Steeping Times and an Ultrasonic Cleaner Part III

[Taylor7617]

Ok, jumping in here a bit late...........but better late than never. Without going through this ENTIRE thread, I have a couple questions that I hope someone can help out with:

1) Does anyone use plastic bottles? I understand may work better, but the expense is more than the wife and I care to dish out. So, four our DIY..we buy plastic in bulk.
2) When using plastic....how does one keep the labels dry? Or better question..if doing multiple bottles, how do you identify each particular juice when done?
3) For vendor purchased (which primarily come in plastic)...I guess same as #2, how to keep labels in tact and dry.
4) If only doing small batches, say a handful of bottles...would strapping them together work best?

Thanks all.

 

[dannyv45]

1) Does anyone use plastic bottles? I understand may work better, but the expense is more than the wife and I care to dish out. So, four our DIY..we buy plastic in bulk.

Plastic is OK but there are concerns about the palstic molecules leeching into the juice as the bottles age

2) When using plastic....how does one keep the labels dry? Or better question..if doing multiple bottles, how do you identify each particular juice when done?

I don't use lablels until after the steep is done. I just use colored rubber bands to identify the mix then label later.

3) For vendor purchased (which primarily come in plastic)...I guess same as #2, how to keep labels in tact and dry.

I don't think they UC there juices and if they do they bottle afterwards. Maybe you can try putting the bottle into a baggie and squeeze all the air out.

4) If only doing small batches, say a handful of bottles...would strapping them together work best?

I don't find any difference between strapping or leaving the bottles loose in the UC.

 

[ChainVapitis]

Hey, Taylor7617! Just thought I could answer one of your questions.
<<if doing multiple bottles, how do you identify each particular juice when done?>> To explain: I use brown or blue glass bottles w/ droppers. On the top of the dropper ( the squeeze part ) I stick a small piece of masking tape w/ one or two letters signifying the flavor. If using plain flat top lids the tape could go on top or on plastic lids the tape could go in the top 1/2" of the lid. Also, I use an indelible sharpie so the letters don't get steamed away. Plenty of time later to put a decent label on if necessary.

 

[ChainVapitis]

I took a slightly different approach over time. I now use an Erlenmeyer Flask and/or a Volumetric Flask (I have both) and mix my juice directly in the flask then pour it into bottles after running it through the Ultrasonic. The beauty of these two types of flasks is that they are naturally bottom heavy are not nearly as buoyant (when filled) as a straight walled flask. You can easily adjust the water level to keep a filled Flask from tipping over. I prefer the Volumetric Flask as it comes with a stopper and is quite tall, you can tip it over on its side (when doing smaller more buoyant batches) and the neck will still be outside of the US unit.

Mike , how is this working for you? What is the largest amount of liquid, # of volumetric flasks, largest flask you found workable? Does the liquid steep better w/ the lids off?

Currently, I'm using 60mL colored glass bottles & some smaller bottles for samples. Many times I end up making 2 -3 bottles of same flavor & wonder about the efficiency of the USC on a larger volume.

Thanks for all the info you have given - has surely helped me

 

[4play]

without looking through every page, can you guys recommend a decent, cheap ultrasonic cleaner with a better timer than 3 minutes? i dont really want to sit by it and have to reset the timer all day.

 

[dannyv45]

Remember buy cheap and you'll get cheap. THis is what I got. Works real well for me.

Amazon.com: Joy4Less Professional Grade Ultrasonic Cleaner 4810, 30-min Timer, Plastic Basket: Health & Personal Care

Read my blog on UC Steeping for some good details on what you should be looking for.

 

[bobalex]

Remember buy cheap and you'll get cheap.

Or you could do what I did and spend a couple of bucks more and get an ultrasonic cleaner with an 8 minute timer vs. the 30 minute timer. Insert one Homer Simpson DOH!

 

[Scope666]

Or you could do what I did and spend a couple of bucks more and get an ultrasonic cleaner with an 8 minute timer vs. the 30 minute timer. Insert one Homer Simpson DOH!

I must have the same one ... 8 minutes over here too. Still seems to do a pretty good job though.

 

[mikepetro]

Mike , how is this working for you? What is the largest amount of liquid, # of volumetric flasks, largest flask you found workable? Does the liquid steep better w/ the lids off?

Currently, I'm using 60mL colored glass bottles & some smaller bottles for samples. Many times I end up making 2 -3 bottles of same flavor & wonder about the efficiency of the USC on a larger volume.

Thanks for all the info you have given - has surely helped me

I use up to a 250ml flask. My largest batch being 200ml. The 125ml is what I use most though.

As for lid on or off, it sort of depends on the recipe. Generally I leave the lid off out of laziness. If I had a thick VG juice where I didnt want any evaporation I could cork the flask. Conversly if I hade a recipe that used alcohol based flavors and I wanted to cook the alcohol out of it I would make sure to leave the lid off.

I dont notice any difference between large batches and small batches in the amount of US activity, Since this unit does have two emitters I do try to position the flask(s) directly over the top of one of the emitters, using empty jars as spacers if need be. If you dont think it makes a difference do the tinfoil test in different spots of the tank, you will see much more activity directly over the emitters.

 

[retrox]

without looking through every page, can you guys recommend a decent, cheap ultrasonic cleaner with a better timer than 3 minutes? i dont really want to sit by it and have to reset the timer all day.

I've been using THIS one since May with zero issues. 50 bucks and a 30-minute timer.

 

[manji1]

I've been using THIS one since May with zero issues. 50 bucks and a 30-minute timer.

How large of a bottle can you immerse in there? How many bottles at one time? Thanks!

 

[ChainVapitis]

Remember buy cheap and you'll get cheap. THis is what I got. Works real well for me.

Amazon.com: Joy4Less Professional Grade Ultrasonic Cleaner 4810, 30-min Timer, Plastic Basket: Health & Personal Care

Read my blog on UC Steeping for some good details on what you should be looking for.

Just took a look at your blog. This is spot on information that all DIY's should find early on. Thanks for posting this. I made lots of mess ups & read lots of posts to get that kind of information

 

[ChainVapitis]

I use up to a 250ml flask. My largest batch being 200ml. The 125ml is what I use most though.

As for lid on or off, it sort of depends on the recipe. Generally I leave the lid off out of laziness. If I had a thick VG juice where I didnt want any evaporation I could cork the flask. Conversly if I hade a recipe that used alcohol based flavors and I wanted to cook the alcohol out of it I would make sure to leave the lid off.

I dont notice any difference between large batches and small batches in the amount of US activity, Since this unit does have two emitters I do try to position the flask(s) directly over the top of one of the emitters, using empty jars as spacers if need be. If you dont think it makes a difference do the tinfoil test in different spots of the tank, you will see much more activity directly over the emitters.

Ah, so if you have to fill the USC w/ bottles, it would be better to put the liquids that are more difficult to steep directly over an emitter?! I swear something happens to my brain when trying something new - it's like I think "shazam! This USC is magic " & there goes all common sense. No logic left .

 

[funkyZero]

Ah, so if you have to fill the USC w/ bottles, it would be better to put the liquids that are more difficult to steep directly over an emitter?! I swear something happens to my brain when trying something new - it's like I think "shazam! This USC is magic " & there goes all common sense. No logic left .

That could be the case, but not necessarily. Because of the frequency and design in general (small table-top units), the US energy is layered in "bands".
This is getting pretty technical now, but at the common frequency of most units, the bands are usually horizontal and about 1/4-1/2 inch apart. In between those bands, there is no (or greatly reduced) US energy present, in the center of one is where you find the strongest portion of the wave pattern. For most people, the only way to find them would be to place a piece of non-destructible test material such as a very soft, polished lead in a static position and run the unit for hours until you could see the pattern damage on the material surface. It would show in visible form as a slight dulling of the material finish.
Having said that, this is really splitting hairs because the liquid in your juice bottles will be constantly migrating and eventually all of it will be exposed to the stronger sections of the wave bands for an equal amount of time.
What can be learned from this is that if you want to get the most out of the unit, just make sure the bottles stay standing up and don't lay down as a small bottle *could* potentially land right in the center of 2 bands and lay in a weak spot. Even then, all that would be required to overcome it is an extra cycle.

This information wouldn't necessarily apply to industrial sized, large tank units. Many of them have variable frequency boards and other proprietary transducers and drivers that help overcome this "problem" of dead bands. But at least today, you aren't going to see that sort of engineering in a small unit that costs 100 - 200 dollars.

 

[Chas_L]

USing a piece of common aluminum foil suspened in the UC tank will indicae the max. power point(s) in a matter of minutes. Do a Goggle search for details and videos. My duel transducer 120 watts (60 w ea.) created holes in less than 1 min. and slots in 3 min.

 

[dannyv45]

Just took a look at your blog. This is spot on information that all DIY's should find early on. Thanks for posting this. I made lots of mess ups & read lots of posts to get that kind of information

Glad it helped.

 

[thatick]

Amazon.com: Joy4Less Ultasonic Cleaner Model 7810, Digital: Electronics


this is one i got 8 min timer, no heat. I bought it a yr ago and paid less than 30.00 for it

 

[theone28351]

Just ordered Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: BlackHillsGoldSource Model 890 Professional Ultrasonic Cleaner - Ideal As Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner, Eyeglass Cleaner, Dentures Cleaner and Other Household Cleaning - 600ml Capacity, 50 Watt, 42khz, with Digital Timer a today and if you look at the reviews Dogger gave it five stars for steeping his DIY e-liquids. I have only been vaping for two weeks and still LEARNING, have not tried the DIY yet and might in the future i did however order a sample pack of tobacco juices for Halo when i got my G6 and couldn't vape any of them from the mail then i started searching found the one about hot sink bath and shake, worked good enuff i could vape the next day but still; taste a little chemically....anyways kept searching found this thread hope this takes my steeping from weeks to days even with vendor juices.......

 

[disco180]

Just ordered Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: BlackHillsGoldSource Model 890 Professional Ultrasonic Cleaner - Ideal As Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner, Eyeglass Cleaner, Dentures Cleaner and Other Household Cleaning - 600ml Capacity, 50 Watt, 42khz, with Digital Timer a today and if you look at the reviews Dogger gave it five stars for steeping his DIY e-liquids. I have only been vaping for two weeks and still LEARNING, have not tried the DIY yet and might in the future i did however order a sample pack of tobacco juices for Halo when i got my G6 and couldn't vape any of them from the mail then i started searching found the one about hot sink bath and shake, worked good enuff i could vape the next day but still; taste a little chemically....anyways kept searching found this thread hope this takes my steeping from weeks to days even with vendor juices.......

I am the proud owner of the same exact USC it does work pretty good, its a mid level USC. I would suggest you to set the cycles to 10min instead of 30. Every 10mins give it a good shake and restart the cleaner it seems to work better. If you notice people here who have USCs with the small cycles swear by USCs its because they shake every 6mins or so. The long cycles seem to just kill the viscosity of the liquid but it takes more cycles to accomplish the same feats.

IMO if you shake it every so often it will work better, when you shake it you can actually see the bubbles rising and mixing to the top. the more times you do this helps the steep. I am just rampling now so let us know how it works out for you

 

[theone28351]

I am the proud owner of the same exact USC it does work pretty good, its a mid level USC. I would suggest you to set the cycles to 10min instead of 30. Every 10mins give it a good shake and restart the cleaner it seems to work better. If you notice people here who have USCs with the small cycles swear by USCs its because they shake every 6mins or so. The long cycles seem to just kill the viscosity of the liquid but it takes more cycles to accomplish the same feats.

IMO if you shake it every so often it will work better, when you shake it you can actually see the bubbles rising and mixing to the top. the more times you do this helps the steep. I am just rampling now so let us know how it works out for you

Thanks for the tips......like i said i am NEW to all of this but i got some more juice on the way and would really love to speed up the steeping process as I try to stay off analogues.......
(2 weeks today @ 5:45pm EST....)
Read in another post where they mixed 2 parts JC Tennessee with 1 part Domestic and gave a REALLY close flavor to Blu, i have both of them on the way and was going to try it in this USC.......don't know what the Ml or %'s were but i am still searching........ Any advice on what bottles to use in this machine???