Throughout your vaping experience, you’ve probably noticed that e-liquid can be an expensive part of the hobby.
This cost has led some vapers to follow the DIY juice route, creating their flavors at home instead of buying ready-made e-liquids. Other vapers combat the standard price of e-liquid by buying bulk during sales, purchasing enough e-liquids to keep them going until the next special rolls around.
Whatever the case, you’ve probably found yourself in a position where you have a lot of e-liquid but aren’t going through it quite fast enough. After all, 100ml bottles hold a lot of e-liquid and can take quite some time to finish.
Fortunately, e-liquid can last a long time if you avoid its three enemies: heat, light, and air. Your liquid can last even longer if you combine it with the 3 ‘friends’ of e-liquid storage by storing your juice in a sealed glass container in a cool place.
In this article, we’ll be looking at the top three do’s and don’ts to ensure you store your e-liquid correctly so that you never have to come back to a sour-smelling (and tasting) juice.
Contents
The 3 Enemies of E-Liquid – The Don’ts
While the propylene glycol (PG) base of your e-liquid is resistant to deterioration, vegetable glycerin (VG) and nicotine are both organic compounds that will go through changes when you store vape juice. Just like in many food products, improper storage can affect the taste and smell of your e-liquid.
So, when storing e-liquid, don’t forget about the three no-nos: heat, light, and air.
1. Heat
If you remember anything from high school chemistry, you’ll know that the more energy a molecule has, the more likely it will undergo a change or breakdown. Conversely, the less energy, the more the molecule retains its integrity. This principle is definitely true when you store e-liquid.
If your e-liquid storage is in a warm place (like close to an oven or heater), the chemicals inside will change quicker, leaving you with a sour, probably unusable, vape juice.
Instead of a warm place, your vape juice should be stored properly in cold temperatures.
2. Air
Oxygen will break down the nicotine inside your juice, and this addictive chemical in your e-liquid begins to produce cotinine in a process called oxidation.
Cotinine turns your liquid brown and affects the flavor, even though it will still have the same effect as nicotine. However, flavors will deteriorate faster than nicotine, especially tobacco and coffee, which go through changes quicker and easier than other flavors.
To avoid this, don’t store e-liquid with a loose cap.
3. Light
Just like heat, UV light can hasten the process of oxidation by feeding energy into the reaction. Direct sunlight and certain artificial lights are all sources of this type of light that will ruin your e-liquid before you get a chance to savor it.
Therefore, don’t expose your e-liquid to sunlight and other light sources.
The 3 Friends of Vape Juice Storage – The Do’s
You’ll be happy to hear that not everything is trying to ‘attack’ your vape juice. Now that you’re acquainted with the three things that harm your e-liquid, let’s take a look at the three storage methods that will help your juice hold longer than it ever has before:
1. Right Storage Place
As you’ve probably noticed above, where you store your vape juice can make a huge difference.
A place that’s hot and exposed to sunlight is definitely not one of them, so what is? Well, you need to keep e-liquid cool.
Storing your vape juice in a cool, dark place, like the back of your closet or under your bed, will keep the energy of the molecules low. The chemical changes will take much longer to happen, keeping your vape juice from going bad.
Also, simply storing e-liquid out of the way keeps them out of the hands of people who aren’t of legal smoking age.
However, if you are looking for a place for anything more than short-term storage, it is absolutely fine to store your vape juice in the fridge or freezer, although opinions vary on this method. The low freezing point of VG and PG will prevent your fluid from freezing into a solid while keeping your e-juice fresh, easy to grab out of the fridge, and ready to use.
2. Right Container
Most e-liquid manufacturers use either glass or plastic bottles.
Plastic containers are not the greatest container for proper e-liquid storage because plastic can interact with your liquid (especially in the heat) and change the taste. On top of this, although plastic keeps most things out, it still lets some air pass through into your container—no matter how well you seal it.
For anything more than a couple of months, store your vape juice in a glass bottle. Glass won’t let air into the bottle and will keep your favorite juice as tasty as the day you bought it. Also, proper storage in tinted glass bottles is an ideal solution to keep away light and heat.
You should also think about using a child-resistant bottle if you have anyone under the legal age in your home.
3. Tightly Sealed Bottle
When storing vape juice, it’s essential to keep as much air out of the bottle as possible, including the leftover air inside your bottle.
If you’re not storing a full bottle of e-liquid, it might be a better idea to eschew the larger bottles. Smaller bottles will also make it easier to start using the e-juice since you can take them out of storage one at a time instead of using a big bottle and risking a deteriorated flavor.
Just ensure that you avoid as much air as possible when swapping your e-liquids from one bottle to another.
Summary
If you pay attention to these do’s and don’ts of vape juice storage, you’ll be able to store e-liquid bottles for months, if not years. These factors are all easy to control and, apart from perhaps buying glass bottles, won’t cost you an extra cent on top of your already pricey e-liquid. The rules also don’t differ based on e-liquid brand, and most manufacturers have similar processes that make their products similar in composition.
To summarize these tips:
- For shorter-term storage: If you’re looking to store your e-liquid for a few months, you can use plastic bottles to keep any e-liquid brands in a cool place, like the back of your closet or fridge.
- For long-term storage: If you’re planning on storing your e-juice for longer (like several months or years), a glass bottle inside your fridge or freezer is by far the best way to go. This method of storage ensures the juice tastes fresh for as long as you need.
Some other factors you’ll want to keep in mind is that certain flavors, such as tobacco or coffee, will deteriorate faster than others. Also, if you have kids or pets, you’ll want to make sure your storage spot is well out of reach of the wrong hands.