Ask The Chemist
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Well it's a 100 page thread:
Steeping Times and an Ultrasonic Cleaner Part III
Most seem to steep for 2-3 hours, the tobacco folks up to 5 hours.
Thanks for the info. I'm not saying those guys are wrong because I steep my juice old fashioned way (make it and vape it, hehe), but that seems like a long time at double the recommended transport temperature for nicotine.
The only reason I heat is to thin the vg so that everything mixes easier. The bottle I mix will be not my working bottle, it will be when the working bottle is empty, which takes three to 4 weeks. I have 14 working mods here, each with a different flavor, so I'm not vaping the same juice all the time, so when I first open a bottle it has sat for 3-4 weeks steeping.
My wife vapes also, and although she only has 2 mods, she kinda understands that this my main hobby anymore, and this is about the only thing I really spend money on. I no longer spend money on new mods, as I have all that I need and want. I already have all the wood working tools I need, several guitars, so not much spent anymore except for maintenance items. The stock up expenses lately have been kinda high, but gotta do it. More nic, more nic. 
Right now I'm averaging about 2 mods and 3 atomizers a year. Gotta save some money in there for golf, which is expensive around here.My wife vapes also, and although she only has 2 mods, she kinda understands that this my main hobby anymore, and this is about the only thing I really spend money on. I no longer spend money on new mods, as I have all that I need and want. I already have all the wood working tools I need, several guitars, so not much spent anymore except for maintenance items. The stock up expenses lately have been kinda high, but gotta do it. More nic, more nic.
HAHA, I've never played there. Too rich for my blood and I'm not good enough to play that course. I mostly play at Tradition, Rocky River, and Skybrook every once in a while. Always have my vape on hand so I don't smoke a cigar or dip with my buddies.
Re head room in bottles. Nic in PG carrier expands when warming not when cooling. I assume VG would be the same. I normally leave marginal head room but made a mistake once. I put a liter in the freezer in the plastic bottle it came in because I knew it would be a couple of weeks before I could parcel into Boston rounds. When I did parcel into 120 ml bottles I left my usual minimal head room not thinking about the liquid being cold. About 2/3 way through portioning a poly cone lid blew and ended up across the kitchen because they were warming up. Another popped before I could get them all loosened up. Learned my lesson there, do not bottle when cold.
Good tip. So when taking out of freezer, loosen cap while solution gets to room temperature.
Yes, a good tip indeed. VG is the opposite. VG does not freeze in the freezer, but it does supercool and expands during that process creating pressure in the head room during the freeze and creating a slight vacuum during the thaw.
Took me awhile to weed through the old thread, you can read the posts and disagreements here:
Steeping Times and an Ultrasonic Cleaner Part III
But basically I go with what one person wrote:
"Your conclusions are in line with one thread I've read on Reddit that the author claims very similar results on nicotine degradation.
While 8% might seem too much, we have to consider that an 8% loss in 10 mg results in 9,2 mg.
Totally unnoticeable, at least to me."
My ultrasonic cleaner gets to 130F, so if I can save 2-3 weeks of waiting and a tiny loss of nic potency it is worth it. One could always adjust their NIC level to compensate. I don't have the NIC test kit, but may someday try my own tests. From what I understand those test kits are not very accurate and may not be helpful to make a real scientific conclusion.
Here is Mike Petro'd blog article on the tests he did concerning heat & degradation of nicotine:
Effects of Heat on Nicotine Degradation | E-Cigarette Forum
Effects of Heat on Nicotine Degradation | E-Cigarette Forum
I would not disagree with that statement. It should be a minimal loss, but I just wanted to put it out there for those that do not want any nic loss.
Also, I will say for anyone that has had this question, a standard titration test will not work on flavored e-juice.
Take a look at his blog tests, very interesting. Seems 125f was a good spot to keep any loss at a minimum. Crook pot users take note as well!
I can't look at it. As a forum mod, I don't have viewing access to the blog section.
That's a shame, though I'm sure a smart guy could figure a way to view a web page in the privacy of their own home, and just not acknowledge such a viewing.
To all those uncensored, I asked PM'd MikeP, the person that did the NIC degradation tests to followup, if interested:
Steeping Times and an Ultrasonic Cleaner Part III
Forgive me if these questions have been asked already.
1. My 250 mg active nic bottles lay on their side in the freezer so the caps are always in contact with the liquid. Should that be any cause for concern?
2. I think I recall lookng up the specific gravity of nic and PG and nic is a tiny bit heavier so in theory it might settle over years. Do I need to rotate or turn my frozen long term supply?
3. I bought a liter of your extra strength nic and successfully transfered it to amber glass. It's padded and packed and in the freezer, waiting for the call to action, years from now. When the time comes the plan is to dilute all of it down to 100 mg all at once. Regardless it needs to be mixed carefully to insure consistancty before it goes back in the freezer. What blending technique can you recommend for that years away procedure?
4. I got a set of your graduated cylinders, very pretty. Is there a smart way to store them in a drawer? (Consider offering the brushes or swabs that are correct for cleaning them or is there something home made that will work well?).
1. My 250 mg active nic bottles lay on their side in the freezer so the caps are always in contact with the liquid. Should that be any cause for concern?
2. I think I recall lookng up the specific gravity of nic and PG and nic is a tiny bit heavier so in theory it might settle over years. Do I need to rotate or turn my frozen long term supply?
3. I bought a liter of your extra strength nic and successfully transfered it to amber glass. It's padded and packed and in the freezer, waiting for the call to action, years from now. When the time comes the plan is to dilute all of it down to 100 mg all at once. Regardless it needs to be mixed carefully to insure consistancty before it goes back in the freezer. What blending technique can you recommend for that years away procedure?
4. I got a set of your graduated cylinders, very pretty. Is there a smart way to store them in a drawer? (Consider offering the brushes or swabs that are correct for cleaning them or is there something home made that will work well?).
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Number 1, should not be a concern so long as you are not using one of the paper liner caps. The polyphenolic cone caps and the F-217 liners on our caps are very chemically resistant.
Number 2, also should not really be a concern in the freezer. With that said, years down the road, I would still give the bottle a good shake after it acclimates to room temperature.
Number 3, there are many things you could do for your blending. Stir rod, hand mixer, emulsion blender to name a few. I would highly recommend the emulsion blender, you can pick one up at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for like 15 bucks or something and then blending can be done right in the beaker.
Number 4, always store them on their side in a drawer and rotate them so that each one next to the other are facing in opposite directions. As for cleaning them, any tube brush will do (try to get a nylon one).
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