Hi there! Plus advice sought on pg vs. pg400

[Dean Esmay]

Hey, I've been an enthusiastic vaper for about two and a half years, my wife four or five. We recently switched up to e-liquids and are enjoying it. I tried a bunch of different mixes including pg, vg, pg400, etc.

I eventually decided I didn't like PG400 much, not bad or horrible but too rough on the throat. Don't like it much. So I bought a 300ml bottle of PG-based, which I like very well. I just hate to waste the 20ml or so I have of pg400. I'm thinking about just dumping it into the big bottle of mostly-pg liquid. Does anyone know if that's likely to cause a problem? My gut says it's OK and I'll barely notice but you never know what happens when you mix chemicals like that. Anyone tried such a thing?

 

[kikoMON]

didn't knw they had 300 ml bottles lol

 

[Deacon Aegis]

I'd suggest mixing a small bottle of each to try how that works for you before going all out on the larger bottle. As far as I know, there will be no chemical problems of mixing the two. The only real difference between PG and PG-400 is the molecular weight of the glycol due to the difference of the coefficient of hexane and water in suspension in the chemical structure of the glycol. The differences on the molecular level is the volume of water in suspension in the hexane layer. This may cause the two weights of glycol to separate out or striate in the compound you mix, but that would be the only real down side methinks.

 

[Dean Esmay]

Yeah, I buy from a source in China, and keep it in the refrigerator. So far it's working out very well and quite cheap. I tried a bunch of different mixes, including VG, VG+PG, striaght PG, vg+PG400, and straight PG400. I actually quite liked straight PG400 ok, but after a few days I found it painful. Straight PG works better for me and so I stick with that. I went ahead and dumped some small bottles of VG and VG+PG into the mix to salvage those (I don't really like VG but a little doesn't bother me). A 300ml bottle should last months unless it goes stale, and was only something like $40. I figure it'll keep in the fridge just fine as long as I make sure to shake it regularly.

 

[Dean Esmay]

A friend of mine on Facebook responded, which looks like a pretty solid answer:

"Technically there is no reason it should be as some eye drops contain both and both are safe to use as a food additive. How your vaporizer behaves and the effect it gives you is not entirely obvious, but there's no reason to think you'll die or blow up I don't use vape myself, but I find the science underlying it fascinating. Here's the link to the eye drops with both http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=44241"

So it looks like the chemical mixture is safe enough, although I suppose something weird could happen in combustion. I really don't -hate- the PG400 but it's just too damned harsh for me. I figure mixing 30ml into what's probably 280 or so left of the PG mix probably won't hurt it, but then again... hmm. You make a good point about the molecular weight thing. I keep wondering if anyone else has tried it.

 

[Deacon Aegis]

I'm sure someone out there has given it a try, but I don't know the specifics of mixing these different PG's. Do some experimentation and let us know what you find though as it is an interesting situation.

 

[Dean Esmay]

OK I tried it and I'm glad I took your advice of trying a small mix first. It SUCKED! I already found PG400 a little mediciny-tasting and harsh, and somehow adding the two together to me just intensified the nasty flavor and made it seem harsher if anything. Not doing that again! Guess I'll just give away or throw away my PG400 stuff. Bleah!

 

[Deacon Aegis]

OK I tried it and I'm glad I took your advice of trying a small mix first. It SUCKED! I already found PG400 a little mediciny-tasting and harsh, and somehow adding the two together to me just intensified the nasty flavor and made it seem harsher if anything. Not doing that again! Guess I'll just give away or throw away my PG400 stuff. Bleah!

Glad you gave it a try on a small scale first. At least you saved yourself the headache of replacing a large batch. Interesting that it would have that effect.