DIY juice questions...

[marn]

For all supplies keep in dry, dark place to extend use.

the PG and VG i just got is marked till March 2015 so 2 years.

Remember, Glycerin and Propylene glycol are also highly "hygroscopic" which means that it absorbs water from the air. Example: if you left a bottle of pure glycerin exposed to air in your kitchen, it would take moisture from the air and eventually, it would become 80 per glycerin and 20 percent water.

example of flavor expiration from one of the sites:

Lorann's flavoring "oils" and essential oils do not have a vegetable oil base. You need not worry about spoilage or rancidity of our flavorings and essential oils, even over a period of years. LorAnn Oils guarantees the flavor strength and character of all our flavors and essential oils for a minimum of one year. It should be noted that as flavorings age for extended periods of time (i.e. 1 - 3 years) the flavor strength and or character may experience minor changes.

Since the flavors used for e-cig are generally PG or VG based, unless you notice a major change - in liquid separation, cloudiness, it should be good for the same period as VG or PG. - so about 2 years.
I have not been vaping long enough to test this- but my expectation is that at the 2 year mark, except if i run into the above mentioned problem- the max change i would notice is a slightly diminished flavor strength.

Nicotine is a slightly different issue. generally it's considered 1 year.. then you might see changes is color - it might yellow and a gradual reduction in strength.

Nicotine is sensitive to light and oxygen. So an airtight, dark glass bottle and a cool dark place are especially important here. Do not store long term in plastic. nicotine can affect plastic composition and some of it can leech in to the liquid.


Since it usually ships in plastic containers any i received got transferred to smaller 30-60ml dark (amber/blue) glass bottles. the lids are supposed to be tight .. but i put saran-wrap over the top with an elastic band. the reason for the smaller bottles is that this way while mixing you expose the smaller amount to air and not the whole one each time.

i have no idea if anyone actually tested it.. but because of possible regulations many are storing it in the freezer. it wont freeze, but it should prolong the nic concentration longer. some information says 2-5 yrs. I packed mine as above, then in ziploc bags - i know it seems like overkill but remember pg and vg is hygroscopic and nic is diluted in one or the other so i don't want it in to absorb moisture from the freezer, (just in case the bottle is not as airtight as it's suppose to be ) plus food is in there and bottles can break. and then last in a cardboard box (to separate from the rest of the freezer & breakage/light protection).

DO NOT forget to label the nicotine solution bottles. each bottle not just the ziploc bag or box.
I know someone who took a swig of photo developer (they had a mini home setup) because it was in a unlabeled green wine bottle. (they also had home made wine)

noted! Thanks

 

[flintlock62]

I didn't mean for my statement to be a personal attack. If you took it that way, I apologize. Actually, I was referring to what WL told me that oxidation by itself does not harm nicotine. It will make it turn color, but its not supposed to affect the quality. Light (UV contamination) as always, does affect it. That's why nic should be kept in a dark colored container such as amber, or cobalt blue. Nicotine does have a shelf life (one to two years), so it's wise to store unused quantities frozen in a glass container with minimal head space.

if you are referring to this :

i never meant to imply that it will harm it. just that it will affect it. and i never meant to imply that just because it's a little (or more) yellowish and a 58mg concentration and not a 60mg i can not be used. quite the opposite.

so to clarify, the previous statement should have read like this:

It probably won't change in the first year if properly stored (cool/dark) after that you might see changes in color - it might yellow and a gradual reduction in strength might occur, but this should not adversely affect it in any way.​

while this is not a laboratory study the Nicotine Concentration Over Time experiment does show that the of the 2 bottles of nic concentration left in the light the one that was opened had a lower nicotine concentration after 4 months then the one that was just left in the light. and that in both the nicotine strength diminished. so after 4 months a 35mg liquid tested at 32mg exposed to light and at 31mg exposed to light and oxygen.

The resident chemists (in the DIY section) also seem to concur that oxygen does affect it. and that to minimize this the bottles should be topped off and as little air space left between the liquid and lid.

some more information on this can be found at
Smoke Juice Storage Tips

and one more tip: i would definitely recommend getting a nic test kit. a lot of the DIY supply stores sell them, this is just one Nicotine Testing Kit, and test your liquid on arrival. You want to make sure that your base liquid is what you think it is, so that the target strength is achieved and not over or under shot and that you are 100% sure you know what concentration of liquid you are handling.

Remember nicotine poisoning can be deadly, so treat the ingredients you are using with the respect and care they deserve. And observe proper safety.

If you are planing to store nic for long term i would test each batch before use. It should not change at all or at least not significantly (specially from the freezer) but its a 5 min test and 1ml of liquid used, and it's the responsible way for dealing with a substance like nicotine.




yw, and glad it helps

 

[nev99]

I didn't mean for my statement to be a personal attack. If you took it that way, I apologize. Actually, I was referring to what WL told me that oxidation by itself does not harm nicotine. It will make it turn color, but its not supposed to affect the quality. Light (UV contamination) as always, does affect it. That's why nic should be kept in a dark colored container such as amber, or cobalt blue. Nicotine does have a shelf life (one to two years), so it's wise to store unused quantities frozen in a glass container with minimal head space.

No problems, i didn't.

But as this was the only reference to oxygen in the thread and on rereading it, (specially with the comment in mind) realized it could be interpreted as a 'do no use' caution when it was not. figured i should clarify what could be misunderstood in what i wrote.

But since i always understood/remembered better when i was given a why and how to something i figured i would include a bit of it here as well.