Any interest in determining nicotine--by DVAP

[NanoVapor]

San Rafael Chemical Services (SRCS) offers private laboratory analysis of almost anything you want. Im sure theyd be able to authenticate and quantify nicotine levels.

We used to use them in the steroid scene all the time to identify counterfeits and under/over-dosing UG lab products. The DEA dropped a sledgehammer on them for "aiding" illegal steroid trafficking, but I believe theyre still in business, just not able to test steroids anymore.

Theyll do HPLC/LCMS/1HNMR. The cost used to be $150 for analysis, it may have changed since, havent used them in years personally.

[DVap]

Just a quick note about the methodology for nicotine determination...

I mentioned that 32% muriatic acid would provide a means to make 0.1N acid. It turns out that muriatic acid labeled as 31.45% is commonly available.

A member contacted me recently who had used 31.45% muriatic acid.. turns out that his results were 30 - 35% high. The only thing I could conclude was that the so-called 31.45% acid was really around 22%. Long story short.. don't trust muriatic acid concentrations. You would think that having a stated concentration of 31.45% (to two decimal places) would mean it's tightly determined... t'aint so, at least in this instance.

It would be far more accurate to get a high quality name brand white vinegar that's labeled as "diluted to 5% acidity". If you dilute 120 mL of this stuff to a total volume of 1 Liter, you've made 0.1N acetic acid.

Anyway, I've heard word of numerous folks using this determination and getting good results.. I've kinda drifted off to other e-liquid related pursuits, but I'm glad to hear folks are getting good use out of the information.

[fatalis]

Hi all.

I've seen a few posts here and there in the DIY e-liquid section from folks asking if there is a way to determine if the bulk (500 mL - 1000 mL) e-liquids contain the advertised concentration of nicotine.

There are many way, most of them far outside the reach of DIY'ers. These is one very accurate way within the reach of DIY'ers. I've been a chemist for 22 years, and if there's interest, I'll be happy to detail how to do it.

Post if you're interested.

I'm very interested!

[voltaire]

I'm very interested!

LOL! Well have fun reading! You just replied to a months old OP that's followed by a VERY lengthy thread that goes into a heck of a lot more (very interesting stuff) than the original stated purpose. If you want to cut to the chase, check out this thread:
Simple, easy DIY test for mg/mL nicotine. A Follow Up on DVAP's Method

[DVap]

LOL! Well have fun reading! You just replied to a months old OP that's followed by a VERY lengthy thread that goes into a heck of a lot more (very interesting stuff) than the original stated purpose. If you want to cut to the chase, check out this thread:
Simple, easy DIY test for mg/mL nicotine. A Follow Up on DVAP's Method

Indeed! Post #26 in this thread is the meat of the procedure.

Since that post, I've found that it's better to source the 0.1 N acid off the Internet than trying to make it yourself from muriatic acid (whose label concentration might not be accurate at all).

[Rocketfish]

If there is one (or class of), I would not be surprised if it was made use of in analogs (as is said MAOIs); I doubt it would shorten the 20-60mins replenish need, but might just add to the buzz. Just a thought.

First though, is to determine how much of the nic gets out of the atomiser. (And how that might be affected by humidity, and liquid base.)

Not sure if this was already covered, but for somebody who smokes like I did(stopping smoking means my panic attacks and ability to worry nonstop return, to the point I can't really function)
I wonder if the other chemicals suggested as being provided by smoking were what did it for me, vaping is keeping me happy when I'm not stressed, but I'm more likely to have a panic attack than when I was smoking analogues.
I was talking to somebody about that the other day, wishing they could isolate that and include it in E-liquid, I seem good at self medicating that way, why change it
EDIT: 60 odd pages later, that was answered. I would buy liquid with the MAOI labeling if I could. Anybody gonna do it?
Three questions I still have:
Has anybody checked using a greencig cartomizer, the reason I ask is because their literature(I can post it up here if you want) states that: they are the only brand using electronic sensor instead of mechanical, as such we have minimized problems experienced in other products such as discontinuity of atomization, overly heated inhaler tube, inverse flow of fluids, insufficent vapor etc. The other point I thought was more interesting in terms of your testing was we tested and examined many other products, which still use highly toxic ni-net materials, greencig uses much safer materials inside the atomizing chamber, and antibacterial materials for the mouthpiece
The other: what about something closer to the original patent by the inventor(I believe he was wanting ultrasonic rather than heat) I've been playing with the idea of one of those ultrasonic mist makers that you can get in small ponds, and making a vape hookah(my idea, and you can't have it unless you thought of it first) That would avoid the worry of VG.
Final question I forgot about, DVAP, with all of this extensive testing, and knowledge of what is in the fluids, what is your prefered mix of PG/VG, and do you feel there is less toxins created one way or another.

[DVap]

Not sure if this was already covered, but for somebody who smokes like I did(stopping smoking means my panic attacks and ability to worry nonstop return, to the point I can't really function)
I wonder if the other chemicals suggested as being provided by smoking were what did it for me, vaping is keeping me happy when I'm not stressed, but I'm more likely to have a panic attack than when I was smoking analogues.
I was talking to somebody about that the other day, wishing they could isolate that and include it in E-liquid, I seem good at self medicating that way, why change it
EDIT: 60 odd pages later, that was answered. I would buy liquid with the MAOI labeling if I could. Anybody gonna do it?
Three questions I still have:
Has anybody checked using a greencig cartomizer, the reason I ask is because their literature(I can post it up here if you want) states that: they are the only brand using electronic sensor instead of mechanical, as such we have minimized problems experienced in other products such as discontinuity of atomization, overly heated inhaler tube, inverse flow of fluids, insufficent vapor etc. The other point I thought was more interesting in terms of your testing was we tested and examined many other products, which still use highly toxic ni-net materials, greencig uses much safer materials inside the atomizing chamber, and antibacterial materials for the mouthpiece
The other: what about something closer to the original patent by the inventor(I believe he was wanting ultrasonic rather than heat) I've been playing with the idea of one of those ultrasonic mist makers that you can get in small ponds, and making a vape hookah(my idea, and you can't have it unless you thought of it first) That would avoid the worry of VG.
Final question I forgot about, DVAP, with all of this extensive testing, and knowledge of what is in the fluids, what is your prefered mix of PG/VG, and do you feel there is less toxins created one way or another.

The liquid with the extra stuff isn't all that likely.. that's really run to ground in this extremely long thread.

As far as alternate method of atomization, certainly it's worth a look.. it's as open as topic as there are folks willing to dig into it. As far as the Greencigs, I don't take a lot of the marketing jargon seriously... everyone is trying to stand out.

Lately I've been pushing the VG/PG ratio way up because PG simply seems to irritate my throat. I'm probably at 80/20 VG/PG (with a little nic, of course).

[Vaporer]

"we tested and examined many other products, which still use highly toxic ni-net materials, greencig uses much safer materials inside the atomizing chamber, and antibacterial materials for the mouthpiece"

I don't care for much for any hype on a particular product. Like the above, normal hygiene would have you rinsing your carts, filler material and PG is already a very good anti-bacterial. So what is thier point? "Highly toxic ni net materials"? If thats a ref to nickle in NiCh wire, are they not using it for a heat source? I've tried to get my hands on a few GreenCig dead attys to see what makes them "that special".

80/20 DVap? Isn't that kinda thick or are you tossing something pretty thin in that mix somewhere?

[DVap]

"we tested and examined many other products, which still use highly toxic ni-net materials, greencig uses much safer materials inside the atomizing chamber, and antibacterial materials for the mouthpiece"

I don't care for much for any hype on a particular product. Like the above, normal hygiene would have you rinsing your carts, filler material and PG is already a very good anti-bacterial. So what is thier point? "Highly toxic ni net materials"? If thats a ref to nickle in NiCh wire, are they not using it for a heat source? I've tried to get my hands on a few GreenCig dead attys to see what makes them "that special".

80/20 DVap? Isn't that kinda thick or are you tossing something pretty thin in that mix somewhere?

Maybe I like it a bit on the thick side.

[Rocketfish]

The liquid with the extra stuff isn't all that likely.. that's really run to ground in this extremely long thread.

As far as alternate method of atomization, certainly it's worth a look.. it's as open as topic as there are folks willing to dig into it. As far as the Greencigs, I don't take a lot of the marketing jargon seriously... everyone is trying to stand out.

Lately I've been pushing the VG/PG ratio way up because PG simply seems to irritate my throat. I'm probably at 80/20 VG/PG (with a little nic, of course).

I see,what do you feel is any benefit to having PG in it, would it reduce the production of acrolenin(spelling?) if the atty passed the point of overheating the VG it would be reduced since it is making PG vapor at the same time?
I might not understand more than about 20% of what you folks are talking about, but the 20% I do understand is quite interesting, I read every post
Do you have any recommendations for long term storage of flavorless eliquid? I've read of freezing it, refrigerating it(which for most home users is the same anyways, since it won't freeze at the temperatures we can provide) Not freezing it because freezing it will wreck it, adding dessicants to the storage area, not adding dessicants to the storage area etc.
I also read in one thread that citric acid was a good additive for long term storage, but in this thread it was recommended against.

Would PG or VG be better for unflavored liquid for long term storage?, I could go either way and mix down to 15mg at a 75/25 split, while keeping fresh base liquid around.
With the discussion of overheating VG, do you think that the thread about battery voltage would have any influence on the matter, with KR808 batteries providing even power and 510 batteries being pulsed?

Well.. I finally found the time to dig out the old Tek scope and hook it up to the battery load tester.

As suspected, there is a form of PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) going on here... but the pulse widths aren't consistent over a nominal period.

It's set at 2V per division vertical. The probe is a 10X, so you can take the RMS meter output and multiply it by 10 to get the real number. As you can (hopefully) see, the output is pulsed between 0v and "rail", which is the actual battery voltage (approximately 4V). The net effect is output "power" that is consistent with a 3.0-3.1VDC source voltage.

Enjoy!

EDIT: Wanted also to ask, with eliquid being basic instead of acidic, would more nicotine be absorbed through mucus membranes in mouth/nose, or in the lungs? I think that was answered, but I can't find it and wanted to verify. Trying to figure out if I can still get nicotine with a new vaping pattern(I was a suck a mouthful of smoke than inhale mixing with cool air smoker) I'm wondering, if I can get the same effect by sucking a mouthful of smoke and either blowing it out my nose or mouth, then taking a deep breath. I'm mimicking my smoking pattern but without getting much vapor in my lungs.