@Bearkat
How many beakers will you use at one time?
Do you have a retriever rod?
Guess, I’ll just stick with what I have.
1 Like
I’ve learned with stir bars you get what you pay for. I purchased the pack of seven mentioned on Amazon and it took six weeks to get them from China. Decided to get a high quality bar with prime for quick shipping to use while waiting on China, payed $17.99 for one and the magnate was twice as strong.
Also had problems retrieving the China bars from juice when finished with the retriever rod (magnate in stir bar was weak). So I would just use a magnate and slide the bar up the outside of the beaker. Worked better since I no longer had to clean the retriever rod.
Even bought a octagon stir bar for large batches. Not much to say except regular bar works just as good.
2 Likes
That’s exactly what I do to retrieve my stir bars. Very “clean” solution. That and I don’t have a retriever rod. Don’t need one.
2 Likes
You can clean your fingers, or clean the retriever.
I hope it never happens, but the first time you slide the magnet up the side, and juice runs over the edge,
and you have fingers, magnet, beaker, deck, etc. to clean, I bet your outlook will change.
Even if you grab the stir bar with a paper towel, you still have juice sliding up with it.
I lift the bar with the retriever, let it drip a couple times, then stick it in a beaker of water, swish it around and wipe them off.
4 Likes
I have been using a mag-stir (non-heated) for a couple of years now and it makes multi-flavored mixes vape-ready in 30-40 min. I have a couple complex mixes that will go on my hot-plate for 15-20 min, after cooled I add my Nic.( All by weight!) then on the mag-stir for 30-40 min. Great Article!
2 Likes
Cool [or heated 
]
40 minutes on the mag-mix and a 3/4" octagon stir bar…you should be at 104F -108F
[60ml batch in a 100ml beaker]
What temp do you have after 15-20mins on the hot plate?
2 Likes
I have yet to sample temp readings, you have peeked my interest though. As for the Corning hot plate, I set it between 3 and 4 and through trial and error have settled at the 15-20min. *Error meaning the mix has reached the boiling point! I try to avoid that at all costs ;). I have been very interested in the octagon stir bar, good to here from your write-up that they work well. I will take a more scientific approach and follow-up with my temperature readings.
As for batch size, obviously, I start w/10ml batches, for new flavors; however, on my daily vapes I too do 60ml batches as well - the down side of “ready-vape” e-liquid is the shortened shelf-life, hence I try to keep my batches to minimum sizes.
Cheers!
3 Likes
I have ‘mixed’ for over 50 years, obviously before e-liquid [as we know it] even existed. When I measured viscosity, from beginning to end [start to finish], much of it in racing oils before synthetics, and then afterwards, making blends would ‘tell’ on themselves, meaning which blended better, faster,stabilized better, etc. depending on when the heat was introduced, and how and what rate it was introduced. For my use, when I began with e-juice, I followed the pattern that I was accustomed to.
We [vaping world] have many methods, and a consensus of what works with excellent results[individually]. My approach has been from my own experience, and the difference in my method may create a slightly different juice than others, even using the exact same recipe. The jury is still out because we haven’t had a long term study to even begin to understand what is THE way, yet in the interim, we have created some awesome flavors.
Given the ingredients, and the methods, I still believe that mixing e-liquids benefit most from a room temperature mix of ingredients, and the only heat that needs to be applied is from friction DURING stirring, especially when using liquid nicotine. I am no lab scientist, just an old engineer with lab experience, and realize there is more than one way to achieve a desired outcome. I also cook and bake, from scratch, every day, and use the same philosophy.
All being said, there is another side of the equation, and that is in the use of simple equipment…and from that alone, the results can be far apart. It can be as simple as one who shakes his batch with little head room in the bottle versus one that leaves the bottle only 3/4 full. Or the size stir bar [and shape] versus the size [and shape] of the vessel used to stir in when using a magnetic system…versus one using a sonic approach…or a crock pot, frother, mini paint stirrer, etc. The exact result from the same recipe will and can only be different in some way, and although not necessarily bad or wrong, but not exactly the same. [if any of this makes sense]
I am curious why you have a shortened shelf life of shake-n-vape [or ready-vape]. I understand some are great at first, then after aging, they change, especially custards, but some are great almost immediately then just get better…for example, Alisa’s Bust-A-Nut…but there are many more. Just curious why you mentioned that [the down side of “ready-vape” e-liquid is the shortened shelf-life, ]
Anyway…ramble as I fkn do, I hope I have made some sense and it doesn’t seem like jibberish.
3 Likes
Well… “ready-vape” e-liquid properly stored can last for months to possibly a year ( I have tried custards and tobacco blends after a year, and they were better after aging). Fruit blends on the other hand become quite harsh/un-vapeable after even as little as 5-6 months. For the “Masses” w/out “our” lab equipment, experience, and proper storage environment could possibly see their perfect blend rendered useless after a few months… I’m not a daily vaper, usually weekends (after a few drinks 
as a substitute for smoking. Therefore I prefer MTL w/full Flavor as apposed to mass LH, although I do like to “change the weather” with a Cloud once in a while 
.
I; as you appear to be, are striving to attain “perfection” in what we do, from the best of the best flavors, to the purest form of Nicotine (Carolina Xtracts for me), and so forth…
I greatly appreciate your expertise and sharing of your experience and findings - you make us all better informed vaping-chemists
Cheers,
5 Likes
LSD…good choice.
5 Likes
Love your setup
OZO
I just got some of those yorker bottles luv them easy to fill and then cap off
1 Like
And a rheostat…to control your stirring speed(s).
I buy my beakers by the dozen on Amazon, and they have inexpensive mag bars that include some octagonal shapes along with the polygonal.
I also found a 1" star stir bar for $8… a real steal.
3 Likes
I’m debating if I should drill a hole in the center of the lid or just leave it the way it is and see what happens because those little magnets on the fan are very very strong!
Rheostat is gonna have to wait I want to see how it does without it first.
1 Like
If those are neodymium magnets, you’ll likely not need to drill any holes.
2 Likes
Not sure exactly what kind they are but once they are together it takes force/good grip to get them apart.
Question after mixing in the magnetic stirrer would it still be beneficial to give it a hot bath or a good 30+min soak in an Ultrasonic?
1 Like
I never do ! [heat] Use a thermometer to measure your heat, the stirring process generates plenty.
Using a thermometer [digital infrared] is all you need to tell how long you need to mix for.
As far as drilling/cutting a hole in the lid, try it first before you do.
1 Like
Please re-read the beginning of this thread
1 Like