I think hes going for "whatever it works out to."
Again, whatever it works out to after adding flavoring. Otherwise known as "Max VG."
12mg nic base in 100% VG and several TFA flavor concentrates, he said. No plain PG or VG.
Mixing By Weight: Basics 101
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Hi ScandaLex,
I think what you were trying to ask has gotten kind of lost so I am going to try and reset the question. The answer to "How do I determine how much flavoring to add?" is: "by tasting."
No one can tell you what is going to taste best to you. Only you can figure that out. So, if you genuinely want what is going to taste best to you; you are going to have to put forth some effort. There are a couple of ways to do so.
One way is to find some recipes for the ingredients you have (or buy the required ingredients for recipes that sound good to you) and use this as a starting point. Remember, recipes for e-juice are like recipes for food, they can be (and most often are
) tweaked to our own liking. With this method it is pretty much trial and error until you develop an idea of what you do/don't like. The other way is to experiment with each flavor you have individually first. With this route you would choose one of your flavors and mix small batches (2-5mL each are plenty for a dripper) and taste them at increased flavor percentages until you find what percentage tastes best to you. This is my personally preferred method.
ECF member @Bill's Magic Vapor found a way of doing this flavor testing very quickly, and without having to make multiple batches. He went further and created this worksheet you can find here. A couple of things you should know if you want to try this method:
- this is intended to be reasonably close and fast; not precise.
- You may substitute an unflavored, diluted, nic base for the "PG" drops. Such as a 40PG/60VG/6mg nic base, or a 100% VG 12mg/mL premix.
- you really need to use the same/same size "dropper" for all drops. This means use the same sized dropper bottle tip, eye dropper, syringe, syringe needle, or pipette. The idea is to do what you can to keep the drop size as reasonably uniform as possible. (And to all those who are going to say that the drops won't be the same size due to viscosity; you're right. AND SHUT UP! Please reread the previous note.
) - Take a clean bottle, or flask and add the indicated nuber of drops of PG or unflavored diluted nic base, add indicated number of flavor drops. Mix thoroughly by stirring, shaking, or swirling.
- Many get confused what subtracting drops means. This simply means, using the same dropper you have been using, place those three drops on a freshly wicked atty like an RTA and vape to taste.
- Because 3 drops isn't much; I prefer a 2mm simple single coil about 0.8-1.2ohm resistance wicked with wicking of your choice. But keep the wick tails (the part extending beyond the end of the coil) short (roughly a 1/4 of an inch). This will help maximize the amount of juice available to vape.
- The other, and often most overlooked/confusing, thing is this is a cumulative method. This means the drops in step 2 are added to what is left from step 1 after vaping the three mixed drops. And Sep 3 is added to the remainder of step 2... and so on. This is what makes it so quick. You are not starting from scratch each time.
But I found when I started working with other flavor manufacturers (and even some TFA's) that the "best" for me was actually under 5%. So I adapted Bill's chart to go from 1% to 9% in roughly 1% increments. You can find a link to my adapted chart here. Besides the quantity of drops changing the important change is the flavor is pre-diluted to 25% strength (again you can use your 12% unflavored VG nic in place of PG). Just follow the instructions at the top.
If that is too much work for you, you can use the site previously referred to you (the one you stated you had already found), and use their "flavor list" (found under the "resources" tab). Look up your individual flavors and most have information about average percentages used as a mix and as a stand-alone (keep in mind; this is only based on those {if any} who chose to respond, and is still personal preference).
I hope this helps.
"WE NOW RETURN YOU YOU TO YOUR REGULAR TOPIC... THE WAY OF WEIGH."
I guess you would just ask it to give you the numbers for any ratio at all that is the same size batch as the one that you want to make and enter your desired flavors and percentages. Then just use the flavor numbers with the appropriate amount of base.
@IDJoel @bwh79 @gnees @serenity21899 (if I left someone out, my apologies)... Thank you all for your input! Will check out the newest links later today. Have bookmarked several.
I woke up this morning & it dawned on me, I may be my own worst enemy by overthinking the process like I did before building coils for the 1st time.
I woke up this morning & it dawned on me, I may be my own worst enemy by overthinking the process like I did before building coils for the 1st time.
Thanks Sugar! I realized I'm making it more complicated than it needs to be. Just get in there 'n do it!!!
If 12mg is your number to vape, then what you ordered is only ready to vape if you do absolutely nothing to it.
i don't think that is what you intended to do, so IF you buy nic in the future buy a higher mg and some plain vg. That would allow the flexibility to actually accomplish keeping the nic @12 and still have room to add flavoring without lowering your nic %.
Depending on how much flavor you are adding to your 12mg base determines where the actual nic content will end up.
I did a small chart in another thread earlier, let me see if I can find it. brb
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When you mix like this your nic levels go down. And so does the vg. Flavorings are usually in pg so that is what is counted in total volume for pg ratio.
To calculate the nic in the total volume of a 30ml bottle you would need to calculate what ml to put in for the whole bottle. This chart is intended to show how to calculate ending up with 3mg in a 30 ml bottle , so someone wanted a higher mg would change the first line to read 30x6 =180mg or 30x12mg = 360 and so on. Be sure to plug in the correct mg and correct bottle size(volume) for what you want your ejuice to end up being.
Using this as a guide to calculate a 3mg/ml
30ml(target volume) x 3mg/ml = 90mg in the whole bottle
With 100 mg/ml nic, its 90/100 = 0.9mls added to the 30ml
with 24 mg/ml nic, it would be 90/24 = 3.75 mls
with 12mg/ml nic, it would be 90/12 = 7.5 mls
with 6 mg/ml nic, it would be 90/6 = 15mls.
with 3 mg/ml nic, it would be 90/3 = 30mls. Then there is no room for anything to be added.
Only posted as an example. Plug in your numbers to the formula and see where you are.
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Did you all miss the part where he said he Vapes between 6 to 12 mg and is not really dead set on any one particular strength?
No, but in another thread she said her intention on buying the 12mg was so she could just add the flavors, not realizing that would dilute the nic. Plus, I am just giving examples to show how someone new could start to think about how to mix their favorites.
edited to correct errors and also to say I added to my previous post to clarify.
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Welcome to The Internet, where the men are Men, and the women are Also Men. Pleasure to meet you, Sir!Lex is all woman.
You're right. I didn't realize it at first but I'm ok with that since the mg's I vape vary between 6 & 12.No, but in another thread he said his intention on buying the 12mg was so he could just add the flavors, not realizing that would dilute the nic. Plus, I am just giving examples to show how someone new could start to think about how to mix their favorites.
I have been following this thread and the other one, and I know. I only went back to previous post to clarify what the chart was for and for anyone else who is new to DIY that it may help. I wish someone would have done this for me when I first started, but then again, I started a long time ago. lol
I think it is always better to know how to figure things out and then use a calculator for the recipes. Maybe I am old school but I need to know how things work and why.
I think it is always better to know how to figure things out and then use a calculator for the recipes. Maybe I am old school but I need to know how things work and why.
I'm a spreadsheet fanatic and I decided that it was better for me to create my own spreadsheets for DIY as opposed to using a calculator so I could get a better understanding of what was going on. I still use my spreadsheets.
Thanks Shay for this thread! I tried my hand at DIY about a year and a half ago. I went nuts. Bought tons of flavorings just by what sounded good (I bet I had well over 100 flavors). Tons of syringes and whatnot. When I get into something I'm all in. Anyway, it was ok at first but life got very busy and within a couple of months I was just squeezing some flavors will nilly into some nic and going on my way.
So here I am now. Wanted to start making my own coils so that I am proficient at it. Thought I'd buy some eliquid because mine was just crappy. Boy oh boy, I forgot what good liquid tastes like but quickly remembered the expense. So I moseyed on over here and read your guide to mixing by weight. A light bulb went off. No more dirty syringes and messes and all that rubbish.
Got my scale in (the Ebay one you recommended). Squeeze bottles arriving tomorrow. Have some nic (some in the freezer and some for immediate use), PG and VG, bought some nice glass bottles and am going to be smart this time. Made some notes on some of the most popular flavorings and am going to pick a couple of recipes and just order the flavors I need. I can always add more (and I will). Going to take it slow and steady. Ordered a couple of inexpensive RDAs to test my liquids and I'm ready to go. So thank you so much for making that internal lightbulb go off for me!
So here I am now. Wanted to start making my own coils so that I am proficient at it. Thought I'd buy some eliquid because mine was just crappy. Boy oh boy, I forgot what good liquid tastes like but quickly remembered the expense. So I moseyed on over here and read your guide to mixing by weight. A light bulb went off. No more dirty syringes and messes and all that rubbish.
Got my scale in (the Ebay one you recommended). Squeeze bottles arriving tomorrow. Have some nic (some in the freezer and some for immediate use), PG and VG, bought some nice glass bottles and am going to be smart this time. Made some notes on some of the most popular flavorings and am going to pick a couple of recipes and just order the flavors I need. I can always add more (and I will). Going to take it slow and steady. Ordered a couple of inexpensive RDAs to test my liquids and I'm ready to go. So thank you so much for making that internal lightbulb go off for me!
@Pam1384 I get where you're coming from. The thought of DIY was something intrigued & intimated me. Just thinking of all the stuff I'd have to buy wasnt something I was in a hurry to do. With so much life things happening I couldn't imagine having the time to sit down & mix.
All that changed with the deeming & then I happen to come across a mixing by weight vid on YouTube & I was ready!
Looking forward to what I come up with.
All that changed with the deeming & then I happen to come across a mixing by weight vid on YouTube & I was ready!
Looking forward to what I come up with.
My pleasure Pam. It was for the vapor just like yourself that I created this post and it truly pleases me to have been a spark that re-kindled your interest in DIY. It is such a cost savings and with the deeming's upon us it is just that much more practical. Let us know how you progress and how your recipes taste and let us know if we can help with any issues that might come up.
My scale arrived yesterday and I did my first DIY session mixing by weight last night. I have to say, it was pretty awesome not washing more than a half dozen syringes. I made four 10ml bottles using five different flavors. I bought squeeze bottles for my PG and VG and my nicotine base is in a glass bottle that I switched from a cap to a dropper. Four of the flavorings were recently purchased and came in dropper bottles and I had one flavor in a glass vial with a cap.
I dripped very slowly at first until I got the hang of how much I liquid I needed to squeeze. I did use a syringe for the flavor in a glass vial. I had recorded both the volume and the weight so I decided to use volume and confirm that the weight matched up. It was .10ml of liquid that should have been .11g. When I squirted all of the flavoring in I noticed that the weight was recorded as .27oz instead of the .11oz that I expected. Then it dawned on me that I have never accounted for the liquid in the blunt needle! It seems that all of the recipes that I’ve made and recorded are off – under reported because of the liquid in the needle. Fortunately, I don’t have many keeper recipes, but it was illuminating that mixing by weight had highlighted this problem.
I did have to wash one syringe. I may continue to use syringes for the many of flavors that I have in glass vials with tops (until my large order of pipettes arrives) or I may move some to small squeeze bottles. Either way, I will always mix by weight as my DIY session illustrated that it is faster with less cleanup for me.
I dripped very slowly at first until I got the hang of how much I liquid I needed to squeeze. I did use a syringe for the flavor in a glass vial. I had recorded both the volume and the weight so I decided to use volume and confirm that the weight matched up. It was .10ml of liquid that should have been .11g. When I squirted all of the flavoring in I noticed that the weight was recorded as .27oz instead of the .11oz that I expected. Then it dawned on me that I have never accounted for the liquid in the blunt needle! It seems that all of the recipes that I’ve made and recorded are off – under reported because of the liquid in the needle. Fortunately, I don’t have many keeper recipes, but it was illuminating that mixing by weight had highlighted this problem.
I did have to wash one syringe. I may continue to use syringes for the many of flavors that I have in glass vials with tops (until my large order of pipettes arrives) or I may move some to small squeeze bottles. Either way, I will always mix by weight as my DIY session illustrated that it is faster with less cleanup for me.
Aw right, another convert.
I just finished using my new scale a couple of days ago, and found that pg/vg are not measured as a 1:1. Each has their own specific gravity that needs to be accounted for.
I, like you, came up short in my bottle.
It seems generally accepted to calculate using the following
pg = 1.038 grams so to find the correct gram weight it would be....ml *1.038
vg = 1.26 grams so to find the correct grams to add would be ...ml * 1.26
nic in pg = mg*1.035 then * by ml
nic in vg = mg* 1.25 then * by ml
pg/vg 50/50 = ml * 1.1425
If anyone has different measurements please post. This is what I found on some older ecf posts.
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