New to DIY Juice Making - Couple of quick q's

[DawnsDone]

I've been checking out various juice calculators so I can estimate how much vg/pg to flavor I need to purchase and a couple things are unclear to me.

1. Some calculators add 10% flavor and some 20% flavor. Which is an average amount to try on new recipes? I like a lot of flavor so I'm thinking the 20% would work most of the time?

2. All of them have a spot for water/alcohol, but it's not in the calculations it's optional. What does adding a percent of water or alcohol do and why add it?

3. At one stop diy shop they have a flavor called sweetener. Am I to assume that if you were making like coffee that you would add that and a cream flavor to it to make it like sweetened coffee rather than black? How much of the flavor percentage should be sweetener like 5% or less?

4. I heard not to use flavors that are oil based cause it clogs but I also noticed one of the most popular flavor suppliers on these boards seems to be LorAnn's but these are oil based?
https://www.lorannoils.com/c-2-lorann-gourmet.aspx Maybe I got the wrong site?

5. These may seem obvious, but I want to make a zero nic liquid to vape when I'm not craving nicotine so I just mix vg or pg with the flavor and that's it?

Thanks, and sorry if these questions seem really naive!

 

[slyfox]

Hi! I love the new juice calculators! I also need Tons of flavor so I actually do 25% for most, but 20% is the norm. I use a mix of 60% pg and 40% vg, I put some PGA in my vg to thin it down and give a little more th. so I never add that in the formula seperate. I use sweetener, I add ( 5 drops to a 15ml bottle, just my taste ) that I purchased from TV to my coffee blends and some fruit, it's a matter of perference. There is a chart somewhere on which of Lorann's oils is actually to have the "bad" kind of essience oil in it. I use them all with a little PGA. I make zero flavors too. The same % as the calculator without the nic! It's fun to do, and I love creating my own flavors and trying to re-create other. Have fun

 

[DawnsDone]

TY. uhhh what is pga? lol

Also I sw QHIT on one stop shop which is supposed to increase the throat hit. Anyone know what percentage of this to put in?

 

[slyfox]

PGA, pure grain alcohol I haven't used the QHIT yet...

 

[DawnsDone]

got it. i'm not a drinker lol. so like everclear? approx how much would you put in if making 6ml bottles?

 

[slyfox]

Yes, everclear. I don't have a recipe, I will just add some to my vg to thin it down. Sorry..

 

[DawnsDone]

Thanks slyfox! i'm sure i can find a thread on here for the percentage of pga or water to put in the calculator. I'm thinking if i don't find any i'll try it with 5%?

Such great info on here! without this place us newbies would be completely lost!

 

[aprioristic]

I've been checking out various juice calculators so I can estimate how much vg/pg to flavor I need to purchase and a couple things are unclear to me.

1. Some calculators add 10% flavor and some 20% flavor. Which is an average amount to try on new recipes? I like a lot of flavor so I'm thinking the 20% would work most of the time?

Sometimes I jump right into trying to make a recipe, and you probably will end up close to 20% a lot. I think it is better though to start by tasting a flavor on its own around 10% if you plan to mix it. This is just a guideline though. I would put a term like 'LorAnn coconut' (or whatever flavor) into google and read reviews on it. The sticky in this forum also has suggested percents. Some flavors, especially Flavour Art, seem to be more highly concentrated and want to be mixed at like 2%. This is where you research and use your head. Does it smell really strong? Try it lower first then.

You want an idea what a flavor is like at lower concentrations, because once it is mixed it won't be as strong as when it tastes good on its own. What PV you are using and how hot it is can change the flavor (Voltage squared/atty Ohms = Wattage). Depending what range of flavors you are after, you need to be careful of ones that stick in your atty forever or are hard to get out. For testing, a de-wicked 306 atty seems best to me of what I've tried so far, since they are easy to de-wick.

For flavors that are a "one-trick pony", it might not matter to test how they taste at a lower concentration. An example of this would be The Flavor Apprentice pear. It is going to give the same flavor if you add a couple drops to a mix or if you vape it alone. An example where it doesn't work this way is TFA Semi-sweet chocolate, which will have a chemical taste until you reach a high enough concentration. Some flavors then are complex even before mixing with others and their character can change drastically based on concentration. Decadent Vapor Orange Liqueur is my example for this. In the bottle it smells kind of musty/blank. At ~10% it also tastes kind of musty or like hay and nothing like orange. At 20% the mustiness goes away or actually develops into a buttery tart crust flavor and the orange finally appears. The orange is unique too, so it is not the typical artificial flavor that would be strong even at low percents. There's a lot more to these flavorings than just a name.

2. All of them have a spot for water/alcohol, but it's not in the calculations it's optional. What does adding a percent of water or alcohol do and why add it?

I don't do either of these but I think people use alcohol about 5-10% usually for added throat hit. Some use distilled water, or tap probably isn't awful, to thin VG. You can use something called triacetin too, but water/alcohol seems to work fine for most people.

3. At one stop diy shop they have a flavor called sweetener. Am I to assume that if you were making like coffee that you would add that and a cream flavor to it to make it like sweetened coffee rather than black? How much of the flavor percentage should be sweetener like 5% or less?

That is sucralose. Some flavors are already sweet on their own, but you probably want about 1 drop per 1-2ml or less. To me, sucralose adds a flavor I don't want unless I am going for a real candy/sweet tart flavor. It can't hurt to try it but I think ethyl maltol is better. You can buy this in crystals and dilute in PG/PGA or just buy TFA "cotton candy" flavor, which is ethyl maltol. I think LorAnn has a flavor (marshmallow?) that is only EM too.

TFA Bavarian Cream and Sweet Cream have been good for mixing coffee for me so far, but my personal favorite is Flavour Art Catalan Cream.

4. I heard not to use flavors that are oil based cause it clogs but I also noticed one of the most popular flavor suppliers on these boards seems to be LorAnn's but these are oil based?
https://www.lorannoils.com/c-2-lorann-gourmet.aspx Maybe I got the wrong site?

Some oils seem to actually work okay for some people, but I would research it before trying. Like people said they just call them oils and most aren't, plus there is a list on LA ingredients in a sticky here.

5. These may seem obvious, but I want to make a zero nic liquid to vape when I'm not craving nicotine so I just mix vg or pg with the flavor and that's it?

Thanks, and sorry if these questions seem really naive!

Yup, or PGA/water. Just remember you will get less throat hit with less nic. To make the smartest purchases to get into DIY, you probably want to order from at least 2-3 places to get the best deals.

 

[LMP]

Thanks slyfox! i'm sure i can find a thread on here for the percentage of pga or water to put in the calculator. I'm thinking if i don't find any i'll try it with 5%?

Such great info on here! without this place us newbies would be completely lost!

Thin VG with about 20% to 25% alcohol, I use 190 proof Everclear.

I don't use watter for thinner because I think it makes my juice taste funny.

If you drip you can use VG with less thinner in it.

Here are some calculators, the top one is easy to use and a good one to start with.

eJuice Me Up - e-Juice e-Liquid Recipe Calculator

https://www.filesanywhere.com/fs/v.aspx?v=89716a8960646eb99c6c