Don't laugh: I'm getting tennis elbow because of DIY. Seems like I am shaking a lot of bottles when experimenting, which is causing my elbow to start getting the tennis. Who knew DIY is so physically-taxing? :/
I know of the McGuyver method of jury-rigging a reciprocal saw to act as an agitator for bottles. I actually went to the hardware store to check out reciprocal saws to purchase, but thought: "there's gotta be a more elegant solution than strapping a bottle to a saw". I also know about the do-it-yourself PC fan-as-mixer, but I don't mix in beakers... I do have a small magnetic mixer, but the magnet is not strong enough to spin the bar in my max-VG liquids.
So, my question is: can you recommend a purpose-built liquid agitator? I've tried doing my own searches but have either come up with mixers for paint (wall/house paint) or expensive laboratory equipment. Is there something that can facilitate shaking up 30ml (or smaller) bottles that isn't so expensive?
EDIT: from a couple of the comments, I refined my searching and found this on amazon. It looks pretty good, except that I'm not sure if it will fit 30ml bottles. It looks like even some of the smaller nail polish bottles might have trouble fitting into the harness. Check the review video here. Can anyone be the guinea pig for this? hehe
EDIT2: looks like the PROshaker might be able to securely hold 30ml bottles. Here's another review by a model-builder who is using this machine to shake his paints.
It seems that the PROshaker mixes without creating air bubbles. Sounds good to me.
EDIT3: Looks like if you have child-resistant dropper caps, they won't fit into the collar... maybe regular droppers or even just flush caps would suffice?
EDIT4: hmm, after talking with /u/dapperbastard a bit on the idea of a vortexer, I'm thinking this might be the best way to go. Reason being: I tend to mix my experiments in various sized bottles, not only in 30ml standard boston rounds. I even use unicorn bottles. This would make the Proshaker unusable for a lot of the bottles that I utilize. Using the vortexer, on the other hand, is totally independent of size of vessel. If I can source one cheap on ebay, my elbow will thank me.
What you're really looking for is a used vortexer. It'll last a whole lot longer than some Chinese-made nail polish shaker, and can generally be found cheaply on eBay if you lurk for a couple weeks. I think I paid $45 shipped for mine.
Sheeeit, that might be the way to go for me...
With any of these, the best way to determine a protocol that gives you good mixing is to take your base (100% VG, or 80-20, or whatever your final juices are at) with a few drops of food dye, and see what it takes to fully incorporate it in the bottles you're doing the mixing in. With the vortexer, it'll be pretty quick, but it'll be hands-on for each bottle. With the rotary shaker, it'll probably be a half hour or more, but you don't have to be personally-involved.
Another option (also available on eBay -- that one's not so cheap, but again, I picked one up for under $50 at one point) is a rotary tube mixer. May actually work better than a vortexer for max VG, since it simulates continually upending the bottle. However, back in grad school, I would vortex pretty viscous solutions with good results, so I'd still recommend the vortexer first.
These used to be popular a few years ago. I bought a $9 import version on eBay and it worked for 3 or 4 months before I destroyed it (too many bottles).
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We use the robart one for 10 and 15ml bottles. It's not much use for sizes much bigger. I'm really really surprised at how long it's lasted. I've been saying it's probably gonna burn out for the past two months lol, I even have a backup one for when it dies. It works pretty well though. We still give it a lil shake afterwards though just to make sure it's nice and homogenized. I need to rig up something for bigger bottles. I've been thinking about it for a while but have just been too busy
Found this one on amazon... it might fit 30ml bottles, but I'm not sure. Description says that it "Rotates bottle 360 at over 500RPM". Now, if it merely rotates the bottle, wouldn't that kind of be like a centrifuge and actually separate the solution?
EDIT: nevermind, the arm is off-center on the flywheel, so as it spins, it actually rotates in an elliptical path, making what appears to be a nice shaking motion. Video review is here.
Rare earth magnet glued to a 12v PC fan and a stirring bar in your mixing vessel. Mount the fan to something sturdy and sit that beaker right over the fan. Your welcome.
would you like a stirbar? I will send you one if you want. Well, if you paid shipping.
Edit: LOL I'm dumb, I thought you were using a magnet as your stirbar :P Offer is still up if you actually use a stirplate. I have a few stirbars I am never going to use, I will just pass them forward to others in need. I have a couple nice rare earth magnet ones I'm not going to use out of the bunch
Ive made a magnetic stirrer out of rare earth magnets and a PC Fan..It sucks in max VG...If anyone has any better ideas please let us know! I was thiking of a dremel with an attachment?
why not use this? It'll take all your bottles, you don't have to hold it, its under $50 and you won't need to buy anything else
I use a heated foot bath. Not sure how well it works because that is all I use and have nothing to compare it to besides hand shaking.
Anyone know if the uv light kills flavor?
When "steeping" juices, it's recommended to keep the bottles in a dark cupboard. This is to prevent UV light from affecting the liquid. Also, it's recommended to keep your liquids in amber glass bottles to protect them from UV light. I'm not sure if this is for the flavors of the liquid or to protect the nicotine from degrading, though...