What I have learned about DIY e-liquid making, so far

@Bunnypoison I know that, have been looking at getting into DIY for a while however my wallet complains every time I start looking at startup cost ;(;(
its just like vaping, the initial cost is high but the long term savings are worth it:campeon:
If you have yet to buy yourself a Christmas gift, here is your chance :). 2 minute noodles for a month will remind you of your colleague days so see it as an opportunity to hit some nostalgia and remember better days :)
 
I have finally received the awesome starter pack with the guidance of this thread:
DSC_0002_19.JPG
And I have made my first batch which will steep between 4 days to 4 weeks depending on the mix. This trial run honestly used up so little of the concentrates and bases that I do believe I could mix enough for 6 months with the entire start up batch.
DSC_0001.JPG
Thank you everyone for your input and advice!!!!!! :aaaaa:
 
Nicely done, @Bunnypoison. Yep, concentrates can last a long time depending on your recipes and juice consumption. I still have bottles of concentrate bought in May last year and which have been used in several recipes but don't need replenishing yet.

Theoretically, at a 15% flavour concentration and 3mg nic 70/30 juice, a DIY purchase of R1056:
1x 100ml 36mg nic (R180)
1l VG (R100)
100ml PG (R20)
180ml flavours (18 x 10ml bottles @ R42 ave ea = R756)
could make you 1200ml of DIY juice with a small amount of PG and VG left over. That is substantially less than R1 per ml. Or, if you vape 10ml a day, roughly four months of vaping @ R264 per month.

I say theoretically because you will never get to a point where you use up all your concentrates exactly in making a 1200ml batch. But even if you double the amount of concentrates purchased, it's still only around R1.50 per ml or R450 per month for a 10ml per day vaping habit. And you don't lose those concentrates, what you don't use is left over for future batches. So, over time, you build up a massive stock of surplus concentrates. As you will no doubt experience soon. ;)
 
I have finally received the awesome starter pack with the guidance of this thread:
View attachment 81280
And I have made my first batch which will steep between 4 days to 4 weeks depending on the mix. This trial run honestly used up so little of the concentrates and bases that I do believe I could mix enough for 6 months with the entire start up batch.
View attachment 81282
Thank you everyone for your input and advice!!!!!! :aaaaa:

Awesome starter pack @Bunnypoison !
All the best with the mixing. Let us know how your first trial batch goes....

By the way, what's the Lion matches for?
lol
 
Nicely done, @Bunnypoison. Yep, concentrates can last a long time depending on your recipes and juice consumption. I still have bottles of concentrate bought in May last year and which have been used in several recipes but don't need replenishing yet.

Theoretically, at a 15% flavour concentration and 3mg nic 70/30 juice, a DIY purchase of R1056:
1x 100ml 36mg nic (R180)
1l VG (R100)
100ml PG (R20)
180ml flavours (18 x 10ml bottles @ R42 ave ea = R756)
could make you 1200ml of DIY juice with a small amount of PG and VG left over. That is substantially less than R1 per ml. Or, if you vape 10ml a day, roughly four months of vaping @ R264 per month.

I say theoretically because you will never get to a point where you use up all your concentrates exactly in making a 1200ml batch. But even if you double the amount of concentrates purchased, it's still only around R1.50 per ml or R450 per month for a 10ml per day vaping habit. And you don't lose those concentrates, what you don't use is left over for future batches. So, over time, you build up a massive stock of surplus concentrates. As you will no doubt experience soon. ;)
Thank you, yes indeed I will have to replenish, especially with the popular recipe ingredients like Dragonfruit and Strawberry. I can use about 30ml a week so these steeps will last me a while. I think that the saving will come into play when I have mastered the recipes I really like and start buying larger quantities concentrate in those flavours. All and all I have to say that R450 a month looks pretty nice compared to R1200 cigarette habit. This way I also have left over flavours that I can experiment with later.

Its good to know that your flavours are lasting so long, I was a bit concerned about the shelf life but also keep them in the fridge for extra care. Thank you for your comment, this was truly informative.
 
Awesome starter pack @Bunnypoison !
All the best with the mixing. Let us know how your first trial batch goes....

By the way, what's the Lion matches for?
lol
Thank you, I definitely keep everyone posted. The matches just slipped my view when taking the picture, quite a sharp eye you have there. I keep them close in case we have a spider in the house and I have to burn the whole place down.
 
Thank you, I definitely keep everyone posted. The matches just slipped my view when taking the picture, quite a sharp eye you have there. I keep them close in case we have a spider in the house and I have to burn the whole place down.

Lol

I ask because I now have a keen have an eye for matches. The other day I was looking for matches or a lighter and I couldn't find it anywhere. They were everywhere when I smoked!

I had to use my little gas blowtorch that I used a while back to torch wire for coils ;-)
 
Yeah, I'm getting to the point now where 20ml concentrates are becoming attractive. There are some flavours like Flv Rich Cinnamon or FA Honey where one 10ml bottle will literally last for years. But Cheesecake GC, Ripe, VBIC, Swirl, Ripple, Vienna, Meringue, Marshmallow, Cap VC and SC, and several others all vanish at alarming rates.

I have downloaded about 50 recipes from ATF over the past few days and there are about 3 that don't have FA Meringue in them. Luckily it's almost always at 0.75-1% so you can get at least 30x30ml mixes from a single 10ml bottle.
 
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Lol

I ask because I now have a keen have an eye for matches. The other day I was looking for matches or a lighter and I couldn't find it anywhere. They were everywhere when I smoked!

I had to use my little gas blowtorch that I used a while back to torch wire for coils ;-)
I have to admit though, if you gave me an option between matches, a lighter or a blowtorch, I would pick the blowtorch every time !!!!!
 
I have finally received the awesome starter pack with the guidance of this thread:
View attachment 81280
And I have made my first batch which will steep between 4 days to 4 weeks depending on the mix. This trial run honestly used up so little of the concentrates and bases that I do believe I could mix enough for 6 months with the entire start up batch.
View attachment 81282
Thank you everyone for your input and advice!!!!!! :aaaaa:
Great stuff! Let us know how you find your creations.
 
Yeah, I'm getting to the point now where 20ml concentrates are becoming attractive. There are some flavours like Flv Rich Cinnamon or FA Honey where one 10ml bottle will literally last for years. But Cheesecake GC, Ripe, VBIC, Swirl, Ripple, Vienna, Meringue, Marshmallow, Cap VC and SC, and several others all vanish at alarming rates.

I have downloaded about 50 recipes from ATF over the past few days and there are about 3 that don't have FA Meringue in them. Luckily it's almost always at 0.75-1% so you can get at least 30x30ml mixes from a single 10ml bottle.
I would love it if you could share some recipes that you enjoyed :)
 
Of Wayne's premixes, I haven't tried Funfetti, but his Pistachio RY4 and Wayne's Rosky Milk (both from the premix) are both amazing.
 
Thanks bud, where did you get the numbers to input on the calculator ( for nic, vg pg ect) to get the gram equivalent?
 
Thanks bud, where did you get the numbers to input on the calculator ( for nic, vg pg ect) to get the gram equivalent?
I personally downloaded the Ejuice lab app for I think R19,99. When you upload recipes you find on forums you can view the recipes in grams, ml, percentage or even drops if you want to count. The advantage of this app is that it batches your mixes so you can label them and also set steeping reminders. It is easy to use but online calculators will give you the same calculations so that will work just as well. I will send you screenshot of my current batches.
 
Took the plunge, got 6 concentrates to start off. Havent got a scale so mixing by ml for now
 
Took the plunge, got 6 concentrates to start off. Havent got a scale so mixing by ml for now

@Jamacouve Welcome to the world of DIY. Experiment, learn and persevere. You won't look back. It's good fun and you save tons of money.

I have just been browsing a vape retail website now. No names mentioned as I love the shop and don't like running them down. Besides, it's not their fault, but R410 for a 60ml bottle of e-liquid! Wow, that's more than the price of a good clone RDA.

It took me a long time to get into DIY, and now I will not go back.

Wishing you all the best.


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