What does the PG/VG ratio represent?

[HotRod19579]

Everyone posts their PG/VG ratios in values such as 80/20, 70/30, etc… The sum of the two values is always 100%. What are these values supposed to represent, is it the percentage of PG and VG compared to the volume of the total mix or is it the percentage of the PG/VG content compared to the total volume of PG and VG in the mix? The later could be misleading on TH (PG volume) and thickness (VG volume). Most of the flavor ingredients I use in my mixes are not PG or VG based. If I am adding 25% flavors, that could have a large effect on the published PG/VG values. The best way to show the effects is to provide an exaggerated example:

I want to mix 100 ml’s of juice. My goal is to have it be 40% VG. I am going to add several ingredients that do not have PG or VG content and I am going to add 50% of these ingredients (exaggerated). Let’s leave nicotine out of the discussion.

1. Do I add 40 ml’s of VG (40 / 100 = 40%) and 10 ml’s of PG to get the resulting 100 ml’s?
   1. Is my recipe 60/40? Or is my recipe 10/40?
2. Do I add 20 ml’s of VG (40% of remaining 50 ml) and 30 ml’s of PG?
   1. Is my recipe 60/40? Or is my recipe 30/20?

 

[Tommy Aces]

What flavorings are you using that are not PG or VG based? What are they suspended in?

Also, yes, the ratio is the ratio of TOTAl PG vs VG in the mix. This includes the nicotine base and any PG or VG that flavoring is suspended in. Almost ALL flavorings used are either in a PG or VG bases solution (mostly PG).

 

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[SouthernBliss]

The PG/VG ratio pretty much is only an indication of those two components. If your using flavors that are alcohol based, for example, then you would input it into a calculator as "none". If you do a mix that uses alcohol based flavors and all vg then the percentage of PG would be 0. On the other hand if you use 30% Pg in your mix and alcohol based flavors the PG should come out as 30%.

There are other factors that influence TH other than the PG volume in the mix. I find some flavorings can cause a big difference in the TH in mixes made with the same nic base and PG/VG percentage. I've also had TH muted if I add EM to those mixes. In other words the PG percentage isn't always a good indication of potential TH from a mix.

Viscosity/thickness of the mix is not really indicated by the VG percentage in many cases because of other additives or the original viscosity of the VG. The amount of flavoring, distilled water and other additions like lemon juice or cider vinegar will alter the viscosity.