So I just started DIY my juice. Found something similar to what I used to vape and mixed it up. It tastes fine, but it really irritating to the point of making me wheeze and my throat burn which did not happen when buying pre made juice. I see on the troubleshooting to start with the Nicotine. Since I am new to this I am going to post the recipe and maybe someone can tell me possibly where to start.
- Nicotine juice 100mg (100%PG) 1.8 ml
- PG 7.2 ml
- VG 42.00 ml
- Bavarian Cream (FA) 0.60 ml
- Butterscotch (FW) 2.10 ml
- Caramel Toffee (Hangsen) 0.60 ml
- Custard (IN) 0.90 ml
- Graham Cracker (Clear) (TPA) 1.20 ml
- Marshmallow (FA) 0.60 ml
- Vanilla Custard (FW) 3.00
Should I try a 50/50 VG/PG mixture of nicotine, or go with 100 VG nicotine, or is it one one the flavorings causing the problem? Any help would be appreciated.
First, shake the ever loving shit out of it. Nicotine can float to the top.
Second, make a batch without nicotine. If that's fine, it's the nic.
If that's the same, do individual flavor tests of each flavor. It's important to do this as everyone reacts differently to flavors and you can find what's bothering you.
Did you vape it right after mixing it? Both FA Bavarian Cream and FW Vanilla Custard need to steep for about 14 days (cap on, cool dark place, like a drawer or cupboard), before that it can be harsh.
Do you have trouble with vanilla? Some vapers are pepper tasters and cannot vape some vanilla flavors (often TFA Vanilla Custard) because they are too harsh.
To test your nicotine, simply mix a small amount of “Unjuice“: VG, PG and nicotine at your used %. No need to mix the flavors without nicotine. If the Unjuice is fine, it‘s not the nicotine.
Wheezing actually sounds like it could be a chemical sensitivity. After testing your nicotine for harshness, you can test each flavor individually by mixing small batches of single flavors. It‘s tedious, but worth knowing what is causing health issues.
I did not steep it for 14 days. I ran out of store bought, expensive so let it steep about a week. I never had trouble with Vanilla before, that I know of. I used to vape Vigilante Rogue and Beantown Vapor Soul Custardy which is what I was after with this recipe, neither of those ever bothered me. I love the Rogue, but I am having trouble finding a close to clone of it.
Store bought juice has often been steeping for quite a while in warehouses and on shelfs before ending up in your hand. Also, keep your juice out of sunlight or other sources of UV, as it will accelerate the oxidation of the nicotine making it harsher. Leaving it untouched and uncovered on your desk for 2 weeks is a bad way to steep :)
The only thing I see in your list that would be harsh or affect your lungs, is the nicotine. You are a man after my heart with a complex custard recipe that should be a full-bodied creamy vape. If your nicotine isn't fresh, it may be kicking the Bavarian Cream.
70/30 is a good ratio for custards, but also reduced throat hit from the reduced PG (hence why it should be smooth and may be your nicotine). Nicotine is nicotine, so mixing PG base or VG base shouldn't matter. Note: using a 50/50 base nicotine will actually make things more difficult and affect your final ratio.
You could be sensitive to DAAP.
My guess is, assuming you're mixing a 60ml, the 2% Graham Cracker (Clear) -- I have similar problems with that flavor at even .5-1%. I've found, at least for me, there's something about one or more of the *lactones in TPA formulations (based on their GCMS info) that tends to cause that problem in my throat and lungs; It's weird, too, because it's not usually reproducable when mixing similar flavors from other manufacturers -- but that's based on the presumption other flavor manufacturers are using same/similar volatiles to achieve the same effect...
Edit: For me, everything else apart from the Hangsen Caramel Toffee (I've never had it) from a flavor perspective looks okay. I did, however, discover recently that cocoa butter is a potential aggravator, for me, that also causes similar, if not worse, reactions and might be used in toffee flavors depending on the manufacturer. Consider, too, your percentages seem a bit high here and there; As others have suggested, you could be DAAP sensitive and the few that are on the higher end in your recipe are known to have higher levels. Just food for thought...
Looks like a good recipe but gonna need a long steep. Maybe 2 months
It might be a combination of all the above. Not shaking enough. I have not steeped it for long, a week at the most. My old vape, store bought is so damn expensive $40.00 for120ml I was desperate to find an alternative. Like I said the flavor is really good, just the severe harshness. I also just today ordered some Amber bottles for the nicotine. I have been keeping one in the freezer in the container it came in, and the new bottle not opened is in the fridge. I was reading that could be a problem as well. Thanks for all the input, much appreciated.
I keep hearing people say that the nicotine can be a throat irritant but in my case, I can use the same nicotine in different mixes and while it bothers my throat in some it doesn’t in others. For me, all citrus flavors bother my throat. I still make the recipes but put the bottle back in my drawer after 2-3 tanks. Second on my list is vanilla bean ice cream. I can vape maybe 4-5 tanks before my throat gets scratchy. Lastly, is Bavarian cream. No matter which vendor, it still gets to me after a while. While irritation from nicotine may be high in the list, just know that it’s not the only factor.
Is there any substitute similar in taste to the Bavarian Creme that could be used?
If there is, I haven’t found it. But my solution is to keep several finished bottles in my rotation. I go from citrus to something else then from VBIC to something else and so on. I always have a few bottles of something I can vape without irritation to vape until my throat clears up. Then back to citrus, Bavarian cream and VBIC.
Just curious where you got that recipe from? I can't recall seeing any recipes using FW Vanilla Custard, which leads me to believe that it's not a very good flavor. If you're interested in some good custard recipes I could suggest a few if you're interested.
I got it from E Liquids Recipes. I was trying to clone something close to Soul Custardy. My favorite however is Vigilante Rogue, which is $40.00 for 120ml. I think I might have found one on the same website close to the Rogue. Woke up again hacking this morning, almost like I have been smoking cigarettes again.
The default setting for E Liquid Recipes (ELR) is to make recipes public. That leads to a ton of recipes created by people that don't know what they're doing. Now I'm not saying that there aren't any good recipes there, because there are, they are just extremely hard to find. I wouldn't personally mix any recipes from that site that were not reviewed and highly rated. Just looking at the description of Soul Custardy, it says that it is a custard that is not eggy. Well that recipe has INW Custard which is very eggy, so I don't think it is going to be what you are looking for. The best custard that I know of that is not eggy would be FLV Vanilla Custard, which is really more of a pudding than a custard, but thats the reason that it is not eggy, where all the other brands are. The description for Rogue doesn't sound like it would be that hard to find out the main ingredients. French Vanilla Custard is definitely TPA Vanilla Custard II. If you like custards you need to get this flavor, it's the best custard that you can buy in North America hands down. Shaved young coconut sounds to me like it would probably be FA Coconut. And caramel drizzle sounds like it would probably be TPA Caramel or Caramel Deluxe. It would not be difficult to create a good custard recipe with those 3 flavors if you can't find one. As far as your chest hurting and coughing, where did you buy your nic from? I just tried vaping a bottle of juice that I made a few months ago and kind of forgot about. Anyways the nic in that juice was from the first place I ever bought nic from and apparently wasn't very good quality because it hurt my throat and chest immediately when I Vaped it. So different suppliers have different quality nic. The nic that I have from my current supplier is way smoother.
I am using Liquid Nicotine Wholesalers 100 mg PG Solution bought from them. if there are better places to buy from please let me know. I found on here a post five years old where a guy said his father in law talked to the mixologist from Vapor Stockroom who makes Rogue and that he cloned to the Rogue using CAP VC, CAP Marshmallow, CAP Cake Batter, and 1 drop of CAP Butter for every 10 ml. When the other guy asked him to respond and give percentages he never replied back. Rogue is my all day vape, I love it, but damn $80-120 a month for the juice I can not afford any longer. Soul Custardy is one I vaped a couple years ago, it is alright.
Also, in the future it's easier for other people to understand your recipe if you just list the flavorings in percentages, the VG/PG ratio number, and your nic mg number. Those are the important numbers and that way we don't have to do any additional math to figure them out.