In an forum post I found about a juice testing technique I saw that the OP labelled the percentages for the testing method incorrectly.
From post #7: > 20 drops PG/VG > 1 drop of flavor = 5% > 2 drops =10% > 3 drops = 15% > and so on.
I don't want this to come across as an unnecessary criticism, but with the method described those percentages aren't accurate. Adding 1 drop to 20 drops of base is a minuscule difference between 5% and the actual percentage, but the deficit grows the more you add and by 5 drops it's rather substantial.
Adding drops of flavoring starting from 20 drops of a base:
- 1 = 4.76%
- 2 = 9.09%
- 3 = 13.04%
- 4 = 16.66%
- 5 = 20.00%
So if this is a method you use, I just want to make sure you're doing the math correctly. If you start out with X drops of a base(VG, PG, or a mixture) and add Y drops of a flavor then the actual percentage is going to be Y / (X + Y)
So, if you start with 20 drops of a base and add 4 drops of flavoring, you need to do 4 / 24 = 16.66%
EDIT: I just realized I never put the link in, lol. It's a good article in general. https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/threads/diy-master-techniques-determining-flavor-percentages.268757/
Wouldn't even those numbers be inaccurate also? Depanding on the spout of a bottle the drop size would be different meaning different percentages?
No because the Drop size is the variable that can be anything as long as the drop size is the same as all the other drop sizes. Lets say OP's drop size is .1 gram for base and flavoring, and yours is .2 grams per drop for base and flavor; the math is still the same.
Droppers aren't accurate from one drop to the next though; entirely dependent on outside factors -- how much pressure is put on the bottle or bulb to create the drop, orifice at the tip of the dropper, width/length of the tip, diameter/height of the bottle (if dropping straight from the bottle) or diameter/height of the dropper bulb, ambient temperature, specific gravity of the liquid, homogeneity of the liquid, viscosity of the liquid..... the list goes on and on but each of these things can contribute minor inconsistencies to this form of measurement unless you're using calibrated micropipettes, or to a lesser extent syringes with set volumes.
No method of measurement is 100% consistent. However, the variation in drop sizes is exceptionally small. The amount of fluid on the outside of the dropper has to reach a specific mass before it can fall, and once it reaches that mass it will immediately begin to fall. The small amount added to it as it's in the process of leaving the tip of the dropper couldn't possibly be much larger than 5% of one drop, and in a case where you're using say 20 drops, 0.25% of the total product.
Now, go back into the fact that every drop will have some kind of error of being slightly above, but never slightly below, and the only real difference to not becomes how far they are away from the average.
So, let's say you do 10 drops, and relative to the specific mass required for a drop to fall they have:
- +5%
- +2%
- +1%
- +5%
- +1%
- +4%
- +5%
- +2%
- +3%
- +1%
This gives an average deviation of +2.9%, so overall that becomes the new normal. Now, let's look at how much above the average went into the mix. If the mass of fluid required to drip is X, then the total volume of what we've made is 10.29X, 10 Drops multiplied by 1.029 average increase multiplied by the mass needed to drip in the first place.
Now, let's add up all of the percentages over the average, subtracting the average from each one to see how much over it is: 1x3%, 1x4%, 3x5%, which becomes 0.1%+1.1%+6.3% after subtracting 2.9% (and multiplying the result of the 5% by 3) for a total of +7.4%.
Now we can look back at the whole to see if an additional 7.4% of 1 drop is enough to cause concern.
0.074X / 10.29X, which can be simplified to 0.074/10.29 = 0.00719, or +0.72% total So, with the unit of measure we're using, (drops) in this particular instance instead of having 100%, we have 100.72%.
Additionally, we now know that the total amount of fluid is 1.00719 * 10.29X, or 10.363X.
If I added one drop of flavoring using the same dropper and I got a minuscule deviation of +0.05% we can check what percentage of flavoring that is to the whole mix.
1.05X / (1.05X+10.363X), simplifies into 1.05X / 11.413X, which simplifies into 1.05 / 11.413, or 0.0920003, or 9.2%.
Now, how far away is this from the proper expectation?
1 / (10+1) or 1/11 = 0.0909, or 9.09% which can be rounded to 9.1%, so there's a deviation of +0.1% in flavoring.
For me, this is not a significant difference.
At the same time, this isn't a method of measurement that I myself use, but this should show that it is perfectly valid.