New DIY’er here. I just finished a batch of Smooth Morning Kick using no PG with VG base nic and after 5 days of steeping I find the blend has very little in the way of flavor, which is interesting as the author and reviewers all mentioned a strong “Starbucks” flavor. I used syringes to measure flavorings, nic, and VG, heat steeped for two hours, shaking the bottle vigorously every half hour, then let the batch sit for five days, opening the bottle a couple times per day. Any thoughts? I’d rather not have to start using PG in my DIY.
I have the same problem with max vg juice. You’ll have to bump the flavor percentage for the flavor to bust through since it’s the pg that normally brings out the flavor. As far as how much to add, I couldn’t say. I’m sure someone around here will be able to tell you. I see 3 different recipes for Smooth Morning Kick. Which one are you using?
EDIT: What I can tell you though is be careful with Dark Bean. That shit is strong and it’s easy to overdo it.
It was the original by Lars. Understood on the dark bean, just the smell is strong.
I added .3% by volume to the recipe per what Alisa stated in her reply and am heat steeping now. After another hour or so I’ll shelf it for a few days and give it a vape.
I went down the same road @Mugster. I came to the realization that for flavors to “pop” for me (notice I said, for me), I had to start mixing with a higher PG content.
I’ve landed around 40PG/60VG. With some mixes, a 50PG/50VG is required. @daath told me a long time ago that PG is the better flavor carrier… I finally listened to what he was saying, bumped my PG ratio up in the mix and was astounded by the flavor in my mixes. Works for me.
I know some people are allergic to pg and can only do max vg. You may need to do some search of the threads to find good info. It’s here somewhere.
I know some folks do a touch of distilled water to help with wicking.
Not sure about the extra heat steep. But just prior to testing your mix do a warm water shake. I know I live in a cold apartment so I typically do that. Run the water on hot, warm the bottle, shake it a bit, repeate, then I look to see how viscous the mix is. Just a little of heat will allow for easier mixing. Then test. This may be just an issue of blending.
As an experiment only, instead of PG you could try adding triacetin, which is Smooth (TPA) among others. Like PG triacetin is a humectant and might make flavors pop. However, I think it will likely dull fruits or anything acidic. . works great in my tobacco mixes though. YMMV, good luck. My experience is right with @Jimk. Luckily I don’t have sensitivity. There is also a thread on hear for those mixing max VG or no PG.
You’ll have to up the flavor %s a bit, it takes a little bit longer for the flavors to steep as well when it’s a max vg mix ( especially if the overall % is lower ) and it is a bit of a learning curve when switching from pg heavy juices. I mix only max vg anymore but when I first started out it took a good lil bit before I learned which flavor was going to require just a litlle bit more flavor in the batch to achieve the same profile.