No need to freeze nic base in glass bottles

[sparks]

Like many of us, I bought a huge stash of 72mg nic base before the (ridiculous) EU law came into force in May.


The general consensus has been that this should be stored in glass containers in the freezer, but I have now discovered that this is not strictly true. I have a friend that is a plastics engineer in the food industry, and he says that bottles made of HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) are perfect for long term storage in domestic freezers, as there is no leeching of toxic chemicals into the contents, and they remain flexible at these low temperatures and will not crack or shatter. Moreover he says that glass containers, unless made of Pyrex or Kilner type glass become more brittle at freezer temperatures and could shatter if a heavy object (like a frozen turkey) was dropped on them in a chest freezer. Also, if unsuitable glass containers were subjected to rapid thawing like defrosting in a microwave oven, they could shatter.


I looked at the bottom of the 1litre bottles that the nic base was supplied in, and there is the Resin Symbol for type2 HDPE, so it seems that they are perfect for freezing - so that's where my 6 bottles are now safely stored.

Being very cautious about this kind of thing, I have since researched this on the Internet and I am happy that the information my friend gave me was correct. Take a look yourself - there are many references on this subject especially from accredited commercial sources. 

[phtumshk]

Thats reassuring to know mine are in glass bottles as thats how they arrived but would be more than happy with the hdpe bottles.

[Pepperty]

Nicotine doesnt freeze it just goes viscous so I cant see anyone needed to defrost a bottle via a microwave. It is sensible to allow liquid to warm up to room temperature before use as bottle needs a good shake before use to make sure there aren't pockets of nicotine suspended in pg or vg (dependent on which you have) I tend to use pg as its thinner.

My original pg 7.2 nicotine was in hdpe bottles and I didn't decant and have just used the last one (about 3 years old) it was as crystal clear as the day it was bought. Since then I have generally bought a freezer pack, with nicotine already in amber bottles as the one time I decanted it was messy..

I normally get out 100 ml at a time nowadays and keep in fridge as it lasts me 6-8 months and I filled the bottom drawer of freezer so it doesnt need to share with foodstuffs - I'd feel a bit odd having teh bottles rattling around with frozen veg!

[Perpetua]

That's useful to know I guess for those who haven't bothered decanting their nicotine base into glass . . . . personally I always have and using base that's been in ' frozen ' storage for over 6 years, which appears to be as fresh as the day it went into the freezer, I'm glad I went to the effort. It has been the right choice, for me.

Like Pep, I wouldn't dream of rapidly thawing any glass bottle/container ( that's common sense isn't it?! ) instead I let a bottle come up to room temperature, then give it a good shake before using.

Similarly, I don't mix food stuffs with nicotine base . . . . .

[Postmodern Smoking]

Glass has lower oxygen permeability than HDPE, particularly compared with thin walled HDPE bottles. So in theory, less oxygen will permeate through the walls of a glass bottle, minimising oxidation, during long term storage. I have read that if the bottles walls were say 3mm thick, there would be little difference between them, but most nic bottles, that I have seen, are quite thin.

[sparks]

I asked my scientist friend about this oxygen permeability problem. He agreed that HDPE is considerably worse in this respect than glass, but then put this into a real-world context. He said that oxygen permeability is dependent on temperature, and reduces by about 5% for each 1degC reduction in temperature. By reducing the temperature from 25 degC to -20 degC (typical domestic freezer) this decreases the permeability by about factor 10. Presumably this means that if the shelf life of the base liquid in a (thin wall) HDPE bottle at room temperature is 12 months (as stated on the bottles I have), then this could be extended to 10 years if stored in a freezer. This could well be beyond my own use-by date. 

Added...

I have not had occasion to use these bottles from the freezer yet, but it is unlikely that I would warm them in the microwave - I was just relating my friends comments (besides, they would not fit in my microwave). I would probably leave them out overnight to return to room temperature. Also, I should add that I already have them stored in the smaller bottom compartment of my freezer, no-where near any food.

[lobeydosser]

I wrote some time ago about the dangers of glass when first removed from the freezer.
I "lost" 100ml of nic base when it slipped out my hand, hit the wooden floor of the shed and shattered.
I doubt if it would have shattered had it not been frozen.

I keep my nic base in both 100ml glass jars and in the original 1lt plastic containers.
All of these are in the bottom off the freezer and cushioned by an appropriate bag of chips!!

[jtc]

Glass still looks like the best option to me 😆

[sparks]

I wonder what other factors, apart from oxidation, affect the storage life of nic base in the freezer... ? and if there are, will glass bottles reduce them?

Personally, up to 10 years is fine for me - but if I wanted to lay down a few bottles for future generations then I guess I would use glass.

[beedee]

Thanks for the thread, sparks, useful info. I have mine in the dark glass bottles it came in snuggled up at the back of the freezer on the top shelf in individual plastic bags. I keep a 250 ml glass bottle where I mix and decant this into 100ml droppers when I need it. May need to decant the freezer bottles when we get the kitchen done!

[sparks]

Apparently, I read that PET is OK too for freezing and significantly better than HDPE regarding oxygen permeability, but there are suggestions that there may be a (slight) problem with chemical leaching although there are lots of soft/carbonated drinks sold in PET bottles together with cosmetic and medications, so who knows what to believe?