I've got a 30ml bottle of 50ml/mg from Nude Nicotine I bought about 2 months ago. I'm vaping 1.5mg/ml juice and I don't really vape a lot so I'm only half way through the bottle. My juices have been a little harsher than usual and the nicotine has an odor now. Is this usual? Did I do something wrong? I'm still storing it in the amber bottle it shipped in. Do I just need to buy smaller quantities so I go through it quicker?
edit: I mix 100% exclusively with Flavour Arts concentrates if that makes a difference.
In this case the flavorings aren't the culprit, check out discussions on NN nic to compare your experience. Heat and oxygen oxidize nic, and will get funkier (harsher) over time the more its exposed to those elements. Store in a dark cool place.
The higher the quality of nic, the less oxidized it will be when you receive it and will, in part, determine it's shelf life. My advice is to have what you'll use for the month in a separate container/bottle, and keep your master stash double bagged in the freezer.
New oxygen and/or separation is bad. I blab about that a little bit here.
I've stored in the freezer after purging with argon, and left a 250ml Amber bottle out for 5+ months now. All 100mg 100% VG.
The freezer method (argon purging not necessary) is the best bet. Leaving it out will cause the nicotine to become harsh and have a distinct odor. I've noticed no difference in strength with either method. Light/oxygen causes the nicotine to react and turn color and become "harsher". It's been over 5 months on my 250ml bottle and it's barely turned color, but I'm beginning to notice the spicy taste in my mixes now. Luckily I only have about 30ml left.
You should calculate how much nic you use in a months time, and break large amounts into that measurement. Keep one out for mixing and freeze the rest. Glass Amber bottles are best, but clear ones are fine if you keep them covered in a box or something that blocks light. Just remember to let any you pull out of the freezer warm before mixing or its like molasses (100% VG).
Quick question for ya. Lets say I want to mix 120ml of 70vg base at 6mg how do I calculate that?
Short answer... I use online an online calculator, or one of the many spreadsheet templates you can find. Use 2 different methods of calculating to ensure accuracy.
Longer answer.. Your nic base, flavor base, and desired end base will determine what volumes you use. So for 30ml of 14mg 70vg/30pg, I would start with my 100mg VG nic juice at 4.2ml. Then whatever flavorings, which will change the raw pg/VG ratio since I use PG flavorings. Once favors are added, the total pg content is increased, and I would add the remainder of pg and VG. I mix by ml, not weight, for the record.
There are many guides available with a quick search that can explain the long hand better than I can on mobile.
120ml x 6mg/ml = 720mg total. Divide it by your mg/ml base, so say you were using 100mg/ml you would need 7.2ml. 50mg/ml would be 14.4 etc. If you're going for a target PG:VG ratio you'd have to adjust your base accordingly.
For the amount that you use, you should have broken the nic down into 5 or 10ml bottles and kept the rest in the freezer. You dun goofed by not doing a little more research when you got the nic - storage procedures have been around for a while. That's OK though - You've learned a valuable lesson. Time to order some more nicotine. You can probably still use what you have while you wait for new stuff, but you'll have to bump down to 1mg/ml. If you start to get a numbing/burning sensation cease use immediately, as that is the dreaded 'pepper' effect and can cause problems.
What are these problems? Is it just an impact on taste?
It irritates your upper respiratory system. Feels like you have a cold because you get stuffed up. Not fun at all. Happened to me about a month ago and inspired me to do a nicotine review.
I am keeping my concentrates without special storage consideration and I have never noticed a problem over the span of maybe half a year. For long term storage dark and cool doesnt sound like a bad idea but I have yet to see consequences, yet even degrading to the point of it becoming unusable. However, pure VG solutions are known not to be antibacterial, so they could technically get infected with germs over time.