Free DIY E-Book

[vaprvixn]

I'm a former vendor (Marble Valley Vapors) and I've been mixing for a bit over 5 years now. I closed up shop on my juice line at the end of last year while I was pregnant with my son as I simply couldn't keep up with retail demands. Since he was born in Feb I've been working on a project that I am finally finished with.

(dead site link removed)- This first book of the book series is FREE to download on the website. It is geared towards those who are considering getting into DIY mixing or those who would consider themselves beginners. Not that more experienced mixers won't appreciate the recipes, most of the information will likely be redundant to those who've been mixing for some time.

I will be writing a second book with my more complex recipes and more in depth information aimed at those who have been mixing for some time but who may not fully understand the science and psychology behind what we do. A third book is also in the works that is FlavourArt focused with recipes using only their flavors and designed for those who wish to mix clean liquids.

Smokey suggested I post a link up here on the forum. I hope this book can be of some help to any beginners here on the forum.

Happy Vaping!
Jennifer Jarvis (vaprvixn)

 

[Mykline]

I'm a former vendor (Marble Valley Vapors) and I've been mixing for a bit over 5 years now. I closed up shop on my juice line at the end of last year while I was pregnant with my son as I simply couldn't keep up with retail demands. Since he was born in Feb I've been working on a project that I am finally finished with.

-- This first book of the book series is FREE to download on the website. It is geared towards those who are considering getting into DIY mixing or those who would consider themselves beginners. Not that more experienced mixers won't appreciate the recipes, most of the information will likely be redundant to those who've been mixing for some time.

I will be writing a second book with my more complex recipes and more in depth information aimed at those who have been mixing for some time but who may not fully understand the science and psychology behind what we do. A third book is also in the works that is FlavourArt focused with recipes using only their flavors and designed for those who wish to mix clean liquids.

Smokey suggested I post a link up here on the forum. I hope this book can be of some help to any beginners here on the forum.

Happy Vaping!
Jennifer Jarvis (vaprvixn)

I've been looking for a comprehensive guide to DIY-ing since I want to start making my own e-liquid to help save some money. Also looking to be working in a vape shop soon and want to be able to at least understand what they are saying about mixing. I like to bring multiple skill sets to any job I work at.
Thank you for posting your book and look forward to your other books.

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[Neunerball]

Thank you for the free book! I'll read it, although I've been mixing for almost a year now. However, my philosophy is, you never stop learning.

 

[nabibrian]

Thanks for this and I can't wait for the other books.

 

[vaprvixn]

I am working both on the blog -- where I am writing flavor notes and other mixing things -- and plotting out the second book. The first book was only 40 something pages of actual content -- next book is going to have significantly more. I hope to have it out before the end of the year, but it will all depend on my baby cooperating with me and other projects I have going on. I will keep folks posted on my blog to the progress of the book. Glad you are enjoying it.

 

[Xtobacco]

I have been mixing for a few months now and I guess it pays to keep doing research. Awesome read and thank you. I have bookmarked your webpage


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[DMacD]

Thanks for the e book, ive been mixing for about a year now and although quite experienced still doubt my abbilities from time to time but your e book cleared up a couple of things for me, thank you.

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[Jayvapes]

I have only been mixing for a few months and I look forward to reading your book! I'm at work right now and the PDF version won't show on my smart phone but I will get epub version for my nook when I get home.... I also liked your page and I look forward to learning more from you and others. I probably will have a lot of questions for you lol but I understand how it is with time as I have two little ones myself. Thanks for the info

 

[Mykline]

I have only been mixing for a few months and I look forward to reading your book! I'm at work right now and the PDF version won't show on my smart phone but I will get epub version for my nook when I get home.... I also liked your page and I look forward to learning more from you and others. I probably will have a lot of questions for you lol but I understand how it is with time as I have two little ones myself. Thanks for the info

If you have android phone get the Aldiko app and download the epub version with that too your phone.

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[Jayvapes]

If you have android phone get the Aldiko app and download the epub version with that too your phone.

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Thanks I will do that

 

[Jimi]

Thanks for your book. I look forward to the other ones especially the FA one.

 

[Xtobacco]

Just took your advice about a magnetic mixer and ordered some parts and building one for 20 bucks. Cpu fan, speed controller, couple magnets and a plastic box. Thank you again!


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[vaprvixn]

xtobacco -- My husband actually made the magnetic stirrer for me. I picked up one of the USB plug in fans (it had the stand on it) and the adjustable knob for speed. He put it in a plastic square hammond box (I got it a little bigger than the fan so there was room to work and enough stability for a 500ml beaker) -- But after he got it all together we found that the fan actually goes a little fast for the size of magnets we put on it. Lesson learned. Bigger magnets and he is going to put a different pot on it so it will go slower. I think the fan and the hammond box came to $19 from Amazon. The little pack of stirrers I got was $10. And I got a some assorted beakers for under $20. It worked fine with PG and Water, but the thicker stuff requires good strong magnets and the ability to start the fan at a much slower speed than what it came equipped to do.

I am working on book 2 now. And I'm adding flavor notes to the blog -- trying to get a few done a week. Book 2 is going to have a lot of info in it. I've been researching out old info I had read before to find references, and I've been spending my spare time reading up more on flavor chemistry for this book and possibly the next book. Lots and lots of reading since I'm not a flavor chemist by trade...just an amateur chemist and super taster/smeller (as if that's a word....lol) and writer/research junkie. But I definitely thing I will need to split this info up into the next 2 books. My goal is to get the pertinent information across to the average reader without killing them with too much science. Trying to write so that my 14 year old son could read it and understand it, as to not write too far over folks heads. Some of these text books have me looking up words every few sentences...

All this research is definitely making me an even better mixologist. What I was doing by instinct I now have language for, and a better understanding of how it all works in the sciency way.

I look at DIY e-liquid mixing much in the same way I look at cooking. You can cook simple meals that are good to eat, are nutritious, and satisfying...much in the way you can mix a simple group of flavors together and get a decent vape. Or you can cook gourmet level meals that are visually appealing, palate tantalizing, and a full memory/sensory experience ... just as you can do with e-liquid recipes (although not so much visually with e-liquid as I'm not big on adding color.) So good things to come.

 

[Saddletramp1200]

Bless your heart, Thank You. I bought a thing called Magic Stir. Runs on AA batteries. I have a Corning Ware pan/bowl I mix in. I pour everything in & let it do it's thing for about an hour. Works fine for me. I make about 100ml at a time, pour in a 250ml beaker, cover it with a Kleenex with rubber band & wait a few weeks.

 

[Saddletramp1200]

Oh, if you have some juice you don't like put some in a beer bottle cap & put it in a corner away from pets, kids. Ants love it, & it kills their ass dead.

 

[Alter]

When your looking for a computer fan for your mixer there are different fan rpms, 1200 1800, 2000 and 2500 so watch which one it is. I cut the blades off my fan so it will spin faster. I did buy a potentiometer (eBay) but I couldn't get it to work properly so I went to my comp store and he sold me a used fan controller for a few bucks and that works great. I got a cheap volt display from fasttech and use the volt meter to set speeds and make it look nifty. I have a few 3mm LED lights on order so I'll install them where the fan blades are missing to light up the mix to see how the liquid is moving around without having to use the flashlight anymore. I love my magnetic mixer, make my mix without nic, mix as high as it goes for 2 hours, set overnight to dissipate the air bubbles, either let it steep for a couple weeks or add the nic and stir slowly not to add extra air, remix for a hour. My mixes are great with no oxidation of the nic.

 

[Saddletramp1200]

I'm a former vendor (Marble Valley Vapors) and I've been mixing for a bit over 5 years now. I closed up shop on my juice line at the end of last year while I was pregnant with my son as I simply couldn't keep up with retail demands. Since he was born in Feb I've been working on a project that I am finally finished with.

DIY E-Liquid Mixology -- This first book of the book series is FREE to download on the website. It is geared towards those who are considering getting into DIY mixing or those who would consider themselves beginners. Not that more experienced mixers won't appreciate the recipes, most of the information will likely be redundant to those who've been mixing for some time.

I will be writing a second book with my more complex recipes and more in depth information aimed at those who have been mixing for some time but who may not fully understand the science and psychology behind what we do. A third book is also in the works that is FlavourArt focused with recipes using only their flavors and designed for those who wish to mix clean liquids.

Smokey suggested I post a link up here on the forum. I hope this book can be of some help to any beginners here on the forum.

Happy Vaping!
Jennifer Jarvis (vaprvixn)

Hi, read the book. I'm impressed. Count me in when the advanced book is ready. You showed me some things I didn't know. I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but know much of what you covered, the hard way. For me juice has been try it & find out. Bulk Apothecary follows me to every web page I go to. They said it's google's fault. Anyway let me know. Thanks again.

 

[wally]

Good idea and I hope it is good there are a lot of people that really need help

 

[Kiwi_Vaper]

Hi,

Thanks for this. This is good stuff for newbies and experienced alike. I anxiously wait for the next release.

Cheers.

 

[LISAMGRIDER]

Great book...Thanks!!!

 

[fckaugust8th]

@vaprvixn thank you so much for your book. It makes it so much easier to understand recipes. Off I go ordering flavors!!!

 

[wilbur]

thanks so much for this! and I see that you are from my home state, very cool!

 

[fckaugust8th]

Am I understanding right that when you are mixing flavor concentrates you take the total amount of flavors (%) and convert it into a decimal. You then multiply the recipe given percent of each flavor by this decimal in order to get the amount needed of this flavor. Overall they should add up to 100 or nearly so.
Cheers,
Brewbear

 

[fckaugust8th]

Another question I have is: do you take into account the amount of PG or VG (depending on the extract you use) added to the final PG/VG ratio of the e-juice? In other words, if you are making let's say 100 ml of a 40/60 juice, you would add 40% PG and 60% VG (40ml PG and 60ml VG respectively). Since the extracts and nicotine are PG ( in my case) solutions and make up let's say 10% of your total volume, would you take that into account and your final volumes would be 10ml.extracts and nicotine(PG)+30ml PG+60ml VG for a total volume of 100 ml.
Thank you,
Brewbear

 

[gopher_byrd]

Another question I have is: do you take into account the amount of PG or VG (depending on the extract you use) added to the final PG/VG ratio of the e-juice? In other words, if you are making let's say 100 ml of a 40/60 juice, you would add 40% PG and 60% VG (40ml PG and 60ml VG respectively). Since the extracts and nicotine are PG ( in my case) solutions and make up let's say 10% of your total volume, would you take that into account and your final volumes would be 10ml.extracts and nicotine(PG)+30ml PG+60ml VG for a total volume of 100 ml.
Thank you,
Brewbear

Yes, your flavors and nic if PG based count towards your final PG/VG percentages and vice versa if using VG based flavors (there are few around) and nic.

 

[fckaugust8th]

Thank you @gopher_byrd , I thought so. Now I'm waiting for an answer/clarification on the other question I had and then (in)patiently wait for vape-mail with all the flavors ordered.
Cheers

 

[gopher_byrd]

Am I understanding right that when you are mixing flavor concentrates you take the total amount of flavors (%) and convert it into a decimal. You then multiply the recipe given percent of each flavor by this decimal in order to get the amount needed of this flavor. Overall they should add up to 100 or nearly so.
Cheers,
Brewbear

Get an ejuice calculator. They are free and make life easier without you emitting brain smoke. I use ejuiceMeUp and you can get it here: http://ejuice.breaktru.com/. You just plug in your ingredients at the desired percentages and how much you want to make. It will tell you how much of each component you need to mix up your recipe in volume (ml) or mass (grams). It does the math for you.

 

[fckaugust8th]

Thank you @gopher_byrd , I will do that. I was trying to clarify in my mind what the author was doing and how it works in general if you're going from a recipe to making a concentrate "stone" .

 

[HeavyHauler]

I just downloaded your book, I'm going to give it a read soon.

I'm always interested in what others do with their DIY projects.

 

[cmoorewv]

Vprvixn, I have a question regarding something in the book about sugars and natural fruit extracts possibly releasing/containing aldehydes. Would this extend to stevia as well?
I do vape in my house and I have a lot of cats. Cats are sensitive to aldehydes, as are people. Looking for ways to minimize potential harm.

 

[UncleChimney]

Wow, thanks Jenn! This is a great asset to have!!

 

[vaprvixn]

Am I understanding right that when you are mixing flavor concentrates you take the total amount of flavors (%) and convert it into a decimal. You then multiply the recipe given percent of each flavor by this decimal in order to get the amount needed of this flavor. Overall they should add up to 100 or nearly so.
Cheers,
Brewbear

HI Brewbear,

Sorry I don't come on here that often to be answering questions...but to quote myself for the answer--

"The formula for figuring this out goes like this: The total percentage of our original recipe was 12.75%. Let's turn that into a decimal figure rather than percentage, so you move the decimal over two places, 0.1275. We will be dividing each of the percentages by this number."

Multiplying won't give you the same amounts.

 

[vaprvixn]

Vprvixn, I have a question regarding something in the book about sugars and natural fruit extracts possibly releasing/containing aldehydes. Would this extend to stevia as well?
I do vape in my house and I have a lot of cats. Cats are sensitive to aldehydes, as are people. Looking for ways to minimize potential harm.

There hasn't been much in the way of research concerning vaping and aldehydes, so it is kind of a use your own judgement thing. I actually have no idea if it would apply to stevia as well. There are also many flavorings that may utilize some aldehydes like strawberry (aldehyde C 16) and coconut (aldehyde C18). I advise caution more for using home extractions, especially without proper equipment or filtration (as you could technically do CO2 extractions of many things at home)-- There is some in the vaping world that are starting to look at aldehydes as a possible problem ingredient, but it isn't so much aimed at vaping sweeteners. Personally I don't vape a lot of sucralose (which is not the same a sucrose or glucose) I've never tried stevia, or agave as a sweetener, and I don't do a lot of heavy sweet flavorings either that build up caramelized gunk on coils because it irritates my throat.

I brought it up in the book as I do believe that aldehydes will be the next chemical component that will be in question as to it's safety.

In trying to answer this question I went to find the articles that I had read that discussed the release of aldehydes and other toxic chemicals from burning sugar...and to my surprise I can't find them, of course it's been a couple years since I had read about it. Aside from some agracultural concerns over burning sugar cane fields ... which is allowed in many states by permit ... I couldn't find anything else that might be useful for our applications.

One thing you can do to help the environment around your pets would be to get an air purifier if you're clouding up a room where your pets frequently are. Or open windows (which in the winter isn't really possible in colder areas.) For your own safety, just use your best judgement when it comes to the flavorings you use. I lean towards using far more FlavourArt flavorings because they striving to make flavorings FOR vapers. As other companies start doing testing as well then it will be easier for both commercial and personal e-liquid mixers to know which flavorings are good to use and which aren't.

As for sweeteners, you can always try ethyl vanillin, ethyl maltol, and maltol as sweetening agents (these are commonly found in marshmallow, cotton candy, and other fruits and bakery flavorings.) I am on the fence about using stevia, I would like to see some chemical studies done with vaping it.

 

[ayersbj]

ty for all your work will be reading it soon. new to vape and all. Guess I found a hobby that will keep me healthy lol.

 

[amanda.brock]

Thanks so much for this I've just had a quick skim of it and there's a lot of useful info most of its common sense but some of it I didn't know and was only guessing on. Can't wait to try some of the recipes


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[bthasht]

Thank you so much for this. I'm getting ready to purchase a ready to go setup from a local mixer, and can definitely use this info.

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[vaprvixn]

Thanks so much for this I've just had a quick skim of it and there's a lot of useful info most of its common sense but some of it I didn't know and was only guessing on. Can't wait to try some of the recipes


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I am reformulating some of the recipes in that were in book 1 -- to include in book 2 -- using flavoring that is readily available (cause a few of those flavors have been discontinued) and that are cleaner in terms of diketones.

 

[amanda.brock]

I am reformulating some of the recipes in that were in book 1 -- to include in book 2 -- using flavoring that is readily available (cause a few of those flavors have been discontinued) and that are cleaner in terms of diketones.

Sounds good as trying to avoid diketones


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[C.Alexander]

Thank you very much!
I look forward to reading this.

 

[sclobernocker47]

Done, and done.
Thanks for putting your thoughts out there for everyone. It's great to get some insighr, not only from another DIYer, but from someone who managed to turn their hobby into a business.

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[novazz32yahoo.com]

I've been looking for a comprehensive guide to DIY-ing since I want to start making my own e-liquid to help save some money. Also looking to be working in a vape shop soon and want to be able to at least understand what they are saying about mixing. I like to bring multiple skill sets to any job I work at.
Thank you for posting your book and look forward to your other books.

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thank you very much this is a big help i will be reading asap and mixing some new juice soon take care all the best to you and yours from the C. family

 

[vaprvixn]

I wanted to put an update since I had mentioned putting out a second book. I've decided to move away from the book format and redesigned9dead link removed) into a more article based website. Instead of doing a second book and charging for it, I decided to put all of the information I was covering in that book into articles and podcasts for free on the website. I will be putting up some affiliate links to products I use and feel good about telling my readers about, and I will be taking on some advertisers/sponsors for posts and podcasts and some spots on the site, but I will only go with companies I support and have faith in. I'm not using google adsense because I feel they are too random and not necessarily companies I support. I will be adding up content maybe not every day, but at least every couple of days as I am able to finish it. The book is still available in PDF form and is on the site. I hope everyone likes the new look.

 

[kevinjp]

Thank you so much, I'm looking at starting to try mixing my own tobacco juice soon and this will really help.

 

[jazzman]

Thanks for all the advice and the effort that you have put into this project and help you have given!

 

[Markw4mms]

Thanks for the update. Have your link bookmarked.

 

[kevinjp]

ATM I'm vaping Yaeliq's camel, The real thing tobacco and Cuban Cigar any simple recipes along that line would be FANTASTIC as seem hard to find.

 

[vaprvixn]

ATM I'm vaping Yaeliq's camel, The real thing tobacco and Cuban Cigar any simple recipes along that line would be FANTASTIC as seem hard to find.

If you're looking for extremely realistic tobacco Stixx Mixx NET flavors are probably the closest thing to smoking that I've tasted. He Ty sells them on FB from his stixx mixx page. I will be putting up flavor notes on them once I've gotten through all the steeping time on them. Only had single flavor mixes steeping for 2 weeks now. I guess I'm the only one that gets an ashy note from them, but I am used to being a weirdo when it comes to tasting things that other's don't taste. I tasted the same ashy note from my own NETs when I made them, so it's not just his. I get it from all NETs. Most other people don't taste it though. I will be posting a few recipes on my flavor note pages. Working on an article on steeping right now. Should be up in the next day or so.

 

[amrfashion]

So thanks

 

[5150sick]

Yea, That link is over SIX years old
the site is gone.
there's more flashing lights on this page than there are in Las Vegas
and it's not secure.