Ball Bearings - shaking of DIY liquid

[LottaT]

Hi,

I was wondering. I know people use really creative ways of making sure they shake their DIY liquid well before using it. I have not been so creative, but thought that using some ball bearings in the bottle would make sense, just like it is common to have in nail polish bottles.
I bought a few 316 stainless steel ball bearings on eBay, 3mm ones, and have used those, but find that even if they do help, they are a bit too light. So I guess that upping to 6mm would help.

Do any of you use this? Can any of you see any possible problems with having a ball bearing or two inside the liquid bottle?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Tommy-Chi]

I have a lot of nicotine but have not come across this as of yet. It is an interesting problem, but anything you place in the pg/vg/nicotine/flavors might rust or the coating may come off if it is not a solid, through and through.

I've seen lab mixers, and I think I would lean toward one of those. They have two kinds, one that tilts back and forth x number of degrees, and another were you drop a magnet or piece of pure solid in to the mix to mix up the solvent. I would think in the latter case that you remove the solid after you mix.

That's my two cents on it...

 

[Paramaniac413]

I have a lot of nicotine but have not come across this as of yet. It is an interesting problem, but anything you place in the pg/vg/nicotine/flavors might rust or the coating may come off if it is not a solid, through and through.

I've seen lab mixers, and I think I would lean toward one of those. They have two kinds, one that tilts back and forth x number of degrees, and another were you drop a magnet or piece of pure solid in to the mix to mix up the solvent. I would think in the latter case that you remove the solid after you mix.

That's my two cents on it...

They're magnetic stir bars. Drop it in a liquid, put the beaker/flask/whatever on a stir plate/hot plate combo. Turn it on. Stirs for you. Speeds are variable. Used them all the time in the lab.

 

[ckquatt]

I use this. I make my stuff 120mls at a time and it powers through it!

I bought it on Ebay for under 10 bucks!


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[Paramaniac413]

^^^this. Definitely easier than the stir bars. lol


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[retired1]

Moved to DIY E-Liquid

 

[zoiDman]

 

[LottaT]

Thanks a lot! I realized when I came back now to look at it, that I might have posted in the wrong forum... My apologies!

Moved to DIY E-Liquid

 

[LottaT]

Thanks a lot to all of you for replying!

I must admit, I thought of my milk foamer/mixer but have not tried using it. I have looked at the different lab stirrers too, which others mention, as my first thought was that those must be the perfect tools for stirring the content _in the bottles_, but they would cost quite a bit (they are very expensive here in Norway, the least expensive, would be to try to find one from Asia on eBay and import it)...

The ball bearings I have used, are 316 stainless steel all through. As I see it, coated ball bearings would not be worth trying, it must be solid and stainless steel, after all, we do use this for food preparation etc.

It does seem to work in making simple, manual shaking of the bottles a lot easier. Especially if the bottles are filled all the way up, it is difficult to shake them well, since the fluids are quite thick (more than 50% VG). I do however mix the PG/VG base first (and earlier also added nicotine to that), have that sitting in a large 500ml bottle, which I never fill up all the way, making shaking easier. But when I want to mix the flavoring in, that is when the challenge really starts for me, because it is much more difficult blending the flavorings properly in the smaller bottles which are filled all the way to the top. That is when the ball bearings become useful...

I just ordered some 6mm ones, thought I would try those, to see if they seem better... Couldn't help but wonder though, if not someone else had thought of this, especially women DIY'ing their liquid (thinking nail polish again... )...

BTW, the 3mm ones I tried, have been sitting in a bottle for over a month now. I are still as shiny as when I dropped them into fluid (I have tried using 3 balls in that 15ml bottle)... But, they are a bit too light, can see they have a bit of trouble moving thick fluid around. The ideal would be one or a couple of heavier balls, heavy enough to really move the fluid around in there. But you don't want it plugging the bottle's opening for you either, making it difficult to fill your tank or drip using it...

I use this. I make my stuff 120mls at a time and it powers through it!

I bought it on Ebay for under 10 bucks!


Sent from my Commodore 64 using Tapatalk

 

[Gfdeputy2]

I use this. I make my stuff 120mls at a time and it powers through it!

I bought it on Ebay for under 10 bucks!


Sent from my Commodore 64 using Tapatalk

I used one of these too but was under powered on large quantities of High VG so I took the mixer end off & use it in my cordless drill works great now

 

[Alter]

If your willing to wait for the stirbars to ship across the ocean. Youtube has many styles if DIY magnetic mixers you can build. I love mine I built and the computer fan mixes up to 200mls nicely. Nice to be able to get it spinning, set a timer and walk away.

 

[BrotherBob]

I hand shake a 30/70 mix, every now and then, over a natural steep for a minimum of 2 weeks. I find if folks are in a hurry and improperly plan, the mix will taste like it was made in a hurry and improperly planed. I'm sure someone will tell of burning herbs,sacrificing a fowl and dancing naked around the fire is a good substitute for natural flavor steeping.
Best way of telling who is right is to do a blind taste test. Line up all the crock pots,stirrers,spinners,shakers,dancing etc and have folks detect which method was used the next day and you will have an answer. All these quick shortcuts may help a little but are really hype. Gee, I wonder why this has been never done?

 

[ckquatt]

I used one of these too but was under powered on large quantities of High VG so I took the mixer end off & use it in my cordless drill works great now

Ahh See, I DIY 50/50 and it blows through it like no ones business. Now when I mix a juice for my friend (70VG) I usually put the beaker in a cup with the hottest tap water that will come out of my sink and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. It thins the VG and makes it super easy to mix!

 

[LottaT]

That is a great idea! Actually, I have a cordless mini drill sitting here, which a friend gave me to try to use to file dog nails. Not surprisingly, my dog would not let me use it, LOL... But, it's like a no-brand cordless Dremel, and it has a lot of rpm, so it should be great to use with a little whisk. The milk foamer I have now, actually has different attachments (found it on eBay, but couldn't find the same right now), from the milk frother to a small whisk, a stirring stick etc. I find the milk frother attachment the most effective though.

What I do like when just using the ball bearings and shaking by hand, is that I can prepare the mix straight in the bottle. Lately I have tried a few different mixes and then that is real nice... The PG/VG base is already mixed in the larger bottle, I just measure up the flavorings and add them to the bottle, then add the mix to top it off before shaking the bottle.

A DIY magnetic shaker does sound interesting. I have never ever built anything in my life though, nor used something like a soldering iron. But, I must confess, I do have one laying around somewhere, bought one on a whim once, but never got to trying it (for some hobby stuff). Maybe I will give it a try later, when I feel a bit better (have had a rough time for months, but only the past month I had a heart attack etc., actually started easter with a stay in the intensive care unit! )... Oh, yuck, super yuck!!! Now I got what I deserved for vaping/dripping while concentrating on typing. A horrible, horrible dry hit. Darn, sure I really grilled my wick right now, that was aaaawful, cough, cough!!!! OMG, what an idiot I am.... I am dripping using a Sapor I got a while back, have used it while waiting for some new tanks, my trusty Billow is broken... Waiting for some sweet stuff though, including the big dripper. I could not resist getting one when I saw it. Neat... Well, that is an off topic digression here... Sorry....

I used one of these too but was under powered on large quantities of High VG so I took the mixer end off & use it in my cordless drill works great now

 

[dannyv45]

Hi,

I was wondering. I know people use really creative ways of making sure they shake their DIY liquid well before using it. I have not been so creative, but thought that using some ball bearings in the bottle would make sense, just like it is common to have in nail polish bottles.
I bought a few 316 stainless steel ball bearings on eBay, 3mm ones, and have used those, but find that even if they do help, they are a bit too light. So I guess that upping to 6mm would help.

Do any of you use this? Can any of you see any possible problems with having a ball bearing or two inside the liquid bottle?

Thanks a lot!

There are many many cleaver ways to mix juice but I have not herd that one. Very original thinking I must say. The only thing I can think of is the metal may interact with the juice making it taste off or stainless steel may be just fine can't really say. But if that turns out to be the case maybe substitute glass beads if the mixing shaking or rotating is not to vigorous. but keep in mind if the mixing method is to vigorous you may break them and glass shards in a vape would not be good. slow rotation in a tumbler may be just fine though.

 

[LottaT]

Glass beads sure is a good idea... I might just have some sitting here somewhere too, that or natural stones... Thanks!

There are many many cleaver ways to mix juice but I have not herd that one. Very original thinking I must say. The only thing I can think of is the metal may interact with the juice making it taste off or stainless steel may be just fine can't really say. But if that turns out to be the case maybe substitute glass beads if the mixing shaking or rotating is not to vigorous. but keep in mind if the mixing method is to vigorous you may break them and glass shards in a vape would not be good. slow rotation in a tumbler may be just fine though.

 

[dannyv45]

Maybe even some oak barrel or hickery smoked wood chips. Would give the mix that nice oak barrel taste. Would loose some mix to absorbtion but could add a nice naturally aged note to a tobacco mix.

 

[LottaT]

I don't use tobacco mixes anymore, but I agree, that sounds interesting! Re. the stainless steel ball bearings, I got the 6mm ones I had ordered today, and popped 2 into a 50ml bottle of juice I mixed and WOW, that was another ball game, so to speak. That really mixed it up real well real quickly when I shook it by hand... Real neat. That really works! I have not got to looking for some glass beads to try that, but for sure, this works and stainless steel is used a lot for food preparation etc., so I would guess it is OK for vape juice... After all, many tanks, chimneys etc. come in contact with the juice and are made from stainless... Will be fun to try some new juice too, got cotton candy, cranberry and lemon from TFA today. I got so excited over their bulk flavorings, only to get real bummed out when I couldn't order that of the cranberry and lemon due to shipping restrictions (gets very expensive), but I at least could get the larger bottles of koolada and cotton candy, no restrictions there... Like big bottles, no fun running out of your fav flavorings! I've got to mix up some other stuff tomorrow, I think, and put ball bearings in the bottles too and try it some more!

Maybe even some oak barrel or hickery smoked wood chips. Would give the mix that nice oak barrel taste. Would loose some mix to absorbtion but could add a nice naturally aged note to a tobacco mix.

 

[dannyv45]

I don't use tobacco mixes anymore, but I agree, that sounds interesting! Re. the stainless steel ball bearings, I got the 6mm ones I had ordered today, and popped 2 into a 50ml bottle of juice I mixed and WOW, that was another ball game, so to speak. That really mixed it up real well real quickly when I shook it by hand... Real neat. That really works! I have not got to looking for some glass beads to try that, but for sure, this works and stainless steel is used a lot for food preparation etc., so I would guess it is OK for vape juice... After all, many tanks, chimneys etc. come in contact with the juice and are made from stainless... Will be fun to try some new juice too, got cotton candy, cranberry and lemon from TFA today. I got so excited over their bulk flavorings, only to get real bummed out when I couldn't order that of the cranberry and lemon due to shipping restrictions (gets very expensive), but I at least could get the larger bottles of koolada and cotton candy, no restrictions there... Like big bottles, no fun running out of your fav flavorings! I've got to mix up some other stuff tomorrow, I think, and put ball bearings in the bottles too and try it some more!

I'm sure stainless steel will be just fine.

 

[zoiDman]

I'm sure stainless steel will be just fine.

Yeah... If a Stainless Steel Atomizer isn't effecting the Taste of an e-Liquid, I'd say that Stainless Steel Ball Bearings are not going to hurt anything.