Best Glass Bottles for Storage Questions

[Ansah]

I've been looking around for glass bottles, and have a few questions to submit for discussion:

1) Amber vs. cobalt blue? Does it make any difference in terms of UV exposure etc.? Is one better than the other?

2) Prices seem to be all over the map, and some of the cheaper outlets clip you on the shipping... If I wanted to find them locally, what kind of store am I looking for? Lab supply? Are there hobby shop-like places that have them? I'm just a hippie, music and literature type person, so I'm not up on industrial hardware-like stuff so much...

3) For storing 100mg nicotine long term-ish. there seems to be a wide variety opinion:

a) Refrigerating or freezing vs. simply placing in a cool, dark & dry location such as a drawer or closet.
b) Should 100mg be cut with PG prior to storing, say, to 50mg or something?

And finally, since it seems obvious that one wouldn't want to be re-opening and closing large bottles very often, would it be better to open a large bottle of nicotine and disperse it into 30ml, 60ml or 120ml bottles so that they're never exposed to the air again until ready for near future use?

I'd appreciate insightful advice and discussion about these issues, if anyone is up for it. As always, thanks in advance.

 

[samwest]

Any dark glass is good. Goto "specialty bottle shop" on line where you can buy different sizes droppers and you don't have to buy a case. they even have small (3.5 mil) dropper vials.

 

[purelyscientific]

If you plan on storing nic make sure it has as little air in the bottle as possible and keep it in the freezer.
It seems like the cobalt bottles I have are darker/thicker than the amber ones.
The less light that touches the nic the better.

 

[~Sue~Feb2012]

I noticed that the blue seem darker/thicker than amber but thought it was my imagination! It makes sense to dispense the nic into smaller bottles before freezing so that you can just take out a small bottle to do your DIY and won't be exposing to air and light as often later. I don't cut the nic base before storing. What if I want to experiment later with PG or VG ... if I pre-cut it, I wouldn't be able to experiment later with as many options. If you already know you'll want that dilution ratio later, than it couldn't hurt to store it diluted that way. It'll just take up more room in the freezer LOL. (I don't freeze my VG/PG though. It just sits on the shelf for immediate use.)
Online there's wholesale suppliers like Sunburst and/or Specialty Bottle. Prices for bottles, extra caps or droppers do vary slightly as well as shipping. I've put items in the shopping cart on both sites and they are only a few dollars apart in the end. Some sites let you decide if you want UPS or USPS shipping and the $$ vary in that regard as well. Locally, just buying a few small bottles at a time would cost a lot more (per item) than buying a couple dozen all at once online.

 

[Ansah]

Thanks. I just submitted an order from a place I found called Home Science Tools and got a few brown Boston Round bottles. The prices are good and the shipping was much more reasonable than the the other two places mentioned, though they didn't have the Cobalt Blue. I'll mention how it went after delivery in case anyone is interested.

 

[Princessdee]

When I was making herbal tinctures and only needed a few bottles the drugstore ordered them for me. Talk to the assistant behind the counter. But they're not as cheap as the places Searching4answers mentioned above.

I don't dilute before freezing. Guess you could but again, as mentioned above, it'll take up more room. If your freezer isn't stuffed with bags of goat milk for making soap, it probably doesn't matter.

I put it in 4 oz. bottles and put them all in a ziplock bag to keep them together. Quick stock check that way. Put a label on them with the date you got them so you use the older ones first.

 

[JazzyTech]

There was an experiment where bottles were kept in various places. Four of them if I remember correctly. One was frozen, one was kept in a cool dark place, one in direct sunlight on a window sill (closed) and another left open(without a lid) in the sun on the same window sill. Once a week they were tested for nicotine strength. They all held the same strength for a month. After that, the one that was open began to fade by 1mg after approx five weeks (I believe the starting strength was 24-30mg/ml). I read it here on ECF; some searching should bring the results. Nicotine is pretty robust from what I understand. I keep mine in a cool dark place and have done so for 6 months. No noticeable change in strength so far.