The limits of extractions

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darkstorm

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It's not that I don't recommend Alcohol for extracting it works very well, however I would think since it thins out ejuice why not use Propylene Glycol it works almost as well.

Ah, got it. I use a pretty high PG blend typically and my PGA NETs are....lets say aged. :D By the time my extracts are done they probably have the same viscosity as PG, perhaps slightly thinner. For a quick or heated extraction PG is definitely the way to go.
 

buffaloguy

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I agree on using pg for the same reasons. In alc you really need to let it concentrate for some time. Using pg/heat together (use a hot water bath with near boiling water to do this, changing the cooled water with more near boiling water every 15-20 mins) and you can yield a good extraction in about 45mins to an hour. I NEVER have to let an extraction sit for days... heat cures all ills and extracts flavors well.

Btw, there is NO "mcguyver" method for distillation. Ive investigated it and unless you plan to invest thousands in distilling equipment the results you will get with a home chemistry set type setup are dismal, at best. Dont bother. Unless you are going to mass produce for resale its not worth it, and even then its likely NOT a good investment or business model.
 

SouthernBliss

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I really hate the taste of PG and very much want to avoid it where possible, especially since the goal is 100% VG (per request) as an end result. Quite a few of the flavorings I have bought use alcohol instead of PG so it can't be that bad. It may take longer to do an alcohol VG extraction but I'm willing to be patient. And I am pretty sure I'll have to be very patient since the alcohol content is pretty minimal compared to the VG and I'm sure that the alcohol adds steep time to the final product while the alcohol evaporates. So I'll be waiting twice. The very worst case scenario for me is it gets used for cooking instead of vaping.

I'm not very worried about the potential for the alcohol to thin out my extraction since most of the flavorings I have bought are pretty darn runny and the majority of the extract will be VG and would need to be diluted minimally anyway. As it stands I may have to thin it a bit anyway.

I'm not sure how I feel about the heating method of extraction on some things because I know heat can sometimes cause bitterness or acidity. I want to do a green tea extraction for example. I read earlier this week that when your making green tea it should only steep a couple of minutes to avoid bitterness. I'm not sure which would give me a better shot flavor wise. A very short heated steep or a slow cool steep. I did a sort of test with some water and a tea bag to see how long it would take before any steeping showed. Turns out it was about 2 minutes and it was "tea" in about 15. I was really surprised by that but I didn't find the flavor to be any mellower than boiled. So I may have a go both ways to see which I prefer.
 

michaelsil1

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I really hate the taste of PG and very much want to avoid it where possible, especially since the goal is 100% VG (per request) as an end result. Quite a few of the flavorings I have bought use alcohol instead of PG so it can't be that bad. It may take longer to do an alcohol VG extraction but I'm willing to be patient. And I am pretty sure I'll have to be very patient since the alcohol content is pretty minimal compared to the VG and I'm sure that the alcohol adds steep time to the final product while the alcohol evaporates. So I'll be waiting twice. The very worst case scenario for me is it gets used for cooking instead of vaping.

I'm not very worried about the potential for the alcohol to thin out my extraction since most of the flavorings I have bought are pretty darn runny and the majority of the extract will be VG and would need to be diluted minimally anyway. As it stands I may have to thin it a bit anyway.

I'm not sure how I feel about the heating method of extraction on some things because I know heat can sometimes cause bitterness or acidity. I want to do a green tea extraction for example. I read earlier this week that when your making green tea it should only steep a couple of minutes to avoid bitterness. I'm not sure which would give me a better shot flavor wise. A very short heated steep or a slow cool steep. I did a sort of test with some water and a tea bag to see how long it would take before any steeping showed. Turns out it was about 2 minutes and it was "tea" in about 15. I was really surprised by that but I didn't find the flavor to be any mellower than boiled. So I may have a go both ways to see which I prefer.

You can use 100% VG for extracting.
 

Aheadatime

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So far I've used VG in both heated and slow extractions with teas and tobaccos. The slower method provides a more subtle and 'complex' vape, and I use this method for teas. The low heat method works well for tobaccos I've found, at least the pipe tobacco that I've been working with (cheap stuff). The tea will most likely have a bit of a scratchiness to it or a 'bite' to the throat hit after extraction. You can either get rid of it with (as mentioned by boomerdude) a drop of ACV per 5ml, or you can keep that throat hit (like I've been doing) bc its awesome.

Beware though, this stuff is thick. If you plan on using 100% VG flavors, 100%VG nic, and 100%VG base, you will need to cut the end result with ~5-10% distilled water, or else it will be ridiculously difficult to wick.
 
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