I Want To Make My Own...please Help

[stanley]

okay guys, thanks to vapor talk i have been analog free for two weeks. i first bought the joye 510 and then bought an eGo within the week, so far SO VERY GOOD. i want to start making my own liquid. So far i know that i need to buy USP grade VG. Let me start by saying i bought a few different liquids and after spending 50.00 and didnt like ANY of the ones i bought, i nearly gave it up. Then i read that you can Do it Yourself. SO....that being said. all i want is basic menthol. If i buy the VG, where do i get the menthol flavoring? I might try it with no nicotine at first because i dont want to deal with OVERKILLING the nicotine. So, what do i need to buy along with my VG to make myself some nice menthol juice? and measurements would be nice too. THanks in advance.

[stanley]

oh, i keep reading LorAnn oils...i went to the site and there are all kinds of oils, like "candy oils"..."essential oils"...etc. Which one if any?

[noXious]

testing post ability (first time failed)

weird.

And I made this beautiful post with links and everything .. bah, no nrg to redo.

kitsune is our in-house master mix artist. I'm sure she'll be along to share her wealth of knowledge which is more vast than mine can hope to be.

good luck and let us know what works/doesn't

Edited November 4, 2010 by noXious

[kitsune]

Not sure about 'wealth of knowlege', just lots of trial and error. I have not tried a straight menthol flavor--I usually use just a couple drops in all my liquids to add a nice cool throat hit and enhance the flavors.

I have never tried the menthol crystals for mixing, but I do use flavorart menthol (very strong)--a couple menthol options:

freedomsmokeusa--I have used many of the flavourart flavorings with very good results. I really like the flavor selection. plus you can get most all your DIY stuff here.

DIY flavorshack--a very good selection of flavors and DIY supplies.

There is also Totally Wicked--decadent vapors line of concentrates.

When dealing with menthol--keep in mind a little goes a very long way !!!

You can use VG, PG, or a mix of both.

you can also use any premixed flavors you have to change or add to the flavor.

always start with small amounts (1-2 mls)--less waste.

with the menthol I would start with 1 ml of any liquid base (PG,VG, or premixed) start by adding 3 drops of menthol-mix and vape. add more flavoring as needed. couple drops at a time.

Good to get some 3, 5 and 10 ml bottles. a pipette or syringe is very helpful for mixing larger batches.

Mixing your own can be a lot of fun and many interesting mixes are possible. but keep in mind there is also plenty of trial and error.

[Shihzam]

Welcome Stanley,

Don't let Kitsune fool you, she is the resident expert when it comes to DIY. I just started in the DIY world and I am hooked. I wasn't getting the taste I thought I should with a lot of the pre-mixed liquids either so that's why I dabble with DIY.

I wanted to add another site that I use One Stop DIY Shop and bought one of their Artisan kits. It will have all you need that Kitsune listed and they give great service too!

[snubber]

I must bow to the mixing Queen and of course agree. I started trying to mix because of some of her posts about DIY and her mixes. It's really quite fun and you can boost up flavors that just don't cut it. I've tried Freedom Smoke USA, Diy flavorshack, and both are great. I've also tried some flavors from Perfumers Apprentice with pretty good success. Also make sure you check out the video from Totally Wicked on their mixing kit. There is a juice calculator on this site that is very simple to use and really works good if you're not going to get too fancy. I think it's by Todd Mueller or something like that? Well anyway, good luck on your search, hope you can get into DIY it really is fun and also save you some money in the long run.

Good luck and happy vaping.

[stanley]

thanks for all the help guys, i know that i can buy the VG at Wally world.... can i buy any kind of extract such as peppermint, or vanilla and just add it to the VG or is there only certain type of flavor you can use? I dont want to crystalize my lungs by vaporizing the wrong liquid.

[michealprater]

tagging along, I wish there was a Mixing for Dummies guide. It can be tough patching together random bits of info here and there, a complete guide would be awesome.

[stanley]

I must bow to the mixing Queen and of course agree. I started trying to mix because of some of her posts about DIY and her mixes. It's really quite fun and you can boost up flavors that just don't cut it. I've tried Freedom Smoke USA, Diy flavorshack, and both are great. I've also tried some flavors from Perfumers Apprentice with pretty good success. Also make sure you check out the video from Totally Wicked on their mixing kit. There is a juice calculator on this site that is very simple to use and really works good if you're not going to get too fancy. I think it's by Todd Mueller or something like that? Well anyway, good luck on your search, hope you can get into DIY it really is fun and also save you some money in the long run.

Good luck and happy vaping.

HOW DID YOU GET THE "IVE BEEN SMOKE FREE" THING AT THE BOTTOM?

[noXious]

I don't shop at Wal-Mart so I don't know what type of VG they carry but I think I recall someone telling me it may not be Food Grade Glycerin which is what you want to use. Not simply "USP grade". "Food" is the operative word when purchasing VG as there is a difference.

Here is the calculator snubber was talking about: e-juice calculator.

For the ticker banner .. just click it and see!

[stanley]

I don't shop at Wal-Mart so I don't know what type of VG they carry but I think I recall someone telling me it may not be Food Grade Glycerin which is what you want to use. Not simply "USP grade". "Food" is the operative word when purchasing VG as there is a difference.

Here is the calculator snubber was talking about: e-juice calculator.

For the ticker banner .. just click it and see!

Okay, so i find "Food" grade VG. Can i go to the baking area and buy vanilla or peppermint extract to add to the VG to make non-nicotine juice? Are those type extracts safe? (is that what everyone uses)...????

Edited November 4, 2010 by stanley

[noXious]

They are not likely your best options. You must be careful of what's in them. Depending on what the flavoring is used for it can contain any number of ingredients, most of which you do not want to vape. What I've gathered, as I'm also just embarking on the DIY Train, is that we want to stick primarily with water-soluble/water-based ingredients. Also I *think* that those flavors may not be as concentrated as some of the other flavorings used for DIY.

This Guide to DIY Flavoring has a lot of useful links/resources in it. Don't overwhelm yourself. Just remember that rarely is anything as simple as it seems. I have referenced this many times already and though I don't have it logged to memory yet .. I will one day

Edited November 4, 2010 by noXious

[BirdDog]

I am going to suggest, if you decide to DIY, to get gloves and eye protection if you will be using nic to mix. Very important, protect yourself and your household.

[Travis798]

Just wanted to add, USP glycerin is held to a higher standard than food grade glycerin. AFAIK, there are no regulations regarding "food grade", so it can be pretty much anything. I only vape USP grade personally. The glycerin you find at wal-mart is fine as I believe all usp grade glycerin is made by Humco and it has been verified to be all vegetable.

[kitsune]

not sure why my computer is being a pain--

I guess I will go with the short answer--yes you can use the over the counter flavorings. walmart has a nice selection. just start small and add to taste.

Edited November 5, 2010 by kitsune

[kitsune]

For the banner--you can click on one of our banners-fill in the blanks-click create banner-copy and paste to your signature on you profile page.

[stanley]

okay guys, i am about to go to wal mart and get some USP VG, and some different extracts from the food aisle, and going to try to make some non-nicotine juice. Do i need to add water? and... are yall sure my lungs arent going to collapse from the "baking" extracts/ flavorings?

[Ofortuna]

If you are heading to walmart, check the craft section and see if they have cake baking/decorating supplies. You may have one of the walmarts that carries LorAnn's flavorings!! (Much bonus win if you do!!)

If I am not mistaken, people have had luck with Wilton's flavorings as well....peeps chime in with opinions as I have never used them!!

In my experiences I have not had to add any water if I am doing VG as the flavoring helps thin it out!!

+1 to Birddog on her suggestion of gloves and eye protection!! Even if you are not using nicotine, you probably would not want flavoring or VG in your eyes either!!

[kitsune]

your lungs will not collapse from the vg or from the flavoring.......some rare mutated gene in your DNA...maybe.

I can't wait to hear what you come up with.

[stanley]

thanks for all the input guys...i have decided to go on to bed and pick the stuff up in the morning. so, if i can find loranns i will get them if not i guess other extracts will do. Is there any certain thing i need to look for in the extracts/flavorings? such as USP or any certain type of flavoring? or will all flavorings for baking do?

[kitsune]

just avoid anything with oil--hard on the atty. otherwise you should be pretty safe. most are made with alcohol, glycerin and flavoring.

If you have a hobby or craft store in town like hobby lobby or michaels--they also carry the wiltons and Lorann(usually). The Lorann is usually found in the candy making section and the wiltons is in the cake decorating/baking section.

getting started is the hardest part--ok, well, maybe not the hardest. There is a lot of trial and error at first.

if you run across the Lorann raspberry--its really good with just the VG.

[Roober]

I get my flavorings and glycerine on the Lorannoils website, the super flavorings for candies. I do try to stay away from oily flavors, however if you do get one, you can normally let it set for a few days, and pipette out most of the oil so it wont interfere with the atty, and it works well. Liquid nicotine you can get from a lot of different places, I currently am mixing with 100mg from xtremevaping, and its pretty nice.

If you end up using a really strong nicotine -- just remember, a little bit goes a super long way!!! I mean like 5-7 drops per 3ml! Also, with lorann flavorings, they do vary. Best thing I can tell you is to make a little batch, try it, make your tweaks to it, and get used to mixing by taste. Just dont keep adding more and more nic unless you are going to add other stuff too!! hehe, hope that helps, good luck!!

oh and Wiltons works pretty well, but for me it oils up and I end up soaking it for a little bit, and taking the oil out. U can get big ole packs with 4 flavors in them for 5 dollars, and it gives quite a bit...but yes it does work pretty well

Edited November 5, 2010 by Roober

[stanley]

okay, i bout some mcCormick extracts such as Coconut, mint, maple, and french vanilla. And i bought HUMCO Glycerin...is this the right stuff?

[BirdDog]

okay, i bout some mcCormick extracts such as Coconut, mint, maple, and french vanilla. And i bought HUMCO Glycerin...is this the right stuff?

The glycerin you bought should work well. However, I don't think the McCormick extracts will work, the flavor will probably be pretty weak. You want to look for flavorings used in candy making. The flavors are the strongest. Look for Lorann, Wilton and Bickford. Bickford can only be ordered directly from the company (google bickford flavorings). Look in the cake decorating/candy making departments in Hobby Lobby or Michaels for Lorann or the Wilton brand.

[kitsune]

I have used the over the counter extracts and they do work. but like birddog said they may be a bit weak and will require a bit more---trial and error. I have never tried the HUMCO--I don't know if it will have the sweetness needed. but its worth a shot. your best bet is to mix and see what happens. the coconut and french vanilla mix nicely. your only problem may be sweet--mix a small batch and see how it tastes. It a bit like cooking--flavor to taste.......