Flavor concentrates added to existing e juice

[chellie]

I am not a DIY - a few times I tried a vanilla bean VG nic mix with a little distilled water but that's about it.

I just usually mix my juices from what I have bought --- like a a few drops of a coffee or caramel e-liquid with a vanilla. My main preferred flavor is vanilla. I use either max VG or 100% VG - PG bothers me - - I think I am allergic (my throat closes) but small quantities seem to be OK.

Lately my ejuices are not giving me the taste I crave. I am not super adventurous. My flavors are in the vanilla/caramel lite tobacco range with an occasional root beer. I have been trying different vendors from the suggestions here on the forum and since I still have quite a decent amount of juice I just want pep up my current stock.

I just bought some e liquid concentrate flavoring - purchased a sampler pack with vanilla, root beer, bavarian cream, ry4 etc.

I vape in the ballpark 0 to 6mg (average 3) and am not really concerned about nic content --more taste.

I use basic Kanger equipment -- top tanks, .50 coils, and use wattage of about 20 to 25.

Approximately how much flavor concentrate should I add to a 15ml bottle, 30ml or 120 ml of existing ejuice for a robust flavor?

Is it better to add to the big bottle and let it sit, or is it OK to try some different concentrates in the small 15ml bottles and then if I like it adjust it to figure out the amount for the larger bottles?

How long should I let the flavors settle before vaping?

Honestly, it does not have to be exact --I am just looking for a starting recommended amount.

If it goes well then maybe I will consider some real DIY stuff..

 

[Izan]

Hi,
Tell us what brands of flavour you have and we can point you in the right direction.

Cheers
I

 

[Jim_ MDP]

...
Honestly, it does not have to be exact --I am just looking for a starting recommended amount.

If it goes well then maybe I will consider some real DIY stuff..

This is tough to answer as the specific brands, and even different flavors from each, can have wildly differing strengths.

Some "accent" flavors may be used in fractions of a percent (0.25% etc) while some may love a particular main flavor that just happens to be less concentrated and will use a much higher percentage (~15% etc).

Most main flavors though will probably come in around 4-6%.
My usual suspects are from FlavorArt and are moderately strong... I'll normally use many of them at 3 or 4% or so.
That's for the main flavor though.

In addition, you're talking about adding to an existing e-liquid... you'll almost certainly want to use much less.

The bigger problem though is... as you aren't into DIY yet, how will you measure the concentrates?

If you have an appropriate syringe/pipette... great.
That would be handy as well if your concentrates come in a little dripper top bottle like the FAs. Use the syringe to measure how many drops make a ml and then you can just drip directly into your retail juice bottle the proper number of drops. Easy peasy.


An accurate digital scale would serve that purpose as well... we can get away with just using 1g per ml for most everything.

 

[chellie]

Hi,
Tell us what brands of flavour you have and we can point you in the right direction.

Cheers
I

I purchased a sampler pack from VapeWilds E juice Flavor Concentrates | DIY | Vape Wild

Vanilla
Caramel
RY4

I have e juice in 120ML bottle that I usually place in 30ml amber bottles.

 

[chellie]

This is tough to answer as the specific brands, and even different flavors from each, can have wildly differing strengths.

Some "accent" flavors may be used in fractions of a percent (0.25% etc) while some may love a particular main flavor that just happens to be less concentrated and will use a much higher percentage (~15% etc).

Most main flavors though will probably come in around 4-6%.
My usual suspects are from FlavorArt and are moderately strong... I'll normally use many of them at 3 or 4% or so.
That's for the main flavor though.

In addition, you're talking about adding to an existing e-liquid... you'll almost certainly want to use much less.

The bigger problem though is... as you aren't into DIY yet, how will you measure the concentrates?

If you have an appropriate syringe/pipette... great.
That would be handy as well if your concentrates come in a little dripper top bottle like the FAs. Use the syringe to measure how many drops make a ml and then you can just drip directly into your retail juice bottle the proper number of drops. Easy peasy.


An accurate digital scale would serve that purpose as well... we can get away with just using 1g per ml for most everything.

Thanks - that helps some - I just needed a starting point so I do not dump the whole bottle of flavor in my bottles - just needed a sort of starting point. Would rather add less and work my up then make the existing juice disgusting and i Heard that the concentrates can clog stuff up, too.

 

[Izan]

I purchased a sampler pack from VapeWilds E juice Flavor Concentrates | DIY | Vape Wild

Vanilla
Caramel
RY4

I have e juice in 120ML bottle that I usually place in 30ml amber bottles.

After a bit of google time, it appears the official answer from vapewild is (shrug-- We don't know...just add some) below.

Q: What is the standard percentage for mixing, and what happens when you add more or less?

A: While there is no rigid standard for flavor percentages, most DIY recipes fall somewhere between 10%-20% total. Some flavor concentrates, like cinnamon, menthol, or citrus, are much stronger than others and are best used at a starting percentage of 2%-3%.

So, if there’s no standard, how do you know if your percentages are right? If your flavor is too weak, there’s a good chance your recipe is too low, but keep in mind that for very strong concentrates, less is more. If your flavor has a bitter chemical taste, there’s a good chance your flavor percentage is too high. You can try scaling your entire recipe down, lowering or eliminating certain components. Always remember, you can add, but you can’t take away!​

Try to find your flavours at E.L.R "/flavors?q=vape+wild&sort=name&direction=asc&page=1"

IMO, a great way to "learn" any flavour concentrate is to use BMV's 100dt test:
Using Bill's 100DT Taste Test Method | E-Cigarette Forum

HTH
I

 

[mcclintock]

Most commercial ejuices are considered overflavored and you should consider hardware (and matching technique) that extracts more flavor from the juice; most devices are very poor compared to what is possible. An exception is if you are using very low power, old school device and the ejuice is correctly formulated for higher output. Also just taste bud recovery from smoking can be a big factor, if so try more to enjoy the feeling and nic for a while.

However, you are using single flavor type ejuices and mixing them results in mutual dilution. By adding concentrate instead you keep all of the original flavor and only add (almost). I contend the 10-20% flavoring number is outdated or should be, at any rate the higher total flavoring percentages tend to be a mix of smaller amounts of several flavorings. So a good starting point would be 2-2.5% added which conveniently is about 1 drop per ml of juice, with the typical .02-.025 ml per drop of PG based flavorings in small dropper bottles.

 

[chellie]

Most commercial ejuices are considered overflavored and you should consider hardware (and matching technique) that extracts more flavor from the juice; most devices are very poor compared to what is possible. An exception is if you are using very low power, old school device and the ejuice is correctly formulated for higher output. Also just taste bud recovery from smoking can be a big factor, if so try more to enjoy the feeling and nic for a while.

However, you are using single flavor type ejuices and mixing them results in mutual dilution. By adding concentrate instead you keep all of the original flavor and only add (almost). I contend the 10-20% flavoring number is outdated or should be, at any rate the higher total flavoring percentages tend to be a mix of smaller amounts of several flavorings. So a good starting point would be 2-2.5% added which conveniently is about 1 drop per ml of juice, with the typical .02-.025 ml per drop of PG based flavorings in small dropper bottles.

Thanks. I am a lightweight. Although I am a heavy vapor - very heavy, it serves as a replacement, more or less, to analogs. Just like I rarely changed analogs, I am sort of the same way with vaping - vanilla with some small variations. I do not think I have vape fatigue (I hate the term vapors tongue...lol) because I regular refresh with lemon and salt and never had much of a problem in that area but you never know. I also had some friends sample the juices I have and they agree there is no taste.

As far as equipment, I am sure you are right and will eventually move up. I've been reading the forums here looking at what others are using. I have steadily moved up over the years and feel more "real" now that I use a mod. All I really know and use is Kanger .... subbox nano, toptank nano, a mini C. It is just easy for me - filll it and vape - change battery and coil as needed. Overall, I have not had any issues, I have a good amount of vapor and usually a good amount of taste.

The flavor additives should be here soon and I will see if that helps. I just needed a starting point to see if I can save any of what I currently have. Since it tastes like absolutely nothing - I figure I can experiment a bit.

"So a good starting point would be 2-2.5% added which conveniently is about 1 drop per ml of juice, with the typical .02-.025 ml per drop of PG based flavorings in small dropper bottles."

That really helps - I know I can tweak it but I have never played around with additives and just wanted something intelligent and logical to start with.

Thanks

 

[retired1]

Not a recipe. Moved to DIY E-Liquid

 

[stols001]

My best piece of advice is to a) make small "taster" samplers, like 15 ml or less and b) start low. You can always add more flavor. I think starting out with a huge bottle isn't the greatest idea as a) this isn't really DIY since you are starting out with premade flavors already (and it kind of IS DIY, you currently don't know exactly how much flavor will change things up well for you.

I'd probably try to minimize steeping time (maybe give your tasters a hot bath or an ultrasonic clean to speed the process) and if I liked it, THEN I would add flavoring to existing juices once you've figured out what you like, and don't like. I think it's less wasteful, and diluting down is so much more of a pain than flavoring up.

Good luck, however you decide to do this!

Anna

 

[BrotherBob]

That really helps - I know I can tweak it but I have never played around with additives and just wanted something intelligent and logical to start with.

Small steps is best. Suggest, adulterate only that amount of mix which you are prepared to throw away. Please don't judge DIY by the success you will have or not have. What your attempting, is impossible to judge the outcome.
Here is a quick look into DIY, might like to visit:
Getting Started: DIY 101 – Mixing Your Own eLiquid
diy_beginners_guide - DIY_eJuice
http://www.ecigexpress.com/shop/diy-e-liquid/diyordie-concentrates.html
http://www.ejuicemakers.com/help/
How to get started mixing your own DIY e liquids.
diy_beginners_guide - DIY_eJuice

 

[dc99]

Also keep in mind that the flavorings you chose will take time to steep. Some RY4's can take up to a month to steep. I would seriously start at around 2% and wait a few days. You can always add more but its hard to take away. To much flavoring can have the opposite effect, it can actually mute what flavor you already have. The real problem is that almost all commercial juices are maxed out on flavorings and sweetners to begin with

 

[chellie]

Not a recipe. Moved to DIY E-Liquid

Sorry...

 

[chellie]

My best piece of advice is to a) make small "taster" samplers, like 15 ml or less and b) start low. You can always add more flavor. I think starting out with a huge bottle isn't the greatest idea as a) this isn't really DIY since you are starting out with premade flavors already (and it kind of IS DIY, you currently don't know exactly how much flavor will change things up well for you.

I'd probably try to minimize steeping time (maybe give your tasters a hot bath or an ultrasonic clean to speed the process) and if I liked it, THEN I would add flavoring to existing juices once you've figured out what you like, and don't like. I think it's less wasteful, and diluting down is so much more of a pain than flavoring up.

Good luck, however you decide to do this!

Anna

They came today so I am going to play doctor in small batches --thanks

 

[chellie]

Update - the flavor concentrates smell delicious and I tried two of them and they actually taste great BUT...... my throat closes up. I figured out a long while back that PG makes my throat close -- I am not a doc and do not suffer from any known allergies (other than Cephlasporin meds) so it is either the PG or a flavoring in it that does it but it is not a good feeling. I only put in a small amount of drops and it did not agree with me. I cleaned out the tank, put a new coil in and put my flavorless max VG stuff in and all is well.

I will try again tomorrow --I mixed up 2 very small batches and if it does it again --I am done.

They also sent me 2 small bottles of e juice 65/35 so I cannot use - one is a citrus and one is a mystery Oct flavor that they will not tell you what it is until Nov.

If it bothers me again - which I suspect it will - I will post the flavors and if anyone wants it I will be happy to send to you.

I think I may go back to my own basic Vanilla Vape --vanilla beans in VG - letting it steep a long time, strain it and then add some nic and distilled water to thin..
Thanks all for the help

 

[chellie]

So I mixed some of the different flavors in small bottles with my existing stuff and let it settle and they all seem OK -- except the vanilla one. It's ironic because I mainly vape vanilla and I have noticed that some of the vanilla flavors literally make my throat close so I think it is an ingredient, and maybe not the PG, that I am allergic to. It seems it only happens with Vanilla.

I ordered a different brand of vanilla e juice from Grimm Creations - 8 Ball - lots of vanilla and it is a 70VG/30PG and it did not bother me at all.

So almost all of the flavor concentrates worked to salvage the supply I had on hand. I only added drops per the recommendations here so the sampler pack will last a very long time.

I do have a vanilla flavoring that bothered me and the 2 mystery bottles that smell "citrusey" --small 15 mg bottles. If anyone is ecig forum land wants them let me know and I will send it to you.