Drops per ml?

[drobbyb]

How many drops make a ml? I imagine this depends on the viscosity of the liquid and drop size, so when mixing e-liquid how do you get it right?

How many drops PG based nicotine equals a ml?
How many drops of VG equals a ml?

Ejuicemeup uses both a ml based measurement and a drop based measurement and dealing with a higher nicotine base than I am used to vaping I sure don't want to get it wrong. I have syringes to get the measurements close, but a few drops off can change things quite a bit.

 

[ninfreak]

don't use drops....very very inconsistant. always use syringes especially with nic

 

[drobbyb]

When the recipe calls for 1.2ml use 1ml then to be safe? Just as an example.

 

[unloaded]

Using the smallest syringe you have will give the most precise measurements. For 1.2ml I would use a 1ml syringe. I wouldn't measure 1ml and then .2ml I'd do .6ml twice. It's easier to see when you are towards the center of the range rather than on the edges. You don't want to be using a 20ml syringe to measure out 1.2ml not enough resolution to get it right. Also the more precise you are the more repeatable the results will be.

 

[ninfreak]

Using the smallest syringe you have will give the most precise measurements. For 1.2ml I would use a 1ml syringe. I wouldn't measure 1ml and then .2ml I'd do .6ml twice. It's easier to see when you are towards the center of the range rather than on the edges. You don't want to be using a 20ml syringe to measure out 1.2ml not enough resolution to get it right. Also the more precise you are the more repeatable the results will be.

i do the same.....if i have something that calls for 1.1 ml ill measure .5 and a .6.

 

[drobbyb]

Thanks. I have 10 and 30 ml syringes. The 10 ml have .2ml graduations, but I'd rather have more precision than that. I do have 1ml pipettes, but I'm unsure of the precision on those.

 

[Plumes.91]

I only use 10ml syringes. When it calls for .5ml I just use the middle line.
When it calls for .25 or whatever.. I use the lines in .20 increments.
I'm probably doing it all wrong but I haven't overdosed yet.
Someone want to help me with that? I'll definitely pick up a bunch of 1ml syringes.

Oh yeah and OP- my ecalculator says 25 drops = 1ml
But I know from experience in other things that that is NOT always true lol.

 

[drobbyb]

I have 100mg base on the way. Plan on cutting it to 36mg. That's not a difficult cut, the calculations for that come out to 19.05 ml of VG to 10.8 ml of base: 36.5% PG 63.5% VG before flavorings and distilled water.

Also, I haven't gotten a nicotine testing kit yet, so I am going to wait until I get one of those before I try this. I ordered my base from ecigexpress, but with a mg that high I don't want to take a chance without testing it. I haven't ordered from this vendor before and I don't know their source.

 

[RobertNC]

There is nothing inherently "inconsistent" about using drops. A drop is an indeterminate amount. That does not mean a drop of a given flavor from a given type of dropper bottle- usually the one it comes in is perfectly fine - is not reproducible.

The key to avoiding inconsistency, or more appropriately inability to reliably obtain reproducible results, is all in your technique.

Syringes are not very practical for flavors when making lots of 3 mL experiments. I only use a syringe for PG/VG and Nic. Then I add flavors by drops. There is no problem with reproducibility if you allow a drop to form and fall freely into the mixing bottle.

 

[unloaded]

The problem is different brands and bottles can have different sized drops. If you decide to make a 100ml batch of something are you gonna take the number of drops x33? For me it's easier to have exact numbers and percentages.

 

[Hoosier]

Syringes are not very practical for flavors when making lots of 3 mL experiments.

I disagree. The syringes I use for flavorings are marked every 0.02ml. I can measure out just 0.02ml consistently which, in a 3ml batch, is 0.7% of flavoring. For drops to match that precision your flavoring and dropper would need to have a 50 drops/ml and that is a rarity.

It's sometimes shocking how many times I use tiny amounts of flavoring in a batch, but I can hit it every time with a syringe.

 

[RobertNC]

If you have lots of microsyringes 0.02 mL is fine, but I have a bunch of 1 mL syringes, they may be marked at 0.02 mL increments but I certainly would not use them for that. For that matter I don't use them for anything less than 0.2-0.4 mL. If you can deliver 0.02 mL from a syringe reliably, you can do it reliably. But I know I can't and I don't think most people can.

Drops are simple to work with. If I want less than a drop of something which I often do for things like coffee, I simply make a stock dilution in PG/VG.

 

[Kurt]

Drop size depends on viscosity as well as the hole size it is coming from. graduated syringes are in general remarkably accurate and precise, since they are used primarily for medicine. Never use drops for nic, especially 100 mg/mL. You will almost certainly get the nic level very wrong.

ECX takes nic levels very seriously. I would be surprised if they are not spot on accurate, but then an indicator titration kit will have an uncertainty of around +/- 10%, and I would not test flavored liquids, as flavors can affect the results.

 

[darkhood]

I've found it's really not an exact science...use your instincts like you do when you cook - you'll figure it out

 

[Hoosier]

Just 1ml syringes with good markings. Might want to try lubricating the plunger with PG before use as that makes them much easier to use precisely. Good lighting is a must too.

 

[RobertNC]

The problem is different brands and bottles can have different sized drops. If you decide to make a 100ml batch of something are you gonna take the number of drops x33? For me it's easier to have exact numbers and percentages.

Sure different brands have different size drops. That is the basis for my objection to using a calculator in the first place. But a given flavor, a drop from a dropper bottle is reproducible from drop to drop. Again it is indeterminate, that does not mean it is inconsistent.

And sure, if you try to go from drops at 3 mL to 100 mL there are some problems. But I never make more than 10 mLs at a time anyway.

Now as far as percentages go, if you are making large enough batches and you use a syringe for everything, then you can calculate a volume percentage based formula. But that is not what I think most people are doing and that is certainly not what calculators are doing - calculators always have some built-in assumption about drops/mL, which is an invalid assumption, in my opinion and by your own argument.

 

[Hoosier]

Have you tried Scubabatdan's calculator in the sticky's Robert? It's real easy to adjust the drops/ml.

There is a new calculator in development that will allow you to adjust the drops/ml for individual flavorings, so that should be of greater use for you.

 

[drobbyb]

Good to hear ECX takes their nic level very seriously. That's a load off. I've been reading a lot of good things about their nic, so it seems they were a good choice.

RobertNC, I had thought about using a graduated cylinder to measure how many drops it took to equal a ml. This would come in handy for flavorings since they have dripper tips installed already.

 

[RobertNC]

Have you tried Scubabatdan's calculator in the sticky's Robert? It's real easy to adjust the drops/ml.

There is a new calculator in development that will allow you to adjust the drops/ml for individual flavorings, so that should be of greater use for you.

Nahh, not into calculators at all.

When I first got interested in this I planned on not being reliant on any vendors, i.e I was going to have a bunch of reagents basically, e.g. acetophenone instead of somebody's "Cherry". I started putting together a spreadsheet and quickly realized it was not feasible - the DEA would be busting my door in and setting me up on federal conspiracy charges when all I was doing was making e-liquid.

So when I gave up that approach I just decided to forget about even pretending to know what was in my mix. After all, we have no idea really, I'm just mixing up old lady's douche water and hitting it to see if I like it.

I only care about reproducibility, which is easily done with drops. Careful records is more important to me than a calculator. It is all purely empirical. You have to specify "FlavourArt Virginia", TobaccoExpress Virginia is a completely different animal. So why bother with some kind of calculation at all?

And drops are more "meaningful" or maybe intuitive IMO.

And now I like living in a "drop world". It is a rational frame of reference. I make 3 mL mixes. If I like 2 drops of "Sweet Creme", (3 drops of TFA and it is getting peppery) I wanna try 1 drop "Sweet Creme" + 1 drop of "Fresh Creme" together, and then just 2 Drops of "Fresh Creme" and no "Sweet Creme."

I make lots of 3 mL mixes. Making lots of incrementally different mixes is not only much simpler using drops, to me it is a much more intuitive way to think about flavors and how I like or don't like them, when they start to become "peppery" etc.