Question on thinning a "naturally thick" flavor

[GernBlanston]

I've been vaping on BlueMist's 80/20 ratio liquids for some time, and I've grown to love several of their desert flavors. I understand that such a low portion of PG should work well with my brand-new vivi nova v3, but I'm finding that their cake batter flavor, which I love, not only clogs my boge cartomizers quickly and requires frequent cleaning and replacement (which is do-able), I can't even go a day on my vivi nova without requiring cleaning, and even after a dry burn, the wicking is diminished and the atty will require more frequent replacement than desired. I'm wondering if thinning the juice with distilled water (I got some vodka around, too) would help with it...while I understand this is normally done with higher PG ratios, I'm wondering if it'll help with juices which, by flavor, are naturally thicker/darker than normal.

 

[LisaR]

I've been wondering this, too, and hoping that someone would answer your question! I have some juices that seem not to wick well and to get a burned taste easily. I'm wondering if adding a drop or two of water will help? I guess I'm just going to try it, because if I can't vape them anyway due to dry hits, what do I have to lose?

 

[GernBlanston]

I've been wondering this, too, and hoping that someone would answer your question! I have some juices that seem not to wick well and to get a burned taste easily. I'm wondering if adding a drop or two of water will help? I guess I'm just going to try it, because if I can't vape them anyway due to dry hits, what do I have to lose?

With nothing left to do but try, I thinned mine with 1-2 drops/mil of vodka, and the difference was night and day...I've been through a tank and a half since the post, and no appreciable diminishing of my atty's output (which will get a cleaning tonite or tomorrow). So, 'try it' would be my recommendation, for now. In future, I will likely avoid this juice, but I have about 60 ml of it left and felt it would be a shame to toss away such a great flavor.

In general, I've noticed anything that imparts a sweeter taste (like "carmel" anything, and some of the sugary bakery flavors) tends to clog quicker. I think I'm gonna stick to the higher PG ratios, as they have have the qualities I want the most (wicking, flavor, throat), but I wouldn't mind checking out a 70/30 mix for more clouds, or even a 50/50 if I could find one where the flavor doesn't contribute so much to the clogging as I suspect some of these sweet flavors do.

I'd like to see manufacturers rate the color/transparency of their juice in the description, but I've yet to see that in any of the vendors I've gone with.

Oh, and another thing I've learned: When cleaning/dry burning an atty, there's a danger of consuming/burning your wicking material if you linger too long on the pulses or don't allow for long enough cool-down between pulses. This will quickly cash in your ability to wick...with the buildup I was getting on the cake batter flavor, I ended up killing an atty within a day or so of use by trying too hard to clean it, so watch that. Another possible solution would be a DIY rebuild with a looser wind on the resistance wire and/or looser wicking material, along with more frequent replacement....

 

[LisaR]

I didn't have any vodka available, so I went for a few drops of water, and it seemed to have helped a bit. I'm still messing with it a bit, though. Fortunately, I just have a sample of the flavor I'm having the most trouble with.

Thanks for your update. I have 55ml of a RAWR proper green tea that's been problematic. I think I'll dig around the liquor cabinet and see if I at least have some white rum to thin it with. I usually order 50/50, but I think I'll be ordering a higher pg mix from now on, since I've been having so many wicking problems. Hopefully, that will fix the problems, because I'd hate to give up on the clearos. There are so many things I like about them, and I have so many (I'm kind of a flavor junky!).

edited to add: Oh, I did see one vendor who lists the juice color, but I can't think who it is, right now. I'll update if I remember or see it again soon.

 

[GernBlanston]

If you're a flavor junkie having problems wicking, the 70/30 or even 80/20 would be the most immediate remedy for most of your flavors, imho. My beef was I started with a high PG and was clogging atty's, but it was limited to a given flavor. You're using clearos, which helps with higher VG, but I think if you're a flavor junkie, a higher PG will improve your situation quite a bit overall.

 

[LisaR]

Thanks, GernBlanston. I think I will be moving to 70/30 in future orders (plus lowering the nicotine, yay!). I don't want to give up clouds of vapor, but I think, for me, more flavor plus better wicking to lessen the awful dry hits will make it worth it!

BTW, found it! Backwoods Brews has color ratings. I haven't ordered from them yet, but they rate very high on the top 5 vendors list. You're right, it would be nice if other vendors listed the color and/or viscosity of the juice!

 

[gimmieshelter31]

Vodka,pure grain alcohol (PGA) and distilled water are ok to use to thin thicker juices. Go with a light hand,try 2 drops per 5 mil at first.Be sure to shake very well. If it is still too thick , add one more drop and so on. Obviously the more diluent you add , the more the flavor is diluted, so do a smaller batch at a time (5 mil) til you get a desired effect and than you can do your larger quantities.

I find darker colored juices and ones made from naturally extracted tobacco (though not all NETs),also very sweet juices tend to clog wicks , coils , and polyfill quickly . Probably due to particulates ( floaties ). YMMV