Do nicotine solutions get old? How long will 100mg/ml nicotine undiluted last in a bottle? Opened? Unopened? Should it be refrigerated? How bout freezing? What happens if/when it gets old?
Question about Nicotine storage
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There is a LOT of discussion about that on the forum. The oldest stored nic I've heard about here is 6 years in a freezer and still fine. Micro organisms can't live in nic solution. There is no spoilage similar to food products but nic can become unpalatable from exposure to light or oxygen. What I am doing is putting nic solution in padded amber glass bottles, put those in the freezer and hope for the best.
There are quite a few threads on long term storage, most are pretty long. This is a post by Kurt, a member who is a chemist...
Long Term Nic Storage | E-Cigarette Forum
Welcome to ECF
Long Term Nic Storage | E-Cigarette Forum
Welcome to ECF
Don't worry about small quantities of liquid nic that will be consumed within 9 months time, you can leave them in their original container stored at room temperature in a dark place. Unopened 100mg liquid nic will remain viable -well- over a year when stored at room temperature ~75F in a dark place. It will begin to oxidize but should still be perfectly usable. Opened nic will oxidize faster and begin to change color developing a noticeable musty flavor/odor within a years time.
The enemy of liquid nic is -oxidation- and the three things that cause oxidation are heat, light (UV) and oxygen. Oxygen slowly permeates through plastic containers but not through glass so for long term storage placing liquid nic in glass containers helps protect it from oxidation caused by preventable/excessive exposure to (oxygen). Placing liquid nic in a refrigerator will greatly extend its life because you've reduced the temperature (heat) and exposure to light (UV). However, the colder its kept the longer it will last so storing liquid nic inside a freezer is best. Neither PG nor VG will freeze solid in a freezer, they just get "thicker" in consistency. Liquid nic in airtight glass containers placed in a freezer can last over a decade, no one yet knows just how long it will keep stored in this manner. I do intend to find out, I've enough 100mg stored at -10F to supply my needs for twenty years -if- it remains viable for that length of time. The oldest nic I have in cold storage is nearly three years old, it was crystal clear when I put it in and remains crystal clear to this day. Others here on ECF have reported the similar results after 7 years of cold storage.
When I started vaping I bought nic in small quantities and from different vendors, left them in the original plastic containers and just stored them at room temperature in a dark place. What I observed was that as liquid nic oxidizes it begins turning shades of yellow or pink (depending on how it was manufactured). Slight oxidation has no discernible effect on flavor or nic strength but as it continues to oxidize it becomes more harsh and begins to develop a tobacco-ish flavor. As it degrades even farther the color darkens and it begins to lose clarity, it often starts to produce an odor that, to me, smells like musty wet dog and the nic strength begins to decline. Nic is still usable even when heavily oxidized as long as you can tolerate the harsher flavor and odor. "Personally", I'm put off by the odor so <1 year is the longest room temperature storage I'd recommend.
Nitpick -- Only one thing causes oxidation: oxygen. Light and heat just speed up the process but if you could somehow eliminate all oxygen in the first place, then there would be no process for them to speed up.
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