# DIY Noob mistakes



## DanielSLP (17/9/16)

Good day Everyone!

I'm just starting a discussion thread for new people mixing, where we can all share mistakes we have seen or done, to help new mixers and also share tips for new mixers.

From what I have seen. When mixing by volume, the first mistake I have seen a few people make, is using the same syringe for all the flavourings, sure you can wash it off but unless you are sterilising and boiling the same syringe after every flavour, there will always be left over concentrate on the syringe. This will taint your concentrates.

New people storing nicotine out in the open. Nicotine degrades with light and heat and therefore needs to be stored in a dark cool place. I have heard of people using a freezer and this is fine, but remember that nicotine needs to be back at room temperature before using it for a mix. Also keeping it in the same place as your food, carries the risk of children getting close to it or consuming it. I personally store mine in material bag in a box right on the top shelf of my cupboard. I don't have kids but if somebodies child had to visit and got hold of it, I would prefer to just be safe.

This one isn't so much of a mistake, but if you are getting into mixing, I would make the financial sacrifice now and buy a scale, once you have used a scale, you will kick yourself for ever thinking syringes are fine. It takes me 10 minutes max and 0 organisation to mix a bottle and my only cleanup is a syringe that I use for the nicotine. Always remember that you need to calibrate your scale for the most accurate mix. Blckvapour and Valley Vapour carry some really good scales in their shops.

Another mistake I've seen is over flavouring. There is tonnes of flavour reviews and recommended percentages out there. These were done by people that have already made these mistakes and I'm a strong believer in learning from other peoples mistakes. You shouldn't be using Bilberry FA at 7% or more and think you aren't going to die, trust me that flavour is potent and I have never gone over the 1% mark, all the flavour concentrates out there carry their own potency and that's why they have their own recommended percentage

There are more mistakes I have seen, but I want to give everyone the chance to share.

Thank you!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Quakes (17/9/16)

Thanks man... I will be watching this thread. I'm starting my own mix next month and this thread came on the right time!


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## ET (17/9/16)

Noob mistake # 4. Having several open concentrate bottles right next to your bottle you're mixing in and then squirting some blueberry concentrate into your vanilla bean ice cream concentrate bottle instead of the empty mixing bottle

Reactions: Funny 1 | Can relate 1


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## Quakes (17/9/16)

Hahaha, that's an fail! Lol


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## DanielSLP (17/9/16)

Hahahaha stuck making blueberry ice cream, milkshakes and related recipes


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## RichJB (17/9/16)

At least Blueberry Ice Cream is usable. Imagine dumping like Peanut Butter into your Absinthe. 





Hang on...






... opens eJuice Me Up and goes off to fetch scale and mixing kit.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 3


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## DanielSLP (17/9/16)

Please call it Absinthe Nutter


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## DanielSLP (17/9/16)

Wait... Abs in the Nutter works aswell

Reactions: Like 1


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## moonunit (17/9/16)

Some good points from the OP! Something I picked up very quickly was when using recipes off www.eliquidcalculator.com be very weary of the % used in the recipes posted by others, always have a look at the total flavour %. Reason for this is some of the recipes have extremely high % concentrates. As an example seen some with TFA Cocoa at 10% plus other concentrates, all this will do is overpower everything and gunk up your coil with 1/2 a tank. 

So when using recipes you find online be weary of the %, you could end up making a nice chemical bath vape. Check for the higher rated recipes or from better known DIY'ers. This will help you develop a feel for certain concentrates and help you develop your own recipes.


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Reactions: Agree 3


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## Glytch (17/9/16)

DanielSLP said:


> Good day Everyone!
> 
> I'm just starting a discussion thread for new people mixing, where we can all share mistakes we have seen or done, to help new mixers and also share tips for new mixers.
> 
> ...


Great thread.

I completely agree with double checking flavour % or ELR. I adjust any TFA total flavour % over 15% downwards and same for anything FA over 10%. Start lower and can always work upwards if needed.

Mistake: not shaking concentrates and nicotine thoroughly (especially nic in VG)

Mistake: not letting juice steep. When I started I was dubious about the whole steeping thing but it really is important. Some juices which are unvapeable the day after are heavenly after 3 weeks. 

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Reactions: Like 2 | Can relate 1


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## Lord Vetinari (18/9/16)

Noob Mistake Number One: "Philip Rocke ain't gonna have NOTHING on this, move over ENYAWREKLAW" lol... about 20000 bad mixes later reality dawns

Reactions: Funny 4


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## Rude Rudi (19/9/16)

*Don't sub flavours* when following a (well know) recipe. Furthermore don't sub within a manufacturer's own versions, ie Cap sugar cookie V1 for V2 or visa versa.

The "top dogs" spend months creating, testing and tinkering a recipe to achieve exact flavour profiles using exact %'s of particular manufacturer. If you don't have one of the EXACT products, rather don't make that recipe - come back to it when you do.

It's like making a basting sauce for your steak and the recipe calls for All Gold tomato sauce and you use Wimpy tomato sauce = the resulting sauce is O.K but it doesn't quite taste so "lekker". The balance is somehow out, the acidity is too high, it's watery, etc, etc, As we know, not all tomato sauces are equal but each have their place. Wimpy tomato sauce is fantastic smothered over your chips and it takes 2 days to get the red dye off your fingers. All Gold is brilliant on a boerie roll or mixed with mayo to create a Marie Rose sauce, etc, Some swear by Wimpy tomato sauce but other's cant stand it and prefer All Gold. If you make the same basting sauce using two different tomato sauces, the end result will be completely different. If you want to make your own basting sauce using Wimpy tomato sauce, go wild but don't follow a recipe which calls for All Gold and use Wimpy.

Same when mixing from a recipe - don't sub. Period.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 2


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## Lord Vetinari (19/9/16)

Rude Rudi said:


> *Don't sub flavours* when following a (well know) recipe. Furthermore don't sub within a manufacturer's own versions, ie Cap sugar cookie V1 for V2 or visa versa.
> 
> The "top dogs" spend months creating, testing and tinkering a recipe to achieve exact flavour profiles using exact %'s of particular manufacturer. If you don't have one of the EXACT products, rather don't make that recipe - come back to it when you do.
> 
> ...


OOOOH it depends on the goal. Some of my coolest recipes were and accidents. Subs are a VERY good way to learn how concentrates affect a mix. For example when I replaced CAP Custard V1 with TFA Custard and my mix went from a cookie to a weird ice cream and there was no ice cream in there LMFAO... Then the intense joy of figuring out which exact other flavors it is playing off for the effect... and then nailing it and using it to create a hard-boiled-ice-cream-candy vape. 

HOWEVER if you are after creating an EXACT profile as described by another, then I agree, do NOT sub! If it says V1, V2 wont work. So I agree, but I also think subbing is just too much fun!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Cespian (19/9/16)

One of my biggest DIY Noob Mistakes: 5% TFA Koolada. I am lucky to be alive. 

Also stabbed myself with needles a couple of times... before the days of using a scale and blunt tip needles being as scarce as a non-corrupt politician.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 4


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## RichJB (19/9/16)

I think another n00b mistake is buying flavours because they appear to be complex and complete. People see Chocolate Fudge Brownie and they think "Yummy", they see Brown Sugar and they think "Mmmm, maybe later". Look at recipes and see which of the two is used more often.

Even HIC does this. In a forum post, he says that FA Mandarin is his favourite orange flavour, much more so than FA Orange. Maybe standalone, yes. But I went through HIC's recipes and he uses Orange in about ten recipes, Mandarin in only one or two. So which will be the more versatile and useful to buy? Similarly, he says of FA Butterscotch "Stronger, sharper, richer, and sweeter than FA Caramel". That makes it sound more appealing to a new mixer. Look at how often HIC uses Caramel in his recipes, and how seldom he uses Butterscotch, and you get a completely different impression. Standalone flavour is one thing, how useful it is in mixes is completely different.

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## gertvanjoe (19/9/16)

Cespian said:


> One of my biggest DIY Noob Mistakes: 5% TFA Koolada. I am lucky to be alive.
> 
> Also stabbed myself with needles a couple of times... before the days of using a scale and blunt tip needles being as scarce as a non-corrupt politician.


can agree to stabbing. When just starting out I bought the syringes with their needles soon realizing they were to thin. Upon getting new ones and opening the first one I somehow managed to bury half its lenghth down into my finger. Fortunately brand new and sterile. Bled for 2 hours with me trying to make it stop

Sent from Mars


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## Huffapuff (19/9/16)

Rude Rudi said:


> *Don't sub flavours* when following a (well know) recipe. Furthermore don't sub within a manufacturer's own versions, ie Cap sugar cookie V1 for V2 or visa versa.
> 
> The "top dogs" spend months creating, testing and tinkering a recipe to achieve exact flavour profiles using exact %'s of particular manufacturer. If you don't have one of the EXACT products, rather don't make that recipe - come back to it when you do.
> 
> ...



While I do agree here, I also feel that unless one has an ultra developed palate there are areas where you can get away with subbing quite successfully. For example:
TFA Bavarian Cream can be subbed with FA Vienna Cream at half the %. CAP Vanilla Custard V1 can be stubbed with V2 but you just need to steep longer. 

According to the First Law of Vaping you will always be missing at least one flavour from any recipe so trawling the net to find suitable subs is half the challenge

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## Huffapuff (19/9/16)

Noob mistake: not taking off the little plastic ring that seals the twist cap of your concentrate so it falls into your mix while dripping. Twice. In a row

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1 | Can relate 8


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## Glytch (19/9/16)

gertvanjoe said:


> can agree to stabbing. When just starting out I bought the syringes with their needles soon realizing they were to thin. Upon getting new ones and opening the first one I somehow managed to bury half its lenghth down into my finger. Fortunately brand new and sterile. Bled for 2 hours with me trying to make it stop
> 
> Sent from Mars


n00b advice: Pouring VG will be frustrating at the best of times

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## Rude Rudi (19/9/16)

Huffapuff said:


> While I do agree here, I also feel that unless one has an ultra developed palate there are areas where you can get away with subbing quite successfully. For example:
> TFA Bavarian Cream can be subbed with FA Vienna Cream at half the %. CAP Vanilla Custard V1 can be stubbed with V2 but you just need to steep longer.
> 
> According to the First Law of Vaping you will always be missing at least one flavour from any recipe so trawling the net to find suitable subs is half the challenge



Yes, but a tough ask for a noob...who lacks the experience to do this. I'm referring to an exact ENYAWREKLAW recipe which calls for exact flavours and %'s... As a beginner, the subs can ruin a potential masterpiece. 


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Reactions: Agree 3


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## Greyz (19/9/16)

The best advise I can give any noob DIY'er is get a scale.
Don't waste time buying needles, you just need one with a thick, blunt tip for your Nic (and even then you could decant your nic into a 100ml HDPE bottle and be done with needles altogether)

Using a scale means less of that time consuming mix, mix, mix, no clean needles, stop, sterile needles, dry needles and mix, rinse, repeat.
As a piece of parting advise for any noob, head online and grab some clone recipes and start off with those. You will have a lot more success following tried and tested recipes than trying to wing it on your own. Not only will this gain you confidence that DIY is the right path but it will help you get a good understanding for how flavour profiles play together and at what percentages.

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## Lord Vetinari (19/9/16)

Huffapuff said:


> Noob mistake: not taking off the little plastic ring that seals the twist cap of your concentrate so it falls into your mix while dripping. Twice. In a row


Twice? ONLY? LOOOL I know that feeling. I still do it.


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## Huffapuff (19/9/16)

FogFace said:


> Twice? ONLY? LOOOL I know that feeling. I still do it.



Twice was enough - promptly went through my whole stash removing the rings. Now when new stock arrives I open the bottle, give it a sniff and remove the ring

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Glytch (19/9/16)

Huffapuff said:


> Noob mistake: not taking off the little plastic ring that seals the twist cap of your concentrate so it falls into your mix while dripping. Twice. In a row


OMFG. I hate those plastic devils.

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## Lord Vetinari (20/9/16)

Huffapuff said:


> Twice was enough - promptly went through my whole stash removing the rings. Now when new stock arrives I open the bottle, give it a sniff and remove the ring


I crack open too many 10ml's WHILE mixing... usually when just running out and opening a new one


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## Quakes (20/9/16)

Hi Guys

Just want to say thank you all for the tips and heads ups. I'm buying my first DIY ingredients end of this month and I already learnt a lot from this threat and this forum, and now know of a few things to look out for. I was going to mix by volume but thanks to all of you I now see that mixing by weight is much better.

So thank you all.

Reactions: Like 2


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## Glytch (20/9/16)

Quakes said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> Just want to say thank you all for the tips and heads ups. I'm buying my first DIY ingredients end of this month and I already learnt a lot from this threat and this forum, and now know of a few things to look out for. I was going to mix by volume but thanks to all of you I now see that mixing by weight is much better.
> 
> So thank you all.


Mixing by weight really is better. Definitely get a scale. You won't regret it! Good luck and feel free to ask any questions you may have on this forum. Guys are really helpful.

What recipes are you going to make first?

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## Quakes (20/9/16)

Thanks, I'm not going to buy a scale for now, going to use my wife's scale as she's never using it, only problem is.... It's PINK....

I'm keeping it plain for now, just naartjie, mixed berries, strawberry and cream,and malva. This batch is just going to be to get the feel for it and then after this batch I will go for different recipes.


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## Glytch (20/9/16)

Quakes said:


> Thanks, I'm not going to buy a scale for now, going to use my wife's scale as she's never using it, only problem is.... It's PINK....
> 
> I'm keeping it plain for now, just naartjie, mixed berries, strawberry and cream,and malva. This batch is just going to be to get the feel for it and then after this batch I will go for different recipes.
> 
> ...


Great. Does the scale read two decimal places (e.g. 0.00g)?

Are they your own recipes or one's found online?


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## Quakes (20/9/16)

It does read two decimals yes, so will do the trick for now.

I'm following recipes that I found online yes.


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## Glytch (20/9/16)

Quakes said:


> It does read two decimals yes, so will do the trick for now.
> 
> I'm following recipes that I found online yes.
> 
> ...


Awesome. I'm kinda jealous. Wish I could get my DIY virginity back!

If you find the recipes are good post them on the threads Andre created.

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## Quakes (20/9/16)

Lol... If I find it great, I will share it yes, also going to play around with the left overs to try and make my very own weird mixes ( just to mess around )


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## DanielSLP (20/9/16)

When I first started diy, I bough all the flavours for Rhodonite, it was enough to make a litre of juice. This helped me know that I have a go to juice while I experiment and try my own things, it costs less than 1k. But I didn't want to be spending all my money on DIY and buying premium juices. I knew I needed a way to avoid the premium juices and dive into DIY. 

Small rant, dropper bottles suck, they just get full of juice and are so inconvenient to carry around. I have since been using HDPE bottles and I see a lot of premium juices going this route as well. Dropper bottles just look cool but I don't want to worry about breaking something in my pockets or work bag.

Ideally I'm busy trying to source the 15ml unicorn bottles that OHW uses. I think I found a place and will keep everyone posted.


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## Quakes (20/9/16)

DanielSLP said:


> When I first started diy, I bough all the flavours for Rhodonite, it was enough to make a litre of juice. This helped me know that I have a go to juice while I experiment and try my own things, it costs less than 1k. But I didn't want to be spending all my money on DIY and buying premium juices. I knew I needed a way to avoid the premium juices and dive into DIY.
> 
> Small rant, dropper bottles suck, they just get full of juice and are so inconvenient to carry around. I have since been using HDPE bottles and I see a lot of premium juices going this route as well. Dropper bottles just look cool but I don't want to worry about breaking something in my pockets or work bag.
> 
> Ideally I'm busy trying to source the 15ml unicorn bottles that OHW uses. I think I found a place and will keep everyone posted.


Great, Thanks.


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## Glytch (20/9/16)

DanielSLP said:


> When I first started diy, I bough all the flavours for Rhodonite, it was enough to make a litre of juice. This helped me know that I have a go to juice while I experiment and try my own things, it costs less than 1k. But I didn't want to be spending all my money on DIY and buying premium juices. I knew I needed a way to avoid the premium juices and dive into DIY.
> 
> Small rant, dropper bottles suck, they just get full of juice and are so inconvenient to carry around. I have since been using HDPE bottles and I see a lot of premium juices going this route as well. Dropper bottles just look cool but I don't want to worry about breaking something in my pockets or work bag.
> 
> Ideally I'm busy trying to source the 15ml unicorn bottles that OHW uses. I think I found a place and will keep everyone posted.


Completely agree about the glass dropper bottles. They have a hipster appeal but they're a perfect example of form over function.


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## Blu_Marlin (20/9/16)

Thanks guys, great advice. I’m a total noob and really appreciate the information. I’ve also had the ring on the concentrate cap fall into the mix while adding concentrate. After the second time I just removed it from all the concentrates. For those that have used @Paulie s e-liquid in the past or bottles that are similar, the caps (witches hat) from those bottles fit on the BLCK Vapour and Sky Blue PG/VG bottles. This makes adding PG/VG, when mixing by weight, a breeze. 

I`m still starting out and finding my way so while experimenting I do not use NIC. I did order 100ml NIC and decanted it into 10ml dropper bottles. It actually came out to 9 bottles as I filled it with about 11ml each. The bottles are labelled, packed into a zip lock bag and stored in the fridge. So when I start to use NIC in my mixes I only need to take out one 11ml bottle at a time. I’m currently vaping 1.5mg at the moment so one 11ml bottle should be good for about 240/250 ml.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Glytch (20/9/16)

Blu_Marlin said:


> Thanks guys, great advice. I’m a total noob and really appreciate the information. I’ve also had the ring on the concentrate cap fall into the mix while adding concentrate. After the second time I just removed it from all the concentrates. For those that have used @Paulie s e-liquid in the past or bottles that are similar, the caps (witches hat) from those bottles fit on the BLCK Vapour and Sky Blue PG/VG bottles. This makes adding PG/VG, when mixing by weight, a breeze.
> 
> I`m still starting out and finding my way so while experimenting I do not use NIC. I did order 100ml NIC and decanted it into 10ml dropper bottles. It actually came out to 9 bottles as I filled it with about 11ml each. The bottles are labelled, packed into a zip lock bag and stored in the fridge. So when I start to use NIC in my mixes I only need to take out one 11ml bottle at a time. I’m currently vaping 1.5mg at the moment so one 11ml bottle should be good for about 240/250 ml.



These are in my next order:

https://www.blckvapour.co.za/collections/accesories/products/nozzle-black


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## Lord Vetinari (20/9/16)

Quakes said:


> It does read two decimals yes, so will do the trick for now.
> 
> I'm following recipes that I found online yes.
> 
> ...


I am curious... who carries a pink double decimal scale around aside from underground diamond dealers? I mean I had to actually figure out they exist and then acquire one and it serves no purpose but measuring drops of concentrate...


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## Lord Vetinari (20/9/16)

Glytch said:


> Completely agree about the glass dropper bottles. They have a hipster appeal but they're a perfect example of form over function.


AGREED also. Filling a tank with a pipette... AAAARRRRGHHH...


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## Glytch (20/9/16)

FogFace said:


> I am curious... who carries a pink double decimal scale around aside from underground diamond dealers? I mean I had to actually figure out they exist and then acquire one and it serves no purpose but measuring drops of concentrate...


Do you really want the answer to this question?


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## Lord Vetinari (20/9/16)

Glytch said:


> Do you really want the answer to this question?


Oh hell NOW I do lmfao... Right. Moving straight along then


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## Quakes (20/9/16)

FogFace said:


> I am curious... who carries a pink double decimal scale around aside from underground diamond dealers? I mean I had to actually figure out they exist and then acquire one and it serves no purpose but measuring drops of concentrate...


lol, it's my wife's baking scale. It really is meant for baking. No diamond dealing going on here... lol


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## NewOobY (20/9/16)

A massive noob mistake I made, then made it even worse when I realised I made the mistake: changing a recipe that was in testing, including changing the quantity I wanted. Went from 100ml to 30ml - but forgetting to hit the calculate button - so everything was used in quantity. Probably made half the recipe, then realized I forgot to click the calculate button. The I did the worst freaking thing possible I tossed the half mixed concentrates down the drain - not thinking that i should of just mixed the 100ml's. 
This was a very crappy day for me, I was so angry i actually slapped myself when i realized that I tossed half a bottle of concentrate down the drain. 
This was also the most expensive mistake I have made since DIY-ing.


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## Blu_Marlin (20/9/16)

Glytch said:


> These are in my next order:
> 
> https://www.blckvapour.co.za/collections/accesories/products/nozzle-black


Exactly like those.


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## Blu_Marlin (20/9/16)

Glytch said:


> Completely agree about the glass dropper bottles. They have a hipster appeal but they're a perfect example of form over function.


I love those glass dropper bottles. It improves hand eye coordination while demonstrating the ability to multitask.


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## Glytch (20/9/16)

I once had a hangover and almost put pediatric illiadin nose drops in my mod. The dropper looked a little small and caught my eye at the last minute

Reactions: Funny 4


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## Kalashnikov (20/9/16)

My 2 Noob mistakes.

1. Mixing up my PG and VG bottles and ending up making 100ml of 100/0 PG/VG ratio.

2. Worst one - Calibrating my 500g scale with something i had no idea the weight of. Lets just say everything for my first 2 days of mixing by weight was so off i had even ended up making 6mg Nic instead of 1.5. Worse when starting to add the VG realizing the bottle was already near the top after putting in the PG


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## Caveman (20/9/16)

Mistake: Don't mix up 100ml of a recipe you find online that looks good but you have never tried or don't know at least 90% of flavors very well. 
Mistake: Vaping up the test bottle before it has had any decent steeping time

Reactions: Like 2 | Funny 1


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## SmokeyJoe (20/9/16)

The vendor where i buy my concentrates from told me about a guy who just started DYIng and spilled some nic on his jeans. Not thinking about it, he left it. Needless to say, he landed up in hospital with nic poisening


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## Rude Rudi (20/9/16)

DanielSLP said:


> Ideally I'm busy trying to source the 15ml unicorn bottles that OHW uses. I think I found a place and will keep everyone posted.



I got me some of these 17ml Chubby Gorillas- they're great but pricey. If you can find, please let us know!!


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## Atsbitscrisp (20/9/16)

Thanks for the tips and warnings guys, my next move will be the scale. Been experimenting with single flavours so far, made 5 x 50ml witch hat bottles of fruit flavours. Now after a week of ripening, I am mixing the fruits into 10ml samplers till I get my perfect recipes. The one bottle I do have steeping still is an amoretti biscotti blend of my own imaginings. Won't lie, its smelling freaking amazing so far... I have been doing well so far and no disasters as yet...

Reactions: Like 1


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## DanielSLP (20/9/16)

Blu_Marlin said:


> For those that have used @Paulie s e-liquid in the past or bottles that are similar, the caps (witches hat) from those bottles fit on the BLCK Vapour and Sky Blue PG/VG bottles. This makes adding PG/VG, when mixing by weight, a breeze.
> 
> I`m still starting out and finding my way so while experimenting I do not use NIC. I did order 100ml NIC and decanted it into 10ml dropper bottles. It actually came out to 9 bottles as I filled it with about 11ml each. The bottles are labelled, packed into a zip lock bag and stored in the fridge. So when I start to use NIC in my mixes I only need to take out one 11ml bottle at a time. I’m currently vaping 1.5mg at the moment so one 11ml bottle should be good for about 240/250 ml.


Literally did this exact thing and those witch hat caps are amazing for pouring vg and pg

Reactions: Agree 2


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## DanielSLP (20/9/16)

Rude Rudi said:


> I got me some of these 17ml Chubby Gorillas- they're great but pricey. If you can find, please let us know!!


These are amazing as well. I will keep everyone posted, I found a plastics manufacturing company with it but I haven't confirmed their minimum order yet.


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## Rude Rudi (20/9/16)

DanielSLP said:


> These are amazing as well. I will keep everyone posted, I found a plastics manufacturing company with it but I haven't confirmed their minimum order yet.



Fantastic! Please just check the 'neck' size, i.e. where the nozzle goes in... I bought some recently (from a forum member) and the neck is so small, I can't get the e-liquid into the freakin bottle! It is so narrow, I can't fit any juice in there...have to use a needle!


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## RichJB (20/9/16)

I am also on the lookout for the perfect refilling bottle and haven't found it yet. My problem is that I own two tanks which pose unique challenges in refilling. The first is the Avo24 with its tiny refill slot. My 50ml witch's hat nozzle won't fit into that little slot, a 30ml standard plastic dropper bottle's nozzle will. However, the standard plastic dropper nozzle is not long enough to reach down to the refill slot in my Theorem tank. My Limitless Plus, Melo 2, Merlin and dripper all have easy refill slots that take almost anything. But finding something that works with both the Avo and Theorem is a nightmare. I think the best solution would be a Unicorn bottle but with a loooong and thin plastic nozzle.





The two on the right have good length to fit the Theorem but I suspect, like my witch's hat bottles, that they'll be too thick to fit in an an Avo slot. The two in the middle will fit the Avo and would be good if they are long enough to reach into a Theorem, but I suspect they won't be. I think the two bottles on the left would be just about perfect for me, although they could still even extend the length of the nozzle by a few mm. But now where to source them? I took this image from an American website, haven't seen these particular bottles on offer locally.


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## Rude Rudi (20/9/16)

RichJB said:


> The two on the right have good length to fit the Theorem but I suspect, like my witch's hat bottles, that they'll be too thick to fit in an an Avo slot.



I bought those on the far right - it was for a bargain so I took 20 but cant use them (until I figure out how to fill them). You'll notice that their necks are much narrower than the rest. When it comes to filling, I find it virtually impossible to get juice in there... I used a syringe but it was so messy that I lost about 5ml in the process... The actual nozzle is brilliant and fits just about anywhere but to get juice in there is a bit tricky....

Good hunting...!


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## RichJB (20/9/16)

Did you try the mini funnel that Richio sells? That might fit.

Reactions: Optimistic 1


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## Rude Rudi (20/9/16)

RichJB said:


> Did you try the mini funnel that Richio sells? That might fit.



Alas, it's been out of stock for weeks... wait - its back now - it was still o/o/s last night.
I'll give it go!


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## Blu_Marlin (20/9/16)

Rude Rudi said:


> I bought *those on the far right* - it was for a bargain so I took 20 but cant use them (until I figure out how to fill them). You'll notice that their necks are much narrower than the rest. When it comes to filling, I find it virtually impossible to get juice in there... I used a syringe but it was so messy that I lost about 5ml in the process... The actual nozzle is brilliant and fits just about anywhere but to get juice in there is a bit tricky....
> 
> Good hunting...!


Not sure if they are the same as the NCV bottles from a while back. I used to recycle those for further use by pulling the plunger out of a 20ml syringe, sticking on a silicone tube on to the other end, fill up the syringe, put the plunger back and press. It takes a little effort but it works without wastage. I used a spare feed tube that came with my REO. You must also leave a small gap between the tube and the inner rim of the bottle so that the displaced air can escape. Fill slowly and there is no spillage.


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## Rude Rudi (20/9/16)

Blu_Marlin said:


> Not sure if they are the same as the NCV bottles from a while back. I used to recycle those for further use by pulling the plunger out of a 20ml syringe, sticking on a silicone tube on to the other end, fill up the syringe, put the plunger back and press. It takes a little effort but it works without wastage. I used a spare feed tube that came with my REO. You must also leave a small gap between the tube and the inner rim of the bottle so that the displaced air can escape. Fill slowly and there is no spillage.



Thanks, will give it a go!!!


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## Junior (11/11/16)

Greyz said:


> The best advise I can give any noob DIY'er is get a scale.
> Don't waste time buying needles, you just need one with a thick, blunt tip for your Nic (and even then you could decant your nic into a 100ml HDPE bottle and be done with needles altogether)



Noob here: Why do you need a needle for nic if you have a scale? 
Also what is the best nic to use? Currently Im using 36mg nic.


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## Caveman (11/11/16)

Junior said:


> Noob here: Why do you need a needle for nic if you have a scale?
> Also what is the best nic to use? Currently Im using 36mg nic.


36mg nic is the standard round these parts. You can get 100mg on special order, but I am happy staying with 36mg


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## RichJB (11/11/16)

@Junior, most nicotine comes in wide-necked bottles. I don't use a needle, I decant into smaller dropper bottles. But many still prefer using a needle to dispense, even when mixing by weight.

With regards to nic, I don't think you have much choice. Apparently almost all our nic comes from the same supplier, and in 36mg strength. Nic brand has never bothered me, I buy the cheapest I can find and have never had any problems. Some have had problems with peppery nic, though. So I guess it's a case of trying several different types and determining which one works for you.


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## Junior (11/11/16)

RichJB said:


> @Junior, most nicotine comes in wide-necked bottles. I don't use a needle, I decant into smaller dropper bottles. But many still prefer using a needle to dispense, even when mixing by weight.
> 
> With regards to nic, I don't think you have much choice. Apparently almost all our nic comes from the same supplier, and in 36mg strength. Nic brand has never bothered me, I buy the cheapest I can find and have never had any problems. Some have had problems with peppery nic, though. So I guess it's a case of trying several different types and determining which one works for you.



Thank you for the advice @RichJB.


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## Caveman (11/11/16)

RichJB said:


> @Junior, most nicotine comes in wide-necked bottles. I don't use a needle, I decant into smaller dropper bottles. But many still prefer using a needle to dispense, even when mixing by weight.
> 
> With regards to nic, I don't think you have much choice. Apparently almost all our nic comes from the same supplier, and in 36mg strength. Nic brand has never bothered me, I buy the cheapest I can find and have never had any problems. Some have had problems with peppery nic, though. So I guess it's a case of trying several different types and determining which one works for you.


I use disposable 3ml pipettes for the the nic. Another option if you don't want to decant them into dropper bottles

Reactions: Like 1


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## RichJB (11/11/16)

Yeah, I still use pipettes for the few flavours (Vapeowave primarily) that come in glass bottles rather than droppers. I could and should decant them into 10ml dropper bottles but I'm too lazy. They're flavours I rarely use, anyway.


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## Junior (11/11/16)

And what is the deal with oxidising your juice being a bad thing? And over mixing? I normally give my juice a warm bath and then i shake the crap out of it, till its like milky white. Is that bad?

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## RichJB (11/11/16)

If shaking the crap out of your juice is a bad thing, then Wayne is doing it all wrong. Given the unlikelihood of that, shake away.


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## Junior (11/11/16)

Dont shoot me but... Who is Wayne?

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## Akash (11/11/16)

@Junior wayne walker of diyordie.com

He's one of the very acclaimed diy'ers

Look up enyawreklaw concentrates


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## Junior (11/11/16)

Ah yes i watch diyordie often. That guy knows his stuff

Sent from my E2333 using Tapatalk

Reactions: Agree 1


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## KZOR (12/11/16)

The only DIY mistake I made and fairly often is pretending to listen to my wife while mixing digital fractions of concentrates. Often I use too much. 
Made a point of stopping, pretending to listen and then continuing when she leaves.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1 | Can relate 3


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## Dooky (10/12/16)

Okay I'm still a total noob but have successfully make Bronut!!! 
1. Thinking I could make 12mg nic 70/30 vg/pg mix, with 36mg Nic in pg...
2. Using 0.5mg Tiramisu instead of 0.05mg... luckily noticed before I tested it 
3. Using 5ml bottle, that looks very similar to a 10ml bottle, and wondering why I can fill up with required mg of VG


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Reactions: Like 2


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## Dolfie (10/12/16)

Dooky said:


> Okay I'm still a total noob but have successfully make Bronut!!!
> 1. Thinking I could make 12mg nic 70/30 vg/pg mix, with 36mg Nic in pg...
> 2. Using 0.5mg Tiramisu instead of 0.05mg... luckily noticed before I tested it
> 3. Using 5ml bottle, that looks very similar to a 10ml bottle, and wondering why I can fill up with required mg of VG
> ...


Still new to DIY biggest mistake was buying concentrates for only 2 recipe's the reviews was great but I am not liking it at all so now I have to buy more concentrates.

Reactions: Can relate 1


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## Monkey.D.Luffy (10/12/16)

Biggest mistake I have made when I first started was mixing with a scale that had no decimals cause I thought the difference wouldn't have an impact

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Reactions: Like 1


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## Lord Vetinari (10/12/16)

Thinking there is a magical way to steep juice in the blink of an eye and actually looking for it.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Strontium (10/12/16)

Not marking your bottles.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1 | Can relate 2


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## Lord Vetinari (11/12/16)

Not wearing gloves. All good until somebody spills the Acetyl Pyrazine and you smell like half chewed Fritos for a week.


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## Lord Vetinari (11/12/16)

Oooh... squeezing freshly shaken HDPE dripper bottles for a smell test. Juice droplets in eye or up nose never fun either. Amazing how many times I did this.

Reactions: Like 1 | Can relate 4


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## GerritVisagie (11/12/16)

Mustrum Ridcully said:


> Oooh... squeezing freshly shaken HDPE dripper bottles for a smell test. Juice droplets in eye or up nose never fun either. Amazing how many times I did this.



First time for me was with 18mg Cubano twisp liquid. 
Right in the friggin eye! 
Burnt like crazy!


Sent from my iPhone 7+ using Tapatalk


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## GregF (11/12/16)

I have a mixing room outside, the main reason being HRH cannot handle the smell of the concentrates.
So before I had a scale I was mixing with syringes and every now and again when I made a mess I would just wipe my hands on my T-shirt. 
Lets just say I never got lucky on a mixing day.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Andre (26/12/16)

Just added Citric Acid in stead of Citrus Mix - next to each other in the alphabetical row. Fortunately I picked it up as I put the bottle back, phew! And, fortunately, it was just a 10 ml tester.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Strontium (27/12/16)

Mustrum Ridcully said:


> Oooh... squeezing freshly shaken HDPE dripper bottles for a smell test. Juice droplets in eye or up nose never fun either. Amazing how many times I did this.



I still do this


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## craigb (27/12/16)

Strontium said:


> I still do this


You mean it isn't a crucial part of the steeping/sampling process?

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Huffapuff (27/12/16)

A mistake I've made a couple of times now is wanting to make a 10ml tester and not changing my calculator to 10ml. 

So there I sit filling a 10ml bottle with concentrates and start adding PG only to have the little bottle fill up and I go wtf? So I have to chuck it all in a 30ml bottle and just deal with the fact that I now have 30mls of nothing great to vape through

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## RichJB (27/12/16)

I don't like having to vape 10ml of a single flavour tester - and then mix up new ones if the initial sample is too weak or strong - so I now try to do everything in one bottle. I do a guesstimate of the right concentration as 10ml in a 25ml bottle. I then draw out 1ml of it with a syringe to test each time. If it's too weak, I recalculate using my reduced sample. Example:

* I mix my sample at 3% in 10ml which = 0.3g of the concentrate
* I vape 2x1ml syringes of the sample before deciding it's too weak
* I want to bump up to 5% which would equal 0.5g of the concentrate 
* So I would need to add 0.2g of concentrate to my original 10ml sample
* But I've vaped 2ml of the 10ml so I only have 8ml left or 80% of my original sample
* So I add 80% of the extra 0.2g which = 0.16g to the sample
* I now have a 5% sample without having to chuck the old sample and remix

If it's too strong I go the other way, adding more base to the concentration to dilute it. Hence the 10ml sample in a 25ml bottle. You can comfortably double the base/halve the flavour concentration in the same bottle.

Reactions: Like 3 | Informative 2


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## Andre (27/12/16)

Adding ingredients with the scale switched off! Fortunately, usually just a drop or two before one picks it up.

Reactions: Funny 1 | Can relate 1


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## Kuhlkatz (27/12/16)

Realising halfway through VG power-filling that you grabbed the PG bottle instead of the VG one, and then resorting to mixing a 100ml instead of the intended 50ml

Reactions: Funny 3


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