I know most of you are mixing by weight already, but this video just demonstrates how much easier it is than mixing by volume for those wondering about making the switch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbGwwzlJpzQ
I'll have to try mixing by weight some time. The biggest reason I haven't is that I usually buy 30-120ml glass bottles of flavorings that don't have nozzles, and also use large bottles of PG and VG. I'd have to use something to get them out of the bottle anyway, and I mix large enough quantities of juice that if I'm a little off on my syringe measurement it isn't going to be the end of the world. Would I still see the huge benefit to mixing by weight that everyone seems fond of?
Sauce bottles with a sprouter cap for vg and pg. For flavors order disposable pippets.
Does someone make pipettes large enough for 10+ml? When you say pipettes I'm picturing the little things we used in science class and that would be far more time and frustration than just pulling flavor to a line on a syringe
Weight is great for smaller amounts. More accurate, much cleaner and easier for smaller measures. But for larger amounts and batches, like 20mls of one flavor, it's just easier to syringe that out. If I'm doing small mixes, weight. Large mixes, syringe. Whether one method is better than the other comes down to the size of the mix. Weight is not the end all holy grail of mixing. Each has its place.
Agreed. I'm not against mixing by weight, but volume works just fine for me. I mix 4 125ml batches at a time. From start to putting the label on the bottle is around 5 minutes. Heck last weekend I mixed 40 125ml bottles, cleaned and put everything away in about an hour. Admittedly, I think weight would be a better option for small testers. But even my testers I mix 125ml. Since my beakers have a 125ml mark, I add the flavors and then pour my vg to the line from the gallon jug. Quick mix and bottle it. I'd try weight but my shelves won't allow my bottles to have dropper tops :(
>I add the flavors and then pour my vg to the line from the gallon jug.
Yeah, but what are you measuring the flavors out with? Syringes/pipettes/other beakers that also need to be clean and cleaned afterward, right? You've got a lot of vectors for contaminants with so many vessels and also a lot of shit to clean or throw away if you're using disposables.
I measure my flavoring with syringes. I get them by the box full at work and toss them after a use or two. Only thing I have to clean is my 4 beakers which takes less than a minute. Again, I'm not against weight measurement. Volume works for me and my bottles won't fit on my shelf with dropper tops. Otherwise I'd give it a whirl.
edit: http://imgur.com/qfeXHCP
Thats what I meant on my bottles. All my flavors are in 4oz bottles. I can't put dropper tops on them or they'll hit the shelf above. Except for the top shelf.
edit 2: I forgot to mention before. Great video. Its nice hearing someone talk clear and not having the shaky camera.
I'll say that if you're regularly mixing more than a few liters at a time, you may want to go volume. However, here's the real difference:
When mixing by volume, the thing that does your measuring needs to be clean, and also needs to be cleaned afterward. You have a lot more potential vectors for contaminants (multiple containers/syringes/pipettes) as well as a lot of clean up when you're done. Plus graduated cylinders/beakers/syringes aren't cheap - a decent set will easily exceed the cost of a good scale (around $30).
When mixing by weight, the thing that does your measuring is the scale. You literally just pour the ingredients into whatever clean container you have. Maybe if you're mixing a tiny batch you might use a pipette if your bottle didn't have a dropper.
You MIGHT have to use two containers if you were mixing a large batch by weight because of the capacity of your scale. If you have a scale with a 500g capacity (like me) and wanted to mix 1L of juice, you would need two containers. However, if you know you want to mix juice 500ml or 1L at a time, get a scale with a capacity of 2000g or higher, they are only a couple dollars more.
i would love to adapt this to large scale manf........ my overlords make me use volume and i end up making 10-20k ml batches daily.
Generally you're only limited by the capacity of your scale and the size of your container. There are plenty of scales that will handle that weight (30kg) for under a hundred bucks.
If you use a constant for specific gravity of PG (1.04 ) and VG (1.26) you should have consistent results.
Here's my juice calc in a spreadsheet :
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IwSXRnAK3eUtkOrGrrb14g-6bJ7MsfYsSMS0BlUgl0A/edit?usp=sharing
You probably want "Mixing a Recipe"
What if I'm using flavorings where the sg isnt known or easily obtainable?
If you're mixing 20k ml batches (I'm assuming for retail sale), then you should certainly be able to get an MSDS for the flavorings you're using.
Other than that, if it's something weird like tea tree oil or rhinoceros tears, you'll need to use a hydrometer ($15) to measure the specific gravity.
I wouldn't just guess at the specific gravity - for instance, mixing a 20k ml batch of juice at 90%VG is 24.76kg using the sg I noted above.
If I fudge the sg of VG to be 1.1 instead of 1.26, that translates to about a 12% difference in the final mass of the mix (21880g instead of 24760g)