Ive been looking into diy juice.... whats the best kit on the market to start with?
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Diy starter kit?
- Thread starter Pgarner228
- Start date
The best kit is no kit at all IMHO. Most kits will have some things you really need, but most will have flavors, etc that probably won't appeal to you. The best thing is to do is think about what flavor profiles you like, then browse the DIY section of the forum for recipes that fit your likes. Order the flavors mentioned in the recipes plus your basics (VG,PG nic, etc) and save yourself some money.
ETA: BCV and ECX are good places to but flavors and supplies. Nicotine River is great for Nicotine, PG, and VG. All high quality, and non-peppery nic.
ETA: BCV and ECX are good places to but flavors and supplies. Nicotine River is great for Nicotine, PG, and VG. All high quality, and non-peppery nic.
I would second that and totally agree with Mark. Study, read, investigate, watch videos and prep. Then have a plan, order some nicotine, VG and PG and some flavors.
You'll also need some syringes. When I started I used some 1ml, 3ml and I had some 12? ml syringes. I don't use syringes anymore though, moved to a scale.
Like the above posted, Ecig Express and Bull City are great. One Stop DIY shop is a good one too. Figure out what you can afford and what you want and go from there but by studying up and reading a lot first you'll have a plan. Then it's just the impatiently waiting for vape mail.
You'll also need some syringes. When I started I used some 1ml, 3ml and I had some 12? ml syringes. I don't use syringes anymore though, moved to a scale.
Like the above posted, Ecig Express and Bull City are great. One Stop DIY shop is a good one too. Figure out what you can afford and what you want and go from there but by studying up and reading a lot first you'll have a plan. Then it's just the impatiently waiting for vape mail.
Agree with all said above.
And sometimes you get "Brand X" flavorings, or "Custom House Blends", that most around here haven't used so we can't offer up much help.
Better to stick with the "Name Brands" of flavorings, like FA, CAP, TFA, INW, & FW.
Don't buy large bottles of flavoring until you find out which ones you like first, 10ml is OK though.
Get a DIY calculator online to make your recipes:http://ejuice.breaktru.com/
(Keep notes right in the program & save recipes)
Make a list first, get basic things like VG & PG, gallon sizes cost a little more to ship but are usually more economical long term.
(I get my PG at Tractor Supply for around 25 bucks a gallon)
(Many other threads discussing VG, but most seem to prefer either Coconut or Palm derived, rather than Soy derived, including myself).
I'd start with 100mg per ml NIC Base, like in 60 or 120ml quantity, you can cut it by 50% down to 50mg by mixing with PG or VG.
250ml twist top squeeze bottles work nice for measuring and dispensing PG & VG.
12ml Leur Lock syringes and green blunt tip needles for measuring VG/PG.
(I just pull out the plunger and squirt PG or VG into the top for measuring, keep your little finger on the needle tip so it doesn't leak out)
(Still using this method only because it's easier for me to measure and PG/VG doesn't need the accuracy of a scale IMO).
1ml Leur Lock syringes with smaller blunt tip needles for measuring NIC.
(I bought glass ones so I didn't need to worry about flavorings melting the rubber plunger in the plastic ones)
but..
(a cheap scale from Amazon for measuring flavorings can be used instead and just drip drops directly into bottles, must read down to tenths at least)
15ml LPDE bottles for mixing juice in.
30ml LPDE bottles for NIC base dispensing, and/or making larger batches of juice later on.
60ml glass bottles for storing the extra NIC base in freezer.
Decide what flavors you think you may like.
Start with simple mixes with 2-3 flavors.
Like 2% INW Shisha Strawberry + 2% INW Biscuit
Or, look around the recipes thread for something you might like.
Are you concerned with vaping the baddies in certain flavors/brands?
BCV has the flavors identified as to what many of them contain.
I'll take the other line here and recommend a good kit...
https://www.liquidbarn.com/products/starter-kit
Everything you need to start mixing straight out of the box. You will need other stuff eventually, but it's hard to know exactly what when you're a rank beginner. When I first started out, I read posts like the one above and just went "what the fuck...?" (no offense, above guy!) It didn't start to make sense till I had the LB kit in my hands with all the basics in one place where I could see and touch them.
I recommend the LB kit because it comes with 1000 mls of VG/PG, which will keep you going for quite awhile, and 10 flavors, which will allow you to start doing rudimentary mixing experiments. Also, the LB kit has fairly well written manuals, which is a nice touch that other kits lack. The info in them is very basic, but it'll get you started. The only gripe I have about it is that the flavor extracts aren't in dropper bottles (but it includes enough syringes to dedicate one to each flavor).
Where you go from a starter kit is your choice. I went to weight mixing almost immediately, but I'm still glad I have all the volume stuff that came in the kit. A handful of syringes are always handy to have on hand, and the mixer/frother thing is something I'm glad I have but never would have known how useful it is (for other things, like frothing small amounts of heavy cream for morning coffee) if it hadn't come in the kit.
Would I buy a kit now? Never, but I'm not a beginner now. Everyone's got to start somewhere though. Keep it simple.
https://www.liquidbarn.com/products/starter-kit
Everything you need to start mixing straight out of the box. You will need other stuff eventually, but it's hard to know exactly what when you're a rank beginner. When I first started out, I read posts like the one above and just went "what the fuck...?" (no offense, above guy!) It didn't start to make sense till I had the LB kit in my hands with all the basics in one place where I could see and touch them.
I recommend the LB kit because it comes with 1000 mls of VG/PG, which will keep you going for quite awhile, and 10 flavors, which will allow you to start doing rudimentary mixing experiments. Also, the LB kit has fairly well written manuals, which is a nice touch that other kits lack. The info in them is very basic, but it'll get you started. The only gripe I have about it is that the flavor extracts aren't in dropper bottles (but it includes enough syringes to dedicate one to each flavor).
Where you go from a starter kit is your choice. I went to weight mixing almost immediately, but I'm still glad I have all the volume stuff that came in the kit. A handful of syringes are always handy to have on hand, and the mixer/frother thing is something I'm glad I have but never would have known how useful it is (for other things, like frothing small amounts of heavy cream for morning coffee) if it hadn't come in the kit.
Would I buy a kit now? Never, but I'm not a beginner now. Everyone's got to start somewhere though. Keep it simple.
My vote goes to not getting a kit. At the time I started DIY, they all included things I knew I wouldn't use. When I started out, I bought syringes, pg/vg/nic and flavors. I didn't need anything more than that. Now I mix by weight and rarely use syringes.
My standard answer. K.I.S.S. Principal.
http://vapingunderground.com/threads/guide-to-mixing-by-weight.22891/
http://vapingunderground.com/threads/guide-to-mixing-by-weight.22891/
I started DIY with 1 empty juice bottle and a bunch of full ones.
From there I added some syringes 3ml,5ml,10ml and 30ml, and blunt needles, some PG, VP, Nic Base and a few flavorings, small box to hold it all. Already had a scale and empty shelf for aging(steep).
I mostly use the syringes, since I rarely mix more than 30ml of 1 juice at a time. Over 30ml or for reel fast and dirty mixing I'll use the scale. Real easy and mess free, to mix with a scale, set empty on scale, zero, pour first ingredient, then zero, repeat till all ingredients are added. It just works better for larger batches than I do. I still use the shelf for most aging/steeping. But when I am in a hurry there's the wife's crock pots. She has 3. But, I found that one of those little scented wax melting pots works great to heat steep a small bottle. I just replace the wax with water and float the bottle.
From there I added some syringes 3ml,5ml,10ml and 30ml, and blunt needles, some PG, VP, Nic Base and a few flavorings, small box to hold it all. Already had a scale and empty shelf for aging(steep).
I mostly use the syringes, since I rarely mix more than 30ml of 1 juice at a time. Over 30ml or for reel fast and dirty mixing I'll use the scale. Real easy and mess free, to mix with a scale, set empty on scale, zero, pour first ingredient, then zero, repeat till all ingredients are added. It just works better for larger batches than I do. I still use the shelf for most aging/steeping. But when I am in a hurry there's the wife's crock pots. She has 3. But, I found that one of those little scented wax melting pots works great to heat steep a small bottle. I just replace the wax with water and float the bottle.
Liquid Barn is the best Starter Kit going. As soon as you mail arrives your mixing.
Another vote for researching rather than getting a starter kit.
And another vote mixing by weight.
Yes it takes more work picking 4-9 recipies you want to mix, and picking maybe 5-10 more flavors in addition. It takes more work at the very beginning imo....
However, having a very little vaping experiance prior to jumping into the forums and very little bnm experiance as well I found that the more reading I did the easier it is to jump in DIY. Imo, I think I was very lucky everybody shared their knowledge here prior to me jumping in. I don't regret anything so far regarding my purchases. And I'm pleased that everything I have purchased I have used. No extra supplies ordered, and the money saved was spent on flavors.
The key is reading reading and more reading.
And another vote mixing by weight.
Yes it takes more work picking 4-9 recipies you want to mix, and picking maybe 5-10 more flavors in addition. It takes more work at the very beginning imo....
However, having a very little vaping experiance prior to jumping into the forums and very little bnm experiance as well I found that the more reading I did the easier it is to jump in DIY. Imo, I think I was very lucky everybody shared their knowledge here prior to me jumping in. I don't regret anything so far regarding my purchases. And I'm pleased that everything I have purchased I have used. No extra supplies ordered, and the money saved was spent on flavors.
The key is reading reading and more reading.
If you have to get a kit I would agree that the Liquid Barn Kit is the best. you'll get a bunch of 15ml bottles to practice with too. They let you pick your 10 flavors now also. I would only get the kit if you need some equipment because at the price they offer it for it's a steal. That being said, I would stick to what the others are saying and just build slowly. I will warn you, DIYing is like tattoos, once you start it's addictive. That's my opinion anyways.
Congrats and welcome to DIY Vu. Let the fun begin...or Atleast stalking the usps guy. Lol
I almost bought a kit when I started DIY, but I basically just use two small syringes (a 1 ml & a 3.5 ml) for flavors & PG & a catheter syringe for nic & VG for smaller batches. I like graduated cylinders for larger batches. I also like to keep a 125 & 250 ml bottle each as well as about a dozen 60 ml dripper bottles. My flavor collection is forever-growing, though.
And don't forget the gloves & safety glasses, which keep from accidentally rubbing my eyes.
And don't forget the gloves & safety glasses, which keep from accidentally rubbing my eyes.
Got my kit in today from Liquid Barn. I went with the 1,000 mls of VG instead of 1 500ml of VG and 1 500ml of PG. I bought 500mls of PG separately. I also added the 250mls of 48mg nicotine (VG Base) Also added some blunt tip needles and some bigger storage bottles.
The 10 flavors I chose from Liquid Barn are:
Flavor 1: Blue Raspberry
Flavor 2: Honey Dew
Flavor 3: Pacific Cooler
Flavor 4: Banana
Flavor 5: Cola Freeze
Flavor 6: Strawberry
Flavor 7: Peach
Flavor 8: Green Apple
Flavor 9: Cream
Flavor 10: Pink Lemonade
Flavors coming from Wizard Labs:
Koolada 10% PG Flavor Concentrate by TFA (1oz)
Anise Flavor Concentrate by CAP (1oz)
Double Apple Flavor Concentrate by CAP (1oz)
Blue Raspberry Flavor Concentrate by TFA (1oz)
Blueberry Candy PG Flavor Concentrate by TFA (1oz)
Bubblegum Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Watermelon Flavor Concentrate by LA (1oz)
Double Chocolate Dark Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Almond Amaretto Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Strawberry Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Marshmallow Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Banana Cream Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Cheesecake Graham Crust Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Lime Flavor Concentrate by INA (0.27oz)
Coconut Extra Flavor Concentrate by TFA (1oz)
Cotton Candy Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Tutti Frutti Flavor Concentrate by LA (1oz)
The 10 flavors I chose from Liquid Barn are:
Flavor 1: Blue Raspberry
Flavor 2: Honey Dew
Flavor 3: Pacific Cooler
Flavor 4: Banana
Flavor 5: Cola Freeze
Flavor 6: Strawberry
Flavor 7: Peach
Flavor 8: Green Apple
Flavor 9: Cream
Flavor 10: Pink Lemonade
Flavors coming from Wizard Labs:
Koolada 10% PG Flavor Concentrate by TFA (1oz)
Anise Flavor Concentrate by CAP (1oz)
Double Apple Flavor Concentrate by CAP (1oz)
Blue Raspberry Flavor Concentrate by TFA (1oz)
Blueberry Candy PG Flavor Concentrate by TFA (1oz)
Bubblegum Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Watermelon Flavor Concentrate by LA (1oz)
Double Chocolate Dark Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Almond Amaretto Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Strawberry Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Marshmallow Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Banana Cream Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Cheesecake Graham Crust Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Lime Flavor Concentrate by INA (0.27oz)
Coconut Extra Flavor Concentrate by TFA (1oz)
Cotton Candy Flavor Concentrate by TFA (4oz)
Tutti Frutti Flavor Concentrate by LA (1oz)
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noejuice
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This is a little stray from the theme but I saw that essentialdepot has one gal of pg AND one gal of vg for 43.50 shipped on amazon. I thought oh man that seems like a good deal and would be an excellent part of any starter kit imo.
I already use these products and have paid much more than that for them. Really though, the coolest thing ever (an idea I leeched from somebody else) was to visit one of those cheezy beauty supply stores and pick up a couple of inexpensive pumps for these one gallon sizes. I can't even describe how much they rock.
Gives the mixer confidence with the perception of having infinitely flowing pg/vg.
I already use these products and have paid much more than that for them. Really though, the coolest thing ever (an idea I leeched from somebody else) was to visit one of those cheezy beauty supply stores and pick up a couple of inexpensive pumps for these one gallon sizes. I can't even describe how much they rock.
Gives the mixer confidence with the perception of having infinitely flowing pg/vg.
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I buy all of my diy liquids from rtsvapes. I love their nic, so smooth and no harsh taste. I mainly mix max vg so I don't use a lot of pg, just have the pg from the flavors. But occasionally I will mix 80v/20p and their pg is very nice also. I started learning from the guy who does all the mixing at my local vape store and liked his mixes. I started picking his brain about where he buys, the flavor manufacturers that he uses and so on and so forth. I started out with their starter kit and added to it with lab glassware supplies. Their prices are very reasonable on all the flavors and free shipping on many things. I also buy flavors from heartlandvapes on occasion but not often because they are higher priced.
Hell, I thought that 1,000 ML would be good for a year and I already went through half of my VG and wanted more flavors so I ordered another 1,000 ML with a bunch of flavors. Liquid Barn is also working on expanding their line of flavors and have many in Beta Testing as I write this!
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It's a slipper slope for sure. At this point my collection is small but 105 flavors FA/INW/tpa/cap is going to last me a year for sure. That is one benefits of the high concentrate flavors. Sure, islets about 2000ml of flavoring, but it's 105 of them.
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105 flavors is what you consider small? I would worry about spoilage before being able to use them all.
I mixed 6 different flavors tonight using the ejuice me up calculator. All of my flavorings were from Wizard Labs. Problem I seem to have is none of the flavors really seem to have that sweetness to them. EXAMPLE: I made a cheesecake and all the recipe called for was Cheescake. On the flavors from Liquid Barn, I mixed up 3 different flavors and they all taste great. Especially the Strawberry Banana. Do I need to get some sweetener to add when using the stuff from Wizard Labs? I know with the thicker VG's, they need to steep. But even with my 40/60 ratio, it's just weird compared to the stuff from Liquid Barn.
EDIT: I only mix 2 ratios 70/30 VG PG, and 40/60 VG PG.
EDIT: I only mix 2 ratios 70/30 VG PG, and 40/60 VG PG.
There are some more experianced mixers that sit at 200 and way over. It's like Pokemon....gotta catch'em all. The super nice part is opening the vape drawer and never having to vape the same 15mls. I bounce from sweet to sour to spicy to light to dark/heavy.
That's the nice part breaking away from a companies premix stuff. You can design your own flavor base of strawberry. Or at this juncture, working on two different kiwi flavors, two different peaches, three watermelons, and 4 strawberries.
Sweetener is a matter of preference only, but keep it low if you decide to use it. Too much, it'll kill your flavor.
Wizard Labs carries a lot of different brands. I use mainly FlavourArt, some TFA, Cappella's, Nature's Flavors, Inawera, and a few Flavor West. I've never needed to add sweetener to any of the ones I've mixed. I vape dessert/bakery and fruit flavors for the most part. All ove them have been plenty sweet, some even a bit too sweet.
If after your mixes have aged a bit, and still not sweet enough for you, you could try a bit of sweetener. I would personally start at 0.5%, give it a bit of time, then go from there.
I've been mixing for a little over 2 years. Many of the flavors I have are from my first purchases. I've only replaced 2 from the flavor losing it's punch.
I'm new to this, so I can only speak on what I have used so far. It's just odd that the 3 juices I mixed up from Liquid Barn have all been vapeable right after making. All 3 were 40/60 and 3mg of nic. None of the stuff from Wizard Labs is even close to being Vapeable right now. I'm going to mix up a batch of the Strawberry/Banana from Wizard Labs tomorrow using the same receipe and see how it is. My expectations are low though....
To be honest I havnt diy'ed for very long. Pretty much joined the day I started my DIY journey. I havnt had anything go bad yet. I'm sure in 1 year maybe a random flavor or two may go bad. Still better to have 1 out of 100 go bad and have the option of a ba'jillion flavor options.
Just food for thought for when you get to that point of thinking of jumping the rest of the way in.
Just food for thought for when you get to that point of thinking of jumping the rest of the way in.
Thanks. I wasn't sure on the sweetener. Majority of the flavorings from Wizard Labs were all TFA.
All of course we don't have to trust me. When I first started I stalked all of posts from HIC, huck, thearsaP, Amanda, squonk (all spelling errors of course). Then I did the deep stalk, found Hics recipies duplicated all of the net. All of which informally gave me the best free advice.
All and all, getting off cigs is amazing, and breaking away from super overpriced bnm juice even better. The other straw is picking/making more of a choices like avoiding some of the other random chemicals
All and all, getting off cigs is amazing, and breaking away from super overpriced bnm juice even better. The other straw is picking/making more of a choices like avoiding some of the other random chemicals
Unless I've read otherwise, when I start with a TFA flavor I haven't tried yet, I'll mix a single from 3-5% just to get a base idea of how the flavor works. Some need more, but of the ones I have, I haven't needed to use more than 4% in a mix.
Watch that Koolada. I'd start at ONE DROP per 10ml. A side note for that one, it can fade.
That right there is a a tough act to follow. I vape a lot of those, lol.
That's probably why I don't post my recpies cuz I'm still light years behind. But I got to skip a lot of the heartache everybody went through when building the purevapes thread on ecf.
As much as I loved that time, we had to move on to keep our family together. That was some magic in there.
Tasty mix of flavors. I love Anise! Slightly sweet, slightly cool on it's own. A fun little flavor. I can't handle Koolada, myself. Makes me cough my head off. I like the effect, just not the cough.
No, I haven't either, but I've heard the same.
It wasn't the amount of mix that was in the kit that had me buying it, it was the lab glass and other things like that in it that had me buying it. I bought more vg, pg, nic and flavors on top of what was in the kit. But I do see what you are saying if someone was to get it just for the liquids in it.
Yeah. I'm sure it's priced like that because of all the glass they add in the kit vs plastic.
The glassware was definitely worth it IMO. I had priced the glass separately and the kit was just a better price for it all.
Yeah. Glassware is expensive. That's why I skipped it and bought a 20 dollar scale and a bunch of 15ml and 30ml empty glass bottles. One hospital grade 5ml syringe, and 2 10ml syringes. Done and done.
I've been thinking of trying DIY, but, then I read all these threads and it looks so complicated...Oy....what to do...what to do...The started kit at Liquid Barn looks easiest, but even then, I'm a little leery. Does this kit come with instructions? Cause I need lead around by the ear to each step....
Almost everyone I've seen here has said this after starting DIY. "Really, that's it? I wish I'd started sooner!"I've been thinking of trying DIY, but, then I read all these threads and it looks so complicated...Oy....what to do...what to do...The started kit at Liquid Barn looks easiest, but even then, I'm a little leery. Does this kit come with instructions? Cause I need lead around by the ear to each step....
Lots of wonderful info here to get you started. Take some time to research, TAKE NOTES, ask questions when you need to. We've all had questions.
Even if you only read the first post, here's a good start:
http://vapingunderground.com/threads/what-do-i-need-to-begin-diy-simple-guide-with-links.2303/