Help with 100% VG recipe

[skoot]

I've been working on my first recipe and need some help. I use 100% VG. The VG needs a LOT of water to make it thin enough, without this much it's very, very heavy. I'm trying to match the consistency of HHV's stuff. Also, I prefer NF flavors as they are organic and do not contain PG.

4.8ml 100mg/ml 100% VG nic base (RTS Vapes) 24%
7.2 ml VG (Essential Depot) 36%
4 ml distilled H2O 20%
3 ml NF Bavarian Creme
1 ml NF Malt 20% (both flavors added)

I mixed this up and did the speed steep method- 15 min. soak in hot tap water, shake, repeat 3X. It tastes like diet Sprite. That's the only comparison I can make. Consistency seems good in my Nova but the taste is absolute crap. Could that be alcohol? I get a faint taste of the BC but mostly it's a strange minty/lemon/lime nasty Lysol taste.

Any thoughts?

 

[BillLouisiana]

IMO, you should not be using more than 10% Distilled Water. I would try the mixture without water, taste and make decisions from there. You could be tasting the RTS nic juice, the VG itself or the NF Flavorings and whatever they contain.

 

[skoot]

Without any water it is unusable- my Nova will not wick it, and it clogs my Ikenvape double-punched cartos. At 10% it becomes usable, but just barely, and feels like I'm inhaling Jello. At 20% it behaves like other commercial 100% VG juices I have, and works well in the Nova and cartotanks. I don't think I can cut it any less.

I can try vaping the plain VG though and see if that's where the taste is coming from, then add nic base and see, then flavors.

I have a suspicion it's the flavors, as the tank I filled last night is starting to taste OK now. I suspect alcohol.

 

[skoot]

I did some experimenting and the off taste is almost certainly alcohol. The first few pulls off a fresh tank, or the first few pulls if it's been sitting for a couple of hours, results in this acrid taste- but then it goes away. I'm assuming this is the alcohol wicking through- it seems to make sense that even in a cartotank, the alcohol burn off first. I left my bottle open last night and today, we'll see if that changes anything.

I'm also trying a different brand of VG. I found Frontier brand at Whole Foods, it's not listed USP but it is all natural. I haven't played with it yet but it looks to be MUCH, MUCH thinner than the Essential Depot VG I've been working with.

 

[yzer]

Your atomizing device has a lot to do with vaping high percentage VG juice. I use unflavored 95/5 VG/H2O. This works perfectly fine with my cartos although the juice is thick enough that I must thermometer shake the first 12 drops that go into a brand new carto. pBusardo has a video out where he shows how to adjust wicks on clearos for high VG. With carto tanks and high VG the issue is finding the right number of punches for the carto.

I use only fresh Glycerin USP for VG.

 

[LucentShadow]

I'm not familiar with any NF flavoring, but I gather that it's alcohol-based. With that in mind, I'm a bit surprised that you would need to use it at 20% of the mix. Generally, alcohol-based flavorings can and should be quite strong (like 1-5% of the mix.) I know that I would not be able to tolerate them at that high of a percentage. I'd go with the alcohol as the suspect. If you haven't tried it at a lower percentage, I'd suggest doing so.

Might also be worth looking into the super-concentrated flavorings.

I use about 20% distilled water in my mostly-VG juice. I use 5-10% of strong PG-based flavorings. It seems to me that 20% water and 20% alcohol would be quite thin, though. I've found that added distilled water helps with flavor in my mixes, and I wouldn't expect it to cause anything to taste worse, unless the flavoring was too strong.

 

[skoot]

What brand VG do you use? Is your nic base 100% VG too? I'm really trying to narrow this down, thanks.

 

[LucentShadow]

What brand VG do you use? Is your nic base 100% VG too? I'm really trying to narrow this down, thanks.

I'm currently using this VG:

USP Grade Vegetable Glycerin - MyFreedomSmokes.com

I also regularly use the re-branded Humco Glycerin sold in the skincare section of Walmart, in 6oz bottles. I can't say that I've noticed any discernible difference, but the MFS stuff seems to get good reviews...

I am sensitive to PG, so I also use only VG-based nic liquid. I've got the remainder of VG & nic only that I ordered from MFS in the freezer. It was pretty good, but very thick and annoying to work with. I have bought most of my nic liquid from GoodProphets. They used to run good sales on the 36mg/ml 120ml VG nic liquid (like $6,) and they thin it with distilled water to make it easier to work with. It has a bit of taste to it, but nothing bad.

I find that 5-10% PG does not seem to bother me, but anything more than about 1% alcohol gives me a sore throat, so I stick with PG-based flavorings that are fairly strong, and also use my own VG-based extracts:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/liquid-extraction-tobacco/99774-vg-pipe-tobacco-essense.html

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...57599-slow-cooker-extraction-tobacco-tea.html

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/239733-coffee-flavor.html

If you haven't tried any extractions, you may want to try one. VG usually won't make strong flavorings, but they only have what liquid types that you choose. Particulates are the only real con to these, for me, and I'll be getting some .45 micron syringe filters sometime to see if I can conquer that.

 

[yzer]

I use the Humco Glycerine USP as well. The last batch I bought several weeks ago has an expiration date of 9/2017.

CVS Pure Glycerin USP - CVS pharmacy

 

[eHuman]

Your recipe uses 20% water. 10% is the most you should use. But that is not the cause of your off flavor.

 

[skoot]

Why is 10% the max?

 

[bigbells]

Just my opinion, but I don't think 20% distilled water is a problem. Mt Baker Vapor sells juice with 70%/30% VG to distilled water. I haven't ever tried it, but I haven't heard complaints about it.

 

[eHuman]

Why is 10% the max?

Just the recommended maximum necessary. Actual mileage may vary.