale thing much. Syringes make more sense, but yea... What does the TFA, WF and all that mean? That's one of the stuff that confuses me. I already PM'd you I believe.
Using a scale is as simple as squirting each flavoring directly into the bottle you're mixing and then hitting tare on the scale and adding the next. No cleanup involved, no replacement costs, it's so much simpler. All the E Liquid mixing calculators will tell you how many grams you need to add if each ingredient too
Ralf1226, welcome to the world of DIY! I am also from South Africa, and by no means a professional mixer but been mixing for just over a year. I will drop you a PM with my number so you can send me a WhatsApp.
Will be easier to help on there and give advice and tips on reputable DIY sellers in SA
If you’re not completely comfortable with mixing, I’d recommend starting by ordering a liter of pre-mixed unflavored base in your desired VG/PG ratio and nicotine strength.
Mixing juice this way makes it very simple, as all you need to do is add flavoring.
Depending on the vendor, a liter of base costs around $12-$20, so it’s more expensive than if you were to mix everything yourself, but is still cheaper than buying commercial juice.
I have been DIYing for the past 4 months. I can only tell you what worked for me. To start off with, I got a scale, 8 flavorings in 30mls, PG, VG, nicotine, and some glass bottles, 6 to be exact. I had some glass bottles from when I used to buy liquid. I personally am against pre mixed flavorings, mainly because it takes away the thrill of making something better than you bought from the store, at home. Don’t mix by volume. When it came to picking flavors that I would want to vape, I simply picked my favorite melon flavors and some other fruits. In latter orders I have gotten stuff like ethyl maltol and WS-23. If you wanna grow your pallet for juices, and still save a considerable amount of money then the traditional method of buying individual flavors seems right for you.
Thank you. Not sure about the last sentence.
I mean to say that if you really are trying to get into DIY proper, you should order flavorings individually and mix with those. It gives you more control over what you're mixing. There's no way to adjust premixed flavorings to your liking. Plus, most flavorings are inexpensive. There are some expensive brands that are somewhat for niche mixes.
Start with one shot concentrates. They are ready mixed flavors that you only have to add base and nicotine too.
Buy some.bottles
Buy some base (it's like 14 euro for a liter)
Buy some nicotine (in Europe its nic boosters usually 10ml bottle of 18mg or 20mgl
Buy a couple of syringes (10ml, 20ml, 60ml)
One shot concentrate that recommends 10% mixing for example. Making a 120ml eliquid at 3mg. Assume the nic shots are 10ml 18mg and in max VG. And the flavoring is PG.
Add 12ml flavoring (10% remember its PG)
Add add 24ml PG
total off 36pg
Add 64ml VG
Now add 2nic shots 10ml of 18mg nic. That's 20ml of max vg.
total of 84 VG and a grand total of 120ml that's 70VG/30PG @3mg
This is how I mix my favorite liquid. Only I mix 100ml and only add one nic shot of 18 or 20mg making it 2mg liquid..also makes it easier to calculate
P.S. there is an app called vape assistant that can.helpnyou calculate exact ml, nicotine, base, flavorings etc this is especially handy if you live on the US and can buy nicotine in bulk instead of nic boosters / nic shots like in Europe
Start with flavors. Starting with one shots is just lazy mixing and won't teach you anything.
The reason why most people mix is to save money. Mixing can be confusing, costly to start off with and you'll likely end up mixing a lot off stuff you won't like..
One shots are far easier to start with and it will still be far cheaper than buying premium liquid. Without having to buy a dozen flavors and experimenting, trying recipes etc. Not to mention many people find that mixes etc aren't as strong as premium liquids or don't taste right etc not everyone wants to learn how to mix and or turn it onto a time consuming hobby many just want a cheaper way to vape and one shots are perfect for that.
My favorite liquid is a one shot that costs 20 euro for a 100ml bottle. I can make an whole liter of liquid of that shit.
You can also buy one shots of guys like DIY or DIE. Recently ordered some of his water malone which is supposed to be very good.
Not to mention in 2 days shake and vapes will be illegal innthe Netherlands (inc CBD vapes and any flavorings in bottles larger than 10ml, which I'd absolutely fucking retarded)nthenonly thing allowed is liquids in expensice 10ml bottles. This makes DL vaping insanely expensive and even MTL vaping very expensive. I assume many more companies will start selling their liquids as one shots.
The nicotine measurements are a bit confusing with all those 10ml 18mg stuff. I also don't completely understand the logic in the whole 18mg becoming 3mg, but I guess that's probably just dilution.
Where do you live? In Europe nic shots are the norm.
If there is 18 mg in 10ml (so 18mg for every ml) that's 180mg of nicotine in total in tannic shot and 360mg in 2 nic shots. And you want to make 120ml eliquid.
360mg / 120ml = 3
If you want to make 60ml liquid at 3mg. Using 1 x 18mg shot and adding another 50ml of base without nic
180mg / 60ml = 3mg
Like I said you don't really have to calculate. There are apps for that. And I f you live in the USA you might be able to buy nicotine in larger quantities (100ml with 100mg) but in Europe nicotine in bottles over 10ml is banned and naz nicotine that's allowed in a bottle is 20mg
The reason is because of laziness. It's not actually mg, it's mg/ml. So multiply that concentration by the volume to figure out total nic. Divide that number (which is actually in mg) by the total volume (juice plus shot) to get a value in mg/ml which will be less than the number you started with. Makes total sense when you use the correct units.