Become a Patron!

The Bad & the ugly ejuice

1western12

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I’m having a hard time putting together juices that work. Even letting them steep longer, shaking daily and wondering if tomorrow will be the day I smell it and it doesn’t smell like low budget alcohol perfume. I even followed some recipes and still having issues.
I tried Hics recommendation of mixing some pg/vg along with a little nic to sample taste and see if my bases were the problem. Tastes a little sweet and not foul so that shouldn’t be it. I even ordered all the ingredients for Game Over and I’m still doing something wrong.
What else might I be missing. Big fan of custards if anyone has any suggestions. It seems so easy, so many posts where someone slaps together a few flavors and bam, so incredibly yummy they can’t stop vaping. I want that. I could be vaping cat urine and I wouldn’t know the difference from my less than awesome juices. Thank you in advance for any and all help
 

pulsevape

Diamond Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I’m having a hard time putting together juices that work. Even letting them steep longer, shaking daily and wondering if tomorrow will be the day I smell it and it doesn’t smell like low budget alcohol perfume. I even followed some recipes and still having issues.
I tried Hics recommendation of mixing some pg/vg along with a little nic to sample taste and see if my bases were the problem. Tastes a little sweet and not foul so that shouldn’t be it. I even ordered all the ingredients for Game Over and I’m still doing something wrong.
What else might I be missing. Big fan of custards if anyone has any suggestions. It seems so easy, so many posts where someone slaps together a few flavors and bam, so incredibly yummy they can’t stop vaping. I want that. I could be vaping cat urine and I wouldn’t know the difference from my less than awesome juices. Thank you in advance for any and all help
I don't wish to offend anyone..for a change....,but I find Game Over Custard disgusting...I mixed it up and threw two bottles of it away after having let it steep for 2 weeks....this has nothing to do with the recepie ...it is just my personal tastes....I found it artifical tasting and to cloying.....as a rule I don't like desert/baked goods kind of juice although one of HIC's cookie recepies I found wonderful....just keep trying different things, things you initially may not think are your cup of tea...there is no earthly reason why you should like what the majority of people like...I vape flavors that are not common or popular I tend to lean heavilly toward spices ...perhaps you are using to much flavorings...
 

Huckleberried

VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 5 Years
VU Patreon
I even ordered all the ingredients for Game Over and I’m still doing something wrong.
As mentioned, you don't have to like a specific mix, but what is it that makes you think you're doing something wrong? How are you mixing? Have you tried mixing up a "single" flavoring of something? Sometimes nailing down a percentage of just one flavoring is a good start. You might find that you need less, or more, of particular flavorings. That's been the case for many of us.
 

RonJS

Gold Contributor
Member For 5 Years
Hard to tell from where I'm sitting but....

Your results might be caused from not thoroughly shaking you flavors before mixing them together.

Ron
---
"But the cure to some nightmares is not to be found in known medical journals. You look for it under 'potions for bad dreams,' to be found in... the Twilight Zone."- Rod Serling
 

1western12

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
As mentioned, you don't have to like a specific mix, but what is it that makes you think you're doing something wrong? How are you mixing? Have you tried mixing up a "single" flavoring of something? Sometimes nailing down a percentage of just one flavoring is a good start. You might find that you need less, or more, of particular flavorings. That's been the case for many of us.

Start a single flavoring at what, like 10%. Never done a stand alone. I think I read somewhere that the best mixes have 4 or 5 different flavorings. Maybe I should try the banana nut bread I have. Dying for a good banana or a good banana vanilla mix but made so many bad ones I’ve given up temporarily on that.
Thanks for the reply
 

1western12

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Hard to tell from where I'm sitting but....

Your results might be caused from not thoroughly shaking you flavors before mixing them together.

Ron
---
"But the cure to some nightmares is not to be found in known medical journals. You look for it under 'potions for bad dreams,' to be found in... the Twilight Zone."- Rod Serling
You are right about that. I typically don’t shake them up first. It really makes that big a difference? Apparently so or you wouldn’t have mentioned it.
Thanks
 

Huckleberried

VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 5 Years
VU Patreon
Start a single flavoring at what, like 10%.
Totally depends on the brand, and the flavor, LOL. Vague, huh? I have a typical baseline that I follow for stuff I've not tried:

FA- 2%
TFA 3%
INW 2%
FW 5%

Unless I've read otherwise, those are my starting points per brand. Even then, some will have to go higher, some lower. Really, depends on your taste buds.
 

Hillbilly Pig

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Reddit Exile
Yeah what @RonJS said. Shake well, also some flavors need a little time to breath when you first get them. Can range from 10 minutes to a few hours. Just keep practicing, pretty soon you'll be able to look at your flavor stash and figure if they'd taste good together. Also "the best flavors have four or five flavorings" that's not true, fantastic flavors can be simple as hell. Hope you can get the hang of it dude :D

Side Note (didn't want to make a new post)
Where are you buying your flavors? Sometimes vendors don't store flavors right and they end up ruined. I know wizard labs is pretty bad with storing their flavors, 9 out of 10 flavors I bought from them was garbage, flavors I really like today. I ended up ordering from bull city and never looked back. So maybe try bull city if you aren't already. Just an FYI, don't use pre made blue raz concentrates, they taste like hot garbage.
 
Last edited:

Chased2Deth

600 flavors later....
VU Donator
Member For 4 Years
I'm not sure the shoe fits here but I had a similar problem when I started DIY. Main issue I found, myself and most new DIYers chase that "premium" taste when they take that first few pulls of a DIY mix and its not there. Firstly I recommend starting with fruit mixes, specifically strawberry, cantaloupe and honeydew type mix variations. Personally I found those 3 fruits the easiest to work with as a new mixer. Raspberry fits in that category also. Find recipes online that have these as the main profile and try them out. Instant gratification isn't something you are gonna get often, I mix 10 recipes a day I create and 9 of them either hit the trash can or I have to perform an exorcism to keep from wasting the materials :giggle:. Hang in there, it takes time. Easiest mix I recommend (I vape it often) All TFA: 5% Cantaloupe 5% Papaya 5% Mango + .5-1% Sweetner.

Edit: Not my recipe, not sure where it even came from.

2nd Edit: Watermelon, forgot watermelon.. its probably the easiest to work with. You would be hard pressed to mess up a watermelon mix. ;)
 
Last edited:

jambi

Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
ECF Refugee
I’m having a hard time putting together juices that work. Even letting them steep longer, shaking daily and wondering if tomorrow will be the day I smell it and it doesn’t smell like low budget alcohol perfume. I even followed some recipes and still having issues.
I tried Hics recommendation of mixing some pg/vg along with a little nic to sample taste and see if my bases were the problem. Tastes a little sweet and not foul so that shouldn’t be it. I even ordered all the ingredients for Game Over and I’m still doing something wrong.
What else might I be missing. Big fan of custards if anyone has any suggestions. It seems so easy, so many posts where someone slaps together a few flavors and bam, so incredibly yummy they can’t stop vaping. I want that. I could be vaping cat urine and I wouldn’t know the difference from my less than awesome juices. Thank you in advance for any and all help
Your post is more over-arching than detailed, so let's assume your mixing methods, bases, and nic calculations/quality are all on point. If you have doubts on this, post details.

Steeping...if you wait around for a mix to become good, you'll be waiting forever in some cases. It's not an unborn baby, so don't think of it as You waiting on It. Instead, You allow It a certain amount of time to mature, preferably testing along the way, because that will give you a lot of feedback on its ultimate practicality. I test at 24 hrs, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days. At 7 days, I pretty much know if it's working or if it's going to suck. I've never had a case of 7 day shit turning to 30 day gold, but I still run my Failures through the 30 day Program because it allows me further insight into what's Not Working.

I'm aware other folks consider longer steep times as necessary. That's totally cool. I have so much juice in rotation that my liquids generally sit around more like 2-3 months before I get around to vaping them. If it improves more after a month, Yay ( I haven't noticed any improvements major enough to be WOW), but if it's not satisfactory at 30 days, then it exceeds my definition of Practicality. :)

Yes, shake your flavor concentrate before using, especially if you store your flavors in the fridge. Shake the bottle every time you pick it up, it'll train you to do it without thinking. Some flavorings separate, examples FW Blood Orange, TFA Ripe Banana, FA Lemon Sicily, others.

Finished mixes, I shake once after mixing and once before vaping. I don't go crazy shaking, when it looks mixed, I stop. I used to perform daily Shaking Rituals on my steeping juice, I noticed no difference whatsoever except my arm got really tired. I also don't attempt to accelerate steeping with heat, etc. Not to say those things don't work, but they take extra time and resources I'd rather devote to keeping enough juice in rotation that I never have to worry about having nothing ready to vape on hand. Jambi's Practicalities again.

"low budget alcohol perfume"...If I'm getting pungent aromas, I'll shake and aerate the bottle. In extreme cases I'll let it breathe for a few hours, but if I'm at that point it means I'm trying to salvage a mix that's probably going down the drain anyway. I don't think extended air contact is good for flavors, it oxidizes nic and allows The Good to escape along with unwanted elements.

What's the mix/ratio that's giving you problems? There's probably an easily identifiable offender in there.

GOC is a solid custard, I'd rank it right up there with the best of them, but it's also not the type of mix that works well just dumped into something like a Baby Beast with a stock (premade) coil. It's too complex and subtle to be vaped on a coil that's had other flavors run through it. But vape it on a fresh SS Clapton build, it's wonderful. GOC isn't something I'd vape all day. It's like triple layer chocolate cake, decadent in small amounts, but way too rich and heavy to binge on. It's one of those I set aside for fresh builds.

There are better "slam vape" custards. ThirdWorldOrder's Third World Custard is a solid, straightforward custard that lacks the nuances but is more accessible than GOC. You might also try something simple and full-flavored, like a Daft Spunk clone (equal parts CAP VC1 and FW Cancer Cake, 5/5 seems to work well). I personally don't care for it, but my commercial juice chugging friends seem to love it.
 
Last edited:

1western12

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Yep..makes a huge difference. Make sure you shake up your nic. before mixing too.

And...Welcome!

Ron
---
"If I had the knack I'd sing like Cherry flakes falling"- Matsuo Basho
Thank you again Ron JS. Such a simple stupid fix for me. Im hoping for a game changer...
 

1western12

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Yeah what @RonJS said. Shake well, also some flavors need a little time to breath when you first get them. Can range from 10 minutes to a few hours. Just keep practicing, pretty soon you'll be able to look at your flavor stash and figure if they'd taste good together. Also "the best flavors have four or five flavorings" that's not true, fantastic flavors can be simple as hell. Hope you can get the hang of it dude :D

Side Note (didn't want to make a new post)
Where are you buying your flavors? Sometimes vendors don't store flavors right and they end up ruined. I know wizard labs is pretty bad with storing their flavors, 9 out of 10 flavors I bought from them was garbage, flavors I really like today. I ended up ordering from bull city and never looked back. So maybe try bull city if you aren't already. Just an FYI, don't use pre made blue raz concentrates, they taste like hot garbage.
Thank you Hillbilly Pig. Ill check out Bull City. Been using E-Cig Express
 

Hillbilly Pig

Silver Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Reddit Exile
Thank you Hillbilly Pig. Ill check out Bull City. Been using E-Cig Express

I've never used them so I can't say how good ecig express is, but I've heard they're alright. Bull city is having a big sale right now, if ya hurry you can get a deal, I don't think it's over yet.
 

1western12

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
Totally depends on the brand, and the flavor, LOL. Vague, huh? I have a typical baseline that I follow for stuff I've not tried:

FA- 2%
TFA 3%
INW 2%
FW 5%

Unless I've read otherwise, those are my starting points per brand. Even then, some will have to go higher, some lower. Really, depends on your taste buds.
Thank you Huckleberried. I wrote those down and will play as needed...
 

1western12

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I'm not sure the shoe fits here but I had a similar problem when I started DIY. Main issue I found, myself and most new DIYers chase that "premium" taste when they take that first few pulls of a DIY mix and its not there. Firstly I recommend starting with fruit mixes, specifically strawberry, cantaloupe and honeydew type mix variations. Personally I found those 3 fruits the easiest to work with as a new mixer. Raspberry fits in that category also. Find recipes online that have these as the main profile and try them out. Instant gratification isn't something you are gonna get often, I mix 10 recipes a day I create and 9 of them either hit the trash can or I have to perform an exorcism to keep from wasting the materials :giggle:. Hang in there, it takes time. Easiest mix I recommend (I vape it often) All TFA: 5% Cantaloupe 5% Papaya 5% Mango + .5-1% Sweetner.

Edit: Not my recipe, not sure where it even came from.

2nd Edit: Watermelon, forgot watermelon.. its probably the easiest to work with. You would be hard pressed to mess up a watermelon mix. ;)
Thank you ChasedtoDeth. I will start with a watermelon and see what happens. Happy to know Im not alone spending time at the wastebasket...
 

downInTn

Bronze Contributor
Member For 4 Years
To add to everyone's solid advice, you should test you nic. It may not taste bad but crappy nic can mute flavors. Make a couple of small single flavor mixes one with nic and one without. At the very least you'll learn how nic effects flavor.
 

1western12

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
I always wondered how the nic affected flavors. I will give it a go and see what happens. Thank you downinTn...
 

jojosvapes

Drippopotamus
VU Donator
Bronze Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
ECF Refugee
Reddit Exile
I know this is old but wanted to share my hard learned lesson. Have to +1 the comment of mixing single flavors and finding what you like for percents. I first bought a ton of flavors I knew I liked I mixed and mixed for about two months. Nothing really came out the way I envisioned it tasting.

Looking back its a lot like cooking once you get familiar with certain ingredients you can come up with your own take on recipes, but its cause you already know how much certain items taste and what you like. Different brands and even flavors from the same brands produce a flavor you like at different percents.

I would mix/adjust a recipe and increase or decrease a certain flavor and still not have the final product turn out the way I wanted, but again it was because I did not understand the flavors as they stood alone. Honestly it sucks and its the one part of mixing I hate I know some enjoy it but its time consuming for me and I want that final product.

One thing that helped me was to get clone recipes that I liked and mix them up-this allowed for me to have great juice without having to reinvent the wheel. I had something I enjoyed to vape on while I worked on sampling single flavors.

I also learned that some single flavors I used to buy (when I still purchased premixed juice) still had improvement. I love strawberry and the first time I vaped TFA ripe strawberry standalone I was shocked that a strawberry vape could be so good and did not have to taste like some strawberry candy.

I was getting flavors from online juice shops that sold DIY kits for the longest then learned I was way over paying. Then manufactures which seemed cheap at the time. Then wizard labs I really liked them, I still do I think the matrix of the site is much better than bull city but that lack the quality and turnaround time that BCF has. I think ecig has the best layout of all-but oddly have not purchased from them.

I use bull city now and love that everything comes in dropper bottles (or at least what I have purchased from them does). I got tired of cleaning pipettes, some times cut corners and ruined a few flavors. Then just started tossing them after every single use. I think some of those pipette companies stayed in business because of me. Now I use unicorns for my PG/VG and most of my flavors are in droppers - it saves some money but mostly a ton of time.

Sorry for the long rant hope it helps in some way-look forward to hearing about new mixes you come up with along the way. :)
 

jojosvapes

Drippopotamus
VU Donator
Bronze Contributor
Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
ECF Refugee
Reddit Exile
Been using E-Cig Express
1western12 I finally decided to put in a small order for a few flavors from E-Cig Express, also put the order in at the same time of another order from BCF will be interesting to see who gets the product to me the fastest. Also wondering how ECE packages flavors up and ships. :)
 

VU Sponsors

Top