What % of a % is really a % of another % ???????

[vapspaz]

Ok... I've searched long enough for the answer to this question so here we go.

Coming from an Engineering background I'm a tad .... when it comes to exact numbers and god knows I'm a danger to myself and others if I walk into a kitchen to make ANYTHING with one of those things called a measuring cup. lol

So my question is really very simple to most of you normal folks.
What is the deal with all the various ways to give the ingredient to a given recipe? Why is it not made into federal law by the United States government that ALL recipe's be written in ml? lol

I see some written in drops... some in ml... some in % and my favorite "add just a few drops". LOL
The one that really has me stumped is the % ones. I'm fairly certain that this wide array of formulation documentation is why a lot of folks wind up making bad batches.

I've studied and played with Dan's calc sheets for what seems like 20 years now and it's finally starting to make sense to me. But then I read someones recipe and they say to use
10% Joe blow
14.75% Joe blow's sister
3.5% Joe blow's dog with honey mustard
and a few drops of ketchup

So where is the 100% part here? If you go into Dan's recipe sheet page they all HAVE to equal 100%.

So can someone tell me how to measure e-juice with a pair of digital calipers or something? lol

Seriously though.... What's up with this % thing?

 

[vapspaz]

28 views and I get nothin!??? lol

Anyone!???

 

[Switched]

Myself I use a 0-1" micrometer for all my measurements.

% = percentage of total liquid. So if you are making 10ml 10% =1ml of flavour A. 5% = 0.5ml of flavour B for a total flavour of 15% or 1.5ml. Soooooo, you have 8.5ml or 85% of free space.

Let's say you want to mix @24mg starting with 50mg that would be 48% nic liquid or 4.8ml, for a total of 6.3ml. Leaving 85-48=37% or 3.7ml for either PG or VG or a combo of each.

 

[vapspaz]

Myself I use a 0-1" micrometer for all my measurements.

LOL... A man after my own heart!

Thanks for clarifying that for me Switched. I just don't know what is wrong with me when it comes to this mixing stuff. Normally numbers are my best friend! lol

 

[Liv2Ski]

Hey Vapspaz. I have Dans calculator and it is good but I prefer the calc from Breaktru:

eJuice Me Up - e-Juice e-Liquid Recipe Calculator

This thing will give you % and drops. You can tweak recipes very easily and save them. Also if you come up with a winner just email breaktru with the .rec and he will add it so that others can download.

 

[Lisa B]

For my recipes I don't use Dan's calculator I use Breaktru's calculator, so I just mark down my flavoring percentages, so if flavoring is 20% of my mixture. It would be like this:

P.A. Peach 10%
P.A. Brown Sugar 10%

So to make this peach cobbler, you would add those flavorings and the other 80% is made up of your choice of nic, pg and vg.

 

[Hoosier]

Vapspaz, mixing is a lot like cooking, but without the known of "feeds x people" recipes come out in the format that is %%%'s.

The unit-less percentage makes it easier for me to communicate a recipe. Whatever unit of measure you use, the percentage works.

Don't think of the "and add x drops of Joe's Cousin" as ketchup. It is more like a spice like salt, or pepper, which could be optional, or it may be the secret ingredient that makes the whole thing work.

 

[BadThad]

I'm exact in my formulas since I'm a chemist. I like to make it easy and accurate. I usually understand what some other folks formulas are, it's just something you have to get used to. For clarity I end up converting it to 10 mL so can get a clear picture. Too bad everyone doesn't have micropipettes to simplify everything. OH....a 0-1" micrometer won't work very well with fluids. LOLOLOL

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/140020-green-apple-vape.html

On separate note....the abbreviation for a milliter is mL, not ml.

 

[MaxUT]

OH....a 0-1" micrometer won't work very well with fluids. LOLOLOL

You're right, calipers are much better:

If the liquid level in a full 6mL bottle is 30.0mm from its bottom, then 1% of capacity = 0.30mm height.

On separate note....the abbreviation for a milliter is mL, not ml.

I wouldn't make any spelling errors in the next few posts if I were you.

 

[NCC]

I use ml for mixing, but calculate the resulting mixtures in percentage. I've looked at some of the other calculators out there. While I appreciate the time and expertise it took to create them, they're really overkill for me. So, I 'cooked' up a really super minimalistic one for my use. You're welcome to take a look at it here. Fields in Yellow and light Blue are intended to be user modified.

If you notice any errors let me know. Thanks.

 

[NCC]

On separate note....the abbreviation for a milliter is mL, not ml.

According to these pages, it apparently is not cast in stone.
Litre - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abbreviations of Units of Measurement
I only took a level one college chemisty guess I forgot about the preference for mL over ml or mℓ.
Good to have a chemist aboard though, lots of threads begging for your input,
and I can understand how such a thing could stand out to you if it's contrary to your training, LOL

 

[Lisa B]

I grew up in Canada and we used the metric system for everything and we were taught ml in school, so it mustn't always be mL. It's not a big deal to me at all, I just thought I would let you know what we were taught in school.

 

[Switched]

Yesterday was the first time I saw it as mL as well. But who am I to argue with a Chemist. I sure hopes he moves away from posting recipes in micro litres, which the majority of us do not use or have the equipment for such precision At a minimum if he would like to share with us, convert them to a unit of measure the rest of the DIY crowd have been employing, with success all along.

 

[vapspaz]

Micro liters!??? Damn... Now I gots me another one to worry about. lol

Thanks to ALL for your insight and help. Tis much appreciated.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING Y'all!

 

[Springbird]

In medicine we use mL instead of ml to avoid medication errors. It isn't so much a matter of correct notation as it is ensuring correct interpretation. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[BadThad]

I grew up in Canada and we used the metric system for everything and we were taught ml in school, so it mustn't always be mL. It's not a big deal to me at all, I just thought I would let you know what we were taught in school.

Very common, afterall, you're learning from a teacher and not a scientist. LOL The abbreviation for liter is L and not l, thus the correct, scientific abbrevation is mL.

 

[BadThad]

Yesterday was the first time I saw it as mL as well. But who am I to argue with a Chemist. I sure hopes he moves away from posting recipes in micro litres, which the majority of us do not use or have the equipment for such precision At a minimum if he would like to share with us, convert them to a unit of measure the rest of the DIY crowd have been employing, with success all along.

You guys have to convert to layman's terms. One drop is ~= 60µL

 

[Switched]

...and you can use the recipes from the scientific community as well. I think it is time Kurt had a chat with you, just saying

In closing I will share a recipe \with you: Buttery Nipple flavour ratio 2/1

 

[NCC]

It appears a couple dozen people have downloaded my little calculator from post #10. I guess no negative comments might be a good thing, LOL.
It works for my purposes.

 

[grantemsley]

The worst is measuring in drops...which can change depending on your equipment, what you are using (VG and PG drops are very different sizes), and temperature.
The problem is most of us only have access to equipment that lets us measure amounts bigger than around 0.5mL with any accuracy.