Warning darkstar major problems

General The Pub
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Hi everyone, I’m posting this as a serious heads up for anyone currently stocking up on supplies from Darkstar (UK). I’ve just performed an audit on a large order (15L VG, 15L PG, and several 1L concentrates), and the results are not good and should concern anyone who mixes by weight or purchases from darkstar.

​If you are using the ELR calculator to mix by weight, your recipes are currently mathematically incorrect.

​1. The Gravimetric (Weight) Data
I used a calibrated scale and medical-grade syringes (testing without needles to ensure zero dead-space or air bubbles). I also control-tested the scale with known weight (50G) to ensure 100% accuracy. For a 20ml sample at room temperature, here are the findings:

VEGETABLE GLYCERIN (VG):

USP Target Weight: 25.22g

Actual Weight: 24.87g

Deficit: -0.35g (Approx. 6.7% Light)

PROPYLENE GLYCOL (PG):

USP Target Weight: 20.72g

Actual Weight: 20.52g

Deficit: -0.20g (Approx. 5.5% Light)

​2. The Findings
Systematic Dilution: The fact that BOTH the VG and PG are significantly under their USP density suggests this isn’t a simple one-off batch error add to that that this is across 6 seperate 5L jugs and it becomes blatently obvious. The liquid is physically too light to be pure. The VG failed the standard viscosity bubble test and pulls into a syringe with the ease of a 70/30 blend.

The Volume Skimming: On top of the density issue, every 5L jug was short by 300-350ml (although it is worth noting the PG jugs were 5L). The 1L concentrates were also short by 30-50ml each. Across my total order, I am missing over 1.5 Liters of product that was paid for (when accounting for both the dilution percentage and also the mismeasure across 30L of base this is a huge issue.)

​3. The Impact on Your Mixes
If the base is cut, your final E-liquid will be significantly thinner than intended. Expect increased popping/spitting in your coils, potential leaking in pods, and muted flavor profiles as water/thinners do not carry concentrates as effectively as pure PG/VG.

  1. ​The ELR Discount Code: It is also worth noting that the ELR community discount code did not work before the March sale was announced, nor did it work during the sale so ive not recieved the ELR discount. It was actually turned off from thier end as they admitted when pulled on this apparently due to thier sale (despite it not working WEEKS before the sale was even announced). Given the recent issues with them not honouring the ELR code for people, pairing that with the physical product skimming and dilution it feels highly relevant to mention.

​The Question:
If a major supplier is “watering the milk” on the cheapest bulk ingredients (VG/PG), can we actually trust the concentration and purity of the expensive parts like nicotine or flavour concentrates?

​I have recorded a continuous video of these weigh-ins as evidence for the supplier and will be raising this issue with them on tuesday once they reopen. You can see the community discussion over on the Planet of the vapes where im also discussing this issue.

​Check your jugs, folks. The math doesn’t lie.

EDIT
The 1L replacement to cover the 300ml from the jugs was delivered by Royal Mail today and tested around 45 minutes later at a temp of 18°c and came in at 24.92g/20ml indicating it had also been cut and while there was a manufacture date and expiry present there was no batch number for this bottle meaning the EP claim is incorrect.

UPDATE:
I’d like to provide a final update on my experience with DarkStar. Following my findings, the company has issued a full refund and terminated the customer relationship. They have authorised me to dispose of the stock, though I have retained samples for my own documentation. DarkStar stands firmly by the accuracy of their website descriptions and their adherence to all traceability and grade regulations. However, following their request that I remove my previous posts and their statement that they ‘reserve their rights’ regarding business damages for my findings, I consider this a resolution to the issues raised. I am leaving this post up to ensure transparency and to provide a record of the final outcome. I will be moving to a different supplier for my future requirements.

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Thank you for the work gone into your post and it certainly looks like there are some pretty obvious discrepancies especially looking at the shortages with the 1Ltr concentrates.

Im not so sure about your volume to weight testing though as there are variables that will influence the results such as the effect the temperature has on volumes, for example…

A 20ml syringe of VG @ 30 degrees C will weigh less than a 20ml syringe of VG @ 5 degrees C.

While the difference in weight is not enough to account for the 6.7% reported, coupled with the difficulty to accurately measure volume, especially in such small amounts, the outcome of such a comparison wouldn’t be accurate enough to be classed as irrefutable proof.

Be interested in the outcomes of this one and interested in others responses.

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Thanks for the feedback! I agree that temperature and volumetric accuracy are variables in any home test. However, when we look at the actual physics of Glycerin, those variables don’t close the gap.

1 The Temperature Math The thermal expansion coefficient of Glycerin is roughly 0.0005 per degree Celsius. For the weight to drop by the 0.35g shortage I found in a 20ml sample (~1.4%), the temperature would have to be roughly 25-30°C higher than the standard 20°C testing temp. My room temp was 17.6°C where the samples have been stored and tested. At that cooler temperature, the VG should actually be denser and weigh slightly more than the theoretical 25.22g, not less.

2 The Margin of Error Even if we allow for a 1-2% error in syringe measurement (though I was meticulous with the meniscus and purging any air bubbles before drawing the sample), we are still looking at a consistent shortage across multiple samples. The fact that the PG was also underweight suggests a systemic issue rather than a one-off measurement error.

3 The Traceability Even if we set the gravity test aside as indicative rather than irrefutable, the lack of Batch Numbers and Expiry Dates is the real clincher. Under USP General Chapter 7 and EU GMP standards, a product cannot be legally labeled “USP” or “EP” without a lot number for traceability back to a Certificate of Analysis (CoA).

Without that batch number, the “USP Grade” claim is technically void, regardless of what the scale says. If a company isn’t following basic pharmaceutical labeling laws, it’s highly unlikely they are following the strict purity standards those labels represent.

I’d be more than happy to be proven wrong if Darkstar can provide a CoA that matches a batch number on my bottles… but there aren’t any!

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I have used water as a thinner myself
I think even a 5% dilution would be extremely noticable as even a few drops of water in a 30 ml bottle is extremely noticable

I even tried a 10% water dilution and it was completely un-vapable.
basically no vapor was produced and lots of crackling

Have you done a vape test yet?

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I haven’t done a vape test yet, mainly because I don’t want to waste expensive concentrates or a pod on liquid that I already know is physically off spec. Even at 17-18°C, the viscosity is visibly off it’s far thinner than any EP grade VG I’ve used before. Given that the density tests already confirmed a weight deficit (24.92g ((replacement bottle weight)) vs the expected 25.22g+ for that temperature), I’m prioritising the lab-standard metrics over a subjective vape test. If the physical properties are this far out, I’m not comfortable putting it through my hardware and lungs just to confirm what the scales and the lack of batch traceability are already telling me. Theres a few on my POTV post also agreeing that they’ve had the same experiences. One moderator on POTV even had loads of black plastic in one batch.

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So it’s packed back up, ready to return? Or you gonna trash it? You do know VG is made from 3 or 4 components depending on what your market sources and I don’t know if their weights or purity levels are all equal.

And your worried about expensive concentrates for a 5 or 10ml vape test. Dude, seriously.

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I have to agree with @warkwarth. I’m not even sure why I tried it, but every time I’ve tried, regardless of the percentage, water has just never worked out, and yes, as stated, was very noticeable, and produced an almost unvapable snap, crackle, and pop.

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DarkStar Vapour (DSV) has been at the center of several controversies within the DIY e-liquid community regarding the acquisition and use of recipes and trademarks.

Key Controversies

  • Trademark Acquisition from FlavourBoss: In 2017, DarkStar was criticized for obtaining a trademark previously used by a competitor, FlavourBoss, “right out from under them”. This move was particularly contentious because FlavourBoss itself had been accused by the DIYorDIE community of stealing and profiting from their recipes and branding.

  • Acquisition of Chefs Flavours: After DarkStar acquired the brand Chefs Flavours, community members reported that while the names of “one-shot” concentrates remained the same, the underlying recipes appeared to have changed to DarkStar’s own versions. This led to complaints about inconsistent flavor profiles and a lack of transparency regarding dilution ratios.

  • Cloning Popular Recipes: DarkStar has openly marketed “one-shot” concentrates that are known clones of popular commercial e-liquids, such as their version of Dinner Lady’s Lemon Tart.

    I myself have never recommended DSV to anybody

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I actually did make up a 30ml tester yesterday at 11am. Despite it being a 50/50 mix flavoured at 13.8% (PG based flavourings) and physically rather thin, the suspended micro-bubbles took over 10 hours to clear. Normally, a 50/50 mix at my room temperature clears in an hour, two hours max. That suspension time proves there is a serious surface tension anomaly. As for your point about VG being made from 3 or 4 components depending on the source, that is scientifically incorrect. Whether VG is extracted from palm, rapeseed, or soy, pure vegetable glycerin is exactly the same molecule (glycerol). EP (European Pharmacopoeia) grade dictates strict purity (usually 99.5%+, Darkstar claims 99.7%+). Pure VG is pure VG. The density, weight, and viscosity must remain perfectly constant regardless of the starting plant material if it genuinely meets EP standards. My samples definitively fail those standard weight parameters for EP grade VG.

Finally, my concern isn’t just about wasting a few ml of concentrate (though it is a waste of the 13.8% used in the 30ml tester that is displaying strange qualities). I have proven mathematically and visually that this base is off-spec. Because it is failing standard density, viscosity and emulsification tests, I don’t know what it has been contaminated or diluted with to alter its weight and surface tension so drastically. If I don’t know what it is, I am not inhaling it into my lungs. Id go as far as saying this is kind of common sense in the vaping scene.

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I understand that the snap, crackle, and pop is a classic sign of water, but the core of the issue is that I don’t actually know if it is just water. Without a product that matches the physical density of the grade advertised, I have no way of knowing if I’m looking at water or leftover industrial chemicals from a substandard extraction process. This is exactly why I bought vape-branded EP grade VG and USP grade PG. I chose those specific grades so I could be certain of what I was inhaling. Since this batch has failed every physical metric for EP grade VG including density, weight, and viscosity it is, by definition, an unknown variable. Add to that the absence of batch codes linking to a CoA it legally is not EP grade VG or USP grade PG and cannot be labelled or classified as such. In this hobby, inhaling unknowns is a risk I’m not willing to take. If it doesn’t meet the standards of the grade on the label, it doesn’t go in my lungs.

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Wow, thank you for that breakdown. They sound like quite a shady bunch. It definitely matches the red flags I’m seeing in respect to all other aspects of the company.

I’ve had a few commenters over on the POTV forum echoing exactly what you’re saying about the poor quality control and lack of transparency at DarkStar. The general consensus seems to be that when a customer actually catches a problem, the responses they give are usually just prepared excuses rather than actual resolutions. Between the trademark poaching, the quiet recipe changes you’ve mentioned, and the fact that I’ve now physically and mathematically proven this batch is off-density and failing to meet the basic standards of EP grade VG, I’m definitely done with them. It’s a shame that a supplier would prioritise margins over the safety, transparency and consistency that the DIY community relies on.

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My best advice would be to take your licking and get over it, ask DS for a refund, do your own research before making purchases. Your thread here will also help others with their decisions…

Unfortunately the “Resources” page hasn’t been updated in years, for that we apologize for any confusion

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I completely agree, Rocky. I’ll be taking this as a lesson learned and will certainly be shopping elsewhere from now on. I will contact DarkStar on Tuesday. If my data and this thread help even one person avoid the headache of receiving off spec, unidentifiable base liquid, then the time spent on the audit was worth it.

Thanks for the heads up on the discount code page and the company history it definitely puts the final nail in the coffin for me. I appreciate the advice!

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Can i ask if youve done the same tests on other brands with the “correct results”?

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Yes, I have. I ran these exact same weight and density tests on my previous batches from Everything Liquid, and they passed every test for EP/USP grade perfectly. The only reason I switched was that the very last batch I got from Everything Liquid had a slightly funky taste which happens sometimes so I looked for a new supplier. After seeing DarkStar recommended on a forum, I decided to jump in with a bulk order to stock up before the VPD kicks in and causes shortages or price hikes. I’ve clearly learned the hard way that popular on certain forums doesn’t always mean pure. My testing setup hasn’t changed the only variable that changed was the supplier, and the results speak for themselves.

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I see youre UK based and Everythingliqid is highly recommended by me but minerals Water is at the top of my list for VG followed a close second by theecigshop.uk.

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Yes, I’m UK based. I will likely get from everything liquid again and hope theres no funny flavours in the current batch as it was only one bottle last time.

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