Dumb Math Question

[Uma]

Hi!! Hopefully you can help me out (meaning: hopefully I can make my question clear and unmuddled.. unfuddled?...).

Trying to EASE my way into DIY and already I am stumped.

My computer likes this calculator: http://www.e-cig-reviews.com/eliquid%20calculator.html# and when I run it and see the answers, it looks AHA easy. But, when I mix the drops... it doesn't "fill" up the bottle. Soooo, do I just finish filling it with 0 nic 0 flavor PG or VG or a combo of PG/VG?

Now for the part where I feel really stupid. I made the EASY even easier for my first time and I went to TastyVapor.us and bought 1oz of 48mg capp and 4oz of 0mg capp and thought that it would be easy to fill up a bunch of 10ml bottles with an avg of 18mg capp... but that's when I discovered that the bottle doesn't fill up when using the drop count.

I watched Grimm's video and he did the ratio way... filled the bottle to about here and then added this to about there and then... well, you get the drift if you saw that video which I already misplaced but hopefully the forum hasn't.

There's always a missing "part" that others assume MOST people can figure out on their own... I am definitly not most people. lol. Thanks is advance for reading this and for trying to help if you're in fact doing just that.

What do I do? Already I am stumped just CUTTING my stuff lol.

[kitsune]

LOL--you are in very good company.

with 48mg per ml and you want 18 mg per ml right??

.4mls of the 48mg and .6mls of 0nic should give you 1ml of 18mg--clear as mud yet??

I would just add a ml at a time until the bottle is full.

are you adding any additional flavor

Is that what you were asking??

[Uma]

LOL--you are in very good company. Hugs!!

with 48mg per ml and you want 18 mg per ml right?? Right!

.4mls of the 48mg and .6mls of 0nic should give you 1ml of 18mg--clear as mud yet?? mud yes

I would just add a ml at a time until the bottle is full. ohhh, so then.. hmmm ok...no wait..

are you adding any additional flavor no, not touching flavor yet to keep it "simple" lol. Preordered Cappuchino flavor

Is that what you were asking?? I think so, I'm not sure.

Let me start over in case it is or isn't what I was asking.

Calculator: http://www.e-cig-reviews.com/eliquid%20calculator.html# says 20 drops is an ml. Another calc says 30 drops is an ml. I'll go with this one because it's easier to use. Soooo, 20 drops is an ml. I have a 10 ml bottle to fill. My base is 48mg Flavored Cappuchino in a 1oz bottle. My Cutting stuff is 0mg Flavored Cappachino. Both are VG I think. The calculator says:

48 base

18 target

0 (what do I need distilled water or vodka for? Does that give the TH??? I can change this if needed)

20 flavor

10 ml

20 drops per ml

=====

PG/VG with Nicotine: 76 drops [3.8ml] - 38% (that'd be my 1oz bottle of 48mg right?)

PG/VG zero Nicotine: 84 drops [4.2ml] - 42% (that'd be my 4oz bottle of 0mg right?)

Water/Alcohol: 0 drops [0ml] - 0% (I don't know if I need so I put zero)

Flavouring: 40 drops [2ml] - 20% (Wait, both my bottles are already flavored)

Total: 200 drops (200 drops makes 10 ml bottle full?)...

After typing this out... I see my preflavored perhaps tossed the scales? Even so, 40 more drops ain't gonna fill up that bottle trust me lol.

Why am I soooooo dumb ... probably because I'm scared of making a mistake. (and because, well, ... I'm just dumb sometimes).

When I put in 76 drops + 84 drops I ended up 3 hairs and bobby pin's depth to the bottle, if that! How is 200 drops going to fill up the bottle? Am I supposed to do the 200 drops over and over again until full?? But, what about the flavoring? Do I just add 40 drops to the count when it's preflavored? Am I making this harder than it needs to be? Please say yes lol

[kitsune]

your not being dumb, dealing with mixing calculations is a pain.

are you using this calculator http://www.todmuller.com/ejuice/ejuice.php ??

need to put 0% for flavoring and that gives you 76 drops and 124 drops.

do you have a syringe or just doing this by drops. using the syringe will be easier as the calculator also gives you the mls needed.

if doing by drops--I think the problem is with the calculator. they estimate 20 drops/ml. I have done a few tests and I get 30 drops/ml. That will drastically change your calculation.

at 30 drops/ml it would be--114 drops of 48 mg and 186 drops of PG/VG or 3.8 mls of 48mg and 6.2mls of PG/VG for a total of 10mls

You really weren't nuts (this time)

according to the calculator and its estimated drops at 20 drops/ml--it wouldn't fill the bottle.

[haft2doit]

Hello there just wanted to and some info that helps me when diy mixing. One thing i recommend is getting some syringes. you can get these for very little money. $5 for 5 or so. I use 10ml syringes and have some 3ml coming to make flavoring measuring easier. just seams much easier to get exactly the amount you want faster. I looked at the calculator you use and it does work if you use the ml measurements but the drops are skewed to the person that made it. I use a couple calculators but the easiest is this online version

http://www.todmuller...uice/ejuice.php

This is just as good as some excel based calculators with less functionality, but I think it will work great for your purposes.

ejuce_calculatorv11.zip

This is an excel based calculator which is pretty cool. has recipes and it allows you to mix juices of diff strengths to make desired juice if needed.

If you want to use a vg/pg mix you can divide up the value for non nic liquid however you want. You have a calc problem for sure which is why I like syringes. They will get a consistent ml measurement without all of the counting drops which vary with diff equipment. calculators often use values determined by the creators which change depending on what they use when making juice. Grab up some syringes and your problem will be solved.

For example I like to make 15mg juice at 12ml. It comes to and even 3ml 60mg nic base / 3ml flavoring at 25% / 6ml of pg/vg. with syringes it is very quick and easy to make a bottle. 1 minute and you are set. gl and happy vaping.

ejuce_calculatorv11.zip

Edited June 7, 2010 by haft2doit

[Kragax]

I never counted drops, to big a pain in the @$$. I use a syringe and graduated cylinder. They are both inexpensive.

[kitsune]

I agree using a syringe is the only way to go. can even get one from any pharmacy--just ask the pharmacist. If you feel shy about asking, just tell them it's for a child or pet to give medicine. or can buy them online.

drops are good for small amounts.

[jmhester]

I feel your pain but it's not as complicated as it sounds. You don't even really need the calculator since all your stuff is flavored. Here's how it works:

48mg means that there is 48mg of nicotine in 1ml of fluid. So there are 96mg of nicotine in 2ml and so on. Once you know that, it's just a simple matter of ratios to get what you want.

In your case, it would be super easy to make 24mg since you just cut it 50/50: 1mg of VG to 1mg of juice = 24mg/ml. Or 48/2=24. Make sense?

48/3=16 so if you used 1/3 juice and 2/3 VG you would get a 16mg juice.

Here's the bottom line: I don't personally worry too much about how precise things are. I wouldn't put money on the fact that what we get is exactly the correct mg/ml anyway. So I just eyeball it.

If you fill about a 1/3 of the 10ml bottle with juice and fill the rest up with VG, you'll get about 16 mg. To get 18mg, I would just put a little more than a 1/3 juice.

To me, it's more like cooking. Just do it to taste and you'll be happy with the results (most of the time).

[snubber]

Have to agree with Dr.J on this one. The calculator is good if you just want to make a little 3ml sample. But for 10 or more I'd go with the eyeball mix. Especially if you're trying to get it 50/50. You should be pretty close that way and only a mg or so +/- So try it and if it's too strong or too weak you can adjust it pretty easily.

Good luck and happy vaping.

p.s. remember...there is no such thing as a dumb question...(maybe some dumb answers, but not questions)

Edited June 8, 2010 by snubber

[kitsune]

Hey Uma---

did any of this help or make it worse.....

[miatafrank]

I agree that te drop method is good for about 3 ml, but since some droppers might give bigger drops and some may give smaller drops it's not working out for bigger batches. I found this calculator http://www.tji-java-ide.com/e-cigarette/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=88 which gives measurements in drops and in ml. If you have large droppers with ml markings, this should work out better.

I just got my DYI kit in the mail yesterday, so I haven't tried it myself yet. Let me know if this wouk better

[Uma]

Hey Uma---

did any of this help or make it worse.....

Tremendously, thanks!!!! Sorry I couldn't back earlier.

Dr.J! That's exactly how I pictured it in my head BEFORE buying the ejuice, but had since run into a state of confoozhun and panic. Thanks everyone for your help on this. I will definitely purchase some syringes and be prepared for the future.

Thanks!!! You (everyone who responded) are the best!!

[ddavelarsen]

For what it's worth Uma, I use a baby medicine syringe for almost all mixing now. it's incremented every .2 ml, which is generally close enough even for small batches - which I often just accumulate in the syringe. One downside is that its tip won't go far into small flavor bottles, so in that case I often put the flavoring or whatever in a bottlecap and suck it up from there. I do get some loss from not pouring it all back into its original container though, which is why dirpping small amts is often the way to go.

Did I confuse this enough? I still like using the syringe because not all drops are created equal.

[Uma]

It all makes sense to me now. I should have realized about the drop variations just from my filling my carts in the past. (my carts would take anywhere from 12 to 20 drops! lol)

[ThaHodgehound]

I'm a total newb and aint done any DIY so this may be dumb but....Wouldn't it be easier to do it by ml? Or is that too much volume to be working with while mixing?

I want to try this but it seems pretty complicated.

Edited June 12, 2010 by ThaHodgehound

[ddavelarsen]

You're right Hodgehound, volume is the way to go. I use a baby syringe, works great!

[kitsune]

I use mls for the larger volumes, > .5ml and drops when I am adding very small volume or trying a new flavor and uncertain of the amounts I want to use.

It really isn't too hard

Initially I play with small amounts--1-2 mls of base liquid and add flavoring 1-2 drops at a time until the desired flavor. the 3ml dropper bottles are great for playing with flavors.