Storing nicotine in glass bottles in the freezer?

[RMarcusY]

I've been storing my PG based , 100mg/ml , nicotine in plastic bottles in the freezer. I got some 1oz, amber, glass bottles today. Is it okay to fill them to the top and freeze them? Any danger of it expanding and breaking the glass?

 

[AmandaD]

Yes you should fill them pretty much to the top. Since nicotine won't freeze in PG/VG it won't expand! You want to leave as little air as possible to minimize oxidization.

 

[Huckleberried]

Exactly what Amanda said. I've always split it up and stored it in glass. Usually, I bubble wrap the bottles, put them in freezer bags, label them with all the pertinent information and move them toward the back (I label each bottle, too). Last time I got a case of 100ml wide mouth bottles. They were divided with cardboard, so I put them in that box, then into the freezer. Stored so nicely!

 

[RMarcusY]

I thank you, both of you.

 

[sketchness]

The only warning I have seen is to make sure you fill the glass bottles with the nic at room temperature. If you do it with cold nic from the freezer when it warms all the way up it will overflow.

 

[John C]

this is something ive wondered myself... i do not store my nic base (60 mg in 50/50) in a freezer. It just sits on my shelf in its original container. Does this degrade anything? It won't last more than 2-3 months away.

 

[Wingsfan0310]

You can store your Nic in the freezer whether it's in PG or VG. Like Amanda said, PG and VG contract unlike water.Me personally, when I receive my Nic order (500-1000ml) I break it up into 60-120ml Amber Glass bottles. I leave one out and freeze the rest. I don't take it out and re-freeze it. I just leave my working bottle out and take a new one out when I finish it.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Wingsfan0310]

To be more precise, this is exactly how I store mine:

Empty (washed lol) Margarine Container

Eight 60ml Amber Glass Bottles

I do this because if the worst were to happen and for whatever reason I had one beak, it would be contained. I've never had a problem, but I'd rather be safe than sorry

Cheers,
Steve

 

[NGAHaze]

this is something ive wondered myself... i do not store my nic base (60 mg in 50/50) in a freezer. It just sits on my shelf in its original container. Does this degrade anything? It won't last more than 2-3 months away.

Your nicotine will oxidize slightly over that 2-3 month time period but not enough to worry about. It will likely gain a little color and perhaps have more of a 'taste' ( subjective to the individual ) to it than it did initially but again, not enough to worry about, imho.

 

[Just Frank]

What is the benefit of using glass over plastic when putting it in a freezer? I see people posting the proper way is to use glass. But I haven't read anywhere here as to why. Why not plastic?

 

[xpen]

The idea, or actually suspicion, is that (long-term) the base might interact with the plastic composing the bottle - or that plastic may allow more oxygen to creep in.
No evidence of that so far, so using glass is just a precaution - especially for people creating a hi-nic stash meant to last for many, many years. Ahem .
@Rossum is currently doing such an experiment with hi-nic-content bases: he put equal quantities of the same base into 4 bottles, 2 plastic and 2 glass, and keeps a pair (plastic + glass) in the freezer while the other pair is left at room temperature.
This is to empirically (visually) compare whether/how much temperature and bottle material affect nic oxidization
After many weeks the frozen pair is still crystal clear whereas the room temp pair is visibly yellow-ish; no appreciable color difference between plastic and glass in each pair, so far at least.

 

[Rossum]

@USER=45836]@Rossum[/USER] is currently doing such an experiment with hi-nic-content bases: he put equal quantities of the same base into 4 bottles, 2 plastic and 2 glass, and keeps a pair (plastic + glass) in the freezer while the other pair is left at room temperature.
This is to empirically (visually) compare whether/how much temperature and bottle material affect nic oxidization
After many weeks the frozen pair is still crystal clear whereas the room temp pair is visibly yellow-ish; no appreciable color difference between plastic and glass in each pair, so far at least.

Yep. I believe this is the set of samples you're referring to:

There's no significant difference between the (#1 PET) plastic and the glass, but the difference between the samples kept in the freezer (marked "F") vs those kept at room temperature (marked "RT") is quite apparent.

Here's some additional samples:

VG nic:

PG nic:

Bottom line: Keep your nic base cold!

 

[AndriaD]

I've been storing my PG based , 100mg/ml , nicotine in plastic bottles in the freezer. I got some 1oz, amber, glass bottles today. Is it okay to fill them to the top and freeze them? Any danger of it expanding and breaking the glass?

It doesn't expand, because it never actually freezes -- which is why they put PG in antifreeze. Glass is really by far the best thing to use for "freezing" nicotine; it won't allow chemicals from the plastic to leach into the nicotine, and it keeps out air much better, and doesn't permit other smells/tastes to foul the nicotine.

Andria

 

[Rossum]

I've been storing my PG based , 100mg/ml , nicotine in plastic bottles in the freezer. I got some 1oz, amber, glass bottles today. Is it okay to fill them to the top and freeze them? Any danger of it expanding and breaking the glass?

I suggest leaving a small amount of headroom in them. Both PG and VG will contract in the freezer, but if the temperature when you go to use the stuff is higher than when you bottled it, you'll have a mess.

Also, when you remove your nic from the freezer, do not remove the cap on the bottle until it's fully back to ambient temperature. This will prevent condensation from forming inside the bottle.

 

[RMarcusY]

I posted this two years ago.

Just a month or two ago, I checked my "nicotine stash", and found that one of the plastic caps on a glass bottle had cracked and broken. The bottle was upright and in a extra baggy, so no leakage occurred.

May be I need better caps?

 

[Rossum]

I posted this two years ago.

Hah! Sorry, I got "paged" into this thread today.

Just a month or two ago, I checked my "nicotine stash", and found that one of the plastic caps on a glass bottle had cracked and broken. The bottle was upright and in a extra baggy, so no leakage occurred.

May be I need better caps?

Sounds like it. "Polycone" caps provide the best seal, and I think those made of phenolic are probably going to withstand the freezer better than cheap plastic.

 

[RMarcusY]

They are/were Phenolic cone caps

 

[Heartsdelight]

You can store your Nic in the freezer whether it's in PG or VG. Like Amanda said, PG and VG contract unlike water.Me personally, when I receive my Nic order (500-1000ml) I break it up into 60-120ml Amber Glass bottles. I leave one out and freeze the rest. I don't take it out and re-freeze it. I just leave my working bottle out and take a new one out when I finish it.

Cheers,
Steve

Sounds like a great idea.! Now to source so many amber bottles

 

[Heartsdelight]

Yep. I believe this is the set of samples you're referring to:

There's no significant difference between the (#1 PET) plastic and the glass, but the difference between the samples kept in the freezer (marked "F") vs those kept at room temperature (marked "RT") is quite apparent.

Here's some additional samples:

VG nic:

PG nic:

Bottom line: Keep your nic base cold!

Thanks for sharing! And experimenting

 

[Rossum]

They are/were Phenolic cone caps

Scratching my head. I've never had one fail.

 

[RMarcusY]

That was just one,,, I've used several hundred and only had one fail.

 

[manuva]

How long can nic last in the freezer in amber bottles? I'm worried about the bottles exploding if left too long? I had this happen with a wine bottle once.

 

[Huckleberried]

I have some in my freezer from, at least, 2015 right now.

 

[Ms. Trixy]

How long can nic last in the freezer in amber bottles? I'm worried about the bottles exploding if left too long? I had this happen with a wine bottle once.

I've had mine in amber bottles for 5 years. Make sure you leave as little air as possible before storing. Up to the neck is good. Keep them in the dark. I put dark bath towels over mine. You'll be fine.

 

[manuva]

I've had mine in amber bottles for 5 years. Make sure you leave as little air as possible before storing. Up to the neck is good. Keep them in the dark. I put dark bath towels over mine. You'll be fine.

Thanks. You have them in the freezer or fridge or just room temp?

 

[Ms. Trixy]

Freezer for long term. Room temp if you'll be using it is fine. I'm sure someone else will chime in.
And take a look at the DIY how to's for more help.

 

[AndriaD]

I have some in my freezer from, at least, 2015 right now.

Likewise, I just opened a new bottle on my last mix, it was stored in August 2015, so it's just a bit over 5 yrs old, and is very close to completely clear, with an almost undetectable yellow tinge. The 30ml bottle I just finished was from the same batch, and as it got down to the bottom, the yellow tinge was apparent, but it still tasted just fine -- IOW, no taste at all, using 100mg nic to mix up 5mg ejuice. It's Vaperstek "TH Nicotine," so it started out already just slightly oxidized (it looked very faintly pinkish, at first), but the freezer storage in brown 30ml bottles didn't cause it to degrade in any perceptible way.

Andria

 

[Carambrda]

The plastic bottles I have are argon treated so there's no air bubble sitting on top of the liquid surface, just argon. Air contains oxygen, which causes the nic to start slowly oxidising. After opening, the argon just escapes into the air so air enters the bottle. That's why I don't just keep my plastic bottles in the freezer where it's both cold and dark, but at the same time also I keep my plastic bottles unopened. The type of plastic that these bottles are made of follows the same high quality standard commonly found in medical supplies so it is colorant-free HDPE that also is well-known for the fact it doesn't release harmful and potentially harmful plasticizers and whatnot.

EDIT: Correction, see here: https://vapingunderground.com/threa...ss-bottles-in-the-freezer.115536/post-2941684

 

[DaBunny]

you folks are like manna from heaven...
.
.
.
was sitting here looking at da stock dat JUST came in.
den looking at da freezer. some stock already der.
den da question....
???ARE YA SURE???

an see manna from heaven
THANK YOU!

 

[manuva]

I bought a gallon of nic from lnw. Can I store it in the freezer in the default container - or should I transfer it to amber bottles? My storage freezer does not defrost.

 

[Pastorfuzz]

I bought a gallon of nic from lnw. Can I store it in the freezer in the default container - or should I transfer it to amber bottles? My storage freezer does not defrost.

I split mine in the glass amber bottles as soon as i get it because it's easy for me to grab a small bottle out of the freezer to mix with and not having to open the gallon every time i want to mix. I would think that opening your gallon every time you want nic, it would cause it to degrade faster.

 

[manuva]

I split mine in the glass amber bottles as soon as i get it because it's easy for me to grab a small bottle out of the freezer to mix with and not having to open the gallon every time i want to mix. I would think that opening your gallon every time you want nic, it would cause it to degrade faster.

What size bottles do you typically split it into? I will buy some bottles

 

[Pastorfuzz]

What size bottles do you typically split it into? I will buy some bottles
[/QUOTE

I get 120ml bottles. I vape at 4 to 5 mg so i can mix around 20 or so bottles of juice out of a 120ml bottle of 100mg nic

 

[Pastorfuzz]

Don't know what happened with my reply but it merged with you post.
This site is wonky tonight

 

[gsmit1]

Don't know what happened with my reply but it merged with you post.
This site is wonky tonight

It looks like you're missing the last bracket on the closing tag of his quote.

You have this:
[/QUOTE

Should be this:
[/QUOTE ]

 

[Carambrda]

I split mine in the glass amber bottles as soon as i get it because it's easy for me to grab a small bottle out of the freezer to mix with and not having to open the gallon every time i want to mix. I would think that opening your gallon every time you want nic, it would cause it to degrade faster.

Yes, but with the argon treated bottles I don't open the next bottle until finally needed. So, only one of the argon treated ones will get split, the other ones remain still unopened for as long as possible.

 

[AndriaD]

I don't know if I ever mentioned it in any of my posts here, but the 30ml brown glass bottle that I'm currently using from, I store in the fridge. I get mine in a PG base, so even when it's cold, it's not hard to pull up in a syringe. The fridge's ~37F doesn't slow the molecular action as well the freezer's sub-freezing temp, but it helps, and it keeps it mostly in the dark. When I was using 10mg ejuice, it didn't last as long, obvously, but I nowadays vape 5mg, still roughly 5ml per day, so it's nice to see how well the fridge helps the open 30ml bottle last.

Andria

 

[AnnaWatson]

Yes you can keep this without any worries the sellers also keeps their nicotine flavors in freezers or must be in cool environments to provide them fresh and healthy environment.

 

[jambi]

What is the benefit of using glass over plastic when putting it in a freezer? I see people posting the proper way is to use glass. But I haven't read anywhere here as to why. Why not plastic?

I just broke open a new liter of Nicotine River 100 ml VG that was stored in the freezer in its original white PET plastic container in June 2016. It's clear in color, smells and performs like freshly bought nic. I've always stored my nic horde unopened in its original plastic containers, as I've got this crazy idea that opening it and pouring it into another container exposes it to enough air to start the degrading process early, but that's just me. Never noticed any degradation or plastic transfer whatsoever.

 

[Carambrda]

I just broke open a new liter of Nicotine River 100 ml VG that was stored in the freezer in its original white PET plastic container in June 2016. It's clear in color, smells and performs like freshly bought nic. I've always stored my nic horde unopened in its original plastic containers, as I've got this crazy idea that opening it and pouring it into another container exposes it to enough air to start the degrading process early, but that's just me. Never noticed any degradation or plastic transfer whatsoever.

Over in Denmark there was a bit of a riot about certain plastics releasing harmful constituents in gradual amounts. Took more than a whole decade for the rest of EU lawmakers to finally follow suit and pose stricter regulations, but clear HDPE is fairly safe, if it complies with certified medical standards of the highest levels. Mechanical stress still causes the HDPE to break down slowly over time, but this happens so slow that I'm not too worried. After all, you're not actually squeezing the bottles or anything like that, just the temperature fluctuations in the freezer are causing very subtle mechanical action (expansion/contraction). If the bottle is argon treated, the argon also helps to mitigate that effect, as gaseous substances are more elastic compared to fluids, and, argon is one of the so-called inert gasses, which means it causes no chemical reactions, so... no oxidation of the nic nor abrasion of the plastic. Once the bottle has been opened, the argon will have escaped from it so the air that's been let inside will start the oxidation process despite the oxidation at freezing temperatures when stored in a dark environment is really very slow indeed.

EDIT: Looks like I was probably wrong about what 'argon treated' factually means. I was assuming there would be a layer of argon gas above the liquid surface, but they're using it in plasma form instead, during the first step in the process of some (technologically advanced) surface treatments on a few types of plastic like HDPE and PET.

 

[MrNiceVape]

Hi All -
I'm new to the DIY community through necessity (PACT Act). I was able to stock up on pre-made ejuice through at least late fall/winter, storing in a black Costco storage tub in a closet in the house.

I'm planning to stock up on DIY stuff from River Supply so I can make my own once I run out. I have a few questions about how I should store my DIY liquids until I'm ready to use them.

Here's my order:
- 2 liters of 100mg/ml of 100% PG base nicotine
- 1 150 ml bottle of 100mg/ml of PG base nicotine
- 4 liters of PG (split into 500ml each)
- 12 liters of VG (split into 500ml each)
- Mixing glassware, a bunch of eliquid bottles of different sizes and a scale
- Some one-shot flavoring
- A few of the more popular individual flavor concentrates

Here are my questions/confirmations:
- Note: While I won't technically need any of this until October if my ejuice stock lasts that long, I do plan to experiment over the next few months.
- Note2: I don't know if the nic base, pg or vg will be arriving in glass or plastic, but I'm assuming I'd be better off leaving them sealed in their original container regardless to minimize oxidization.
- For the 2 liters of nicotine base, I plan to place straight in the chest freezer inside of 1 gallon freezer bags.
- For the 150 ml nicotine base, I plan to transfer 120 ml of it into a glass bottle and stick it back in the freezer. The other 30 ml, I plan to place in a 30 ml tinted glass bottle at room temp for experimenting.
- For all of the PG and VG bottles except for one 500ml of each, I plan to place straight in the freezer inside of 1 gallon freezer bags.
- For the one each of PG and VG 500 ml bottles, I plan to place a useable amount in tinted glass bottles stored at room temp and the remaining amount back in the freezer in glass bottles.
- For the flavoring, I don't plan to buy large quantities for now, just enough to experiment and a bit extra. I'm hearing that those can't be placed in the freezer, just at room temp and that they don't last much longer than a year. I'm crossing my fingers that flavors will be exempted by PACT since their used for food products and other things besides ejuice.
- Does anyone know of a good DIY printed cookbook just in case big tech colludes with big pharma/big tobacco and shuts down DIY recipe or how to websites?
- Should I use one those mini whisks to stir the DIY juice or is just shaking it up enough?
- What are your favorite sites for one-shot flavors?

Thanks all.

 

[Pastorfuzz]

Personally, I break down all my nic in 120ml amber glass bottles and put them in the freezer. I have around 12 liters or so. Not knowing how long you plan to vape and at what strength, you might want to grab some more nic now.
As far as accessing recipes, hard telling what will happen with the sites online.
I print all the recipes I like and put them in a binder.
My PG and VG stay in a closet in the basement where it stays cool.
Good luck

 

[MrNiceVape]

Thanks @Pastorfuzz . Just to confirm my thinking on how much nic I should buy, here was my thinking, assuming that I consume almost 120ml of 70VG/30PG 6mg ejuice every week.

1 liter or 100mg/ml, 12 liters of VG, 3 liters of PG should make about 138 (120 ml) bottles of unflavored ejuice. That would last me for 2 1/2 years or half that if I plan to split it with a buddy of mine. Am I thinking about this right? I added the 2nd liter of nicotine just to give me the option to go another 2 1/2 years or at least 2 1/2 years total if I shared. Beyond that, I start thinking about how long the nic would still be usable.

How much nic are you all buying for personal use? Are you also stocking up PG and VG at the same pace or just planning to buy as you need it assuming those will still be available?

 

[Pastorfuzz]

The thinking on the vape forums seems to agree that nic will last 10 years in a freezer. The 12 or so liters I have is for personal use. I mix 4 or 5 mg in my juice.
I bought that much to be sure I wouldn't run out.
Not worried about PG or VG or flavorings for that matter. Should still be available.
Just be sure you have enough nic especially if you are mixing for other people. And get it in the next 2 weeks because of the shipping restrictions start around then.

 

[MrNiceVape]

One more question, when you break the seal on the nic to transfer into your amber bottles, do you do anything to remove the oxygen before resealing each bottle? That is part of my reservation about opening up the sealed nic bottles, even if they arrive in plastic.

 

[Pastorfuzz]

My nic is PG based. I fill the bottles about 1/8 inch below the top then screw on the lid. It won't freeze so your bottles won't break.
Others will give advice also once they see your post. Everyone here is pretty knowledgeable. You may get different opinions on how they do it but its basically all the same.

 

[MrNiceVape]

Thank you, @Pastorfuzz . Very helpful. I think I may add some more nic to my cart just to be safe.

 

[SUKMYVAPOR]

Do you really think it's going to matter if it oxidized in 3 yrs 5 yrs 10 yrs as long as it's vapeable .. just mix a little higher if need be.. just transfer leave little head space and store it. . No need to worry about what may or may not happen. I've learned shit happens. If it's not usable at all .. honestly at this point do any of us have a choice . Don't over think it.. cover it with a dark towel .. in the freezer wrap it in aluminum foil . Then zip locks lots of choices nothing is going to be a definite answer.. because noone really knows

 

[Pastorfuzz]

Thank you, @Pastorfuzz . Very helpful. I think I may add some more nic to my cart just to be safe.

Last time I looked, Liquid Nicotine Wholesalers were selling gallons of 100 mg nic for $159. PG and VG based

 

[Heartsdelight]

I’ve stored some older flavorings in the freezer & they’re fine when I pull them out to use. Some I put in the fridge. I store my nic stash in the freezer like you plan too in ziploc bags, so far so good. I keep a small glass bottle in the fridge with the nic in use.

Bull City Flavors is VU‘s members go to for flavorings. https://www.chefsflavours.co.uk/ for flavors not accessible here. They also have great one shots. If you join Chefsflavours FB people post great recipes & people share their favs. I’m an avid @Nevans fan. He sells his one shots on Chefs & shares his recipes on eliquidrecipe.com his name there is “Nevans”.

There is a nicotine calculator to see how much nic you need for “x“ number of years based on how much you vape. i don’t have a link I think you can find it via goggle.

Some like to store their nic in the amber glass bottles & use argon gas to remove oxygen from the bottle. I don’t do that so perhaps others that do can give you more info.