DarthVaper Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Okay, for those of you who know me, I just passed my four-year vaping anniversary. Not a single analog in four years after smoking a pack and a half a day (of 100's) for twenty-plus years. I've been fascinated by vaping and how it has developed and evolved over this time period. I bought e-liquid from Johnson Creek when I first started, and actually thought it was good (gasp!). Oh how wrong we all were. I just received my first batch from Virgin Vapor and their website mentioned steeping their e-liquid, as did other sites when I was shopping around for something new (and hopefully better). So can somebody please explain to me what this new buzz is about letting your e-liquid "steep?" Is there anything valid behind this that has some proof to back it up? And if so, how exactly does one "steep" their e-liquid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsr27 Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 all i know is you take the cap and nozzel off and keep it in a dark cool place for a few days almost like ageing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffb Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 I dont steep my juices at all. Some swear by it but I dont care. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthVaper Posted March 16, 2013 Author Share Posted March 16, 2013 (edited) I'm feeling kind of like you, JeffB, on this one. I mean, I try to stay ahead of my e-liquid needs, but let's face it, sometimes we all run out or are on the verge of running out and when that new shipment arrives in the mail (for those of us who still don't have a brick & mortar store nearby), am I really expected to let my juice steep for 2 or 3 days (or longer) before I use it? I want to know if there's any SCIENCE behind this, a chemistry-based reason why I should steep my juices, or if this is just voodoo. For those who make DIY juice, I might be more easily convinced that letting freshly mixed juice sit out in the open might improve flavor. But for the stuff I get, and for the price I pay for it, I expect it to be vape-ready when it hits my mailbox. Plus, in the summer months, leaving something sweet smelling out on a counter or even in a cabinet is just inviting some insect to fall into it. Edited March 16, 2013 by DarthVaper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystal68 Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 To steep or not to steep... that IS the question!! Some do, some dont. However, I have found that a few days can make a difference. If I order a juice from a made to order vendor, I find that by the time it arrives, 3-5 days later) its usually melded (mixed, steeped) pretty good already. They are good vapes without any noticable flavor changes as the days pass. With that said, when I began mixing my own, I saw the importance of steeping.. Though it isnt easy to wait, a few steeping days make a HUGE difference. Flavors can seemingly taste disgusting or deemed as a failure right away while letting them sit, (shaking them often) blend and smooth the flavors for a more successful/ tasteful/ pleasurable vape. I know this doesnt answer your question, but hope that it gives you another opinion or perspective! Ursala, WillBlack and DarthVaper 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyrical Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 (edited) I read about steeping when I first started vaping. I chose to ignore that, I was too impatient to try each new flavor. I got a few that were absolutely terrible, they had a chemical taste to them. I thought maybe there was something to that steeping thing and sure enough, they ended up being great within maybe a week. I've steeped several more since then. All but 2 have eventually turned into something better. My problem is, I can't tell if they're going to be good or not in the beginning and I end up ruining a cartomizer with the disgusting stuff - that never seems to change once in them. Edited March 16, 2013 by Lyrical Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystal68 Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 My problem is, I can't tell if they're going to be good or not in the beginning and I end up ruining a cartomizer with the disgusting stuff - that never seems to change once in them. Have you tried dripping at all Lyrical? I too was going through carts left and right, sampling here and there. It was frustrating, especially when I didnt like them (before steeping).. I researched and purchased a few atomizers/ drip sheilds for my 808 batteries, and now for my eGo's and this is now how I sample or taste all of my new/ homemade juices.. No more wasting carts and no more frustration! Just a thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyrical Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 No I haven't yet but I've been really wanting to! I'm still so new to all of this that I didn't even realize that dripping would keep me from wasting cartos! It's also still so confusing to me. Could you please point me to what I would need/what you use for your 808s and eGos since that's what I have. I'd sure appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystal68 Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Heck yah!!! I started out with these on my 808 manual batteries, ( I dont recommend an auto battery as juice can leak in and cause not only failure but battery death) http://www.valuevapor.com/VV/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=194&zenid=cc6184970edfea1848d920399b371142 and even still I purchased a drip shield for each atomizer, this will help from juice leaking if you over drip and it happens all the time... http://www.valuevapor.com/VV/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=569&zenid=cc6184970edfea1848d920399b371142 For my egos.... I use http://www.valuevapor.com/VV/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=312 You can use any 510 atomizer with an ego... And even though I prefer the Low resistance ones, you can try others, this is just a starting point... ALSO.. I am not in any way affliated with Value Vapors, but will say that they had a great assortment of supplies, their prices were reasonable and their shipping was very fast! With a new atty, I drip about 4-5 drops in and let it set for a couple minutes, add a couple more and vape. When flavor or vapor falls off, normally 5-7 puffs, add 2-3 more drops...repeat as needed. Also a lot of attys have PG priming fluid in them...blow as much out as you can, they may have a funky taste the first few puffs from that... I hated mine the first day or two, only because it was "different" ... and now... I have found that I am sampling through juices like no other.. Its easy, have great flavor, plumes of vapor, and no more wasted carts, as I mentioned above! daleron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyrical Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Thank you so much! You're so sweet! I really appreciate you taking the time you explain all of that to me *and* include links! I've checked out all the links and copied down all the information - now I've just got to wait until payday and I'll be golden! Thanks again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillBlack Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 ... Also a lot of attys have PG priming fluid in them...blow as much out as you can, they may have a funky taste the first few puffs from that... IDK, I always rinse out my atties (fill them to the top, let sit and gently blow out the bottom) with pure PG to remove the primer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsr27 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 i tried the steeping process with several flavors and all my stuff is dekang and i love newport but dekangs is very very minty. i steeped a bottle with the drip tip taken off and left it alone except to shake it up roughly every 4 hours and was absolutely amazed with the results of newport and salem. the menthol wasnt so overbearing and the tobacco flavors in both were increased a good bit. i realized now that im starting to want to vape over smoking.good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CascadianExotics Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Here's an interesting thing I read on the "other" forum regarding steeping your juice: If you can get your hands onto an ultrasonic cleaner (you can get one cheaply on FleaBay), put just enough water in so that the juice bottles barely float....you may have to band multiple bottles together with a rubber band. Remove the cap, and tip, and go through a cycle. Now, I've personally not tried this, but those who have report that this method produces the same result as if you were to simply let your juice sit for around two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synther Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Steeping sounds like it makes the assumption that each individual 10ml, 30ml, or 50ml bottle of juice you order is custom mixed and put specifically into that bottle just for you at the time of order. That's not happening. And if you think that's what's happening, I have a snow skiing resort in Florida I'd like to sell you. Instead, they're mixing large batches and then filling the individual orders from said batch. Unless they had just made the batch, it would be sitting around for a few days/weeks and already have gone through the steeping process before they even filled your order. So, steeping it more isn't going to really get you anywhere. If you get a bottle and the flavor is weak, you might try steeping it because maybe you got a bottle out of a freshly mixed batch. But otherwise, I think it's far more psychological than actually doing any real good for the juice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECPMIKE Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Hi a little more on steeping from a technical perspective.. Steeping is the process of allowing the concentrated flavors to mix or bind with the propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin carriers and other ingredients contained in e-liquid. There are many so called methods to this(could take a whole topic), but simple frequent shaking and letting is sit for few days is all that is really required. This seems to apply mostly, to mixes with a higher vegetable glycerin content. Since vegetable glycerin, which is super thick and is not the typical flavor carrier, can take a bit of time to blend with the flavor concentrates used in e-liquids. We are high VG users and we also can see (color changes) and taste a difference after a few days when it actually peaks. Propylene glycol is the more popular carrier used for flavor concentrates so these do not seem to need steeping as much since the flavors are already partially blended to begin with. If you are unsure I would ask the manufacturer of the e-liquid you are buying since they have a working knowledge of how it performs and when it peaks. If your a do it yourselfer your trial and error has already figured a lot of this stuff out. As a side note, I would not use high VG e-liquid mixes that are more then a few weeks old, most of the ingredients have a shelf life of six months or more so it should be ok technically. It just does not taste as good after a while because some e-liquids continue to steep and become too strong in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECPMIKE Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Steeping sounds like it makes the assumption that each individual 10ml, 30ml, or 50ml bottle of juice you order is custom mixed and put specifically into that bottle just for you at the time of order. That's not happening. And if you think that's what's happening, I have a snow skiing resort in Florida I'd like to sell you. Instead, they're mixing large batches and then filling the individual orders from said batch. Unless they had just made the batch, it would be sitting around for a few days/weeks and already have gone through the steeping process before they even filled your order. So, steeping it more isn't going to really get you anywhere. If you get a bottle and the flavor is weak, you might try steeping it because maybe you got a bottle out of a freshly mixed batch. But otherwise, I think it's far more psychological than actually doing any real good for the juice. Hi, That's a very excellent point especially for international mixes and higher production e-liquid manufacturing facilities I'm sure we could all rattle off a few that we know batch produce. You would be surprised though, how many vendors actually do still mix up orders on demand the old fashioned way. Once the recipes are formulated combining them only takes a few minutes for a properly organized lab setup its just math and good measuring techniques. The recipes on the other hand take a long time to perfect and often evolve over time tweaking it to meet a larger group of users because the tastes are so subjective. You can usually tell who the on demand suppliers are because they will give you greater options such as flavor percentages, PG/VG ratios, Sweetener/ no Sweetener or may offer only one or two sizes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjabatgirl Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Thanks for all the great info on steeping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptStuBeans Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 the only real way to test if it makes a difference....2 bottles of the same juice..steep one, leave the other alone....vape on the same device. CascadianExotics and Synther 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyrical Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Heck yah!!! I started out with these on my 808 manual batteries, ( I dont recommend an auto battery as juice can leak in and cause not only failure but battery death) http://www.valuevapor.com/VV/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=194&zenid=cc6184970edfea1848d920399b371142 and even still I purchased a drip shield for each atomizer, this will help from juice leaking if you over drip and it happens all the time... http://www.valuevapor.com/VV/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=569&zenid=cc6184970edfea1848d920399b371142 For my egos.... I use http://www.valuevapor.com/VV/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=312 You can use any 510 atomizer with an ego... And even though I prefer the Low resistance ones, you can try others, this is just a starting point... Well I just made an order for these items you recommended to me! Funny thing though...this really cute little blue mini eGo starter kit just jumped into my cart too! There was nothing I could do about it! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyrical Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Well I just made an order for these items you recommended to me! Funny thing though...this really cute little blue mini eGo starter kit just jumped into my cart too! There was nothing I could do about it! LOL 21 minutes later, I got a tracking number! Unreal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krystal68 Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Let me know what you think! I hope you love them as much as I do... I just ordered several more, you can never have too many backups!! Lyrical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rixter Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 (edited) Do a Google search for hot water e-liquid steeping...it's what I do with my new juices that aren't quite right. Edited March 25, 2013 by Rixter Lyrical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I make a lot of different juices for myself and I have noticed that some flavors/mixes do change, get better, or become stronger with a few days of age. Sometimes they are fine immediately after I shake them up and days later there is no noticeable change but some recopies I can definitely notice and/or can expect a change in taste after a few days. I usually do the hot water thing to help get everything "together". I'm not sure why but sometimes it does take a few days for a juice to "stabilize". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyckedzombie Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 well i personally have not found much difference . i have let some ejuices sit for weeks at a time and no different tatse from the day i made them . others i have to say actually tasted better the day they were made then 2 weeks later . i would say its personal preference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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