Hello!
I'm looking for a solution to speed up my bottling process. Through my searches, I haven't been able to find what I'm looking for. Here's the challenge:
I have 8 x 500mL to dispense from. (6 x flavour base, 1 x PG, 1 x VG). I dispense nic from a dropper bottle, since it's usually only a couple mL at a time.
Currently, I have all my flavour base in bottles with yorker caps, but as you can imagine, that's a pain in the ass and can get messy if I'm not careful.
What I'm looking for is a hand pump (like a soap/lotion pump) for the bottles to which I can attach a silicone tube, so I can just pump the liquid through the tube to the bottle that is sitting on the scale. That way, I don't have to pick up and flip over the flavour bottles every time. Has anyone had success with this kind of approach? Not sure if that kind of pump would stop quick enough or allow single drops when approaching my desired amount.
Thanks!
Someone tried to find a pump style bottle that would do this, ended up on /r/shitty_diy_ejuice
Haha... well? Did they find what they were looking for?
They were belligerent when people suggested these type of pumps wouldn't be accurate, and would trap liquid inside the pump tube where it would prevent using it for more than one flavor. So I don't know what they did in the end.
Some juice shop in Grayslake, IL make their juice like this. Shit is fucking awful.
Ok, but does their juice being awful have anything to do with how they dispensed the ingredients?
Yup. It isn't accurately measured. It is not precise enough imho.
I'm talking about measuring flavors.
Here's their "flavor bar."
http://nebula.wsimg.com/d68fb487ef0a0fe0ec6f867ba375a782?AccessKeyId=4F419FE84A865C94F5DF&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
I picked up a gallon size engine fluid pump to attach to my gallon jug of VG/pg and its been working great. I haven't noticed a taste difference or anything with it.
You mean like this?
That would totally work for the VG.
Custom Accessories 36671 Pennzoil Fluid Transfer Pump - Gallon
|||| --:|:--|:-- Current|$8.00|Amazon (New) High|$10.21|Amazon (New) Low|$7.01|Amazon (New) |Average|$8.37|30 Day
Pneumatic pumps are awesome(this is a random one on ebay) However if you can afford a peristaltic pump they are the best out there. You just have to find the right one. Cole Palmer has good ones but they are expensive. Just call them and go over the specific viscosity of your formula and they will help you pick out a pump. Pnuematic pumps are more expensive but I would say do that if you are doing gigantic amounts.
If you are looking for a cheap pump that works ok try these types of timing pumps. They are super crappy but they are super cheap. I think I went through 3 of them until I switched to pnuematic. I'd caution you with this style because I had a 35/65 VG/PG ratio with this at the time about 3 years ago. I do not think this type of machine can handle thick juices but it is very cheap so it might be worth the try.
The last suggestion I have is this manual filling machine. I have not experiment with this style. I know the link is for a 5-50ml but I am sure this style of filler has a much larger capacity that you will have to search for. All these links are just references to styles of pumps to give you ideas on what to look for.
http://handyfiller.com/product/vpf15micro-a2/
I use one of these. Obviously with the price it might not be reasonable depending on your budget, but it fucking rocks.
You'll also waste flavor in the silicone tubes, unless you plan to then unscrew caps. And dump back in.
I'm thinking this guy needs to mix by weight if he wants to speed up his process.
Do you do custom PG/VG mixtures per order, or is it consistent for each juice? If it's consistent you could consolidate your flavor base and PG. So you're down to just 3 bottles per order (nic, flavorbase, and vg). Also setup jigs for your fill levels. Get some clear thick laminate, roll and tape it so it can slide over a bottle, and mark your fill line on it. Instant graduated cylinder!
Might not be as accurate as by weight, but the difference of 14.7% vs 15.0% flavoring won't be that noticeable. And you'll be able to fill a lot quicker.
For the VG, you'd have to kind of piecemeal parts together. But what about an IV bag type system? Get some hosing, and a top for a gallon or whatever your preferred size is of VG. Install it a couple feet off your station, and use a ball valve to control the flow of VG. Like one of these
No pumps to worry about failing or grease getting into your juice. Let gravity do the work.
PG/VG is consistent across all juices, but it's not the number of bottles I'm worried about, it's the "turning over and squeezing" I'm trying to eliminate. Also, I'm not sure using gravity for the VG would work, with it being so thick.
Gravity should work. Try pouring straight from one bottle of vg with no cap. Stuff can actually move pretty ok. With a decent size ball valve it should flow not too much slower than squeezing it from a bottle. And you'll be able to slow down the flow when you get near your fill level.
Other solution would be a ketchup pump. Slightly similar viscosity as VG. But it's going to take a lot of pumps to fill a bottle. There's not a lot of food grade pumps meant for something as thick as vg. So durability is going to be a concern.
I wouldn't use a pump with the flavor bases though. It's not going to be airtight, unless you find a bag type system. And you'll lose a decent amount of volatiles that way.
>I wouldn't use a pump with the flavor bases though. It's not going to be airtight, unless you find a bag type system. And you'll lose a decent amount of volatiles that way.
This is the correct reason this is bad. (Thank you for jogging my memory). Even with VG/PG you will end up ruining them because they are both highly hygroscopic, and as stated volatiles will escape from flavors stored this way.
Edit: I can't spell
shop in grayslake il should be shut down not one of those guys are mixers they coppy recipes off here and use them gas station pumps.the owner made me a bottle of menthal and water melon omg puked and dumped it.
I went there once last month (come up here once a month)...buddy bought juice, I said, hell f'in no!
I was out of some flavors so I asked for just flavoring instead and was told no. Stingy I say.