Questions, Thoughts and Observations on our first time mixing…
Okay, so yesterday was our first mixing day (no one died, nothing exploded, we haven’t been declared a Superfund site - yet).
We mixed (and decided to add nic at this stage too~as per my last post with questions as to that topic), we bottled and capped, I shook each bottle to the point of shoulder & elbow dislocation, and the liquids are now sitting/resting/vacationing happily on my computer table (about 70 degrees F in the room, windows without shades but not in direct sunlight)… anything Good, Bad or otherwise Alarming in all that?
After bottling each recipe and shaking them, and myself, to death… I was disheartened to see that each creation resembled bull semen. My wife, an RN, didn’t disagree – even though neither of us could actually admit to having had ever seen bull semen previously we did feel the end result of our mixing had somehow produced a very close facsimile. A number of hours later we were beyond thrilled that each creation was beginning to take on a more vape’ish, acceptably clear, quality.
All of our stock of flavorings have gone into a darkened, room temperature, shelf while our VG/PG and PG-based Nic are sitting in an opaque Rubbermaid tub in this same room I mentioned above… which leads to my final question:
Should we be doing anything special with our VG or PG or PG-based Nic with regard to storage?!
Our first batch of “Liquid Babies, newly arrived home from the Vape Liquid Birthing Center”… I proudly present to you-
front center: a pint of Vanilla Almond Milk; top left: a test variation of my wife’s favorite liquid; top center: a half pint of an espresso creamy coffee recipe I found here at the site: next: yet another variation on my wife’s favorite e-sauce; and lastly: a very simple RY4 I was curious about trying out
Okay, so I can just take the nic in its packaging (plastic bottle from Nicotine River) and toss it in the fridge? Freezer isn’t possible… ours is chockablock with family members we find irritating.
To emphasize, when I just started mixing I got myself 240ml of 100mg nic, stored it in a ‘cool and dark’ cabinet, and it went bad after a month. around 200ml of nic went down the drain
PG/VG are fine at room temperature. Nic can be chilled in the fridge or freezer, as mentioned above. It won’t freeze solid in there, it stays in liquid form. However, if it’s 250ml or less, room temp is acceptable, just not most ideal. Certainly a debatable statement. Some would break that down into 30-60ml bottles and just have one out at a time. The thing about cold nic is that you want to let it come to room temp before mixing, from all I’ve read, anyway.
I totally leave one 250ml bottle out in a dark cabinet, high out of reach of tiny hands. I buy 500ml at a time right now. The other 250ml bottle is in the freezer awaiting it’s time.
I left 250ml out for about a year and didnt notice any changes in harshness. That one was actually a little harsh when it was new, but it didnt get any worse as far as I could tell.
That is success enough and you could have stopped there!
As for the semenesque appearance, as you learned it was tiny air bubbles. All good.
As for the nic, most of us keep it frozen (I should amend that to ‘in the freezer’ as it will not actually freeze) to extend its’ shelf life and help deter oxidation that degrades and discolors.
I haven’t read your full post because I didn’t have just yet lol.
But saw the pics and read the first part, all I wanted to say is, congratulations on your first batches. Hope they turn out well and will motivate you even more.
If not, please don’t be shy and ask. Very happy you mixed juices together with your wife.
I can reiterate everyone’s comments above. Foaming, bubbling, generally strange looking after fresh mixing, totally normal.
Room temp PG/VG, closet best, but NIC, always chill. Fridge good, freezer better. Slow the oxidation as much as you can. NEVER use ONE big NIC container. Break up into small bottles, using only one at a time until done.
Popping my head in here…just got caught up on this thread. @SCutshall You’re asking all the questions we all asked. Best advice is not to worry too much about it. It’s just a slow reaction anyway …and a couple-four weeks of waiting cures most ills. Lots a advice, but take it from a lazy person …I mean do you think you could stop the chemical reaction that’s about to happen ?
Best advice above …avoid light and temperature for the long term. Example I mix 120ml bottles in brown glass. When ready I put in clear 30ml squirty bottles for loading tanks and drippers which might sit around for a week or two …@ room temp but not in direct sun (ever). This can parallel Labwork and that attracts the OCD. Most advice is “Chicken Soup” …couldn’t hurt, but at the same time …may not really make much difference. Hey? I’m lazy but I’m accurate! The rest is pretty forgiving (DIY)
just yet lol.
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