I don't think PGA will have as good a moisturizing effect on the vape as DW will.
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I agree. As far as I know, the main use of PGA is to thin high VG juices, and maybe add some throat hit.
Danny, ratchet, thanks, I appreciate the replies. I drip 99% of the time, so not worried about thinning my juice, just want to add a bit of moisture to my mixes.
PG pulls the water out of your body. When you are vaping, drink lots of water.
If you're not trying to thin or add throat hit, then try saline at 5-10% (of .9% solution). Look for changes within a few days (e.g. 1-4). You didn't identify your mix but if this doesn't help you might also want to shift to lower PG.
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Hello LoveVanilla, and thanks.
I am mixing pure VG (not including PG in flavorings) and finding that with heavy vaping I am getting dry mouth and a tender throat. I added 15% distilled water to a bottle of plain VG with no nic as a 'feeler' experiment, but very interested in incorporating saline into my mixes. I picked up some sterile saline solution for contact lenses, but after getting home I realized it's not something I care to vape, as there are ingredients besides sodium chloride and water, and there is no percentage of saline listed. I am going to another pharmacy to get some straight .9% solution tomorrow and make a tester batch with the DW and saline and see how that goes.
so did you notice no improvement with just DW?
i think straight .9% saline solution was listed here; some kind of wound wash… but haven't been able find anything.. i think i shall try to get some clean salt (sodium chloride only) like kosher or pickling / canning salt.
-if as Danny45v says the bicarb in some mixes affect flavor, forget it.
game plan: compare: DW only - DW + saline - Saline only
Heya ukeman. That is the plan for now. I will say that it seemed to take a bit of the TH off the pure VG, but it has so little anyway I might just be imagining it. I won't really know if it's doing what I hope for it to do until I've had a day or three vaping 'diluted' mixes.
I am planning to do quite a bit of mixing tomorrow, but may hold off until I can get a hold of some of this .9% saline. The one thing keeping me from making my own is the fact I don't have a scale or any way to measure the non-iodized salt. There's a fantastic pharmacy just a couple blocks from me, I know they'll have what I'm looking for.
I am planning to do quite a bit of mixing tomorrow, but may hold off until I can get a hold of some of this .9% saline. The one thing keeping me from making my own is the fact I don't have a scale or any way to measure the non-iodized salt. There's a fantastic pharmacy just a couple blocks from me, I know they'll have what I'm looking for.
For some reason it's hard to find, here's what I ordered, SALINE SOLUTION .9% 250ML IRR (EA), by Baxter Healthcare, $12.99 w/free shipping. No preservatives and sterile (at least until you open...)
Seemed to help noticeably with my over-dry sinuses. OP's 10% mix was a little salty for me. I mix 100% VG with 15% distilled water and 5% of saline solution. This works really well for me. It's rocking fine in PT's and RDA's; not a single dry wick and no leaks since making this change.
Post back if it works for you.
Seemed to help noticeably with my over-dry sinuses. OP's 10% mix was a little salty for me. I mix 100% VG with 15% distilled water and 5% of saline solution. This works really well for me. It's rocking fine in PT's and RDA's; not a single dry wick and no leaks since making this change.
Post back if it works for you.
Cool Cuando, let us know how it goes…
i know what you mean about chain vaping and losing your taste… since i started DIY a few months ago, i've paid more attention to the juices I have made - and buy trying to imitate some. I notice how my sense of taste varies throughout the day depending on how much i've vaped, what i ate or drank.
i make ice ceam and use some flavorings and wow, after eating some and vaping my favorite juice, i couldn't recognize it. Not able to deduce exactly what and how but I just know there a lot of factors in play.
i know what you mean about chain vaping and losing your taste… since i started DIY a few months ago, i've paid more attention to the juices I have made - and buy trying to imitate some. I notice how my sense of taste varies throughout the day depending on how much i've vaped, what i ate or drank.
i make ice ceam and use some flavorings and wow, after eating some and vaping my favorite juice, i couldn't recognize it. Not able to deduce exactly what and how but I just know there a lot of factors in play.
Right on, thanks LoveVanilla. I was looking at various solutions online, I'll go that route if I can't run some up here. I saw a few different types for wound wash and baby nasal wash, but the price seemed a bit silly considering what's in it. I will try a small batch with the saline and adjust to taste from there, I'm sure.
We absolutely-totally agree with 'underlined'! If one is going to actually know what saline is doing (or any other substance), the variables must be totally controlled & documented. It MUST be an organized system and methodical process.
'Just for the record (regarding our testing of .9% saline)--
--when we started DIYIng our first & foremost goal was to create a perfect (for us) base solution of diluted VG. After much reading & research, we opted to use three main dilutants for our testing & trials: distilled water; saline .9% solution; pure grain alcohol.
--without checking our notes/records (which were hard-copy, and now stored away), I can't report the exact mixes we tried - but they included the following (at different percentages):
vg + distilled water
vg + .9% saline
vg + pga
vg + distilled water and saline
vg + distilled water and pga
vg + saline & pga
vg + distilled water and saline and pga
After adding nic to the various bases, we test vaped and eliminated the ones we determined to be unusable even without flavor added (those were the high pga ones). We then made HUNDREDS of 3ml vials of the various blends, both with and without flavoring -- taste-tested them after one day/night; let them sit/steep for about a week; and then taste-tested them again (testing around 15 different flavors per session).
What we experienced was that there was very noticeable & predictable enhancement of flavor (in over 95% of the flavors) with the addition of the saline. Distilled water alone did not enhance the flavoring at any level (or in any particularly way) that was comparable with the addition of the saline.
The water did cause an extremely slight flavor intensity increase. It seemed to be correlated with the fact that the thinner juices wicked more effectively (more juice to the wick = more flavor to the wick). But it was nothing like the way the flavors actually "popped" with the saline...nothing at all.
Salt enhances flavor. We do not know the "chemistry" behind that fact (for eating or for vaping). And while it may be interesting for some to know & understand the exact reasons & mechanisms that all the variables work together to create the change (some addressed in the OP above), it's not necessary to know HOW it works in order to increase flavor & hydration in our juices by using it. Perhaps it's as simple as the salt getting into our mouth via the vapor, and the salt in our mouth causing it to seem like there's more/better flavor. We do not know.
However, we do know what we experienced - and that our testing was void of any variables that would have skewed the results. Of course, there could be a LOT of variables in play for someone attempting to duplicate our testing/results. Some examples: brand/purity of vg; age of vg; purity of distilled water (along with how long it sat in plastic, was it dispensed 'hot' into plastic; was it run through a charcoal filter, etc); brand/purity of saline; proof/type of pga...the list is vast.
Oh yes, HYDRATION! Distilled water alone vs Saline alone (or with dw)? SALINE TRUMPS - without ANY doubt!
Please don't take our word for it (or our experiences as 'the gospel truth')! Do some testing for yourself and post your methods & results.
An excellent plan, wethinks! We tested the baking soda (attempting to get "fizz") - and at all percentages (except the wee-tiniest) it muted the flavors. And it seemed to change the consistency of the vapor (if that's possible - maybe it's just something that happened in our mouth). Instead of being "ssssmooth", the vape seemed "gritty". It was very slight, but we both noticed it.
sorry i missed this but is there a basic % for your 1. DW-Saline, 2. Saline-alone additions to your juice?
Yeah, we've posted it before, but since you've got SUCH a handsome pooch...
Our base:
80% VG (from ECX currently - we buy it by the gallon...but we've got 250ml from NN on the way for testing, so that may be changing)
9% distilled water
9% sterile saline solution (.9%)
2% pure grain alcohol (ours is 190 proof organic grain alcohol from sugar cane...which we have on hand for making herbal tinctures).
We plug that into our calculators as "VG"...and don't bother with the other details/calculations.
We keep our base premixed in the fridge.
The only PG we use is what's in the flavors...and we're striving to eliminate PG entirely.|
We add .5% - 5% more saline whenever we sense a particular flavor is too dry (or just because we discern it'll make a better juice)
We use the PGA because we think it probably assists in blending/steeping flavors quicker and more thoroughly (but we've never tested it to prove it to ourselves). We also use it to keep the juices thin and wicking effectively. We live in the midwest in a VERY drafty ole farm bungalow...and we're misers when it comes to utility bills. We keep our thermostat at 64 in the daytime and 58-60 at night - so the VG juices are very thick at 'room temperature' in our house.
'Hope it works for you as beautifully as it works for us!
I got similure results with a saline/bycarb mix. I mixed in just plain DW and the flavor was back but the throat irritation which is why I tried this in the first place was also back. I'm now going to find some plain saline in my area and give that a try. But as you found the baking soda did mute flavor.
Looking at this as an attempt to reduce the throat irritation do you think the PGA is nessessary?
I would think PGA would help carry flavor through the mix initially but after the mix is steeped PGA does not play much of a roll in flavor enhancement or irritation relief. I'm only asking for the fact that PGA is alcohol which breaks down into sugar. As I am a diabetic this would not be a good thing for me. But I must say the research you did is excellent and was very helpful.
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I would be concerned with rock salts purity. I don't think there are any FDA controls on rock salt.
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