# Detailed Dilution Ratios + Your Response!



## 20vKarlos

Evening everyone,

This thread will be a two part thread.

The first part by me, and the second by everyone else

I know *FocusDan* has made a spreadsheet for this, and it's great! BUT, the method he has used still requires you to know how much fluid your bottle can hold.
And generally we are sold bottles that are said to be 1 litre bottles, but actually they are not a true 1000ml.
I'm not knocking what he's done, as it's perfect, but adding the manual calculations for *EVERYONE*, so that you all know how to calculate the ratio.

So below I have put this together for you all to get involved with also.

Here's my part :thumb:

Recently I've seen A LOT of threads/posts where people are asking what Ratio to dilute their products and what ratios they should be using for the best results on certain surfaces (e.g. best dilution for G101 in the engine bay).

Now this thread is going to be dedicated to posting YOUR dilution rates, and what works for YOU, so that everyone can use it as a guidance tool. But there is also something that I'm going to add.

*The Calculation method for finding the RATIO! *

I know we can purchase bottles with ratios on them but let's just say we don't own any bottles with dilution ratios, just for this thread! 

I know a lot of you know how to calculate this.
If you are one of those people, then you are more than welcome to skip to the "POST REPLY" section and share what ratios work for you on a certain type of product. :thumb:

For those that know how but want a refresher! Or for those that just throw a "guesstimated" amount of product into their bottle and then fill the rest with water because they don't know how to calculate the ratio of mixtures.
Have a little read through this next bit and hopefully it'll help you, but please give me your feedback as it's important that this is simplified for those that struggle with it.
The method below is my method, and what I find easy when I've not got a bottle with dilution ratios already printed on them.

*How to Calculate the Ratio.*

You'll need the following tools to complete this accurately but please take the word "accurately" with a pinch of salt as this is only for demonstration purposes, so the line drawing on the bottle is not exact!

If you have a fluid ounce set of scales, you'll need to convert to ml for better accuracy. (Link below)

http://www.convertunits.com/from/fluid+ounces/to/ml

Bottle
Water
Marker
Calculator (mine is my phone which also doubles up as a camera :thumb: )
Scales (that reads either Fluid Ounces or ml)
Water jug, or another container.










Some of us buy 1 litre bottles expecting them to be 1 FULL LITRE! However, some aren't actually 1 litre, they are under or over, and MOST don't come with a "FULL" line. So how do we tell how much product and water to use in the first place??

If you have a digital set if scales like myself, then follow the method below and you'll be fine.
If you do not have a set of scales see further down about the best way to calculate without scales, but the below method is still relevant for you later calculations.

*Step 1*

You need to know how much liquid your bottle can hold.
For this demonstration I've drawn a "FULL" line lower down the bottle, so that the line was more obvious.
It made the calculations easier to explain later.










So now that we know our FULL bottle can hold 1,984ml we can calculate the ratios.

Finding the ratio is very simple 'once you know how' but here are the equations.

A 1:1 mix of a product is also known as a 50/50(fifty/fifty) mix or half and half or in most cases 1 'Part' water and 1 'Part' product.

So we will use *PARTS*!

All ratios are initially calculated by adding both sides together.
1:1 mix is 1 Part water + 1 Part Product = 2 Parts 
2:1 mix is 2 Parts water + 1 Part Product = 3 Parts
3:1 mix is 3 Parts water + 1 Part Product = 4 Parts
5:1 mix is 1 Parts water + 1 Part Product = 6 Parts 
10:1 mix is 10 Parts water + 1 Part Product = 11 Parts
15:1 mix is 15 Parts water + 1 Part Product = 16 Parts
20:1 mix is 20 Parts water + 1 Part Product = 21 Parts 
25:1 mix is 25 Parts water + 1 Part Product = 26 Parts
30:1 mix is 30 Parts water + 1 Part Product = 31 Parts
40:1 mix is 40 Parts water + 1 Part product = 41 Parts

So with this in mind we can now calculate what EACH 'Part' will measure.

*Step 2*

Now that we know what our Bottle can hold, and we know how many parts we have for each ratio. We can calculate

Let's take our FULL BOTTLE (1,984ml) and calculate each ratio.

To find the ratio you'll need to do the following calculation.

Total amount in bottle (1984ml) - divided by - Total number of parts 
(Forward slash is my "Divide" symbol)

1:1 mix - 1,984ml / 2 = 992ml (each part is 992ml)
2:1 mix - 1,984ml / 3 = 661.333ml ROUND DOWN (each part is 661ml)
3:1 mix - 1,984ml / 4 = 496ml (each part is 496ml)
5:1 mix - 1,984ml / 6 = 330.666ml ROUND DOWN (each part is 330ml)

10:1 mix - 1,984ml / 11 = 180.3636ml ROUND DOWN (each part is 180ml)
15:1 mix - 1,984ml / 16 = 124ml (each part is 124ml)
20:1 mix - 1,984ml / 21 = 94.476ml ROUND DOWN (each part is 94ml)
25:1 mix - 1,984ml / 26 = 76.307 ROUND DOWN (each part is 76ml)
30:1 mix - 1,984ml / 31 = 64ml (each part is 64ml)
40:1 mix - 1,984ml / 41 = 48.390ml ROUND DOWN (48ml)

It's important to round DOWN, because you'll overfill your bottle if you don't.

For example

5:1 mix - 1,984ml / 6 = 330.666ml rounded up is 331ml
331ml x 6 parts = 1,986ml 2ml overfill.
It's better to under calculate than to spill product, waste money!

*Step 3*

Once you have calculated each ratio for your bottle, you can now put lines on your bottle.

For demonstration purposes I used 10:1 as my lowest ratio. (I did this as my milk bottle is quite wide and wanted the labels to be obvious for you guys)

So 10:1 = 180ml per part. 
Put 180ml of liquid in, and mark it. Photobucket has eaten the marked photo 










Then 5:1, 2:1 and 1.1. Were marked out!

330ml or 5:1 









Then the completed bottle! (Hopefully yours will be neater than mine :lol: )









**** If you do not have a set of scales that measures in Fluid Ounces or Millilitres then you can use a measuring jug.****

If this is the case for you, then it'll take a little longer as it's longer winded, but it's more than possible with one other tool. A syringe! 
Let's say you had a 1 litre bottle, fill the bottle up to were you would consider it to be FULL, (don't forget to leave space for the sprayer and hose) draw a line around that part of the bottle, this is your "FULL" line.

Next empty your liquid into a measuring jug. If the water doesn't reach the '1 Litre line' then use a syringe and fill the water up to the line. Count how many ml you put in to reach 1 litre.

So for instance - 1 litre minus 15ml that you've put in by syringe. = 985ml.

The total amount of liquid your bottle holds is 985ml. Here's your starting point.

I apologise for this thread being so long winded, but I know there ARE people on the forum that will need this to help them. 
Some of us are good (or in my case OK) at maths, but others find it very had, and even the calculations that you or I might deem as simple, are actually really hard to others.

I hope I've helped a few people out with posting this up!

Please, if you reply to this thread, try and include a ratio of a product that you use, it doesn't matter if it's already been posted, this is YOUR opinion of what works best for YOU. so please don't tell people they are using a ratio that's wrong, unless of course you believe it could have the potential to harm someone or something.

The first time I used G101 at 30:1 I was really shocked at how much product I needed, or for better analysis DIDN'T NEED! It's amazing when you mark your bottles with ratios.

Maybe this will save you some money :thumb:

All the best guys.

P.S.

I use G101 at 5:1 on heavily soiled interior plastics and 10:1 on door cards.

Thanks all


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## 20vKarlos

With the recent threads about ratios, I'm bumping this thread :thumb:


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## stonejedi

Very helpful Karl:thumb:I am usually using the "FORCE" when i measure out my products:lol:.I will be giving your way a try when i finish work today,Thanks again.SJ.


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## Megs Lad

Spot on :thumb: just noticed this literally just posted similar:wall:


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## Cy-Zuki

I saw your thread a while ago and save the link. Thank you 20vKarlos for all the time you have spent.:thumb:

Geoff


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## Guest

I read that through twice and I still do not understand ratios.


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## Mikesphotaes

Great idea but you really need to check for typos when going into such detail!


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## AllenF

Mmmm using weight to work out raitios is perfectly STUPID some chemicals such as tfr contains salts and thus weighs heavier than water. A reach on google will readily bring up a calculator or download the app.
Sorry to wee on you fire buddy but it doesn't work for all chemicals


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## suspal

AllenF said:


> Mmmm using weight to work out raitios is perfectly STUPID some chemicals such as tfr contains salts and thus weighs heavier than water. A reach on google will readily bring up a calculator or download the app.
> Sorry to wee on you fire buddy but it doesn't work for all chemicals


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