Been lurking here for a while...

[FloridaGeorge]

And I've finally decided to come out from under the bridge and EAT YOU ALL! MUHAHAHAHAHA!

I'm kidding, but I have been lurking here at the forums on and off for about 8 months. I was skeptical for a long time, and finally decided to pick up an e-cigarette about 2 months ago. After I was finally sold on the idea I "had" to have one, and unfortunately picked up a Gamucci at Walmart before even bothering to check the forums. About 3 or 4 weeks later I picked up a Joye510 manual starter kit from VaporTalk and I've pretty much fallen in love with it.

I'm from North Florida and I'm a chemistry student with some bit of history with the underground InfoSec community (weird huh?). I love electronics and computers but I simply ADORE anything that goes boom. Or flashes. Or sets my home lab on fire. I'm also a dedicated pirate and video game console modder. Honestly I'll mod anything that I can get near my soldering station. ...And I'm kinda* crazy**. Anywho, you people all seem like a nice crowd so I'm sure I'll fit in fine here.

I've enthusiastically read over many of the DIY threads and have discussed the idea of becoming a supplier at length with a good friend of mine. I'm not currently in business but I'm planning on working out something in the upcoming months, though I'm not sure I'd be interested in an online venue.

With all that said I'm looking for someone that can point me to a supplier (other than Sigma-Aldrich) that carries nicotine in concentrations above 990mg/mL.

* - That kinda bit is very subjective. Feel free to omit that as you feel necessary.
** - Maybe not crazy, but I am easily excited. Again, omit as you feel necessary.

 

[Kismayaz]

Welcome to the forum George. You'll have fun here

 

[5cardstud]

Welcome to ECF. I wish you all the good luck and fortune in your indeavor. I did find some once but it's gone now, you have to get that from a supplier with a liscense I think. The part about being crazy, aren't we all?

 

[FloridaGeorge]

Welcome to ECF. I wish you all the good luck and fortune in your indeavor. I did find some once but it's gone now, you have to get that from a supplier with a liscense I think. The part about being crazy, aren't we all?

Indeed.

Oh, and thanks to the both of you for the welcome.

Cheers!

 

[Bella Chic]

Welcome FlordiaG I live out here in southeast Texas, were I've never seen anyone use a PV except the friends I have exposed them too and they all want me to start a biz as well and I have been working on it for a month or so finding suppliers and what not. A big task but well worth it. I've even thought about mixing my own juices to sell as I mix everything for my friends and they all love it and I'm pretty much there supplier for everything, lol. Any way. Good luck and if you find and awesome info about great suppliers let me know pretty please and feel free to PM me anytime

 

[rhoobarb]

welcome it really good here

 

[FloridaGeorge]

Nice! Well Bella, I've run the numbers for a while, and based on the prices posted at Sigma-Aldrich you could easily do it for under $.50/10mL bottle @ 24mg/mL if you mass your nicotine out right. I've seen a few suppliers at Alibaba but many seem dubious at best. There is a lab here in town that does mass spectrometry and other tests, so I suppose I could always forward the sample to them if I wanted to pay that sort of cash. As for any product though, if you aren't buying in quantity you'll find yourself getting middled. :s

 

[Bella Chic]

Oh I hear ya FloridaG. I've been Alibaba quit a lot. A lot of the manufactureres don't want to give you there price lists and that such which in turns makes it a lil difficult to work a budget out on everything you need. It takes a while but it's worth it I think.

 

[HzG8rGrl]

Bella-Love the change!
Welcome Florida G!!!!!

 

[johnws78]

I wonder if a Vapor bar, like a hookah bar, would work out. Hummm!

 

[Bella Chic]

Thanks HzG8rGrl

 

[Guineahill]

Welcome! I'm glad you finally came out from lurking and introduced yourself.

Creating mods is a blast and it sounds like you will be good at it.

On the subject of DIY liquid however, I think you will find that you will be discouraged from playing with nicotine at that strength. Even if I had a source for stuff of that potency I wouldn't tell people here about it! Not everyone knows about lab safety and at that strength it would be easy to get a toxic dose.

PEOPLE! Do not play with Lab Strength Nicotine!!! It can kill you!

Now that I have put my warning out there... good luck on your ventures!

 

[lightinup]

Just wanted to say Welcome!

 

[FloridaGeorge]

Welcome! I'm glad you finally came out from lurking and introduced yourself.

Creating mods is a blast and it sounds like you will be good at it.

On the subject of DIY liquid however, I think you will find that you will be discouraged from playing with nicotine at that strength. Even if I had a source for stuff of that potency I wouldn't tell people here about it! Not everyone knows about lab safety and at that strength it would be easy to get a toxic dose.

PEOPLE! Do not play with Lab Strength Nicotine!!! It can kill you!

Now that I have put my warning out there... good luck on your ventures!

I have a lab, complete with fume hood and many other apparatus necessary to safely handle chemicals far more toxic than nicotine. I also have a small collection of radioactive isotopes. It kind of irks me that many of the posts inquiring about nicotine from reputable suppliers often receive so much static. I've personally purchased far deadlier chemicals, though my chemistry supplier doesn't stock nicotine.

My real concern is that by ordering from the many suppliers of "high nicotine e-liquid for mixying" from the many Chinese suppliers that I might be putting others at risk by exposing them to far more dangerous chemicals. Think "diethylene glycol" scare all over again. Besides, what exactly do you think the other suppliers are doing?

 

[jerrydon10]

It sounds like you are qualified to work with higher levels of nic. OK, go for it, but you won't need to pay for quantitative analysis:

From a post worked out by our chemists on here;

"Credit mostly goes to DVap. I modified his 'simplified' method, to use readily available supplies, and avoid having to dilute very strong HCl.

This is the test I use, and you can assemble your own kit for about $20.

The Reason:
Since there are no true production standards, and people like to mix their own liquids, this will allow you to test liquid for nicotine levels easily.

The Kit:
.12N Sulfuric Acid
Bromothymol Blue
Distilled Water
10mL Graduated Cylinder, .1mL markings is optimum

The Test:
1.Pour some distilled water in the cylinder, swirl it, dump it out.
2.Repeat step 1.
3.Repeat step 1 again.
4.Put 1mL of eLiquid in the cylinder
5.Add 2 drops blue
6.Fill cylinder to the 3mL mark with distilled water
7.Swirl to mix
8.Add a drop of acid
9.Swirl to mix
10.If the color of the solution didn't turn pale yellow, repeat 8-9
11.Measure the final volume
12.Subtract 3 from the number you read in step 11
13.Multiply the result of step 12 by 19.4712
14.The resulting number is the mg/mL
Notes on measuring: Always measure from the center of the liquid, where its at its lowest point. Never measure from the high point on the sides.

Notes on adding to the cylinder: Avoid dribbling liquids down the sides, as it will skew results, since some will add to the amount when you swirl to mix.

Note on step 10: Over several drops, the color will go from blue to bluish-green to green, and when you've reached the 'magic drop', it will suddenly all turn yellow.

Note on final result: If the manufacturer added acids for preservatives, it should not skew the results enough to matter, as they use very minute amounts. Also, as most DIY'ers can't read volumes to several decimals, bear in mind there is a small margin of error. I tested 12 different bottles, 10 of the results were within 1mg of their rated, all just slightly low, probably due to flavoring being added.

Example:
Cylinder is rinsed well.
1mL of liquid labeled 24mg is added to the empty cylinder.
2 drops of blue are added
Distilled water is added until its at 3mL
The solution is swirled
A drop of acid is added, then its swirled, and this is repeated ...
The solution turns yellow after several 'drop and swirl's
The final volume is measured at just over 4.2mL
Subtract 3 to get 1.2
Multiply this by 19.4712 to get ~23.3, which is the actual mg/mL

Where to get supplies:
The acid and blue you can find in a local pool chemical supply store, in the test kit refill section. Both will be labeled with their actual chemical names. The magic number '19.4712' requires that the acid be .12N acid. Also, do not buy 'total alkalinity indicator' as its not the right chemical (the acid is usually right next to it).

Distilled water must be distilled water, not mineral, not filtered, not tap, not carbonated. You can find it at the grocery store.

Cylinders you can buy in hobby shops, for chemistry set piece replacements.

If you want a handy little bottle for putting the water in, you can buy clean, sterile 60mL dropper bottles from tattoo supply shops for about $1 each. Just make sure you give it at least 3 rinses with distilled water before filling it.

For those that don't have the options available to them that those in big cities have, and rely on internet ordering, here's a few links for you...

Inexpensive lab equipment for DIY chemistry...
10mL Glass .1mL-Graduated Cylinder

Taylor pool testing chemical supplies...
.12N Sulfuric Acid
Bromothymol Blue"

I forget who posted this (wasn't me)....But I use it and it works.

 

[FloridaGeorge]

Thanks for the tips with the titration jerrydon, but nothing beats a good old CoA when it comes to buying chemicals. This is the biggest issue I've found with most of the Chinese chemical houses that advertise on Alibaba. Well, that and the somewhat dubious nature of their business practices.

 

[Guineahill]

Periodically sources pop up here for high strengths of better quality. You might be able to find more information in past threads. I seem to remember one or two over the past four months. Inevitably they are not well established chemical suppliers so additional research regarding their sources would be needed.

Good luck!