Edit - thank you everyone for your input I ordered a scale and will use syringes until it comes in. Extremely surprised by the helpful feed back tho it really did clarify alot. My friend told me to use syringes and he's been mixing for awhile so I just thought by weight must of been difficult. Mixed up my first flavor last night with a scale I found in my kitchen and came out amazing. Took me 11 minutes and 37 seconds.
Get a scale
I've used a syringe for a year now. I only use one. I have a wet cloth to wipe the needle so i don't contaminate the next flavor and then i fill it a couple of times with pg to wash it before mixing the next recipe. I have 30, 60 and 100 ml bottles that i have marked to know until where i put pg and then fill with vg for a 70/30 mix. I find it quite easy.
I don't really see how a scale would make things easier for me as i would need something like syringes to get the flavor out of the bottle anyway. My vendor only sells 10 ml vials of flavor (vaping is not very popular here).
Syringes work fine. I have several dozen tips and syringes. I just toss em in some distilled water with a little isopropyl in it. Worked for 3.5 years for me. Use a scale too, but don't prefer it.
Chlorine and flouride in tap water is honestly the contamination concern. They can theoretically mess with some components in flavors. Distilled water is cheap and a gallon will hold you a long time.
Just wiping the syringes and squirting out the remnants is adequate for almost all flavors. Something like rhubarb which is absurdly strong and distinctive can cause issues, but most flavors will be imperceptible in whatever miniscule amount carries over.
I find syringes more accurate than scales and less prone to error, but more tedious. Scales are great, but overrated a bit.
I would but I already had the syringes and all. I'm sure I'll switch later down the line
Get a scale anyway. You’ll still have a use for the syringes. It’s so, SO much easier and faster to mix by weight.
Think about it. You wanna mix up a bottle? Cool. Get the scale and put your container on it. Drip in every ingredient into the container. Done. Cleanup? Putting away the ingredients and the scale.
Also, if you wanna mix up a bigger batch and have to sit there counting 369 drops.. you’ll wanna kill something. And that was just the first flavor. Only 4 more to go!
It’s like $20-40 on amazon for a good reliable scale. Worth every penny.
If you want to use the syringes, then use them to measure the density of the flavors. Or use them for other stuff. I recently used one to squirt wood glue in a crack in a board.
I did what you're doing for over a year, and since I got a scale I realized how much time I wasted by not just getting a scale right away.
Gonna chime in on the scale thing. Super cheap on amazon. You can just squeeze everything in. I only bust out a syringe for my nic and that’s just to keep things from spilling. You’ll need to enter your recipe into a volume to weight converter, but it makes the process so much easier and quicker.
Stronger flavors dont always equal better flavors. If you absolutely have to, use one syringe for fruity, one for vanilla, one for citrus, ect. Get a scale ASAP, syringes are a pain in the ass. Your mixing routine will be much easier, cleaner, quicker, and more accurate with a scale.
You should get a scale and mix by weight instead. It's simpler and there is virtually no mess. And nothing to clean up.
No reason at all to start out using syringes. Also, good luck using a syringe for VG.
What else would I need other than a scale. I've got the flavors, bottles, ppe, vg/pg
Nothing. Trust me, I started off using volume too because I already had syringes and stuff. But soon as I got a scale it was amazing how much faster and easier mixing became (literally nothing to clean out, just measure in the bottle you intend to store it in). Plus your juices get better since all recipes are calculated with weight in mind, so doing volume can give you different results.
When I first started I used a funnel to pour my VG into my smaller bottles. I don't use them anymore I just pour it straight in slowly
My only hesitation is I'm not sure the difference in weight, I mean supposedly every flavor has different amonuts of concetarte so wouldn't every flavor weigh a different ammont? I'm sorry probably a dumb question but this is why I haven't used weight yet.
You can use specific weights for flavors which are in any online Calc. Or assume that 1 gm = 1ml
If you use ATF it has all the conversions done for you when you click the mix button.
The syringes won´t hold liquid enough time for the flavour to leech into the plastic, I always clean my syringes first with alcohol and then water and soap.
Alright thank yoj
I haven't done a ton of mixing in recent years, but I've always used tap water as hot as I can get, and then rinse with reverse-osmosis bottled water if your tap water is hard(lots of minerals). Technique - fill a coffee cup or so and dip in the syringe and suck water up, then back out, then suck it up. If there is a lot of residue, maybe do it a few times in a second cup of clean hot water.
Same for clean-up if it's more than a droplet. Maybe if some flavors are a dark and they may stain whatever then some strong solvent is required....but the very nature of the stuff we use(vg, pg, flavoring) tends to all be water soluble. No need for anything stronger usually....maybe for a big flavor spill because of the scent.
And then, as others have said...IF you happen to notice a scent that really sticks then consider getting another syringe....but, imo, even then. Not much leeches into the things, much less back out into different liquids.
Tangentially, since we're talking about cleaning:
As for towels, I use cheap-as-fuck napkins because they tend to be mostly lint-free and super thin(to roll up to clean various close places or wick extra juice out of an atomizer). Those nice sturdy Viva paper towels often aren't lint free and they're often too bulky for any sort of detail work. And, as a bonus, they're cheap, so if I happen to go through several on a thorough cleaning of all my gear, I don't feel so bad.
I've tried various pipe cleaners and they're either too big or leave lint(mind you my eyesight is really good so even the tiniest fiber is no bueno for me, maybe some don't care so much), even the premier cotton types...and they're still too big for my atomizers[ymmv there].
What syringes do you have? Most of what we get from DIY suppliers are actually "one time use" (I got BD brand, which are used in hospitals).
Issue number one is that many fruit flavors are safe, but citrus will leach into the plastic. So do custards. Cinnamon is a bitch.
Issue number two is that the markings will rub off from use and wear off from washing. Expect ~5 uses before throwing them away.
p.s. I started with syringes and moved to a scale. I kept a couple of 5 ml syringes and a couples if 10's. The markings are gone and I still use my scale, but trying to get 7 ml of VG into a 10 ml bottle is a bitch when dispensing from a 250 ml bottle.
Aren't your flavor concentrates in dropper bottles? If so, using syringes to measure them isn't really a convenient option anyway. Before I got my scale, I used a graduated cylinder and/or drop counting to measure flavors, a beaker to measure VG/PG and a syringe to measure nicotine.
As others have noted, investing $20 in a 0.01g resolution jewelry scale is well worth the cost.
Between flavors
I take all of my dirty syringes and put them in a zip lock bag with hot soapy water over night. Plunge out a few times, rinse out and let air dry.
Im just a newbie here, but I saved this post as a reference for cleaning.
I am not a volume mixer, but I imagine the same cleaning methods hold for syringes that are recommended for bottles.
I’d say at least get enough syringes so you’re only using one per ingredient for the recipe with the most components, and wash them all between batches.
I’m also looking into getting an ultrasonic cleaner that I’m hoping will help.
I've been mixing for nearly 9 years and not once ever thought I needed a scale. I use syringes and a graduated cylinder to measure with no issues whatsoever. A scale isn't necessary at all. No flavours won't carry over no matter what unless you leave them unwashed for hours. Use what you want there is no hard rule.
As others suggested go ahead and get the scale. LB-501 (I’m pretty sure is the model number) is the one you are looking for. It will be the best $30 you could spend for diy. As far as your question goes super concentrated flavor could definitely carry over but I don’t think it would be noticeable.
First, I have been mixing for about 2 years and still use syringes, but I do agree with others to get a scale eventually. But, If you wash them out with some hot water and let them thoroughly dry you should not have a problem. Get several different capacity syringes too.
Skip using syringes and just use a scale.
When I started, I was using both.
It took more time because of having to clean them.
That doesn't even factor in it becoming more of a pain in the ass to deal with VG. The colder the temperatures, the thicker it becomes.
Always fun dealing with that when you're in a hurry.
used them when i first started still use for some flavors .. i only highly suggest putting some clear box tape over the marks since they will wear off with cleaning. apply the tape like you would a screen protector. a box of 500 pipettes costs the same as a 5 packs of syringes in the future buy those for when you need smaller amounts or your flavor bottles aren't tiny squeeze bottles (several of my more used flavors i always just buy a 4 oz bottle)