Using Argon gas, and freezing to extend Nicotine Shelf life

General The Pub
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Yo, yo, YO VC, I’ve actually received multiple requests here, and elsewhere, as to how I store my NIC. NOW, you do your OWN homework, and I know that Carolina Xtracts recommends NOT using a freezer, I do, and have done for years, and have years old NIC that is crystal clear, so I’m sticking with it.

I think the big issue Carolina Xtracts has with freezing, is the freeze/thaw negative impact on nic, which sounds legit, but doesn’t effect me.

I buy in liters or gallons, and break down ALL my NIC into large (for long term) and smaller (for useage) bottles, with conical caps. I DO top off ALL of the bottles with a shot of Argon gas, which is 100% food grade, inert, and MUCH heavier than oxygen, and nitrogen. This heavier gas creates a blanket, or barrier so the headspace (airspace) that you should be leaving in all your bottles, is Argon, instead of air, which WILL degrade your NIC. I ONLY use Art brand, as it is 100% Argon, which is MUCH heavier than oxygen/nitrogen, and therefore VERY easy to blanket in the heavier gas with a 1-2 second shot. Air is displaced, Argon sits on your NIC, cap it, tape it, freeze it, done.

Be CAREFUL if you are gassing your NIC, as there are CHEAPER “wine preserver” inert gas options, but MOST are Nitrogen, which is inert, but about the same weight as oxygen, therefore much harder to displace it. Spend the money, get 100% Argon, and food grade.

For my long term, I have an entire fleet of 500ml amber bottles, gassed, capped, and taped, in big ziplocks in a dedicated low temp, medical grade freezer. For use bottles, typically 60-120ml bottles gassed, capped, in smaller ziplocks, but once I break the seal on it, I do NOT re-gas, as it is a usage bottle. Whatever “damage” that will occur during freeze/thaw cycles for that small bottle do not effect me.

Keep your stuff air free, and low temp, AND, if you can, get a dedicated freezer (doesn’t have to be a low temp, or medical grade), that way it’s not being opened/closed every time someone needs ice cubes LOL. How much NIC you buy, and/or pay for your NIC will dictate how much you do to care for it. Vape safely, and if you have KIDS in the house, seriously consider a dedicated/lockable freezer.

Think inert gas, and/or freezing/ sub-freezing isn’t worth it ? How about some 2 year old NIC from Nude NIC, on gas, in the freezer for a test.

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Smart idea.

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The more research I do, the more it seems oxygen is the main culprit (assuming you keep it in a dark freezer that is).

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This is a very good idea ,but I only keep small amounts at the time. Always in the fridge since day one. I have also discussed this topic with others as well. My reasoning was, I keep all my medication in the fridge.
If I do one day decide to get bigger batches of NIC and store it for long periods. This would be the way to go.

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Air, heat, light, are the oxidizing devils as far as NIC goes. Do a check when you get to the end of your bottle, and see how clear the NIC is, and/or how clean or odorless it is.

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True, I have a 10ml bottle with me at all times and this turns a different colour when it reaches about 5ml. I keep the bottle for the times I need to buck up in an emergency.

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I use Bloxygen Argon

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And it meets Military Specs :call_me_hand:

Bloxygen meets Mil Spec MIL-DTL-53072F, Detail Specification - Chemical Agent Resistant Coating (CARC) System Application Procedures and Quality Control Inspection, dated 31 May 2017 and the associated MIL-A-18455C, Military Specification, Argon, Technical, Dated 23 December 1986.

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I don’t really know a whole lot a/b nicotine storage…, this is my bottle from LNW ~ Nov.19’…
Sat in my closet ever since I got it…, never changed color, or had an odor…, & it’s as clear as water & taste fine to this day… I think this was just luck though;(…

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Older pics, but I just broke down another gallon using the exact same bottles, Argon gas, and methods.

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NIC Gassed and Capped 2
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You’re satisfied with the quality, after thawing some of the product from back when we were hoarding the stuff, SD? Discoloration(doesn’t look like it!), smell??

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Yes, yes, and yes. I titrated some of an older batch dating from 2021, and it tested twice @ 97 mg. Color is crystal clear, and taste is as neutral as when I bought it. NOW, to be fair, I may NOT have a typical setup. I run dual medical low temp freezers @ -35F. They are ONLY opened when taking out a feeder bottle, and breaking down into smaller working bottles, so the hoard stays chilly and undisturbed most of the time.

I remember reading way back when, when Carolina Extracts was NOT advising freezing NIC, which I never understood. Everyone else did, and NudeNIC said the colder the better, which makes sense, as it’s ALL about staving off oxidation. Colder = less reactive.

About the ONLY thing I can think of @whthek where I got “pinched” hehe, was not realizing that even 100% PG 100mg NIC DOES expand/contract. Don’t listen to people who scoff that off, stating PG doesn’t actually freeze. It may not, BUT, expand/contact it will. I was breaking down a gallon into 1L and 500ml bottles, and it was VERY cold, direct from the med freezer, and I didn’t leave enough head space (air gap) before capping, and maybe close to the top of the neck of the bottle. Capped off the bottle, and proceeded to filling the rest of them and capping them off. It took quite a while, and when I finished and was sliding the bottles around for ziplocking, one “chinked” into another, and it shattered/cracked. As the -35F NIC was warming it started presurizing the bottle. “Clink clink” boom. Broken bottle and 100mg all over. :open_mouth:

NEVER happened again as I leave like 1inch of headspace, and because of that, I shoot some Argon gas in before capping and taping, displacing ALL air from the bottles.

Rock solid system, and as long term as I/you can get to, short of cryogenic storage.

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Now that is some very useful and important information right there. Thanks mate :+1:t3:

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My pleasure @JimmyLee, I’d much rather explain how I @#$%#@$^$%^&'d up, if it saves others from going through the same thing. :slight_smile: Cheers.

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Yup — freezer crew here as well.

I keep it simple though. I buy 1 L at a time, decant straight into 100 ml bottles, and those go straight into the freezer. They live there until needed. No gas, no ceremony.

Once I crack a bottle, it never goes on a shelf or in a cupboard — it moves into the fridge and stays there until it’s done. Then the next bottle comes out of the freezer. No refreezing, no bouncing bottles in and out.

Cool nic is happy nic.
Clear nic is proof enough for me.

Argon makes sense, especially for long-term bulk storage, but honestly? If you manage air exposure + temperature, you’re already doing 90% of the work. Years later, mine’s still crystal clear and behaves exactly like day one.

Different roads, same destination — degraded nic helps nobody. :goat:

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Great write-up. This lines up with my experience too oxygen is the real enemy of nic, not cold. Breaking it down into small bottles, purging with 100% argon, and freezing has kept my nic crystal clear for years as well. The warning about nitrogen vs argon is especially important and often missed. Also +1 on a dedicated/lockable freezer if you’ve got kids around. Solid, practical advice.

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