Mixing by Weight - Are You ??

[JulesXsmokr]

I am new to mixing, doing it for about a month now... I started with syringes and am not real confident in the preciseness of what I am squeezing into my little bottle of brew..
Lot's of info and reasoning here for making accurate mixes and note taking.
I found a thread or two that discussed mixing by weight, so.....
I found I had a gram scale, reads to the hundredth of a gram, and consistent, in about 30 tests already, so I think it's proven.
It will register almost a quarter of a drop of pg.
I just want to know why most folks are not converting over to this method of mixing yet, since it seems to me it is very easy to drop right into the bottle with just a dropper, any will do, or squeeze it right from a dropper tip you can put on your vg and nic. bottle and droppers are super simple to rinse and clean out for your flavors.
There is a good calculator out, and it will import other .rec and .mix files and convert them for immediate use.
Seems, if your looking for accuracy and consistency this would work the best.
Maybe a bunch are trying this out, I just don't see much mention of it.
Are there any pros or cons I am not mentioning here??

 

[BigDaddio]

That sounds pretty interesting I think I will have to try it. However I think that taste being subjective means that even from day to day a mixture will taste different to the same person, probably even a trained chef. I believe the place it would come in handiest is mixing up tiny like 5 ml tests. I personally never mix less than 10ml as reading errors would be to great. But I believe that going by weight I could be way more precise and get a better approximation for a larger batch.

 

[DetraMental]

I don't yet have a scale but that does sound interesting. Could you list a calculator that show's the calculation using weight?

 

[Rickajho]

I don't yet have a scale but that does sound interesting. Could you list a calculator that show's the calculation using weight?

Interesting. How are you doing the math conversion, assuming you have to use the existing calculators?

IMO working by weight makes perfect sense, especially to obtain consistent results, especially with small amounts. Much more accurate way of doing it. And if you manage to screw something up the result will show right there on the scale before you even try it.

 

[happydave]

people that mix by weight are making large batches. Gallons or more at a time. its not really worth trying to measure out 10 or 15 mL batches, unless you plan on scaling up that recipe to large batches.

 

[happydave]

it is not necessary more accurate, if your scales says 1 mL of 100 MG base nicotine weights in at .9 grams. and its not really 100 MG nicotine say its really more like 90 MG per mL. and you make a 1000 mL batch at what you are calling 10 MG per mL. but really its 9 Mg per mL, you are still off by the same amount whether or not you used a syringe or scale.

the things that matter the most, is that your syringe is accurate and your suppler of base nicotine is correctly measuring out the right amounts.

mixing by weight is a faster method by far for making large batches.

things like room temperature will effect the volume of a fluid. not a big deal unless you are mixing gallons of juice. its something to consider however.

 

[HotRod19579]

I don't yet have a scale but that does sound interesting. Could you list a calculator that show's the calculation using weight?

See this discussion: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/480587-new-calculator-try.html

Download links:
Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ceu7kr789fq5wdt/Lmw4X_Xg9j
Google: https://drive.google.com/folderview?...00&usp=sharing

To enable the grams calculations make sure you go to Tools->Options and uncheck "Don't show grams".

 

[JulesXsmokr]

I have weighed my pg and vg separately, so I have weighted values on these 2
- my nic. base mixture consists of pg and or vg, there is a weight value there also obtained from the percentage of vg and pg.
Flavorings are based off of the pg value, so is water..within .05 percent I believe.
Temperature does not affect weight, only volume maybe, and viscosity.. air bubbles also are not a factor when weighing...
The calculator can even refine your mix with added drops after you are done and calculate a refined formula.
I am no scientist at all, but it seems super easy, and fast..
I had some problems using the syringes, they are small, get air bubbles, use a needle on it or not, different tips for dif. ingredients.
Lines and the rubber end of plunger were not perfectly aligning up with marks, some distortion of view.
I'm not knocking using other methods, just wanting to see the cons, and so far I don't see any here.
If I copy someone else's formulas and they have their ingredients in "percentage", I can't possibly deviate from the percentages.
If a formula uses drops and they have their drops to ml. entered in their formula, I don't have to guess what size droppers they used.
The calc. just converts it all. - it shows all the dif. values also, not just weight.

 

[ozy.mandias]

I have been DIYing for quite some time now and I find the measuring by weight method a lot easier than dealing with the syringes.

There are set values for the weight of a ml of PG, which is 1.04g, and as most of my flavours use PG as a carrier solution, that's what I (and my calculator) use as a basis.

For VG, it's 1.26g/ml at room temp.

I'd like to differ from the previous post saying it's only accurate or applicable for larger batches. If I have a more complex mix with say four or five flavours, I don't have to clean syringes or throw out pipettes, I just use the flavours straight from the dropper bottles. Gets the job done in half the time with no mess, it's my preferred method of working.

I still use syringes to transfer larger amounts of juice or pg / VG base to smaller containers, or if mixing larger amounts of juice, where I haven't got the patience to wait and count 100+ drops.

But that's just how I do it and a different method may work better for other folks.

Best ,

Ozy

 

[zoiDman]

people that mix by weight are making large batches. Gallons or more at a time. its not really worth trying to measure out 10 or 15 mL batches, unless you plan on scaling up that recipe to large batches.

Why do you feel this is true?

 

[yo han]

Maybe a bunch are trying this out, I just don't see much mention of it.

Mixing by weight is the best method, by far! Check my blog entry, it's really easy, clean and quick. The fact that it's not taking off is because none of the stickies here mentions it and all the "how to" posts written for beginners are using the "classic" way of mixing.
I think the way of mixing most people are using is scaring potential DIYers off because they don't feel like messing around with syringes and pipettes which all have to be cleaned when finished. Even a lot of the Veterans are still using these things. There are a couple of calculators out there which can do mixing by grams so there's absolutely no reason why one wouldn't use this method. I guess most of it is the "I'm used to the old way" attitude. Too bad those people are also passing it on to noobs.

 

[HotRod19579]

I have been considering switching to mixing by weight and I am getting ready to jump in. Any recommendations on a scale to buy (on the cheap side)? I have been pricing scales and some of them are only accurate to 1 gram, others are accurate to 0.1 gram and some even go lower. For DIY purposes, what level of accuracy would you recommend?

 

[Wow1420]

I read the other thread on mixing by weight, and I really like the idea. I tried it once with the scale I already have, but the scale had two problems. One, it's precision is only 0.1 gram and two, it has a battery saving shutoff that was too quick for me.
I feel that for small batches, 0.01 gram would work better.

If anyone has a recommendation for a cheap but adequate scale, I'd would like to hear it.

 

[zoiDman]

I think like All things, results are dependent on how good the Equipment used to do the work.

I have a 200g scale with .01g Resolution. It works fine for DIY. I also have a 100g scale with .1g Resolution and it does work so well.

 

[yo han]

If anyone has a recommendation for a cheap but adequate scale, I'd would like to hear it.

I've posted one at the end of my blog entry. But it's on eBay as well: click.
Incredible value for money.

 

[HotRod19579]

Do you need to go thru each and every flavor and measure the weight before starting or have you found that all TFA flavors weigh the same? Hangsen flavors? Do all pg based flavors weigh the same as PG? I.e. Any shortcuts to get started?

 

[yo han]

I keep pointing to my blog entry but probably in vain...
Flavors have a density between 0.9 and 1.04 but are a small part of the final mix and the difference is negligible.
Even if you know the exact density of your flavors, you can't add 1/8 of a drop to your mix to ge the exact amount anyway. And besides that, taste is subjective. You add the amount that you think tastes good. Unless you're going to pass the recipe on to others, who cares what the density is?

 

[JulesXsmokr]

I have the (Ameican Weigh Scales) AWS-100 scale - I've seen it available for 15 to 30 bucks..
It has a max of 100 grams, accuracy to + or- .02g.
resolution of .00 - has tare functions, and comes with a 100g. weight for calibration. A 10 year warrantee..
It does have a 60 sec. shutoff, but I haven't had it shut off on me while dropping into a bottle on the scale.. If it shuts off after you finished dropping from a bottle, that's OK - your going to tare it anyway and bring it back to zero, ready for your next ingredient.
There are better ones, but this seems fine to me - A full 50 ml. bottle 50/50 mix is around 92+ grams..

 

[happydave]

Why do you feel this is true?

doing it by weight is just not something i can see people doing long term with small batches... if you do it, Great, its a fine method. just know that its not any more accurate than the rest of your measuring devices or the devices and methods of your suppliers.

there are worse methods for sure...

i could see how a scale would increase speed for small batches, but it would only matter if your trying to knock out hundreds of 10 or 15 mL batches per day.

 

[JulesXsmokr]

you're in denial now...