DIY E-Juice - Gloveless, Goggleless

[Simon Hayter]

Hey guys,

I'm pretty new to mixing my own e-juice and obviously concerned about safety, mixing my juices I'm using:

- Nitrate Gloves
- Safety Goggles
- 70% Isopropyl Alcohol Wipes
- Safe, and lockbox for 72mg PG Nicotine

Since I'm making big batches of 10-30ml 80/20 vg > pg, I've found that adding the nicotine last is safer and more practical since it allows you to primary focus on adding nothing else but nicotine. I also found it better since you can quickly dilute the nicotine into the PG based content (nicotine, flavours).

Which brings me to the question...

Is mixing flavours, vg and pg without gloves or goggles, safe (zero nicotine)?

I'm unaware of any harmful indigents but frankly, want to make sure before proceeding!

I would then obviously add the nicotine after I've bottled all the flavours, vg and pg... and take the essential safety steps using gloves, goggles and so on.

 

[Izan]

Are you mixing only for yourself or for others as well?

You will find your own work flow...
I mix by weight and tend to do nic first, flavour(s), dilutant.


Cheers
I

 

[Simon Hayter]

I'm mixing for myself mainly, maybe a couple of bottles to go to friends and family, but other than that all self.

The main reason I want to add nicotine last is because I think its easier, safer, since I don't have to keep opening and closing the bottle of the nicotine, I can also move all the bottles to a better ventilated area.

When I first started mixing I used to add the nicotine first, but the main issue I have with this is with larger batches, you will constantly handling the bottle of nicotine as posed to doing it in one last batch at the end. Also, unless your doing it singular, adding the nicotine to 10+ bottles before adding any other contents then you ultimately have 10 bottles venting nicotine which can be inhaled, which can be equally dangerous, I might be paranoid but I think safer than sorry.

I mix using ml, not weight. I know weight is more accurate but I'm not fussed if the flavour or nicotine is a few ml off, I'm only using 3mg nicotine with 80/20 so if the nicotine ended up being 4mg, it's not a big deal for me

 

[retired1]

Moved to DIY e-liquid

 

[Simon Hayter]

Moved to DIY e-liquid

Thanks Retired

 

[Izan]

I'm mixing for myself mainly, maybe a couple of bottles to go to friends and family, but other than that all self.

The main reason I want to add nicotine last is because I think its easier, safer, since I don't have to keep opening and closing the bottle of the nicotine, I can also move all the bottles to a better ventilated area.

When I first started mixing I used to add the nicotine first, but the main issue I have with this is with larger batches, you will constantly handling the bottle of nicotine as posed to doing it in one last batch at the end. Also, unless your doing it singular, adding the nicotine to 10+ bottles before adding any other contents then you ultimately have 10 bottles venting nicotine which can be inhaled, which can be equally dangerous, I might be paranoid but I think safer than sorry.

I mix using ml, not weight. I know weight is more accurate but I'm not fussed if the flavour or nicotine is a few ml off, I'm only using 3mg nicotine with 80/20 so if the nicotine ended up being 4mg, it's not a big deal for me

If I was making juice for others, I would observer best practices for safety and hygiene.

As mentioned, it is YOUR workflow...consistent and reliable results are your goal.

Have fun
I

 

[B2L]

Hey Simon, as far as PG/VG goes, you can drink them or bathe in them if you so desire without any ill effects. I'm sure there is some degree of ingestion where they could be harmful but the same could be said of water. Flavorings, for the most part and depending on what you are using, are GRAS for ingestion. Unless there is an underlying allergy issue I don't see them causing any problem.

As far as nic goes, IMO, the dangers are inflated. Yes, it is a poison but the danger is in the dosage. The thing I'm most careful with is getting it in my eyes, not because of any fear of long term effects but because it burns like .

I use 100 mg/ml and have gotten it on my skin numerous times with no ill effect. My , as long as you don't drink it straight, do wash any off your skin within a reasonable amount of time and don't get it in your eyes, your good to go.

Of course, always keep out of the reach of children and pets.

Welcome to the wonderful world of DIY, enjoy the journey

 

[Simon Hayter]

Of course, always keep out of the reach for children and pets.

Safe enough? no pun intended lockbox within a safe.... got the safe mega cheap of eBay, pretty good for the price!

Thanks for your input!

 

[VNeil]

Safe enough? no pun intended lockbox within a safe.... got the safe mega cheap of eBay, pretty good for the price!

Thanks for your input!

I believe your lockbox within the safe takes CDO to a new level

 

[VNeil]

On a more serious note, just my own practices and opinions, after over a year of DIY with 100mg nic concentrate...

The PG/VG/Flavoring is no more risky to handle than any food ingredients you use in your kitchen. Actually less risky than many foods that are subject to spoiling, unlike our ingredients.

I do not use gloves, even when handling 100mg nic concentrate, however through much experience I slowly learned *I* have a high tolerance to it. YMMV. I've even pooled a ml or so in the palm of my hand, cheating death in the interests of science (really done that). Other people report issues even breathing 100mg vapers, or getting skin reactions. I suspect even 100mg nic is far safer to handle than arsenic, and somewhere much closer to household bleach. I don't drink my nic, or my bleach...

I have considered using gloves, only for cleanliness reasons, especially since I occasionally give away or sell a few bottles of juice. OTOH, PG is a well known antibacterial and antiviral so I am very unclear how that all shakes out. As long as you have some reasonable portion of PG in the juice (and that includes the PG base in most flavorings we use)

I have taken up the practice of mixing my flavored juice at 0MG, usually storing that in 100-250ml bulk bottles. I add nic to the juice when I put it in roughly 50ml working bottles or amounts. Sometimes more or less. My reasoning is twofold. First, it is easier to increase nic than decrease it, and I even vape 0mg juice on occasion. As I worked down my nic levels I found increasing problems with relatively large amounts of pre-mixed juice that needed to be thinned out with 0mg juice of the same flavoring. Second, it has become fairly clear to me that at least some flavoring appears to vastly accelerate oxidation. For example, even lowish 3-6mg flavored juices often turn very dark after only a couple months at most. But 0mg juice retains it's original color, with little or no darkening. Also, I can breath and shake the 0mg juice without any concerns of accelerating oxidation.

I have also started mixing flavors only and storing them for longer term use. That lets me adjust the PG/VG ratios and the nic levels of the final juice. Most of my recipes use 6-11 different flavors so this immensely simplifies any custom mixing I might want to do. I mention this just to say that there are many ways to skin this cat depending on your objectives. I also suspect that premixing flavors will steep them together although some people think it needs final steeping in PG/VG.

I keep my working nic in a 30ml bottle. That lasts me a month or two or three, at my typical 30-50mg/day usage. I've never noticed that bottle darkening due to frequent access. You might try that, and use a working bottle size commensurate with your usage, such that you use up a working bottle within a couple months, or a month or whatever your target.

Most importantly, if you spend enough time here, you will read people expressing all kinds of concerns and coming up with all kinds of complex procedures to deal with those theoretical concerns. However, there is a decided lack of discussion here about actual harm done and I think it is fair to say that not everyone here is equally OCD about this stuff (to put it mildly). It appears that, in practice, it is quite safe to mix your own juice.

 

[Yiana]

I mix my nic last too.

 

[Train2]

By all means, follow the safety precautions.

But I also mix sans gloves/goggles - I'm just kinda careful to not pour nic all over myself.
Think about it - a drop of 100 mg nic is going to contain perhaps, what, 6 mg of nicotine? I vape that much every couple hours...and I'm surely absorbing more when vaping than if I drip a drop on my hand.

A lot of the safety concerns are driven by the fact that pure nicotine is an entirely different question - THAT requires full safety gear, including special ventilation.

 

[Lannie]

I don't use gloves or goggles, either, but I live on the edge. I usually put the nic in first, but that's just because that's how I did it the first time, and I love routine. Now that I have a few recipes that I REALLY, REALLY like (my all day vapes), I'm going to start mixing the flavors in bottles, so I only have to add some of the flavor mix to the base and be done. Seems like it would save a lot of time, especially for the flavors that I know I'll use a lot of.

Ooops, meant to say, I use the 100mg/ml nic as well. It's much cheaper that way!

 

[Rickb119]

I use gloves and goggles only when I'm transferring the nicotine (1L) into smaller bottles (120ml). I could probably do without the gloves but I'd hate to get even a small drop of 100mg/ml in my eye.

 

[dannyv45]

Don't over think safety or you'll go crazy with safety hystera. It's all common sense. I use 100mg and have gotten it on my skin many, many times and even once in my eye. Simply wash it off right away with soap and water, If you get it in your eyes rinse it out right away, It will sting like hell but you'll be fine. Keep your mixing area clean and for gods sake don't chug it like soda. I don't use gloves and I wear regular glasses because I have to in order to see what I'm doing Some go crazy requiring a level one hazardous material containment area with full body covering and full face helmet shields and suggest you keep hazmat on speed dial in case of a spill. To those I say stop already.

I would be more concerned about kids and pets so the most important thing is keeping it out of there reach. Don't play into all the hystera hype. All that's needed is common sense. Use the same common sense you would use handling bleach, paint thinner or any other household chemical etc... And don't be afraid of it.

 

[sisu]

I had 1 of 4 500ml bottles of 100mg nic arrive broken into several pieces. The nic was leaking out of the side and bottom of the medium size USPS Priority box. I put the box in the sink where it was opened as carefully as possible. I did not have gloves and ended up with nic covering both of my hands. One hand had a small cut on it. I did not get sick or have any skin irritation.

 

[suprtrkr]

You will never hear me argue anybody should ignore the PPE and general safety guidelines. That said, I don't wear gloves or goggles to make my own. I do wear eyeglasses to see, though, and this affords eye protection to some degree. I buy my nic at 100mg concentration being, IMHO, a reasonable compromise between cost, safety and storage cubic. I have gotten this full strength nic juice on my bare skin before-- I didn't bathe in it-- and suffered no ill effects. OTOH, I also have kids in the house and this is one of the reasons I don't buy juice in greater concentration. I am a hardened old nic addict. A minor nic overdose isn't going to bother me much. I don't like to think what a few drops on one of the kids would do. Needless to say, the children do not watch when I make juice and, if one of them ever wanted to, juice making would be postponed until such time as I could provide them with gloves, a face shield and a chemist's apron. I'm pretty careful about storage and cleaning up as well.

 

[Ablonz]

I'm the same way with my Nic. I use 100 mg as well and keep the kids out of the room while mixing and until I have everything cleaned up. I also am not worried about a small amount as I am a painter and handle all sorts of chemicals. Main thing is common sense like above mentioned. If you want to take precaution, by all means go for it. I as well will not argue with safety of others. The other ingredients, PG, VG, and flavoring, I would not at all worry about them but, hey, that's me. I am not aware of any ill effects of those except ingesting large quantities like everything else in life. P.S. I am not a Doctor or Chemist.

 

[Dfinch]

No gloves or goggles, mix with 100mg, no ill effects after about a year of DIY. I mix near the sink and wash immediately if I get any on my hands or fingers, which is rare.

I usually measure and drop the nic in first. That way it's the only thing I have out and I immediately seal it and put it away before setting up my flavors. Doing nic last would accomplish the same thing but I feel like putting the nic solution in first gives more bottle room to mix/agitate as I go. My nic is 100% vg so I shake it after adding flavor, add half the plain vg, shake again, add rest of vg, shake.

Use PPE to the level you're comfortable with. There is zero danger from the non-nic ingredients.

 

[englishmick]

First time I did it I wore gloves and goggles. I made up wooden stands to hold each size of bottle I was going to be using. I put on a Tyvex suit I had from work, but took that off because the loose fabric was getting in the way. I did a dry run with every bottle and funnel I planned to use in case there was some complication I hadn't thought of. Now I just pull on some gloves and go. If I get some drips on my arm I go and rinse it off when it's convenient. I do wear glasses.

If I'm doing something involving concentrated nic I have a large low sided plastic tub that I work in, I figure that will catch any drips or spills. Otherwise I just use a small metal tray to do the work on.

I mix large bottles of 10mg nic once in a while and use that when I'm mixing juice. That way I don't have to mess with concentrated nic at the same time as I've got all the flavorings and little bottles and syringes out.

Reading through this thread it's obvious there are as many methods of doing it as there are people mixing juice. As a couple of folks said, just try it and you will find a process that works for you.

Good luck