A warning to those getting into DIY..

[Kellycat]

First, I'm posting this in the New Members section rather than the DIY subforum simply because I think it might get a little more exposure here for the newbies, if a mod feels it should be moved, so be it.

Now, on to the story:
I've got a drawer full of eliquids, pre-mixed and raw supplies. Couple bottles of unflavored nic base in 60, 30, 16mg. All in the same style of bottle too, but labeled pretty clearly, or so I thought. 3am, I'm tired and not paying attention, and I load a clearo with unflavored 16mg for the next morning as my wake-up vape..set it on the nightstand, pick it up when I wake up today around 2pm and take a drag. Knocked me flat on my backside and I couldn't figure out why, so I took another drag. Horrible throat hit, dizziness, the works.

So of course I set my PV down, and go look in the drawer full of supplies. Guess what? The 60mg nic bottle isn't lined up with the rest.. I can only assume I misread the label from being so sleepy and filled my tank with unflavored 60mg instead of 16mg. For me, no big deal, I'm tolerant of the stuff, though I did immediately wash out the clearo since I wasn't going to vape 60mg straight all day.

For someone more sensitive to nicotine, this could have ended very badly I'm sure, so here's the warning, take it for what it's worth: Pay attention to what you're doing! Also it's not a bad idea to double-check labels, which I should've done anyways.. I've now transferred the 60mg to a separate glass bottle that I can distinguish by touch alone, so there will be no risk of another mistake like this in the future. Figured I'd share this with the community and hopefully remind people to be more careful with their DIY/refilling, cause there's always going to be somebody who doesn't think about it and goes 'Oh, I can handle this..' and they can't and wind up in the hospital or at least feeling lousy from it.

TL;DR: Used 60mg nic instead of 16mg due to not paying attention, got knocked on my *** for it. Make your high-nic bottles easily identifiable!

Edit: By extension, don't go leaving unlabeled clearos full of liquid in your drawer unless you're 110% positive they're not 'rocket fuel', you don't want to grab what you thought was a 6mg tank and wind up vaping 36mg or something equally strong right before bed.

 

[jazon1]

had a slip up with some 100mg once and only once since then i dilute my base to 24mg to be safe and fill many 10-30ml bottles about 75% of the way to leave room for flavoring and toss them all in the fridge,for people new to DIY make sure you follow all safety practices:clean safe area to work away from pets and kids,rubber gloves,long sleeves,and be aware of every drop of your liquid and exactly where it is.
my error with the 100mg base was i had a drop on my table and didnt realize it rested my arm on it without knowing and about a minute later i was blue in the face...some very potent stuff not to be taken lightly.

 

[Kellycat]

had a slip up with some 100mg once and only once since then i dilute my base to 24mg to be safe and fill many 10-30ml bottles about 75% of the way to leave room for flavoring and toss them all in the fridge,for people new to DIY make sure you follow all safety practices:clean safe area to work away from pets and kids,rubber gloves,long sleeves,and be aware of every drop of your liquid and exactly where it is.
my error with the 100mg base was i had a drop on my table and didnt realize it rested my arm on it without knowing and about a minute later i was blue in the face...some very potent stuff not to be taken lightly.

Also excellent advice re: prepping a work area. I have a few 100mg bottles on order and if I could I'd get 200mg just so it would last longer, but the inherit dangers of high-nic liquids have me a bit skeptical on that now. I set aside a small jewelry/cigar box with a little lock on it to hold anything higher than 60mg, not only for my own protection and peace of mind, but to keep others from grabbing it and using it without reading the label.

I personally always have a dirty dish or two on my desk from late-night snacks, so I find myself working on top of a plate when I'm mixing, that way if I do spill something I just pick the dish up and wash it in the sink real quick, no risk of damaging my desk or coming into contact with the stuff from a spilled drop here or there. Some use sauce pans, some just have dedicated areas with drop cloths and towels to soak up spills, but in a small apartment I'm at a premium for space and can't afford the luxury of that. Luckily the only person around that'd get into the stuff is my girlfriend, and she's smart enough to ask me what's what if she wants to try something, especially as she's a non-smoker and only touches 0mg once in a while for the flavors.

 

[shakeytails]

To be honest, that was kinda dumb. Why would you even have 60mg nic in a drip top bottle, or anywhere near finished juice if it was?


ETA: Unless space is a concern, it's really not any cheaper to use the higher concentrations of nicotine using WL prices. I figured it out to be around a penny difference in cost for 10ml of 18mg juice using 36mg nic vs 100mg nic. I'm far from the most safety conscious person, but even for me it's not worth the safety concerns of dealing with nicotine concentrations that are potentially deadly.

 

[Gematria]

Seeing as your bottle is 60 mg/ml, I highly doubt it'd be fatal for accidental vaping.

I earnestly have no idea how much a puff would constitute, but I'm sure it's lower than 0.1 mg, even at 0.1 mg the dose of nicotine you'd be getting is 6 mg, I do reckon one could feel sick from taking this much nicotine in with one puff, but from what I've read the LD50 of Nicotine is 30-50 mg for a non-smoker and can be up to 120 mg for a smoker (taken from "Dark Truth Behind E-Cigarettes").

Of course one should be cautious when handling juices with high nicotine levels, but I don't think you have to be paranoid about losing your life through accidental vaping, in Jazon's case the nicotine got absorbed through his skin, which is a far more serious concern.

 

[Roncgizmo]

I know I'm new here but may I also suggest that if you don't smoke or you quit already don't use Nic.

 

[Cavediver]

This isn't likely to happen to me since I keep my nic & DIY supplies in a separate area from finished liquids, it's still a good warning to heed. I split my nic into brown 30ml bottles for use and storage. My current vendor and DIY bottles are all plastic, but it could become an issue down the road. I think I'll work on a better routine, storage solution, and some poison / caution labels..

 

[Kellycat]

To be honest, that was kinda dumb. Why would you even have 60mg nic in a drip top bottle, or anywhere near finished juice if it was?


ETA: Unless space is a concern, it's really not any cheaper to use the higher concentrations of nicotine using WL prices. I figured it out to be around a penny difference in cost for 10ml of 18mg juice using 36mg nic vs 100mg nic. I'm far from the most safety conscious person, but even for me it's not worth the safety concerns of dealing with nicotine concentrations that are potentially deadly.

In my case space is a concern, I don't have room for twenty bottles of 36mg unfortunately, or I'd have cut that 60mg to 24 or so by now. None of my stuff is in drip bottles, I fill with syringes, though for those who do fill from bottles that's a great way to prevent mishaps, just don't keep a tip on anything that's not a 'finished product'.

Seeing as your bottle is 60 mg/ml, I highly doubt it'd be fatal for accidental vaping.

I earnestly have no idea how much a puff would constitute, but I'm sure it's lower than 0.1 mg, even at 0.1 mg the dose of nicotine you'd be getting is 6 mg, I do reckon one could feel sick from taking this much nicotine in with one puff, but from what I've read the LD50 of Nicotine is 30-50 mg for a non-smoker and can be up to 120 mg for a smoker (taken from "Dark Truth Behind E-Cigarettes").

Of course one should be cautious when handling juices with high nicotine levels, but I don't think you have to be paranoid about losing your life through accidental vaping, in Jazon's case the nicotine got absorbed through his skin, which is a far more serious concern.

Agreed entirely, wasn't saying it was necessarily lethal, but still, the speed at which I started getting dizzy and nauseous from that stuff was slightly alarming, and could scare someone who thinks they're reacting to a much lower level of nicotine. I can see it now, someone vaping 36mg when they're used to 6mg and going "Oh man, I can't do this vaping thing, it's making me sick." Sure, worst-case scenario, but I know people like that!

I know I'm new here but may I also suggest that if you don't smoke or you quit already don't use Nic.

Valid point, if you're not in the process of quitting smoking, or if you've already worked down to 0mg. I know my timeline is to get off nicotine completely within a year, and then I'll just be mixing PG/VG/flavorings out of habit and to give my hands something to do as far as vaping goes.

 

[Kellycat]

This isn't likely to happen to me since I keep my nic & DIY supplies in a separate area from finished liquids, it's still a good warning to heed. I split my nic into brown 30ml bottles for use and storage. My current vendor and DIY bottles are all plastic, but it could become an issue down the road. I think I'll work on a better routine, storage solution, and some poison / caution labels..

Hazard labels don't protect you from yourself usually Most people get used to them after a while, though if you have others in the household, it's an excellent idea. I'm at a premium for space so I'm using the same drawer for everything, but as I might have stated before I've got a little box to hold unflavored nic bottles now, hopefully will accomplish the same thing.

It's nice to see the stories and safety tips from others popping up in here, maybe it'll prevent some accidents

 

[thinkingaboutit]

I keep the 100mg/ml in the freezer. When it gets diluted to base, it goes in a large mouth blue jar. Nothing goes in bottles until it is flavored. Sometimes I screw up and forget to label, but I can't mistake one thing for another. Mystery flavor is my worst issue I could have.

 

[CheekyChica]

Always a good idea to be organized. I keep all my DIY supplies in my home office, located in a specific desk with drawers and everything in tupperware with written labels. I only keep finished juices in my kitchen cabinets way up high, as I do have a 6 yr old in the house! My home office is always locked too.

 

[XzuLLX]

is it possible to get nic poisoning? feeling unwell now after vaping high nic liq

 

[look30]

Always a good idea to be organized. I keep all my DIY supplies in my home office, located in a specific desk with drawers and everything in tupperware with written labels. I only keep finished juices in my kitchen cabinets way up high, as I do have a 6 yr old in the house! My home office is always locked too.

Ia agree, on top of it I keep my bases separate from my juice and under lock in a toolbox.
I never order 100 mg , I order 50 and for a few more shekels , it's safer this way IMHO.

 

[look30]

is it possible to get nic poisoning? feeling unwell now after vaping high nic liq

If you feel unwell see a doctor.