So I've read some posts and watched some YouTube videos. I had a couple questions I was hoping you guys might be able to answer:
- I looked at this [calculator] (http://www.todmuller.com/ejuice/ejuice.php)
It outputs a SINGLE 'PG or VG' (no nic)... my question is, if you wanted a 60/40 ratio would you simply recalculate that?
So if the calculator said 10 ml of PG no nic... would you instead use 6 ml of PG and 4ml of VG to get a 60/40 PG/VG mix?
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What the heck are sweeteners?
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What % flavouring should one use? The calculator is set at 20%, but is that what people use? Also, if it says 20% and let's say that equals 6ml... if you were combining flavours would you then put say 3ml of vanilla and 3ml of tobacco flavouring?
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Regarding safety, what elements (bottles syringes) need to be cleaned or what should be tossed out after every use? And why is cleaning necessary (ie. what bad things could happen if you forgot to clean a syringe say).
Thanks for anyone who takes the time to answer the above.
Also, if I give this a shot it will be my first time so any other 'newbie' tips (or links I should check) you want to share feel free.
The first field, Nicotine Base, is where you add your nicotine. The value you enter is the strength of your nicotine base... 36mg is a reasonable value, so is 48mg or 100mg... just use whatever mg/ml that your nicotine base has.
Sweeteners are stuff like sucralose, stevia, ethyl-maltol. The first two are usually sold as solutions in PG. The latter is often sold as crystals, like menthol... and to use them you would first dissolve them in PG or VG (1/4 teaspoon in 10ml).
When doing a mixing/flavor testing session, use a very low % so you don't get vapor's tongue (olfactory fatigue). 5% - 10% will work fine. When making production juices, you'll usually want more flavoring. MBV (uses FlavorWest) recommends 15%. Alternately, have a look at this post.
~~More later... dinger is ringing...~~ sorry about that, have a cake in the oven (not done yet).
As far as safety goes... if you spill or splash nicotine base, clean up immediately. If you get it on your skin, wash it off immediately. If you spill mixed juice with lower nicotine, it's not as dangerous but you should still keep it off of your clothing and skin. To clean your vape dishes, wash with water and let drip dry. Some people recommend rinsing with distilled water because of impurities in tap water.
If you forget to clean a syringe, nothing bad would happen other than that the previous mix might slightly contaminate the next mix. Bacteria dies in the presence of PG (and probably nicotine)... in fact, PG is used to fog surgery theaters to kill airborne bacteria. Again, be careful of anything containing nicotine... it should be treated as a poison that can kill if swallowed, and can be absorbed through the skin.
I re-use syringes. Sometimes they retain a bit of odor from flavorings. If I were doing commercial juices I might make sure syringes were only used for 1 flavor.
PG and VG are pretty much safe for humans and most mammels. Cats are an exception... PG is toxic for them to consume, so never let your kitty lick up a PG spill. It is however safe to vape around your pets.
Here is the pro-tips for a newbie help you were looking for.
Ok... downloaded a different calculator (ejuice me up) and it's more obvious how to input things, so good on that front.
Regarding sweeteners.... when I buy a flavour, isn't that good enough? Is it really required to buy a sweetener?
That's a good question. Some DIY juicers never use sweeteners. I almost never do... I would only try a sweetener if it's obvious a juice needs it.
Some flavors are great sweeteners themselves... Cotton Candy flavoring is ethyl maltol at a relatively high %, so Cotton Candy can be used just about like ethyl maltol. MBV (FlavorWest) Caramel Candy is a great sweetener, and also an all-around great flavor for mixing with others (however, I do not consider TFA/TPA Caramel Candy to work the same way).
There are also sours... malic acid, citric acid, acetic acid (vinegar). I made my own citric acid solution with granular citric acid, 1/4 teaspoon dissolved in 15ml of PG, then I use about 1 drop of that per 5ml of mixed juice. Citric acid gives a very nice boost to fruity flavors especially. Vinegar (any kind except balsamic) is used in a similar manner.
Don't vape sugar... it will not really vaporize, instead it burns producing toxic smoke. Don't vape oil, it causes lipid pneumonia. When in doubt about your flavorings, check their ingredients. They should contain PG and or VG, natural and/or artificial flavorings, sometimes colorings, sometimes alcohol. If they contain water, sugar or oil they may not be suitable for vaping (depending on their concentrations, very low concentrations may be ok).
BTW, water is safe to vape, it just doesn't work well as a flavor carrier (PG works best for carrying flavors), and it requires a higher temperature to vaporize. Distilled water is often added to high VG juices to thin them, at about 1 drop per 10ml. Ethyl alcohol (vodka) is sometimes added for similar reasons at similar concentrations, or as a flavor enhancer (ripe banana).
Are there places where I can order flavours knowing they are safe for mixing for vaping? I'm looking at the perfume apprentice right now and flavor west, are there others?
Also, when I start is it safer to just try straight up flavors. Like for instance JUST vanilla? Wouldn't that be the safest way to ensure I make a juice that tastes good?
Hows the cake doing?
Well, I fucked it up but recovered. I finished it, put it in the oven, then started redditing (fuck reddit, I mean I love reddit) and thought, that's funny, there was no vanilla in that cake (spice cake)... or was there and I just didn't put it in? So back to the kitchen, I checked the recipe and realized that despite that there was no vanilla listed, there was milk and I forgot it! Fuck, and it was a double sized cake for my soup-for-40 tomorrow, fuck fuck... so I got it out of the oven (it had only slightly started baking on the sides), poured it back into the mixing bowl, added milk, washed and re-buttered the pan, poured the slightly warm but now with milk added batter back into the pan, and put it back in to bake. It's done now... looks great (it's a good recipe, very forgiving...), so I guess I managed to recover. I cook a lot, and I usually don't make that kind of mistake, but I haven't been sleeping well lately due to my stopping of my trees habit, so I'm a little off kilter...
Thanks for asking!