texassmokes

Great info I've been thinking about DIY and after all these great posts I'm definitely going to give it a try.

Question 1. Yes, you can use different types of flavoring but not all are going to give good results. Most of the flavorings I use contain artificial and/or natural flavors, PG and not much else but sometimes contain small amounts of water, alcohol, and so on. There are some ingredients that are un-friendly to attys and cartos but I can't give you a complete list off the top of my head; for instance you shouldn't use any anything that contains sugar or honey. Most of the flavorings I use (Lorann's, FlavourArt, Cappellas, FlavorWest, Perfumers Apprentic, CK products, Tasty Puffs) are fairly strong and sometimes very strong and it depends on the flavor. A very strong flavor might only need 2%-5% in the final mix but most fall into 15%-20% range. If a flavor requires more than 25% to flavor a DIY recipe it probably is diluted to the point where it is no good for vaping.

Question 2. There are flavors that add sweetness without changing the original flavor much or sometimes enhance it. Cotton candy and Marshmallow are 2 examples. Ethol Maltol(EM) is the ingredient in cotton candy and it is what a lot of us use. I've also used suclarose. I know to use these in small amounts because too much will ruin a recipe. VG may add a bit of sweetness along with more vapor, this is why I like to use some in all my juice but I prefer mostly PG.

Question 3. You can get a better TH by using a bit of menthol flavoring. As for extracting your own nicotine, well that sounds like tricky business and I don't think it can be done safely without proper testing equipment and knowledge. I've extracted a tea and tobacco flavoring by heating leaves in PG but I wasn't trying to extract nicotine and I don't think that I got much if any out but I was able to get a diluted flavoring that was usable.

Hi,
I have 3 questions for my DIY attempt:

Question 1:
Do any of you know the TYPE of flavorings which you guys use for DIY Eliquid? I'm using flavoring for bakery. Is that ok? The flavor somehow "taste" diluted, no matter the percentage of volume I use. I know most of you refer to flavorings by brand name, Lorann ..etc. But are those branded flavors for bakery too?

Question 2
Most commercial Eliquids have a bit of sweet taste to it. Mine is pretty bland and tasteless. I used some Sorbitol and Stevia as sweeteners but still not enough.

Question 3:
Throat Hit (TH). I know most people say it's from nicotine and some say it's from PG. My DIY Eliquid has no TH at all. Some pointers? IN my country, ordering nicotine is totally illegal. I extract nicotine directly from tobacco by boiling etc etc....

Please help. I'm getting really frustrated with my DIY attempt . Thank you in advance.

Hope it helps !!! ask away, we have a few DIYers here.

Wow.. that's a lot of well thought out information. Thanks a lot

Water soluable flavors mix better with the PG and VG bases. oil based flavorings can kill the heating elements. the oils gunk up the coils.
Most of the flavors at these sites are water soluable
http://www.ecigexpress.com/
http://www.onestopdiyshop.com/products/The-Flavor-Apprentice-Professional-Flavors.html

I haven't found a good way to get rid of the perfume flavor with certain flavors....I just end up moving to a new flavor.

What is the difference between water soluble and oil based with vaping? Most that I have seen use the oil based...I haven't run across a water soluble one yet....Any suggestions to cut the perfumy after taste of a concoction? Thanks

Tanning of liquids is perfectly normal. As things steep and age they go rather quickly. When the supplier takes the original nic filled liquid out it has been in an airtight, dark, sealed container for awhile. They hold their life really well in amber glass, but as soon as they hit large amounts of atmosphere, and light, they change quickly. The cheap plastic they are in is also NOT intended for long term freezing or storage of 1+ years. Longer than that and the compounds will most likely leach plastic.

I don't know that there is an exact answer to steeping. some flavors get better when they have had a bit of time to sit and settle. I do notice that most of my mixes change a bit after they have sit a while, sometimes better, sometimes weaker.
personally, I don't worry much about steeping....I mix it to my taste and vape, if I need to touch it up later, then I add some more flavor or add something new.

Change in color is not uncommon. just the flavors combining or steeping I guess.

The brown color when leaking from the carto is caused by the heat from the carto...most colors darken quite a bit when heated.

yeah ive added some drops to some stuff i got form vendors. Also one thing I wondered about is how do you know if something needs to steep. I never understood that. I noticed some of the bottles ive made changed to a more deeper yellowish/orange color after a few days, and even though none of them are brownish in color, they leak out of my carto sometimes brown in color out the bottom

Its all about personal taste. That is the best part of DIY...making to your own personal tastes. TPA has some great flavors. Mind you I have Been DIYing for 2 years and have been collecting flavors along the way. It takes a while and a bit of experimenting to find the flavors you like best.

With the fruit flavors...have you tried adding a bit of flavoring to any existing premixed liquids?
sometimes that works better than mixing from scratch.

I also use 30% on apple pie. and a drop of cinnamon and sometimes a little of something else. This is the only flavor I go that high on and it is one of my favs too. I've been meaning to get Tiramiso but I keep forgeting to add that one.

ive only been mixing 15-20% flavoring though i will try some different types of flavorings, all the ones i have are the TPA

Sweetener aka cotton candy aka EM

If you want real fruit flavor, try the Capellas Sweet Strawberry - a touch of em a drop of tart & sour, mix 15% and has a great flavor.

Marshmallow is a great sweetener and it also helps blend flavors especially bakery & candies.

I have never mixed anything 30% but that is just my own personal tastes. The only one close to that was loranns Bavarian cream because I mix that flavor all vg plus em.

I really like flavor Arts Apple Pie (one of my favorites), no perfumy taste, Flavor Art Tiramisu- also a bit sweet. Both of these I use up to 30 % flavoring and no perfume.
The most perfumy is the fruit type flavors. The best for fruit for me is Lorann watermelon--really concentrated and sweet.
I like flavor west chocolate mint...mixes great with coffee flavors.

For sweeteners, I use marshmallow flavoring. For cheaper rates you can go straight to the manufacturer...Both Perfumers apprentice and Flavor west have very good Marshmallo.
Caramel is another great sweet type flavor....perfumers apprentice and flavorart are my favorites there.

The real fruit type flavors are the hardest to mix with....they just never seem to taste quite right to me.

ding ding ding. Lol
Cut your flavoring % back and easy on the sweetener. A little goes a long way.

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what are some good sweet flavors that dont taste too perfumy? other than fruit ones or are they all like that, i got some i think its sucralose sweetener which cut down the perfumy taste a bit, btw wheres a good place to get sweetener at a cheap cost i been using a bunch of it and im out already

I have this one. It's quite good but you only need a few drops to make a 10ml. I added marshmallow and bavarian cream to make a "backwoods sweets".

Flavourart apple pie tastes great and I use over 20% of the total volume of the mix. Flavourart dark vapure needs only about 2%. Many Lorranne flavors are really strong also but they all vary from flavor to flavor. Most tobacco flavors are really strong. One that isn't and tastes real good to me is Flavorwest cumarin pipe which I use at 20%..

Adding to much will get that perfume taste.

The best you can do is let us know what flavors you are playing with & we can maybe offer some suggestions

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is there any negatives about adding too much flavoring? like shelf life or anything like that

Update:
Just want to add a couple newer vendors that have a very nice selection and great service.

http://www.ecigexpress.com/

http://www.onestopdiyshop.com/products/The-Flavor-Apprentice-Professional-Flavors.html

Merry Mixing

Thank you for the info. Answered exactly what I was looking for. Thanks again.

DIY still remains my passion and obsession. Common sense always has to prevail. The last 2 1/2 years have brought so many changes.....its worse than computer technology (for me anyway). Currently I still stick to those vendors I have been using since (almost) the beginning of my vaping adventure. When I first started vaping, the selection and vendors was very simple and very few, now, new stuff is popping up at every corner. I figure, I might as well stick with what works for me.

I still love mixing almost as much as I love vaping.

Thats awesome! i cant wait to start. im new to vaping well about 5 days new. Ive ordered enough e-juice to last about 4 months. but when i start something i want to know everything about it. im a research hound and a big DIY guy sort of speek. i know there has to be a cheaper and easier way to do this. the instructions are gold and i cant wait to start. thanks for the great info!