Best technique for testing DIY samples

[Old Greybeard]

I'm going to have a lot of samples to test soon, and rather than refilling and cleaning out tanks etc, I thought using the dripper setup that comes with the Aspire quad flex survival kit.

I was going to use it configured without the tank, e.g. just the deck. What coil I am going to use I don't know yet, I'll probably start out with the Aspire supplied ones. Some questions:

1. Would it be foolhardy just to drip juice on the coil without cotton?
2. If you do use cotton, do you change it with every sample?
3. Any preferences for coil type / wire - for consistency I'd assume you use a coil closest to that you'd use in your daily vape
4. If you don't use a dripper, what to you do to test your samples?

 

[dc99]

I use a hadlay clone and a clapton coil. It will hold enough juice for a hit or two. Thats what I mainly use in tanks also. You can get a good idea of flavors this way.

 

[ScottP]

I usually use a dripper with cotton to test new flavors, but I don't usually make and test a lot at a time. If I did, I might actually consider using silica wick. I really don't care for using silica on a day to day basis, but in this scenario you could drip, test, dry burn all the juice off, then drip the next flavor. It would at least hold a bit more than raw coil this way.

 

[suprtrkr]

If you only want a hit or two, a bare coil will work. The problem with wicked testing is a new wick has flavor, usually. (There are some that don't-- bamboo, ceramic-- but they won't be of use in any format other than a vertical genny-type setup, and you'll still have to rewick for each test.) I generally test flavors in batches of at least 5ml, and I tend to vape them a while to get a good feel for it. So doing, one gets past the break-in taste for a better judge of the flavor, and changing out the wick isn't so much of a PITA.

 

[JCinFLA]

I use an old school 510 atty, or a JoyeTech Mega cone shaped one, or a small RDA. All work well enough for me to know how I want to tweak something new when I've made a sample amount of it.

 

[73neb]

I use a dripper with dual claptons wicked with readyxwick ceramic on a regulated mod. The rxw will hold enough juice for 3-4 hits, and then I dunk the coils in a small dish of distilled water to rinse out most of the juice and then dry burn the coils to evaporate the water. This setup has lasted more than six months without rewicking. I like to try each flavor at different wattages (hence a regulated mod) and dry the coils at a high wattage, 150 or so, so I can try several different flavors in one sitting. I just let the setup cool down for about 5 minutes before trying the next flavor.

 

[Letitia]

I generally test in my rtas but do on occasion use the rda (bare tri core fc) if I have a large amount of sft to wade through. Mixes are always tested in a single coil rta as those are my primary drivers.

 

[gpjoe]

I test the way I intend to vape, so it's usually a single-coil RDA. If I am testing more than one flavor, I use cotton and change it for each test to make sure I am getting closer to the true flavor of each juice.

 

[dc99]

I think there might be some confusion as to what is being tested. I test single flavors in the rda. I test recipes in the tank Im going to use on a daily bases. Generally if I know what the flavor taste like (it nuances) I can sort of predict what it will taste like in a recipe and at what percentage to use it.

 

[stols001]

You can do that, yes. One thing though is the less similar your tasting method is to actual vaping, well, the less "knowledge" you can acquire about a mix. If you wick it, you can try a few drops and then vape a little bit of unflavored to get rid of the first taste.

If you use a rayon wick, you can actually rinse it with distilled water, and dry it, (a hairdryer works, if in need of speed) although I'm not necessarily going to say doing all that is less time consuming or easier than well, simply changing your wick or vaping a bit of flavoring.

If you find the bare coil method easiest, you can most certainly do that and it's going to give you some idea of your mixes, and that's usually better than NO idea.

If I have a bunch of mixes, I will quite often just... do a few at a time, I find it easier and less annoying that way honestly. But your method should give you a reasonable amount of information I would think. Good luck!

Anna

 

[Old Greybeard]

I test single flavors in the rda.

Just a couple of drops on the coil I take it, @dc99? And a short burn to get rid of the residue? Sounds like it might work for me with SS coils with no wick.

 

[BrotherBob]

What coil I am going to use I don't know yet,

Since I have a well established sweet spot, I use the same settings i vape at for a single coil build.

Would it be foolhardy just to drip juice on the coil without cotton?

For me,yes. Often times I find that I may want to vape/vacate the well, wick and coil to make up my mind about the test juice. For me, there is nothing worst than getting a dry hit while your testing, it tends to ruin my taste buds a short while. It's not worth the little extra effort and time to throw out the old wick/pulse/water dip the coil clean.

If you do use cotton, do you change it with every sample?

Yes, only I use rayon.
I have found that different settings, other than my sweet spot settings, significantly changes the taste of my DIY test mix.

 

[DaveP]

I sometimes use an IGO-L dripper atty, but that's not as accurate as the atty you vape every day. Mostly, I just let juices steep for a week and try them. If it's weak or too strong, I add more flavor or dilute it with unflavored mix and continue the steep.

 

[ScottP]

I sometimes use an IGO-L dripper atty, but that's not as accurate as the atty you vape every day. Mostly, I just let juices steep for a week and try them. If it's weak or too strong, I add more flavor or dilute it with unflavored mix and continue the steep.

I bought an IGO-L for that purpose years ago but it has nearly 0 air flow which makes it super hard to draw on. I think you need to have the ability to suck a golf ball through a garden hose to vape that thing. I thought about drilling it out but I didn't have any bits designed to drill though SS.

 

[JCinFLA]

One thing though is the less similar your tasting method is to actual vaping, well, the less "knowledge" you can acquire about a mix.

I disagree with that generalization. That may be true for you and/or others, but like many things dealing with vaping...it doesn't apply to everyone.

I've always done Bill's 100DTT with every new recipe/mix I make, since I started DIY in late 2015. Have always used any of the 3 things I posted earlier (ie. short old school 510 atty, JoyeTech Mega Cone Shaped atty, or small RDA). I don't use any of those to regularly vape. However, after using them to do my taste testing and "tweaking", all the eliquids resulting from that, taste great and just the way I wanted them to...in my Berserkers, shorty KFL+ V2, old school Evod Glass, Aspire K1, or any other tank I may use.