Mixing By Weight: Basics 101

[zoiDman]

thanks Fozzy71 found it now. DOH....

So I want to do a bottle tonight.
So I put the bottle on, tare / zero out, then add the next ingredient and zero out/ tare with each added ingredient ?

I just like to double check since I plan on doing a 250ml bottle . Thank you all for all the help and guidance.

I will update with the results of my first by weight bottle venture.

One thing you might do while you are still getting your Weighing Tech Down.

And that is to make a Note of How much the Bottle Weighs before you Tare it. It's Nice to know what the Bottle Weighs incase you get lost/confused while Adding Ingredients and Tare-ing.

That, and putting something like a Plastic Lid on the Scale Surface is Handy if you Spill.

 

[oplholik]

That, and putting something like a Plastic Lid on the Scale Surface is Handy if you Spill.

Now there is a why didn't I ever think of that idea.

 

[anavidfan]

Thank you oplholik !!!!!
Great tips !!!!! Im still getting myself ready to do my first "by weight" bottle.

Dont know why I hesitate, but like everything new to me, I like to get as much info before I jump in

 

[zoiDman]

Now there is a why didn't I ever think of that idea.

Yeah... A Coffee Can Lid works Great.

 

[Capt.shay]

Hello @Capt.shay

Thank you for this great thread. I got the scale you linked, and Im ready to put it to use.
So basically look at ones recipe and convert ml to grams and "tare" in between each new ingredient?

I hope this works out, cause after doing my own NET, using bought tobacco flavors is so much less mess and time. Now I want to really step it up and have even less of a mess.

Wphew, I just skimmed this entire thread. After my last mixing by volume fiasco (the husband hid the syringes after I washed them, or I hid them from myself) and using a mix of drops and baking equipment? (Which was well sterilized afterward, nicotine cake anyone?) Well, I am going to go the way of the weigh, for sure. My mixes turned out okay, but I'm fairly sure they were far from accurate. I already have a rather precise digital scale, I think this next time is going to be way easier....

Oh, I mighta bailed on mixing like McGuyver, but I had everything out, ready to go, warmed up (except my syringes) from the looks of things this is going to suit me far better.... Thanks to Capt.shay for starting the thread and all the good information contained within it.

Anna

Welcome guys. Im quite certain that you will find the weigh much easier than messing around with graded cylinders and syringes (let them stay lost Stols). There are a lot of helpful folks that follow this thread and I see many of them have piped in to help out with your questions. If you have any more questions/problems sound up here and I'm sure the peeps will help you out.

 

[Thayamax]

I've been following this thread pretty much since it started even though I wasn't making my own juice at the time. I was thinking about it but I wasn't really up for all the stuff I'd have to buy and all the clean up involved. It didn't take me long to decide that mixing by weight was the way I wanted to go and it got me off the fence and into DIY.

I've been making my own juice for months now and I couldn't be happier with the results. I can make juice right at my computer desk with almost no cleanup. I can't imagine making juice any other way. Thanks @Capt.shay. I probably couldn't/wouldn't have done it without you.

 

[ShowerHead]

Im quite certain that you will find the weigh much easier than messing around with graded cylinders and syringes

Indeed you and this thread are why I am happily mixing away.
I got a scale when this thread started and I haven't looked back.
Say what you will about syringes and all, but when I mixed by volume I never tried any complex recipe. Now that I weigh, I have some mixes that need 7 flavors. Not even going to think of the pain in the keister that would be by volume.

So, thanks to all who have helped out in this thread. Special thanks to @Capt.shay

 

[LongDraw]

So I scrolled a few pages but figure asking might be easier. Anyone have recommendations on a good scale, was looking for one that measured at least 500 grams by .001, but those seem pretty high.

Was hoping to find what the consensus is on a good scale, and anything needed, to start DIYing by weight.

Thank you

 

[Fozzy71]

So I scrolled a few pages but figure asking might be easier. Anyone have recommendations on a good scale, was looking for one that measured at least 500 grams by .001, but those seem pretty high.

Was hoping to find what the consensus is on a good scale, and anything needed, to start DIYing by weight.

Thank you

you will pay a pretty penny for thousandths accuracy. Just go with any of the others mentioned ITT for hundredths accuracy. The difference between hundredths and thousandths is negligible unless you are maybe doing 5ml testers.

 

[LongDraw]

you will pay a pretty penny for thousandths accuracy. Just go with any of the others mentioned ITT for hundredths accuracy. The difference between hundredths and thousandths is negligible unless you are maybe doing 5ml testers.

Thanks Fozzy, will take another look on amazon saw a couple that were 500 gram by .01.

EDIT: Not surf if ITT is a brand. Found one by Gdeal with a lot of good reviews. Thoughts? https://www.amazon.com/GDEALER-Digi...5178613&sr=8-1&keywords=500+by+.01+gram+scale

 

[ShowerHead]

Thanks Fozzy, will take another look on amazon saw a couple that were 500 gram by .01.

EDIT: Not surf if ITT is a brand. Found one by Gdeal with a lot of good reviews. Thoughts? https://www.amazon.com/GDEALER-Digi...5178613&sr=8-1&keywords=500+by+.01+gram+scale

A number of us use this scale:
Amazon.com: American Weigh Scales LB-501 Digital Kitchen Scale: Aws Digital Scale: Kitchen & Dining
The one I got came with a tray/bowl to keep things off the scale and the calibration weights. A plus is, this scale does not auto-zero. I understand that can be an annoyance for our use.

 

[Fozzy71]

Thanks Fozzy, will take another look on amazon saw a couple that were 500 gram by .01.

EDIT: Not surf if ITT is a brand. Found one by Gdeal with a lot of good reviews. Thoughts? https://www.amazon.com/GDEALER-Digi...5178613&sr=8-1&keywords=500+by+.01+gram+scale

I use something similar but had to order an extra calibration weight that cost nearly as much as the scale.

 

[IDJoel]

EDIT: Not surf if ITT is a brand.

ITT = abbreviation for "In The Thread"

 

[zoiDman]

So I scrolled a few pages but figure asking might be easier. Anyone have recommendations on a good scale, was looking for one that measured at least 500 grams by .001, but those seem pretty high.

...

JMO...

But doing e-Liquid DIY with a +/- .001g Scale is akin to counting Individual Grains of Salt when you Cook. And the Price of a set of Calibration Standards would probably Exceed what Most DIY-ers spend on DIY Supplies in a Year. Let along what the Scale (Analytical Balance) would cost.

 

[LongDraw]

Thanks everybody, I appreciate it. Think i'll go with the american scale lb501

 

[LongDraw]

JMO...

But doing e-Liquid DIY with a +/- .001g Scale is akin to counting Individual Grains of Salt when you Cook. And the Price of a set of Calibration Standards would probably Exceed what Most DIY-ers spend on DIY Supplies in a Year. Let along what the Scale (Analytical Balance) would cost.

Wait, you dont' count the salt grains!!!

Very good point, think the lb501 will work great. a lot of reviews and a lot of good reviews

 

[zoiDman]

Wait, you dont' count the salt grains!!!

Very good point, think the lb501 will work great. a lot of reviews and a lot of good reviews

I think that sounds like a Good Call.

You can really do everything but the Flavoring using a Graduated Cylinder if you want. Then use the Scale for the Flavorings.

ETA:

"It kinda Depends on what I'm Measuring.

For measuring 100mg/ml Nicotine Base to make "Pre-Mix", a Line on a 250ml Bottle is Enough.

For measuring VG and PG to add to my 250ml Pre-Mix Bottle, a Graduated Cylinder is Fine.

For Measuring Flavoring to be added with the Pre-Mix, a Scale (to me) is Hard to Beat."

How do you prefer to mea sure your recipe?

 

[Capt.shay]

I just went back to look at something on the first page and it seems all the photo's from the OP are no longer being hosted. Photobucket wants me to pay to upgrade my package if I want to have my pictures show up again. To say the least I am not happy, and I will not be extorted. I will have to speak with a mod and see if they can grant me the ability to edit such an old post so I can repost the pictures without the hosting service.

 

[Capt.shay]

The pictures in the OP have been restored thanks to some fast and furious modding by @classwife . Thanks Classy!

 

[IDJoel]

The pictures in the OP have been restored thanks to some fast and furious modding by @classwife . Thanks Classy!

@Capt.shay, @classwife,
I am not sure if it is something on my end, or others are experiencing the same, but I am still not seeing the photos. Here is a screenshot of what I do see:

I noticed it shortly after you reported it fixed, but figured it might need a couple of hours to "reset" on the servers, so I waited to check again after 24 hours. The result is the same.

I would normally not mention it, but I think this tutorial has significant value, to those who want to learn about mixing by weight. It would be a shame to see this helpful resource diminished.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the {IMG} (guess I can't use the actual brackets in text) is NOT a clickable link.