Hello all, most of you will know me from UKVapers.org, from the time that I was doing many Threads.

My story goes something like this, I had my first cigarette aged 12 when my mother and father were sleeping in their bed, I snuck in quietly crawling along the floor. I opened my mother's bedside cabinet and took a SUPERKINGS out, you know the long and black version.

Once I was out of the room I proceeded to go downstairs, quietly, without waking anyone. Once I was in the front room, I noticed that there were no Lighters around, So had to improvise by using the gas-lit fireplace. Once lit, I held the cigarette between the ceramic claves until lit.

Now my thinking was that I would get this done without a hassle, but when I first inhaled I noticed a burning sensation in my lungs. And I coughed, Now do not get me wrong but I wish I never had done that, and then took small drags until it was done.

Whilst smoking that first initial cigarette, I noticed that it was taking a long time to smoke it. But not like it is today.

Then I went a few months without having one until I noticed a packet on the front porch of my neighbour's deck chair. So I took them.

I smoked them either during the night or if I fancied one in the comfort of my bedroom. As my dad was a passive smoker and it would have been masked.

There were about 11 in the packet and lasted me about 2 months.

Then we moved. From domestic violence between two neighbours.

One day I bought my first packet at the age of 15 and lasted about a week.

I was smoking in my room when I noticed mother coming up the stairs so I hid my fag, when still lit under the bed.

Mother ousted me then and told me not to hide it and to quit. I told my dad about it and he too told me to quit.

But I could not since I was hooked.

So on occasion mother would buy me a packet.

Then my parents split up, with my dad moving to Spain for some reason, about getting the land that he had as a kid and wanted it back or getting paid.

So I went to college and was a secret smoker.

When my dad did eventually arrive back in the UK, we were unknown to him.

My mother did not want him back but persisted to be a friend.

Then all errands broke.

My father then found out that he had a cancerous tongue and they took a quarter away. and had to go through the neck for something.This was due to smoking for so long.

This did not alter me from smoking and him to quit, cold turkey.

Then my dad died in 2005 and still I continued to smoke.





Since then I have either tried to quit or continued to smoke.

My First Quit Attempt.

I was seeing my doctor for something and was prescribed my patches, and I used them, I lasted about 2 days before I took up smoking again, as my will-power was not that good.

Then I found ecigs on Youtube and watched about a day's worth of reviews and testimonials.

Then bought my first ecig, which was an Innokin Coolfire IV and iSub G tank.

Then came the juice, and did not know that the tank that I had bought was a Direct to lung tank and purchased 18mg of juice.

Once they both arrived, I filled up that tank and tried to take a pull, It ripped my throat and could no longer vape.

Until somebody on ECF motioned me to buy the Aspire Nautilus Mini and use that.

I did and it worked for the most part apart from taking it back to the throat. I would cough profusely.

Then I got into rebuildable. And purchased a tester RDA, not by name but just the style of tank.

I would try out my coil building and wicking on that thing a few times before I purchase a UUD Bellus V1 tank. Buy gum that tank is either hit or miss sometimes.

And purchased more.

I eventually got my nephew into vaping, but he still smokes but not all that much.

Then on 5th October 2016, I started my journey to being quit for good, although I thought. And lasted until 14th November 2016,

SInce then I have had a few days to a week without smoking.


But I still smoke now.

So just hope that someday I will quit smoking.

For those of you who need information or need to request something we have just added the category or Forums or the Following.

Could I Have Information On

And

Formal Requests.

These will be the basis of finding information from other users and if wanted to put some up yourself in other forums.



~This will be updated sometime soon~

If you believe something must be done about something or have some form of hysteria about something social.

Then you must not post this in standard forums, we have a designated forum for that. Although you may be able to see KARMA POLICE in the forums categories, you will not see any thread within it until you sign up to the Karma Police's group in your subscription inside your User CP.

You must keep this light straight to the point at hand.

You must not try and make Your beliefs theirs.



   




This will be updated as and when fits.

For this game all you need to do is to change one word and keep everything in order.

This mean the following.

Money Talks can then be Stolen Money or Somebody Talks. But it must correlate with the word you left before adding the new word.


I will start.


Chosen Thought

Mixing your own e-liquid flavours can be a fun, cost-effective and rewarding experience and isn’t nearly as complicated as you might think. With some unflavored nicotine, your favourite flavours and a few simple tools, you can be on your way to becoming a “mix-master” in no time.
The General Idea

All of the juices that are used in an electronic cigarette consist of at least three main ingredients. Like any recipe, these three ingredients can be adjusted to suit your tastes.
• nicotine
• propylene glycol (PG) and/or vegetable glycerin (VG)
• flavouring

Nicotine is the obvious ingredient, and you will want to make sure you mix your juice to the nicotine level that’s right for you. The level of nicotine is expressed in milligrams per millilitre or mg for short. Most vapers will stick to a level of nicotine somewhere between 3mg and 24mg. Unflavored nicotine for mixing usually comes in a higher strength so that it can be diluted to suit individual tastes. Undiluted nicotine can be extremely poisonous and is absorbed through the skin, so great care should be taken when using it. Wear protective clothing and gloves and obviously keep them out of the reach of children and pets.

Propylene Glycol (PG) or Vegetable Glycerin (VG) are used to dilute the concentrated nicotine liquid to the desired strength. PG makes the vapour and is partly responsible for the cigarette-like “hit” that e-cigarette vapour gives the user. Vegetable Glycerin (VG) is smoother and gives less of a throat hit, but creates more vapour. It is often too thick to be used by itself, however. Many vapers prefer a mix of 80% PG to 20% VG while others prefer a 50/50 mix. Most flavourings are PG based and a high VG liquid can be made without the need to add more PG. It’s all a matter of taste.

Flavouring is where a lot of trial and error comes in. While the other ingredients are mixed to exact measurements, the amount of flavour that a mixture needs varies widely depending on the strength of the flavour, the type of equipment being used and of course, personal taste. In general, starting with about 5% flavour and working your way up is a good idea. Even at 5%, though, some flavours will be overpowering and will be best when mixed with other lighter flavours. Flavourings are added by the drop to avoid contaminating measuring equipment. Generally, 20-30 drops are in an ml, However, the use of a measuring device ie a syringe is recommended as different bottles will provide a different sized drop and could lead to an inconsistent mix when replicated.

The Ingredients and Tools
There really is very little required to get started in mixing your own juice. Here are the basics that you will need:
Nicotine
Propylene Glycol (PG)
Vegetable Glycerin
Flavouring
Measuring cup or graduated cylinder
Small funnel
Pipette or eye dropper
Empty bottles
Latex gloves
Index cards
An e-liquid calculator
E-Liquid Calculators

Mixing is where things get a little complicated. Combining the right amount of just three or four ingredients doesn’t sound too difficult, but figuring out just how much of the concentrated nicotine will be needed can be a challenge. Luckily, there are a number of great people who have taken the guesswork (not to mention the math!) out of it for us. A simple e-liquid calculator is available online and a more elaborate Excel version can be downloaded.

Before we go any further, here are some examples to try out:
Scubabatdan’s excel e-liquid calculator.
eJuice Me Up – a free downloadable program
E-Liquid Recipe Mixing Calculator – an online calculator with flavouring options and costs
eliquidcalculator.com – an online calculator with a number of options
E-Juice – and one for your iPhone

Mixing
The calculators will help you to determine just how much of each ingredient is needed to deliver the expected result at the right nicotine level. Let’s start with an example using unflavored concentrated nicotine in PG at 36mg and have as our goal an 18mg solution with an 80/20 PG/VG mixture and 10% flavour. We’ll make 10ml.
A calculator will show that we need the following amounts of ingredients:
• 5ml 36mg Unflavored nicotine
• 2ml PG
• 2ml VG
• 1ml Flavoring (20-30 drops)

Notice that half of the mixture is 36mg of nicotine. That’s because we want to reduce the concentration by half to equal an 18mg strength. We wanted 20% VG in the mixture, so 2ml out of the 10ml will be VG. 1ml of one or more flavours will be added to equal 10% and 2ml of PG will make up the rest of our 10ml.
Now is a great time to write down exactly what you have decided to mix. I like to use numbered index cards for each recipe and label the bottle with the corresponding number. The important thing is to know what is in each bottle so that you can repeat the mix exactly. Nothing is worse than discovering that you really like a flavour made a week ago and having no idea of what you put in it.

Use pipettes, a graduated cylinder or a measuring cup to measure out the ingredients as exactly as possible so that your nicotine strength stays consistent. The use of latex gloves is recommended when handling any nicotine solution, especially at higher concentrations. Flavourings will often be added by the drop rather than measuring because it takes so little of each flavour.

Now it’s time to vigorously shake the bottle and enjoy vaping your new creation! Some flavours will take a little time to fully mix and develop, so don't toss a flavour right away. Try going back to it after a week or so to see if it is any more enjoyable. This is where that notecard becomes especially important!

Darkstar has given a very good guide to storing Nic

With the E.U. TPD regulations just around the corner, one way to minimise their effects on your vaping is to stock up with some 7.2% Nicotine Base so you can continue to make your own e-liquid the way you like it. Piratesvape is a specialist in providing Nicotine Base packaged specifically to make storing nicotine a matter of buying it, unpacking it and putting it in the freezer. BUT you say - why freeze it? how do I freeze it? how long will it last? Read on......

Nicotine WILL NOT degrade if it is 100% pure and nitrogen sealed in dark glass bottles and kept at a low temperature. That's how professional labs keep it so it’s as close as a fact as you will get when it comes to nicotine storage! Obviously, you aren’t going to be able to achieve all those criteria at home (you won't have 100% pure nicotine being the main one) BUT the majority of us could accomplish two of those important criteria.

Once you add other chemicals such as PG or VG into the bottle and can't remove all the oxygen then degradation occurs. At what rate and the effect is open to question as no one has actually kept PG or VG nicotine base in a freezer for more than about 5 years so far but it will degrade to some degree even if you do keep it in your freezer. The issue really is with the oxygen either from air trapped in the bottle or through energy put into the chemical system via light (UV) breaking down the dilutant (PG or VG), which unfortunately organic compounds have oxygen in their make-up. It's fine normally because the oxygen in the dilutant is attached to hydrogen, making a diol (O-H) and will not compete for the nicotine but if you add energy into the system the one single covalent bond between the oxygen and the hydrogen can be broken and you have the issue of the spare oxygen running around causing problems. This is the reason to keep the nic base in amber glass bottles and is the same reason that nicotine is kept nitrogen sealed in labs - so there are no spare oxygen atoms. Keeping the nicotine base at low (freezer) temperatures also slow down the movement of the molecules, which obviously slows down any chemical reactions.

Oxygen is nicotine’s main enemy, it converts it to nicotine oxide in an oxidation reaction and nicotine oxide being a charged molecule has free electrons, this is why the colour change occurs (free electron movement between the atomic energy levels). These free electrons can also target other substances in e-liquid such as flavourings and changes their chemical structure, which coincidentally is the reason why e-liquid has a shelf life.

Storage Basics

Always buy the highest % nicotine base you can buy (currently 7.2% legally in the UK) as the less PG/VG you have in the bottle the better and always buy the best quality, the freshest base you can find to start off with.

What to store it in?

Nicotine bases should be stored in dark amber glass bottles to stop UV degradation and potential chemical leaching caused by plastic bottles.

How to store it?

Depending on your usage if you bought 1 litre+ bottle then you should decant it into smaller quantity bottles containing the amount you would probably use in 3 or 4 months so that you aren't exposing the majority of the nicotine base to more oxygen every time you want to use it. Once you open a bottle it’s best to store it in a fridge if possible rather than just a shelf at room temperature and ALWAYS out of sunlight. It is worth noting that PG nicotine base remains fairly free-flowing even straight out of the freezer but VG base turns into a gel and will need several hours at room temperature to be useable.

Where in the freezer to store it?

Purely from a safety point of view, it is best to store it at the bottom of the freezer so that if it does leak it doesn't contaminate anything else in the freezer. I know that some people have a separate freezer for their nicotine base but plenty just stick it in with the rest of the families shopping! Make sure that the bottle is clearly labelled, not for you but for the other people using the freezer. If you have young children it would be very wise, if not essential, to buy a small freezer to keep in the garage or similar just for your nicotine stocks.

What's better, PG or VG as the Dilutant?

A personal preference really but with regards to degradation then VG has an extra O-H functional group (3 compared to 2 in PG) so it is possible that if degradation did take place it would be quicker in the VG. However VG has a better shelf life than PG, 2 years compared to 1 year generally AND VG’s viscosity works in its favour for once as the more viscous a liquid the less the molecules move about …… so it’s probably 6 of one half a dozen of the other really as to which is best!

How long will it last?

It would be expected to possibly see and experience noticeable degradation after 5 -10 years of storage either in taste or colour. Strength drop would need chemical analysis once someone has stored it for that long to determine but it is believed by many that it won't be anywhere near half.

What not to do

Leave the bottles alone! The less they are disturbed the better. DO NOT open the bottles if you don't need to and never shake them as this introduces oxygen to more of the nicotine base rather than just the surface.

Vegetable Glycerin (VG):

VG is a colourless (or VERY light tan-opaque), odourless, very viscous liquid, the other common solvent used in eliquid (along with PG). When stored properly, in a cool (<40C), dry environment, VG will remain free from oxidation or degradation for one year. Most highly regard VG for its smoothness and large vapour production, and it is excellent in these two areas. However, VG lacks the robust flavour solubility that PG possesses, and has a quicker expiration date.

Vegetable glycerin is made directly from vegetable oil — often coconut or palm oil — by heating it to a high temperature under pressure with water. The glycerin backbone splits off from the fatty acids and is absorbed by the water, from which it is then isolated and distilled to obtain the pure product.

Glycerol forms the “backbone” of many lipids, or oils and fats, and there are various processes that can be used to extract it from these substances. Most glycerin is made as a by-product of the manufacture of soap. In this process, either animal fat or vegetable oil can be used. It is heated with a strong alkali, usually caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), which produces soap and a solution of glycerin in water. This solution is then purified by distillation. So when you are reading negative properties of vaping it's half-ass research that finds this process and then makes assumptions.

Vegetable Glycerin is widely used in the food industry for two main reasons: it has a sweet taste but has fewer calories than sugar, and it is hygroscopic, that is, it absorbs moisture from the air. It is therefore used both to sweeten foods and to keep them moist. The compound is metabolized more slowly than sucrose — the type of sugar most commonly found in candy and in processed foods — and therefore does not have such a dramatic effect on blood sugar levels. It also does not contribute to bacterial tooth decay. Foods marketed as being low in carbohydrates are often sweetened with glycerin.

There are also medical uses for vegetable glycerin. It is a common ingredient in cough mixtures, due to its soothing properties. Other applications are as a topical remedy for a number of skin problems, including psoriasis, rashes, burns, bedsores and cuts; as a laxative, in the form of suppositories; and to treat gum disease, as it inactivates the associated bacterial colonies.
Glycerin, also known as glycerol, is an organic compound of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with the chemical formula C3H8O3. It can be made from animal fat or, in the case of vegetable glycerin, vegetable oil. The source of the raw material does not affect the chemistry of the final product, but, since glycerin is widely used in foods and medications, this distinction is important for vegetarians. It is also used as a sweetener and as an ingredient in a number of cosmetic products.

The compound consists of a chain of three carbon atoms, to which are attached hydrogen atoms on one side and hydroxyl (OH) groups on the other. The three OH groups form hydrogen bonds between molecules, giving the compound a syrup-like viscosity and allowing it to dissolve easily in water. Chemically speaking, glycerin is an alcohol, but for food purposes, it is classed — in the USA — as a carbohydrate by the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), because it provides calories and is not a fat or a protein.

Propylene Glycol (PG):

Propylene glycol (PG) is a mostly inert organic compound. It is clear, colourless and highly miscible with water. It is used in electronic cigarettes as a carrier base to carry the nicotine and food flavours into vapour form with the application of heat from the atomizer coil. Propylene glycol carries flavour better than vegetable glycerine but produces less vapour.

Propylene glycol is, in effect alcohol, but not in the sense of “get me tipsy” alcohol. It contains two alcohol groups which enable it to be so water-soluble. The molecule contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with the chemical formula C3H8O2.

Propylene glycol is both odourless and tasteless and has been approved by the FDA as a solubilizing agent for different types of medications. It is also used in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, and is used to generate theatre fog! Its wide use means much is known about the safety of this material.

For those of you who would like to Trade your goods, it is key to note that the following rules are set in stone. This is for practicality and to notify the buyer if the goods are up to what the seller has stated.

1. The seller has the right to modify the main first post.

2. The seller must provide a price for trade i.e Selling only.

3. The seller must provide photo evidence of any scratches, dents, and Screen turned on.

4. The seller must use the prefixes to notify the state of purchase the item is in. I.e

Sell

Swap

Wanted

And an ending prefix of the following after a sale has been completed:

On Hold

Completed.

5. You must have the minimum post amount before any member may post in this Forum.

6. You will be notified of the User Ranks system to state if you can trade or not, located below username and reputation.

7. The Trader, must state where they are in the world. As postage might be too high to have a single item sent.

8. All correspondence must be stated whether you Direct Messaged The Seller, I.e Made a post stating you private message seller.



These are some of the Trading Forum Rules, these can be updated at any time.

As with many forums, they have rules that must be obeyed. And this forum is no exception.


For Languages

The main language that this board uses is English, and this is the default. If you say something in another language, you must state what has been said. But this must be to the minimum of one sentence. If you carry on speaking in another language then you may be banned. As this will be seen as spam.


For Behaviours


Everyone is seen as a friendly entity and you should also be friendly, the meaning of friendly has many shades of conversation. And one that must not do either of the following.

• You must not name-call.
  
• You must refrain from using curse words.
  
• You must accept somebody's creed, colour, sexual orientation, background, and Equal Opportunity.