Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Facts on E-Juice Suppliers


By Dillon Haraburd, RTS Vapes Director of Operations


           Strolling through a convenience store in 2015, the average person is almost guaranteed to witness at least a handful of individuals blowing massive clouds of vapor from electronic cigarette devices. This is a common scene today, but compared to a few years ago this is a drastic adjustment. As the e-cigarette and the e-cigarette community have evolved and prospered over the past few years, new products, flavors, e-juices and companies have come barging into the market head first. This massive influx in products and new companies has allowed electronic cigarette users of all experience levels the ability to become overwhelmed exploring countless websites, catalogs, trade shows and other forms of advertising in the pursuit of new mods, e-juices, and accessories. Just trying to keep up with the latest trends, devices, and e-juices can become a monumental task for any consumer, but one rarely stops to contemplate the origin of these new products.
The electronic cigarette industry, ECI for short, has ballooned at such a great pace, it is easy to understand why so many new companies are coming into the market. E-cigarettes, and especially e-juices, have such great margins of potential profit; the industry is inevitably attracting individuals more passionate about dollar bills rather than the quality of their products.  For an experienced e-cigarette user, spotting cheaper end mods and builds is not a very hard task to accomplish, but what will surprise even the most experienced vapor is the origin of the raw materials used to manufacture e-liquids.
While comparing and contrasting the differences between bottles of e-juice from separate manufacturers, it would be difficult for an individual to make the distinction between which is of higher and lower quality. The main reason for this is because once the raw materials are diluted down to a safe level for vaping, the variance between a high quality and low quality product is extremely hard to distinguish.
                The three main components that make up e-juice can be put into three basic categories; the first category being nicotine, second the base (Propylene Glycol or Vegetable Glycerin), and third being the concentrated flavoring. Of course, there are other chemicals and recipes out there that call for additional additives besides what I have listed above, but in my opinion these three categories cover the vast majority of e-juice suppliers.
                Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin come in a variety of grades. These different grades classify the liquid as either United States Pharmaceutical Grade (USP) or Food Grade (FG). While common knowledge would lead us to believe that since e-juice is going into our body, that Food Grade PG and VG is sufficient for E-Juice. This notion is INCORRECT! Because the Vegetable Glycerin and/or Propylene Glycol is being inhaled into the lungs, and not just ingested through the GI tract, the only classification that is safe for vaping is the United States Pharmaceutical Grade, or USP Grade. A great multitude of E-Juice suppliers and retail stores are resorting to using the Food Grade bases mainly because of the drastic difference in cost. For example, a 55 gallon drum of USP Grade Propylene Glycol can cost upwards of $800.00, while Food Grade Propylene Glycol can cost as little as $500.00. The best way to tell if your e-juice supplier or vendor is using USP Grade Vegetable Glycerin and Propylene Glycol is to ask them. A supplier using USP Grade will be happy to provide you with documentation showing that their VG and PG meets the USP standard.
                Concentrated Food Flavorings are what give E-Juice it great flavor. These concentrated flavors can be sourced from all over the world including Italy, China, Spain, Poland, and the USA. These flavors range in potency, price, and chemical composition depending upon the manufacturer. What is important to know is that some of the Concentrated Food Flavorings produced are safe to ingest, or eat, but NOT safe to inhale, or vape. Chemicals such as diacetyl are found in a great number of Concentrated Food Flavorings because the compounds give a distinctive buttery note that some people enjoy. These chemicals are regulated by the FDA and are safe to eat, but can cause a disease known as “Popcorn Lung” when inhaled, leading to shortness of breath and prolonged coughing. The disease is currently irreversible with modern day medicine. Unfortunately because of the great competition in the E-Juice industry, getting an E-Juice company to disclose the exact flavors it uses in its E-Juice recipes is nearly impossible. The good news is larger, more established E-Juice manufactures have taken the initiative to ban all flavors containing any harmful chemicals such as the one listed above. Just remember that if you are unsure about the E-Juice you are about to purchase, and the vendor will not disclose if the e-juice contains any harmful chemicals, do not purchase that particular e-juice. Instead, go to a more established, reliable retailer who is willing to disclose the Concentrated Flavoring in their E-Juice recipes.
                Liquid nicotine is the third major component used when making any E-Juice recipe. Since the beginning of the e-juice market, finding quality nicotine has been a serious challenge for e-juice suppliers. Good, pure, high quality pure liquid nicotine, or 999 mg, has a slight yellowish tint to it, and a slight odor. Unfortunately, Pure Liquid Nicotine also has an extremely short shelf life, and when exposed to oxygen, sunlight or heat it can turn dark brown in color and become impossible to use for vaping in just a few days’ time. Because pure liquid nicotine producers know that an e-juice company cannot use product that is not of high quality, some manufacturers are resorting to adding unsafe chemicals to their pure liquid nicotine to make the liquid appear clear and not turn brown and pungent over a short period of time. To ensure the company you purchase your e-juice from is only using pure liquid nicotine that is completely safe and free of these chemicals, do not hesitate to ask for a Chemical Analysis of the liquid nicotine. A Chemical Analysis will show the exact chemical make-up of the liquid nicotine. Also, be sure to check that the date of the Chemical Analysis is recent to ensure that the company is not just showing you a generic form.

                Overall, the vast majority of large e-juice producers are using high quality chemicals and following safe manufacturing procedures. Unfortunately, there are still companies in the e-juice market who are solely in it for the money, and will continue to use the absolute cheapest materials they can find in order to maximize profits. Just remember that ALL good e-juice suppliers will not hesitate to provide you with any documentation pertaining to the chemicals that make up their e-juice. Lastly, do not forget to do your own research, and do not always believe what a supplier is telling you without getting some form of documentation to back it up. 

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Don't Drip and Drive

By Joshua Sheffield, RTS Vapes Chemist


At RTS Vapes, we sell only the highest quality USP grade Vegetable Glycerin (VG). Our Kosher Certified VG is derived from coconuts as opposed to soy beans giving it a naturally sweeter taste. At one of the lowest prices online our VG is great for making max VG, clouding e-juices for your RDA or RBA.

There is something very satisfying about taking a full inhale and blowing out a huge cloud, but be mindful about the time and place. If you are an RDA user it can be dangerous to vape while driving for several reasons. One, that dry hit, you know which one we are talking about. The one where the wick became dry after the last pull on your atty and you think it has one more in it. The dry hit that leaves you needing some water and thinking, “Do I really want to vape anymore today?” Two, between getting your top cap off and opening the bottle of your favorite e-juice (hopefully DIY e-juiceJ) the bottle slips out of your hand and the car smells like banana for weeks. Third, the struggle of where to blow your cloud. While it is cool and fun to see your vapor take up the entire windshield, watch it roll across your dashboard, or look over at your passenger and envelope them in vapor for a good laugh, the bottom line is that it interferes with your view of the road. Lastly, and most importantly, even if everything goes smoothly your eye is taken off of the road to drip your e-liquid. As we all know from those texting and driving ads, taking your eyes off of the road for even just one second could result in the car swerving off of the road or worse into the other lane with oncoming traffic or maybe you hit the brakes too late for the stopped cars at the red light.


A car crash would not be cool or fun for anyone involved, so please, do yourself and everyone else on the road a service and don’t drip and drive. If you need your vaping fix, swap out your RDA for a RBA or sub-Ohm tank before you hit the road. Remember to blow your clouds down, out of the view of the road and Vape On!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

A Flavor For Everyone!

by Alex Inman, RTS Vapes Director of Sales

As many of you may already know we pride ourselves here at RTS Vapes on our huge selection of everything you could possibly need to make your own e-juice. In order for us to maintain our reputation as a true one stop DIY shop we are constantly scanning the market for new products and talking to our loyal customers about what products they would like to see us add to our store. And if you can believe it, we've found three great flavor lines we cannot wait to share with you all! 

The first flavor line that has already been available on the site for a couple of months now is Flavor Jungle, a US based concentrated flavor manufacturer that has made a big splash in the industry recently. Flavor Jungle’s entire line consists of less than 30 flavors, but what they lack in quantity they make up for ten-fold in quality. I can say with 100% honesty that every single Flavor Jungle concentrate that I have tried has been exactly what I was looking for. You will not be disappointed using concentrated flavors from this company!

The second new flavor line that just made its debut on our website is Flavor West, a US based company that has been providing the vape industry with high quality concentrated flavors for years. After many customer requests and through talking to Flavor West directly, we have decided to carry close to 200 of their concentrated flavors. One of the major factors in this decision was Flavor West’s complete and total transparency regarding all of the ingredients in their concentrated flavors. I’m sure we all remember the hysteria and still worry about Diacetyl and other similar ingredients in our e-juice, so having a flavor company be so open and willing to share their ingredients really helped to ease our minds. Another big factor in this decision was the quality and price of their flavors. Flavor West is now our most affordable option for concentrated flavors with the same great quality as our other brands. On top of all of that, they've got some incredibly interesting flavor profiles such as Unicorn Vomit (a delicious mix of fruits), Cloud 9 (a tropical fruit mixture that will leave you craving a beach trip), and Reindeer Poop (a cinnamon roll topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup). With creativity like that, you are bound to come up with something unique and quite tasty. 

The third flavor line soon to be added is Inawera, a concentrated flavor manufacturer based out of Poland. We found out about this manufacturer through various forums online. We noticed the name Inawera popping up in the DIY sub-forums so we figured we would check it out and sure enough, they are some pretty amazing concentrated flavors. The first thing I notice when using Inawera’s concentrated flavors for the first time was just how concentrated they were. When I made my first juice, a mix of a couple different tobacco flavors, I did not have to use more than 3% total of the flavors to get a seriously full-flavored juice. Others here at RTS Vapes who have made juice with Inawera’s concentrated flavors also report that all of their flavors are super concentrated. This is good for you and me because using less flavoring means spending less money and your bottles of flavor concentrate last longer.

We, here at RTS Vapes, are happy to bring you even more great flavors than before as we now offer more than 900 different flavor concentrates! If there are any flavor lines that you, our loyal fans and customers, think we should carry please let us know! We are always on the lookout for great new products that will help the DIY Vaper!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

DIY My Eye!



by Joshua Sheffield, RTS Vapes Chemist 


Do you enjoy mixing your own e-juice recipes? Here at RTS Vapes, we believe in “safety first” when mixing your favorite e-juice. Whether you’re a beginner looking to purchase your first DIY e-juice starter kit or an expert, you’ll find everything you need to get started mixing your own e-juice at a great price on rtsvapes.com.

When I sit down to make some juice, the first thing I do is put on a Lab Coat, Bouffant Cap, Shoe Covers, and some days a Beard Net, depending upon whether my wife made me shave or not. The reason for using these items is two-fold. First, they provide protection of my clothing and shoes in case of an accidental spill. Second and, in my opinion, most importantly they protect my e-juice from any lint, hair, and/or dust. These protective products ensure clean, uncontaminated e-juice and guarantee a hygienic and safe vaping experience. It is important to note, if you spill any flavorless liquid nicotine or e-juice on your clothes, immediately remove and wash the soiled clothing items.

The most vital safety gear I use are disposable Nitrile Gloves. Nitrile gloves are very important for protecting your hands from nicotine exposure, especially at higher concentrations of 60 and 100 mg/mL. Does it make a difference if they are nitrile gloves or not? The answer is yes as nicotine is a nitrogenous base and the nitrile gloves will protect your skin better than any other type of gloves. Remember that nicotine is a poison and if you get flavorless liquid nicotine on your skin, it will enter your blood stream immediately through transdermal contact possibly leading to dizziness, nausea, or death in extreme cases. If you get flavorless liquid nicotine or e-juice on your skin, rinse the affected area thoroughly with warm water.

The next thing to do is put on a pair of Safety Glasses. In case of a spill or splash, safety glasses are a protective barrier for your eyes. It is always a great idea to keep Saline Solution, what your eye naturally produces to keep the eyeball clean, on hand to thoroughly rinse the eye. If you do not have any saline, rinse the eye thoroughly with plenty of water in the event of a spill and/or splash.

The final piece of equipment I put on before mixing one of my favorite e-juice recipes is a Mini Respirator. This is another product with a dual purpose. One, it prevents contaminates from entering your juice by covering both your mouth and nose, thus stopping all saliva and possible mucus from tainting your e-juice. Two, it protects you from breathing in any noxious nicotine fumes that may be undetectable until you begin to feel dizzy or nauseous.

After taking the recommended safety precautions above, the process of making your e-juice can safely begin. Next time you’re ready to mix your favorite e-juice, remember to follow these safety tips and always wear your protective gear. Not only will you look like a professional chemist, but you will also have all the proper tools to make e-juice safely like the professionals.