Base Mixing Tips and Tricks

[myxomatosis]

Got a tip for streamlining the DIY process? Post and discuss here. If we limit the recipe's exchanged in this thread, it could be extremely useful to DIY noobs and vets alike and potentially turn some people on to the idea of mixing their own juice.

To get things started I'll lay out my process. It's oversimplified and will not work for everyone, especially if you like different flavors at different PG/VG percentages. Obviously there are pros and cons to this strategy but I'll touch on those later.

Typically I prefer a PG/VG base ratio of 30/70. Knowing this, I create a diluted base leaving room in the formula for flavor to be added when I'm ready to start mixing flavors.

I start with 100mg unflavored nic and since I prefer my blends VG heavy, I use VG as it's carrier. (Note to noobs: To my knowledge, nic is exclusively sold with a carrier you can usually specify depending on the vendor. The carrier you select is taken into consideration in your mixing formula.) My target after adding VG and PG is 12mg. Because I don't like to mix regularly, I make A LOT which may also be a downside to using this technique if you're limited to 10ml syringes and not setup to mix large quantities at a time.


Mixing 4oz at a time, my formula looks like this:

One thing you’ll notice is the lack of specified flavor. I include the 10% designation of flavor in the formula, so when I actually add the flavors post-base, it’s close to the actual intended measurement. This could get in your way if you’re someone that wants your ingredients to be EXACT. To counter this, I keep my base consistent filling several 4oz containers, and keep excellent notes when I add flavors. I also don't tie myself down to staying within the 10% flavor ratio - if a flavor calls for 15% or as low as 3-5, I'll just make notes and increase or decrease the amount of flavor(s) I use in the blend.

Exact flavor % measurements require a little math to determine accurately. Also, some DIY'ers may not be equip with 100ml+ beakers to easily measure large quantities of base ingredients. Again, this technique also assumes you keep your PG/VG ratios somewhat consistent.

The pros (at least to me) more than make up for it. Creating a new 10ml batch of juice takes seconds (not including steep times). If mixing @ 10% flavor, pour 9ml base into a 10ml container add the desired amount of flavor(s), give it a hot bath or whatever your steeping strategy is, and you're done with no major mixing required until you run out of pre-diluted base.

This isn't for everyone but I hope this helps someone.
I'm interested in hearing your techniques!

 

[crxess]

I keep a 12mg 50/50 base on hand, 30ml for flavor testing.
Knocks the nic down a touch and changes the ratio slightly, but works good for getting a first feel for flavor strength and Steep requirements.

 

[Iffy]

I do not mix nic base (60PG/40VG) volumes under 100ml!

 

[myxomatosis]

Iffy how do you calculate your flavor %'s?

 

[Iffy]

Iffy how do you calculate your flavor %'s?

My highest flav % (single or multi) thus far is 'round 15 - 18%. Been using VZ SC a lot more lately (2.5%). So I mix at 15mg nic and let da 'cards' fall where they may.

Since I've been vaping for over two years, I've become very tolerate of any of my nic recipe variations. I also no longer custom mix for my v-verts. If they want my jooses, they get what I vape <babysitting does get old!>

Now if I have a new or an intermediate v-vert, I will adjust to keep 'em vaping. But those days have pretty much waned due to either failure to 'hook 'em' or they'll vape my mixes.

Hope that answers your question! If not, hit me up again...

 

[myxomatosis]

i don't know what a v-vert is, I've never heard the term, so I googled it and found it on urban dictionary only, with an odd definition that is probably fitting.

 

[Iffy]

i don't know what a v-vert is

Just my way of noting vaping converts.

 

[myxomatosis]

lol I like it. It should DEFINITELY replace that definition..

 

[Iffy]

lol I like it.

First used HERE.

 

[Proverb31]

I was going to start a thread called finding your sweet spot, but it looks like your thread is similar so I will post my thoughts here:

I have started to get serious about making commercially purchased extracts work for my diy, but they are not as easy for me as my own extractions, not sure why. First I decided to find my sweet spot.

I took a vendor juice that I liked and asked myself how sweet was it. Of course that is subjective but I am the only one I asked. Start by finding a juice that is good or at least not bad and ask yourself what is its level of sweetness make a mental note of this.

Next: make a batch of basic mix to your preference. For me I like to vape in the 24 to 36 mg range so I made a batch of 30 mg for this exercise.

I used a small 10 ml batch. This was easy since a teaspoon equals 5 ml and I find using teaspoons for test batches easier than precision measuring with syringes.

I had 60mg base and so

1 teaspoon of 60 mg nic ( PG)
1 teaspoon of Pg

This made 10 ml of 30 mg PG base

and I was ready to find my sweet spot. I will mention that I do like to make my final mixes 80PG/20 VG but I don't mind all PG either and this is was just easy for me to test what level of sweetness met the ideal for my palate

Next I added sweetener to the mix .5% at a time shook tasted

I used an evod and just poured juice back and forth between the tank and a clean mixing cup with each taste.. you need to be ready to take some time and just add a bit at a time and increase and take notes. This process took about an hour maybe a little less

Side note here: for this type of work measuring with syringes I find a pain the behind. I had already calculated the number of drops per ml for my dropper in an earlier experiment and I will describe that in another post. For this process I new 2 drops was .5% in a 10 ml batch.

I made hash marks on my notes so I wouldn't loose count. I also made comments as to when it tasted bitter, when it started to get sweet and tried to take it to a place where I thought it was the equivalent sweetness of a piece of candy.

This is what I came up with but your results will vary based on your own palette for sweetness as well as which sweetener you use.

It was bitter to tasteless in the early ranges

It began to taste sweet at 10% addition of solution or 1% sweetener. I was using a 10% stavia mix I made with pure organic powder stavia (I bought from nuts.com) and water

0-.5 % increasingly bitter
.5 - 1% turn sweet
1 - 1.5% sweeter
2% seemed to be sweet

Note the taste of plain strong fluid is not pleasant more on that shortly

So when I had it to where I thought it was as close as I could get it to sweet (there was a constant acrid taste to the plain nicotine and PG) I added one drop of flavor.

It popped to totally sweet. Now I know what percent of sweetener fits my candy palette. 2%

 

[Proverb31]

There are many places that will tell you 20 drops = 1 ml or 45 drops = 1 ml

That is a huge range for error and they are probably both correct for the droppers they are using, but what about the dropper you have?

I took a teaspoon which = 5 ml and decided to count the number of drops it took to fill it with my dropper.

I propped the teaspoon in a small paint mixing cup so it would sit level and counted the drops it took to fill it.

I got 200
I repeated the exercise three times...each time I got 200

200 drops/ 5 ml = 40 drops per ml for my dropper ( my dropper is the small glass dropper you get from wizard labs that fit their 8ml flavor viles)

note 2/200 = 1% so for a 5 ml batch 2 drops = 1%

If you have accurate information about the dropper you use, you can mix accurately with your dropper in small quantities this really helps. For larger batches then the syringe is convenient. I however find trying to syringe a .5 ml into a 5 ml batch -- totally a mess. The time it takes to find out how to use your dropper accurately is a worth the time saved when mixing small test batches.

 

[Proverb31]

So as I mentioned in my finding your sweet spot post, the plain nicotine and PG/VG base has an acrid or bitter taste.. so why is that?

Well that is because nicotine in alkaline and when something is alkaline it tends to taste bitter, but it does more than that. It drys out your skin. Nicotine has a Ph of around 9 - 10 and it is a weak base. What I mean by weak base, is it does not completely dissociate in water so it is considered a weak base, however its Ph is high enough to mess with your palette and give you an alkaline burn. It can make your throat soar and make your mouth and tongue feel burnt.

To get a good base mix you need to neutralize that Ph and bring it back to close to 7. The way you neutralize and base is to add an acid.

Here a few common acids used in DIY

lemon juice
white vinegar
apple cider vinegar
sucralose

So if you found your sweet spot first you are ready to experiment with making that bitter taste go away.

Depending on how much sweetener you added and which one you used, you may not need to use this step. I used stavia which did not change the Ph of my base mix enough.

Make a mix of your preferred nicotine level and add the amount of sweetner you find most pleasing.

Now try some of it without flavoring.
Does it feel smooth and moist? -- then you are good
Does it feel dry or burn your mouth? you need to bring the Ph down
Does it burn when you exhale through your nose? you need to bring the Ph down
Does it taste bitter? you need to bring the Ph down

Note: the results will vary depending on your nicotine level and to some extinct your personal preference and the Ph of your own saliva.. which should be close to 7 but varies slightly from person to person

Pick either vinegar or lemon juice to adjust your mix

Start with a test batch of you basic sweetened mix
add drops of your acid ( lemon juice or vinegar) and taste until you have a flavorless smooth vape

For 30 mg nicotine 80PG/20 Vg I started with one drop of lemon juice for every 5 ml
and continued to add

I found 1 drop/2 ml to be the tasteless smooth place

As you approach neutral it will take more and more drops to make small changes in Ph because both the nicotine and the vinegar or lemon juice are weak bases/acids

This property should help you feel confident about going past that first break even point.

I took that point and doubled it:

I add 1/ml and it was still tasteless but took it too a moist wet sensation

If you want to make juice for multiple people and different nicotine levels I suggest doing this for each nicotine level. The stronger the nicotine level the more acid you will need to add to neutralize your juice.

Knowing what makes a good smooth flavorless base, will help you mix great flavors. Once you get to this point... take a small 5 ml batch and add one drop of one flavor and see what happens

I have found that one drop at this point is noticeable... that is .5% with my droppers.

Try this and then add one drop at a time in a 5ml batch. I bet you find flavors that you just couldn't taste no matter what you did suddenly pop in the 1 to 2 % range.