DIY Ethyl Maltol solution(cotton candy)

[purelyscientific]

Hey guys, just incase anyone was wondering, ethyl maltol solution is 10% ethyl maltol and 90% PG. I read somewhere that for 10 mL the maximum amount of ethyl maltol that can be dissolved is 1.8 grams. So I weighed out 1.8 on a scale and put it in a 10mL bottle and filled it up with PG. After about a half hour 90% of the crystals were dissolved. After sitting overnight most (99%) of the crystals were dissolved.

It smells identicle to to the cotton candy flavoring I bought and I only used 1/5 of the bottle of crystals I bought from wizard labs which cost the same as the flavoring(1.95) So for the price of 1 bottle of cotton candy flavoring I can make 5x as much using this method.(minus the cost of PG) The price of 50mL of PG is very low, maybe a dollar. Thats a 5 dollar savings!!!

Peace n' Love
-PS-

 

[~Sue~Feb2012]

Can 90% VG be used or won't it dissolve? Does it have to be a high % of PG? Thanks!

 

[djbishybish]

From what I have read, it dissolves best in PG or alcohol...not very well in VG, although it's possible. I just think the concentration won't be as high. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

[invididual]

can someone break the usage of Ethyl Maltol down Barney style for me? Ive been reading that its a MUST for DIY, but I dont have the slightest Idea why or what its used for.

 

[candimccann]

And for those of us who don't have a gram scale handy, what is the recommended way of measuring?

 

[GrannyM]

How 'bout Hoosier style?

"A tiny bit adds body and helps meld flavors. (approx 0.1%)
A bit more can turn a dry vape to a moister feel and cut bitter taste down. (usually somewhere between 1-0.25%)
Even more starts to add sweetness more like a candy shell kind of thing than typical sweetness.
A bunch makes a cotton candy kind of flavor

All effects are cumulative.

If it is treated more like a powerful spice than a flavoring, then it is very versatile. If used like a flavoring it is only useful as an odd sweetener."

If you haven't already, reading Hoosier's blogs are a must. E-Cigarette Forum - Hoosier - Blogs

 

[GrannyM]

And for those of us who don't have a gram scale handy, what is the recommended way of measuring?

1/4 tsp. EM crystals in 10 ml PG

 

[LucentShadow]

The data that I found across the web on this stuff is terribly inconsistent when it comes to solubility in various liquids. Some say that only half as much will dissolve into VG as will in PG, some say VG is like 25-50 times worse than PG.

I mix mine by putting 1 level teaspoon into a glass measuring cup, and filling it up to 45 ml with 50/50 pg/vg. I then warm it to around 200-250 degrees, and it dissolves quickly. No crystals reform.

 

[Patriot]

The data that I found across the web on this stuff is terribly inconsistent when it comes to solubility in various liquids. Some say that only half as much will dissolve into VG as will in PG, some say VG is like 25-50 times worse than PG.

I mix mine by putting 1 level teaspoon into a glass measuring cup, and filling it up to 45 ml with 50/50 pg/vg. I then warm it to around 200-250 degrees, and it dissolves quickly. No crystals reform.

Ugh..I just tried to post a couple of my solubility tables from excel in here...not pretty.

 

[Patriot]

Here lets try this again. Lots of trial and error, and wasted material getting this.

The left hand side with the skipped lines is the concentrated drop I use. The right hand side is the VG threshold when using C% of the concentrated drop. The top one, "Ice Drops" is for menthol crystal, and the bottom one "Candy Drops" is for ethyl maltol. If you use more than C% of that concentrated drop with the designated Max VG percentage stuff will start to seperate at room temperature (73 degrees farenheit). No guarantees if you use some other concentrated drop. Also the perception column is subjective.

The way the concentrated drops are mixed is by displacement. For example if you put 6ml of pg ans 1.5 ml of pga in a 10ml container, you would add menthol crystal until you reach the 10ml mark, so the result is 2.5 ml of menthol crystal in dissolved form. So keep in mind that if you are accustomed to using a certain estimate that you think is 10%, that in dissolved form it is likely much less than 10%.

I know using a combination of PG and PGA is unusual, but it saves me a lot of the heating and hoping game and still allows me to make a drop, I can easily work with. Since I use a lot of VG, this is how I roll. The target here is minimal PGA, maximum VG and a rougly equivalent flavor/effect perception of the concentration between the two different solids.

Ice Drops		C(%)	Perception	Max VG
		2.7%	touch	82%
		5.4%	very light	78%
Bases	C(%)	8.1%	light	74%
		10.8%	med light	71%
PG	60.00%	13.5%	medium	69%
		16.2%	med high	66%
PGA	15.00%	18.9%	high	64%
		21.6%	very high	62%
Menthol	25.00%	24.3%	freezing	60%
		27.0%	arctic	58%
Candy Drops		C(%)	Perception	Max VG
		2.7%	touch	82%
		5.4%	very light	78%
Bases	C(%)	8.1%	light	74%
		10.8%	med light	71%
PG	80.00%	13.5%	medium	69%
		16.2%	med high	66%
PGA	12.50%	18.9%	high	64%
		21.6%	very high	62%
Ethly Maltol	7.50%	24.3%	candy	60%
		27.0%	cotton candy	58%

 

[LucentShadow]

Thanks for the table. I'll bookmark that.

Well, I have to modify my previous statement, in that some crystals did reform in the bottom of the bottle after some time. It was a couple of weeks later when I actually noticed it.

Based upon that, it looks like it's closer to half as soluble in VG as it is in PG. I haven't bothered to do it, yet, but I'd guess that if I topped it off to 50ml instead of 45, that it'd all stay suspended in the liquid.

I'll have to study that table a bit to see if I'm close, though.

 

[Patriot]

Thanks for the table. I'll bookmark that.

Well, I have to modify my previous statement, in that some crystals did reform in the bottom of the bottle after some time. It was a couple of weeks later when I actually noticed it.

Based upon that, it looks like it's closer to half as soluble in VG as it is in PG. I haven't bothered to do it, yet, but I'd guess that if I topped it off to 50ml instead of 45, that it'd all stay suspended in the liquid.

I'll have to study that table a bit to see if I'm close, though.

The tables may only be useful in my strange little world. Here is what I am about to try out this weekend...7.4 ml. 26.8mg/ml nic. This is 55.4% VG total. The flavor profile percentage is the sum of everything below it.

Bases	V(ml)	C(%)
VG	0.80	10.81%
VG nic 60mg/ml	3.30	44.59%
PG	1.30	17.57%
Flavor Profile (PG)	2.00	27.03%
Ice Drops	0.90	12.16%
Koolada	0.10	1.35%
Candy Drops	0.90	12.16%
Sucralose Drops (PA)	0.10	1.35%