Hi, my name is Nate. I’m brand new to this forum and brand new to DIY. I’ve been vaping for may years (since eGos and cartomizers were a thing) and have always been able to find local shops to mix a juice a liked or at least found acceptable. In my area the number of vape shops have dwindled and the ones that are left mostly focus on disposables. I can no longer find a simple tobacco or RY4 in 24mg, so I have been forced to turn to DIY (hopefully it will work out).
I’ve been doing all the research I can. I’ve watched a lot of youtube videos, but most are several years old (I haven’t found much recent content). I’ve looked through many websites and a few forums that now seem pretty dead. I found this forum and it still seems pretty active. I went ahead and ordered nic, pg, vg, and a bunch of tobacco and RY4 flavorings and are waiting for them to arrive.
I’m nervous and don’t know where to go from here. Are there any good resources that walk you through making your own juice recipes? how do I know how much flavoring to start with? I know a lot of it is trial and error.
I guess I’m just a little overwhelmed and scared this won’t pan out. I feel like this is my last hope to keep me from going back to cigarettes.
I apologize if I posted this in the wrong area, I couldn’t find a welcome or introductions thread, so decided to post here.
Another question floating through my head is:
I have only vaped MTL through a tank. when testing flavors, is that going to be a problem? Do I need to get an RDA and a more powerful mod to test flavors first? It seems like it might make it easier to test all my different flavors before I figure out what works and what doesn’t.
First of all, welcome @Rad_Nate you’ll find a lot of fantastic information here as well as many members that will help as much as possible, there are some master mixers here with a wealth of information, knowledge, and experience that can give you great guidance. I too am new here and cannot give you advice as I could be wrong or steer you in the wrong direction. What you have done already with the research etc. will be of great help. Keep reading, look over some of the recipes and most of all enjoy the journey.
Welcome to ELR @Rad_Nate. Testing flavors is never a bad idea. Is it harder to do that using MTL ?? Not entirely. An RDA/RTA could make it a little easier, and would require less flavoring(s), BUT, if your primary method is MTL, testing flavors using that method might not be a bad idea, as that will be how you are using them.
Welcome @Rad_Nate. It’s nice to see some new blood in the forum.
I am personally a DTL guy, so all my stuff is mixed to my liking. Do yourself a favor- and dont go crazy buying a bunch of shit you’ll never use. Every single person on here has done that- and its no bueno.
You’ll end up mixing a RY4 with a cream, or a fruit of some type to enhance the flavor of the over-all mix. It’s a game of trial and error, so hang un there.
After all the mixing I’ve done with the help of the forum members- there has only been like 3 mixes I tossed out because they sucked.
Start with say 15ml and go from there… I have mixes now that are awesome- and I crank out 120ml bottles all the time. In the end you’ll save a TON OF $$ too.
Please feel free to search the forum- and ask any questions that may have. We’re a helping bunch- and will put you in the right direction.
Welcome to the club and ill dive into this for you. If you are a mtl guy testing on a rda is not the best idea. Because the flavor is not going to present itself the same as it would in your mtl. I mix for a mtl guy and what i think is good on the rda is not on his mtl. It tends to be weaker on his device. So what i did was had him by a mtl rta to test the samples i gave him. So get yourself a mtl rebuildable to test your mixes.
Now when it comes to %’s to mix its all based what your looking for. You will use higher amount of %’s of flavor then compared yo a dtl device to get the flavor you are looking for. There will be some people that will tell you certain brands shouldnt be used at high %’s in reviews section of elr but that really wont apply to a mtl device. As the mtl presents flavors in a different manner then that of a dtl device. So dont be afraid to boost your %’s.
As for you total mixing % you will need to be anywhere above 17% in flavor. So when you do look at others opinions on flavors and you see they are around 5% best bet would be move it to 8-9% if you are going to test each one of the concentrates you have got. Then go here https://e-liquid-recipes.com/ and create a recipe and it will give you all you the exact measurements to mix it up. And use the resources to look up all the info in the flavor list for what you bought if you dont want to add them to your stash.
Howdy @Rad_Nate 24mg? Geezzz I haven’t/hadn’t vaped high nic percents like that in years and years. What wattage ya using? If I recall I use to use something really low like 18 watts and carts that were like 1.5’s or something. I personally use a RDA when vaping but had used tanks for a couple years. A lot of people, it seems, use lower nic levels when they start pumping up the lower ohms attys (under 1.0 ohm)
It would be interesting to see how many people out here still use high nic and ohm numbers.
Besides flavors and nic, your going to need bottles (for your juice) and you are going to need a scale (one that reads down to 2 decimal points). You don’t have to have a scale, you can count drops or use a pipette… I suggest buying a scale.
There are quite a few different RY4 flavors out there (there are (were) a few users here that also make tobacco extracts). If you are new to mixing, I would suggest to only mix 15ml batches or less to test… then 30ml batches.
If you haven’t looked at the flavor area of the site yet it will give you some insight on what users have thought on flavor profiles and suggested initial percentages. It will also show you some recipes users have mixed etc. etc.
If you want to look at many of the different flavors out there and how some of the users have felt about them.
If you want to look at some of the tens of thousands of recipes:
One of the recipes I use daily (or at least a variation of it… I mix a liter at a time).
I use to travel a lot and for a bit it was hard to take juice with you wherever ya went, so I would find a vape shop… in Boston or Asheville or Farmington. Back then it wasn’t so easy to get juice and the people that worked is some of these shops had no real idea of what they were doing.
At the time I was vaping high nic juices and remember trying to find something and the guy in the shop wanted to try my juice so he might be able to find something comparable. He started to hit my device and I was telling him it was so and so and the nic was like way up there and he freaked. lol
He was a sub ohmer and never had even seen the high nic juices from the pre ohm users.
Yeah, I use to use high nic also…
It’s not a problem at all. If your using the equipment you are vaping on it might be to your advantage. Make sure your cotton or coil is primed and a small amount in the tank to get a good taste.
I suggest you go on the recipe side and pick out a recipe or three that interests you. Buy those flavors only. Buy small a first. 10-15mm bottles. After finding recipes you like follow the mixer. You will have the same tastes. Look at the recipes and how their put together. It will normally take about two years before you become proficient at putting your own recipes together. Don’t get discouraged. Spend your time learning how one flavor affects another. Look at clones. You will see how simple commercial are put together. Only four or five flavor’s.
Welcome to ELR group.
I stopped smoking a pack or more a day for 30 years and am now to the point where I haven’t had a cigarette in over 6 months and vaping was the only way I could stop smoking. I smoked outside and vaped indoors for a few weeks until I dropped smoking altogether. I started at about 33mg to ensure I was getting enough nicotine so I wouldn’t want to smoke, and it worked. After 6 months I’m still at 24mg of nic and I haven’t wanted a cig at all.
Too much nicotine isn’t what I’d be overly concerned with right now, not enough nicotine will make switching much more difficult. Read everything you can, listen to people here (they really know what they’re talking about) and then go for it. Grab a few recipes you think you might like and go mix them and you can tweak them to your liking from there. You’ll learn a lot by making mistakes along the way. I mix 10ml at a time until I’ve gotten it to where I want, then I make larger amounts of my favorite version. You’ll screw up and make things that suck, but you just throw it away and learn from it and your next one will be better.
I don’t have to tell you how great it is not smelling like smoke all the time and spending $20 a pack to do it. Really, the best way to be successful is to find a flavor you love to vape and it will work for you too. I tried to make the switch many times but I didn’t love what I was vaping so, I always went back to analogs until I hit on a flavor I couldn’t put down and didn’t want a cigarette again. You can do this!
I vape my 24mg at 12-13 watts on a 0.8 ohm coil. I also have always preferred higher pg juices (60%pg 40%vg) as well. Old school I know, but I was buying commercial juice and it was spendy for me. partially I vaped higher nic for the cost saving, so that may change a bit when I start mixing my own juice.
Welcome to ELR @Rad_Nate
Sorry I can’t help with MTL or bacco type recipes but I’m sure you’ll find a lot of useful information and help here on elr…
Try searching the recipe side using the keyword “MTL” for some ideas🤙
As @CallMeTut mentioned in this thread, the very first tip I would give is to mix by weight using as scale that measures to 0.01 grams. I basically wanted to kick myself for not doing that sooner. So much easier.
An RDA is much easier to test mixes but not necessary. I use a DNA mod utilizing temp control with an RDA to test my mixes. The reason being is that you can basically vape the last drop out of the RDA without burning the cotton and not having to swap out cotton with temp control. That way it’s ready for the next flavor without having any carryover flavor from the last one (and I’m too lazy to swap out cotton for trying out a new mix) . You will get some lingering flavors from the last juice using a tank, but the new flavor will come out eventually. Seriously, sometimes you can find a new great flavor/mix when switching liquids in a tank.
The mix that got me off and still keeps me off cigs is an RY4/Coffee mix using nic salts with a pod system for a better throat hit (if you’re using 24mg freebase then you probably have the throat hit covered). I’ve been mixing TPA RY4 Double @ 6% and FA Espresso (Dark Bean) @ 2% for years now and it’s helped a few friends transition from cigs to vapes. Lately I’ve been adding SSA Dessert Chocolate @ 0.5% and SSA Caramel Biscuit @ 0.5% and it really has taken it to whole new level of a bold, full flavor vape.
All the above advice is great! The first thing I’d do is try just straight base with no flavour. See what that’s like. I often find no flavours still satisfying. With no flavours added you know where you start at.
Welcome to the forum! I have to emphasize a digital scale that measures to two decimal places as well. Your mixing will be accurate and sooo much easier. While not necessary, I’d also recommend an mtl rda for testing. A great one for this purpose is a Broomstick Reaper. Tiny, but great flavor and you can easily change cotton for testing without taking a bunch of stuff apart.
There are plenty of mtl vapers here so ask questions often. You’ll make mistakes and learn from them, but with help, you’ll minimize the errors.
