question on drops per ml

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Hoosier

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The answer is, it depends.

Depends on temp. Depends on which flavor.

If you need to know, grab a graduated cylinder and count the drops to get to 5ml and divide by 5 for each.

That is why many go to more repeatable measuring devices.

Now, most FA flavors in FA style bottles measure out to 32 drops per ml at my usual room temp.
 

Str8V8ping

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Thanks . Wow 32 drops is way more than i expected . It would be hard to test since i dont have any empty capellas bottles . I have been using a syringe but going by drops should save a lot of time especially when making 3 and 5ml bottles . Anything over 5ml and i would have still used a syringe but i figured drops would be easier in 3-5ml test batches .
 
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morepyro

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It can not only vary with the temperature and flavor, but the type of dropper you use. I find that the small glass droppers that used to come with TPA 4ml flavors would create smaller drops.

If you have Luer lock syringes, you can put a cartridge cap (if you still have any around) on the end of the syringe where the needle would screw in, and that will block the liquid from flowing out of the bottom. Drip your flavor into the syringe until you have a good measurement on how many drops per ml for that flavor and bottle/dropper. Then write it down, on the bottle or in your notebook. You can pour the flavor back into the bottle.

Like Hoosier, I have found that FA flavors come in at about 32 drops/ml. Same for the flavors from Totally Wicked in their bottles - 32. Yours may be different due to temperature, altitude, etc., but it will probably be close. I still need to measure the rate from those little plastic pipettes that TPA uses now.

For big batches I still use syringes. But if I'm making a 3ml or 5ml bottle, I find it more convenient to go with drops.
 

jamesthompson

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Just invest 50 cents or so into a ml labeled syringe. Then drop your juice in there to measure. It is a very small investment for what you are using it for. I do not know how strong your nicotine is but when you start working with ultra concentrated stuff it is much better to be careful then sorry. This is the cheapest way to figure this stuff out. There are some more high tech ways but those tools can get quite costly.

To sum it up drops per ml varies based on so many factors that you can not trust that ball park figure you need to make sure especially when cutting down nicotine that is in extremely high concentrations. I have noticed some vendors selling some pretty potent stuff now days so I know people have there fingers on things that need to be treated with a lot of care. Guesstimating by the number of drops per ml is not the answer.
 

DaveP

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Thicker and thinner juices, the size of the hole in the tip, and the pressure you use on the bottle, all figure into what you get from dropping DIY components. I agree that a graduated cylinder is the only way to get good measurements, especially if you are keeping track and want to recreate that wonderful concoction that you hit on by accident one time.
 

zoiDman

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As mentioned...

Drop size is a Factor of the size of the Dropper Opening and Thickness of the Liquid.

You might get 30~35 drops per ml from the small droppers that TPA Flavors uses for their flavors.

But with a "Standard" Larger eye dropper you might only get 20 drops / ml.

The best way to DIY if you insist on using ml instead of drops for DIY is to use a Graduated Cylinder or a Syringe to measure liquids.

Or if you have a Crazy accurate scale, you could do it by weight.
 

zoiDman

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I use a syringe,test my drops to ml,then adjust my calculator accordingly..then from there on out I just drop from my flavor bottles.

This is a Extreemly Easy way to DIY.

All my recipes are in ml for the Nicotine Base/PG/VG and drops for flavorings.

I make a "Ladder" and put the Nicotine Base and PG/VG into a Graduated Cylinder, then add Flavoring be drops.

It is Repeatable and much simpler than using Syringes everytime to measure Everyting.
 

gingersnaps

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measuring by drops is very inaccurate and not worth the hassle of figuring it out. I tend to make small batches so for me I keep some 1 ml and 3 ml syringes for measuring. the only thing I may not measure is when I add my vg on top of the nic and flavor bc I already know very closely to where the ml line is I want or know how much it is to the bottom of the neck of the bottle. the only reason I know that is I measured from some venders to see how much they were really sending and most times they fill over the ml its marked for.
 

gingersnaps

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for all the reasons previously posted. example vg may take 20 drps cold but after sitting at 90 degrees it may take 25. or if you use different droppers ect. I use 100 mg vg nic so where it can be bad is say I want 10 ml 24 mg. so if I go by the 20 all the time I can end with 19-24 mg. if you assume 25 drops you will have 24-30mg. so at worst you are feening for nic or really buzzed. with flavors this will result in weak flavor or horribly strong flavor and difficult to reproduce results.
 

Str8V8ping

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If i were to do it like i said i would only do it for 3ml or maybe 5ml test batches at the most . Seems like too many variables though .

WHat i dont get is everyone talking about temperature . Why are you guys mixing in 90 degree temps and such . I can say anytime i mix it will be at 70 degree room temperature so thats one variable out of the way . +/- 5 degrees or so wont make a difference . Also i will never use drops as a measurement for pg,vg or nic .Im just talking about flavorings where it calls for 2-4 drops of a flavoring .

Im also mainly refering to the standard flavoring bottles like the white 13ml capella bottles which all have the same standard droppers . When i drip a drop out of them i always let the drop form slowly until it drops out so that would be the same size everytime .Pressure wouldnt matter unless you were to really squeeze the drops out fast .

That all removes a bunch of variables . Ill do a test and see what is the amount of a drop . The syringe idea was pretty good . I have hundreds of 1ml syringes . A graduated cylinder would be harder as the smallest i have is 10ml .
 

studio52

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If your not trying to get an exact mathematical solution, I use a 20 drop count to equal a ml out of most all my bottles. Its close...but not exact...for flavoring its a good estimation, because I always adjust my flavors after mixing anyway. If your reselling use a measuring tube to be exact for your recipes.
 
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