Old juice ... throw it away?

[FisherPal]

Just wondering ... can juice go bad? I have ... well ... a LOT of what used to be my favorite juice that been in two glass containers for (I hate to say it) just over two years when I gave up on vaping. I'm pretty sure (but not 100%) that I wouldn't exactly poison myself with it now but can I assume the odds are pretty good that it is now un-vapable?

 

[kanadiankat]

Just wondering ... can juice go bad? I have ... well ... a LOT of what used to be my favorite juice that been in two glass containers for (I hate to say it) just over two years when I gave up on vaping. I'm pretty sure (but not 100%) that I wouldn't exactly poison myself with it now but can I assume the odds are pretty good that it is now un-vapable?

Yes - it can go bad. How bad depends on how it's stored and whether it was opened first or how long it was left opened.

Left in a low humidity, refrigerated cooler, sealed - some of the bottles could be okay.

Try the 3 test rule:

1. Does it look yellowed or "off"? If so - it could be bad.
2. Does it smell strong or rank? If so -it's probably bad.
3. Drop a drip onto an atomizer (old one that still works a bit) - press your manual button and then smell it - does it let off a horrible smell? If so - toss it.

 

[Can_supplier]

Only one way to find out if it is vapable..

Depends on what "old" means... Some people say juice gets better with age.

Nicotine, PG and VG all have long shelf lives, but that is in ideal conditions. Cool temperature, no light, and no humility. The biggest factor in the real world is how and where you stored it.

To my knowledge no research has been done on how these chemicals mixed store.

What we do know is what will happen over time. PG/VG will absorb water making it unvapeable. Nicotine will turn dark brown (some yellow is normal it oxidation and harmless). So I would suggest if you liquid is brown, you may want to toss it, and if it doesn't vape very well anymore, that would be another reason.

 

[cigarbabe]

I've been vaping 14 months and many of my juices are a year old.
To my knowledge not one of them has gone bad. They have turned darker from the nicotine of course but none of the flavorings have become rancid. I keep my juices on my desk in a well lit room so to my knowledge and experience it has not hurt the flavors or made them unvapable either. I suggest you load up an atty and give them a shot!
C.B.

 

[sharpi]

I have been told that nicotine has a 1-2 year shelf life. (I have heard both answers with 1 year being the most common) The nicotine will degrade over time...so while the juice might not be 'bad' it will not give you the nicotine that you might need to reduce/quit analogs.

 

[kanadiankat]

I have been told that nicotine has a 1-2 year shelf life. (I have heard both answers with 1 year being the most common) The nicotine will degrade over time...so while the juice might not be 'bad' it will not give you the nicotine that you might need to reduce/quit analogs.

Both answers are correct. Nicotine usually has a 2 year shelf life. It goes through many steps though before reaching your shelf (initial extraction, storage and shipping, manufacture to liquid nicotine in PG base, shipped to manufacturer, mixed to strength with flavor added, shipped to retail point, added to retail inventory, shipped to customer). Nicotine is rarely "fresh off the leaf" when it gets to you.

This is why "1 year" is considered the actual shelf life.

There is a greater chance of the flavoring going bad than the nic content.

Kat​

 

[Switched]

It is not the nicotine itself that has a shelf life perse, it is the carrier.

1.5 years for VG and 2 years for PG. Before we had born dates on the bottles I gave myself a 6 month buffer. Now the rule of thumb.

 

[FisherPal]

Thanks everyone. This is/was a 555 flavor so is already 'yellow' in color and I don't notice that it has darkened any since first pouring it in those jars. I actually opened them last night to take a whiff and, frankly, I cannot tell by smell. It certainly doesn't give off any 'rank' odour but ... as most of you have suggested, guess there is only one way to really find out. I don't have any atties on hand (only use cartos) and have no unused ones hanging around so, when I get my next order in, guess I'll just have to sacrifice one and do a little testing. They have been well sealed and unopened all this time so ... who knows? And, of course, if, by some miracle, it tastes okay but I find myself wanting to chew my arm off in a few hours, I will assume the nicotine content is toast. lol. Thanks for your replies all!

 

[DaveP]

Anything over a year old may not be very good, but I agree with the above that the sniff and taste test is valid. Yellowing depends on what color it was when you bought it. Not all juices are clear and some are dark the first day. Clarity is probably the main factor. If it's cloudy when you hold it up to a strong light, toss it.

I'd find a nearby supplier and get some fresh juice in a day or two. I have one that is 100 miles away that gets me juice the next day with standard USPS shipping if I order by 3pm.

 

[FisherPal]

Hi Dave - I certainly do have my fresh juices on hand. My daily go-to's so that's not the problem. It's just that 555 was one of my all time favs and ... man ... it hurts to have throw 200 ml of it away if I don't have to!

 

[Uncle Willie]

Just wondering ... can juice go bad? I have ... well ... a LOT of what used to be my favorite juice that been in two glass containers for (I hate to say it) just over two years when I gave up on vaping. I'm pretty sure (but not 100%) that I wouldn't exactly poison myself with it now but can I assume the odds are pretty good that it is now un-vapable?

Myself, I would be conservative and toss the liquid .. better to spend on new than take a risk on old ..

 

[FisherPal]

After some thought about the whole thing, I have to agree with you Uncle Willie. It's juice money spent a long time ago and not worth taking any chances on. It's kind of like having to throw out that old, worn blankie.

 

[Can_supplier]

Think the answer is don't order years worth of juice.

If you have flavors sitting around that you might use one day, but really don't like, toss them. Its like those pickled eggs in the fridge that sit there taking up space until they expire.

 

[bjannr]

I just loaded up my new bottom feeder bottle with TW Vanilla Ice. The juice is almost 18 months old. It tastes great, and I am getting huge clouds of vapor. I don't think the nicotine degraded too much because I am getting a rush from vaping like a fiend on my new mod.

 

[FisherPal]

LOL, Can-Supplier. And the yogurt container at the back of the fridge (hmm ... if I just scrape that mould off ... ). Yep ... huge money-management error on my part. Back in the days when I was convinced that the whole e-cig world was going to come crashing down any moment and I would be left without any supplies. THAT won't be happening again!

 

[Uncle Willie]

After some thought about the whole thing, I have to agree with you Uncle Willie. It's juice money spent a long time ago and not worth taking any chances on. It's kind of like having to throw out that old, worn blankie.

Peace of mind is important ..

 

[DaveP]

Hi Dave - I certainly do have my fresh juices on hand. My daily go-to's so that's not the problem. It's just that 555 was one of my all time favs and ... man ... it hurts to have throw 200 ml of it away if I don't have to!

Madvapes has 3&5 ( China liquid 555 type) on sale at 50ml for $8.99. I ordered a second 50ml bottle after trying the first. It's becoming my daily vape lately. I'm sure I'll wear myself out on it and find something else eventually. It was Awesome Vapor PG Camel for a few months, now 3&5 is it. I like change here and there.

555 will turn yellowish after a while anyway. Mine is clear at first. If it's not cloudy, try it and see. When I see vendors who show 10,000 bottles in stock of one flavor, I wonder how old the FIFO (first in, first out) bottle is.

 

[FisherPal]

Madvapes has 3&5 ( China liquid 555 type) on sale at 50ml for $8.99. I ordered a second 50ml bottle after trying the first. It's becoming my daily vape lately. I'm sure I'll wear myself out on it and find something else eventually. It was Awesome Vapor PG Camel for a few months, now 3&5 is it. I like change here and there.

555 will turn yellowish after a while anyway. Mine is clear at first. If it's not cloudy, try it and see. When I see vendors who show 10,000 bottles in stock of one flavor, I wonder how old the FIFO (first in, first out) bottle is.

Wow - that is a heck of a price!! Will have to maybe take a gander over there and have a look-see.

I do have to say that the juice doesn't look any different now than when I put in it the bottles - crystal clear and amber colored. Hmm ... maybe one or two vapes ... it's the flavor I am hunting anyway and even 'back in the day' there was never any guarantees that the same flavor from the same vendor would be the same twice in a row.

 

[DaveP]

Wow - that is a heck of a price!! Will have to maybe take a gander over there and have a look-see.

I do have to say that the juice doesn't look any different now than when I put in it the bottles - crystal clear and amber colored. Hmm ... maybe one or two vapes ... it's the flavor I am hunting anyway and even 'back in the day' there was never any guarantees that the same flavor from the same vendor would be the same twice in a row.

That's still true now. I fell in love with a certain vendor's toffee flavor over a year ago and have ordered a couple of bottles since then that both had weak taste. I'm still searching for a vendor with a good toffee juice. One organic juice vendor has one that is so strong that it's almost unvapeable. I plan to try diluting it to see if I can get it right. The base is there, it just needs cutting with some PG and water. It's 100%vg, so that will probably fix it.

Crystal clear would tell me that there are no critters growing in it, but nicotine kills critters anyway. The other thing would be nicotine fade or some reaction with the flavorings. You're own your own, but a couple of hits in a drip atty would tell you whether it's worth saving.

I sometimes wonder about the juices people swap in the PIF forum. They are usually juices that someone didn't like and might be old. You never know, but it's a popular swap meet thread.

 

[DarkPaw]

It is not the nicotine itself that has a shelf life perse, it is the carrier.

1.5 years for VG and 2 years for PG. Before we had born dates on the bottles I gave myself a 6 month buffer. Now the rule of thumb.

I just bought a bottle of VG USP (Made by Rougier) and the best before date is 2016/08... of course that's a sealed bottle not mixed with anything...