Steeping Times and an Ultrasonic Cleaner Part III

[SlickWilly]

degas - Not at all familier with this... I just use plain room temperature tap water and let the UC do the heating.

How to Insert Special Characters with Windows 7 Character Map - For Dummies <<<---click here!!

It's amazing the neat little programs that are in window's that we never use. To find Character Map go to the Start button, up to the Programs folder, to Accessories folder to System Tools and you'll see Character Map. While there, if you right click on Character Map the pop-up window will have a Send To bar, there you can send a shortcut for Character Map to your desktop. From your desktop you can drag any shortcut into the quick launch bar at the bottom left next to the Start Button. You can also open Character Map under the Run command, go to Start, up to Run and type in charmap and click Run.

 

[Jorge Zamudio]

I don't think that degassing water should be of any concern to what we are accomplishing with the UC, degassing means that trough a mechanical process (vacumm extraction commonly, but vibration works as well) you will release all gas from a liquid to increase its density. I have been doing that with some poliurethane molds I have been casting.

Degassing water will increase its density, but it's viscosity is so light that I hardly believe it will change to a noticeable level an increase on the vibration transmitted from the UC.

I will leave here a vide about degassing a rubber, in essence it would be the same with water, this is through vacumm extracion. This vide has NOTHING to do with steeping our e juices, it's meant as a reference if anyone else wonders about it.

 

[MMSD64]

Is there an issue with using my US cleaner with plastic bottles I get from Wizard labs? I am new to DIY and went from no flavor fresh juice unsteeped with 5% flavoring 30pg/70vg to trying the next batch with just vanilla cupcake concentrate at 20% 50/50 PG/VG and after a 48 hour rest hit it with the US with alternating heat cycles for a total of 3 1/2 hours. It tastes like cleaning fluid with perfume and trashed my lungs trying to vape it. I assume it was too much flavor concentrate, but worry the evil vape that trashed my innards might have been also "poisoned" by something leeching out of the plastic when the US heater was on. I had previously never vaped more PG than 30% and also wonder if upping it to 50/50 added to the hellish nasty thrashing of my lungs?

Forgot to add, I have some small brown bottles, but had thought I would save those for the "successful DIY mixes" I have yet to produce.

 

[Mone415]

Is there an issue with using my US cleaner with plastic bottles I get from Wizard labs? I am new to DIY and went from no flavor fresh juice unsteeped with 5% flavoring 30pg/70vg to trying the next batch with just vanilla cupcake concentrate at 20% 50/50 PG/VG and after a 48 hour rest hit it with the US with alternating heat cycles for a total of 3 1/2 hours. It tastes like cleaning fluid with perfume and trashed my lungs trying to vape it. I assume it was too much flavor concentrate, but worry the evil vape that trashed my innards might have been also "poisoned" by something leeching out of the plastic when the US heater was on. I had previously never vaped more PG than 30% and also wonder if upping it to 50/50 added to the hellish nasty thrashing of my lungs?

I don't UC steep but CrockPot everything I make using glass and plastic. From my knowledge I've never had that reaction to uh plastic steeped juice. I also can't vape PG it is seriously disgusting to me and is so bitter my tongue feels uh reaction.

 

[MMSD64]

I don't UC steep but CrockPot everything I make using glass and plastic. From my knowledge I've never had that reaction to uh plastic steeped juice. I also can't vape PG it is seriously disgusting to me and is so bitter my tongue feels uh reaction.

In my newbie limited time Vaping I seem to like the VG well over PG ratio in the store bought juice. My Aspire atomizers are not happy trying to wick 80% & + VG. They also only last just over 5 days hitting them hard all day.

 

[rowdyplace]

Is there an issue with using my US cleaner with plastic bottles I get from Wizard labs? I am new to DIY and went from no flavor fresh juice unsteeped with 5% flavoring 30pg/70vg to trying the next batch with just vanilla cupcake concentrate at 20% 50/50 PG/VG and after a 48 hour rest hit it with the US with alternating heat cycles for a total of 3 1/2 hours. It tastes like cleaning fluid with perfume and trashed my lungs trying to vape it. I assume it was too much flavor concentrate, but worry the evil vape that trashed my innards might have been also "poisoned" by something leeching out of the plastic when the US heater was on. I had previously never vaped more PG than 30% and also wonder if upping it to 50/50 added to the hellish nasty thrashing of my lungs?

Forgot to add, I have some small brown bottles, but had thought I would save those for the "successful DIY mixes" I have yet to produce.

While I have had the same results, it was never from steeping in plastic. I have used CP, UC, and food dehydrator to steep juice in both plastic and glass. The "wonderful" flavor you describe always came from the mix - not the container.

Of course, to prove this, make a small single batch and steep some of it in glass and some in plastic.

 

[Mone415]

In my newbie limited time Vaping I seem to like the VG well over PG ratio in the store bought juice. My Aspire atomizers are not happy trying to wick 80% & + VG. They also only last just over 5 days hitting them hard all day.

Yah I'm witchu. I use drippers 99% of the time. So I use very high VG. But in ur case ur gonna need somethin thinner. I heard of people putting distilled water in vg to thin it out. But I really don't kno the details on how much water is too much. I've read some go 80 vg 20 distilled somewhere. And if I remember correctly it worked well for them in tanks.

Edit: Also 20% seems high especially if u used 50/50. Try 5% an work ur way up. Uh vendor gave me uh neat trikk explaining that if u don't like tasting ur flavors go by smell. If u like how uh flavor concentrate smells start at 10% if it smells too strong start at 5 or lower.

 

[DejayRezme]

vanilla cupcake concentrate at 20% 50/50 PG/VG and after a 48 hour rest hit it with the US with alternating heat cycles for a total of 3 1/2 hours. It tastes like cleaning fluid with perfume and trashed my lungs trying to vape it.

Vanilla custard (and cupcake is probably just a slight variant) can taste disgusting when not steeped long enough. I didn't try with UC back then but it tasted only right after a month of sitting there. Maybe Vanilla Custard needs some more oxygen to steep?

I also believe that ANY flavor if you overdo it has a kind of "tipping point" after which your favorite pleasure turns into your worst nightmare. Basically as the intensity rises linearly, there is some trigger in your perception of something like "this is too much, probably poison!".

Maybe first try to steep / air some more and then dilute? 20% seems a lot.

Also PG is disgusting, yeah. About 20% PG is ok for me.

 

[Whiplash]

MMSD64
If your mix is 80% VG I believe you need to add at least 10% water. sounds like it is too thick and not wicking properly.

 

[dannyv45]

Your all right there in the ballpark as far as working out steeping times, Why your juices are not wicking correctly and why these mixes taste like perfume or are harsh and burn your throat.

1. Creams, custards and desert mixes in general need lots of steep time 3 - 5 hours.

2. Perfume taste is usually caused by over flavoring (And not plastic bottles) so when perfecting a cream flavor (Cupcake and vanilla custard) make 3 test samples, making one at the minimum recommended percentage then one 2% below the minimum recommended percentage and one 2% above the minimum recommended percentage for that particular flavoring then taste it, steep it then taste it again and decide which is the closest to what you want and adjust that one up or down until it's just right. If the taste is funky at all levels of concentration then it's not the way your mixing it it's the taste of the flavoring that don't agree with you. In that case move on to the next manufactures similure flavoring.

3. Degasing is not nessessary the water will naturally degas during the steep process. When you start the steep process you may see little air bubbles cling to the walls of the UC but after a half hour of steeping they will be gone and not a concern.

4. Plastic hard bottles can be used for steeping but glass allows waves to pass through better then plastic. Plastic will absorb waves more then glass will so glass is more efficient in allowing waves to pass through to the juice. There are some concerns that over time soft squeeze plastic bottles may leach plastic molecules into the juice faster during the steep process. So if using plastic it would be wise to rotate your stock and use the freshest bottles that you have in your inventory.

5. WIcking and dry hit problems are usually found in high VG mixes of 80% or better. If wicking is an issue the mix is to thick for your vaping device. To resolve this issue add distilled water to the mix. Some go as high as 20% DW. I would recommend starting with 5% and work up until you are vaping with no dry hits. Some that have reported that there mixes are harsh and burned your throat may be suffering from wicking problems.
I've even experienced burnt taste that was caused by the device I was using. I use a kayfun mini and found that vacuum pressure was building up in the device and would not allow the proper flow of juice to the wick. I would start out fine and after 5 or 10 minutes it would taste burnt. What happened was a vacuum was created in the juice chamber that restricted the flow of juice to the wick. I loosened the top cap watched the air bubbles rise to the top of the tank then tightened the cap and the vape was fine again.

 

[bluesxman]

I'm in the need for guidance with the UC. Lately I'm all about DIY juice. I have countless flavours ready for recipes I'm gathering from here and there.
I usually sit down on a sunday and prepare lots of small batches for me and the wife. Obviously, those juices are different in number of flavors mixed and the type (Tobacco, fruit, desserts, beverages..)
Thing is... I dont really have the time to go through extensive test. Plus I'm not very into listening to the buzzing noise from the UC for hours...

Is there a UC timing that will work for all of them. I mean that it will put most juices ahead on their stepping time, without overdoing any of the "most delicates", I usually try to bath them by type. But sometimes I have different types remaining for the last session of UC.

For instance... If I have one vanilla-cookies, one gin-blackurrant, one RY4D+Graham Cracker and one tobacco... What would you say is the longest I can have them in the UC without any of them burning out? Will any of them be only half way done after that time?? I assume that some of them will require to sit in the dark for another good week. I can live with that.

 

[dannyv45]

Different mixtures take different times to steep so there really is no set time or a one time fits all. If you just want to get ahead of the steep process I would guess the magic number would be 3 hours. Some will be done and some may need more time. You really can't over steep a juice. I find after 5 hours most juices are done and more then 5 hours has no benefit. If it's the buzzing noise of a UC that bothers you then try the crock pot method. Also keep in mind if your going to put a UC on auto pilot with a timer then you need to let it rest in between 30 minute cycles or you'll burn it out. A 3 - 5 minute rest is usually sufficent. You don't have that rest issue with a crock pot.

 

[bluesxman]

Thanks Danny. I just bought the UC. I'll stick to it for the time being. I was aware of the rest between cycles. Also, the water gets quite hot with a 1hr cycle. I guess what I was fearing was wasting a juice by over steeping it. Your words are really reassuring about that. I think it'll be better to split the whole process over 2 days. Thanks again

 

[muranternet]

I thought of this idea after mixing a 10-fruit blend and a custard side by side, and also thinking about how some of my brighter mixes fade over time.

Has anyone considered using a UC for accelerated curing by stages? By this I mean if you have a complex juice with custard, bakery, and fresh fruit components, mix everything but the fruit, running ultrasonic for 3 weeks' equivalent, adding fruits and doing one more week? I may try this with my next test batch but it seems the last hour or whatever would be plenty to integrate the fruits into the overall mixture without accelerating the degradation of fruit ketones while allowing the custards and breads to fully mature.

 

[Boletus]

I thought of this idea after mixing a 10-fruit blend and a custard side by side, and also thinking about how some of my brighter mixes fade over time.

Has anyone considered using a UC for accelerated curing by stages? By this I mean if you have a complex juice with custard, bakery, and fresh fruit components, mix everything but the fruit, running ultrasonic for 3 weeks' equivalent, adding fruits and doing one more week? I may try this with my next test batch but it seems the last hour or whatever would be plenty to integrate the fruits into the overall mixture without accelerating the degradation of fruit ketones while allowing the custards and breads to fully mature.

Nice idea; that is the kind of out of the box thinking that advances the art of this pursuit, IMO. Do try it and let us know what you think.

For a really useful comparison, you should produce two identical mixes, except one will have everything added at once and the other with the fruit flavor(s) added toward the end. Then compare them shortly after steeping and then again after a couple/few weeks.

 

[dannyv45]

I thought of this idea after mixing a 10-fruit blend and a custard side by side, and also thinking about how some of my brighter mixes fade over time.

Has anyone considered using a UC for accelerated curing by stages? By this I mean if you have a complex juice with custard, bakery, and fresh fruit components, mix everything but the fruit, running ultrasonic for 3 weeks' equivalent, adding fruits and doing one more week? I may try this with my next test batch but it seems the last hour or whatever would be plenty to integrate the fruits into the overall mixture without accelerating the degradation of fruit ketones while allowing the custards and breads to fully mature.

That could work and may help a flavor fade issue buy putting the flavor that fades at the end of the steep cycle. But also be aware that fading flavors is not just caused by UC there could be other factors such as to much EM, Sweetener, or other additive that mask flavors to smooth out over all mixes.

 

[jensy]

Sooooo I was thinking , I have small kilns that I use for my silver work that I can program to 150 for 4 hours so that should work , right? Should I put the glass bottle with caps on in a pan of water or just in a pan ? But a kiln should work . Thoughts.........

 

[MotherNatural]

I use a food dehydrator. I don't see why a kiln wouldn't work. I've never put the bottles in water. Straight on the rack in the dehydrator.

 

[Kumatesh]

I purchased the BlackHillsGoldSource ultrasonic cleaner (50W 42khz) and I don't seem to be getting the results many of you are getting. I put a bottle of freshly mixed juice in there (glass 15ml bottle) and even after 5 30m cycles, there is only slight discoloration.

I see that you guys can chuck your bottles in for 30m-1hr and have it turn that nice yellow color.

Am I doing something wrong or is this device just not up to par?

 

[bluesxman]

Hi Kutamesh, The obvious question is... are you sure your mix should be turning yellow? What are the different components?