Q for Nick: do we need water on a mix?

[ournature]

I'm posting this here cuz you Nick are a respected flavours/e-liquid producer and might know something more than i know about this..

I've seen some (including manufacturers) add some pure water to PG/VG juices,
does it have any function other than eventually thin out mainly VG based juices?
I mean, if i use a mainly PG base with just a touch of VG (let's say 15%) does it have any sense to have 5-10% or so of pure water on the mix?
Does the water contribute to take some sweetness away from PG/VG so the juice is more neutral?
Is there any other reason to have a little water on a mix?

 

[Nick O'Teen]

The only purpose I use it for is to reduce the viscosity of VG-based juices, so I would add 15-25% distilled/deionised water to the VG in an all or mostly VG-based juice (not to the finished mix - that would probably end up too watery, since the nicotine, flavourings, other glycols, etc. don't need diluting.) With only 15% VG in the mix, I wouldn't add any - it's not going to contribute anything to the flavour or throat hit.
It may be that some people think they need to add water to help the PG produce more vapour (like in fog machines - "fog juice" is typically 10-20% water I believe,) but that would be to forget that exhaled air from our lungs (unlike the dry air being cycled through a fog machine,) is already pretty rich in water vapour. I really don't see the point of adding more - it just risks over-thinning the juice.

 

[ournature]

thanks Nick, one last question
what's the carrier that you think it preserve better the original taste of your flavours concentrates?
PG, VG or PEG400?
i tried both PG and VG as a carrier but find them too sweet, is PEG less sweet or just about the same of PG?
thanks again

 

[Nick O'Teen]

thanks Nick, one last question
what's the carrier that you think it preserve better the original taste of your flavours concentrates?
PG, VG or PEG400?
i tried both PG and VG as a carrier but find them too sweet, is PEG less sweet or just about the same of PG?
thanks again

Well, PEG is a little less sweet than PG, and a LOT less sweet than VG - I definitely prefer it, and PEG-based Lotus Flower is my staple vape. But as ever, YMMV.

It's like tea - if you want to preserve the "original taste" of the tea, then boiling water is all you need. But most people like a little milk - and a few even like sugar - in their tea It's not that unsweetened black tea is better - it's just all down to personal preference.
Certainly if you're finding PG too sweet, then I can heartily recommend PEG - it benefits from a fairly fresh atty (performance on older atties is not so good, so once they've started to fade on the PEG, I tend to switch them over for VG use,) but it certainly has the blandest flavour of the 'Big 3' diluents in use, and it makes a pleasing amount of vapour and delivers a decent throat hit with no fussing around mixing different proportions of PG/VG to balance the 2 factors.

But don't forget - some of the flavour concentrates are quite sweet in themselves - even PEG won't reduce that source of sweetness

 

[ournature]

But don't forget - some of the flavour concentrates are quite sweet in themselves - even PEG won't reduce that source of sweetness

that's why i'm looking for the less sweet diluent available, i find all the tobacco juices and flavours that i've tried so far way too sweet...
It's been 1 year and a half that i switched to vaping but i still miss the bitterness of the old analogs.
thanks Nick

 

[Kent C]

that's why i'm looking for the less sweet diluent available, i find all the tobacco juices and flavours that i've tried so far way too sweet...

It's what drove me to DV in the first place. There's an really old thread around here - something like - 'Are there any ejuices that aren't sweet!?!' Janty's RY4 (more piney/smokey than caramelly than the Dekang Ruyan#4) at the time was the least sweet but compared to even Habana Reserve which some might consider somewhat sweet, the RY4 tasted like candy. That's when 'Roast Beef' was a "refreshing alternative" lol. I don't have it anymore but (unfortunately ;-) I still have the box. It's wrapped in plastic but it still 'evokes' a memory of a fun vape. This isn't to say it wasn't good - it was - like a rare roast beef even - just not a 'daily vape'. I wish I still had some on occasion....