Wow! OK. Lot's of info in that post. Let me see if my old lump of oatmeal I call a brain has it straight.
I only got 48mg nic and trying to get 50/50
juice with all the flavors I added, it was around 24mg juice, not enough for my needs.
In this I am reading that you
have 48mg. nic concentrate. And that you used
only flavors to arrive at a 50/50 ratio. Since most flavors are PG based, and the reduction of the nicotine strength is by half; your nic base is 100% VG and you added 50% flavoring to reach your PG/VG goal. Am I correct so far?
If I am correct; I can understand why this was not a success for you. Besides not having enough nicotine you most likely used
way too much flavoring. Even those people considered "high flavor" mixers generally don't mix much more than 30-35% total. This will vary from flavor to flavor, even within the same flavor manufacturer, as well as person to person. So the best thing I can suggest is:
- Don't use flavors as a diluting agent. Concentrated flavorings do dilute the overall recipe, and we do have to account for their presence if we want to reach a particular range; but the primary influence that tells us how much to use is how they taste to us. So this means it is best to have
both unflavored PG
and unflavored VG available to reach your desired target.
- Do use a calculator/app to know how much PG and/or VG you will need to reach your target.
- Do taste your flavors as a single flavor mix
first to see what strength (percentage) tastes best to
you.
I'm using HHV's NET juices at 36mg to get that out of the way, at a 60/40 mix, that I'm pretty happy with.
You are offering this information to explain your preferences? You currently like a ready-to vape liquid that is 60PG/40VG and 36mg/mL nic strength? Am I correct here?
If so; your recipe target is 60P/40V/36mg/mL. (at least for the time being).
This time I want to stay basic for now, see if this nic even works for me, so I'm limiting the flavors and cost for now. Get something vapable then expand on that if you will.
You explain that you wish to start with minimum materials and build your inventory as your skills progress?
Sounds like a smart plan. I would recommend that you find two or three recipes that sound like they are in your wheelhouse, and preferably have good feedback (though it doesn't guarantee that it is right for
your palette), and then use those to guide you in your initial ingredient choices. This is helpful because it gives you a better chance of having a complete flavor profile. In other words, it helps to make sure that you not only have the primary flavors of the end product you want, but also the secondary, or supporting flavors too.
The exception to this is if you are choosing flavors that are "single flavor" or "stand alone" flavors. I noted that you said you are vaping NETs right now. I know that many vapors like certain Hangsen, Super Concentrates, and Inawera tobacco flavors as stand-alones. If you haven't found it yet there is a very active, and extensive DIY tobacco thread here:
Favorite tobacco flavoring discussion - Tobacco flavoring discussion only
There are lots of knowledgeable folks over there that could help you select some good single flavor choices based on what you like. This would help you with your effort to start small.
I'm planning to order some "throat hit" nic from Vapers Tek at 100mg, vg base. Just 120ml for testing.
Then 120ml of pg and a few of the Inawara flavors at 50/50.
Again; smart. Always purchase small testers first until you know it is going to work for you. Just because it works for 90% of everyone else; doesn't mean it is going to be a hit for you.
Now, by my math that leaves me with up to 10% for flavors, I still get a 60/40-50/50 mix at 36mg.
This part lost me. Is this using the 48mg nic you already have? Or the 100 mg. you intend to buy?
If your answer is the 48mg/mL nic concentrate; the answer is:
No.
to get a 36mg/mL nic strength you have a "Max PG" (the maximum amount of PG to be added to the mix and still have a nic strength of 36mg/mL) of 25% possible. So that means you
could use
up to 25% flavoring. Doesn't mean you should, or even want to, but you could. This is where the plain PG comes in to play. But even with max PG you will not reach your target of 50P/50V let alone 60P/40V
AND reach your nic target too. (If you
wanted to keep buying your nic concentrate at 48mg/mL strength you would want it in more PG dominant base. Again, not saying to do this, just saying what you would need to do.)
if your answer is the 100mg/mL concentrate; the answer is:
Yes and No. You actually have more room for flavor. Max PG for retaining 36mg/mL strength is 64% so you
could mix up to a 64P/36V Ratio and still reach your 36mg/mL. nic..
Most people say you only need 2-5% for the Inawara line, so if it comes out 40mg, I'm alright with that!
40mg/mL.? Wow! I'd start to worry about cumulative nicotine toxicity; depending on how much you vape throughout the day... just sayin'.
"Most people say..." is, at best, a very VERY broad generalization. At worst it is going to give you very hit and miss mixing experiences and can even discourage further mixing. It is BEST to find out and KNOW what percentage a particular flavor works best
FOR YOU. This requires some time and effort on your part and there is not really any way around it.
You
can start at an average recommended percentage, but I would strongly recommend spending some time exploring a range above AND below that until you know what works best for your mouth. I know of at least one community member that starts at half the "recommended" amount and then works their way up as needed.
More directly to your question:2 to 5% does seem to be a more "common" range for Inewara flavors
in general though I have seen certain flavors with comments that they were too strong at 0.5% and others that were liked as high as 12%. It all depends on the particular flavor and your taste buds.
And, if that isn't bad enough, you can also look forward to your taste buds changing! What works for you this year, may very well, not be ideal next year. I have found that over my 3+years of vaping, my preferred flavor percentages have gone down. My preference today requires less flavoring than it used to.
So what am I missing? I just know with my luck I've overlooked something stupidly obvious!
So, I guess, to boil down all my ramblings:
-Buy your 100mg/mL. nic.
-Buy both unflavored PG and unflavored VG.
-Find a couple of recipes that float your boat
OR
-Identify a couple flavors that would be good as stand-alones.
-Buy those flavors.
-Choose a calculator/app,
learn how to use it,
and use it.
Then...
Invest a little time learning about the basic components that make up your e-liquid by:
-tasting the VG by itself on a clean wick & coil
-tasting the PG by itself on a clean wick & coil
If these pass your approval continue by:
-mixing an unflavored base of 60P/40V/36mg/mL.
-taste the unflavored base on a clean wick & coil to check the flavor of the nic (NEVER vape straight nic concentrate!)
This will help you in a couple of ways. It will let you know what your nic tastes like. It will let you know what the unflavored base tastes like and give you a reference for troubleshooting future recipes (you have ruled out any problems existing in the base
before you add flavors). You may find you "like" unflavored (there are quite a few folks that vape unflavored either exclusively, or as part of their regular rotation).
-
This is also a great time to get yourself in the habit of taking notes!!!
Note taking is a HUGE help in DIY. Learning how to write down what
you perceive when you taste a flavor or recipe. The better you can describe it to yourself the more help it will be. It helps with being able to repeat a taste. It helps avoid making the same mistakes again. It helps creating new creations. And it creates a record of how your palette changes. There are many a DIYer that can tell you a horror story, or two, of developing the "holy grail" of juice only to have not written down anything and then never be able to repeat it again. Can you tell I am a member of that club?
once you have tested, and understand your base; start introducing a single flavor and experiment with the percentage.
Some folks do this by mixing up several small test batches at once with each one at a different percentage. Others will do one at a time. I use a method that counts drops and keeps adding (increasing the percentage/subtracting (dripping & tasting) to get a much more accurate "ballpark" idea than the "most people say..." method because it is based on what
my taste buds are telling me.
You have begun your DIY journey!
Cr&p! So much for keeping it short...
I hope at least some of this is useful to you. Good luck on your journey!
