How I steep my juice (DIY speed steeping)

[TommyG]

I've been mixing for about 2 years, used to have a little side company that sold to retailers (no longer a vendor of any type, just so ECF admin knows lol), and I thought it might be helpful to share what I've come up with for speed steeping. Everything I mix comes in at over 80% VG, so sometimes a little shake can be a deceptive term/process, as the thick stuff doesn't take well to a simple shake like high PG juices might. I detailed this in one of my recipe posts, but wanted to throw it up here as it's own thread for those interested.

What you'll need:

Glass bottles (they handle heat better than plastic, plastic may be fine, but glass is safer)
Ultrasonic cleaner (Walmart/Target have suitable jewelery cleaners for about 30$)
Stove
Pot/pan
Cooking Thermometer (10$ at Walmart/Target)

After you've mixed your juice up, of course, give it a good shaking, and toss it into the UC for about an hour. Get your pot filled with enough water to reach just below the bottle(s) you want to steep, and heat it on the stove to 150f-160f. After you finish with the UC, set the bottles in your hot water for about 2 hours, check temp every 30 minutes to make sure it's holding steady. After 2 hours remove the heat, shake the bottles (may be hot), uncap, and leave in the water for 2 more hours. After everything has cooled, recap the bottles, and put back in the UC for 2 hours to over night.

The end result should be really close to 21-30 days (equivalent) steep time, and little to no perfume to the juice. In the event that you have one, a crock pot works well in place of a stove/pot. I do this when I'm mixing for my friends, or small bottles for myself (60ml or less).

 

[OcalaFlGuy]

I'm just a nOOb but I listen well in class too.

I have a couple minor issues here. 150-160 f is right at where I understand the nic starts to degrade. In fountain pen repair there is a saying when heating a pen in a repair, If it's too hot for your fingers, it's too hot for the pen. You really start to want to move your fingers at about 150 f. I understand the need to raise the viscosity to allow for better shaking/mixing, I just think 150-160 is 20 degrees or so too hot. My own personal opinion would be warm-Hot water, not HOT water.

I have one of those USCs that I use for pens. It's a Hauer that was sold under several brandings. probably around 10" squarish. It has a digital timer on it that maxes out at I think 8 min. I paid around $35 for mine about 5 years ago. I've probably used mine 60-70 times for between 3-30 mins each use. I can't imagine having to reset the damn timer every 8 minutes for 2 hrs, much less overnight. Also, when I sonicate pen parts for more than about 15 min, my water gets quite warm. I will sometimes change the water for cool water mid cleaning as WARM!/hot water and pen parts don't get along. I am pretty sure 2 hrs in my cleaner would raise it's water into that 150-160 f too warm area.

PS; I got a really righteous digital cooking probe thermometer for $10 at Publix.

I can see the time effort if I were mixing quantities, but for a couple three bottles in vapemail, not so much.
Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

[TommyG]

My UC doesn't have a timer, so it's not as time consuming as it may be with what you have. I haven't had any issues/complaints with the nic degrading, but don't use nic over 1.5mg anymore, but have done this method up to 6mg without issue. I'll have to look into it, but I do appreciate the feedback/heads up.

 

[dannyv45]

I'm just a nOOb but I listen well in class too.

I have a couple minor issues here. 150-160 f is right at where I understand the nic starts to degrade. In fountain pen repair there is a saying when heating a pen in a repair, If it's too hot for your fingers, it's too hot for the pen. You really start to want to move your fingers at about 150 f. I understand the need to raise the viscosity to allow for better shaking/mixing, I just think 150-160 is 20 degrees or so too hot. My own personal opinion would be warm-Hot water, not HOT water.

I have one of those USCs that I use for pens. It's a Hauer that was sold under several brandings. probably around 10" squarish. It has a digital timer on it that maxes out at I think 8 min. I paid around $35 for mine about 5 years ago. I've probably used mine 60-70 times for between 3-30 mins each use. I can't imagine having to reset the damn timer every 8 minutes for 2 hrs, much less overnight. Also, when I sonicate pen parts for more than about 15 min, my water gets quite warm. I will sometimes change the water for cool water mid cleaning as WARM!/hot water and pen parts don't get along. I am pretty sure 2 hrs in my cleaner would raise it's water into that 150-160 f too warm area.

PS; I got a really righteous digital cooking probe thermometer for $10 at Publix.

I can see the time effort if I were mixing quantities, but for a couple three bottles in vapemail, not so much.
Bruce in Ocala, Fl

I use a UC with heating and a 30 min timer and find 150F perfect for steeping. The idea is to control the oxidation of NIC by using heat at a specific temperature over a specific time period. A UC has the advantage of maintaining close to that specific heat (Mine maintains temperature at 152F) while introducing agitation. If you use to much heat then you oxidize the NIC to quickly introducing a harshness to the mix. Although it's true you degrade the NIC at 150F the amount is negligible and an unavoidable side effect of the oxidation process. The heat helps accelerate nic oxidation (which is a good thing) while also aiding the flavor molecules to combine with the base elements. Oxidation is what adds throat hit, the more oxidation the stronger the throat hit. This practice of steeping has been going on for a long time and tests that I've participated in have proved it's effectiveness (See ultrasonic steeping thread). Also read my blog on steeping.

Everything you wanted to know about steeping and then some. | E-Cigarette Forum