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Wanting to start diy, but a kit or individual
- Thread starter Toohey13
- Start date
Welcome! 
I'm of the opinion that buying a kit isn't a great idea. Kits are someone elses idea of what you want to use or need to purchase. A lot of them contain items you will never use, or will use - and find you want something different/better/larger/smaller instead. That, and you have to pay attention to the PG/VG options offered. I have seen at least one place that sells kits which come with 50 PG/50 VG nic base only. That may be what some people want - but not everyone.
For your basic DIY gear you don't need much more than small capacity syringes for your flavorings and some larger capacity syringes for your nic base and no-nic PG or VG. Some bottles - which you may already have from pre-made liquids you bought and used. But beakers and funnels and test tubes and test tube stands and mixing rods and... That stuff can wait and you can ask questions about what people like to use as you get deeper into the process.
All I'm saying is it doesn't take an expensive kit with a pile of lab ware to get started.
I'm of the opinion that buying a kit isn't a great idea. Kits are someone elses idea of what you want to use or need to purchase. A lot of them contain items you will never use, or will use - and find you want something different/better/larger/smaller instead. That, and you have to pay attention to the PG/VG options offered. I have seen at least one place that sells kits which come with 50 PG/50 VG nic base only. That may be what some people want - but not everyone.
For your basic DIY gear you don't need much more than small capacity syringes for your flavorings and some larger capacity syringes for your nic base and no-nic PG or VG. Some bottles - which you may already have from pre-made liquids you bought and used. But beakers and funnels and test tubes and test tube stands and mixing rods and... That stuff can wait and you can ask questions about what people like to use as you get deeper into the process.
All I'm saying is it doesn't take an expensive kit with a pile of lab ware to get started.
ok
heres my advice and what I did
my main vape at the time was a peach mango flavor
so i ordered mango and peach flavors for 3 companies in 10ml bottles
i ordered i think 30ml or so of 100mg nic in vg since i vape max vg...if you prefer 50% or more of pg buy pg based nic
then i ordered about 100ml of vg
tried they different companies and hated all 3 companies flavors
so tried 2 more companies and found the one i like FlavourArt
experimented with the precise percentages of each flavor untill i got it perfect
Then ordered large quatinties of nic, vg and the flavors as well as small samples of other flavors to start and experiment with
Start simple
Kits may work they may not
one company's idea of chocolate may taste like ass to use while another company's idea tastes perfect or you find you like a blend of 2 company's flavor
You also dont even need nic to start with. Your vape SHOULD taste the same with or without it but some nics do mute flavor a bit
You can also search for recipes on here and other places online that may clone what you are used to buying form the store. I would suggest starting with recipes with 4 or less flavors otherwise your investing a lot for something you may not like.
Kits work for some people but I dont think many of us diyers on this forum started that way
heres my advice and what I did
my main vape at the time was a peach mango flavor
so i ordered mango and peach flavors for 3 companies in 10ml bottles
i ordered i think 30ml or so of 100mg nic in vg since i vape max vg...if you prefer 50% or more of pg buy pg based nic
then i ordered about 100ml of vg
tried they different companies and hated all 3 companies flavors
so tried 2 more companies and found the one i like FlavourArt
experimented with the precise percentages of each flavor untill i got it perfect
Then ordered large quatinties of nic, vg and the flavors as well as small samples of other flavors to start and experiment with
Start simple
Kits may work they may not
one company's idea of chocolate may taste like ass to use while another company's idea tastes perfect or you find you like a blend of 2 company's flavor
You also dont even need nic to start with. Your vape SHOULD taste the same with or without it but some nics do mute flavor a bit
You can also search for recipes on here and other places online that may clone what you are used to buying form the store. I would suggest starting with recipes with 4 or less flavors otherwise your investing a lot for something you may not like.
Kits work for some people but I dont think many of us diyers on this forum started that way
oh yeah forgot the equipment
you dont need much of anything
reuse old bottles form your juice to mix in
stop by your pharmacy and ask for a couple medical dispensing syringes they are usually marked in 1/10 mls
This isnt ideal to do large batches but its how i started and it worked.
Once i got the hang of it I invested $20ish into a scale and mix by weight now and find it easier
you dont need much of anything
reuse old bottles form your juice to mix in
stop by your pharmacy and ask for a couple medical dispensing syringes they are usually marked in 1/10 mls
This isnt ideal to do large batches but its how i started and it worked.
Once i got the hang of it I invested $20ish into a scale and mix by weight now and find it easier
I started with a few drams of Loranns then changed a few of my commercial juices and they were great. I looked into some kits but once you dive balls deep into DIY that kit ain't gonna last long. At first your going to experiment, maybe toss a couple failures, maybe not but never the less your going find your mixing nitch and end up buying liters of nic and glycubes of base anyways so don't bother spending twice on base and spend it on the concentrates instead. Those kits are for those who want to dabble in DIY so don't fuck around and get some supplies.
Look for a recipe you think you'll like and get the flavors for it. You can start off with drops but a few 1ml and a 10 ml or higher syringe for the VG/PG. I don't know what country your in but a lot of us use BCF and you can get everything but the nic
http://www.bullcityflavors.com/
I use Nicotine River or RTS for nic but there are others that folks like.
http://ejuice.breaktru.com/ here's a good free calculator.
Start off by looking through the recipe threads, most anything by Squonk, HIC or Heabob is a safe bet that you'll like it. (Sorry for leaving out all you other great mixers no slight intended.)
I should mention if you get syringes put a bit of clear tape over the markings as they will wash off easily.
Were are my manners...Welcome to the VU.
http://www.bullcityflavors.com/
I use Nicotine River or RTS for nic but there are others that folks like.
http://ejuice.breaktru.com/ here's a good free calculator.
Start off by looking through the recipe threads, most anything by Squonk, HIC or Heabob is a safe bet that you'll like it. (Sorry for leaving out all you other great mixers no slight intended.)
I should mention if you get syringes put a bit of clear tape over the markings as they will wash off easily.
Were are my manners...Welcome to the VU.
Last edited:
wllmc
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Im with everyone else as far as the kits go. youll end up getting more flavors you dont like than you do like. Id just set a budget and spend at least half or more on your base fluids VG/PG/NIC or just VG vnd nic if you are a max VG guy. these things you NEED. 30 flavors and no bases does you no good lol. after that Id get a couple of each flavor you think you would like as mentioned above. 2 blueberries, 2 vanilla etc that way you can play around and build your flavor stash up as you can. 
Like most of the other's who responded, I started out by finding a few recipes that fit my flavor profile and bought the stuff to make them. I also bought the flavors that I determined I needed to make a clone of my favorite commercial juice. I guess I ordered maybe 6-7 flavors, VG, PG, and Nic, and a few syringes. Trust these guys, and don't waste your money on a starter kit, it's cheaper to just buy what you need individually.
Definitely stick with a few simple recipes at first. I started by adding a ton of flavors to the cart that sounded good, and didn't end up using at least half of them in my regular mixing. A lot of money wasted