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DIY Tips and Info I know this is a lot of information, but I hope it helps those looking at trying their hand at DIY. Keep in mind, This is just my own experience. PG- Propylene Glycol : It is a colorless, nearly odorless, clear, viscous liquid with a faintly sweet taste, http://en.wikipedia....ropylene_glycol VG-Vegetable Glycerin(Glycerol): In foods and beverages, glycerol serves as a humectant, solvent and sweetener, and may help preserve foods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycerol PG and/or VG are both used as the base of the E-Liquid. PG/VG can be purchased from most E-Liquid suppliers with or without Nicotine. Unflavored PG or VG with Nicotine can be purchased for the purpose of mixing your own liquids and can be purchased is many strengths. PG/VG without Nicotine is necessary for mixing your own liquids. Glycerin can also be purchased from most pharmacies-over the counter. Humco is one brand of Pharmacy Grade (USP) glycerin. It is sold as a skin protectant. It is a clear, slightly thick liquid and has a sweet taste to it. There is also a Food grade VG- Wiltons- sold at Craft stores in the baking sections. Can sometimes be found at Walmart in the craft section. The information will have to be put into a couple posts--The server doesn't like the long version....

In a regulated mod, you'd want to use unprotected batteries, but QUALITY batteries, such as the ones from LG, Samsung, or Sony. Sony batteries are getting harder and harder to find (that aren't clones, seconds, or re-wraps), but if you can find authentic VTC4, those are good to use, and rated at 20A discharge. LG and Samsung batteries are my go-to batteries, but both are still only rated to 20A continuous discharge (30-35A peak @ 1-sec burst). Still though, even in your dual-battery box-mods, in parallel, that will give you 40A discharge (same Voltage as single battery, doubles the Amps)... Either way, as a single battery, they are good for running coils down to 0.22 Ohms without any issues or danger. If you are buying Samsung batteries, the 25R (Tiffany Blue wrapper) or 25R5 (green wrapper) are the ones to have... the green wrapped ones are the newest version. The pink wrapped 26F are 2600mAh, but I've not tried these yet, so I've no opinion on them for vaping. If you are buying LG... the brown wrapped HG2 are highest mAh rating @ 3000 mAh, and appear to be the current "king" of vaping batteries. The HE2 (red wrapper) and HE4 (yellow wrapper) are similar in function and 2500mAh, and I regularly use several of the HE2 without any problems. NOTE OF CAUTION: When using batteries in pairs for your box-mods... label them "A-B", "C-D", "E-F", etc., and keep that pair together forever... rotate their position left-right in the mod each time you replace them to ensure even use, and when one battery of the pair dies, do not re-marry the good battery to a brand-new battery... only re-marry it to another orphaned/divorced battery.

I have been doing DIY for about 1 1/2 years now, maybe longer, I know what's in it and if it don't come out the way I planned I got nobody to blame but myself. (you can blame the muffin man) When I do get a batch that doesn't taste right I try to fix it or vape it anyway. You will probably experiment with flavors like I did, and still am, some good some not so good, but that's what makes it interesting.

I've looked at the HG2 as well... but haven't tried any of them. I figure as more of my older batteries reach retirement, I'll try something newer/better, and the HG2 are at the top of my list. I've been running 25R's almost exclusively since January, and so far have only lost two of them (probably older stock?), and still have 10 running strong. My VTC4's have been work-horses for more than a year, but I've retired them to use only in my Cloupor's where they will see lower Wattage demands, and hopefully will last even longer that way? Even though they are only 2100mAh, they still last nearly 2-days in my Cloupor's (running 8.5-12W avg).

I have really loved my 25R's. My first 2 batches that I bought are starting to get a little weak. I have PIF a few, but I don't feel like it is best thing to do, so as I replace them, I will recycle them. I recycled my last set of VTC3's, but all of my VTC4's are still running good (they are all married). I think I am going to start replacing my 25R's, HE2's, and HE4's with HG2's and possibly 30Q's. I can tell a noticeable difference in how long they last. The HG2 preforms nearly as good (Total Amperage) as the 25R but lasts longer. I am also going to try out the 30Q's. They are only rated at 15A, but tests about like a 20A battery. Since I only vape at 40 watts I should be ok because that is only 14 A. ((40/3.2)*1.1) I have a pair on order, I will post my very unscientific findings as soon as I try them out.

There seems to be a pretty good availability of VTC4 and VTC5 cells on the market again. I try to only buy them from battery specific dealers. The VTC4 seems to hold a $2 premium over the 25R without a whole lot of benefits, except continuous discharge amp ratings. If you are keeping it in the 20A range the 25R is great, but the LG HG2 and the Samsung 30Q are edging it out with an extra 500mah, but they are usually $2.00 higher each. In the 25A to 30A range the VTC4 is king. It is a couple bucks higher than the other batteries out there, but it is probably the best in that range. Over 30A the LG HB6 seems to be the only one that is passing all of the tests. It only has 1500 mah though. I guess one good thing is they are cheap (around $5) My favorite battery shops lately are: Liion Wholesale (I have 4 on order here) illumn (I have ordered 12 since July) RTD Vapors (I have ordered 2 from them)

Got ya what ya think of the d4 version of that charger

I was thinking about getting a UM10 for the car, got 2 power ports in front seat 2 more in the back seat and 1 in the very back, figured I could use one during trips.

If they sell supplies for CPAP machines, they should, but I can't guarantee all of them will carry 18650's, or what brand they will have, if they do. I may have gotten lucky that my local store carried LG's... But, yes, it won't hurt to ask

I've bought my last 10 Samsung from Amazon, and had zero failures or issues with them. One of the 5 I bought from the local B&M has died (would not take a charge) after 6-months or so. The Samsungs bought from Amazon came from two different sellers (both with thousands of reviews, and 99% positive), and all were PRIME shipped. The Walgreen's I spotted the LG's at had a card on the wall saying 18650 back-up batteries for the CPAP machines were behind the counter. I had to get them from the pharmacist, I presume to prevent shoplifting of such a small item? Both were individually boxed, and two came boxed together with a date-stamp on the outer box. I've only used them once so far (each), and they are working exactly the same as my Samsungs... so I call it a win!

Awesome! Thanks for the recommendations guys! At under 30 bucks for the charger and a couple of batteries, it seems like a no-brainer. I like the auto-detect feature on that charger. Probably because I have no idea what kind of battery is in there now, aside from the size, which is kind of scary, come to think of it. The shop I bought it from rewrapped it to match my mod, and never mentioned the brand. I'll have to stop over there and ask them what the heck they gave me.

There is also this reasonably priced alternative. http://www.vaportekusa.com/hcigar-dna-40-authentic-evolv/ The advantages are a spring loaded 510 pin, inbuilt charging and venting. Note venting will help to keep the chip assembly running cooler.

i am not an expert in temperature control but my basic understanding so far is that nickel wire has properties that its resistance changes with heat. The chip continuously monitors the resistance of the coil and determines the temperature based on on that. If you use Kanthal, wire temperature control wont work since the resistance is constant. So since the unit wont let the coil ever get hot enough, in theory you should never burn your cotton. As your wic holds less juic, the heat rises quicker and thus the unit stops current flow. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde are believed to be by products when PG|VG break down from high temperatures, again in theory temperature control should eliminate this. As your wic dries up the pg/vg left over/residue will burn at higher temperatures if the temperatures are high enough you get the unwanted byproducts. My question is what is the magic temperature you should avoid. I cant seem to find any research paper done with a qualified testing procedure. Sorry if i went off track, perhaps i should have answered this prior to my scotch.

The more I look at it the more I want it lol

Not what I am looking for but pretty cool. IPX4 is still not technically waterproof lol. Looks pretty cool though!

I don't have a huge problem with them being taxed but states that pass laws making it illegal to vape (or smoke for that matter) in open outside areas are places I do not care to visit. You could not get me to move to NY or Cali if you quadrupled my salary and gave me 3 months off a year.

If interested, I'm always willing to do some writing. I have a blog but would be more than happy to contribute as much as I can...I know I'm not the most experienced or number crunching guy that might attract your more experienced used but I also believe those just starting out would like a friendly voice in the wild. I would like to see more zines/papers reach out to the noob and just starting out crowd for which I would be willing to help. Obviously, it being your paper and your baby...I'm willing to work with you, obviously, to create what you want. And anything I submit would be subject to your advice and editorial input.

I'm not fond of big clouds, but sub ohming can produce it. That said, my SO, I believe sub-ohms, but doesn't cloud chase on purpose, unless he's doing it right next to my head on purpose to annoy me. Nothing I hate worse than going into a vape shop that doubles as a vape lounge and there is as much vapor hanging in the air from the two dudes sitting on the couch watching TV as you would get in a bar on a Saturday night when smoking was still allowed in bars.

Although I don't currently "cloud chase", I will say that each one of us need certian things to keep us off analogs. That said, they all have a place given the obvious safety aspects. The one thing we all have in common is no more stinkies! And we don't blow smoke, it's vapor!

That was an amazing video I cant believe how much power is in there and how long it took to finally blow , scary stuff

OK, So I had an opinion and I expressed it. All the left is going to remember are two things, cloud blowing competition and accident. You all can ma-line that all you want. You all can attack me for just stating the fact that something is dangerous to the point it could easily be used against the community`s freedoms. Have a great Vape day.

Joe, you make a good argument for freedom of expression, I get it. And I personally wont give up one once of liberty for added security, I get it. What I`m really trying to convey is that your argument will never hold any water whatsoever with the anti vaping establishment that has already formed around us. It may be different in Bama, Maybe you don`t pay attention to the rest of the union. But here in California, we are fighting for our rights with every once of reason we have. In New York, they want to ban all ecigs period. You would be breaking the law if found vaping in public. This aint my tin foil hat talking, this is the reality in New York. Try advertising a cloud comp in the city of NY, see how many do gooders you get to come out and shut you down. In Iowa, absolutely no ecig juices or anything ecig is allowed to be sold on line, I cant buy a damn thing from Iowa. Your can argue passion all want, but you cant argue the facts as they are right now. You have a good set of facts, almost no one blows themselves up. But every now and again, someone goes kaboom. You can argue with every once of passion that I am dead wrong, and every now and again, someone will prove me right. I would be willing to bet the average vaper has absolutely no interest in these competitions, and can understand logic when its put fourth reasonably. But let natural selection take its course, of course. :?)

OK I'll try one more angle to try to get through that tin foil hat. You do have a point,it's been shown in the past that mis-use of a product can cause restrictions on that product.However just because you participate in something doesn't give you the right to decide how everyone else gets to participate.That should be decided by a majority. Comps are not necessarily bad if there are reasonable safety rules in place.There will ALWAYS be Darwin award candidates who push the limits and YOU will never change them. Vaping is now seen as a revenue source by big corp and big gov so it's already going to be regulated and taxed but even if it's banned there is enough info on this site alone for people who are determined to keep vaping to do so. And by the way,if you're treated like crap for doing something you shouldn't judge the actions of others who do it. Maybe it's just your attitude about it since I and a lot of others have had good reactions from the public in general and even the local police.

If this doesn't scare u into using your mod RDAs and batteries right, I don't know what will.

I'd like to see someone do this with a vtc5

A good reason to choose IMR over Li-ion batteries. IMR will vent and the chance of exploding is slim if your mod has proper venting in place.

Banana will overpower most flavors. I usually only add about 3 drops to a 10ml batch otherwise its too much. I have also noticed that too much flavor doesn't necessarily ruin the juice, what will though is when you are not calculating the ratio of the juice to your PG/VG content. However, a good tip to remember is.... sometimes less is more.

Banana and some dark Chocolate are ones I have found so far. Anise will as well.

Vodka is like pledge lol. Cleans it all up

Not sure if my taste buds are revolting or I'm doing something wrong. Been playing with DIY for a short while and sometimes my mixes are ok, sometimes not so much. Which brings me to the question I have been pondering ....... is there a point at which a flavor starts "going backwards" and the finished juice mix just tastes crummy? Lately my mixes have not been tasting as good as I remember - or think they should, but people around me say the odor of the flavor is quite noticeable, and some who I allow to sample my vape, such as mixes blended with Black Cherry, Chocolate, Tosted Marshmallow, say the taste is there, sometimes to the point of being too much for them, but I can hardly taste it. I'm beginning to think it's me getting familair with the flavor to the point where my taste buds ignore it and I need to change directions for a while. I'm mixing at 20% flavor so before I go bumping up the flavor ratio I would like some guidance from some of the more experienced DIYer's.

LMAO!

Be careful with that coffee mix, it can gunk up your coil fast and burn it out.

If you like coffee type flavors I highly recommend Flavour arts coffee espresso...a little goes a long way. It has become one of my staple flavors....mix with tiramisu, apple pie, cinnamon/carmel (cinnamon roll). http://www.ecigexpress.com/coffee-espresso-by-flavourart-select-size-620.html I have tried many coffee flavors, and this one just seems to be the closest. not to mention its a clear flavor...some of the coffees are very dark.

How do you save this to your toolbar? Are you using FireFox? Essential Depot has the VG and the PG by the gallon, on sale right now, if anyone's interested. The prices will go up 20% with their next batches. http://www.essentialdepot.com/servlet/the-Propylene-Glycol/Categories

Great info I've been thinking about DIY and after all these great posts I'm definitely going to give it a try.

Hi, I have 3 questions for my DIY attempt: Question 1: Do any of you know the TYPE of flavorings which you guys use for DIY Eliquid? I'm using flavoring for bakery. Is that ok? The flavor somehow "taste" diluted, no matter the percentage of volume I use. I know most of you refer to flavorings by brand name, Lorann ..etc. But are those branded flavors for bakery too? Question 2 Most commercial Eliquids have a bit of sweet taste to it. Mine is pretty bland and tasteless. I used some Sorbitol and Stevia as sweeteners but still not enough. Question 3: Throat Hit (TH). I know most people say it's from nicotine and some say it's from PG. My DIY Eliquid has no TH at all. Some pointers? IN my country, ordering nicotine is totally illegal. I extract nicotine directly from tobacco by boiling etc etc.... Please help. I'm getting really frustrated with my DIY attempt . Thank you in advance.

yeah ive added some drops to some stuff i got form vendors. Also one thing I wondered about is how do you know if something needs to steep. I never understood that. I noticed some of the bottles ive made changed to a more deeper yellowish/orange color after a few days, and even though none of them are brownish in color, they leak out of my carto sometimes brown in color out the bottom

I also use 30% on apple pie. and a drop of cinnamon and sometimes a little of something else. This is the only flavor I go that high on and it is one of my favs too. I've been meaning to get Tiramiso but I keep forgeting to add that one.

Flavourart apple pie tastes great and I use over 20% of the total volume of the mix. Flavourart dark vapure needs only about 2%. Many Lorranne flavors are really strong also but they all vary from flavor to flavor. Most tobacco flavors are really strong. One that isn't and tastes real good to me is Flavorwest cumarin pipe which I use at 20%..

Thank you for the info. Answered exactly what I was looking for. Thanks again.

DIY still remains my passion and obsession. Common sense always has to prevail. The last 2 1/2 years have brought so many changes.....its worse than computer technology (for me anyway). Currently I still stick to those vendors I have been using since (almost) the beginning of my vaping adventure. When I first started vaping, the selection and vendors was very simple and very few, now, new stuff is popping up at every corner. I figure, I might as well stick with what works for me. I still love mixing almost as much as I love vaping.

Thats awesome! i cant wait to start. im new to vaping well about 5 days new. Ive ordered enough e-juice to last about 4 months. but when i start something i want to know everything about it. im a research hound and a big DIY guy sort of speek. i know there has to be a cheaper and easier way to do this. the instructions are gold and i cant wait to start. thanks for the great info!

+1

Thanks MaryAnn. I've got that on my list! I haven't done much mixing lately....haven't had the time, plus bought the full sampler from VT! Have to vape that down before I splurge again Hope to see you soon! B!

Kitsune, I think you may have created a mixing monster!! With all the talk, great advice, recipe calculators, and where to go for larger quantities of Nic Juice at a good price (Thanks Brian-another forum on this board, the weekend after thanksgiving will be one of trial and error. After scouring all the stores around here for Lorann's, bottles, etc etc.. I resorted to two hours of online hunting and shopping! Let me know if I've left anything out of my "basket" -Nic Juice 48mg, 125 ML -20 10ml bottles -5 Lorann flavors - none with oil- I like sweet so (Grape, coconut, crem de menth, rootbeer, chocolate)- Hoping for "Mounds" flavor with the chocolate and coconut (oh and wiltons clear vanalla extract- water, alcohol, artificial flavors)- they had that at Michael's- is it okay to use?? -177 ML Humco VG I've vaped so much today through all of this that I'm on my 3rd ego battery!!

Now everyone can see why I've been calling you the "Queen" of mixing. Our resident "mixologist". This is great information Kitsune a really great post. Anyone who is interested in mixing will do wonders if they just pay attention. I for one am grateful to you for your help and information. A big +1 Keep up the good work.

Fantastic Kitsune!!! I only wish I had something worthwhile to add to this.

"With the menthol--using just 1-2 drops/3ml will give a nice cool throat hit without tasting like menthol." I cannot stress this tip enough!! I literally do this with every single juice I mix up... or for another option, I will add it to pre-mixed e-juice that I have already bought from a supplier that's just sitting in my stash of "ok" juices. (this will often times make them great to vape!) AND, to kick all of this up a notch... I will often times use cinnamon concentrate in the same exact fashion! Great tips Kits!! +1 !!

FlavourArt: Food Flavoring. Very wide selection of flavorings. Not as concentrated as Lorann, but has a wider variety of flavoring and less artificial coloring. Variety of Tobacco flavorings. Freedomsmokeusa and liberty flights both carry a very good selection of FlavourArt flavorings. Freedomsmokeusa :Liberty-Flights Decadent Vapors/Totally Wicked: The Decadent vapor line is produced in the UK. Decadent Vapors There are other products and suppliers out there. These are just the ones I use most often and am familiar with. Schilling and Mccormick flavorings will also work--they are just not as concentrated.