# Diy noob need help



## sabrefm1 (5/8/16)

feeling frustated. Ok first thing. My supplies are from the following. Valley vapes pg,vg,nicotine,ripe strawberry tfa. Blck vapes strawberry and cream tfa, fresh cream FA and raspberry tfa.

Now i made 2 batches both 10ml's.

First one:
%5 ripe 
%1 fresh cream
%2 strawberry and cream

Second one:
%5 ripe
%2 fresh cream
%3 strawberry and cream
%2 raspberry

Both mixes are 3mg and 70vg/30pg.

Done my calculations on eliquid-recipe site.

My prob is both batches taste alot like pineapple a bit chemically and harsh throat hit. And very phlemy on the throat like a cheap 11-in-1 mix a drink.

I tried the first batch from start no steeping tasted very chemically. Then i mixes the second batch and let both steep for a day closed cap in dark place. Today i left caps off both for 30min and closed let steep for a few hours then put both in warm bath for 30min and tried the second batch still not good very like a bad pineapple. What am i doing wrong. Not ready to throw in the towel yet


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## KZOR (5/8/16)

I have never had that problem.
Try a 10ml batch without nicotine. Bad nic can cause all sorts of distortions in taste.
Make sure bottles used are thoroughly cleaned with hot water. Maybe it still has a taste of a previous liquid inside.
Happened to me.
Also I use Ejuice Me Up calculator. Try it ....also includes variety of recipes.
http://ejuice.breaktru.com/
I also get my bases and flavourants from Blckvapour and Vapourvalley so I doubt it's their quality.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## sabrefm1 (5/8/16)

Can i assume if the nicotine was bad it would have a bad smell. Or can it not be noticed if it is bad


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## Andre (5/8/16)

One day of steeping is probably not enough. Try at least a week.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 3


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## KZOR (5/8/16)

Nicotine can oxidise if exposed to warm temperatures. Should be kept in a fridge till use although mine is 2 months old and kept at room temperature and has not affected my juices so far.
*I include quotes from a different forum on a similar topic.*

"If I understand you correctly, you say you've made recipes with this nic before that were fine. Your're new recipe tastes terrible - burning nostrils, etc, etc. The same recipe without nic tastes fine. . but as soon as you add nic it's horrible again. 
I have had that same thing happen to me and I attribute it to shaking . .or lack thereof. Either you didn't shake your juice good enough and there's hotspots in it . .or your nic vendor didn't shake your nic base good enough and there's hotspots in *it*. 
I would shake the crap out of your nic base . .mix again and shake the crap out of your juice as well . .and see how that tastes."

*and*

"As others successfully suggested................. I let it steep for a bit over a day and the difference is tremendous! I plan on letting it steep a few more days before I start investing in larger batches.
I had NO IDEA that it would be that bad of a vape after mixing, I suppose it's flavor dependent."


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## sabrefm1 (5/8/16)

Ok will try and let it steep for a while. The nic is vg based and i see it has a slight change in color but google says nothing to be worried about. But will let the 2 steep a while more and monday i will mix another bottle or 2 with different flavor combinations and shake the hell out of the diy bases


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## Andre (5/8/16)

sabrefm1 said:


> Ok will try and let it steep for a while. The nic is vg based and i see it has a slight change in color but google says nothing to be worried about. But will let the 2 steep a while more and monday i will mix another bottle or 2 with different flavor combinations and shake the hell out of the diy bases


With VG based nic it is of utmost importance to shake the bottle of nic extremely well before mixing. Also, high VG juices need a longer steep time.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## sabrefm1 (5/8/16)

Ok will try and let steep and will post results. But will make another batch and also post results


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## Soutie (5/8/16)

Perhaps try make small single flavor batches and see if any of the flavors have gone funky. 

I recall reading something on this forum about making 100 drop test batches. Simple as using 60 drops vg, 35 drops of and 5 drops flavor to get a 5% rest batch. Not 100% spot on but close enough to test.

Reactions: Useful 1


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## SAVaper (5/8/16)

I am no expert but as a general rule I steep anything that contains a "cream" or a "custard" for at least 2 weeks. Nothing less. I do not even test any before 14 days. Some get even better after 3 to 4 weeks.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Richio (6/8/16)

KZOR said:


> Nicotine can oxidise if exposed to warm temperatures. Should be kept in a fridge till use although mine is 2 months old and kept at room temperature and has not affected my juices so far.
> *I include quotes from a different forum on a similar topic.*
> 
> "If I understand you correctly, you say you've made recipes with this nic before that were fine. Your're new recipe tastes terrible - burning nostrils, etc, etc. The same recipe without nic tastes fine. . but as soon as you add nic it's horrible again.
> ...



This is so important and we have noticed that most DIYers (noob and advanced) are not aware of this. @sabrefm1 Please shake the shit out of the nicotine before you use it (every single time). The nicotine rises to the top of the mix when it's not in use, so when you pull from the top you end up using straight nicotine as it's not mixed into the carrier.


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## sabrefm1 (6/8/16)

Should chuck away the current mixes i done and start over?


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## Richio (6/8/16)

@sabrefm1 Thankfully you made a 10 ml and not a 100 ml, so you can start a new mix or you can save it by making another 10 ml without the nic and adding it together. The steeping time is also quite important as you are using creams in both your recipes, Give it at least a week of dark cupboard steeping to let the creams pull through.


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## Caveman (6/8/16)

SAVaper said:


> I am no expert but as a general rule I steep anything that contains a "cream" or a "custard" for at least 2 weeks. Nothing less. I do not even test any before 14 days. Some get even better after 3 to 4 weeks.


How do you even last that long? I can barely go 2 days before trying it out  but generally custards take a long ass time to steep, especially if you have a high VG mix, then it takes even longer.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## SAVaper (6/8/16)

Caveman said:


> How do you even last that long? I can barely go 2 days before trying it out  but generally custards take a long ass time to steep, especially if you have a high VG mix, then it takes even longer.



The first time was murder but I make sure I mix batches every weekend. That way I have something coming out of the cupboard every weekend.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## RichJB (6/8/16)

It's one area where being a moderate vaper is a disadvantage. You have to wait soooo long before the juice runs out. I vape 6ml a day so a 30ml batch lasts me five days. With three devices (all with different flavours) in my daily rotation, that means I have a two-week supply in bottles on my desk, and another two weeks supply in the steeping cupboard. I have six 50ml amber steeping bottles so they're always in the rotation. Every time I empty a bottle, I make up a new mix. It works out great because it gives me, on average, a two week steep for each mix. 

This is also one area where mixing with a scale pays off. To wash a bunch of graduated flasks, syringes, pipettes etc when mixing by volume - for just one 30ml mix - would be tiresome. Dumping the ingredients straight from the bottle into the steeping bottle on the scale cuts washing up to a minimum.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Winner 1


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## SAVaper (6/8/16)

RichJB said:


> It's one area where being a moderate vaper is a disadvantage. You have to wait soooo long before the juice runs out. I vape 6ml a day so a 30ml batch lasts me five days. With three devices (all with different flavours) in my daily rotation, that means I have a two-week supply in bottles on my desk, and another two weeks supply in the steeping cupboard. I have six 50ml amber steeping bottles so they're always in the rotation. Every time I empty a bottle, I make up a new mix. It works out great because it gives me, on average, a two week steep for each mix.
> 
> This is also one area where mixing with a scale pays off. To wash a bunch of graduated flasks, syringes, pipettes etc when mixing by volume - for just one 30ml mix - would be tiresome. Dumping the ingredients straight from the bottle into the steeping bottle on the scale cuts washing up to a minimum.



I agree. I am definitely going to have a look at the amber steeping bottels.


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## Vapington (7/8/16)

TFA strawberry and cream has that affect on me - throaty hit that makes me cough. Anything with that concentrate makes me cough lol

Reactions: Informative 1


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## sabrefm1 (8/8/16)

Vapington said:


> TFA strawberry and cream has that affect on me - throaty hit that makes me cough. Anything with that concentrate makes me cough lol


interesting. im thinking of maybe letting that one aside and trying strawberry ripe and raspberry just as a test in 10ml just to see how it goes. once i get the hang of things. going to get a scale and then make large quantities. but for now i want to crawl before I walk

Reactions: Like 1


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## Glytch (8/8/16)

sabrefm1 said:


> interesting. im thinking of maybe letting that one aside and trying strawberry ripe and raspberry just as a test in 10ml just to see how it goes. once i get the hang of things. going to get a scale and then make large quantities. but for now i want to crawl before I walk



I made similar recipe 10 days ago and out of curiosity tasted it every 2 days. The chemical taste definitely goes away with steeping. It's vaping really nicely now and I'm a bit shocked that this steeping thing is real! The taste profile changes drastically with steeping.

Also shaking the VG based nicotine is an absolute must. I mix by weight and it is way more accurate. The error on syringes is dubious at best. I've tested two or three different syringes and noticed that the shape of the plunger also affects how much liquid you're using. With a very concentrated flavour .2ml is plenty to change the flavour profile.

Reactions: Like 1


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## herb1 (8/8/16)

sabrefm1 said:


> interesting. im thinking of maybe letting that one aside and trying strawberry ripe and raspberry just as a test in 10ml just to see how it goes. once i get the hang of things. going to get a scale and then make large quantities. but for now i want to crawl before I walk


get the scale, u won't be sorry - got a pocket one at Chinatown for R100


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## sabrefm1 (8/8/16)

herb1 said:


> get the scale, u won't be sorry - got a pocket one at Chinatown for R100


what place stocks at that price


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## herb1 (8/8/16)

sabrefm1 said:


> what place stocks at that price


Got mine at Chinatown in Ottery last week, think it's shop 24 or 27 (I know it's a corner shop next to the blanket place)


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## sabrefm1 (8/8/16)

made a mix this morning, ripe strawberry and raspberry only on a 2mg 60vg/30pg mix. but theres still some hints of vg overpowering the recipe. not the flavour of VG in any way but a feeling of phlegm in the throat. makes me want to drink lots of water.

anything I am doing wrong. steeped for about 5 hrs only. im going to let it steep overnight and do a test again

Reactions: Optimistic 1


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## herb1 (8/8/16)

dunno...not an expert here...but maybe try 70/30 pg/vg ratio?
That's what I use


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## SAVaper (8/8/16)

sabrefm1 said:


> made a mix this morning, ripe strawberry and raspberry only on a 2mg 60vg/30pg mix. but theres still some hints of vg overpowering the recipe. not the flavour of VG in any way but a feeling of phlegm in the throat. makes me want to drink lots of water.
> 
> anything I am doing wrong. steeped for about 5 hrs only. im going to let it steep overnight and do a test again



You could try 50/50 PG/VG but I would be very surprised if the VG is the culprit.


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