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How do you handle bad tests?
submitted about 6 years ago by AreTooMeToo

Throw away? Keep adding flavor(s)? Throw sweetener at it?

I hear about people testing a flavor, mixing at different percentages, etc.. Multiple 15ml tests. What do you do with the bad result bottles?

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9 points
 
by Raven6851about 6 years ago

I test in 10ml. Just easier to work out % for me. But I don't test different percentages of the same flavor in different bottles. Too much waste! I just keep increasing the percentage in the same bottle until it just starts to decline. Then I either vape the finished result, or add more base to get it back to its sweet spot.

4 points
 
by AreTooMeTooabout 6 years ago

This is generally my method also. I got into DIY for being frugal and save money. Wasting a bunch isn't appealing at all

2 points
 
by bl4ckn4pkinsabout 6 years ago

Does your scale read in hundredths? Or do you use a drop method?

4 points
 
by AreTooMeTooabout 6 years ago

I tried a tenths scale for postage we had at work. Bad idea. You will only find recipes at hundredths, and it's hard to gauge your closeness. I was always worried I would ruin someone's recipe

4 points
 
by bl4ckn4pkinsabout 6 years ago

Agree. The idea that .049 = 0 and .051 = 1.0 is horrifying

Edit: decimal points wrong. I need more sleep

3 points
 
by Raven6851about 6 years ago

My scale reads in hundredths.

1 points
 
by Shady_Linesabout 6 years agoPâtissier

My scale reads in... here come close and have a look *shoves scales into your face*

7 points
 
by isuamadogabout 6 years agoRenaissance Mixer

i used to mix no nic and just dump. now i make mostly vapable errors. those i vape through if i think it will give me a better sense of what i want or save to see if a steep causes something to change.

also coolant/menthol can cover up some fruit errors, flv clove can cover up some bacco errors if you need to vape through it.

3 points
 
by bl4ckn4pkinsabout 6 years ago

Yeah. The steep. I’ve had some Chernobyl flavors that actually ended up pleasant after a month.

1 points
 
by isuamadogabout 6 years agoRenaissance Mixer

Or at least a lot less bad!

1 points
 
by AreTooMeTooabout 6 years ago

I smoked menthol, but trying icy/menthol vapes hasn't been pleasant at all. Tried Koolada the other day, low percentage to get a drink like flavor.

I would assume testing with them is pretty tough to get just right.

3 points
 
by isuamadogabout 6 years agoRenaissance Mixer

It’s not too bad. You figure out sort of quick where you like it and it sounds like you don’t. Basically you can find a bully that will overpower errors that you may enjoy. Or dilute back up to ten and add something that you think will go easy. Or mutes it.

4 points
 
by noam_compsciabout 6 years ago

I throw the away. I went through a phase of trying to correct the, but it just was so much effort. Would spend about an hour just to make a 10ml that I tested down to 8ml and then correct it back up to 15ml. In the end I wasted 17ml.....

​

Also, as the pst on Mixing by numbers last thursday said, I try to min. waste by adding less than needed as it is MUCH easier to add more than dillute down.

3 points
 
by Machirokaabout 6 years ago

I keep to vape when I'm drunk.

3 points
 
by Cloughy16about 6 years ago

thats actually the best idea ive heard xDD

2 points
 
by tookmynameabout 6 years ago

I’m more picky when I’m drunk. I find every flaw with my vape when drinking.

3 points
 
by Shady_Linesabout 6 years agoPâtissier

You're not drinking enough then ;)

2 points
 
by RancerDSabout 6 years ago

Often times, will add something to it to see if it'll improve. It's one way to experiment. Usually try to think of what is the most logical pairing. Especially if it seems like it is lacking in a certain area. There are a lot of single flavors that some people feel more accurately represent the flavor they say they are. For me, may have to add more apple to an apple pie or peanut butter to a crunch berry. Or some kind of bakery, since I have a harder time picking out those kinds of notes. Do I vape every single bit of my vjuice? No. But since I mix 20 mL at a time, I'll usually vape 5-10 mL of it as stand alone or with a couple of drops of sweetener (assuming it's supposed to be sweet). Sweetener really won't help tobaccos.

If it needs a certain mouth feel or throat hit, I'll try adding things to increase that. I'd bought TPA Turkish. It's got something in there that smells great. Not very good on it's own. But since it's got a fruity note, it seems to ask for maybe some peach thrown in there. I've put in blood orange and kinda liked it. Also... creams/custards seem like a good match up. I have never really vaped creamy tobaccos, but it's something I'm inclined to try soon, since most of the stuff I've been vaping has been tobacco-based.

2 points
 
by AreTooMeTooabout 6 years ago

Nice approach. I might pick up some Turkish and test also. I've only used RY4 Double thus far. I do like a little more throat hit (started using hit nic salts).

1 points
 
by RancerDSabout 6 years ago

The Turkish is probably a flavor you won't use often or at very high percentage. you may want to put that on the bottom of your wish list. :)

2 points
 
by juthincabout 6 years agoI improved Grack and all I got was this lousy flair

Small test bottles are cheap and disposable.. If I rreally worried abojt the cost, i would flush the bottles with unflavored, as lng as the concentration wasn't too high. But ten cents or so is acceptable costs.

1 points
 
by tookmynameabout 6 years ago

I’m confused. Can’t you just rinse the bottle with water?

1 points
 
by St1llFrankabout 6 years agoThis flavor... This is not my kind of flavor

A lot of people wash out their bottles. But there's also others that fear what washing will leave behind microscopicly. It's a pain in the ass washing 100 or so 10ml bottles but I've done it.

1 points
 
by juthincabout 6 years agoI improved Grack and all I got was this lousy flair

I could, if i had a steady supply of milli-q water and some way to ensure dehydration. Otherwise there'd be contamination from whatever was in the water, if not actual water.

1 points
 
by Shady_Linesabout 6 years agoPâtissier

I just rinse a bottle with tap water, empty, then afterward squirt a few drops (like <0.1ml) of distilled water & shake with my finger on to rinse that water out, maybe repeat a second time with the dropper-tip back on to rinse that through with the remaining distilled water. It always seemed like beyond minimal-effort no-brainer stuff with, at worst, such trivially microscopic quantities of tap water by that stage it wouldn't even bare thinking about (like rushing your dog to the vets from eating a nano-spec of chocolate-biscuit off the floor, y'know?).

2 points
 
by LordNyssaabout 6 years ago

I test in 10 ML (produce in 100). So if I don’t like it, I either ask some of my mates if they like it. If they do I give it away else I chuck it.

2 points
 
by bl4ckn4pkinsabout 6 years ago

I actually keep them all and use them to fatten up or give character to other flavors. What tastes like someone set a stick of banana bubblegum on fire and then rolled in pistachios and gasoline MIGHT, at a subperceptual level, make a dope cantaloupe ice. Who tf knows. I think the disasters are a nice little toolkit for nuance

2 points
 
by Tom-Wingoabout 6 years ago

I had about 10oz of bad mixes in a bottle with everything from 50mg salt pod fruity stuff to low nic deserts and was going to use it in the garden as big spray but I tried a little and Son of a Shit! It was really good!!! I have no idea what the nic percentage is and I get a head rush if I take too big of a pull but I was really surprised. I guess the biggest thing is that I got some really awful PurNic from a vendor and the burned tires and rotten grass clippings flavor was not there at all.

2 points
 
by MindsEye_69about 6 years ago

If I have a mix that's not good, before I throw it out I put a little MTS Vape Wizard in it and wait a few days. Sometimes magic happens and I get something vape-able. More times than not tbh. It's worth the shot, and it's very little MTS to get results.

1 points
 
by [deleted]about 6 years ago

[removed]

1 points
 
by yizarionabout 6 years agoAlchemy 100

My recipe test batches are 15ml and I usually start with a single mix to get generic profile guidelines. I will try to mix 2-3 variations of it at the second batch after I know what I want to change.

If it is bearable I will vape it. I prefer not to tune it after I mix because it messes with the PG/VG ratio, might not reflect the real flavor (if previous used flavors have already steeped) and I still want to give it a chance to steep more as it is. I usually throw away mixes that did not get any better or got worse after 3-4 months (if I forgot about it for 3 months because I didn't like it I will probably not vape it). Adding sweetener might be a "good" solution though, will definitely try next time.

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