Newbie wanting to mix
- Thread starter Tiaan Wilters
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ROTFLMAO... welcome to the jungle... and this rabbit hole goes deep alice.
1. Never buy a flavour unless its part of a recipe you want to make.
2. Places like plastic shops, such as westpack have cheap mixing equipment
there are many more...
1. Never buy a flavour unless its part of a recipe you want to make.
2. Places like plastic shops, such as westpack have cheap mixing equipment
there are many more...
Hmm. If you want to keep DIY as cheap as possible, I agree with that one.
If you want to discover the possibilities and potential with DIY, then I strongly disagree
I started out with DIY ejuices by buying flavors for 2 or 3 recipes.
Then you can expand your flavor range by looking at recipes for what you have already and buy the flavors you may need to complete those recipes. Soon you'll have enough flavors to make a few recipes and also experiment on your own.
Many of the ejuice recipe websites allow you to filter/search by flavor as well so that makes it easier.
Then you can expand your flavor range by looking at recipes for what you have already and buy the flavors you may need to complete those recipes. Soon you'll have enough flavors to make a few recipes and also experiment on your own.
Many of the ejuice recipe websites allow you to filter/search by flavor as well so that makes it easier.
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This is how I started and actually kept mixing for a long time, a bit tiresome but it is probably the cheapest way to go and the results are still awesome.
1. Went on a couple of websites, for e.g. http://e-liquid-recipes.com/ and found some 3 ingredient recipes that I thought sounded good.
2. I then downloaded a mixing app, e.g. Vape tool from the app store.
3. Inserted all the information I needed in the app and now knew how much of each ingredient, PG, VG and NIC I needed.
4. I then purchased the amount I needed and decided I will be mixing by volume.
5. So I picked up a few syringes for my concentrates, two bigger syringes for the PG and NIC (as they usually don't require as much in the mix) and a Huge syringe for the VG (As its the biggest component of the mix).
6. Also picked up some nice 16 gauge needles (nice and wide) just for the concentrates at Dischem. The needles and syringes will work out to like 30 to 40 bucks depending on how much concentrates you planning to use.
7. Picked up some bottles from Bonpack (If you're from Cape Town) and was ready to mix.
8. Just threw in the amounts of concentrates and bases the app told me to and there we go. DONE!!!JUICE!!!!
Well not quite, Be sure to give the juice the correct amount of steep time, the recipes usually state how long is required.
You will naturally, begin to buy excess concentrates and bases and then it will really become cost effective (until you start experimenting, lol), and you will grow from there as you sink deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole.
I hope this helps...Mix on people
1. Went on a couple of websites, for e.g. http://e-liquid-recipes.com/ and found some 3 ingredient recipes that I thought sounded good.
2. I then downloaded a mixing app, e.g. Vape tool from the app store.
3. Inserted all the information I needed in the app and now knew how much of each ingredient, PG, VG and NIC I needed.
4. I then purchased the amount I needed and decided I will be mixing by volume.
5. So I picked up a few syringes for my concentrates, two bigger syringes for the PG and NIC (as they usually don't require as much in the mix) and a Huge syringe for the VG (As its the biggest component of the mix).
6. Also picked up some nice 16 gauge needles (nice and wide) just for the concentrates at Dischem. The needles and syringes will work out to like 30 to 40 bucks depending on how much concentrates you planning to use.
7. Picked up some bottles from Bonpack (If you're from Cape Town) and was ready to mix.
8. Just threw in the amounts of concentrates and bases the app told me to and there we go. DONE!!!JUICE!!!!
Well not quite, Be sure to give the juice the correct amount of steep time, the recipes usually state how long is required.
You will naturally, begin to buy excess concentrates and bases and then it will really become cost effective (until you start experimenting, lol), and you will grow from there as you sink deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole.
I hope this helps...Mix on people
@Faraaz, your starting costs will depend quite a lot on the range of juices that you like to vape. If you only have a couple of profiles that you prefer and are willing to vape all the time, like a strawberry cream and a menthol tobacco, then you can start off very cheaply. If you vape a wide range of juices and you like trying almost every profile there is, then you will need to buy a lot more concentrates to get up and running. So it will take a bit longer to get established in DIY.
Either way, you should not have to spend more on DIY in any given month than you already spend on store-bought juice. And, over time, you will end up spending considerably less. I have done an exhaustive breakdown of DIY v store-bought costing over time here.
Either way, you should not have to spend more on DIY in any given month than you already spend on store-bought juice. And, over time, you will end up spending considerably less. I have done an exhaustive breakdown of DIY v store-bought costing over time here.
@Faraaz I started small about a year ago and I have not, to this day, spent more than R700 per month on DIY stock. In fact I've gotten to the point now where I only spend R700 every second month which means every other month I have $$$ for hardware. I only used to buy new concentrates when I needed them for a recipe. Slowly I learnt what the regular flavours were and buy those monthly.
I have now gotten to the point that after buying what I need for my recipes I still have money left over on my DIY months and I now buy flavours I don't have just for the sake of making testers of those flavours.
To give you an idea of quantity, I mix about 600ml juice every six weeks.
I have now gotten to the point that after buying what I need for my recipes I still have money left over on my DIY months and I now buy flavours I don't have just for the sake of making testers of those flavours.
To give you an idea of quantity, I mix about 600ml juice every six weeks.
Hoping I can hi-jack this thread instead of creating a new one...
Would this be a good place to start?
https://blckvapour.co.za/collections/starter-kits/products/starter-kit-2-scale-mixing
Obviously add some concentrates to that after researching a couple of recipes
Would this be a good place to start?
https://blckvapour.co.za/collections/starter-kits/products/starter-kit-2-scale-mixing
Obviously add some concentrates to that after researching a couple of recipes
Well.. yes.
But if you're going to mix by weight, you don't really need syringes, pipettes, beakers, etc. If you were to take the scales and the bottles, and the VG/PG/Nic bases all separately, you end up with a total of around R450. That leaves R300 for more bottles and/or concentrates.
What I do is the following:
1) I keep my VG in the 500ml bottle that it comes in, but I put a witch-hat nozzle on it. Dispense straight from the bottle.
2) I decant my PG into a 100ml needle-tip PET bottle. Dispense from the smaller bottle.
3) I decant my nicotine into 100ml needle-tip PET bottles too. Dispense from those smaller ones.
With all of the above, I dispense directly from a container into the final container. So dripping nicotine from a PET bottle into an HDPE bottle which is the one where my juice ends up in.
The only time I use gloves nowadays is when I decant the nicotine into the smaller 100ml PET bottles (I also use a small funnel when I do this, maybe get one of those too).
And then, juice bottles. HDPE is fine, although lately I started to prefer PET with needle-tips. The dropper tips on HDPE are messy as hell. But either way.. you need a LOT. Like a lot a lot. Your testers you will typically mix in 20ml or 30ml bottles, and it can reach high numbers before long.
For labeling, in the beginning just use plain old masking tape. I used it for months. Tear off a piece, write the name of the jiuce and the nic content on it, and stick it on the bottle. Very easily removed when you wash them.
EDIT: Also, get this: http://diyjuicecalculator.com/
It manages your inventory (of bases and concentrates) as well as your recipes. If you set it up right it also calculates your costs and manages your shopping lists. And in my case it contains copious amounts of notes on each recipe.
1) I keep my VG in the 500ml bottle that it comes in, but I put a witch-hat nozzle on it. Dispense straight from the bottle.
2) I decant my PG into a 100ml needle-tip PET bottle. Dispense from the smaller bottle.
3) I decant my nicotine into 100ml needle-tip PET bottles too. Dispense from those smaller ones.
With all of the above, I dispense directly from a container into the final container. So dripping nicotine from a PET bottle into an HDPE bottle which is the one where my juice ends up in.
The only time I use gloves nowadays is when I decant the nicotine into the smaller 100ml PET bottles (I also use a small funnel when I do this, maybe get one of those too).
And then, juice bottles. HDPE is fine, although lately I started to prefer PET with needle-tips. The dropper tips on HDPE are messy as hell. But either way.. you need a LOT. Like a lot a lot. Your testers you will typically mix in 20ml or 30ml bottles, and it can reach high numbers before long.
For labeling, in the beginning just use plain old masking tape. I used it for months. Tear off a piece, write the name of the jiuce and the nic content on it, and stick it on the bottle. Very easily removed when you wash them.
EDIT: Also, get this: http://diyjuicecalculator.com/
It manages your inventory (of bases and concentrates) as well as your recipes. If you set it up right it also calculates your costs and manages your shopping lists. And in my case it contains copious amounts of notes on each recipe.
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Presuming:
- For a start you will only be mixing tried and tested popular recipes in quantities of 30 ml.
- Your nic content is low enough to use 36 mg in PG. Not more than 6 mg I would say. Higher than that you either need the 36 mg Nic in VG or you need 72 or 100 mg Nic in PG. Imo, latex cloves are really not needed for 36 mg nic.
- You will mix directly into the final bottles, which just means you have to shake well after capping.
- Your ratio will be 70VG/30PG or 60VG/40PG
- 1 x scale 0.01
- 500 ml VG
- 200 ml PG
- 100 ml 36 mg Nic in PG
- 20 x 30 ml dropper bottles
- 3 x witch hat nozzle caps to dispense the VG, PG and Nic.
For R795, I'd buy:
Scale R240
Nic R110
VG R50
PG R20
4x100ml amber glass bottles R60
6x50ml dropper bottles R30
Funnel R15
Nozzles for VG and PG R8
100ml dropper for nic R7
FW Fruit Rings R40
TFA Bavarian Cream R40
FA Fuji R40
TFA Vanilla Bean Ice Cream R40
Cap Vanilla Custard v1 R45
Cap Sugar Cookie v2 R45
Total: R790
With those concentrates, you could make 250ml of skiddlz's Cereally Easy Loops, 125ml of shyndo's D Cream and 125ml of ID10-T's Simple Sugar Cookie. You'd still have about half a bottle each of nic, Cap VC1 and FA Fuji left over, the rest would be finished. But that's 500ml of finished juice. At ordinary commercial prices, 500ml of juice would cost you around R2500. You've spent R790. So you've got everything you need to DIY (scale, bottles, funnel, nozzles) and you've already saved R1700 with your first batch.
Scale R240
Nic R110
VG R50
PG R20
4x100ml amber glass bottles R60
6x50ml dropper bottles R30
Funnel R15
Nozzles for VG and PG R8
100ml dropper for nic R7
FW Fruit Rings R40
TFA Bavarian Cream R40
FA Fuji R40
TFA Vanilla Bean Ice Cream R40
Cap Vanilla Custard v1 R45
Cap Sugar Cookie v2 R45
Total: R790
With those concentrates, you could make 250ml of skiddlz's Cereally Easy Loops, 125ml of shyndo's D Cream and 125ml of ID10-T's Simple Sugar Cookie. You'd still have about half a bottle each of nic, Cap VC1 and FA Fuji left over, the rest would be finished. But that's 500ml of finished juice. At ordinary commercial prices, 500ml of juice would cost you around R2500. You've spent R790. So you've got everything you need to DIY (scale, bottles, funnel, nozzles) and you've already saved R1700 with your first batch.
Thanks. This is the kind of information I need.
What I have:
100ml bottles (plastic)
50ml bottles (plastic)
30ml bottles (plastic)
30ml bottles (glass)
What I don't need:
Nic - I don't vape nicotine
What I need:
Scale - I see the is a bigger one for R240. Would this be easier/more comfortable to work with?
VG & PG - Pretty cheap so might as well get quite a bit of it.
Concentrates - This is the trickiest part to decide on!!!
I would get the R240 scale for sure.
Concentrates are quite easy. Go to the All The Flavors flavour search. In the search bar, just type the name of a flavour you want. Don't worry about manufacturer at this stage. Say you're interested in lime vapes. Just type "lime" in the search bar. It will then give you a list of all the lime flavours. Look at which one(s) has been used in the most recipes and then click on that name. It will take you to a page which lists all the recipes. From there, you can decide which lime recipes look appealing to you and write down the names of the other flavours required.
Concentrates are quite easy. Go to the All The Flavors flavour search. In the search bar, just type the name of a flavour you want. Don't worry about manufacturer at this stage. Say you're interested in lime vapes. Just type "lime" in the search bar. It will then give you a list of all the lime flavours. Look at which one(s) has been used in the most recipes and then click on that name. It will take you to a page which lists all the recipes. From there, you can decide which lime recipes look appealing to you and write down the names of the other flavours required.
@aktorsyl @Andre @RichJB, thanks for all the information! I really appreciate it.
I've scanned over it and it looks very informative and will really help me to start out.
I'm gonna go over it in detail in a bit. Have a bit of a crisis at work at the moment (just as my new RTA comes in, typical).
Thanks again. I'll report back here once I've had a chance to process everything
I've scanned over it and it looks very informative and will really help me to start out.
I'm gonna go over it in detail in a bit. Have a bit of a crisis at work at the moment (just as my new RTA comes in, typical).
Thanks again. I'll report back here once I've had a chance to process everything
This looks like my plan as well. I only started last month and bought R600 worth of goodies , Part of that was scale PG VG and nic wich left a few rands for flavours. Only got 3 flavours for a start. Now i decided i wil budget R500 per month for new goodies and as mentioned higher up in the post i will decide on 2 or three recipes and buy those flavors. One of those will be a shake and vape recipe to keep me going wile i wait for the more complex mixes to steep. So i will build my arsenal over time. Only also started now with diy so sooooooo looking foreward cant wait for next months juice. I already made about 300ml of juice with what i bought so my scale ect is paid for already by what i saved on my first purchase..thx guys i enjoy reeding all your advice
Thanks so much for the comprehensive list including 3 easy mixes to start!
I'd like to get the order to R1000 for free shipping so I'm making the following changes:
4 x 500ml VG
1 x 500ml PG
0 x Nic (no nicotine for me)
Perhaps I should add some more concentrates.
Any recommendations for some more simple mixes?
What are the amber glass bottles for?
Can I mix directly into the droppers?
Thanks again to everyone for the info. Really helps a noob like me
Well recipes are subjective as hell, but these are simple staples that worked for me:Thanks so much for the comprehensive list including 3 easy mixes to start!
I'd like to get the order to R1000 for free shipping so I'm making the following changes:
4 x 500ml VG
1 x 500ml PG
0 x Nic (no nicotine for me)
Perhaps I should add some more concentrates.
Any recommendations for some more simple mixes?
What are the amber glass bottles for?
Can I mix directly into the droppers?
Thanks again to everyone for the info. Really helps a noob like me
WATERNANA:
TFA Watermelon: 3%
FA Banana: 1%
DOUG's AWESOME SAUCE
TFA Bavarian Cream: 3%
TFA Juicy Peach: 6%
TFA Strawberry Ripe: 5%
INW Shisha Strawberry: 3%
BLUE'ADDY YOGURT
TFA Bavarian Cream: 1.33%
FA Blackcurrant: 2%
TFA Blueberry Extra: 6.6%
TFA Greek Yogurt: 8%
That said, I wouldn't get FA Blackcurrant, TFA Greek Yogurt or FA Banana now, unless you like the profiles. The rest of the ingredients above are very widely used and are a safe bet. I would add FA Cream Fresh to the list.
I usually order 2 or 3 brand new concentrates every month when I do my restocks. This month I got INW Creme Brulee and... well I can't remember now. But even if I don't have a recipe for it on hand, I know it's a profile that works and a concentrate that's highly rated. So if you want to build out your collection, that's an option too.
To begin with, however - shop for recipes. To be honest, you'd have better luck looking here: https://www.ecigssa.co.za/forums/e-Liquid-recipes/
Find the recipes you think would suit you, and make a list of the concentrates required. Just a warning: you're going to end up with a list of 20 or so because it's a bottomless pit
But then you can start whittling away at them, one or two recipes at a time.Then again, if you really just want to burn R100.. get a pack of Streaky Cotton (I see BlckVapour sells it now). It's bloody amazing cotton.
Thanks for the suggestions. Those sound like cool mixes and I'm definitely willing to give them a try as well.Well recipes are subjective as hell, but these are simple staples that worked for me:
WATERNANA:
TFA Watermelon: 3%
FA Banana: 1%
DOUG's AWESOME SAUCE
TFA Bavarian Cream: 3%
TFA Juicy Peach: 6%
TFA Strawberry Ripe: 5%
INW Shisha Strawberry: 3%
BLUE'ADDY YOGURT
TFA Bavarian Cream: 1.33%
FA Blackcurrant: 2%
TFA Blueberry Extra: 6.6%
TFA Greek Yogurt: 8%
That said, I wouldn't get FA Blackcurrant, TFA Greek Yogurt or FA Banana now, unless you like the profiles. The rest of the ingredients above are very widely used and are a safe bet. I would add FA Cream Fresh to the list.
I usually order 2 or 3 brand new concentrates every month when I do my restocks. This month I got INW Creme Brulee and... well I can't remember now. But even if I don't have a recipe for it on hand, I know it's a profile that works and a concentrate that's highly rated. So if you want to build out your collection, that's an option too.
To begin with, however - shop for recipes. To be honest, you'd have better luck looking here: https://www.ecigssa.co.za/forums/e-Liquid-recipes/
Find the recipes you think would suit you, and make a list of the concentrates required. Just a warning: you're going to end up with a list of 20 or so because it's a bottomless pit
Then again, if you really just want to burn R100.. get a pack of Streaky Cotton (I see BlckVapour sells it now). It's bloody amazing cotton.
Oh, I'll definitely add some Streaky Cotton to the order! Keen to give that a go.
I think I'll place my first order with what you guys suggested here and then look through the recipes at leisure, getting a list together for the restock order.
Sounds like a good plan, yup.
As for the Streaky Cotton, yes I can definitely recommend it. I tried a sample this evening and it slurps up juice like a monster. It's extremely fluffy and loose.. so much so that if you comb it out you don't even feel any resistance on the tweezers. First time I saw that the cotton soaks up the juice in less than a second when I prime it.
Sounds great. I've added a packet of that to my order.
I hope I get it in time for the weekend!
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