I've received a ready DIY kit from a French site "lepetitvapoteur", but I was concerned regarding the plastic bottle, although the bottle is food graded, I am not sure if the bottle will be good after 5-6 months, and not sure if the plastic bottle is good for aging the e juice. I am also keeping the bottle in a zipper bag, and in the coldest drawer I have.
I was looking to buy either a amber glass bottles, or a whiskey bottle with cork cap.
What are your thoughts on this idea? How do you guys store the liquid to preserve the quality and taste of the juice for long period of time (6-7 months)?
Happy new year all :)
Plastic bottles should be fine, I've vaped juice from plastic bottles that I've had for a year or longer. Keeping in a cool dark place is sufficient for ejuice that's mixed. Just don't let it sit in a window sill or near a heat source keeping it warm, both of those things (light and heat) degrade the juice and oxidize the nicotine. For long term nic storage keeping it colder and dark is best, fridge or freezer. Not the juices you've mixed. You could use amber bottles if you want, not sure I'd trust the cork. But plastic generally works fine.
Either ldpe (softer plastic) or pet (firmer clearer plastic) are generally what's used by the vast majority of the vape industry for commercial juices. They got out of using glass boston dropper bottles when they went kid safe. All the large brands use plastic bottles. Squonk mods use silicone squeeze bottles. The diy flavorings from the major brands, capella, tfa/tpa, flavorah, flavourart etc all come in the same plastic bottles. Vg, pg and nicotine are sold in plastic bottles. I don't think the plastic bag is necessary unless you're just worried about a bottle leaking in a drawer to contain any accidental leak/spill.
You've said you kept liquids in plastic bottle for a year or longer under good conditions, the plastic does not deteriorate? I switched from drinking water in plastic bottles to glass since the plastic bottles with start deteriorate very fast, even thou the water is filtered with high PH levels.
I've placed the bottle in a plastic zipper air tight bag to contain the temperatures more.
If you're so worried about the plastic bottles, just get Boston Round Glass bottles
Not from that site necessarily but just that type of bottle.
The real question is, how long do you plan to store it?
I ask because if your plan is to mix so much juice that you can't finish it for months (or over a year), you have to understand that 3 things will significantly degrade the flavor of your juice:
Oxygen, Heat, and Light
All 3 of which noticeably degrade flavor of the nicotine (as well as the actual flavoring itself), which obviously changes the flavor of your juice (in a negative way) over time.
To solve this:
I would highly recommend you use the Boston Round Glasses, and then wrap the bottle with a layer of foil. You can use a small piece of tape to secure the foil.
If you're really going for longevity (1 year+) then use some argon wine preserver
What this does is all you to top off your bottles with a technique used for expensive bottles of wine to put a little argon gas in your bottle before you screw the cap on. This creates a little layer of a gas which is not oxygen, so your juice is not being exposed to oxygen at all. This is an essential to long term storage.
*If you only plan to keep the juice for less than 6 months, you don't have to do either one of these things though. Just put it in the amber bottles and put it in a drawer or somewhere not just sitting in direct light 24/7. And somewhere kinda cool.
Thank you for the suggestions :) . I want to make a 6-7 months of supply, based on my liquid consumption 4 ml a day, 120 a month, so around 700-750 ml of juice for 6 months. I've found a cheap Boston amber bottles here (North Macedonia), was not able to find the wine preserver.
Also regarding the thin foil, will try it for the aging process. Since I don't open the bottles for at least a month, because I use tobacco flavors that like to age for longer. I just lightly turn/mix the bottle in the morning and night.
I really don't see the need for the plastic bags, though you're welcome to do whatever you feel is best. And no the plastic doesn't deteriorate. At least not in my experience. If this were an issue it would be widely covered in the diy community, I'm sure it would've come up on diy or die among the serious mixers there or that take part in the noted episodes. Commercial ejuice companies all around the world wouldn't be using plastic.
The only thing that happens after a year, the juice steeps further. Depending on the flavorings it can darken, it may turn amber in color or if it was more amber/darker to begin with (like vanillas, custards etc) they can turn quite dark even kept out of direct light/heat.
I've had commercial juice last for over a year in the plastic bottles it was sold in. No argon gas. Not even in the refrigerator. Buying up stock from places going out of business. And by 'cool dark place', out of direct light, not near a heat source. Though still exposed to rather warm summers where the house can get 85F or hotter some days. I think you're way overthinking this.
The folks going to the trouble to use glass bottles, argon gas (to displace oxygen from the empty head space in the bottle above the liquid), phenolic caps, taping them shut, stashing them in a fridge or freezer are people storing concentrated nic for mixing. We're talking people with a 3, 4, 5yr+ supply. Not mixed juice for a few months. Half of these discount stores selling brand name juice at reduced prices are likely selling juice that's already 6-7mo old or better since date of manufacture. Reduced prices to move slightly older stock.
Is it really that beneficial to store VG/PG, nicotine or aroma liquids in a fridge or freezer compared to simply store them in a box at 18-23°C?
I want to store it for around 2 years.
For the vg or pg not really, just the nicotine. Not sure what cool temps do to the flavorings, it may not be optimal for them. The cold/dark for extended periods is to keep the nicotine from going off and oxidizing. My flavorings individually are fine, they're not in the fridge. Neither is the vg or pg, just the nic.
What is in this Diy kit?
How long do you think aging a juice takes? It's not really that long and only depends on the flavors being used.
If the bottle is a good bottle and it has a good sealing cap, you don't have much to worry about. Keeping it in a bag is pointless.
on the site there is a easy diy kit that they sent you, perfect for newbie like me. You just select a concentrated juice that you like, and select a easy diy method, put in the preferred nicotine level, and it gives you the calculated juice below, and total price. Mainly the liquid is 50/50 with 50/50 nicotine boosters and the aroma of your choice. The easy diy kit comes in 210-250 ml , depends on the concertation level of the aroma.
For aging, on the site is stated for the juice i've bought minimum of 15-20 days.
Regarding the bottle, yes it has some plastic seal, but as i can see it is a dripper, for easy filling the chubby bottles. The cap is double plastic with child proof seal, had to tighten it very hard so the cap won't wiggle.
I see. Those are all one shots. Which means they are finished mixes that consist of the flavoring only. There's nothing wrong with one shots at all. But full, actual DIY mixing is done with single flavors which make up a full recipe.
I can't see on the page where it has the bottle being used to mix the juice in. So I've no idea what kind of bottle it is. I'm sure it's fine though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45i7dxRN4OA here is official video from the site, and how i received the package. Also i just saw on bottom of the bottle it was stated as PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), but on the label there was no other information regarding the material of the bottle
And yes these diy kits are done with one single concentrated flavor, i really enjoy the site, it is very newbie friendly, it has a calculator on every flavor, you can go easy diy, or simply enter the calculator and insert what pg/vg, nicotine lvl's , how much liquid you want to make, and it calculates for you everything