Hi folks. Hope all are well here in lock down.
I am getting back in to DIY after a time away.
I have some VG and PG that has been stored in total darkness at room temp (74 deg F) for about 18 months.
Help me here, is the VG/PG still any good do you think. I bought it from Vaportec.
Also, wondering if my ‘Carolina extracts’ Nic is still good. It was stored the same way same time.
And lastly, my flavors. Ya think those are still ok?
Sitting at home, all I do is sit and smoke analog stix. Got a new vape rig, and want to get back to some mixing. Primarily to find an ADV that I actually LIKE. And to save some money without ‘trying’ a bunch of stuff at $10-20 A try.
Thanks for the help. Please stay well.
RK
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If they’re stored in the original bottles, VG and PG should have a BB date on them.
Nic… once opened 100mg nic stays good for 14 days (officially), unofficially you can probably keep it for a couple months when stored cool and out of sunlight. If you didn’t store yours in the freezer in smaller containers, you should probably buy a new batch.
Flavors don’t go bad quickly. I have 3 year old flavors that are still good… BUT, I also have a few that went bad within a year (bad caps i think)
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I believe that VG/PG pre mixed bases develop a funny, slightly sweet taste I remember from early e liquids. But that may just be me, I haven’t done any testing or something. I’ve just seen pre mixed bases with this funny smell, even if they were mixed from base VG or PG I know was once OK and not very old either.
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I don’t see any BB dates, so I will probably trash em. I remember now about freezing Nic. So it’s to the trash with that also.
I just hope the flavors are OK. Out of about 80, I only have maybe 20 opened.
Tks.
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My VG and PG are in separate bottles. But at the low prices for each, I am just going to atart anew.
Hopefully this time, I will keep after my quest to find a few good ADVs I like.
Thanks for the reply
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if it seems off by taste or you see anything floating… ditch them.
vg is around 6mo to a year…
pg is 1-2 yrs
just depending on the condition you stored them in.
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Some flavors can crystallize a bit over time… I’d still try to shake them up until it dissolves and try them. But yeah, anything suspicious, throw it out. Individual flavors are cheap, not worth taking health risks.
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My VG and PG (100%, pharma grade) are usually good for 1.5-2 years so yeah, 18 months… it won’t be the best anymore. Keep in mind mixing, steeping etc, just go for new base liquids and make the best of your flavor stash.
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What brand base liquids are you using? You said Pharma quality.
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I’m hoping they are ok. But you are correct, anything dicey gets tossed. Not worth it.
At some point, I hope to get it down to the ones I use on a regular basis. And hust keep those fresh.
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Most of vaping vg & pg sold is pharma grade.
I buy mine at vapable.com
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Thanks. In the US here. I may try place I bought the first batch.
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I’ve always had great luck with heartlandvapes.com too.
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I would buy in bulk too…
my gallon on vg and pg lasts maybe 3 months, but I do go thru a lot too…
I know the common rate in one of my groups, that 1 gallon of vg last 6-9 months…
Stock up if you can on everything. Even nic… (LNW!!)
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My VG was bought in a gallon container in Jan 2015 and still tastes sweet. Stored in total darkness at average room temp of 65 Deg F… One other comment I have read is to monitor the viscosity.
Might like to read:
https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx3P8T17XTKIHZN
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Am interested in learning more about what may happen (chemically) as VG, PG age. Any references ?
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I’m not a chemist. Just thinking that perhaps when rebottled, it’s done in a vape business and not a pharma grade facility so contaminants could enter? Your guess is as good as mine…
I just see a BB date on all my bottles. Maybe one day if any of my bottles will last that long, I’ll look into it 
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Thanks for your thoughts, my friend. I am aware of the common (roughly) 1-2 year time frames ascribed to VG and PG (PG said to hold in somewhat longer than VG). Both take up Water fairly readily (though not as vigorously as does Ethanol, thus greater than ~95% is hard to maintain once opened and when in storage). Have researched Glycerin (almost exclusively derived from Palm Oil) contents a fair bit. The processes to achieve high purity (of Glycerin) are expensive and not easily scaled in manufacturing. There exist a few percent of impurities (in Glycerine), one of which is Tocopherols (types of Vitamin E). All Vitamin E products are also extracted from Palm Oil - a large international industry in Pacific regions.
Here is (one of my) bookmarks that comes up in a search regarding Glycerine (Glycerol):
(Perhaps) within extracted Glycerin, chemical reactions proceed among the contaminants over time ? As well, VG as well as PG are themselves used in formulations to culture microbes (ie, certain fungi).
I recently purchased a couple of Liters of PG and VG (for the “Nicotine Winter”, etc). Wondering if a (factory-sealed) container has an easier go of it, or if it is invariably a matter of storage temperature ?
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Just ordered from Heartland, on your recommendation. Thanks for the intel.
RK
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