New to DIY juice and PG sensitive

E-liquids Beginners
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I am new to this forum and website, so if this has been answered elsewhere…my apologies.

I have not been vaping long and have had a difficult time finding juice that is not harsh to me. I am evidently PG sensitive, as I found some locally mixed 80/20 that I can use without too much issue (anything with more PG makes me cough a lot). Unfortunately, their QC is lacking and each bottle seems like it is mixed a little differently, so it is hit-or-miss as to the quality. I have wasted a lot of money on juice that I can’t use and would like to avoid that in the future. Therefore I decided to look into making my own. I am looking at buying a DIY kit from Nic River and starting on the journey to making my own mixes. Before I do I have a few questions for anyone out there that can help.

First, is Nic River a good source to start with? Any thoughts on Bull City Flavors? Any other good resources for ingredients?

Are nicotine salts smoother than traditional liquids? Can you substitute a VG based nicotine salt in place of liquid nicotine in recipes posted here?

Do additives like Vape Wizard and Smooth work well for taking the harsh out of a mix without altering the flavor?

Can you change VG/PG ratios of recipes without changing the flavor profile?

Is there anywhere on this site that specializes in high VG mixes for PG sensitive people?

Anyone know of a good Chocolate Mint style vape that has a good chocolate flavor? Any other good chocolate mixes? Mint mixes? A good Pina Colada mix?

Sorry for all the questions, but I am new to this and really want to finally completely quit smoking cigarettes. I think I can do it if I can find/make juices that taste great and are not harsh to me.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

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TBH a good chocolate mint vape for a person with a pg sensitivity is super simple. Flavorah Creme de Menthe at like 3%, plus your nic of choice, you should be pretty good. Its a decent flavor, and with it and 100mg nic, you should be able to get >90% vg even if you are vaping 6mg. Used to fortify it with 1-2% of the Inawera Milk Chocolate, but they have changed the formula for that stuff and it isn’t anywhere close to as good.

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Thank you for the info. Have you found a good chocolate to substitute for the Inawera? Any experience with FA Double Chocolate Clear?

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TBH the creme de menthe is chocolatey enough for most people, but no, I have not. You’d do well to try the creme de menthe and see if you even need additional chocolate, and from there experiment with flavors.

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I will definitely give that a try. Thanks again.

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I can answer these. You will not find better suppliers than NR and BCV, There are others equally as good but those are who I buy from on a regular basis.

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Can’t go wrong with Nic River or Bull City Flavors. Good service, prices and selection from both. Liquid Barn is another good source for VG, PG, Nic and their Vanilla Ice Cream is a favorite among many.
I personally use BCF and LB the most. They seem to ship out the fastest in my experience.

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Smooth and Vape Wizard will help smooth out flavors. However, if you have issues with pg being harsh, I dont know that those will help you with pg being harsh to you.

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I’ll second this. I used to order exclusively from BCF because they are geographically close to me, but recently ordered from Nic River. Surprisingly, coast to coast in about the same time. Both vendors are excellent for flavors. I get my nic from Carolina Extracts, it is expensive, but chemically flawless. I tend to get bases from other vendors like Bulk Apothecary, but that is because I’m generally looking for a 5 gallon barrel of the stuff.

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You may want to look at concentrate companies that don’t use pg in their concentrates. Real Flavors is one.

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Nic River is awesome! If you’re going to order a DIY kit from them, add an extra flavor or two as well so your order will meet the criteria for the free shipping. I missed that little tid bit with my first order and ended up paying $35 + in shipping… doh!

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Nicotine River, Bull City, and Ecigexpress are my go to for all my supplies. Amazon for my bottles. I did the Pharmacy VG and Tractor Supply PG when I first started, but fund that I got better flavor when buying them from a supplier for DIY Ejuices. I buy my PG &VG from Bull City now with great results. Also Liquid Barns VG & PG is very good. I get mine from BC because I live 45 minuets away and shipping is fast. I get my nicotine from Carolina Xtract. I have never had any issues with it being harsh and it is always clean. Some have mentioned that they have gotten some harshness from it, but I love it. I have no experience on Nic Salts, but from what I have seen from people online it is very smooth.

VG Nicotine is harder to work with IMO because it is very thick. You will have to shake it a lot more before using it. PG carries the flavor and VG makes the the vape cloud. I started with 50/50, when I knew nothing, and it tortured my throat. I went 80/20 and now settle at 70/30. Also the higher the VG the slower it will wick. There will be a transition period from smoking and some find it difficult and go back to smoking. I had a bit of a rough time. Sore throat a few times and dehydration. You must drink more water as the PG will pull moisture away from your mouth. After a few weeks I had no issues and don’t even think about cigarettes anymore.

In my experience with Vape Wizard and Smooth they really don’t cut the throat harshness. They cut more of the harsh flavor and will take away the flavor levels and mix them together. I very rarely use them.

Changing VG PG Ratios will effect the flavor some, but not as much for all recipes. You will usually get more flavor from a higher PG, but it will make it a dryer vape as the PG will dry your mouth out more. You will find your sweet spot.

There are many options for PG sensitive people, but I am no expert on that. I know their are some all VG flavors.

As far as chocolate the front runners talked about in the vaping community from what I have read are Molinberry Glamour Chocolate, Jungle Flavors Milk Chocolate, Flavorah Milk Chocolate, and Hangsen Australian Chocolate. I have HS and FLV and they are ok IMO but not really good to me so far. I have JF and MB on the way from Black Friday sales now. Also LB White Chocolate Peppermint that lots are raving about. I am still very new working with chocolates so I am no expert by any means. Plus flavor is so subjective. As for Mint I use Flavor Art Arctic Winter at around 1%. Straight smooth mint flavor. I recently purchased WS-23 30% from Ecigexpress and absolutely love it. It gives you a super cold vape on your throat without the mint flavor. It is stronger than Koolada and doesn’t effect your flavor like Koolada does. I mix it at 0.25% with FA Arctic Winter at 1% for a cold minted flavor in some of my fruit mixes.

I have no experience with Pina Colada recipes but some coconut flavors can be very candy tasting. I like Purilum’s Coconut for a more authentic one. Ecigexpress has a Pina Colada one shot created by a mixer named ID10T http://www.ecigexpress.com/shop/diy-e-liquid/one-shot-concentrates/diy-mixer-s-showcase/if-you-like-pina-coladas-by-1d10t.html . I have not tried it but has some good reviews.

And you thought you were long winded. Lol I have been mixing now for around 10 months and this is some of the stuff I have learned so far. There are many here that are far more experienced than I am and have a lot more advice. Everyone I have met here has always pointed me in the right direction and we’re more than willing to help. Mixing does have a learning curve, but with one shots becoming more popular DIYing your own is easier. Recipe development is a whole other ballgame.

Welcome to the world of vaping, and stay at it. It will get you away from the cigs. I am living proof of someone who smoked for 27 years and have been completely off the cigs for just under a year.

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People have already said it. But i know it’s nice to have another or 10 people confirm. Bull city, nicotine river, and ecigexpress are reputable and I order from them all the time. Nicriver for nicotine is a great starting point. As for nic salt, I haven’t used it yet, but the consensus is to start with just regular nic suspensed in pg or vg

As for nic. I know you are pg sensitive, however, with you sensitivity I would still recommend 100mg in pg. there is a lot less worry about hot spots. But I do recommend you do your homework and have the proper respect for handeling 100mg nic. Some will be like, oh no, start at 48mg or so on. But I didn’t and it worked out fine for me…but it comes down to respect and care while handeling nic.

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Liquid barn has a starter kit also. That I would recommend

And right now it’s on sale 35% off.

I have ordered both starter kits one from liquid bard and one from nic river.

Personally I liked the one from liquid barn . Personal preference I like liquid barns vg and pg better than nic rivers. My juices tasted different when I used the nic river vg and pg.

Edit: also recommend getting kit without nic and ordering 100 nic base separate…

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Thank you, mrpipes. It is nice to get some positive feedback before placing an order. I appreciate it.

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Thanks for the info. I will look into LB before my initial order.

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Why is that? I suspect that that most flavors are suspended in PG, but if they smooth out flavors would they not do it for the entire mix?

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Sweet. Thanks, NChris.

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Good tip. Thank you, Molly. $35 for shipping is nuts.

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Thanks, CarolinaVapen. Some really good info in there. For the record, I love the “long-winded” reply, as I need as much info and guidance as I can get.

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