The E-Juice DIY thread

Since the recent passing of new regulations regarding vaping is going to come soon, I figured it was time I make a thread for vapers to have an alternative to paying what inevitably will be exorbitant taxes on all e-cig and vape products. I make my own juice, it is extremely easy, and extremely cheap.

WHAT YOU NEED
You will need very little to begin making your own juice. Outside the obvious, there are a few things you will want to assist you.

*Hospital grade gloves - You will need these, trust me. You will be dealing with very high level nicotine liquids and it is extremely dangerous if your skin comes into contact with it directly.


*Beakers - I use 10ml, 50ml, and 100ml graduated cylinders


*Vegetable Glycerin - Commonly found in any grocery store, but I recommend buying online in large quantities.

*Propylene Glycol - Same as the vegetable glycerin, however I prefer not to use propylene glycol in my juices. The flavors and nicotine are usually at least partially PG based as it is.


*Distilled Water - Use this for mixing with the vegetable glycerin at an 8-2 vg/dw ratio to thin it out.

*Concentrated Nicotine - I buy 100mg/ml nicotine personally, but you can get it in higher concentrations, I just prefer not to work with higher than 100mg/ml for safety reasons.


*Food Grade Flavorings - There are several different sellers of flavorings, my personal favorite site is The Perfumers Apprentice

*Recipe Calculator - Use this site for that // Or this site for advanced calculation (creds to DOMO)

*Paper Towels

HOW TO DO IT
So now that we have all the items needed, we can get started. Make sure you are working in a relatively clean environment. the mixing part is fairly straight-forward, x amount of x, y amount of y, z amount of z, etc... The flavors you prefer will depend on the amount of flavorings you will use in your mix. The average ratio for almost all flavors is between 10-25% flavorings. Stronger flavors obviously require less, while subtle flavors require more.

Flavors are not a 1 shot by the way, it will take some playing around with different types and amounts before you come up with a hit! I make 2 types for myself, a tobacco flavored one, and a mildly fruity one. The tobacco one has 3 different flavorings in it while the fruity one has 6 different flavorings. Both of my styles are fairly strong flavored, so I use a 15% flavor ratio.

It's important to remember that making your own juice will be a trial and error venture, so don't get discouraged if you don't make something you like right off the bat. It takes time and fine tuning to get it just right. The more you experiment, the better your odds of making a good one.

While you are experimenting, you will want to make small batches so you don't waste a lot of your product. I personally make my test flavors in 50ml batches with zero nicotine to try the true flavor. It is important to remember that once nicotine is added, the flavor WILL change. There is no scale to adjust for that, some flavors only change slightly, while others change dramatically. The best method I have found is to add a small amount of nicotine (around 3mg/ml) to a flavor once I have found it suitable for vaping. The small amount of nicotine will give you an idea of the flavor AFTER adding the nicotine, even if you scale up the mg/ml ratio.

Once you create a flavor, it is very important to remember there will be a steeping process in which over time the juice will completely dissolve and mix. This will change the flavor slightly. I recommend when making test flavors that you heat your completed flavor slightly and shake vigorously to get the closest result to a fully steeped product. Full steep time on most juices is 1-2 weeks.

Through trial and error you can easily make your own juice for pennies on the dollar if you follow the above steps.

I hope this helps all of you vapers out there! If you have any questions feel free to ask me!

Happy Vaping!

*FORGOT AN IMPORTANT PART
The mg/ml for nicotine generally used is the following
3-6mg/ml - low nicotine level, used mainly for RBA ( DO NOT GO OVER 6 MG/ML FOR RBA's YOU WILL CHOKE)
12mg/ml - Equal to a light cigarette
18-24mg/ml - Equal to a regular strength cigarette
30+mg/ml - Don't do it. It is easy to get a slight nicotine overdose at these levels. It isn't safe.

Here's a good calculator for e-juice

Great site all around if you like to rebuild.

a reply to: Domo1

Nice! Thanks for the added calculator. I'll add it in the OP.

Yes, favorite is strawberry so it won't be hard to do, and even like a mixture of mild tobacco/strawberry flavor.

Don't know how this will affect other countries but will never allow them to dictate anything at all.

I don't stand under evil dictators and murderers!

a reply to: Vector99

Have any links to where you get your Nicotine and Glycerine?

a reply to: eriktheawful
I get my VG from the same place I get my flavors, here's a link to that page

I've been shopping around recently for a new site to get my nic from, this is the site I've used in the past

a reply to: Vector99



Thanks!

a reply to: eriktheawful

I got my stuff from these guys

This is a great resource

a reply to: Domo1

I don't like the 2nd source, it's a scare post.

Making your own e-juice is not as complicated as that guy makes it seem.

originally posted by: eriktheawful
a reply to: Vector99

Have any links to where you get your Nicotine and Glycerine?

I get my nic from here, and have never had any issues with it. Very nice to deal with, and i've used them for about 2 years now. You can get it in a lot of different variations to suit your needs.

a reply to: Vector99

I'd like to add a few personal experience "p.s.es",if I may:

Don't make huge amounts-you'll get bored of the taste and it isn't so bad if it's awful.

If it smells very much like spray paint,it'll give you a headache.Usually in connection with pineapple flavouring.

If you get a nasty sensation in the back of your throat,it's too strong.Dilute as necessary.

HYGIENE!E-juice can go bad-wash all your mixing gear and wear disposable gloves when mixing.

I'd like to re-emphasize this:Nicotine is a nerve poison and will ruin yours or someone else's day if they come in contact with large amounts.Please,keep it away from the kids.