I previously used Joshisom's AB Tek with 500g ACRB- results were great. The only variable I would like to adjust is the acid. Due to the awful smell of vinegar boiling all day, I would prefer to use ascorbic acid. Now for my question ( sorry if the answer is obvious):

How much powdered ascorbic acid should be used to replace distilled vinegar 5%. Is there a ratio? I would need a total of 800ml of vinegar.. how much ascorbic acid should be used to mimic the effects of 800ml vinegar?

Really appreciate any guidance!

Get some ph strips or a digital ph meter. The meter will be more accurate & let you get closer to the desired ph but strips are dirt cheap & work perfectly fine.

You want to shoot for a ph of 3-4 before adding the water to the bark if you use strips.

A ph meter has the advantage of accurately checking the ph while the bark is in solution, with strips the coloration from the plant matter will effect the color of the strip.

Are you able to get Hydrochloric acid in your part of the world? It's really much easier to work with. You only need around 20-30ml as it's quite strong and has no smell. A single litre of it will last you for years.

Thanks for the responses. I think I should definitely seek out some ph strips. HCL is attainable as well. Tryptallmine, is that your preferred acid for AB extractions? If I did 4 acid boils, you think I would only need 5-6 ml per each boil? If that has created strong, minimal smell results, I would very happy!