Hey guys and gals! I have been making my own juice now for a little over 3 months. I have done plenty of research and read many a many forum posts to get a better understanding of what product, methods and tips I could use to best suit the flavor and style of juice I want to make. That being said, I think I missed the mark by a long shot! Lol. I heard a lot of people say TFA, Cappellas, and LorAnn are among the top flavors available, each having certain flavors that stand out avoce their competitors. The first recipes I tried were clones, (mothers milk, etc.) and results were way off. So I decided to scale back and try some basic recipes-some 1 or 2 flavor blends. I been wanting an all-day vape along the lines of a strawberry-vanilla custard. The best I have come up with is capellas sweet strawberry and capellas vanilla custard, but it is not where i want it to be. I have adjusted the ratios and %'s with no prevail. By the way, I am using e-liquid calculator app, and building to 80/20 mix, 3-4 mg. I use sucrolose sweetener from Cappellas and have also tries liquid stevia. I have steeped for 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 days, hot water bath, crock pot, aerated with drill, etc. The only thing left that I havent changed, which i just heard of recently is my vg base. I bought a large bucket from myfreedomsmokes and still have a lot. Could that be it? I get great cloud and no foul taste. But i heard of some ultra-purified vg but havent seen it listed on any online vendors. Does anyone think that could be it? I mean it is the majority of what my vape is made of, but i thought it was a neutral carrier. That most vg being flavorless, should be relatively close. Does anyone have a favorite vg base? Any suggestions and tips would be greatly appreciated!
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My juice needs help!!!
- Thread starter busterbeenie
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Using 80% VG, it will tend to mute flavors. If you have tried using different percentages, then perhaps you need to try other flavor makers. I saw no mention of FA. They are pretty good too. There is also NicVape, another new flavor company that has received praises.
Ask specifically of the juice people, who they like for a certain flavor you want to work with. That may help.
Ask specifically of the juice people, who they like for a certain flavor you want to work with. That may help.
Hmm, Strawberry and Custard both at 7.5% is one of my favorites. You don't say what % you tried. I have Caps but I've been using TFA Strawberry Ripe because I have a bigger and older bottle of that. I don't use sweeteners in it. I've used MFS VG and it's been fine. Don't know why you are having trouble.
My guess would be that your VG might be off. Or your nic base. If you are confident that your measurements are good there isn't much left.
Have you tried vaping your VG by itself? If not, try it. If it tastes okay then make a batch with just VG and nic base and try that.
Have you tried vaping your VG by itself? If not, try it. If it tastes okay then make a batch with just VG and nic base and try that.
I had an advanced recipe for a strawberry-vanilla custard which had some butter, vanilla bean, sweet cream and bavarian cream. Lacking flavor. I heard that simple is sometimes better. I figured I'd go as simple as i can and nail that then tweak it from there. I found a recipe for 7.5 of both like you mentioned and haven't been impressed with anything so far. I have tried just vanilla custard starting at 10% and s few more times with increasing up yo 20%. I have added sweetener and can notice when it's too much. It gets a fake sweet taste like sweet n low in coffee and burns my cotton and coil up fast. I will keep at it. Sooner or later I will get it. Thanks!
I have used without nicotine and same thing, so that should narrow out that. But i haven't tried just the vg straight. I thought of it but get ahead of myself and try something different. I will do it first thing tomorrow. I have made some at 65/35 (to be used in a tank and for more throat hit) and same result. I hear pg carries flavors better. Maybe I'll try one flavor with more pg and see how it works. I once lost taste of my favorite flavor and asked the vendor if they changed recipe or made a bad batch. He said you get used to flavors quick and have to change around frequently. I guess the dreaded 'vapors tongue'?...I have experienced that a few times upon nights of heavy vaping.
What is FA? I'm sure i can google it, but i have only ordered The Flavor Apprentice, LorAnn and Cappellas. From most people i talked to, and from flavors they have recommended to me, they say for the flavors I'm using, these brands should be the best. I ordered once from MFS and direct from Cappellas and TFA. I don't think it's the flavors. I have read somewhere, that a good way to taste flavors is to whip heavy cream, as if you were making whipped cream but without vanilla and sugar, and add 1 drop to a spoon of cream to get the profile of flavor. You can mix flavors this way to see how they blend. Maybe I'll just stay eating it instead? ...lol
I do that, too, sometimes. I get a tad of "burn" but that's from the PG. You can kinda tell the flavor, still. Or a toothpick. That kinda works, except for the taste of wood, lol.
You could also put a drop in a tablespoon of water for a taste.
I do like FlavourArt (FA) a LOT. It's my main one in my arsenal, but I also use TFA, Caps and Inawera (INW). When I use Caps, I stay on the lower side, that's just my personal taste, 6%, usually 4% or less. To me, at least, they get tooooo buttery, which ends up being all I taste. I want the actual flavor, not the butter only.
FA, I generally use 2% or less. It's pretty concentrated. I don't think I've ever gone over 4% on one or two of their flavors, most at 2% or less. They last quite a while, due to that.
TFA I usually use at 4% or less. Usually less.
INW - 1% typically. Also concentrated, imo, but leaves an odd aftertaste used too high.
I get my VG from Bull City Vapor. Slightly sweet taste to it, crystal clear, no odor whatsoever. I've never used sweetener, though I do have some. A lot of different flavorings will add sweetness if I think something needs a touch of sweet. Usually, the flavoring on it's own is sweet enough to me.
Cruise through the DIY section here at VU. It's a great one.
The big question to the OP is, what top are you using? The flavor can be weaker on a RDA, than in a certain tank, etc.
Oh yeah, I'm getting my VG/PG from a place around the corner (for me) @ http://www.chemworld.com/default.asp
The nicotine I'm getting from http://www.nudenicotine.com/products-page/unflavored-nicotine-base/
Oh yeah, I'm getting my VG/PG from a place around the corner (for me) @ http://www.chemworld.com/default.asp
The nicotine I'm getting from http://www.nudenicotine.com/products-page/unflavored-nicotine-base/
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PG is the main flavor carrier in e-liquid, the lower the PG the higher you have to mix the flavor concentration.
This of course does not always work you may just end up a getting a gnarly "perfumey" or chemical flavor.
You may also be getting a nasty flavor from your VG-heavy juice wicking too slowly causing the coil to dry out and burn.
Consider adding 3%-10% distilled water to mediate this problem.
From my experience you can't make all recipes work with a high VG concentration.
It's just a lot of trial and error. Good luck!
This of course does not always work you may just end up a getting a gnarly "perfumey" or chemical flavor.
You may also be getting a nasty flavor from your VG-heavy juice wicking too slowly causing the coil to dry out and burn.
Consider adding 3%-10% distilled water to mediate this problem.
From my experience you can't make all recipes work with a high VG concentration.
It's just a lot of trial and error. Good luck!
When you say 2 or 4%, do you mean tial flavor% or just of an individual flavor when mixed with 4 or 5 others? I am going to mix a batch with one flavor, say tfa strawberries and cream. At 3 mg nicotine, what % of flavor do you suggest and what ratio pg/vg for optimal flavor with smooth hit?
Also, I am using a segelei 150 mod with patriot rda with a .5 build. I tend to keep at 4.7 watts or 45 watts which is my comfort range. I am toying with building a .8 coil to lower wattage but keep voltage same to extend my battery life if it doesnt effect my hit. Im not worried because my batteries last nearly 2 days with heavy usage as is.
I use lists for my starting percentages with single flavors. There are a few out there that I use.
This is just one for TFA's; http://www.v-ecigs.com/tfa-flavor-percentage-recommendations/
It says TFA Strawberries and cream @ 10-12%
This is just one for TFA's; http://www.v-ecigs.com/tfa-flavor-percentage-recommendations/
It says TFA Strawberries and cream @ 10-12%
TFA, I taste new flavors at 3% and work from there. Now, everyone is different with their preference, so my 3% might not give people what they want, or simply prefer much higher. I've mixed TFA flavors much higher, but found the lower % suits me fine. If I can taste it, I'm not going to add more, necessarily. Why vape extra flavoring if it tastes fine low?
I've not used the Strawberries and Cream, so you might take the other person's suggestion. Starting low allows for adding to, if necessary. If you start high and don't like it, then you have to dilute it, making more of something you might not like, or scrap it altogether. Making single mix samples of your flavors will help you learn your flavor best suited to your tastes.
2% is a safe start with most FA flavorings. If it's a mix of several flavors, whichever is the dominant flavor, I'll likely have at 2 or 3%, then stagger down. Some are just really powerful even at .25%.
With Caps, if I'm going single flavor, then I might start at 6%, if using as a mixer, I'll drop it down some.
For smoother hit, higher VG will be your friend. I'm sensitive to high VG, it doesn't sit well with my lungs. I have to keep my mixes at 80PG, so it's a bit more harsh with anything I mix.
Did this help you at all?
You can utilize the following calculator for this. As the nicotine base, you use your 3.6% 80/20, and target values accordingly. It will show you, how much VG you'll have to add.
http://www.steam-engine.org/juice.asp
Well, just for fun................................The math is easy.
36 and 24 are both divisible by 6. 6X6=36 6X4=24
6ml of base (6/6 parts) is 36mg. 4 parts(mls) base + 2 parts(mls) dilutent (VG) is 24mg. In other words, add 2mls of VG for every 4mls of juice. Without doing the math and for simplicity I'd just cut with VG. The final mix will be a bit higher VG than the target but no more than 50/50 I don't think.
36 and 24 are both divisible by 6. 6X6=36 6X4=24
6ml of base (6/6 parts) is 36mg. 4 parts(mls) base + 2 parts(mls) dilutent (VG) is 24mg. In other words, add 2mls of VG for every 4mls of juice. Without doing the math and for simplicity I'd just cut with VG. The final mix will be a bit higher VG than the target but no more than 50/50 I don't think.