Is DIY E-Liquid Right for You? Pros and Cons
Before diving in, it's worth considering if DIY mixing aligns with your interests and expectations.
Pros:
- Creative Control: Design unique flavour combinations tailored perfectly to your taste.
- Nicotine Precision: Adjust nicotine levels exactly as you like, including gradual reduction.
- Ratio Customisation: Fine-tune the PG/VG ratio for your ideal throat hit and vapour production.
- Potential Cost Savings: Once you have the initial equipment, mixing your own can be significantly cheaper than buying pre-made liquids in the long run.
Cons:
- Initial Investment: You'll need to purchase ingredients and basic equipment upfront.
- Requires Precision & Patience: Accurate measurements are crucial for safety and consistency. Good results often require experimentation and learning.
- Safety Considerations: Handling ingredients, particularly nicotine shots, requires care to avoid spills or skin contact.
- Steeping Time: Most DIY mixes need time to steep (mature) before the flavour fully develops, requiring patience.
- Quality Curve: Your first few attempts might not taste as polished as commercial e-liquids.
Essential Ingredients Explained
Traditional DIY e-liquid is made from four basic components. Explore our full range of DIY E-liquid Mixing Products for everything you need.
- Propylene Glycol (PG): A thin, flavourless liquid that acts as the primary carrier for flavour concentrates and provides the 'throat hit'.
- Vegetable Glycerin (VG): A thick, slightly sweet liquid responsible for producing vapour and contributing to smoothness. (PG and VG bases can often be purchased pre-mixed in various ratios).
- Flavour Concentrates: These are highly concentrated flavourings specifically designed for inhalation and used in small percentages (typically 5-20% of the total mix). Crucially, do not use food flavourings, essences, or oils not intended for vaping. Vapestore offers a range of dedicated E-liquid Concentrates, featuring renowned brands like Vampire Vape known for their quality and variety.
- Nicotine Shots: (Optional) In the UK, nicotine for DIY use is sold in TPD-compliant 10ml bottles, typically at 18mg or 20mg strength, known as Nicotine Shots. These are added to your mix to achieve your desired final nicotine level. Never handle or use higher, non-compliant nicotine concentrations.
Necessary Equipment for Safe Mixing
You don't need a full laboratory, but some basic equipment is essential for accuracy and safety:
- Empty E-liquid Bottles: Clean bottles, usually plastic (PET or HDPE), in various sizes (e.g., 10ml for testing, 60ml, 120ml for batches). Child-resistant caps are recommended.
- Syringes or Measuring Pipettes: For accurately measuring liquids, especially flavour concentrates and nicotine. Use separate syringes for nicotine to avoid cross-contamination.
- Digital Scales: (Optional but highly recommended) For mixing by weight, which is often more accurate and cleaner than using syringes. You'll need scales accurate to 0.01g.
- Latex or Nitrile Gloves: Essential whenever handling nicotine shots to prevent skin absorption.
- Clean Workspace & Paper Towels: For inevitable drips and maintaining hygiene.
Safety First! Handling Ingredients Responsibly
This is the most critical aspect of DIY mixing. Treat all ingredients with respect, especially nicotine.
- Nicotine Handling: Always wear gloves when handling nicotine shots. Nicotine can be absorbed through the skin. Work in a well-ventilated area. If you spill any on your skin, wash it off immediately with soap and water. Clean up spills promptly.
- Keep Out of Reach: Store all DIY ingredients, especially nicotine shots and concentrates, well out of reach of children and pets, preferably in a locked cupboard.
- Cleanliness: Ensure your bottles, syringes, and workspace are clean to avoid contamination that could affect flavour or safety.
- Storage: Store ingredients in cool, dark places. Nicotine, in particular, degrades when exposed to light, heat, or air. Label everything clearly.
The Mixing Process: Using a Calculator
While you can calculate ratios manually, it's complex and increases the risk of errors, especially with nicotine. Using a reputable online DIY e-liquid calculator (search for "DIY e-liquid calculator") is strongly recommended.
Basic Steps (Using a Volume-Based Calculator):
- Define Your Recipe: Decide on your target final volume (e.g., 60ml), desired PG/VG ratio (e.g., 30/70), nicotine strength (e.g., 3mg), and flavour percentages (e.g., Flavour A at 10%, Flavour B at 5%).
- Input into Calculator: Enter these values into the online calculator, along with the strength of your nicotine shot (e.g., 18mg) and whether your flavour concentrates are PG or VG based (most are PG).
- Get Measurements: The calculator will tell you exactly how many millilitres (ml) of PG, VG, each flavour concentrate, and nicotine shot to add.
- Measure Accurately: Using your syringes, carefully measure out each ingredient according to the calculator's results. Add them one by one to your empty bottle. Use a dedicated syringe for nicotine.
- Seal and Shake: Once all ingredients are added, seal the bottle tightly and shake it vigorously for a couple of minutes to ensure everything is thoroughly combined.
(Mixing by weight using digital scales follows a similar process but uses grams instead of millilitres, which many find more precise.)
An Easier Route: Exploring Longfills
For those intrigued by DIY but perhaps intimidated by the measuring and multiple ingredients, Longfills offer a significantly simpler approach. A longfill bottle typically contains just the flavour concentrate (e.g., 20ml in a 60ml bottle), leaving the correct amount of space for you to add your preferred base mix (pre-mixed PG/VG, often sold in dedicated mixer kits, such as those from Nixer) and nicotine shots.
This removes the need to calculate and measure individual flavour percentages, streamlining the process considerably while still allowing you to control your final nicotine strength and PG/VG ratio. Brands like Vampire Vape or Riot Squad offer popular flavours in this user-friendly format. It's an excellent stepping stone into the world of custom e-liquid creation.
Labelling and Steeping Your Creation
Whether using traditional DIY methods or longfills, two final steps are crucial:
- Labelling: Immediately label your freshly mixed bottle clearly. Include:
- Flavour Name / Recipe Name
- PG/VG Ratio
- Nicotine Strength (mg/ml)
- Date Created This prevents confusion and helps you track your mixes.
Steeping
Most freshly mixed DIY e-liquids need time for the flavours to blend, mature, and fully develop – this is called steeping. Simple fruit flavours might taste good almost immediately or after a few days. More complex blends, especially desserts, creams, and tobaccos, often need weeks (or even longer) to reach their peak. Store your labelled bottles in a cool, dark place, giving them a brief shake every few days. Patience during steeping is key to achieving the best taste.
