Steeping NT and oxygen/temperature

[FaceHole]

I'm going to TRY to keep my thoughts concise. Also, i'm posting in the NT forum because 1, its the only liquid I would stock enough of to steep long, & 2, because of the sale,a lot of us will be receiving big orders to put away for a deep steep.

So we all know that oxygen is basically the enemy of long term juice storage. The reason we want to keep liquid cool is that oxidation takes place faster at higher temperatures. More on temp in a bit...

One of my main concerns is the practice of steeping juice with the lids and drippers removed from the bottles. I see this as a trick used to age juice faster, but ultimately I think this practice will decrease the overall shelf life of the bottle. I think open steeping bottles should only be used for juice that you intend to consume quickly and only if the liquid needs to be rounded out in a hurry. I think a lot of us are developing a juice "stash" of armaggedon proportions and if a certain bottle will be around for a significant period of time, it should be protected from o2 at all times.

I transfer new bottles intended for long term storage into amber glass bottles and frankly the process of just pouring the contents from one bottle to another just once seems like plenty of introduced oxygen to me. I have liquid that I would like to see hold well for a year or more before it declines in flavor and I think it needs all the help it can get to get there.

One suggestion:

If you really wanted to steep juice FAST, you could pour it between two shot glasses, nice long pours back and forth quite a few times. I would bet this would aerate the juice well and you could simulate a few weeks steeping in a few minutes.

I have a question about temperature: I feel strongly that the refrigerator would be the best place for juice stash IF the contents wouldnt separate...

Does anyone have experience refrigerating liquid and has anyone ever seen liquid separate from being kept cold?

Any and all thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Facehole

 

[Megan Kogijiki Ratchford]

Good question Facehole! Personally I have at least 500mls of GCD stashed at all times. I never even open the bubble wrap used to put them in the purple mailer. I just stash them in a set of plastic drawers I use for my juice that is always kept cool and dark. When I go through the bottles I have stashed I pull more to put in my "active" drawer. All bottles remain capped until I open them to use them and then they steep dark pretty fast (especially since I shake them very well before opening them). The one thing I have noticed is if I try a bottle FOOB it seems to have more nic than the bottles that have sat for four or more months. Also, when I had my 500ml bottles I kept them in the fridge (DO NOT freeze them!) and they continued to age but very slowly. Like a day for every week. And they didn't separate any more than if they had sat in a cool dark place.

So if there is one thing everyone should remember for all e-juices is to shake them very well every time you go to drip or fill a tank as even sitting there for an hour they will have heavier parts sink under the lighter parts of the juice. And I don't steep with caps off, I just buy enough juice that I can always have juice with 4+ months steeped slowly on them...

 

[penguiness]

I store my bottles in a tight sealed container which I only open to put a bottle in or take one out. I only transfer to another bottle when I am breaking up a larger bottle into smaller ones for use. When I open a new 50ml bottle, I transfer it to 4 smaller bottles. Smaller bottles are easier to handle and it is exposed to less air. I discovered that I prefer GCD that has not been exposed to much air.

 

[Kent Brooks]

I think you bring up some interesting points, especially for the folks that have accumulated what amounts to a dragon horde of eLiquid. You are absolutely correct... the enemies of eliquid are HEAT, LIGHT, and AIR.

Personally, I have never quite understood (and have never condoned) "speed-steeping" with any of the various methods people have put out there... hot rice, ultra-sonic cleaners, etc... to me, it feels roughly equivalent to buying gold on World of Warcraft. I took pride in the fact that every piece of gear I had was earned, not bought and paid for. Despite many opportunities to get "power-leveled" - I declined in favor of questing, going through the story line of the game, or just downright grinding instead of buying components. In the end, I could look any and every player "in the eye" and say "Not only am I in the best healer in the top raiding guild on the server - and wearing gear 99% of players will never have the opportunity to wear - but I EARNED mine."

I've maintained since the beginning that "steeping is a journey, not a destination." I feel like every bottle has a life of it's own - it should be given a fair chance to "live that life" as naturally as it can without interceding with the speed-steeping trend of the day. Not only can we not predict the results, but once you start to engage in those practices, it conditions people into thinking - EH, I don't need to stock up, I can just buy liquid 3 days before I need it, place an order via priority (like it will get filled any faster), and then hope it arrives in time so I can slam it in the ultra-sonic cleaner and vape myself into nicotine nirvana. When someone complains about the flavor of a bottle... the FIRST question I ask is "was it exposed to heat, light, or air for an extended period of time... IE, did you speed steep it." I swear, 80% of the time the answer is "Yes, I just plucked it out of boiling hot water." Ooooops, can't help you, sorry.

Ok, off my soap box...

With Nicoticket eLiquid - the juice is adequately and properly presteeped for (generally) not less than 2 weeks - and sometimes as much as 2 months. Even my old advice of "shake and leave the caps off for 12-24 hours" is really just a precautionary measure because, in truth, we've already done that. At this point I mostly recommend it as a ritual because, in honesty, 12 hours with the cap off isn't going to hurt it that much - and the possibility exists that you could get a relatively fresh bottle from myself or another vendor so it's still a good practice. We use almost no alcohol in our liquid, and what is used is almost entirely steeped off before it even hits the finished liquid... so the "cap off" ritual is just that - ritual.

As far as temp is concerned, long term storage in the refrigerator isn't a bad idea for liquid that you don't anticipate vaping for 6 months or more... I would probably still yank it and give it a regular shake a week or more before you decide to pull it out of the fridge and use it, but, it will serve to preserve the liquid and keep it "fresher, longer." It will dramaticly slow down the steeping process. I can't say how long it will allow the liquid to persist, but, we put 12 months on the bottle with proper care (cool, dark location away from children and pets). I can say with confidence that properly cared for liquid will last that long even without refrigeration... but... it *might* last twice that long if it is refrigerated, in the dark, away from air.

 

[penguiness]

I have a small refrigerator not being used in my office that I will put to good use, now! Thank you for the tip.

 

[keithu2]

I don't have a dragon horde, but no way the wife is going to let me move part of the "drug lab", as she calls it, into the refrigerator. I guess I'll have to force myself to vape all the stash I have from last summer.

 

[Kent Brooks]

I don't have a dragon horde, but no way the wife is going to let me move part of the "drug lab", as she calls it, into the refrigerator. I guess I'll have to force myself to vape all the stash I have from last summer.

LMAO - I've heard stashes called worse. lol

 

[Megan Kogijiki Ratchford]

I don't have a dragon horde, but no way the wife is going to let me move part of the "drug lab", as she calls it, into the refrigerator. I guess I'll have to force myself to vape all the stash I have from last summer.

Naw, just go buy one of those mini fridges...

 

[keithu2]

LMAO - I've heard stashes called worse. lol

I guess it's all the bottles and vaping gear that makes it look that way. It doesn't help to have empty and almost empty bottles in the mix too.

Naw, just go buy one of those mini fridges...

I already pay $170 a month on electricity. Plus, I can see it being diverted to hold our granddaughters refreshments and snacks. I'll just have to put on my big boy pants and start diving into the vintage stuff.

 

[penguiness]

I guess it's all the bottles and vaping gear that makes it look that way. It doesn't help to have empty and almost empty bottles in the mix too.




I already pay $170 a month on electricity. Plus, I can see it being diverted to hold our granddaughters refreshments and snacks. I'll just have to put on my big boy pants and start diving into the vintage stuff.

I would love to have you electric bill! Wanna trade?

My mini fridge is very mini. Will hold 4 bottled waters and no more than that. Probably uses about 10 dollars a year in electricity. Would work great for juice!

 

[keithu2]

I would love to have you electric bill! Wanna trade?

My mini fridge is very mini. Will hold 4 bottled waters and no more than that. Probably uses about 10 dollars a year in electricity. Would work great for juice!

It's for a two bedroom townhouse with no ac or heating. And, just the wife and myself and the grandkid on weekends.

We have a temperature controlled room here at work. I'm sure the boss won't mind if I add a small box or two in there along with all his wine. . . .