Mixing By Weight And Struggling On My First Attempt - Help?

[Dan_V]

Trying very hard here to mix e-liquid by weight, but I cannot get the accuracy. Does anyone have any tips on how to pour the liquids without going over the weight? Every time I try, it goes over the weight and so there now seems little point in even having the scales. Might as well have chucked just anything in.

What I'm trying to do is just mix 10ml at a time, because this is my first ever attempt. I worry that if I mix up a lot and it tastes crap, I will have wasted all my ingredients.

Is there a method people use for testing flavours? Because once it's in the cotton, the whole wick has to come out to try something else. And frankly, this is tedious and I'm losing all patience with it.

I feel like there is something I'm missing as a beginner - like some method for test benching flavours, before commiting to a batch.

Any suggestions for a complete novice?

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Trying very hard here to mix e-liquid by weight, but I cannot get the accuracy. Does anyone have any tips on how to pour the liquids without going over the weight?

What I'm trying to do is just mix 10ml at a time,

Sloooooooooowly. Best to use a dropper or dropper bottle for small batches. Dropper is still needed with big batches when you are nearing the final weight. I posted a video for you in one of your other threads. It tells you all you need to know and how to do it.

Is there a method people use for testing flavours? Because once it's in the cotton, the whole wick has to come out to try something else. And frankly, this is tedious and I'm losing all patience with it.

RDA. Sure you gotta change the cotton and even clean the RDA a bit, but cotton's cheap and there are no better solutions.

 

[Tor R]

10 ml is a very small batch to mix on the scale.
When I mix a small amount, I use a 1ml syringe and needle so that I have a little more control.
10 ml I think I have almost never tried though.

 

[englishmick]

Trying very hard here to mix e-liquid by weight, but I cannot get the accuracy. Does anyone have any tips on how to pour the liquids without going over the weight? Every time I try, it goes over the weight and so there now seems little point in even having the scales. Might as well have chucked just anything in.

Wish I could help, but that's the reason I don't use scales. Since a lot of folks use scales and love them I'm sure I just gave up too soon.

 

[JCinFLA]

What I'm trying to do is just mix 10ml at a time, because this is my first ever attempt. I worry that if I mix up a lot and it tastes crap, I will have wasted all my ingredients.

Is there a method people use for testing flavours? Because once it's in the cotton, the whole wick has to come out to try something else. And frankly, this is tedious and I'm losing all patience with it.

I'm not sure which you're trying to do, because you're talking about 2 different things above.

Are you trying to make a 10mL sample of a recipe you've found...using the flavorings, plain PG, plain VG, and nic base that it calls for?

Or are you trying to test the individual flavorings themselves, before making a recipe using them?

I feel like there is something I'm missing as a beginner - like some method for test benching flavours, before commiting to a batch.

Depending on your answers to the above questions I asked....there are methods you can use to do each of those 2 things. You could even make a smaller 5mL sample of a recipe. Testing individual flavorings is also possible. Neither requires using scales. However, doing either or both of them does require a little time and patience, if you want to get it done right and use minimal amounts of your ingredients.

If you'd like some 1-on-1 help with it, just PM me. I won't be able to explain the methods until after noon, because I have an earlier appointment. However, I'll respond and try to help you after about 2PM.

 

[zoiDman]

Trying very hard here to mix e-liquid by weight, but I cannot get the accuracy. Does anyone have any tips on how to pour the liquids without going over the weight? Every time I try, it goes over the weight and so there now seems little point in even having the scales. Might as well have chucked just anything in.

What I'm trying to do is just mix 10ml at a time, because this is my first ever attempt. I worry that if I mix up a lot and it tastes crap, I will have wasted all my ingredients.

Is there a method people use for testing flavours? Because once it's in the cotton, the whole wick has to come out to try something else. And frankly, this is tedious and I'm losing all patience with it.

I feel like there is something I'm missing as a beginner - like some method for test benching flavours, before commiting to a batch.

Any suggestions for a complete novice?

So How Much "Over" are we talking about? And what Levels of Accuracy are you trying to achieve?

Forget about making 10ml batches. It's just to hard to measure Repeatedly the Flavoring/Sweeteners in such small quantities. I wouldn't do anything less that 30 or 40ml.

 

[bombastinator2]

Trying very hard here to mix e-liquid by weight, but I cannot get the accuracy. Does anyone have any tips on how to pour the liquids without going over the weight? Every time I try, it goes over the weight and so there now seems little point in even having the scales. Might as well have chucked just anything in.

What I'm trying to do is just mix 10ml at a time, because this is my first ever attempt. I worry that if I mix up a lot and it tastes crap, I will have wasted all my ingredients. I got one with a calibration weight too so I can check it. We’ll see how it goes. Was still cheap though. Digital scales aren’t like triple beam scales from the 80’s. I kinda want one of them at this point. We’ll see how this next one goes though.

Is there a method people use for testing flavours? Because once it's in the cotton, the whole wick has to come out to try something else. And frankly, this is tedious and I'm losing all patience with it.

I feel like there is something I'm missing as a beginner - like some method for test benching flavours, before commiting to a batch.

Any suggestions for a complete novice?

Then you aren’t using an accurate enough scale. I had this problem putting my cat on a diet. It was so bad I had to go back to measuring by volume. Remember the lessons of highschool physics for accuracy. I just bought an .001 scale my third scale) so I could hopefully get actual single gram measurements. Just because something reads down really far doesn’t actually mean it accurate that far. A scale that only reads out single grams won’t be accurate to single grams. Still doing the cheapie scales. I think this last cos $13 or something. I really hope I don’t have to go triple beam. Those things are a LOT more expensive and the very low end ones probably aren’t any better than the cheap electronic ones. Those things actually are accurate to a tenth of a gram though if you get a decent one.

 

[Dan_V]

Everything's going wrong here. I've tried every one of the six flavour concentrates I bought and they're ALL HORRIBLE.

I don't know what to do anymore.

Thinking of throwing it all out and buying some pre-made stuff.

Or maybe just give up vaping and get some patches. I'm sick of the whole thing now.

 

[zoiDman]

...

Thinking of throwing it all out and buying some pre-made stuff.

Or maybe just give up vaping and get some patches. I'm sick of the whole thing now.

That is Always an Option.

LOL

BTW - Here some light reading if you ever wondered why it Isn't called WD-1.

"In 1953, a fledgling company called Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry. Working in a small lab in San Diego, California, it took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. But they must have been really good, because the original secret formula for WD-40® Multi-Use Product -which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try—is still in use today."

WD-40 History | Learn the Stories Behind the WD-40 Brand | WD-40

The WD-40 brand has a rich history of helping mechanics, motorists and DIY enthusiasts with their projects in the garage or on the job site. WD-40 is engineered to provide superior lubrication and break through greast and grime with corrosion inhibitors.

www.wd40.com

 

[Dan_V]

That is Always an Option.

LOL

BTW - Here some light reading if you ever wondered why it Isn't called WD-39.

"In 1953, a fledgling company called Rocket Chemical Company and its staff of three set out to create a line of rust-prevention solvents and degreasers for use in the aerospace industry. Working in a small lab in San Diego, California, it took them 40 attempts to get the water displacing formula worked out. But they must have been really good, because the original secret formula for WD-40® Multi-Use Product -which stands for Water Displacement perfected on the 40th try—is still in use today."

WD-40 History | Learn the Stories Behind the WD-40 Brand | WD-40

The WD-40 brand has a rich history of helping mechanics, motorists and DIY enthusiasts with their projects in the garage or on the job site. WD-40 is engineered to provide superior lubrication and break through greast and grime with corrosion inhibitors.

www.wd40.com

Thank you for that.

And please forgive me. I'm in some pain with my joints and it's making me stroppy. Even my food doesn't taste right.

But I think I know what's going wrong. Flavours. I'm trying to do something other than tobacco. I've discovered I only really like tobacco flavours. I just wanted to experiment with something new.

 

[zoiDman]

Thank you for that.

And please forgive me. I'm in some pain with my joints and it's making me stroppy. Even my food doesn't taste right.

But I think I know what's going wrong. Flavours. I'm trying to do something other than tobacco. I've discovered I only really like tobacco flavours. I just wanted to experiment with something new.

It OK. It just sounded like you were having a Bad Night.

My thing was when I was doing a Lot of DIY is as long as I Wasn't Smoking, and as long as I was spending Less on DIY than I was on Smoking, I was doing OK.

Some people just don't like Fruit or Dessert Flavors in e-Liquids. And there's nothing wrong with that. Stick with Tobacco Flavor Blends if that's what you like.

And if that's what keeps you off Cigarettes.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

Any suggestions for a complete novice?

Patience.

Everything's going wrong here. I've tried every one of the six flavour concentrates I bought and they're ALL HORRIBLE.

I don't know what to do anymore.

Thinking of throwing it all out and buying some pre-made stuff.

Or maybe just give up vaping and get some patches. I'm sick of the whole thing now.

Learning how to make decent DIY mixes takes much time, effort, persistence… and yes… patience.

I’ve been doing DIY since 2012. It took time for me to learn how to make decent tasting mixes. I still learn things with every new mix.

Go to ELR (e-liquid recipes) find some highly rated recipes and make those. You will learn from seeing how others put their mixes together.

Look at many recipes on ELR. You will get a good idea of what flavors are popular.

Participate on the ELR forum. Ask questions. There are many gifted mixers on ELR who offer excellent advice on their forum.

 

[bombastinator2]

Everything's going wrong here. I've tried every one of the six flavour concentrates I bought and they're ALL HORRIBLE.

I don't know what to do anymore.

Thinking of throwing it all out and buying some pre-made stuff.

Or maybe just give up vaping and get some patches. I'm sick of the whole thing now.

What did you buy? There are a lot of truly awful ones like horhound. My personal solution is not to try. I only do single flavors. Premixes when I can. One of my favorites is monkeyfart which is a strawberry banana bread. I just add some of that to Nic and base and off I go. With singles you don’t deal with ratios so measurement doesn’t have to be nearly as accurate. I wouldn’t call my juice particularly good but it is cheap and quick

 

[classwife]

Moved this to DIY E-Liquid

 

[Dan_V]

"Monkey fart"

 

[Dan_V]

What did you buy? There are a lot of truly awful ones like horhound. My personal solution is not to try. I only do single flavors. Premixes when I can. One of my favorites is monkeyfart which is a strawberry banana bread. I just add some of that to Nic and base and off I go. With singles you don’t deal with ratios so measurement doesn’t have to be nearly as accurate. I wouldn’t call my juice particularly good but it is cheap and quick

I bought from this place:

https://tmbnotes.co/concentrates

In the end, I mixed up 30ml of tobacco, using a single concentrate. Decided not to try cutting it with anything (I originally tried for a marshmallow hint in the tobacco). It's what I'm vaping now and is actually quite decent. I found making 30ml much easier than trying to do 10ml. So not too bad a start.

Peanut Butter, Black Honey, 'Marshmellow', Banana... they did not work out how I had hoped they would. Chocolate was just... terrible!

Maybe it's just that I am a dyed-in-the-wool smoker. I love the idea of many flavours I see in print, but I just keep coming back to plain, old, tobacco.

 

[Dan_V]

Patience.



Learning how to make decent DIY mixes takes much time, effort, persistence… and yes… patience.

I’ve been doing DIY since 2012. It took time for me to learn how to make decent tasting mixes. I still learn things with every new mix.

Go to ELR (e-liquid recipes) find some highly rated recipes and make those. You will learn from seeing how others put their mixes together.

Look at many recipes on ELR. You will get a good idea of what flavors are popular.

Participate on the ELR forum. Ask questions. There are many gifted mixers on ELR who offer excellent advice on their forum.

You're right. Patience is the key to everything else I've tried. I haven't been patient with this, I admit.

Thank you for the advice. I'll definitely check out ELR. (And apologies for my strop earlier).

 

[Dan_V]

It OK. It just sounded like you were having a Bad Night.

My thing was when I was doing a Lot of DIY is as long as I Wasn't Smoking, and as long as I was spending Less on DIY than I was on Smoking, I was doing OK.

Some people just don't like Fruit or Dessert Flavors in e-Liquids. And there's nothing wrong with that. Stick with Tobacco Flavor Blends if that's what you like.

And if that's what keeps you off Cigarettes.

Yeah, anything to keep off the cigs is good.

And yes, a bad night, really. First I had a gout flare up. Next my allergies started kicking off. Wanted to tear my own nose off my face (PS, I don't have a PG allergy). It was actually getting difficult to read the scales and I was dying for some nicotine.

I'm now taking a more measured, slow and patient approach. I have since made something I can vape and truth be told, quite enjoyable. I'll take that as a little win.

 

[zoiDman]

Yeah, anything to keep off the cigs is good.

And yes, a bad night, really. First I had a gout flare up. Next my allergies started kicking off. Wanted to tear my own nose off my face (PS, I don't have a PG allergy). It was actually getting difficult to read the scales and I was dying for some nicotine.

I'm now taking a more measured, slow and patient approach. I have since made something I can vape and truth be told, quite enjoyable. I'll take that as a little win.

So when you make something Good the FIRST thing you do is Write Down EXACTLY How you made it. Then you make Another 60 or 90ml Batch and stick it in a Cool Dark Place to Steep.

You Always want to be able to fall back and Vape Steeped Mixes incase you Next recipe turns out to be Hospital Pan Yuk.

 

[bombastinator2]

Not a brand I’ve heard of before. Also “concentrate”is a weird word in this use case. Frequently (but not always) concentrates are a lot more powerful than flavorings. To the point that one or two drops might do a whole bottle. It varies massively by brand though which is why recipies usually have the brand and the flavor. Usually the name of the brand is abbreviated FW for flavor west, FA for flavor art, TFA for the flavor apprentice, etc.. the brand I see there seems to want to be called TMB. So the first thing I see on their page would be “(TMB) bad elf apple peach pear ice concentrate”. That brand I’ve never seen before. Because they’re concentrates they might be very very strong..or not. No idea. My first try with that one would be to try one drop of it in a 30ml and see how it vapes. I’d it’s weak add another drop. Rinse and repeat. How many of these did you buy and which ones? This brand I know literally nothing about. Different flavorings will have different strengths too and some of them are VERYpotent. Some of them are incredibly weak too, all within the same brand. The other word that seems to mean “really strong” is absolut. It doesn’t always though. Depends on the chemists and the marketing team for that given brand. Tobacco absoluts used to be seen around 15 years ago until all tobacco flavors all suddenly octupled in price (the companies that made them were all cigarette companies. Such a funny coincidence. I smelled a pretty blatant Antitrust violation but they seem to have gotten away with it)