Tonights 200ml mix up

[Old Greybeard]

Now I've finally laid my hands on some 100ml brown dropper/pipette bottles, it is time to give the old DIY magnetic stirrer some love and mix by biggest batch of ejuice yet. Photos show Letitia V2 recipe:

Dulce de lech [The Flavor Apprentice] 2.00%
Hazelnut DX [The Flavor Apprentice] 2.00%
French vanilla [Capella Flavors] 2.50%
Vanilla custard V1 [Capella Flavors] 2.00%

I also did an "experimental" Dulce, it wasn't meant to be experimental but I ran out of flavouring. Oops.

I had problems getting the stirrer to run consistently, as the stirrer bar often flew off the main rotating magnet. Couldn't work out why as the magnetic force was strong enough to spin the empty jug. Spent a lot of time experimenting with speeds, magnet distance, bar size etc. to no avail. Finally worked out that the sheer amount of force generated at full speed was causing the jug to move slightly off centre. By reducing the friction between the jug and the base, all was well. I added an low power LED backlight just for grins, as the 12v power supply is pretty feeble. Just need to find a more permanent solution other than cling film.

End result is excellent, both juices came out totally opaque due to the sheer amount of air forced into the mix. I'm really quite chuffed, mixing 100ml of max VG at 24 degrees C with a bunch of old computer parts is quite a win, all I had to splash out on was a selection of stirrers (for different size bottles) and a speed controller, but you can do without them.

Can't believe I've gone through 1/3rd of a Litre of VG and half my nic supply already.

 

[smacuser]

Nice scale. That's the one I use .

Looks like a good recipe. Now I need to add Dulce to my cart .

 

[Old Greybeard]

Cheap as chips, and works really well. What's not to like?

Juices have cleared up nicely as well.

 

[Violetti Usva]

Wow, that looks unbelievably viscous. Is that just what happens when you use a machine of sorts for stirring? No matter how much I shake my batches I'm tired waaaay before they look like that. I've got each of those flavourings so I might have to give it a try

 

[Old Greybeard]

Wow, that looks unbelievably viscous. Is that just what happens when you use a machine of sorts for stirring? No matter how much I shake my batches I'm tired waaaay before they look like that. I've got each of those flavourings so I might have to give it a try

Shaking cold VG is a guaranteed way of developing arm muscles. My first ever DIY batch I managed to get it like that just by shaking, but it took me about 10 minutes and I was worn out .

I don't know what speed the stirrer goes at, but it will easily create a vortex in a 500ml jug of water. It struggles a little bit with cold VG and the results are not quite as spectacular, but I think it would perform as well with up to 250ml of VG rather than the 30ml in the photo. I know some of the little battery hand whisks would definitely struggle with bigger amounts, I don't think you would get anywhere near the bubble density as with a mag stirrer, but it would be an improvement on shaking by hand.

 

[Violetti Usva]

Is there any need to get it that thick though? I thought the general advice was to avoid incorporating air into a mixture to prevent oxidising the nicotine. I usually shake each batch for a few minutes per day with the bottle securely sealed for about a week and then just leave it for a while and try forget about it to let it finish steeping.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Is there any need to get it that thick though? I thought the general advice was to avoid incorporating air into a mixture to prevent oxidising the nicotine. I usually shake each batch for a few minutes per day with the bottle securely sealed for about a week and then just leave it for a while and try forget about it to let it finish steeping.

It does look a bit too thick? Probably not the best way. Maybe turn heat down, or not stir quite as long? Kinda looks like a custard ready to fill those little pastry cups? May not hurt to add a few drops of DW.

LOL

 

[Old Greybeard]

Is there any need to get it that thick though?

According to my calculations it worked out at 65% VG, so I think it is more a trick of the flash photography than anything else. Pouring it out after whizzing it didn't seem to appear any thicker than normal VG.

I cant see air alone causing the liquid to thicken, nor should it have any starch or protein that could cause that. Just for grins I'll have to throw some egg whites in there one night and see if I can make a decent meringue .

 

[asmcriminal]

I really don't do much DYI(I have). But personally, I would definately not use plastic like that. You're heating it up. Some of the molecules can go in to your ejuice. It's much better to use glass in that case.

 

[Old Greybeard]

I really don't do much DYI(I have). But personally, I would definately not use plastic like that. You're heating it up. Some of the molecules can go in to your ejuice. It's much better to use glass in that case.

I'm not using any heat, and bottles are food grade I believe so shouldn't cause any issues. I agree, if there were going in an heated ultrasonic tank glass would be much more appropriate.

Only issues I've had with plastic bottles is that they can absorb certain aromas, garlic being one of the worse.

 

[IDJoel]

Is there any need to get it that thick though?

If you are referring to this picture:

I would tend to agree with @Old Greybeard, and say that it is just the photo being taken at a very fast shutter speed. The "stop action" effect makes it look almost like Vaseline is being stirred. In reality, it is just e-liquid being stirred at an excessively high speed, which in turn creates a much too big of a vortex, where one only sees the top third(?), quarter(?), of a traditional/complete funnel. This is what is introducing the extreme amount of air, and making the liquid have a dairy-like opacity. It is no "thicker" than normal.

A smaller stir bar, a taller more narrow mixing vessel, and/or slower mixing speed, would all be ways to aid in minimizing this.

Having a magnetic stir plate, that has variable speed control, would allow the user to select a more appropriate speed that would create a minimal vortex. This would still permit thorough mixing while introducing much less air.

 

[asmcriminal]

I'm not using any heat, and bottles are food grade I believe so shouldn't cause any issues. I agree, if there were going in an heated ultrasonic tank glass would be much more appropriate.

Only issues I've had with plastic bottles is that they can absorb certain aromas, garlic being one of the worse.

Okay, it looked like you had it on a heating surface. But on closer inspection it looks like a computer power supply. Is that a hack or something? I have a chemistry lab(with stiring hot plate). I am a former chemist, so I have not seen that yet.

 

[Old Greybeard]

Okay, it looked like you had it on a heating surface. But on closer inspection it looks like a computer power supply. Is that a hack or something? I have a chemistry lab(with stiring hot plate). I am a former chemist, so I have not seen that yet.

Well spotted, it's a gutted old PC power supply (with the exception of the cooling fan and power switch) with a magnet from a hard drive glued to the central spindle.