Difference between 50/50 and High VG Liquids

Michael Cooper
Difference between 50/50 and High VG Liquids

What is PG and VG ?

PG = Propylene Glycol

  • Propylene Glycol or PG is commonly used in the food industry as a preservative. It is also used in the UK medical industry and can be found in asthma inhalers. It's a colorless liquid with a slightly sweet taste. Primarily used as a 'base' ingredient in vape juices, it has a lower viscosity than vegetable glycerine.

VG = Vegetable Glycerine

  • Vegetable Glycerine or VG is also a colorless liquid used in the food industry, mainly as a sweetener & thickener. Like PG, VG is also used as a base for e liquids, as well as acting as a sweetener.  It can either be synthetic or derived from plants or animals. It has a thicker consistency than PG and therefore helps to produce a more dense vapour.
E liquids are produced with different levels of PG & VG. Differing ratios of these two ingredients will alter the throat hit, strength of flavour and amount of 'cloud'. These mixes are displayed in percentages, often as '80/20 VG/PG' or '50/50', for example.
The chart shows how each one effects the eliquid.

 

What PG/VG ratio do I need ?

If your using a pod device , or a device that has a draw similar to a cigarette . Or gives off smaller amount of clouds then 50/50 freebase or nic salts will be better and be kinder on the coil as they are thinner and are more suited to these devices.

If you are using a more powerful device , or a device that gives off big clouds then a higher VG liquid will be better suited e.g 70/30 VG/PG or 80/20 VG/PG

Do I need to store e-liquid in a certain way ?

There isn't a specific place e-liquid should be stored but some things can effect the way they perform. 

You should always try to keep your e-liquid away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. As this can thin out the liquid causing it to leak and become too runny.

Likewise keeping the e-liquid somewhere to cold can make the e-liquid thicker and effect the way it wicks in the coil and make coil life shorter.

Is out of date e-liquid safe to vape ?

Expiry dates are only an estimation of the date when the products are no longer guaranteed to be at the same quality as when originally purchased. E-liquid, based on the ingredients, have a ‘best-before’ date . Liquid without nicotine will last longer as nicotine will start to break down first.

E-liquid that is past it's best before date is still perfectly safe to vape.