Mix liquid yourself - how does it work?

Ready-to-use liquids for e-cigarettes are available in specialist shops in a wide variety of flavors and different nicotine strengths. In addition, there are also so-called semi-finished products, and the individual components of a liquid can also be purchased as separate items. If you want to mix liquid yourself, with a little practice you will end up with a very individual product that is precisely tailored to you and will penetrate even deeper into the world of vaping. Here you can find out how it all works and what needs to be considered!

Mix the liquid yourself: the basic components

To begin with, let’s take a close look at the components that make up liquids for e-cigarettes:

• Unlike propylene glycol, VG is quite viscous and tastes slightly sweet, but not sugary. When vaping, it is mainly responsible for the vapor development
• Unlike propylene glycol, VG is quite viscous and tastes slightly sweet, but not sugary. When vaping, it is mainly responsible for the vapor development.
• Flavors provide the taste of the liquid. They are available in a wide variety of variations, starting with classic tobacco aromas, through fruity notes to so-called strong menthol à la American cheesecake or blue raspberry.

These three basic substances are contained in almost every liquid. Other additives can - depending on requirements - be included in ready-to-use liquids or added to your own liquids:

Nicotine

For adult smokers, vaping is scientifically proven to be the significantly less harmful alternative to classic tobacco cigarettes. In addition to nicotine-free variants, liquids for e-cigarettes are available with 3, 6, more rarely 9, 12 or 18 mg nicotine per milliliter. If you want to mix liquid yourself, you can individually determine the nicotine strength within the legally permissible framework. Nicotine shots with 18 or 20 mg/ml are available for this.

ℹ️ More information to find out the right nicotine strength for you!

Demineralized or distilled water is then added to liquids when a certain thinness is to be achieved, but at the same time the throat hit (a slight scratching in the throat) caused by the PG should not be overemphasized.

If you want to mix the liquid yourself, there are a number of additives available in addition to the pure aromas that also influence the taste. Cooling agents such as Koolada WS-23 give the liquid coolness or freshness, sweeteners such as ethyl maltol sweeten the liquid, acetyl pyrazine gives a nutty note etc. Additives can make a liquid more woody or sour, add a vanilla note - the possibilities are endless!

Mix technical aids with the liquid yourself

In order to be able to mix liquid yourself, a few technical aids are required in addition to the basic materials mentioned above. However, these are simple devices that are available in specialist shops for little money:

Empty bottles:

So that the liquid can later be filled into the tank of the evaporator of the e-cigarette without any problems, it is advisable to mix it in suitable empty bottles from the outset. The products from the manufacturer Chubby Gorilla have made a name for themselves among vapers, but good alternatives are also available from other producers. Empty bottles are offered in various sizes between 10 and 200 ml.

Measuring cup:

Small measuring cups (50, 100 or 250 ml) with a scale in the milliliter range are suitable for measuring the individual components precisely.

Bottle opener:

Yes indeed! In order to be able to remove the spout to fill in the liquid, special bottle openers are available, which make sense as an optional accessory for mixing the liquid yourself!

Syringes/Cannulas:

Since the Tobacco Products Directive 2 (TPD2) came into force, liquids containing nicotine may only be sold in the European Union with a maximum nicotine content of 20 mg/ml. Before this rule existed, liquids with a significantly higher nicotine content were also available. Since these must not come into contact with the skin undiluted, they were only added to a self-mixed liquid with the appropriate syringes. This procedure is rarely used today, but syringes and cannulas can still be mentioned in older tutorials.

In addition, paper towels, sanitary towels, funnels and, if necessary, rubber gloves are of course useful tools that you should always have ready!

Mix the liquid yourself with the right accessories

It's all about the relationship!

Now that we know the necessary and optional basic ingredients of a liquid and have familiarized ourselves with the technical aids, it is still relevant to deal with the mixing ratios of the individual components:

PG/VG mixing ratio:

Bases for e-cigarettes, a mixture of PG and VG, are usually available in the mixing ratios 50VG/50PG, 70VG/30PG or 80VG/20PG. However, pure propylene glycol and pure vegetable glycerin are also available, so that the mixing ratio can be determined individually. With the PG/VG mixing ratio, the pulling technique is particularly decisive. When vaping from mouth to lungs, the VG percentage should not be higher than 50%, for subohm vaping it can be chosen significantly higher.

ℹ️ Further information on the PG/VG mixing ratio

The proportion of aroma:

Flavors for e-cigarettes are usually available in 10 or 30 ml containers for mixing the liquid yourself. The recommended proportion of aroma in the liquid is usually specified by the manufacturer on the label. Percentages between 7% and 13% are common. A good guideline is about 10%, i.e. 10 ml of aroma for a total of 100 ml of liquid to be mixed. Of course, this can be varied according to personal preferences. However, you should feel your way forward in small steps so that the liquid does not become too taste-intensive in the end!

Nicotine content:

To determine the nicotine content when mixing the liquid yourself, divide the nicotine content of a nicotine shot (e.g. 20 mg/ml) by the amount of liquid you want to get (e.g. 100 ml) and multiply the corresponding value by 10 when using a nicotine shot, at 20 when using two nicotine shots etc.

20 : 100 = 0.2 || 0.2 x 10 = 2

If we mix a total of 100 milliliters of liquid and use a nicotine shot with 20 mg nicotine per milliliter, our liquid will end up with a nicotine content of 2 mg/ml

For the commercially available nicotine shots with 20 or 18 mg/ml, the following nicotine concentrations result when using a shot:

Amount of liquid to be mixed in ml   20 -   30   40   50    60    70    80    90   100
Nicotine content in mg/ml (20 shot) 10  -  6.7   5     4    3.4   2.9   2.5    2.3    2
Nicotine content in mg/ml (18 shot)  9   -  6    4.5   3.6   3     2.8   2.3     2    1.8

If several nicotine shots are used and a specific PG/VG mixing ratio is aimed at, it should be noted that the shots themselves are available in different PG/VG mixing ratios!

Additives:

Additives can be imagined as a spice for the liquid. The same applies to salting soup: caution is the mother of the china box. If you want to give 100 ml of self-mixed liquid additional coolness, e.g. with pure menthol, a few drops are enough! Otherwise, additives such as aromas should be considered. The manufacturers usually also give dosage recommendations. Here, too, whatever you like is basically allowed, but you should experiment with a sense of proportion!
Instructions for mixing the liquid yourself

Now we are clear about the ingredients of our liquid, have all the ingredients and equipment ready and know the right mixing ratios! Mixing the actual liquid yourself is now comparatively unspectacular: the individual raw materials are measured with the measuring cup and filled into an empty bottle. There is no particular order to be observed. The empty bottle is then closed tightly again, screwed on and shaken properly once. A simple liquid for vaping in the restrictive DL range could look like this:

10 ml flavor + 10 ml nicotine shot with 20 mg/ml + 24 ml PG + 56 ml VG =

100 ml liquid with 70VG / 30 PG and 0.2 mg nicotine per milliliter

Unfortunately, we can't vape at this point - at least not our self-mixed liquid! The aromas need a certain maturation time so that they can fully develop their taste. Just like the dosage recommendation, the maturing time is also indicated on the leaflet or packaging label of the aroma. In most cases it is between 2 and 7 days. Rule of thumb here: If you try the liquid after three days of maturing time - simply leave it in a normal temperature place that is as protected from light as possible - you won't do anything wrong. You will automatically notice whether the liquid tastes even better a few days later!

Liquid mix light with long and short fills

In addition to the option of using individual components when mixing the liquid yourself, there is also the option of working with semi-finished products with long fills or short fills or shake and vapes. You can find out more about the different categories of liquids here in the InnoCigs blog. For the sake of completeness, however, the following should be mentioned at this point:

Long fills:

Longfills are pure flavors that are sold in bottles with an appropriate fill volume. For example, 15 ml aroma can be delivered in a 60 ml bottle. This is then, as described above, filled with PG/VG base and, if necessary, nicotine shot(s). This saves you from measuring, as the amount of aroma is already optimized for the size of the bottle. The aromas here are also partially more complex than, for example, a pure strawberry or menthol aroma. Just like our self-mixed liquid, long fills require a certain maturation time specified by the manufacturer.

Mix liquid yourself with semi-finished productsShortfills (Shake'n'Vapes):

Shortfills are aromas that have already matured in base. For example, 50 ml Shake'nVape can be purchased in a 60 ml bottle. This is then filled up with a nicotine shot or base, shaken briefly, and you can start vaping. The advantage: Shortfills do not have to mature. However, the PG/VG ratio can hardly be influenced here.

Mixing liquids yourself is not that difficult, is it? We look forward to your comments - let us know how you go about it and what your favorite mixes are!