Why does everyone say it’s easier/better to use a scale to measure by weight instead of measuring by volume with syringes? I can’t really wrap my head around it and I’m usually good with this stuff, so I must be missing something. I have the ingredients for Grack and I want to use my usual volumetric measuring methods but everywhere I read the original recipe is done by weight and I don’t want to change the flavor.
If I could use an example to show my thinking.
If I want a 10% flavored juice with 6 mg/ml of flavor for 100 ml of juice I just need 10 ml Flavor/6ml of 100mg nic/ and 84ml of base. That was hella fucking easy.
If I want the same thing by weight, first off I have no idea what the final weight of 100ml of juice is. So how do you work backwards with the percentages if you don’t know the final weight? And second, don’t all of these ingredients weigh differently per mL? Cause I have super thin flavoring that I know for sure doesn’t weigh the same as my thick VG mL:mL. So that complicates it even further unless you are supposed to assume all the liquids have the same density.
What Am I missing? And if anyone can give me weight per ingredient I need for 100 mL of Grack that would be very helpful.
Couple reasons I prefer mixing by weight.
Much more precise measurements. Those syringes are not accurate neither are the sides of a mixing flask. Well at least the ones that we will buy...
Also it is in my opinion it is way easier to scale up or down.
You also can just dump your ingredients in from the bottle instead of having to pull out the bottle out, take the top off, put the syringe in, try and take out the right amount put some back in take some back out.... I prefer the droper method personally much more precise.
Plus you dont have to keep buying syringes. (I know that isn't really even a thought for most normal people.)
As for varrying weight vg weighs the most. I haven't mixed in a long time but if I remember correctly each ML of vg us like 1.2g or something like that pg is almost a 1:1 weight ratio. I'm hoping for your sake someone will correct me or confirm this.
As for the calculation (you're making 100mls of juice) meaning that is the only number you need to worry about getting to the correct percentage. You're not working backwards you are adding until you reach 100% of 100mls.
It's just a personal preference at the end of the day, one that I prefer much more to.
Also here is the tool that I used for calculations. Does weight, volume, and drops.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stasbar.vape_tool
Just wanted to say that I have edited this shit out of this so if it reads weird I'm sorry and that is why.
Hope this was helpful u/sloppyjoepa let me know if I missed something or you have anymore questions. I'm not an expert but I've had serval actual juice manufacturers like my juice so I feel like that is something.
Thanks for the reaponse . Now I’m seeing that what I was missing really was that there was a tool online to help you mix. I’ve just been doing calculations in my head or on paper so I couldn’t really figure out doing that by weight. I’ll mess around with that and a few others thanks again
Oh man I am sorry... did that for a year back in the day... then you use that app... and it's like what the fuck was I doing...
It's cool, I generally use pretty simple numbers and not a lot of flavors (my main is just 10% creme de Menthe TFA) and since I like s 9mg and 12 mg/ml is too much I've just been doing 10 mg/ml so it's always a really simple calculation in my head. But I'm new here and just found all of these awesome recipes and couldn't figure it out.
It was easy because you made a large batch. When you make large batches, mixing by weight and volume are basically the same. In smaller quantities, a scale will be MUCH more accurate.
Makes sense in that regard. Still have questions about the calculations though.
Use any of the calculators in the sidebar. I can’t tell you the weight without knowing what kind of liquid the Nic is suspended in or what ratio your base is.
I usually make mixes at about 100-400ml finished volume. lWhen I measure by weight, there's much less stuff to clean. Just squirt concentrates into your primary mixing bottle, and that's it! If I used syringes, its the whole issue of the syringe being too short to use without a needle (if the concentrate bottle is not full), syringes being slow to fill/empty, more than one full syringe needed for each flavor (as I dont have proper syringe sizes anymore) and just a lot more hassle for the same result in general. The measurements are also more accurate whent he weight is accurate to 0.01 grams.
I use http://e-liquid-recipes.com/create to fill in the concentrates and percentage. I set a final volume of whatever my bottle can hold, plus some room for air to mix easier. Then I just start at the lowest weight (like 1,1 grams of sweetener) and work my way up.
This recipe creation site gives you all the info you need for weight for each different ingredient in the percentage you're using.
Doing it this way, makes mixing by weight easier and faster for me atleast :)
It's easier for me because I can utilize the individual flavor bottles' dropper nozzles instead of having a bunch of syringes that I need to continually clean. I can pull out 25 flavors, mix up 8 recipes, put the bottles away, and be done.
When the flavor bottles dont have drip tips, gonna be cleaning syringes anyway. I only have 1 flavor that has a drip tip. But I think the argument is stronger than just accuracy if all of your flavors are in squeeze bottles though.
I actually do have bottles that don't have drip tips, but I transfer them over to bottles that do. Cleaning a batch of bottles every 4 months or so is much easier than cleaning a handful of syringes each week. If I only had a handful of recipes that I made massive batches of, I'm sure syringes wouldn't be much of a difference, but I'm always wanting to try something new, so whittling my list down is a never-ending battle.
Yes, the accuracy is nice too, but honestly, I don't look up the specific weights of my flavors (I just use 1g/mL), so I can't really say I care about accuracy that much. I'm just lazy.
You can buy drip caps for bottles if they don't come with them. Most vendors have caps though. 4oz TFA bottles use these https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=65209
I haven't gotten something without a drip cap other than from my TFA bulk wholesale account in years. You can probably figure out cap sizes / threading for smaller bottles somewhere.
The key to unlocking your dilemma is "Specific Gravity" (or Density). It's expressed as weight per volume.
Each ml of VG weighs 1.261g.
Each ml of PG weighs 1.036g.
If you know how many ml you need - just multiply by the Specific Gravity and you'll know how much it should weigh. Nic and flavors can be PG or VG based. The actual density of either is slightly different than straight PG or VG, but the difference is minimal - so you can treat everything you add as either PG or VG.
Most people use a calculator like the one at Steam Engine to do the calculations, and just follow the weights it gives. It knows the specific gravity of PG and VG and such, so it can readily convert mLs to g.
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Once you plug everything in it tells you just how many grams of whatever to add.
Put flavorings in dropper bottles and all you gotta do is drip to the alloted weight. if you measure by volume you need a syringe for each bottle or you slowly contaminate each flavoring with the previous flavoring. Syringes quickly get brittle too and less accurate as they won't glide like they previously did, and then you have the issue of how much volume is in the needle head you use, which is a small effect only really wffecting small batches.
ELR websight has specific gravity for each flavoring considered in its calculations so you dont have to worry about differences across flavorings when measuring by weight.
I've been mixing for over 5 years and I personally have never needed too use a scale ever. I make my own, friends, family and people I've never met before. As long I make the same juice with the same ingredients with the same measurements everyone is happy. I'm not saying don't mix by weight, I'm saying I don't need too. I don't clean syringes either because I never use them.
What measurements do you use then, if not a scale or syringes?
I use a free standing 10ml measuring cylinder in 0.1ml incriments for measuring concentrate and Nicotine and a 50ml beaker for vg /pg.
Ah, i see, fair enough. Personally though i'm always tweaking my ADV (have been for over three years..) and that wouldn't be accurate enough for me, i think. Appreciate it probably is easier, but for some of my stronger flavours in the ADV, like the red licourice, and cinnamon, even tenths of grams difference are noticeable (mixing 50ml at a time btw).
> Why does everyone say it’s easier/better to use a scale to measure by weight instead of measuring by volume with syringes?
I measure in droplets as unit. The worst is that this varies depending on the container but basically there are 3 kinds. This is a stopper when sharing here though.
I saw that you have most of your flavours in non-dropper bottles. If you switched them to dropper bottles and wanted to mix by weight, you'd have flavours in dropper bottles, VG, PG and nic base in condiment bottles, a scale, a bottle you're mixing in, and a recipe, whether on a website, an app or a program. After you enter the specific gravities of VG and PG, and the amount to mix, nic percentage in your base and in your final product, VG/PG ratio etc. the app/program/website does the calculations for you, so you have a bunch of weights (for VG, PG, nic base and each flavour). You squeeze liquid into the mixing bottle until you hit the weight you want, tare the scale, and repeat with each liquid until you're done. Then you can just put everything away. No cleaning syringes. It's faster and much more enjoyable to mix by weight, and it's easy to make small batches if you're experimenting. I mix in 15 ml Boston round dropper bottles when I'm trying stuff out. I wouldn't be comfortable mixing such small batches by volume.
I can’t be the only one who mixes everything under the (false) assumption that 1 gram is 1mL.
>Why does everyone say it’s easier/better to use a scale to measure by weight instead of measuring by volume with syringes?
Because they know from experience it is.
>I have the ingredients for Grack and I want to use my usual volumetric measuring methods but everywhere I read the original recipe is done by weight and I don’t want to change the flavor
You read right. So then don't. It's a fucking amazing recipe.
>That was hella fucking easy.
You find cleaning a bunch of pipettes and syringes easy vs none? Ok.
>If I want the same thing by weight, first off I have no idea what the final weight of 100ml of juice is
Uh. Yes you do. It's right there in the fucking recipe. 120.17 grams at 2mg nic.
>What Am I missing?
A lot
Dude, go away break down someone else's fucking question like an asshole. So unhelpful.
Because you're such a nice guy? Holy overreaction.
You asked. I answered. The recipe was made using a scale so, as you yourself said, it makes sense you can easily recreate it the same way.
If not then fine. Who cares?
Over reacting? Look at how you responded first, you’re in the same boat buddy. I especially loved how you passive aggressively linked me to the recipe with all of the weights laid out. Obviously that is what I was asking for because I literally said that in the OP. The helpful thing would have just to link me that info and not try to make me feel like an idiot, which didn’t work cause if I was afraid of internet strangers belittling me I wouldn’t be asking questions on Reddit.
I was also going to answer your question until I read that comment. Best of luck.