PIF me I love playing mad scientist, and I would love to have more flavors,
Tony's revenge
Hi @Andre, sorry to hijack the thread a little, but I am about to dive into proper DIY for the first time (I actually have a big box from Blck next to me on the desk). I also vape MTL for the most part, but most of the DIY recipes are aimed at DL setups. Apart from going to a 40/60, or 50/50 mix, will I ruin a recipe if I up the flavour % by 40%-50%? In essence, keeping the flavour ratios the same, but increasing the total flavour content of the recipe? The first batch will be a number of coffee variants, as well as the famous(?) Goofy's Juice.
I mix all recipes at the percentages stated. I have at one time for a pod type of system upped the flavour percentage, but found it made almost no difference. All I need to increase for pod type systems is the nicotine content. If you do want to increase the flavour percentages, I would not go higher than a 25% increase.
If you list your flavours I’ll attempt seeing if I can find something that can work. I’ve been diy for over a year now and had the same issue initially, but have since found my sweet spot pun intended
Hey @herb1 - Unfortunately there isn't a silver bullet or rule of thumb so to speak... For the most part you want a higher VG/PG ratio like 60/40 or even 50/50 for pods.
Some concentrates are stronger than others and as such could be undesirable at higher percentages whereas some are less concentrated and could be bumped up by as much as 50%...
I would say you could try between a 15-25% proportional increase on your flavour percentages and see how that works for you... You could probably do a 30-50% proportional increase for flavors that are known to be particularly weak...
This all really depends on what device or atomizer you're using... An MTL atty would require less of an increase than a closed pod system for example.
I know some users like @Andre don't find a need for adjusting flavour percentages and that he simply adjusts VG/PG ratio and nicotine strength to suit his taste. Other mixers insist that you need to bump percentages for MTL or pod setups.
Sorry I can't help more than that... If you do ever find the holy grail for adjusting recipes for MTL or pod systems then please do tell
Lol I'm in the same boat. I started not making the best juices and the effort was too much. Since I switched to MTL vaping I am now just making 1 shot juices. So much faster and because I'm going through less juice with MTL it's costing the same as I would have spent making my own juices
I started out by buying a bunch of flavors. I learned a lot, like don't just buy concentrates, you can't fix a bad concentrate.
For me, I check what flavors a vendor has, if I haven't tried it and is along my line of taste, I research. If I find a good description and such, that is my first deciding factor. If I find little about a flavor, or every second person says it has something unpleasant, chances are that I will be skipping it.
I try out flavors that are frequently listed, in recipes that seem nice to me. Never used a recipe in my life, though I have gotten good at combining things that I like. Such as a melon milkshake, it definitely isn't for everyone!
Flavors that can be used standalone, are pretty much winners for mixing from my experience.
Going on that, has helped me, save money and vape happy.
I learned a lot from lurking on this forum, very informative posts around. Thank you to everyone who has tested, researched, and shared their experiences.
You would be amazed that someone else might like what you don't. I find that it is rare someone likes something I do not, has happened about twice ever.
Rant:
But it sucked vaping concentrates that took months to get a use, or just got chucked because the taste of baby powder only made the taste of wtfisthisskintastingshiznix, taste like they merged to create something 300 times worse than rotten soap! Surprisingly still that some of the worst I mixed, was better than some china liquids I have had to endure even a puff of! I guess they mixed more 3 awful concentrates in one super-no-no.
For me, I check what flavors a vendor has, if I haven't tried it and is along my line of taste, I research. If I find a good description and such, that is my first deciding factor. If I find little about a flavor, or every second person says it has something unpleasant, chances are that I will be skipping it.
I try out flavors that are frequently listed, in recipes that seem nice to me. Never used a recipe in my life, though I have gotten good at combining things that I like. Such as a melon milkshake, it definitely isn't for everyone!
Flavors that can be used standalone, are pretty much winners for mixing from my experience.
Going on that, has helped me, save money and vape happy.
I learned a lot from lurking on this forum, very informative posts around. Thank you to everyone who has tested, researched, and shared their experiences.
You would be amazed that someone else might like what you don't. I find that it is rare someone likes something I do not, has happened about twice ever.
Rant:
But it sucked vaping concentrates that took months to get a use, or just got chucked because the taste of baby powder only made the taste of wtfisthisskintastingshiznix, taste like they merged to create something 300 times worse than rotten soap! Surprisingly still that some of the worst I mixed, was better than some china liquids I have had to endure even a puff of! I guess they mixed more 3 awful concentrates in one super-no-no.
I felt the same about two months into DIY, but that was because I was only mixing up two popular recipes from 5 years ago. Then about a month ago, I made an account here on Ecigssa, posted a thread asking for dessert recipes and I got pointed in the right direction. There's also a DIY_eliquid subreddit on Reddit.
Before I started DIY, my favourite juice was Joose-eliqs' Nutty Crunch Cookie. Bought it the other day when the vapes shops opened again to see if I could make a similar profile and.... I couldn't finish the bottle, it was just waaaaay too sweet. Sickly sweet. The flavour profile was nice, but my recent recipes that I have found and mixed up have much better flavour and more interesting layers.
Before I started DIY, my favourite juice was Joose-eliqs' Nutty Crunch Cookie. Bought it the other day when the vapes shops opened again to see if I could make a similar profile and.... I couldn't finish the bottle, it was just waaaaay too sweet. Sickly sweet. The flavour profile was nice, but my recent recipes that I have found and mixed up have much better flavour and more interesting layers.
my view of diy is perhaps a bit different. been vaping 3 years mostly the in my view better china juice. then few months ago splurged out on top notch premium usa juice. now that im starting my own diy from scratch I'm aiming to get halfway between bottom end china juice and top end usa juice and I'd be happy and consider it a win for me. and I'm not jumping in at the deep end my fav taste is simple. Turkish/cavendish/rum and maple tobacco blend with something sweet and creamy to top it off. I've tried a lot of really sweet single taste juices and didn't like any of them. typical old smoker i want that first tobacco taste hit and smooth sweet finish that lingers. and that simplified my choices to mix now
My first haul I just got fruit concentrates. A few menthols and koolada. I couldn't have gone wrong. Now I just add one or two to replenish. And started experimenting with other flavours this year.
Tobacco and cream is my newest venture. Nothing to write home about but I'm not that dissapointed.
Ry4's? So yum and so diverse.
I mix it with cubano and cream. Excellentè!
I see alot of comments here saying they battle and dont come close to shop bought premium juices. I have been DIYing for 6 years now and i felt the same....made juices and it had no flavor or in your face profile like a shop bought juice.
A juice you see on the shelf from familiar brands went through a year of trial and error if not more, hundreds of batches that are given out to close friends and staff to test and provide feedback which provides them with the info the fine tune and tweak each flavor to the exact % it is good at in that profile. Once the juice is ready, its bottled and then stands steeping for probably a month+ before someone in a shop buys it.
I can in all honesty say that after 6 years i can whip up a recipe out of my head in 5 minutes and it would be pretty darn good only because out of the 150 concentrates i have, i basically come to know each one of them, the percentages and profiles and their strengths.
DIY is awesome but takes alot of practice, time and learning so if you want to save on money but also DIY then One Shots are the way for you.
Look at my signiture, i have mixed and reviewed alot of one shots
A juice you see on the shelf from familiar brands went through a year of trial and error if not more, hundreds of batches that are given out to close friends and staff to test and provide feedback which provides them with the info the fine tune and tweak each flavor to the exact % it is good at in that profile. Once the juice is ready, its bottled and then stands steeping for probably a month+ before someone in a shop buys it.
I can in all honesty say that after 6 years i can whip up a recipe out of my head in 5 minutes and it would be pretty darn good only because out of the 150 concentrates i have, i basically come to know each one of them, the percentages and profiles and their strengths.
DIY is awesome but takes alot of practice, time and learning so if you want to save on money but also DIY then One Shots are the way for you.
Look at my signiture, i have mixed and reviewed alot of one shots
Took me 2 years, but I dont make a wide variety only candies
Going to dip the toe into desserts sometime soon
Took me 2 years, but I dont make a wide variety only candies
I have played with everything, from fruits, ice, menthol, tobacco, Coffee, deserts from custards, cookies and so much more
Your RY 4 is one of my fav's to mix - love it !
@StompieZA
Much respect because it takes time and effort to achieve the end result.
My story started with a 36 mg MTL menthol which I really did not like, but stuck with it as I promised myself I would not go back to the stinkies. We are talking 8-9 years ago here and the devices were, well let's just say, not so good. I got the latest and greatest spinner with an RE5 tank and splurged on a bottle of mint along with my usual menthol. I found by mixing the two I got something that I preferred to the original. Next order saw some Arctic menthol, Peppermint, Spearmint and eventually I found Koolada.
In some shape or form this has been my ADV for the last six years. All of the above were commercial juices so you can imagine how I absolutely shat my pants when I discovered DIY suppliers. My first order to Blck was a third of what I was paying for three commercial juices that I had to mix to get what I wanted. Not knocking them, the commercial juices were good, but I can make the same for less.
I have noticed though, just an observation, many people I know chase the holy grail. They want that perfect juice. To me that is like sticking to one red wine forever. That is not going to happen. Even now I will make small variances to the ADV for a bottle or two. It is not better just different which I also enjoy.
Then there is the Elephant in the room. The tank, RDA,RDTA, coil choice. The same ADV tastes very different in different devices. Great in tanks and RDTA. Put my stuff in a Recurve dual for example and it will leave you coughing hairballs.
Much respect because it takes time and effort to achieve the end result.
My story started with a 36 mg MTL menthol which I really did not like, but stuck with it as I promised myself I would not go back to the stinkies. We are talking 8-9 years ago here and the devices were, well let's just say, not so good. I got the latest and greatest spinner with an RE5 tank and splurged on a bottle of mint along with my usual menthol. I found by mixing the two I got something that I preferred to the original. Next order saw some Arctic menthol, Peppermint, Spearmint and eventually I found Koolada.
In some shape or form this has been my ADV for the last six years. All of the above were commercial juices so you can imagine how I absolutely shat my pants when I discovered DIY suppliers. My first order to Blck was a third of what I was paying for three commercial juices that I had to mix to get what I wanted. Not knocking them, the commercial juices were good, but I can make the same for less.
I have noticed though, just an observation, many people I know chase the holy grail. They want that perfect juice. To me that is like sticking to one red wine forever. That is not going to happen. Even now I will make small variances to the ADV for a bottle or two. It is not better just different which I also enjoy.
Then there is the Elephant in the room. The tank, RDA,RDTA, coil choice. The same ADV tastes very different in different devices. Great in tanks and RDTA. Put my stuff in a Recurve dual for example and it will leave you coughing hairballs.
I smoked for 20+ years and started vaping about 4 months ago. My first device was some no name mod & tank kit you buy at the micro shops in the middle of the hall when you walk into the Hyperama. Was really chuffed with my purchase and also picked up a bottle of 120ml Nasty Tobacco Silver juice. All for R750. I did not even know that you had to replace coils. Got home, poured in the juice and almost lost a lung I coughed so hard. I thought to myself how will I ever get off the stinkies and used to vaping. I continued with my no-name mod kit for about 2 weeks. One night I sat at my pc you-tubing and googling like a crazy person and discovered that there are so much more to vaping than just picking up a generic device and making the switch.
I decided I still wanted the cigarette experience and that DL was not for me. So, satisfied with my research, I ordered a SMOK Nord 2 with about 3 additional packs of coils and a variety of 25mg Nic Salts and I thought that I had this vaping thing down. Teared into the packaging when everything eventually arrived in Bloemfontein and started vaping. Played around with the wattage, although I did not understand it at all, but I was satisfied with my new purchase, or so I thought. I loved that I can draw into my mouth again (MTL) and the 25mg Nic Salts did provide me with that throat hit I was missing since getting off the stinkies. The problem I had at this point was that the Nic Salts irritating my throat and although I bought tobacco flavored juice, they tasted nothing like my precious stinkies I missed so much.
3 Weeks into using the SMOK I decided I wanted more. I wanted a stronger device and after more googling and reading reviews I wanted something that I can control the airflow because I wanted that tight draw like a cigarette but with enough flavor and throat hit coming through. So I bought an Innokin Adept with Zlide tank because all the reviewers said this is a must have for ex-smokers. The device was high quality, lived up to its name and it was PURPLE. Color of the device aside, I ordered some of the 12mg Vape King house juices and found myself to be much better compatible with the freebase nic products.
Another 2 Weeks later and after I realized I am obsessed with getting the ideal setup to replicate my old habits, I bought an AEGIS Solo Mod with an AMMIT MTL RTA Tank. I love this setup and are now competent in all the lingo, coiling and wicking.
Last month I decided I want to mix my own juices because although the VK juices were "OK", I wanted more variety and cheaper juice. Bought PG, VG, NIC and flavorings for about 6 recipes that was highly rated on ELR and started making all the beginner DIY-ing mistakes that one person can make. Some recipes were from 2015, I mixed 100ml Batches without testing and so on. I think I am going to chug half of the juices I made because it tastes like a chemical mess to me.
The point I'm trying to make is that in a span of 4 months I have gone from that person who bought a no-name kit to coiling and wicking my own setup to get the correct ohm that I like and although I feel my fist DIY mixing en-devour was not very successful, with trial and error, forums like this and patience, I will succeed in mixing my own liquids too.
I could buy the one shots, but for this months purchase I will be getting the individual flavors for some DIYorDIE one shots that I think I will like and then on to experimentation with the flavors that I have accumulated. Allot of 10ml bottles and no more 100ml bottles. I want to make small individual flavor mixes so that I can taste what each flavor tastes like on its own.
Wish me luck and any new mixers advice is most welcome. Happy mixing.
I decided I still wanted the cigarette experience and that DL was not for me. So, satisfied with my research, I ordered a SMOK Nord 2 with about 3 additional packs of coils and a variety of 25mg Nic Salts and I thought that I had this vaping thing down. Teared into the packaging when everything eventually arrived in Bloemfontein and started vaping. Played around with the wattage, although I did not understand it at all, but I was satisfied with my new purchase, or so I thought. I loved that I can draw into my mouth again (MTL) and the 25mg Nic Salts did provide me with that throat hit I was missing since getting off the stinkies. The problem I had at this point was that the Nic Salts irritating my throat and although I bought tobacco flavored juice, they tasted nothing like my precious stinkies I missed so much.
3 Weeks into using the SMOK I decided I wanted more. I wanted a stronger device and after more googling and reading reviews I wanted something that I can control the airflow because I wanted that tight draw like a cigarette but with enough flavor and throat hit coming through. So I bought an Innokin Adept with Zlide tank because all the reviewers said this is a must have for ex-smokers. The device was high quality, lived up to its name and it was PURPLE. Color of the device aside, I ordered some of the 12mg Vape King house juices and found myself to be much better compatible with the freebase nic products.
Another 2 Weeks later and after I realized I am obsessed with getting the ideal setup to replicate my old habits, I bought an AEGIS Solo Mod with an AMMIT MTL RTA Tank. I love this setup and are now competent in all the lingo, coiling and wicking.
Last month I decided I want to mix my own juices because although the VK juices were "OK", I wanted more variety and cheaper juice. Bought PG, VG, NIC and flavorings for about 6 recipes that was highly rated on ELR and started making all the beginner DIY-ing mistakes that one person can make. Some recipes were from 2015, I mixed 100ml Batches without testing and so on. I think I am going to chug half of the juices I made because it tastes like a chemical mess to me.
The point I'm trying to make is that in a span of 4 months I have gone from that person who bought a no-name kit to coiling and wicking my own setup to get the correct ohm that I like and although I feel my fist DIY mixing en-devour was not very successful, with trial and error, forums like this and patience, I will succeed in mixing my own liquids too.
I could buy the one shots, but for this months purchase I will be getting the individual flavors for some DIYorDIE one shots that I think I will like and then on to experimentation with the flavors that I have accumulated. Allot of 10ml bottles and no more 100ml bottles. I want to make small individual flavor mixes so that I can taste what each flavor tastes like on its own.
Wish me luck and any new mixers advice is most welcome. Happy mixing.
Great story.
But before you chuck the juices down the drain, let them stand for a bit. Tobaccos need about a month steeping (sometimes more) to really start getting good.
Good to know. They have been steeping for about 2 weeks now. Giving them a shake daily. I will leave them be.
Also another thing if I make some semi awful juice I try mixing it up with 50percent base. Pg and vg mix and it fixed alot of my earlier nightmare DIY juices. I can tell you to keep going because unless I use that friggen blueberry by capella there hasn't been anything unvapeable in a very long time. Might not all be top notch, but my worst is normally better than what I can find commercially now.
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