Vaping has become insanely popular over the last few years, and for a good reason. Vaping offers a discreet way to smoke your favorite e-liquid and enjoy it anywhere you want. You no longer need to go outside or waste money on cigarettes. With a vaping device, you can save money while enjoying your preferred juice flavor at home.
If you’re just getting started with vaping, then this guide is for you! Read on to learn everything you need to know about making your vape juice at home, from the cost of buying e-juice and mixing ingredients to equipment and storage tips.
How to Make Vape Juice at Home
You can buy premium quality THC vape juice online or prepare it yourself in two fundamental techniques:
- Long Steeping/Extraction
Also known as extraction, long-term steeping is a simple way to prepare vape juice with THC at home. However, it is also the most time-consuming, requiring around three months to finish.
This approach is nearly foolproof since there are only two critical steps: decarboxylating your strain and combining it with your PG and VG solution.
Here’s what you’ll need to try out this technique:
- Your preferred strain at a dosage that suits your needs
- Combination of food-grade Propylene Glycol (PG) and Vegetable Glycerin (VG)
- Baking sheet or oven-safe dish
- Aluminum foil
- Aluminum foil Oven
- Glass jar with an airtight lid
- Rice press
- Cheesecloth
- Stirring Instrument
- Syringe
- Container for storing the finished product
First, you must grind your buds, but be careful not to overdo it. The buds should be coarse yet uniform. You want bigger particles, not tiny ones, so you can filter them well once the process ends.
Spread your roughly ground buds on the baking sheet or oven-safe dish, cover them with aluminum foil, and decarboxylate them to activate the THC in the strain.
While those herbs are being heated, you can work on the PG/VG solution. Here, you can either choose a pre-mixed option or purchase them separately.
Remember these principles while formulating a solution:
- PG is responsible for taste, whereas
- VG makes your vape juice viscous and produces thick clouds when vaped.
This being the case, it’s essential to strike a balance between the two ingredients. A blend of 60% VG and 40% PG can provide a satisfying flavor and a satisfyingly thick vapor. If you want to hide the smell of your vape after mixing the ingredients, this is where you should do it.
Once decarboxylation is complete, allow the buds to cool and place them in an airtight container. Then, you can add the VG/PG mixture until the buds are entirely coated with juice.
Stir the solution and keep it for three months in a cold, dark location. It must be stirred every two weeks to maintain uniform dispersion throughout the process. Additionally, you can add an additional VG/PG solution.
After three months, remove the mixture from storage and give it a last stir. Then, place the rice press over a second glass jar and line it with many layers of cheesecloth. Consequently, put the ingredients in a rice press lined with cheesecloth and squeeze to extract the juice. The cheesecloth acts as a filter, preventing any of the herb’s particles from ending up in your juice.
This THC vape juice is now ready for use. Use a syringe to apply the juice to your electronic cigarette or vaporizer.
- Fast-track Infusion
This technique is not radically different from the three-month or long-term infusion procedure. In addition to the tools indicated above, you will need the following:
- A double boiler
- Stove
- Thermometer
- Water
Like the first stage, crush and decarboxylate the buds to get started. Get your PG/VG solution ready, then add any necessary masking flavors.
Then, allow the buds to cool and pour the solution into the jar until the buds are completely submerged. Add about a half-inch of water to the larger reservoir of your double boiler. Next, fill the water into the smaller part of the double boiler.
Consequently, place the double boiler on the stove and heat it until it reaches 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Add the jar with the combination of buds to the double boiler and heat it to 180 ℉. The THC in the PG/VG solution will be infused if the temperature is held at the recommended range.
Once the desired temperature is reached, maintain it for at least an hour. If you want a more potent effect, you can increase the time. In this stage, you should increase the proportion of PG/VG in your mixture, but be careful not to dilute the e-juice too much.
If the mixture has reached the desired consistency, remove it from the double boiler and allow it to cool. Once the mixture has cooled, set up the rice press and cheesecloth as specified in the long-term technique. Consequently, pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined container. You can also add another layer of cheesecloth to help push the solution out.
The filtered mixture is your THC vape juice.
The Bottom Line
These procedures are intended to act as a guide as you try to create THC-infused vape juice. Therefore, you can tailor the above-described processes for creating THC vape juice to your tastes.
You probably won’t succeed on your first try, but with little practice, you’ll be able to achieve the desired consistency. So, use this page as a reference while you try different combinations of buds and see how they contribute to your vape juice.
