How come my juices are coming out very harsh after sitting/steeping?

submitted over 7 years ago by natteulven

I'm just getting into the DIY game, and I've noticed that some of my flavors are getting more harsh after steeping for about two weeks. When they come out, they're not too bad, I'm using the steam-engine juice calculator and consistently mixing them at a 70/30 at 3mg and my nicotine is a 48mg PG base from liquid barn. Any tips or reasons why this is happening?

Comments

4 points

by Nitrocity97over 7 years ago

Harshness in juice could be caused by any number of factors. It could be the quality of nic you use, liquid barn is used by a lot of people but I'm not sure if juice companies use it. I've personally found it to be harsher than other brands of nic. Also, it could be flavors, and the companies producing them. If you get a lemon flavoring from TFA or Capella, they will both be harsh from the citrus, but one might be sweeter and less harsh. The last thing I could think of would be sweetener. It tends to harshen juices if used in large quantities. Usually I do mine in drops (sucralose.) If you're using sweetener, rule of thumb is to use one drop for every 5 or 10 mls of e-liquid.

3 points

by natteulvenover 7 years ago

Thanks for the great reply. I forgot to add that I've mainly been noticing this is happening with my fruity/melon flavors, I'm not using any sweeteners, and oddly enough my orange banana recipe which is heavier on the citrus doesn't suffer from this problem. I'll try changing up my nicotine and see if that makes a difference! Do you have any recommendations?

3 points

by AtheismRocksHahaover 7 years ago

I've actually noticed melon flavours tend to have the same problem as citrus flavors and add harshness to mixes

2 points

by Nitrocity97over 7 years ago

I use nude nic and it isn't very harsh. I use 100mg/ml so you don't need much, and it goes much farther in terms of juice made with a single bottle. Nude nic is my suggestion

1 points

by natteulvenover 7 years ago

Thank you! I'll give them a shot

1 points

by draho480over 7 years ago

Can confirm - liquid barn is very harsh. I am taking a break from making my own juice to do more research for better nic and flavors.

2 points

by EdibleMalfunctionover 7 years agoMixologist

Are you using Liquid Barn flavors

1 points

by natteulvenover 7 years ago

I have a few Liquid Barn flavors. I really like their honeydew, orange banana and white chocolate peppermint, but other than that, no.

2 points

by EdibleMalfunctionover 7 years agoMixologist

Are all your mixes coming out harsh?

2 points

by natteulvenover 7 years ago

No, after tasting all of my juices it seems that only a few were coming out harsh, the melon was one of them. I think it might be a LB thing to have harsh melons or something. It wasn't bad enough to the point where I was unable to vape it, however it took a minute to get used to it.

2 points

by kindgroundover 7 years ago

Melons = harsh (usually)

1 points

by wh1skeyk1ngover 7 years agoThanks for reading this flair

Here is an excellent post regarding reasons your juice may be harsh and how to figure out the cause.

1 points

by best_ironmeme_euover 7 years agoWTF is a "Terpene?"

Some flavours can be really harsh even at lower percentages, i've noticed higher nicotine boosts the hasher flavours even more sadly.

-9 points

by Diogenes--over 7 years ago

PG is harsher than VG. There's no reason to use it unless you have an atomizer designed for juice that's thinner than pure VG. My ancient kayfun is like this, I brew 70/30 for it, and full VG for everything else. High wattage can also make it too harsh.

5 points

by Krauzberover 7 years ago

Except PG carries flavor much better than VG. Also, not everyone hates a little bit of throat hit.

My base is always 60/40 :)

Regarding the actual topic; the higher the nic, some flavors, old/brown/peppery nic and PG all play a factor in "harshness".

5 points

by EdibleMalfunctionover 7 years agoMixologist

I’m not sure why you think that there is no reason to use PG. They are both separate entities and both have their own characteristics. PG is a much better flavor carrier than VG. 70/30 is pretty much standard for a good balance of flavor.

2 points

by bigtidderover 7 years ago

I'm with Diogenes on this one. PG sucks and max VG can carry flavor just fine. Over the years I've personally settled on 90/10 as my preferred ratio.

1 points

by Thatythatover 7 years ago

are you’re flavorings held in PG?

1 points

by bigtidderover 7 years ago

Yup. I shoot for 10% flavoring so I can skip adding extra PG.

Sometimes I do a "light" version of other mixers recipes that are overflavored for me. I shoot for 10% flavor for those too. More chain vaping, less rewicking. :)

1 points

by juthincover 7 years agoOne of "The Damned"

Well, personally I only add PDO or PEG400 to my mixes if I'm using flavors that need more flavor carrier content (mainly tobacco).

Still, you can't assume the OP isn't into pain, like Krauz said. So the most likely issue is... how was the mix steeped? Any chance the nic oxidized (ie: used a mechanical frother type gizmo, mixed into a container such that it was half air and then shook the fuck out of it, left it in the grow tent with the UV lights on, etc)?

1 points

by Sponcotelloover 7 years ago

Is mixing into a half empty bottle bad? I accidentally ordered 60mls instead of 30s for my first order and since I didn’t wanna waste materials on my first brews, I have several 30’s steeping in the 60ml bottles right now.

2 points

by BlowMyPogoover 7 years ago

Simply squeeze out any extra air in the bottles and close the caps.

1 points

by juthincover 7 years agoOne of "The Damned"

Well, you may have the nic oxidize quicker, due to the increased content of oxygen in the bottle. It's best to not leave much air in the bottle.