I would like to thin my vg with 5-10% water before mixing. When using the calculator, do I need to include the percentage of water or do I just count the thinned vg as pure vg. Hope this made sense… I confused myself a little trying to figure out exactly how to ask the question 
Thin it beforehand and count it as VG - the Water/Vodka/PGA is total % of the recipe…
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Thanks, I’ll have to grab some distilled water. Is thinning with Everclear (PGA) a better idea or would it significantly change the overall flavor?
If you don’t mind alcohol fumes in your vape. Most people try to rid their mixes of alcohol. IMO DS is you best choice. Some use saline to thin vg… but you may detect some saltiness in you mix though.
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Thanks, only asked because I have PGA in the cabinet… I have no idea why
I once cleaned my tank with Everclear and apparently did not rinse well enough because the Everclear tainted my juice when I filled up. In my opinion Everclear is one nasty tasting liquid to add to your blends. If I were you I would avoid it at all costs in blending applications…
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I completely agree, i cleaned one of my tanks with cheap vodka and had the same thing happen. So much yuck, so much so that i make sure to hit every piece with the air compressor.
@mstokens When i need to thin a liquid for tank use i add DW by the drop. Usually 2-3 drops/10ml is sufficient. More than that i find the DW causes a lot of popping and dilutes the flavor significantly. Perhaps ringling can add his thoughts as he ran a lengthy experiment with DW, if i remember correctly.
I normally vape 70-80vg commercial liquids and they’re fine but my DIY liquids tend to be too thick and greasy when I mix 70-80vg so I was looking for a solution to that.
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Start with drops and work your way up, a little DW goes a long ways.
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I’ve used vodka before and it was ok, but like the others, I suggest a tiny amount of distilled water…
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I do things a bit differently than @daath when it comes to the use of distilled water. First keep in mind my use of DW is not to thin VG. I use DW to eliminate some of the PG in blends. In the ELR calculator I call DW a flavor. When I do in a 70/30 blend the DW is deducted from the PG side of the mix like this…
I usually use 5% DW in my personal blends but that much may not be for you. There is a point where the DW will cause popping as it is vaporized so never more than 5%. I think most like 2-3% but I push it. Anyway, just wanted to show you my method in case it might be helpful…
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I will give another vote to Distilled Water and for me during allergy season it helps my throat a lot. I use 2% DW in all of my juice
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If you are not sensitive to pg or you’re not a cloud chaser, then thinning with pg should be your first option. Just changing your ratio may solve your issue if you don’t have a pg allergy. You will get a flavor increase and no popping popping like DW. I use to vape max vg for no apparent reason. I vape 70/30 now with no issues
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@Pro_Vapes , can you just clarify whether your 70/30 is PG/VG or VG/PG.
Since I first got into vaping 1.5+ years ago I was always using 60/40 or 70/30 PG/VG. Once I started seeing people using max VG I decided to try it for awhile but it fouls coils so much more quickly and really mutes the taste so the lowest I tend to go is 50/50.
I have worked with water and PGA/Vodka. PGA and cheap vodka are fermented and distilled in very cheap ways and tend to incorporate fusil oils and esthers that are not only revolting, they can trigger migraines and really bad hangovers. SO if you do use alcohol, I recommend using the good stuff,and that is not everclear. IMO, better off with whatever vodka you like which will be a mixture of water and PGA.
Honestly, the reason i use as little PG as possible is because i am sensitive to it. As PV said unless you are sensitive to it or into cloud chasing there is nothing wrong with using PG. If i vape a 50/50 my lungs start to itch and i being to cough shortly there after. I wish i wasnt so sensitive to it just for the flavor kick.
70/30 is VG/PG.
Yeah man, I never knew that was a thing until I got on here. You know, PG and VG are about the most studied aerosols when it comes to human inhalation. It would be nice if there were a replacement that carried the flavor the same way and was also “safe.” I do believe, in principle, that a touch of alcohol could help flavor in low PG mixes, but in hindsight I never let anything steep long enough to find out. A little brandy in a tobacco mix might be pretty nice too.
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