Hi, just getting into mixing my own and would like people's preferred sources of nicotine. Most of the sidebar links I clicked were all about recipes and flavor sources.
Also, does anyone have info on shelf-life for 10% nicotine? I read that it's better to store it in glass and in a darkened area (and possibly the freezer) to maximize shelf-life. I'd really like to buy in bulk given the probability of new taxes and/or bans, but no point if it's just going to go bad.
Thanks!
Wizard Labs consistently has the best quality nicotine.
You are correct about storing nic in glass and in the freezer. There is no guideline about the shelf life of nicotine under ideal conditions, but it definitely lasts at least a few years with little to no degradation of quality or concentration. The biggest issue would be oxidation, which would just turn the nicotine yellow, but it would not affect it otherwise.
out of curiosity... you say they consistently have the best quality... do you say that based on other nic bases you've tried or from reading multiple sources? If you've tried others, mind sharing those so we have kindof a ranking system?
Both. I have bought nicotine from several reputable sources. I have received nicotine that was pink(?) and I have received nicotine that smelled like burnt rubber. Both times, the vendors replaced the nic without any questions, and to my satisfaction. Wizard Labs has never sent me a bad bottle of nic. Always clear, colorless, and odorless.
There is a good discussion thread on the subject at ECF - http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/diy-e-liquid/298547-nicotine-comparisons.html
If you are sucking the nic right out of the bottle and are using a syringe and then have left over nic that you shoot back into the main nic bottle that extra air of shooting the nic back in will turn your nic yellow faster then normal.
Been some comments regarding Wizard Labs and reduced quality in their nicotine. I have not tried it. They must ship in glass because the shipping is very expensive for concentrated nicotine.
I usually get it from MBV, but you can use their wholesaler if you want a lot.
http://www.mbvwholesale.com/unflavored-baker-vapor-e-juice/
Wow, any idea why that place charges 6x more for a gallon of concentrate than this place? Edit: Nevermind, that price is for a liter, I thought I had clicked on the gallon. Still quite a bit more expensive though ($175 vs $100).
Do you have any recommendations as far as the PG/VG ratio for the concentrate, or should I just go with what I like to vape? Just wondering if one or the other is supposed to be better for storage.
The nicotine itself is what is sensitive to light, it doesn't matter if it's in PG or VG. I'd store it in the freezer in amber glass either way. Keep in mind most flavorings are PG based.
No idea about MBVwholesale's prices. They seem to have gone up an awful lot.
consensus in the german forums I've read was that PG is better for long time storage. VG can go bad. One guy posted some microscope shots from some VG liquids with bacteria and fungi in it. I would really have to dig to find some english sources to confirm this though.
MBV is a little expensive, and the nicotine is a bit inferior to other places that I've tried. For most places I've seen 1 liter (1000ml, 32oz) go for about $99.99 for 100mg nicotine. MBV sells it for $174.99 -- a whole $75 more, which I would rather use to get 32oz of flavoring from TFA. Additionally, if you get 4 1 liter bottles from HeartlandVapes the price drops to $75 per liter.
Just my thoughts though.
Yeah that is the first place I found when I googled and their prices are the best I've seen. Do you have any info on where they source their nicotine from, or what grade it is? I noticed on Wizard Labs they mention it's USP grade nicotine which I'd definitely prefer.
Both the 100% PG or 100% VG mixture is USP certified kosher. It says so directly under the product under details.
>100% Propylene Glycol USP Kosher Based, 100% Vegetable Glycerin USP Kosher or 50/50 Mixed Based Nicotine Solution Nicotine solution strengths above 36mg should be diluted before use!
As for grade, I'm not sure what you mean by that. They release a "certificate of Analysis" sheet along with the product information that contains test data that shows to the nicotine purity.
>Total impurities: NMT 0.8% | Less than 0.05% | > 99.0% to 101.0% (calculated on anhydrous basis) | 100.2%
So it's a very pure product, if that's what you mean.
As for who they source their nic from, I have no idea. I've just sent them an email, so hopefully I'll hear back from them soon and I'll update you.
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