I'd always assumed, that from a technical standpoint, mixing by drops instead of by volume or weight would not be the most accurate method.
What I didn't realize was just how much of a difference each vendor’s or reseller’s bottles would vary from each other. I assumed that the bottle and tip being used by each brand, vendor or reseller would make the biggest difference. Based on some of my tests, it seems there must be some (not so tiny) inconsistencies in the bottles/tips being used by the vendors and resellers.
I decided to test a handful of flavors that I have from the various manufacturers and resellers.
Some of my flavors are directly from the manufacturer and some are not. My point is not to prove one brand or reseller has bigger drops than the other but to just show how varied they all are.
My new scale (can't believe I waited sooo long) is accurate to .001 grams and has a repeatability rating of .001 as well. I tested each of the flavors below two separate times each and weighed four separate drops for each flavor. Although the drop weight varied sometimes within a specific four drop test cycle for a flavor, the amount of the difference was always somewhere between .001 and .003 grams, somewhat minor so I just averaged the total. The repeated second test for each flavor was always within the same range.
My drops were slow and methodical. The drop size could increase by almost 20%-30% if you squeeze the dropper harder to create a fast drop, so I tried to stay slow and consistent.
As stated in various threads here, if you alone are using your mixes and the results are repeatable, then you are good to go. That is not the point of my test.
Included below is the drop weight, drops p/ml, flavor brand, bottle size and flavor for each entry. I did two test flavors for some of the brands because I had them handy and I thought it would add to the idea that even using the same brand, vendor or reseller, mixing by drops is not all that accurate. For the sake of simplicity, the number of drops per ml is assuming 1 ml = 1 g.
.022 g = 45 drops p/ml
MFS
15 ml
Tropical Punch
.012 g = 83 drops p/ml
NF
10 ml
Menthol
.011 g = 91 drops p/ml
HS
10 ml
Caramel
.012 g = 83 drops p/ml
HS
10 ml
Coconut
.018 g = 56 drops p/ml
TFA (HV label)
30 ml
Bittersweet Chocolate
.026 g = 38 drops p/ml
FW
30 ml
Rocky Road
.020 g = 50 drops p/ml
FW
30 ml
Gummy Bear
.022 g = 45 drops p/ml
CAP
15 ml
Strawberries & Cream
.027 g = 37 drops p/ml
CAP
15 ml
French Toast
.031 g = 32 drops p/ml
FA (PV label)
3 ml
Custard
.026 g = 38 drops p/ml
FA (PV label)
3 ml
Maple Syrup
.028 g = 36 drops p/ml
SIG
30 ml
Cinnamon Sugar Cookie
What I didn't realize was just how much of a difference each vendor’s or reseller’s bottles would vary from each other. I assumed that the bottle and tip being used by each brand, vendor or reseller would make the biggest difference. Based on some of my tests, it seems there must be some (not so tiny) inconsistencies in the bottles/tips being used by the vendors and resellers.
I decided to test a handful of flavors that I have from the various manufacturers and resellers.
Some of my flavors are directly from the manufacturer and some are not. My point is not to prove one brand or reseller has bigger drops than the other but to just show how varied they all are.
My new scale (can't believe I waited sooo long) is accurate to .001 grams and has a repeatability rating of .001 as well. I tested each of the flavors below two separate times each and weighed four separate drops for each flavor. Although the drop weight varied sometimes within a specific four drop test cycle for a flavor, the amount of the difference was always somewhere between .001 and .003 grams, somewhat minor so I just averaged the total. The repeated second test for each flavor was always within the same range.
My drops were slow and methodical. The drop size could increase by almost 20%-30% if you squeeze the dropper harder to create a fast drop, so I tried to stay slow and consistent.
As stated in various threads here, if you alone are using your mixes and the results are repeatable, then you are good to go. That is not the point of my test.
Included below is the drop weight, drops p/ml, flavor brand, bottle size and flavor for each entry. I did two test flavors for some of the brands because I had them handy and I thought it would add to the idea that even using the same brand, vendor or reseller, mixing by drops is not all that accurate. For the sake of simplicity, the number of drops per ml is assuming 1 ml = 1 g.
.022 g = 45 drops p/ml
MFS
15 ml
Tropical Punch
.012 g = 83 drops p/ml
NF
10 ml
Menthol
.011 g = 91 drops p/ml
HS
10 ml
Caramel
.012 g = 83 drops p/ml
HS
10 ml
Coconut
.018 g = 56 drops p/ml
TFA (HV label)
30 ml
Bittersweet Chocolate
.026 g = 38 drops p/ml
FW
30 ml
Rocky Road
.020 g = 50 drops p/ml
FW
30 ml
Gummy Bear
.022 g = 45 drops p/ml
CAP
15 ml
Strawberries & Cream
.027 g = 37 drops p/ml
CAP
15 ml
French Toast
.031 g = 32 drops p/ml
FA (PV label)
3 ml
Custard
.026 g = 38 drops p/ml
FA (PV label)
3 ml
Maple Syrup
.028 g = 36 drops p/ml
SIG
30 ml
Cinnamon Sugar Cookie
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