Lemon for PH

[mgmixology]

I'm sure this may be covered somewhere on here but im looking for a quick chime in on there being Lemon oil in the stuff people recommend buying.
"real lemon"
and the lemon shaped lemon juice

Havent ran into a lemon juice without it.


Thus leading me to use vinegar for everything!

 

[Hoosier]

Right, any real citrus juice will have some oil...
Folks making flavoring extracts from coffee and teas will have oil...
I use some oils for flavoring...

Not sure why this leads to vinegar for everything?

Care to explain it to me? You seem to know something that escapes me...

 

[williebb123]

wow i cant believe hoosier has been stumped....lol , this guy has helped me so much he is the guru on diy , oh and buy the way i dont know either

 

[FinallyQuit]

Would powdered citric acid dissolved in pg work for you? There may be dehydrated oil in it as well . . .

 

[mgmixology]

Werent u the one who started the original vinegar thread? lol....anyways i might be drawing a blank. But to my knowledge u need to lower the PH of E-juices. This also helps certain evasive flavors to pop or come through that you may be having trouble with.
But ive always read as a rule of thumb on here to avoid oil. Not sure if thats for health reasons or a seperation issue.
But in a basic sense
Lemon juice for - fruity/sweet
vinegar - robust/tobacco

But i use vinegar in all my juices because im still stumped on lemon oil being in the lemon juices ive ran across.

*meant to quote Hoosiers post*

 

[mgmixology]

Would powdered citric acid dissolved in pg work for you? There may be dehydrated oil in it as well . . .

It's not that the lemon juice doesnt work, im just weary of the lemon oil is all.

 

[Hoosier]

But ive always read as a rule of thumb on here to avoid oil. Not sure if thats for health reasons or a seperation issue.

There can be separation issues, but not likely to happen with lemon juice.

Some oils are risky, but not all. The "rule of thumb" probably comes from lumping the good in with the bad. (Or instead of trying to explain it, it's easier to say, "no oil", even if that isn't actually accurate...then it gets repeated...)

Orange oil is actually more troublesome than lemon, but we're dealing with a juiced fruit and the oil content is minimal, comparatively, for both. (BTW: Orange oil isn't the best thing to inhale, but I say troublesome because it doesn't mix with PG well, at all, and swells rubber which makes the bulbs on my glass bottles all funky and weird. I have given up doing much of anything with orange oil now-a-days.)

I never chimed in on the vinegar thread....I was kinda' disappointed that one got out...before that thread it was like this cool that only a select few knew about... (<< That's humor. I'd been playing with it, but hadn't come to an articulate conclusion when the thread came to life and I seem to experiment at a slower pace than most...maybe I analyze things too much...)

But if vinegar works for you, there's no reason to stop using it.

 

[mgmixology]

There can be separation issues, but not likely to happen with lemon juice.

Some oils are risky, but not all. The "rule of thumb" probably comes from lumping the good in with the bad. (Or instead of trying to explain it, it's easier to say, "no oil", even if that isn't actually accurate...then it gets repeated...)

Would you care to elaborate? or at least direct me to a source of which oils are safer than others for inhalation?
*Always been a subject of ignorance for me ( lack of knowledge )

 

[SouthernBliss]

Part of the issue with oils has to do with strength. Citrus, eucalyptus and cinnamon oils are very harsh when they come in direct contact with skin at full strength. None the less eucalyptus has been used as an inhalant for many years (in steam for example) and is widely considered perfectly safe. If a flavor cracks plastic the odds are good that it includes some oil that is causing that damage by the way. In very small amounts, in this case a small percentage of a flavoring used as a percentage of an overall mix the likelihood of the oils causing an issue are very small.

 

[mgmixology]

i have some glass tanks thanks for the info southernbliss!

 

[Dunder Mifflin]

I read in here about the lemon juice and vinegar addition to our juices. I have added lemon to fruits and vinegar to desserts. But, I won't anymore. I have asked 3 professional juice makers on 3 separate webcast shows and the answer was a huge no. They all said they never use it and never would. I am always hunting for that elusive answer of what is the trick to make awesome juice. I think the answer is practice.

 

[RobertNC]

I experimented with the pH lowering concept some. I found it tends to step on the overall flavor which can be a benefit for taming some of the funkier tobacco flavors.

Ultimately I decided the preferable path was to find tobacco flavors that inherently suited my tastes better rather than muting them by pH reduction.

However if you wish to pursue this I suggest that you forego lemon juice and I definitely do not recommend using any sort of true essential oils for vaping at least not in any manner except extreme dilution.

I've never wanted any real citrus flavor itself. I've had reasonably good results with a very minor pH mod by using FlavourArt Citrus Mix which is a mild flavor blend, suitable for vaping. I cut it to about a third flavor with PG/VG base and a few drops of the cut in say a 10mL to acco blend will moderate some of the tobacco flavor notes without imparting any distinct citrus taste

 

[SouthernBliss]

The added acid isn't so much about the PH of the flavors as it is about the base being alkaline and pulling it closer to 7-8. In some cases the flavoring will do that on their own. Others not so much. And of course some flavors are not going to taste right unless the acidity higher because we perceive them as "tart".

As far as oils go, they are the reason that some flavors cause cracking in plastics. Everything from cola (which has a citrus component) to the obvious ones like wintergreen and eucalyptus. Of course they are fractional components of those type of mixes by the time they are vaped.

 

[mgmixology]

I read in here about the lemon juice and vinegar addition to our juices. I have added lemon to fruits and vinegar to desserts. But, I won't anymore. I have asked 3 professional juice makers on 3 separate webcast shows and the answer was a huge no. They all said they never use it and never would. I am always hunting for that elusive answer of what is the trick to make awesome juice. I think the answer is practice.

just a small real life analogy
Yeahh the professionals...there is one simple concept in business. To make money.(in which competition drives the prices down...sayy i came out with a ballbusting juice and i decide im gonna sell it for 60% profit..where as the rest of the market is going for a higher return) Sub categories would include customer service and blah blah blah... my point is your answer does not lay in the hands of any business man. In which your referring to as professional juice makers. The question was not about whether it worked or not... but about the lemon oil in every lemon juice ive come across.

 

[Vaptor]

I find that vinegar levels out the mix when some flavors stick out. Not always desirable effect but sometimes helps for bad mixes or brings down extra strong flavor a bit.