DIY Nicotine

[CactusJack]

Hello folks!!! I'm sure the answer to the question I have is out there somewhere on this site but since I'm a Newbe I have to start here with 5 posts before I can venture out to the correct forums. My question is, I purchased 500ml of 100%mg nic. The manufacturer quoted it was 90% PG. So what would be (in terms of DIY) the actual nicotine base?


CJ

 

[Rickajho]

Could you re-read some things on the label? It's odd that a manufacturer would stipulate their mix is 90% PG. The nic content should be expressed in milligrams per milliliter. IE: 100 mg/ml instead of 100%Mg.

 

[AzPlumber]

I suspect you have 10% nicotine in PG.

 

[CactusJack]

Ur correct. It has on the label 100 mg/mL

 

[AzPlumber]

Ur correct. It has on the label 100 mg/mL

For DIY it is considered 100mg in a 100% PG base

 

[CactusJack]

[/B

The person on the phone told me it was a mixture of 90% PG and 10% Nic


CJ

 

[CactusJack]

Thank you!!! This is totally confusing to me...lol

 

[AzPlumber]

[/B

The person on the phone told me it was a mixture of 90% PG and 10% Nic


CJ

That is correct but your going to be very confused if you don't take my advice

 

[CactusJack]

Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely taking ur advice since I have no idea....lol.
That was actually a post meant for Rickajho.


CJ

 

[Robino1]

Moved from Simple Solutions to New Members.

 

[classwife]

OP has required posts for the area now...moved to DIY e-liquid

 

[Spazmelda]

For the purpose of using DIY ejuice calculators, the nicotine you have is considered 100 mg/ml in 100% PG. That is how you should enter it in a calculator.

As a newbie, you might consider 'mixing down' this nicotine to a less potent concentration. Many people mix down to 50 mg/ml or less. To mix down to 50 mg/ml, you'd simply combine equal amounts of your 100 mg/ml nic base and either pg or VG (depending on what pg/VG ratio you are aiming for in your juices).

So, say for example ou mixed 50 ml of 100mg/ml of your base and 50 ml of straight VG; you'd now have 100 ml of a working base that is 50 mg/ml nicotine and 50/50 VG/PG. This can make the nicotine less dangerous to work with. Of course you have to mix this very very well since pg is thick, and VG is even thicker. Makes it hard to mix well and requires a lot of shaking (if mixing by hand) or some other method of mixing (magnetic stir plate, hand held immersion blender or frother, or some sort of shaker).

At any rate, you are going to want to take some care when using this. Wearing gloves is recommended, and IMO goggles are a must. Even low strength nicotine in the eye is terribly painful. You can get cheap eye protection at most home improvement type stores if you don't already have some. If you get nicotine on your skin, wash it off right away.

Be sure to download some sort of ejuice calcualtor to help with the math, at least in the beginning.

 

[JohnnyDill]

eJuice Me Up - Best eJuice Calculator -Here is a link to a great e-liquid calculator that is popular around here.

 

[Boletus]

The person on the phone told me it was a mixture of 90% PG and 10% Nic

He was telling you the truth, but there is some general parlance to understand. When vendors give a PG/VG ratio, that usually ignores everything else. So a juice may be labeled 50% PG 50% VG, even though there is actually 1.2 % nicotine (12 mg/ml) and some percentage flavoring. In DIY recipes, we get more specific and include the flavoring % and any other ingredients, such as water if used. But even in DIY parlance, the % volume occupied by the nicotine is ignored. The amount of nicotine is described by the concentration, such as 100 mg or 12 mg. But that is also a little bit misleading, because the actual concentration is more precisely described as mg/ml, and just using mg is shorthand.

 

[zoiDman]

Thank you!!! This is totally confusing to me...lol

It is Confusing. Because the way we describe finished e-Liquids is Not Very Accurate.

What the Person on the Phone Told you was Correct. You have a Bottle that has 10% Nicotine and 90% PG.

 

[zoiDman]

He was telling you the truth, but there is some general parlance to understand. When vendors give a PG/VG ratio, that usually ignores everything else. So a juice may be labeled 50% PG 50% VG, even though there is actually 1.2 % nicotine (12 mg/ml) and some percentage flavoring. In DIY recipes, we get more specific and include the flavoring % and any other ingredients, such as water if used. But even in DIY parlance, the % volume occupied by the nicotine is ignored. The amount of nicotine is described by the concentration, such as 100 mg or 12 mg. But that is also a little bit misleading, because the actual concentration is more precisely described as mg/ml, and just using mg is shorthand.

Yeah... And to make Matters Worse, No Allowance for Flavoring/Sweetener is consider either. And seeing that Flavoring/Sweetener is Usually PG Based in a Very High Percentage, there is Much More Error applied to the PG|VG Ratio from the Flavoring/Sweetener than there is from the "Missing" Nicotine Percentage.

Not sure if you remember? But there was a thread awhile back where a Member said that Most e-Liquid Calculators were Slightly Off because they Didn't take into account the "Missing" Nicotine Percentage.

 

[xxJollyRogerxx]

I remember that thread which was/is true but also the percentages were very minute and really didn't make a huge difference at the end of the day IMO

 

[zoiDman]

I remember that thread which was/is true but also the percentages were very minute and really didn't make a huge difference at the end of the day IMO

I liked that Thread because it Pointed Out something that Many People have Never Thought Of. And I like when something can be Described 100% Accurately (Pun Intended).

I think the Thread got off on a Bad Foot though because of the Way the OP presented it. But from a Mathematical perspective, He/She was Right on the Money.

Some People are Very .... about DIY. And will (Attempt to) Measure Volumes down to the +/- .01ml Level. For them, having a Relative Error the Size of their Nicotine Percentage should be a Big Deal.

For the Majority of DIY-ers, it Wasn't. Because Much of the Numerical Values that a DIY-er works to are Arbitrary. And there Is a level of Subjective Accuracy that can be Crossed. After that Level is Crossed, Smaller and Smaller Measurements become Meaningless.

 

[Boletus]

...I like when something can be Described 100% Accurately (Pun Intended). ... And there Is a level of Subjective Accuracy that can be Crossed. After that Level is Crossed, Smaller and Smaller Measurements become Meaningless.

What is the difference between a mathematician and an engineer? The engineer actually solves real problems, even though the solutions are never 100% precise. I like to say that the "=" sign only exists between the covers of mathematics textbooks, everything else is an approximation. But when it matters, assumptions and approximations should be clearly defined.

It still bothers me that my first bottle of e-juice said "18 mg." 18 mg in the whole bottle? Taken literally, that is what it means. And you know, it did not even say 18 mg of what, which left me wondering if it was actually nicotine or some synthetic substitute. Thank God for ECF, because once I found this forum, things started to make sense to me.

 

[zoiDman]

What is the difference between a mathematician and an engineer? The engineer actually solves real problems, even though the solutions are never 100% precise. I like to say that the "=" sign only exists between the covers of mathematics textbooks, everything else is an approximation. But when it matters, assumptions and approximations should be clearly defined.

It still bothers me that my first bottle of e-juice said "18 mg." 18 mg in the whole bottle? Taken literally, that is what it means. And you know, it did not even say 18 mg of what, which left me wondering if it was actually nicotine or some synthetic substitute. Thank God for ECF, because once I found this forum, things started to make sense to me.

I have Nothing Against Engineers.

And if I speak Slowly, I can Usually get me my point across to them.

---

The dropping of the "ml" from something like 18mg I think has been the Single Greatest source of Confusion when it comes to DIY.

That, and I think that Many People get too hung up on Numbers. And forget to look at the "Big Picture".

Someone with No Experience in e-Liquids would (should) look at "100mg 100%PG" and scratch their Head. How can there be Nicotine and PG but it is Supposed to be 100% PG?

If the Bottle said "100mg/ml of Nicotine in 100% Pure PG" there would be Much Less Confusion.