Allowing for a blunt tip needle?

[Bahnzo]

So...I got my DIY stuff now and am experimenting. One thing that concerns me is the 16 gauge blunt needle I have. It's rather large and while it works great, it seems it could contain quite a bit of liquid and throw off measurements. IE: I regularly use it with a 1ml syringe to draw out small amounts of VG.

Am I right, or just worrying about something that I shouldn't?

 

[quasimod]

I would think that was taken into consideration when the manufacturer decided where the markings would be placed. Medical dosing needs to be fairly precise. In other words, I have no idea.

 

[Bahnzo]

I would think that was taken into consideration when the manufacturer decided where the markings would be placed. Medical dosing needs to be fairly precise. In other words, I have no idea.

Right, I'm sure they are ok for normal needles...those don't draw much if anything. It's the larger gauge blunt tips that make me wonder. The one I have is like 4 inches long, so I'm sure there's some extra that is being drawn up in there.

 

[quasimod]

I don't think it matters how much is left in the needle, since it doesn't leave the needle anyway. When you push the plunger down to displace "X" volume of liquid, then that's all that is expelled. Anything left in the needle or needle connector is going to stay there, unless you blow some air through, or work the plunger back and forth a few times to blow it out.

You will probably rinse/wash & dry the syringe before using another liquid, especially if you're mixing such small amounts where a drop would make a difference.

 

[Nikhil]

What you can do in that situation (small syringe/large needle) is go from gradation to gradation - go from 1ml to .1ml to get get exactly 0.9ml etc.

 

[zoiDman]

If you are concerned about needle volume why don't you get a Graduated Cylinder and check the calibration of your syringe?

 

[zoiDman]

BTW - This one might be too big for your syringe. You would match the volume of the Graduated Cylinder to the volume of your Syringe

 

[Bahnzo]

BTW - This one might be too big for your syringe. You would match the volume of the Graduated Cylinder to the volume of your Syringe

No, thats a good idea. I think they make either 5 or 10ml cylinders that would work for that. Would probably be good to have one anyways, right?

 

[Jynn]

You could also just suck up your <insert whatever you're sucking up> and then draw in some air to clear the needle and then push your fluid back up flush to where the needle starts.

 

[zoiDman]

Graduated cylinders make doing volume work a snap.

If you want to make 30ml of e-juice and your recipes is:

14ml PG base
10ml VG
6ml Flavor

You build a volume ladder which is:

0-14ml PG Base
14-24ml VG
24-30ml Flavor

Just do some shopping when you go to buy any type of lab glass. It can be extremely expensive some places. Pays to shop around. Also, be sure you know what scale the graduations are in.

 

[zoiDman]

BTW - This type of G-Cylinder is nice because believe it or not, G-Cyclinders have a tendency to fall over bythemselves.

10 ml Graduated Cylinder Glass - 2 part w/ Bumper Guard: The Science Fair Inc.

 

[GoodDog]

I was reading posts on a juice-vendors sub-forum here (that I won't name) and was surprised by what I read. He said he makes his juice by smell and just adds a squirt of this and a squirt of that. Well, that explains why I didn't experience consistency with his product and quit buying it awhile back.

This is why I love DIY - we can get it the way we like it and as long as we keep good records we'll always have e-liquid to our personal preferences.

 

[zoiDman]

I was reading posts on a juice-vendors sub-forum here (that I won't name) and was surprised by what I read. He said he makes his juice by smell and just adds a squirt of this and a squirt of that. Well, that explains why I didn't experience consistency with his product and quit buying it awhile back.

This is why I love DIY - we can get it the way we like it and as long as we keep good records we'll always have e-liquid to our personal preferences.

Please post a link to that vendor. I want to avoid someone like him at all costs.

The only reason I will buy retail juice is it is something I have had a hard time making. But if I buy the same juice a second time, I expect it to tatse the same.

 

[FyreDragon]

You could also just suck up your <insert whatever you're sucking up> and then draw in some air to clear the needle and then push your fluid back up flush to where the needle starts.

You're right, Jynn. Be sure to push all of the air out of the needle until you see a small drop form at the tip. Air in the needle would introduce a volume error.

If you do it like Jynn suggests, then push the unneeded amount back into the container, it will assure that your measurements are as accurate as possible. Make sure you are using the edge of the piston, where it meets the wall of the syringe as your reference to the graduated markings on the syringe.

We like using dedicated and well-marked syringes for each seperate ingredient to make sure we don't cross contaminate the bottles we draw from. (syringes are cheap)

 

[Nikhil]

Jynn giving away my secret technique, noooo!

 

[sjohnson]

To reiterate, pull a bit more than you want into the syringe.

Expel the excess back into the original bottle, using the edge of the rubber piston lined up with the graduated mark that coincides with your desired amount.

When you then transfer what's in the syringe into its destination container, whether the needle is small gauge or large gauge doesn't matter because the same amount of liquid in the needle at the start is still present at the end.

 

[Bahnzo]

To reiterate, pull a bit more than you want into the syringe.

Expel the excess back into the original bottle, using the edge of the rubber piston lined up with the graduated mark that coincides with your desired amount.

When you then transfer what's in the syringe into its destination container, whether the needle is small gauge or large gauge doesn't matter because the same amount of liquid in the needle at the start is still present at the end.

Ahhh, very easy...thanks.

 

[quasimod]

Oh, I get it. When the chimp says it, it's just crazy-talk... but let another guy with a hat say it, and all of a sudden it makes sense. I would have thought this sort of hat-conscious, anti-simian bias was a thing of the past.

 

[sjohnson]

So easy, even a

Err, nope!

 

[zoiDman]

One thing that is cool about using a Graduated Cylinder is you can mmake things straight from dropper bottles.

You can't stick a syringe that hasn't been washed out into another bottle of flavoring or your going to cross contaminate the flavoring.

With a G-Cyclinder, you just add drops straight from your bottles. When you are done, there is only one thing to wash out, the G-Cylinder.

They just look cool also. Kinda adds that Mad Scientist look to your desk.