I'm thinking of brewing my own. Is it worth it?/How?

[Vaped Crusader]

Hey guys

I'm a bit of a sucker for trying juices that I think will appeal only to be disappointed by them and i'm a bit of a flavour gypsy, I thought i'd found the holy grail with MOV, then Manabush, before I went back to RY4. And even then, something isn't right. (my head probably) and i'm getting a little bit cheesed at constantly throwing money at juices only to give up on them/not like them.

I'm guessing DIY is cheaper in the long run and I figure more fun with the added attraction that I can fiddle about until I find something I really enjoy. That's the boring part out of the way, I guess what I really want to know is, is there a guide to mixing somewhere out there that an idiot like me can understand? Something step by step. I've read plenty of stuff talking percentages, this many drops of this, a few ml's of that, but something a complete plum like me can get his head around has so far eluded me.

Or do I have to actually put effort into understanding it all ;o(

 

[Dopey]

You can watch or read as many tutorials as you like but the best way is to get stuck in and try it, experiment like a mad professor and eventually you will strike gold!
Invest in a mixing set and have some fun, if you don't have one I would recommend you have a dripping atty to test your home made creations that way you can tweak the flavour, throat hit etc
good luck

 

[Vaped Crusader]

You can watch or read as many tutorials as you like but the best way is to get stuck in and try it, experiment like a mad professor and eventually you will strike gold!
Invest in a mixing set and have some fun, if you don't have one I would recommend you have a dripping atty to test your home made creations that way you can tweak the flavour, throat hit etc
good luck

Thanks! Can you or anyone else recommend an easy to use dripping atty? (I use a Vamo)

I'm a bit stuck in my ways with the Vivi Nova but I get that these wouldn't really be suitable!

 

[Alan]

is there a guide to mixing somewhere out there that an idiot like me can understand? Something step by step. I've read plenty of stuff talking percentages, this many drops of this, a few ml's of that, but something a complete plum like me can get his head around has so far eluded me.
(

You need 4 ingredients. Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerine (VG), nicotine liquid, and flavouring. PG will give you throat hit and VG will give you vapour. You can mix whatever percent of these you wish. Nicotine liquid comes pre-mxed in either PG or VG (you choose), and will almost definately be stronger than your chosen final eliquid strength. It's only legal to have nic under 75mg strength in the UK. 54mg seems popular and not too dangerous to work with.

A simple mix, starting with 54mg PG based nic liquid and wanting 18mg final strength, for 30ml of 50/50 PG/VG with 20% flavour would use...

Nic liquid 10ml
PG. -1ml
VG. 15ml
Flavour 6ml

Note I have chosen a 50/50 mix and chosen PG based nicotine to illustrate that in this example I would need to REMOVE 1ml of PG. Adjusting it to 60/40 PG/VG changes it to add 2ml of PG but use the same 2ml less VG. Similarly using VG based nic would alter the amounts.

There are plenty online calculators, it's not so hard once you've got your head round the concept.

edit...forgot to add that VG is thick, so you sometimes see Aqueous VG (AVG). This is VG thinned down. I wouldn't recommend this, if your mix turns out too thick you can thin it yourself with distilled water (lots of people use tap water).

 

[Vaped Crusader]

You need 4 ingredients. Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerine (VG), nicotine liquid, and flavouring. PG will give you throat hit and VG will give you vapour. You can mix whatever percent of these you wish. Nicotine liquid comes pre-mxed in either PG or VG (you choose), and will almost definately be stronger than your chosen final eliquid strength. It's only legal to have nic under 75mg strength in the UK. 54mg seems popular and not too dangerous to work with.

A simple mix, starting with 54mg PG based nic liquid and wanting 18mg final strength, for 30ml of 50/50 PG/VG with 20% flavour would use...

Nic liquid 10ml
PG. -1ml
VG. 15ml
Flavour 6ml

Note I have chosen a 50/50 mix and chosen PG based nicotine to illustrate that in this example I would need to REMOVE 1ml of PG. Adjusting it to 60/40 PG/VG changes it to add 2ml of PG but use the same 2ml less VG. Similarly using VG based nic would alter the amounts.

There are plenty online calculators, it's not so hard once you've got your head round the concept.

edit...forgot to add that VG is thick, so you sometimes see Aqueous VG (AVG). This is VG thinned down. I wouldn't recommend this, if your mix turns out too thick you can thin it yourself with distilled water (lots of people use tap water).

Hey Alan
That's really really useful and much appreciated.
It somehow makes taking the plunge a lot easier when it's explained in laymans terms.
Thanks again for your advice.

 

[Alan]

You're welcome mate. It wasn't long ago it all seemed like gobbledegook to me too.

 

[jcol]

Personally i would only mix some 5ml samples as u dont want to mix a lot of a juice to find u dont like it lol.
u can download a juice calculater http://ejuice.breaktru.com/ there are loads of guides on how to use it.
this will tell u all u need to know regarding nic strength, how much of each fluid to use etc...
it does work out cheaper, iirc it costs me roughly £1 to make 10ml of jiuce so u can save money, but there is a big outlay to start with.
i would go for a mixing set first until u find your feet, one like this http://www.ltecigs.larsentilbrook.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=63_74&product_id=159 for £15 or u can buy all the bits seperate, upto u.
then u have to buy flavourings, i really like Capella flavourings or there is Perfumers Apprentice, Flavour Art, Inawera etc...
there are loads of recipes out there, just find one u like, then buy the flavourings and go for it lol

 

[Ztevie]

I mix my own juices and regularly buy my vg from Boots. Their bottle is 200 ml in quantity and costs around £1.40. The brand is Care+.
It is 100% vegetable glycerine and is very thick. I measure out 85 ml into a 100 ml bottle and add 15 ml of pharma grade purified water which I bought from my local chemist.
They had to order it for me, it came the next day and was £3.90 for 5 litres.
This makes the vg just the right consistency to match the pg and nicotine liquid I use.

 

[Blossom]

Another quick tip: make up a few trial mixes without the nicotine content as its the most expensive part. That way you can experiment, but mistakes cost less!!

 

[AndyC1971]

If you have an android device use jrob3rts mixing app. It is simply the best without being complicated. Much better than the one listed above.