I have tried to premix large batches of my flavors at double strength. and then add them to nic base that is also at double strength at a 50/50 ratio. In theory, I think it should yield the same result as mixing the bottles individually. Unfortunately for me the flavors end up weaker or different than and individually mixed bottle. I shake the living crap out of the bottles before using them, and use a magnetic stir plate to mix the flavor/nic together, but it always tastes better to mix individually. How come?
What strategy do large vendors use to mix their batches?
Are you mixing by weight? If not , your numbers might be wrong.
There is no secret to getting a batch right. I even premake all my flavors , so if a recipe calls for 14% flavoring from 3 different flavors I add those 3 into a big ass bottle then calculator to reflex that. so 3%blue berry 4% apple and 7% energy drink is not considered one flavor called blueappleegery and I know I need 14% of that one flavor for my mixes. This way I dont have to weigh out the flavors 3x, I just 16oz of the flavor already made.
So each bottle gets 14% blueapplegery ( i only have to weigh it and add one flavor), then my nic , then my pg to what ratio then I fill the rest of the bottle with vg with out bothering to weigh the vg.
I too make 300ml batches with a stir plate but I don't know what you are doing wrong. If you are using syringes or pips IMO is the reason its fucked.
Wait, how would weight be any different than volume?
10% by weight or volume is still 10%. Unless you change the method of measure between filling one 15ml bottle and doing a large batch, the results should be the same.
If I put 10% Peach flavor in 10ml of juice (so 1ml flavor, 9ml base by volume), it should be no different than putting 10ml of Peach in 90ml of base, or 100ml of Peach in 900ml of base.
I wasn't a chemistry major in college, did I miss something?
I guess a scale that measures to the .001 gram would be more accurate than eyeballing it with a syringe.
Probably not when we're talking Class A pipettes, but I get where you're coming from.
Also, since we are talking liquid here, maybe the difference is in residuals left in/on the pipette or syringe rather than mixing directly into one large container by weight.
I suppose I could see it, though I'm not convinced it would be enough of a difference to be detectable by humans.
I suppose if I were going for large scale I might mix by weight, but if you're going for repeatable, I'm pretty sure most automated bottling systems are volumetric.
I wonder, just for curiosity's sake how many vendors mix by weight versus by volume? It'd be interesting to see which has the lower margin of error in their actual production.
Dammit, now I'm gonna have to invest in a good scale so I can try both and see which is more accurate in practice.
> Wait, how would weight be any different than volume?
Its more accurate way of measuring,imo. You may be putting in 1ml of flavoring per 9ml base. But that syringe has different tolerances and not all of them read the same or people read them the same. You can take your time and be dead on the line but what about a small air bubble in the needle you don't see or what if you measure at the bottom of the marker for 1 ml but next time measure at the top of the marker.
So you could be adding 1.06 or .96 ml of flavoring , which might not be a big deal with most flavors @5ml-10ml but you take that 1.06 x300ml and only add .96x300ml of the flavoring needed, well your mix is going to be off. If its a strong flavor or a weak flavor you can really fuck up a batch.
Its not the volume of the flavoring would be any different then the weight of it, its the person mixing it thinking the volume is right.
You're logic is off, who the hell would measure out 96 mils of flavor in 1 mil increments, my answer an idiot that shouldn't be handling dangerous nicotine. Weighing is a good practice but let's be realistic here, if you can taste .4 mls difference in 300'ml batch then you're a taste guru.
So, you are pre-mixing your flavors without any extra PG or VG?
Nope.
Think of it as getting a flavor from TFA already called blueappleegery and I know I need 14% of that flavor.
Are you measuring with syringes and pips and how big of a batch are you making?