Lab Equipment: Must Have's and Gimicks

[Zakillah]

Lab glass bottles with a rough scale are great for larger batches and pre mixing your desired base liquid. Those in various sizes and scales (kitchen scale for Nic/PG/VG mixing; analytical scale for flavors) are all I ever use.

 

[RaisedFist]

Lab glass bottles with a rough scale are great for larger batches and pre mixing your desired base liquid. Those in various sizes and a scale are all I ever use.

Yeah, I kept all my old 120 & 100ml bottles from older juices and I'm using those, I've found them very useful for big batches so far

 

[Electrodave]

I agree!
And may everything in the ab be a nail, and cower in fear!!

Any problem that can't be solved with a hammer isn't worth solving.

As my shop supervisor always used to say "Don't force it! Get a bigger hammer".

Now I will share my ejuice recipe with you:
99%VG with desired nicotine concentration
1% 60/40 solution of purified water and ethanol
Optional--0.25%-1% flavoring

Anymore, I do some lightly flavored for my rda's and cartos, and vape unflavored most of the time.

 

[Rossum]

1% 60/40 solution of purified water and ethanol

In other words, vodka.

 

[Electrodave]

In other words, vodka.

In other words. Very handy and cheap source of purified water and ethanol. Whatever you do, don't put tap water in your ejuice.

 

[RaisedFist]

In other words, vodka.

Ok, as a total noob here I have to ask, what is the pourpose of the vodka in the e-juice?

 

[Tabac man]

Ok, as a total noob here I have to ask, what is the pourpose of the vodka in the e-juice?

It gets you bladdered.

 

[Electrodave]

It's a way to thin the VG without adding PG. It's a lot more effective as well. I use 1%, and the resulting viscosity is similar to 70/30 vg/pg. Up the vodka (or just purified water) to 2%, and it's thinner than pure PG.

A lot of DIY'ers use vodka because it's a cheap source of highly purified water, and the ethanol is an even better thinner than water. Which is why some people use Everclear. "Competition" vapers at cloud competitions are usually using VG thinned out with water and/or ethanol.

 

[stols001]

Thins out vape. Taste (for some folks.) I got tired of the "Vodka plus whatever flavor" experience, personally. I don't use it anymore but some folks really like it.

Anna

 

[Electrodave]

I can't taste it. The ethanol is only 0.4% of the juice. I can't taste the water, either. The reason I like to use it is because I don't want to use any PG at all. PG is harsh on the throat, which many people seem to like, but I don't. Same reason that I use salt rather than freebase nicotine. The smoother, the cooler, the better.

 

[stols001]

I am an alcoholic. I can taste a drop of vodka if I have to drink the whole Sahara desert to do it.

I use PEG400 you may want to try that (do your due diligence but I think it's harmless.) It is a flavor carrier like PG but no real throat hit, it's less viscous than VG, but thicker than VG. I happen to think it is fantastic, and better than water. Water an VG taste "muddy" somehow, PEG400 makes flavors sharper, very smooth vape.

Nic River sells it for cheap. I found nothing alarming in my research. I don't use PG because I am am sensitive to it, too much (more than 10%) feels like inhaling a bunch of needles. It's unpleasant.

Anna

 

[Electrodave]

Vodka works great, is cheap and I can't taste the 0.4% ethanol in my ejuice. Can't say my ejuice has ever tasted "muddy".

 

[Susaz]

I reuse my authentic chubby gorilla 50ml bottles all the time - a lil flat head screwdriver (doesn't have to be blue ) under the nozzle cap (above the threads), and they flip right off.

I'm not sure though, if they are the same as what you are talking about however. Mine just came full of commercial juice, so I saved them for diy.


Everyone has forgotten the most important thing that you will need:

High Tech Labels

I use this:
View attachment 828875
And this:
View attachment 828877

I use a Brother labeller. I have one that prints on two lines so the flavor, concentration and density are clearly marked and I don't have to wear glasses to read them.
Besides. LDPE bottles are cheaper than PET. I wash mine and send them in for recyling.

 

[Susaz]

Lab glass bottles with a rough scale are great for larger batches and pre mixing your desired base liquid. Those in various sizes and scales (kitchen scale for Nic/PG/VG mixing; analytical scale for flavors) are all I ever use.

I've seen some of those 500 ml and 1 liter dark glass. Any chance where I can find some? Thanks

 

[Nermal]

I use a Brother labeller. I have one that prints on two lines so the flavor, concentration and density are clearly marked and I don't have to wear glasses to read them.
Besides. LDPE bottles are cheaper than PET. I wash mine and send them in for recyling.

I use Post-it labeling tape. Not vape related, really, but handy for lots of things, especially if you can read your own handwriting. Stuff's about an inch wide, removable paper tape. It requires no machine, of course.

I just thought I'd toss that in there.

 

[IDJoel]

I've seen some of those 500 ml and 1 liter dark glass. Any chance where I can find some? Thanks

Do you mean something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K3RVPQB/ref=biss_dp_sa1

 

[stols001]

High VG and water tasted fine to me as well. I got the PEG400 because I vape MTL and it was just harder with my ratios and it made my mixes less annoyingly thick.

I did not think my eliquid tasted muddy until I tried some of the exact same mixes with PEG400. The taste was somehow sharper, crisper, IDK quite know how to describe it. But I think it really is a flavor carrier.

However, do what you want, and by all means vape what you like! Don't mind me, it was just a suggestion.... I am all for freedom to vape however you want (within reason, LOL).

Anna

 

[CMD-Ky]

I was told on the DIY site that for lowering the viscosity of VG 1ml of water has the same "thinning" effect as does 4ml of PG. For 100ml, I use 18ml of VG nicotine base, 72ml VG and 10ml of de-ionized water. This approximates the 60VG/40PG that I like. I use syringes for all three. That is not precise to the hundredths of a milliliter but it works for me.

I can't verify the truth or falsity of that statement about viscosity equivalence but I have followed it for years and I like the results.

 

[Tabac man]

I've noticed not all VG is the same. Some of it is thick as treacle and some not so much.

 

[Susaz]

Do you mean something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K3RVPQB/ref=biss_dp_sa1

YES! Thank you sooo much. I do get but ungraduated. This is easy because it's pour to line mark.