I've been stocking up nicotine for the vapocalypse. I've read posts from this sub and from other resources on the best way to do this, of which the consensus is to transfer the nicotine into amber bottles with polycone tops & storing it in my freezer.
I just went to the carolinaxtract(dot)com website, on their FAQ section I saw this-
Should I store Nicotine Products in the freezer?
No, Absolutely not. Damage can occur to100MG/ML nicotine products when oxides form during near-freeze/thaw cycles caused by temperature fluctuations of some freezer units (but not all). Such fluctuations are typically caused by opening the freezer door and outside weather affecting the efficiency of the unit. Typical refrigeration temperatures, or even room temperatures are a much safer storage range than 27-33F because they are well away from freeze/thaw potential.
Does anybody think that this is really a thing?? I mean I bought the polycone caps to prevent oxidation, but the temperature fluctuations are going to happen since this is a freezer/refrigerator combo. Now if I had a freezer chest I wouldn't be too worried about this, but I don't. Should I buy a small freezer unit?
Carolina Extracts has a vested interest in you continuing to buy their nicotine. Sure, leave it out at room temp for 6 months and see what a nasty, skunky brown liquid you have then.
My last 120ml sample from Carolina xtract sat in a dark closet only coming out to make my mixes. It kept crystal clear for 6 months while I used it up.
My nic from nicriver turned brown after 4 months in my closet and I had transferred it into an amber glass bottle when I received it.
Caroline xtract is definitely worth the extra cash imo.
i've left my 100MG nic at room temp in a dark closet for over 2 years and it's still fine. don't waste money on a freezer you won't need. as long as you keep oxygen away from it, and light. it'll be fine at room temp for quite a while.
Do you just keep it in the bottle it came in? I like your style and would like to mimic what you do...
when i originally opened the 1liter bottle or maybe it was 2L i can't remember truthfully but i poured it into multiple 30ml bottles. you could use a larger size if you'd prefer, like 60ml or higher even. i used amber bottles (boston rounds) with poly cone caps and stored them in a box inside the lower portion of a closet. this way you have most of your nic stored and not being exposed to oxygen everytime you need to mix like it would in one big container like those they come in. edit: when i get them out of storage i just remove the cap and put a dropper top on it and use that bottle until it's gone and then repeat. hope this info is useful for ya.
>during near-freeze/thaw cycles ....(but not by all)
This sounds like some old school freezer tech that I grew up with 35 years ago. I don't think freezers do a freeze/thaw cycle any more. The (but not by all) bit makes me think you shouldn't worry about it unless you're using an old single door fridge/freezer combo from the 1980s.
To me it sounds like just the act of opening & closing the freezer door. IDK, but I don't leave the door open long enough to cause a thaw. It's just so weirdly written, I'm not sure what they mean.
But I think u/VileCaveFurby hit it on the head, if my nicotine goes bad from leaving it out, I will need to buy more nicotine. The only problem with that is- If I buy nicotine from them & I follow their directions for storing it & it spoils, why would I buy more nicotine from them??!!
Honestly would think that just not dawdling at the open freezer door would be enough to negate the freeze/thaw whatever.
Their implication of freezing and thawing seems a bit extreme, however you read this IMO.
My nic bottles are all stashed at the bottom of the freezer, on the back of the shelf, under a couple icepacks, just to help with the occasion the freezer gets opened. I'm going to call that good enough I think. I can't afford to spend money on complicated systems for storing nicotine. I'm also down to 1.5mg/ml freebase so I honestly think if my nic goes bad for some reason I'm just gonna go 0mg as opposed to buying more.
When it comes out of the freezer, it's in a thaw cycle -- Opening the freezer could constitute a cycle, but I can't imagine it's that drastic.
PG doesn't change much in terms of viscosity in the freezer, slightly thicker but still flows like room temp VG; VG, however, especially needs thawing as it's kind of a pain to dispense when it's ice cold.
When I first started to freeze my nic, it was VG-based, you're right a serious pain to dispense. You certainly can't shake it, which I like to do because VG & nicotine have differing viscosities. Then I read that nicotine stores longer suspended in PG, not sure if that is true or not, but my nicotine that I bought for vapocalypse I made sure was PG-based- just to avoid the "molasses on a cold winter morning" effect & the possible longer term storage.
It's still a thing, current low end fridge freezers just blow cold air in at the back and if you have the thing fairly full the door winds up being the freezer equivalent of a crisper - never quite as cold as the rest of the space.
I keep mine in a chest freezer. I have always heard that the refrigerator freezer is not best, but I would think it would be better than room temperature, especially long term. It would also depend on how often the freezer is opened and the temperature of the freezer.
i open my stand up freezer a good 2-3 times a day, once a week for a bit when restocking or rearranging things and my oldest VG nic has stayed clear and tastes like when bought for over 10 years now.. PG and VG do not actually freeze solid so doubtful fluctuations from you opening up your fridge/freezer daily is going to oxides/etc your nic as they state.
Exactly! And you can keep it in the back of the freezer behind some frozen veggies or what not. It does not freeze, but it stays cold in the freezer. I know of a vaper whose nicotine is still pristine after 6 years of being in a freezer. It’s been standard practice in the vaping community for years despite what CarolinaExtracts published long ago.
Thank you, that is good to know. I have been freezing nic for awhile, never had a problem, but I also had a way out before- buy more if something wrong did happen. So hearing that nic is good after 10 years in the freezer is good to hear. Thanks for replying!
Yooo I know this thread is like 8 months old but I’m just getting into all this. Is that with you breaking it down into amber glass bottles and storing? I’m planning on getting a gallon next week and am going to store it immediately as I already have 2 120mls of 100mg pg, one in the fridge and one in a dark drawer in a cool room in the garage that I use for my working bottle. I think I’m ordering the gallon from LNW.
Bought 1 Liter split in 2 over three years ago from CXTC. Between my wife and myself, we vaped higher concentrations when we first started 5-6 years ago. After I buying the liter (2 500MLs) we were (and still are) at ~3mg and still haven't finished ours; Granted, I need to refill the bottle that I keep on my bar (I'm down to the last 75-100ML in the freezer), but the 2 500ML bottles were stored in the freezer side of my fridge all that time. I've broken them down before, but it's a hassle -- I always top it off with some wine saver before I pack it up to go back in the back in the freezer and re-wrap with the tape and bubble-wrap/bag they shipped with.
Throw down on some wine-saver, break off ~100ML in a separate dark bottle, or lacking dark glass use clear, and store it in a dark space. Worst you can expect, if following these suggestions, even with the VG sitting outta the freezer, is that it might get slightly peppery; Will definitely turn to a light pink hue, but mine has tasted fine and I haven't really noticed much difference at all apart from the expectation that it's not as fresh as it was when it shipped -- best you can hope for if you're not investing in one of their dispensing systems...
EDIT: /Sylviee opens the freezer 3-4 times a day; Don't know about them, but I've three kids and a wife, so our freezer opens at least that many for my household daily, likely more, especially if there's popsicles (LOL) -- you'll be fine in a standard freezer, as long as you're not trying to cool your house with it, end even then, arguable. lol
I store it in the freezer regardless of Carolina's recommendation. I think their recommendations would be for opened bottles, but i haven't had any issues with those in the freezer either. Just bring the bottle completely to room temperature before opening to avoid water condensation inside the bottle. VG is hygroscopic, so especially important to keep sealed and away from water.
Carolina's nic solutions are co2 sealed and contain no air. So as long as you don't open the bottles, it should stay good for a very long time.
I opened a CXTX bottle at 2y (VG 100mg freezer stored) and it was like new. And just opened a CXTX bottle at 4.5y (VG 100mg freezer stored) and it also was like new.
Most important for long term storage is to keep it dark (boston round/poly cone cap) and away from all light sources, cool (the colder the better) and as little water/oxygen content as possible. Any of these will destroy nic solutions in time.
I liked CXTX but some of their bottles are bitter and after dumping three bottles (seperate orders in different years) abandoned their brand altogether. Now a days there are equally good options for half the cost.
river supply reccomends storing in the freezer. i will say too that i keep the bottle of my premixed up vg,pg,nic that i use for my mixing up of, in a giant 1 liter plastic bottle in my end table too though an that shit is at least 4 months old by the time i use it up.
It takes so long to degrade, you’ll have weened yourself by that long.
Lol, I quit smoking 14 years ago, been vaping since then. I have supposedly been weening myself off nicotine the whole time...I don't like my chances ;)
Place I worked for took a bottle of 12mg that had been sitting for several years and tested it. It was a 10 mg. I see the flavorings going bad quicker than the nicotine.
10 year vaper here. I put just enough in so it doesn’t taste naked (some flavorings don’t taste ok at 0). I think the nicotine part became irrelevant to me a while back. I can vape salt, then zero, but don’t take away my vapor! 😂
This sounds more to me like the auto-defrost fridge/freezer combos. Even if you are using a combo unit (compared to a steady state deep freeze) your nicotine isn't going to cycle that much. PG and VG don't actually freeze, so you're not going to get a freeze/thaw cycle anyway.