How *NOT* to steep your e-juice

[BrianCig]

Start the evening by having a few drinks. Get bored with your current collection of e-juice and decide you are going to venture into your last order from juggy you have put away to steep.

Now I had let the bottles sit for a couple day with the tops off and then put the tops back on. Stored them away in a dark place to sit for a month.

Think it would be interesting to try Carrot Cake. Come up with some brain stupid idea I could fast steep the e-juice to make it better but how?

Hmmm... Look there is a microwave let's try that

OK put the 10 ml bottle in the microwave on power setting of 5 (because you know I wouldn't want it to melt the bottle or something LOL) and set it for 5 seconds.

Doesn't really even feel warm after 5 seconds so repeat but with 15 seconds instead. If 5 did almost nothing what could 15 do other then warm the bottle up a bit?

HOLLY F-ING MESS!!!! Bottle popped a hole in it and started leaking plus melted

I noticed a smell at 13-14 seconds but it was to late by then.

Look on the bright side. My microwave now smells like carrot cake everytime I use it8-o

 

[VIPOD]

Been there,done that, but only once many moons ago.

When I DIY, I'll heat up water to a boiling point, let it sit for a minute and then add the bottle of ejuice. It simply speeds up the flavor mix with the base and doesn't necessarily steep the juice. Time is your best friend, also some oxygen and a little sunlight on the window sill for 24-48hrs, then back to darkness.

 

[Mindfield]

lol. Yup, I'm not surprised that happened. A curious property of PG (and probably VG) is that it's really, really quick to get hot -- but it takes a few seconds out of the microwave before it seems to reach full temperature. When I'm making an ethyl maltol solution from crystals I put it in a glass bottle and microwave for 10 seconds. When it comes out it's a bit warm, but once I start shaking, it steadily gets way warmer as I shake -- to the point where I have to wrap the bottle in folded paper towel because it's uncomfortably warm to the touch, and takes several minutes of shaking before it even cools to the point where I can shake without the towel wrapped around it. (EM solutions take a lot of vigorous shaking and repeated applications of heat over the course of a few days before it all stays in solution.)

 

[tygertyger]

Don't feel bad BrianCig..... Even the simplest steeping methods have their hazards. I left a sample bottle of Raspberry Shortbread Cookie in a cozy spot with the cap off overnight the other night. Went I went to fill up a cartridge in the morning, I capped it and gave it a good shake.... could have sworn I saw something in there.... hello! what's this!?..... apparently, a fruit fly decided it smelled good too. ICK!!!! Had to fish the little nuisance out with a toothpick and try not to think about 'drosophila nicotina' when I vaped it.... bleh!! At 24mg though, I don't suppose he got a chance to drink much though!

From now on, open bottles will steep in a large container over which I can fasten some screening or cheesecloth!!

 

[VIPOD]

hello! what's this!?..... apparently, a fruit fly decided it smelled good too.

LOL...so true. I've had the same fruit fly for 3 mths flying around in my "vaping station" (which is enclosed). I call him Harry, we get along.

 

[ninjuh]

Heating the juice in itself doesn't help the steeping process. Heating in combination with shaking does the trick, the heat thins the liquid out making it easier for everything to mix together when you shake it.

Newcomers take note: not ALL juices need to be steeped. Some actually taste worse when steeped, it all depends on the quality of ingredients, quantity, pg/vg ratio, etc,..

 

[BuzzKilla]

Im a shake and vape kind of guy...

 

[idle]

You didn't tell us how it's vaping?

 

[bwbroo]

Funnyknee. Had a guy do that to some aircraft sealant, wow the stink on. Ur's sounds better. We all do it, you know-to find out. ha ha

 

[Projectguy]

Don't feel bad BrianCig..... Even the simplest steeping methods have their hazards. I left a sample bottle of Raspberry Shortbread Cookie in a cozy spot with the cap off overnight the other night. Went I went to fill up a cartridge in the morning, I capped it and gave it a good shake.... could have sworn I saw something in there.... hello! what's this!?..... apparently, a fruit fly decided it smelled good too. ICK!!!! Had to fish the little nuisance out with a toothpick and try not to think about 'drosophila nicotina' when I vaped it.... bleh!! At 24mg though, I don't suppose he got a chance to drink much though!

From now on, open bottles will steep in a large container over which I can fasten some screening or cheesecloth!!

One of my blog adventures examines the issues of insects and 24 mg e juice

 

[tygertyger]

One of my blog adventures examines the issues of insects and 24 mg e juice

I read it some time ago when I was new here.... and laughed.... and laughed.... and laughed some more
You have a gift for story-telling. I loved your blog entries....
They're possibly even more well-written and entertaining than your posts and comments.... but it's close
(and that's high praise in case I'm not being clear)

 

[tygertyger]

You didn't tell us how it's vaping?

What's that idle? BrianCig's microwaved juice? or my flycatcher bottle?

If the latter: It's delicious lol.

 

[BrianCig]

Heating the juice in itself doesn't help the steeping process. Heating in combination with shaking does the trick, the heat thins the liquid out making it easier for everything to mix together when you shake it.

Someone should invent and sell a small version of those paint shakers. You know the ones when you buy paint and they put it in that machine that shakes the hell out of it. A small version of that would be really nice to use.

You didn't tell us how it's vaping?

Well half of it is in my microwave but with what I was able to save it was great.

When I DIY, I'll heat up water to a boiling point, let it sit for a minute and then add the bottle of ejuice.

I figured there wasn't any real need to wait that minute for the boiling water to cool a bit. Put a bunch of small bottles in a ziplock bag in a pot and poured boiling water on them

Yes there is a reason you need to wait a minute to let the boiling water cool down!!

Now the bottom of the bottles have popped out and won't stand up. The e-juice is still ok just all the bottles have to lay on thier side LOL

 

[chagrin]

I'm curious, would an ultrasonic cleaner work to mix a juice inside of a bottle ? In the past I was half tempted to buy one to clean e-cigarette parts with less effort.

 

[ajventi]

Someone should invent and sell a small version of those paint shakers. You know the ones when you buy paint and they put it in that machine that shakes the hell out of it. A small version of that would be really nice to use.

It's called a Vortex Mixture. I did a quick search to find a video. They can be bought from a lab supply company but are pretty damn expensive.

 

[idle]

What's that idle? BrianCig's microwaved juice? or my flycatcher bottle?

If the latter: It's delicious lol.

I had meant BrianCig's microwaved juice with added melted plastic, but I am glad to hear that both are vaping well. Sometimes I am slow to put the cork back in my red wine and I find a friend or two in there. down the hatch they both go. I just pretend it is pectin or something.

 

[Vappa]

I'm curious, would an ultrasonic cleaner work to mix a juice inside of a bottle ? In the past I was half tempted to buy one to clean e-cigarette parts with less effort.

It works. See the thread about ultrasonic cleaner and steeping times.

 

[BuzzKilla]

I do it the MacGyver way.

Small piece of wire coat hanger, with a loop on one end.
Hook the bottle on one end of coat hanger, and put the other end into a drill.

Turn on drill and watch that bottle spin!

Mixing is for suckers, if it isnt mixed after 15 seconds in the drill, it wont happen.

 

[Mindfield]

I do it the MacGyver way.

Small piece of wire coat hanger, with a loop on one end.
Hook the bottle on one end of coat hanger, and put the other end into a drill.

Turn on drill and watch that bottle spin!

Mixing is for suckers, if it isnt mixed after 15 seconds in the drill, it wont happen.

So basically you MacGyvered up your own vortex mixer. Bear in mind though that you shouldn't rule out further improvement in quality with further steeping or longer mixing. PG and VG and some flavouring types can take longer to blend as the molecules aren't very social and need extra encouragement to mingle. Heat can also help the blending process.

 

[BuzzKilla]

Nothing against steeping, more of a shake and vape kind of guy...

I've since cut down on the D.I.Y., more trouble than it is worth (for me).
With my purchased juice, if i dont like a flavour i put it to the back of my lineup and come back to it later...
i guess you can call that steeping lol.

I should clarify, i go for more of a sweet flavour and like my juice 50-50, so maybe the combination never realy required me to embrace a true steeping ritual.