What @Kirk_46 says is exactly right. Find the best recipes on the site by going to:
http://e-liquid-recipes.com/ and click on the ratings button. The best 5 star recipes come to the top. Pick the recipes that are close to the the things you already like to vape like a strawberry or tobacco or dessert and then buy those flavors first.
A lot of it depends on how much money you have to spend but my advice as well is buy the stuff you need to make a recipe that is tried and true.
Thanks for the replies and advice guys. Just sorting my start up shopping list out and shopping around for kits, equipment, bases and flavours. I really can’t wait to get started but dont want to rush into spending excessive amounts of money then realise I’m no good at mixing ☡
VG/PG - I use Essential Depot. During sales and with coupon you can get it pretty cheap if you buy the Glycube (4 Gallons). But Amazon sells Essential Depot VG and PG for pretty cheap by the liter or gallon and if you have Prime you can get it with free 2 day shipping.
Start with 120ml of nicotine. I used 100mg nic right from the start. It’s pretty safe to work with if you’re careful but some people prefer to work with 48mg or 60mg for the added safety. Up to you what you choose but either will work and I think 100mg is safe enough. I use pipettes to transfer nicotine to whatever bottle I’m mixing in, so that’s what I suggest. You can get a lot for cheap on eBay. The pipettes are great for transferring flavorings when flavorings don’t come in dripper bottles.
I highly suggest mixing by weight. Many of us use this scale, the American Weigh Scales LB-501. For $25 it’s a great scale and, for me, a must have. Mixing by volume is messy and time consuming, so it’s annoying.
Buy some 10ml or 15ml bottles for testers. 30ml or 50/60ml bottles for small batches. Ebay is great for the 10, 15, 30, 50, and 60ml bottles. You can get 100ml and 120ml on eBay too for larger batches, but I really like these bottles for 100ml batches.
As for flavors, I found this to be a great thread on /r/DIY_ejuice. But honestly, my suggestion is to find some recipes you think you’d like and pick up those flavors from a reputable vendor. That’s what I typically do.
Some things new people don’t always think about:
Paper towels - Always have a roll around.
Nitrile gloves - Good idea to protect your hands. I rarely use them but it’s a good idea nonetheless.
Some kind of labeling - I just use a Sharpie and some sticker labels from Walmart.
Nicotine titration test kit - A reputable nicotine vendor should be within a reasonable margin of error, but it’s a good idea to test for yourself. Things do happen.
Something to keep notes in - whether it’s a notebook or a Word or Excel document. It’s very useful to record any changes you make to a recipe, whether it’s your own recipe or someone else’s recipe.
Thanks for this recommend I have been looking in a lot of other places for the mixing kits but no one else has offered 15 flavorings. The most I think was 5 so I will definitely be choosing this one Thanks again
Hold up just a second here. You need to ask yourself what your flavor profile is. Like do you like fruits, tobaccos, pastry, etc. Why ask this? Well it will make your first batch more successful. It will keep you off of analogs longer. Try single flavor recipes first then brach out to more complex recipes. If you need more advice pm me.
You DEFINITELY want to mix by weight rather than volume or drops (). Trust me on this one. I started not that long ago and started off mixing by volume. I got all the syringes, graduated cylinders, pipettes, the whole 9 yards and threw them all away when I got a scale and a couple beakers. Mixing by weight is SO much easier than by volume. There’s not nearly as much of a mess to clean up EVERY TIME YOU MIX, and the measurements are a lot more accurate.
I would when starting, remember this is a newbie (please do not take offense here) to start of slow. Let’s not have her get lost as soon as she gets out the gate here.
In my honest opinions here you need to start slow. Get the hang of it. If you like it then dive in head long. If you do not like it you aren’t out an arm and a fucking leg. Just trying to help here.
Totally agree here too many people rush and buy a ton of flavours with no clear goal or recipe and find that they are short a few ingredient to make any known recipe.
I second what skull says start with single flavours or very simple recipes (1 or 2 flav) and get a feel for what you are doing. Find a familiar profile something you like in real life
I absolutely agree with you. No one should buy a ton of flavors when first starting out (like I did), but I think that purchasing a simple scale and a couple of beakers is MUCH more economical than buying a ton of syringes, cylinders, droppers and such. Especially since I personally could never find any of those items that could be purchased individually. I had to buy them in bulk packs of at least 10. You can pick up a basic scale for about $8.00 or 3 pounds, and a beaker for about a buck (1 pound at most)
Regardless@LolosVape , I think the general consensus we are all trying to convey here is, Start out slow, don’t spend any more than you absolutely have to, whether that be on flavors or mixing equipment until you figure out if this is something you will want to actually get into.
It’s all good brother. The two of us butting heads a little was inevitable
And … I just purchased the IJOY on your recommendation. < you better be right >
☡
). Trust me on this one. I started not that long ago and started off mixing by volume. I got all the syringes, graduated cylinders, pipettes, the whole 9 yards and threw them all away when I got a scale and a couple beakers. Mixing by weight is SO much easier than by volume. There’s not nearly as much of a mess to clean up EVERY TIME YOU MIX, and the measurements are a lot more accurate.