E Liquid PG Explained

We’ve previously covered Vegetable Glycerine, its role in e-liquid and how it affects the kind of vape experience you will have. Next up we’ll be looking into the other main ingredient in e-liquid; Propylene Glycol or PG.

We’ll be exploring Propylene Glycol, its role in e-liquid, how it affects your vaping experience and considerations that should be taken into account before choosing your e-liquid. As with VG, this isn’t complicated at all and understanding what PG is and how it works will help you tailor your choices to suit your needs.

Propylene Glycol or PG is a thin, odourless liquid that is used as an additive in food products, cosmetics, medications and creams. Due to its thin consistency, it also binds very well to flavourings and nicotine and is used as the carrier liquid for flavour as it allows more complex flavours to come through.

When you draw on a cigarette, you first draw the smoke into your mouth and then you inhale it, giving you a satisfying throat hit. This is called a mouth to lung or MTL style inhale and is what beginner vape pen and pod kits replicate.

PG is the main contributor to this effect. When heated it turns into a vapour, carrying with it the flavour and nicotine. It produces quite a bit less vapour than VG while providing a stronger throat hit. You will typically find a 50% concentration of PG in e-liquids designed for starter kits, as it accurately replicates the sensation of smoking a cigarette. Whereas e-liquids with a 70/30 VG/PG ratio will make bigger clouds and require a different style of vaping.

The XROS Mini Pod Kit is a great example of a MTL starter kit designed to vape 50/50 liquids. It features an impressive 1000mAh battery, 2ml refillable, leak proof pod design and has no buttons - you just draw on it and away you go. 0.8ohm and 1.2ohm coils offer loose or tight cigarette like draw.

At a 50/50 PG/VG concentration, your e-liquid will be quite thin in consistency. Therefore, it won't need as much power as a higher VG e-liquid and will work well in coil ranges from 0.8ohm to 1.5ohm. You’re also going to find that you can go much higher in the nicotine level as the main aim of these 50/50 liquids is to match cigarettes in nicotine strength and throat hit experience. This is known as a mouth-to-lung or MTL style vape and will produce the same amount of vapour as a cigarette exhale.

50/50 e-liquids are available in 10ml bottles in strengths ranging from 2mg to 20mg. Here are a few classic examples:

When you’re using a higher powered kit and inhaling great big lungfuls of dense vapour, using nic salts or high amounts of nicotine above 6mg is not recommended as the nic hit can be too strong to be enjoyable. Likewise, using higher PG e-liquid at 50/50 is strongly recommended for use with starter pod and pen kits and coils no lower than 0.6ohms.