Properties of Menthol...

by **liveaboard** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:21 pm

So after Jenn's latest post I tried a little experiment...

I had one i-tanko that wasn't doing as well as the others and I loaded it up with some of my special menthol vape...

Now maybe it's psychological -- or maybe it just wasn't quite ready before -- but it's awesome now... which prompts me to ask...

If those who have had better success with the i-tankos are menthol vapers...

...and to ask the Mix Master (yes, it's directed at you, Dave) -- if there is anything in menthol which would cause this... I make my own menthol drops... so I know what goes in the mix (and I don't use PGA) -- but can you think of any reason why this would be the case?

by **mulkeyOWNS** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:23 pm

I still wanna try your menthol drops :think:

by **liveaboard** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:25 pm

PM me your APO info -- I'll send you some

by **mulkeyOWNS** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:28 pm

O.O You'd do that for me! OMGOMGOMG PM COMING RIGHT UP!!! lol
(I love menthol vapes, especially cold ones

)

by **davej** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:45 pm

In a typical mix, you have:
Nicotine in a PG or PG/VG base
VG (optional)
Flavorings

Where things get interesting is HOW you make your menthol drops.

I make mine with PGA, and definitely any mixes which I add menthol to are 'thinner' than juices without menthol, since PGA also acts as a thinner for VG/PG. There is also a 'solvent' property to PGA.

All in all, speaking only for myself, and using PGA as a base for menthol drops, the atties/tanks/cartos that menthol juices are used in last longer, and vape better, than almost anything else.

Except for the VERY first batch of menthol drops I made, which was a little TOO concentrated.

And I think it was the residue from the metal spoon it disintegrated that caused those problems !!! :lol:

by **jscott1** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:55 pm

maybe it's in my head too but I feel the atty's, cartos, tanko's that I dedicate to menthol stay cleaner longer, and have a cleaner vape - now some of that might just be the taste, flavor of the menthol giving that impression but I do feel I have less issues with the menthol juices on the attys in all forms.

by **liveaboard** » Wed May 04, 2011 6:12 pm

It's not just taste -- I could understand that since menthol vapes usually have a stronger flavor -- but it actually started "popping" and vapor production definitely increased --

AND - it would make sense if I used PGA to make my drops... that's what made me wonder -- I mean menthol drops start out as crystals -- so I wouldn't think in and of themselves that they would act as a "solvent" :problem:

So... if anybody has an i-tanko that is not up to snuff -- and wants to try an experiment -- run a tank of strong menthol juice and let us know what happens...

by **davej** » Thu May 05, 2011 9:03 am

So... if anybody has an i-tanko that is not up to snuff -- and wants to try an experiment -- run a tank of strong menthol juice and let us know what happens...

So I took your advice, hauled out a I-tanko that had been a marginal performer,
and had been cleaned and put aside.

Filled it up with an all PG based menthol blend, quite strong, and so far, it's vaping well.

Or at least, as well as can be expected. No tanko can wick fast enough to keep up with me,
even on a good day for the tanko, and an off vaping day for me !!!

by **liveaboard** » Thu May 05, 2011 11:09 am

So... next step would be to clean that tanko and put some other juice in it and see if it still performs well... I would do it with mine except that it wasn't performing all that badly prior to putting in the menthol (and I'm experimenting with fish tank motor cleaning :mrgreen: