PERCENTAGE OF CONCENTRATE OR AROMA IN A DIY: THE POTENTIAL MISTAKE TO AVOID!
Who says electronic cigarette says e-liquid. In this market, there are ready-to-vape, which are, as their name suggests, ready to be consumed directly. But there is also the possibility of doing them yourself, it is this method that we are going to look at today.
It is therefore sufficient to mix a neutral base, nicotine, and a concentrate or aroma. Simple will you tell me?
However, one mistake comes up particularly often: the wrong dosage of the concentrate (or aroma)!
Indeed, most of the time, the manufacturer or creator of these concentrates or flavours recommends a dosage, expressed as a percentage. For example, a concentrate to be dosed at 20%.
Many say to themselves: “Oh, 20%, it’s simple, just take 100 ml of base and add 20 ml of concentrate or aroma! “… Well no, not at all!
Concentrated aroma percentage e-liquid beware of the trap
When we talk about a percentage, we are referring to a total volume of e-liquid prepared!
Therefore, if you add 20ml of concentrate or flavour to 100ml of the base, you will have a final e-liquid with a capacity of 120ml, not 100ml… And, in the end, you will not have not an e-liquid dosed at 20%, but less than that (precisely, 16.7% instead of the recommended 20%).
Of course, there is no health risk in doing this! The only concern is that you will concoct a preparation that will ultimately be under-dosed, and where the flavours may seem a little too light.
And some will say that the creator has done his job badly, that it’s bland or otherwise… Whereas in the end, they will have made a mistake by inadvertently underdosing their preparation.
On a quantity like 100 ml dosed at 20% mentioned above, it will therefore be necessary to put 20 ml of concentrate or aroma + 80 ml of the base, making a final e-liquid of 100 ml!
If we take up the mistake of making 100 ml of base + 20 ml of flavouring or concentrate, i.e. 120 ml of the final product, you will be missing no less than 4 ml of concentrate/flavouring to arrive at a final dosage. 20% off on these 120 ml that you will have assembled!
On a small quantity, it may not seem like much… But let’s take the example of a person wishing to make a DIY of 500 ml dosed at 20%.
Using this same error pattern, this would make a total preparation of 600 ml (500 ml + 20% (i.e. 20 x 5 = 100 ml)) instead of 500 ml!
You will always have your e-liquid under-dosed at 16.7%, this does not change. But it will lack 20 ml of concentrate or aroma to be well at the recommended 20%!
You will therefore have understood: when we refer to a dosage expressed as a percentage, it is on a total volume, and not to be added.
Example of calculation for a successful DIY aroma dosage
Some examples :
* A product to be diluted at 15% in 100 ml = 15 ml + 85 ml of base
* A product to be diluted at 10% in 200 ml = 20 ml + 180 ml of base
* A product to be diluted at 25% in 500 ml = 75 ml + 425 ml of base
And so on…
Now your know-how! All you have to do is stick to it, enjoy making the mixtures, and finally shake the closed vial well once the recipe is finished, to homogenize everything.
A little patience during the maturation time (also called steep) and you can finally enjoy your work!
Congratulation!