I got in an order of a vendors juice that I didn’t think I could do well on my own (I finally did) but when I vaped it this time it was like almost pepper tasting and I got very lightheaded. Obviously I think the nic was way over the six nic I ordered. So yeah I’ll stick to DIY because at least I know what I’m putting in my mix!
8 Likes
I feel the same way all the way from my coils to my cotton. I used to really worry about all the dust in my organic cotton and I never liked the flavor of Japanese, so I went to hemp. I know what is in my wire, what grade it is, how clean it is. . .I figure if you are going to ingest anything into your body, food, drugs, tobacco, etc. . .you want to know the full provenance if at all possible. That way, you don’t end up unexpectedly light-headed. . .or not, whichever you were going for, haha.
I take it you don’t have a Nic test kit, neither do I, but it would be interesting to find out what they actually sent you.
4 Likes
That’s the sole reason why I went into diy. I’m still new to game. The vendor juice I bought was labeled 12mg nic (when I was trying to work cigs) and it just didn’t work. The cheep person I am figured I would try the step down liquid I bought and got light headed from the nic (or course I wasn’t going to throw more money at something that wasn’t working). My only deduction was the 12 mg was miss labeled. I emailed both the bnm and manufacturer and neither responded…they will remain unnamed, but for sure pushed me into diy as well as cost issue when I found a vendor I loved but the price was too high for bottles labeled free of all the bad stuff.
2 Likes
I have a bottle of Mountain Dew flavor here that I have bought a lot of from my local vape shop. They make the best Mountain Dew e-liquid I have ever tried. This last bottle I bought was so harsh it tore my throat to pieces. And this happened a few times with their juice with me. I don’t see how a reputable shop known for making really good juice can goof up like they did on this bottle, and I have yet to have that happen on one of my mixes.
2 Likes
Wish I had a nic kit at the moment
I should also buy one of those 
2 Likes
I guess I have been fortunate in that before I started DIY, the retail juices I purchased where all pretty danged good with one exception, and I suspect it was the PG/VG ratio that got me. I have come to learn I am PG sensitive to mixes with more than 25 or 30% PG. But the NIC always seemed spot on. I purchased a nicotine test kit when I got into DIY as a safe guard to make sure I knew without doubt what I was dealing with strength wise. Purchasing premixed nicotine …even the big vendors can make mistakes. It’s nice to know when they do. I haven’t found a mistake yet.
1 Like
Where do you recommend getting a kit from?
ECX has one http://www.ecigexpress.com/diy-e-liquid/mixing-tools-safety/testing-kits.html it’s worked out well for me and it’s cheap
2 Likes
Ahhh, the dreaded “out of stuck item” ECX customers know and love. They need some good inventory control software, preferably plugged directly into this or other sites. Half of what I intended to order today was out of stock.
2 Likes
Oopsies I did not notice that sorry 
how a bout this one http://wizardlabs.us/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=243
3 Likes
That link Amy posted has the instructions for testing and nice convenient extras, but if you already have the other bits you could also get the bromothymol blue pH indicator and 0.12N hydrochloric acid at a pool supply store, although probably in larger quantities than you need (side note: their instructions give you a different number to multiply by if you go this route, and I think it’s really awesome that they give out this info freely!). Personally, I’d do the WL kit, but if you don’t want to wait on shipping, a local pool supply shop is an option.
1 Like