DIY – A guide to making your own E-Liquid

Ingredients, Tools and Procedures needed for DIY E-Liquid

DIY E-Liquid is the process of making homemade E-Liquid by using a PG (propylene glycol) or VG (vegetable glycerin) base, your own flavourings and nicotine to create your very own personalised recipe!

The majority of prepared E-Liquids, as well as most DIY recipes call for a mixture of PG and VG, commonly at a 50/50 ratio. However, the concentration can vary up to 80% vg/20% pg and beyond in some preparations to cater for personal preference. Both PG and VG offer different attributes to your DIY E-Liquid, so it can be handy to know plenty about them in order for you to find your perfect balance of the two. For starters, both are approved as safe for human consumption by the FDA.

PG is a popular base for DIY E-Liquid due to it being the thinner, less viscous liquid of the two bases; therefore it is easier to handle when filling tanks and is less likely to leave build-up in your vaping system overtime. It is also harsher than VG and provides a much more satisfying throat hit.

VG is less ‘harsh’ than PG and provides a lighter throat hit for those vapers who prefer it. Additionally, something that appeals to a lot of vapers is that VG offers huge vapour production; if you fancy becoming a human fog machine then use plenty of VG!

Due to its thickness, VG also makes your liquid take a bit longer to fully heat up and become vapour. This demands more power from your E-Cigarette Mod or Battery, meaning higher powered mods (20watts onwards) are more suited to high VG liquids.

Nicotine

If you’re one of the many converts from analogue smoking to the world of vaping, you’re familiar with this ingredient, but not as familiar as you may think when dealing with homemade DIY E-Liquid:

Undiluted liquid nicotine is a poison even in small amounts, please handle with extreme caution. Use protective clothing, gloves and goggles to ensure no contact is made with skin or eyes. If any contact is made with skin or eyes ensure you thoroughly wash affected area with water for at least 15 minutes. If you feel unwell seek medical attention immediately.

Concentration of nicotine is an important factor in DIY E-Liquid as it can greatly affect the flavour and overall experience of using DIY E-Liquid.

The most common nicotine concentrations are 3 mg and 6mg, but the range of safe levels can range from 0mg (the safest possible level) all the way up to 36mg (very high).

Equipment Needed For Making E-Liquid From Scratch.

–Concentrated Flavouring(s)

–Empty E-Liquid Bottle (100ml and 250ml bottles are commonly used for mixing)

–Syringes (5ml or 10ml). You get a free 1ml syringe for nicotine.

–Nicotine (PG or VG) 100ml. The PG/VG of your nicotine contributes to the overall PG/VG ratio of your mix!

-250ml of PG or VG. If you’re doing a max VG mix (90% VG) you will not need any PG as your flavouring is PG base which will make up the remaining 10%.

–10ml Sweetener. If desired.

Alternatively

We stock base mix which has all of the PG, VG and nicotine mixed together ready to go; all you need to do is add some concentrated flavourings!

When making your own E-Liquid you have to have a desired PG/VG ratio in mind; the more VG you use the thicker and smoother the liquid is going to be. The more PG you use the thinner and harsher your liquid will be when you vape it.

When using a 100ml bottle 70%, VG would equate to 70ml, 30% PG would equate to 30ml and vice versa. You’re going to want to leave room for your flavouring which contains PG, as well as room for your nicotine which will contain either PG or VG.

As an example, if using a Subtank such as an Aspire Triton Tank or a Horizontech Arctic Tank, it’s recommended you have your liquid smooth with less of a kick (because Subtanks make E-Liquid seem much harsher), so to achieve this consistency you need to use a higher VG ratio (example 80% vg/20% pg) and a lower nicotine concentration such as 3mg or 6mg. You do not have to abide by this recommendation though, as not everyone likes their liquid smoother; you can tailor your liquid to your own personal preference.

If you are using a standard clearomiser such as an Aspire Ce5 tank or a Kangertech T3D tank you’re going to want to make your liquid thinner by using more PG. This is because thick liquids (High VG) aren’t compatible with these type of tanks as they aren’t as powerful and are unable to burn the liquid hot enough. This means your tank becomes clogged with liquid which effectively breaks the coil.

How to make your E-Liquid

Step 1) Gather all required equipment (as above) and have your empty E-Liquid bottle ready.

Step 2) Once you have your desired ratio in mind, start by adding your chosen flavour concentrate(s). Use syringe to measure volume. You should aim for anywhere between 5%-15% (This varies due to personal preference and the flavour intensity of chosen concentrate). In a 100ml bottle this would equate to anywhere between 5ml–15ml. When making our own liquids we opt for 15% flavour concentrate (15ml in a 100ml bottle). As mentioned earlier, if you’re going for a 90% VG/10% PG mix then the maximum concentrate you can use is 10% as this accounts for your PG. If using multiple flavour concentrates, this does not mean use 5%-15% of each concentrate; the 5%-15% figure refers to the total volume of concentrates.

Step 3) Add your nicotine carefully using your syringe and protective clothing/gloves. Nicotine is 72mg per 100ml, so if for example you want 3mg it will require 4.2ml of nicotine. See below for calculation to work out required nicotine volume. You can purchase nicotine in a VG or PG base and this will contribute to the overall PG/VG ratio of your mix, so be careful which one you buy! If you’re aiming for a 90% VG/10% PG mix and have already added your 10% concentrate, you do not have any more room for PG, so using PG Nicotine would ruin your mix! FOR THIS STEP PLEASE FOLLOW SAFETY ADVICE UNDER ‘NICOTINE’ SECTION OF THIS ARTICLE.

Step 4) Once both nicotine and flavourings are added, fill the rest of your bottle with your PG and VG. Quantities of these will vary depending on what consistency and ‘harshness’ you’d like your liquid. VG = Smoother & more Vapour. PG = Harsher & less vapour.

Step 5) Once all products are added, put the lid on your bottle and shake well.

Tip: Get a bowl of warm water, place closed bottle with mixed ingredients in warm water for 2/3 minutes . This allows the liquid to thin quicker and mix more efficiently . Continue to shake afterwards for an equal amount of time.

Calculation for working out how much nicotine you need (in ML) to get your desired E-Liquid strength:

mixing bottle capacity DIVIDED BY nicotine strength = volume of nicotine needed for 1mg nicotine concentration MULTIPLIED BY desired E-Liquid strength = volume of nicotine needed for mix.

Example (3mg desired E-Liquid strength, mixing in 100ml bottle with 72mg nicotine):

100ml DIVIDED BY 72mg  = 1.4ml  MULTIPLIED BY 3 = 4.2ml nicotine needed for 3mg E-Liquid strength in 100ml bottle.

Steeping

Steeping is the process in which you leave your finished, sealed liquid to stand so the flavour can develop properly. It is recommended to leave the liquid to stand at room temperature out of the way of any heat, for example in a cupboard.

Depending on which flavourings you have used, steeping time can vary between different flavours.

Desserts and custard flavours take around 2/3 weeks to fully steep. This is because these flavours need plenty of time for their flavour to develop fully.

Fruits and sweetie flavours take little to no time to steep fully meaning it is possible to smoke it almost instantly after it has been made. This is something a lot of vapers call “shake ‘n’ vape”.

Once all instructions have been followed carefully your liquid will be ready to vape.

If you have any questions on how to make your own liquid, feel free to email us at support@thebestecigarette.info, call us on 01773 687073, visit our Facebook, Twitter or Google+ pages to ask us on there, or pop in-store and we’ll walk you through it! Our store is located at 86 High Street, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 7BE, United Kingdom.