Perfecting the Juice

[The_Jews]

Hi All! I make my own juice, have been for 2-3 years. I just throw 20% flavor in with the necessary amount of 100mg nic and fill the rest with PGVG. Simple.

First, I would like to check my recipe out with you guys though, because I feel like I might be behind on the times and in need of a refresh. For my base (or whatever you call it) I use 70/30 ratio of PG/VG, but someone recently told me that should be 30/70 ratio PG/VG ... so basically I have it backwards. Did I get this wrong somewhere at some point, or did things change?

Second, storage. Where do you guys keep your A) nicotine, B) flavor, and C) base mix ??

I have been keeping most of the above in the refrigerator, or in the case of the nicotine in the freezer. But someone recently told me that I should not be keeping these things in those places, except maybe the Nicotine in the freeze. They said just store all of these things in a cool/dark place like the pantry. So, pray tell, where should I store my various ecig paraphernalias?

Lastly, thanks. I thought I had a third point here, but I didn't. Appreciate any help you guys can provide with the above!

 

[Izan]

Hi and welcome,
1. P is before V alphabetically. However ingredients are often listed from greater content to lesser content, so if VG accounts for more than 50% of the mix, it may be listed first.
2. Cool, dry, dark. UV and Oxygen are the enemies.
3. You wanted to post your recipe for feedback. 20% of a single flavour may be over kill, or not. Post back and we will take a look.

Cheers
I

 

[BrotherBob]

First, I would like to check my recipe out with you guys though, because I feel like I might be behind on the times and in need of a refresh. For my base (or whatever you call it) I use 70/30 ratio of PG/VG, but someone recently told me that should be 30/70 ratio PG/VG ... so basically I have it backwards. Did I get this wrong somewhere at some point, or did things change?

In most cases (flavor, amb. temp etc. possible exceptions), PG will promote and transfer the flavor more efficiently than VG. More folks tend use more VG than PG as a general rule. If you enjoy a 70PG/30 mix, and this combination is just fine, I would not worry about changing it in order to conform ("Did I get this wrong somewhere").

 

[The_Jews]

Thanks guys! My flavor is just RY4 Double from TFA, mixed at 20%. It is honestly something my wife liked, and I did not feel like making two different flavors all the time so I switched from a cinnamon flavor. Sounds like my mix is fine, though I might try upping the VG just to see if I like it.

So, store everything in the pantry? Flavor, nicotine, and PGVG? Just making sure nothing should be stored cold. I thought I read the nicotine would last longer or something but, maybe I imagined that.

What brought this whole problem on is I switched from a Kanger tank to a Atlantis2, and the Atlantis has this weird taste to it. Not sure what to compare the taste to, it is subtle but noticeable, and not a good taste. Not sure where the hell its coming from as everything else is the same as the Kanger setup (0.5 clapton coil, 30W). I guess my problem now is figuring out where the hell this taste is coming from.

I made a post over on the Coils forum too, asking for help in figuring out how to build my own coil. Maybe I will go that route and not have to worry about this. But if anyone has any ideas what else I can check regarding this taste, please let me know!!

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[Izan]

Thanks guys! My flavor is just RY4 Double from TFA, mixed at 20%. It is honestly something my wife liked, and I did not feel like making two different flavors all the time so I switched from a cinnamon flavor. Sounds like my mix is fine, though I might try upping the VG just to see if I like it.

So, store everything in the pantry? Flavor, nicotine, and PGVG? Just making sure nothing should be stored cold. I thought I read the nicotine would last longer or something but, maybe I imagined that.

What brought this whole problem on is I switched from a Kanger tank to a Atlantis2, and the Atlantis has this weird taste to it. Not sure what to compare the taste to, it is subtle but noticeable, and not a good taste. Not sure where the hell its coming from as everything else is the same as the Kanger setup (0.5 clapton coil, 30W). I guess my problem now is figuring out where the hell this taste is coming from.

I made a post over on the Coils forum too, asking for help in figuring out how to build my own coil. Maybe I will go that route and not have to worry about this. But if anyone has any ideas what else I can check regarding this taste, please let me know!!

Thanks for the input everyone!

Me-n-DRY-4:
I mix TFA Double RY-4 500ml at a time.

20% is very strong (imo).

The wife likes it at 10%-12%, I prefer it at 5%-8%. ( I just cut it for my use)
Have you tried to cut it a bit after a steep?
A month or more is average before the full depth of flavour comes through.
When I have mixed it above 15%, I feel the flavour is over sharp and rather harsh.

HTH
I
I have two ltrs of nic in the freezer, I keep about 50ml of 100mg/ml in a brown bottle with my flavours and mixers in the pantry for ease of use. (semi-solid VG= NO fun)

 

[Frenchfry1942]

I do 65/35 PG/VG. I get better flavor and I am not interested in clouds. But, PG can be harsh on the inhale.

The liter of Nic, I broke down in to small bottles. One small bottle stays out. The small bottles, base, and flavorings go in the dark, cool closet.

 

[IDJoel]

I seem to be in line with the others:

RY4D-TFA: I don't use as a stand-alone but my recipes where it is the dominent flavor I don't use above 10%. Perhaps with the new equipment set-up your previously preferred mix of 20% is now too potent. I liked @Izan's suggestion of taking a little of what you currently have and diluting it with some unflavored base and nic to your liking and see if it is any more palatable.

Storage: PG, VG, flavor concentrates, and my working bottle of nic (about a 2 1/2 to 3 month supply) gets stored on an unused shelf in a hall linen closet. Cool and dark is all I am looking for.
Nicotine for longer storage is bottled in glass and kept in the freezer.

PG/VG ratios: 70P/30V is not unreasonable (even though I vape 40P/60V) and would not worry about changing unless you want to try and affect any of the following:

• decrease possible throat hit
• unpleasant reactions to PG (allergies?)
• increase cloud production
• reduce leaking (in the case of tanks) if current ratio is too thin

Things to watch for if you experiment with higher VG ratios (not necessarily bad; just things to look for):

• dry hits if the ratio becomes too thick (compensate by returning to a lower VG percentage)
  
• decrease in flavor (VG is considered to be not as effective a flavor carrier by some; others say the recipe only requires additional rest/steep time. May either need to increase overall flavor percentages or increase the steep time before recipe is ready to vape.)
• unpleasant reactions to VG (allergies?)(though not as common as reactions to PG, some people do not fair well with high percentages of VG)

As for the off-taste of the new Atlantis: I have no personal experience with the Aspire's Atlantis line so I can't speak from personal experience. But I did have a couple of general thoughts and a question or two:

• to me organic cotton has always had an initial "off taste" and it can take anywhere from 6-12 good puffs before it will go away.
• Even though you say the set-up is pretty much the same, airflow, wicking (type, amount, density), and liquid flow, will all affect the way the vape tastes. I mentioned earlier that with the new gear you may need to play with wattage, temp, and/or flavor percentages.
  
• looking at Aspire's web-page for the Atlantis2; they recommend waiting 3-5 minutes after filling the tank (with a new coil) to allow the wick to become fully saturated. You didn't by any chance try vaping too quickly and scorch the cotton? This would leave an unpleasant taste that, depending on how badly scorched it is, could potentially linger quite some time.
• Again, looking at Aspire's Atlantis2 page I see no listing for an available clapton coil. Are you using the correct coil cartridge for this tank? ( Sorry; not try to be a jerk... just an honest question. I certainly understand that their page may not list all compatible coil cartridges)
• I also did not see an optional build deck for The Atlantis2 (at least made by Aspire. I did see a couple of third-party offerings).
• If you are using third-party coil cartridges; you might try using an authentic Aspire cartridge made specifically for the Atlantis2. If the Aspire cartridge tastes good, but the third-party tastes nasty, then you can reasonably assume the problem is with the cartridge and not your juice profile.

I don't know if any of this will help but at least it will give you a few extra things to consider. I hope you get it figured out.