Mixing my own base atm.. Some advice needed

[Edi]

Hey,

so i mixed 500ml of 52mg PG nicotine base with around 1550ml of VG and around 120ml of PG, to get 70VG/30PG base with 12mg of nicotine.

I did that on 18.09.2015., so it's been around 12 days. I keep it in amber bottles in my fridge and i shake it around twice a day.

What worries me are the air bubbles. I dont know if it's good or bad and if i can start adding flavorings? Now the air bubbles are very small. A million of them but when i shake the bottles, they get bigger. Of course after it sits for a while, they get small again and so on..

So, just curious if it's ok to start adding flavorings, or should i wait a longer?

 

[93gc40]

Quit shaking your base, especially when in storage... Air and heat are what breakdown nicotine. Light will discolor it. You only need to shake the base, immediately prior to use. Go ahead and mix in your flavorings.. The bubble will just aid in the steeping/aging process. They could also through off your fluid measurements a tiny bit. So it you need PERFECT use a scale to measure by weight.

 

[Edi]

You only need to shake the base, immediately prior to use.

so, before i pour the base in smaller bottles i should shake it? otherwise no shaking?

 

[93gc40]

You only need to shake the base, immediately prior to use.

so, before i pour the base in smaller bottles i should shake it? otherwise no shaking?

Yes, only prior to use. Mainly to remix the components, in case they separate a bit. By the way you will need to let it warm to around room temperature, to mix well. Just remember Light, Heat and air, are bad for E-juice.

 

[Edi]

ok. what about steeping it in warm water? thats heat first i will just make 10ml samples. they wont last long.. if i make 20 bottles x 10ml, thats 200ml.. i will go through that in less then a month 1/2.

 

[93gc40]

Warm water is OK, HOT water is bad for the nic. Bad in it will reduce the potency. I would not get the juice warmer than 140degree F. But then I don't steep my juices I age them, a minimum of 2 weeks.

 

[retired1]

Moved to DIY E-Liquid

 

[Edi]

sorry for posting in the wrong place..

ok, thanks. i will probably do the same.. i have some flavorings that dont need much time to develop, so i will just use them first so i dont have to wait much.. my eliquid reserve is drying out

 

[Edi]

oh, what is the best way to store flavorings? i read that it wouldnt be good to put them in the fridge.. just a cool dark place, like a basement.. is that right?

 

[Pushbutton]

I keep my flavors in the fridge. Haven't noticed it having any negative effect on them.

 

[Edi]

ok, thanks

i have one more problem. my 70vg/30pg base is very thick. much thicker than all 70/30 e-liquids that i ever bought.

the nicotine bas was 100% pg (pink mule) and vg was from bayer i think.. i dont know if i did something wrong?

i would add more pg, but my nicotine level would be too low..

also the base has a lot of "flavor". it's a dry nutty type of flavor. is there any way to get rid of that?

 

[Hans Wermhat]

I noticed my bases were a LOT thicker than store bought too. I learned that a lot of juice companies add water to thin their mixes. Refrigerating also causes then to thicken, but they will thin back out when they warm up. All your ingredients have a taste to them. No way around it. If you don't like the flavor, try ordering your bases from a different source. No 2 taste exactly the same.

 

[Exchaner]

I would not worry too much about oxidizing my juice/Nic with air bubbles. It takes weeks if not months for oxidation to occur; shaking a few times will not cut it. In fact air is the critical factor in steeping your juice - especially with hard to steep tobaccos.
As for getting rid of those pesky bubbles, gently roll your bottle a few minutes and they will mostly disappear.

 

[Alter]

I'd be thinking that having your flavors in the fridge, most are 10 or 15 ml size and you pull it out and have it sit at your station while your mixing, they would condensate and that could affect the flavoring later on down the road. I just have my flavors at a constant cooler temp downstairs. I also have my 100nic in little 50 ml bottles in the freezer so all I do is thaw, cut into a 100ml of the 48 nic I use. I don't need any more than 100ml of nic base built at any time so every few months I have fresh nic base.

 

[Dixie1954]

Um er I shake my flavorings before using them after they warm up a bit. I keep all my DIY in the fridge and or freezer - seems to work ok to me. We all do not have a cool dark place to keep DIY in.

 

[Edi]

ok, since it's colder now where i live i will just leave them in my room which wont be heated.. oh, since i did the hot baths for my 10ml mixes.. i did it 5-6 times in a couple days. now the liquid is not as thick. no problems with wicking like before. and the flavors are there even the tobacco am4a from inawera was very good. i thought it would take longer...

 

[dannyv45]

If after your base warms to room temperature and as you say your room is without heat then I would think room temperature should be at about 76F, if it is still to thick then you'll need to add distilled water to the mix. BUT there are a lot of factors in figuring that out such as how much flavor you will be adding. Adding PG flavors adds to the vg/pg ration so if your base is 70vg/30pg and you add 10% flavoring your total mix now becomes 60vg/40pg if you add 15% pg flavoring your mix is now 55vg/45pg and will in itself thin out even more. The trick is to get it thin enough to wick properly in your vaping device so mix your juice vape it and if you get dry hits add DW a little at a time until it wicks properly and the device does not flood or leak.

It seems your concerned that your large amount of base is going to oxidize if not kept cold. My advice is keep out in room temperature what you will use in a few weeks and refrigerate the rest.

Another thing is once you prepare large quantities of base after initially shaking it there's no reason to constantly shake it every few days because nicotine after mixed seldom seperates. If seperation concerns you a slight shake before use is all you need. I'm not even sure why you divide it into smaller bottles. I can see you doing that with nicotine solution but why base. I would use one smaller bottle and keep refilling it every few weeks, if it's oxidation from condensation your worried about. I've never seen condensation spoil a base while refrigerated and I've been doing this a very long time making 500ml's to a liter at a time.

 

[Edi]

the mixes i did thinned out after i had them in warm water 5-6 times, so it's not an issue any more..

 

[dannyv45]

Did you thin the base before adding flavoring or take into concideration how much flavoring you'll be adding. Also having a mix in warm water does thin it but it will thicken as it cools. I'm not busting I just want to make sure you understand the principles behind this.

 

[Edi]

i left the base at room temperature for a while before mixing. i used mostly flavourart flavoring, so mostly 2-4%. im ok with the juice being 68%vg/32%pg or so..

the mixes are in my closet at room temperature.. they didnt thicken for now. i think they are only getting thinner. maybe if it was really cold out and i was outside for a while, i can see them thickening up a bit, but i think it will be ok