DIY Mixing with by weight - Advice needed.

[Raindance]

Calling all DIY experts!

I have come to the point where the frequency, complexity and volume of DIY juice being mixed makes the use of syringes impractical and cumbersome. I am contemplating purchasing a scale to start mixing by ingredient weight rather than volume but know little of this method besides what I assume it to be. Assumption being the mother of all FUBAR's, I wish to do some research first.

Is it as simple as it seems? My assumption is:
1. Place container on scale.
2. Set tare to container weight so scale shows Zero.
3. Add first ingredient to desired weight.
4. Reset tare to have scale show Zero again.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all ingredients have been added.
6. Decant, shake, steep, vape...

Somehow this sounds to good to be true.

Also, where do I get the correct weights for the ingredients. Can I trust the defaults used on Rod Brown's DIY Juice Calculator?

Lastly, the best scale to use which is also affordable to a bloke so cheap he mixes his own juices...?

Thanks and Cheers!

 

[RichJB]

Yes, it really is that simple. However, you cannot afford to mess up when adding ingredients. An example would be tilting your PG bottle and a huge splash goes into the mixing bottle, way more than you needed. So get yourself some bottles which allow you to dispense very precisely. I use Wimpy-style ketchup bottles which are obtainable from most plastics/home shops. The thin spout will just drip PG and VG if you apply no pressure. Squeeze the bottle slightly and you will get a thin trickle. This allows you to nail the precise weight of VG and PG every time. For nicotine, I decant my 100ml glass bottle into several 30ml plastic dropper bottles. It not only keeps your nic fresh for longer (less air in contact with the nic), it allows you to drop nicotine very precisely to the desired weight. Most flavourings come in dropper bottles anyway. For those that don't (Vapeowave, etc), either decant the flavour into a 10ml or 20ml plastic dropper bottle, or buy some cheap disposable pipettes.

In terms of weights, use the following values in your recipe app:
VG: 1.26g per ml
PG and nic: 1.038g per ml
Flavouring: 1.038g per ml or just 1g per ml. It doesn't really matter as long as you do it consistently every time.

For a scale, I use the R120 scale offered by The Flavour Mill. If you mix big batches, the 200g limit may be a problem. BLCK and other DIY stores offer a 500g version of the same scale. I like the look of this one.

Trust me, mixing by weight is the way to go. Try it once and you will wonder why you ever messed about with syringes and graduated beakers and whatnot.

 

[Feliks Karp]

Alot of individual concentrates weights per ml can be found on e-liquid receipes. Example: http://e-liquid-recipes.com/flavor/2385

However if you cant find a weight you can use 1g/ml for smaller batches, at 250 + the margain of error may be too great.

This guy's nic/pg/vg cheat sheet is good and there are links to more concentrate weights in the post

https://www.reddit.com/r/DIY_eJuice/comments/2iq3km/botboy141_guide_to_mixing_by_weight/

Plenty of good digi scales in the R200 zone. I'm happy with the one I got at blck vapour.

 

[Raindance]

This forum is AWESOME! A years worth of research in 20 minutes!

@RichJB and @Feliks Karp , Thank you very much guys!

Cheers! I am off to create some new vapemail!

 

[Rude Rudi]

Yip, as per above....

We all went through the various pains of DYI trials and errors and most (if not all) of the serious juice makers here (not the odd bottle now and again) use a scale.

I have abandoned the gravity equations as the difference is so small that it is virtually impossible to detect in small scale - which I presume you will be doing...

As per RichJB, use a nozzle cap for pg, vg and nic and Bob's your sister - no sterilizing of a pile syringes - no threat of double dipping, etc, etc.

As someone once said, Just Do It...


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[RichJB]

Interestingly, Enyawreklaw urges mixers to mix by weight in his latest Live Mixing video from last night. He also talks about the idea of consolidating everything, having the ability to order flavours online direct from your recipe app and so on. We've discussed this here before but nothing came of it.

 

[Raindance]

@RichJB I was looking for the discussion thread you mentioned above, can not find it. Could you point me in the right direction?

 

[RichJB]

@Raindance, are you talking about the Enyawreklaw thing? The link should play the YouTube video which was streamed live last night. I'll embed it below, hopefully it will play for you here.



He talks about mixing by weight at around 7:20. It's not very long or in-depth but he nails why you should be mixing by weight instead. Faster, easier, no washing up.

 

[SAVaper]

Just a little tip from my side.
I also had some mustard type spout bottles for my VG and PG. I found that the PG would flow way to fast if I mix a 10ml sample. The VG was good. So I now put my PG in a dripper bottle and that works perfectly.

 

[Zebelial]

I pour from the containers themselves and when the scale is about 10g away from the target amount I change to pippets and they work awesome. They are cheap and disposable. And because my juices are vg intensive I use the pippets from the start with Pg as @SAVaper stated it flows almost like water.

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[Raindance]

In for a penny, in for a pound! Now I have all the tools of the trade! That scale is sensitive! oh boy! Many thanks to all the above whom advised me on taking the next step in DIY. You guys rock!

All my ingredients already come in dripping bottles or I decant them into ones with spouts from my previous Vapemail from VV.

The beer is part of a totally different pastime... but come to think of it...

Cheers!