RainstormZA's Vape and DIY Diary

[RainstormZA]

hi @RainstormZA , long time

nice to see you back here

how has the UK lockdowns been for you ?

you been/getting vaccinated and so on ?

regards

Lockdown is driving me up the wall, it’s made it really harder to find another job. I’ve been at home for 10 months and I’m sick of it. I want out and I need to work.

as for vaccinations, frontline workers and elderly are being done first then the rest of us. So I have no idea when I’ll be getting mine.

I’ve been in some health problems for four weeks - only saw doctors yesterday and they weren’t happy with what I have so I got send to the hospital for blood tests after that. Dr told me not to stress as it’s not serious enough at this stage and said to ring them back if anything changes. I have slightly enlarged lymph nodes on the back of my neck. Originally it was thought to be tonsillitis bec I had all the symptoms for it two weeks ago - cold, sore throat etc... and that kind of progressed into four weeks.

So now it’s a wait and see what my blood test results are.

 

[vicTor]

oh no, I hope the results will lead to a speedy treatment for you !

 

[RainstormZA]

I have forgotten to post snow pics from the uk

first snowfall



second snowfall


snow tonight

 

[RainstormZA]

nice to see you back here

I'll never stop coming back here - this was the first site I got all my support from and I don't think I'll be going anywhere else as this place has got the best support and help ever.

Even the many repositories of DIY juice recipes that I can try out when I need a change.

 

[RainstormZA]

And more snow today

 

[RainstormZA]

 

[Stranger]

Bad bad bad memories. In the 80's when I was a young man I got work on the building sites. I had to ride to work on my Kawasaki KL 250 single in that snow. Three days later and it turned to mush and nothing and I mean nothing stopped you from getting wet. One day after that and you got the black ice on the roads. Can you ride a bike I hear you ask, after putting screws in my knobblies I could, otherwise you saw your ass.

I envy you NOT.

 

[RainstormZA]

Bad bad bad memories. In the 80's when I was a young man I got work on the building sites. I had to ride to work on my Kawasaki KL 250 single in that snow. Three days later and it turned to mush and nothing and I mean nothing stopped you from getting wet. One day after that and you got the black ice on the roads. Can you ride a bike I hear you ask, after putting screws in my knobblies I could, otherwise you saw your ass.

I envy you NOT.

Yeah I don't blame you. Black ice on the roads is never a good idea to ride a bike, let alone drive a car or bicycle. Somewhere near Halifax, they had to cancel busses and taxi's as it was so bad - there was a bus that slid down the road sideways. I truly feel for those who need to go to work.

 

[Stranger]

My boy lives in Newcastle, just last week he came off his bike due to black ice and now it is a write off. He is OK, sensible lad dressed properly, but his beloved ER 6 is toast.
Sorry to hear you are not well, lets hope those bloods can tell a story and they can get on top of it. My prescription : if you see the sun, go stand under it.

 

[RainstormZA]

My boy lives in Newcastle, just last week he came off his bike due to black ice and now it is a write off. He is OK, sensible lad dressed properly, but his beloved ER 6 is toast.
Sorry to hear you are not well, lets hope those bloods can tell a story and they can get on top of it. My prescription : if you see the sun, go stand under it.

Thank goodness he's ok. Yeah bike safety gear always saves you from a scrap or two - that's very sensible of him. Sorry to hear about the toasted ER6.

I'm still waiting blood tests and I hate waiting as it's a 50% chance it could be serious, the other 50% not so serious. Hopefully nothing too serious, I hope.

Yeah I always stand in the sun every chance I can get - it's nothing like back home where I came from - always sun all winter, even in -8 degrees, it's always warm and sunny in the day from 9am til 4pm. Here you get feck all sun - you'll be lucky to get a spot for 5 mins. I miss my gardening - backyard is a concrete jungle and all my plants are in pots but winter is not fun trying to garden - my fingers get cold to the point it hurts so I don't even bother, maybe a little weeding there and then as the weeds seem to survive in the winter too I do have an indoor orchid - only flowers annually and it's give me a small amount of pleasure to see a new shoot growing, and it's thriving so I'm doing something right. I've not owned one before but I grew up with orchids - so what I've learnt from my mom and grandfather has paid off. My grandfather had over 50 different specimens before my mom took them after he moved into the nursing home with my gran.

 

[RainstormZA]

More snow fell overnight

 

[RainstormZA]

Lovely sun out there, I took a quick walk to get these pics - so good to feel the warm sun on my back

 

[vicTor]

thanks for the pics, don't you miss your farm or small holding or whatever it was here in SA ?

 

[RainstormZA]

thanks for the pics, don't you miss your farm or small holding or whatever it was here in SA ?

Not really, I’m a wanderer- I never stay in one place for long.

the only thing I miss of SA is the beaches and my wild scrub hares

 

[RainstormZA]

Mixed these three - let’s see how they pan out

I know it’s early to vape the Icee Berry but I really like the flavour. Im fussy on flavours but this is what I was looking for. Thank you @Rude Rudi for the recipe

View attachment 221521

Wow time flies.

Here is an image of the original mixes.



I have actually vaped most of the Froot Salad and trying to spare the Cryo Mango as it's quite a bit icy on the side but very nice flavour. It's not exactly the same as the Ice Mango One shots from Flavour World so I will be asking my mom to bring me some more as I prefer that one.

I know a lot of people say Drip Hacks is a coil killer but honestly I don't see a difference in my coil wick changing regime. It is still once a week that I usually change my wicking. So not much difference - truth be told, the Ice Mango juice I get from Flavour World is a coil killer as it's a lot of sugar in it, more than the Drip Hacks ones.

Ok here's my verdict on the Drip Hacks juices - Cryo Mango is great for hot days (not when it's still cold), it's a nice change though. My only ***** is that you need a lot of concentrate to make a 300ml bottle and that will cost you quite a bit. So I don't think I'll be getting the Drip Hacks for a while, maybe til Christmas.

Froot Salad has a nice flavour but at 20% it is not strong enough for a fruity experience. Also personally it's more of a cartoony flavour - like a fruit salad cereal (kind of reminds me of the froot loops cereal flavouring). Yes! I said cartoony... Lol.

For Rude Rudi's Icee Berry, it is nice. I like it but not an ADV. I aim to try his Icee range and give a verdict for the upcoming summer months.

 

[DarthBranMuffin]

You tried it, liked it and didnt bin it, that is a win right there!

I know a lot of people say Drip Hacks is a coil killer

Can agree with you here, used it as my ADV (Forbidden Fruits) for about 8 months, did not kill my coils faster than any other juice (superior or sub-par).

 

[RainstormZA]

You tried it, liked it and didnt bin it, that is a win right there!



Can agree with you here, used it as my ADV (Forbidden Fruits) for about 8 months, did not kill my coils faster than any other juice (superior or sub-par).

yeah but with my peppermint custom mix - I just add FA peppermint and a bit of WS23 for the ice factor - the wicking on my coil lasts me around 3 to 4 weeks and I'm a chain vaper.

 

[RainstormZA]

Speaking of which, Drip Hacks Cryo Mango is a nice juice to vape first thing after mixing but don't make the mistake of leaving it to steep for weeks - it tastes horrid. I had to chuck out a bit of it, no loss really as I didn't really enjoy the juice to be honest - I still prefer Mango Freeze over anything else for a nice ice mango juice.

I had a problem with my one Gear RTA for a while - constant spitback and burning my tongue or lip (it was the blue one), the other one (red) did not even have the problem. Both are wicked and coiled the same (even the same coils from my coil reel, same ohms, same everything). Yesterday I had the thought of using my SS wire as I'd not used it for months (Actually it's been nearly 2 years). Turns out I had a few spare ready made SS coils put away - so I took the blue Gear RTA out and took the fused clapton coil out. Installed and fitted the SS coil in, etc.... all the works that go with a new coil.

I vaped Rude Rudi's Icee Berry juice mix and wow it made a big difference. Not only there was no spitback but also the flavour was a ton better too - much better than on the fused clapton. I know this new juice I mixed up - Forest Fruit Mix, Yes We Cheese, Cheescake and Cream Fresh is more of a pastry treat but I tested it on the SS coil and absolutely amazing flavours coming through. I can taste a well balanced forest fruit mix (more like berries on the inhale and cheesecake on the exhale).

I think I may just go back on SS coils for a while.

 

[RainstormZA]

The verdict on this



Honestly it’s been over a week since I forgot about this forest fruit cheesecake. Steeped nicely and turned a golden colour.

decided to give it a vape this morning. Very nice flavour.

then I sneezed. Not sure if it was a reaction to it.

now I can’t taste or smell much of it. All I can taste is cheesecake but a slight taste. Before the sneeze happened, I was tasting both fruit mix and cheesecake, a hint of coconut.

 

[RainstormZA]

Ok I have mixed these

View attachment 227435 View attachment 227436 View attachment 227437

My verdict on the CAP Orange Mango is very nice!!!! I added 1% WS23 and it made it even better. I can’t believe I made 5 different juices and they all turned out great. No coughing, no throat irritation, nothing.

I think I may have to leave the passion fruit to steep as it tastes a bit strange vaping it but drop taste test is just like granadilla juice which I find very weird that I get two opposing profiles for the drop taste and for the vaping test.

As quoted from the flavouring additions thread, on day one, I have realised how much I missed the Lemon Cream Cronut profile - I needed something sweet but not overpowering and this was just perfect. It's not an ADV as I have a dripper and keep switching between different juices now.

For the Passionfruit one, it still tastes strange to me. I'm not sure if it's the honeydew that I subbed for the cactus concentrate. Honest to the Gods, I've never used cactus or honeydew melon flavours so this is kind of a learning curve for me. I'll add the recipe - adapted from another recipe I can't remember where from.



Lemon Cream Cronut adaptation from Elysian Lab's original (50% less sweeter).



Barbossa's Mutiny - tastes almost like spiced gold rum with a hint of oak barrels and tobacco

 

[vicTor]

As quoted from the flavouring additions thread, on day one, I have realised how much I missed the Lemon Cream Cronut profile - I needed something sweet but not overpowering and this was just perfect. It's not an ADV as I have a dripper and keep switching between different juices now.

For the Passionfruit one, it still tastes strange to me. I'm not sure if it's the honeydew that I subbed for the cactus concentrate. Honest to the Gods, I've never used cactus or honeydew melon flavours so this is kind of a learning curve for me. I'll add the recipe - adapted from another recipe I can't remember where from.

View attachment 227513

Lemon Cream Cronut adaptation from Elysian Lab's original (50% less sweeter).

View attachment 227514

Barbossa's Mutiny - tastes almost like spiced gold rum with a hint of oak barrels and tobacco

View attachment 227515

yoh, the Mutiny one looks delicious !

 

[RainstormZA]

yoh, the Mutiny one looks delicious !

A month's steep and it's very nice - last time I made it, I finished it in two weeks. Lol. Tastes of spiced gold rum with the smell of old ship wood (oak barrels?) and there's something else, I can't quite pick it out but a very nice blend if you ask me. It was something I just made up on the spot and it turned out to be real good (that was about 2 or 3 years ago) - yes it's actually my recipe.

EDIT: Oh wait, now I remember where the smell came from - my childhood. My grandparents used to smoke and my grandfather always had a glass of whisky in the evenings after his beer - it smelled just like that (combo of tobacco and whisky taste plus the smell of my gran's baking in the background). I also grew up having ice cream after supper so could be that as well.

 

[RainstormZA]

As quoted from the flavouring additions thread, on day one, I have realised how much I missed the Lemon Cream Cronut profile - I needed something sweet but not overpowering and this was just perfect. It's not an ADV as I have a dripper and keep switching between different juices now.

For the Passionfruit one, it still tastes strange to me. I'm not sure if it's the honeydew that I subbed for the cactus concentrate. Honest to the Gods, I've never used cactus or honeydew melon flavours so this is kind of a learning curve for me. I'll add the recipe - adapted from another recipe I can't remember where from.

View attachment 227513

Lemon Cream Cronut adaptation from Elysian Lab's original (50% less sweeter).

View attachment 227514

Barbossa's Mutiny - tastes almost like spiced gold rum with a hint of oak barrels and tobacco

View attachment 227515

Ok, here's the verdict.

The Passionfruit does require a bit of steeping - more or less up to 2 weeks for the flavour to really come out - but it was not what I had envisaged it to to turn out. I'm tasting more of the melon which kind of overpowers the passionfruit flavouring. What I really want is the old school granadilla cordial that my gran always made for us kids when we were growing up. She would actually grow the granadillas by the wheelbarrow load on fences then turn them into summer concentrated cordial juice which we could pour into a glass then fill up with water and mix. It was awesome. This is the kind of old school home-made cordial I'm after. Not too sweet, but full-on granadilla flavour with ice blocks in on the most hot days.

Lemon Cream Cronut adaption is, as before, is still very nice. It can be a bit tiresome, specially the sweetness of it - it's nice for cold days or lazy afternoons or an after dinner treat.

Right now, I'm still undecided with Barbossa's Mutiny - I think it may need a proper full month's steep (the ETA date is 12/05/2021, which is next week), maybe another month - I'll figure this out as I've only made it once.

The Orange Mango concentrate that I made up (Capella Orange Mango), it could be improved a tad bit. It tastes like the orange vitamin liquid that you give to the kids - not really that great. It needs some serious working on it - I'm going on guesswork - might be needing some sweetner and a tad more menthol / ice.

To recap the whole thing, it was not a train smash to be honest. It's nice to break out and start trying different juices again.

Thinking I need a proper chocolate mint vape and then again, a nice plain chocolate donut vape too.

 

[Timwis]

Ok, here's the verdict.

The Passionfruit does require a bit of steeping - more or less up to 2 weeks for the flavour to really come out - but it was not what I had envisaged it to to turn out. I'm tasting more of the melon which kind of overpowers the passionfruit flavouring. What I really want is the old school granadilla cordial that my gran always made for us kids when we were growing up. She would actually grow the granadillas by the wheelbarrow load on fences then turn them into summer concentrated cordial juice which we could pour into a glass then fill up with water and mix. It was awesome. This is the kind of old school home-made cordial I'm after. Not too sweet, but full-on granadilla flavour with ice blocks in on the most hot days.

Lemon Cream Cronut adaption is, as before, is still very nice. It can be a bit tiresome, specially the sweetness of it - it's nice for cold days or lazy afternoons or an after dinner treat.

Right now, I'm still undecided with Barbossa's Mutiny - I think it may need a proper full month's steep (the ETA date is 12/05/2021, which is next week), maybe another month - I'll figure this out as I've only made it once.

The Orange Mango concentrate that I made up (Capella Orange Mango), it could be improved a tad bit. It tastes like the orange vitamin liquid that you give to the kids - not really that great. It needs some serious working on it - I'm going on guesswork - might be needing some sweetner and a tad more menthol / ice.

To recap the whole thing, it was not a train smash to be honest. It's nice to break out and start trying different juices again.

Thinking I need a proper chocolate mint vape and then again, a nice plain chocolate donut vape too.

Melon works well with Peaches and Pears etc, Passion Fruit like Dragon Fruit tend to get drowned out if mixed with other fruits, at least that's what i have always found, i tend to mix Passion Fruit and Dragon Fruit together with either Cream or Custard!

 

[RainstormZA]

Melon works well with Peaches and Pears etc, Passion Fruit like Dragon Fruit tend to get drowned out if mixed with other fruits, at least that's what i have always found, i tend to mix Passion Fruit and Dragon Fruit together with either Cream or Custard!

Now that's an idea. I know I ate dragonfruit once or twice - it was very juicy. That might work with passionfruit. Thanks for the tip, I totally forgot about this one.