Concentrates Packaging - POLL

[DizZa]

Good Day Fellow Forumites!

Quick poll today, what packaging do you prefer your concentrates in?

HDPE Dropper or PET Dropper with Child Lock/Tamper Proof Cap?

If you have any other preferences or would like to explain why you prefer one to the other please post below!

 

[RichJB]

HDPE droppers are fine for me. I live alone so I don't need child-proof tops, although others may obviously differ. However, I also question whether child-proof caps are necessary. From what I know, concentrates are quite safe to ingest. They are used extensively by the food industry and ingesting them is actually safer than vaping them, diacetyl does nothing harmful to our stomachs. It would in any case be difficult for an infant to ingest a lot as a dropper will only dispense drops or, at worst, a thin stream. The concentrates taste so potent that any child would likely not continue ingesting it beyond the first taste. I can see the point of child-proof caps for nic and maybe for finished juices. For concentrates, not so much.

 

[DizZa]

HDPE droppers are fine for me. I live alone so I don't need child-proof tops, although others may obviously differ. However, I also question whether child-proof caps are necessary. From what I know, concentrates are quite safe to ingest. They are used extensively by the food industry and ingesting them is actually safer than vaping them, diacetyl does nothing harmful to our stomachs. It would in any case be difficult for an infant to ingest a lot as a dropper will only dispense drops or, at worst, a thin stream. The concentrates taste so potent that any child would likely not continue ingesting it beyond the first taste. I can see the point of child-proof caps for nic and maybe for finished juices. For concentrates, not so much.

@RichJB from what I gather you are the type of mixer that has a lot of sitting concentrates that gets used eventually.

Does this in terms of the plastic compound use to store said contents worry you?

 

[Max]

PET Dropper with Child Lock - the PET Bottles are transparent and the concentrate colours are more clear and I find that I have a better control of the drops when mixing eJuices.

 

[RichJB]

@DizZa - no, it doesn't concern me at all. I do worry somewhat that little-used concentrates like FA Anise might fade or age badly before I get to use them up. But I'd have the same concerns regardless of the storage bottle used.

There are glass people and plastic people, and bottle recycling people and "only virgin bottles" people. Some people freak out if their nic isn't supplied in glass. If plastic killed nic, I doubt Liquid Barn would supply their nic in plastic. So I use (and re-use) whatever is at hand. The idea of recycling a concentrate bottle might be abhorrent to some. But I bought a bunch of Vapeowave concentrates supplied in 10ml blue glass bottles with no dropper mechanism. That is a pain because now I must use a syringe or pipette. So I thoroughly wash and rinse old 10ml HDPE concentrate bottles from yourself and other DIY vendors, and then decant the Vapeowave concentrates into those. I then use the dropper-less blue 10ml glass bottles to mix up single flavour testers. Some mixers would balk at this due to fear of the concentrate becoming tainted by the lingering odour from the previous concentrate in the bottle. But I have had no problems. Sometimes it helps to have a corrugated iron palate.

I also monitor my concentrate lifespan and mix accordingly. If I'm sitting with 9.5ml of FA Clove that I've left untouched for several months, I'll go out and actively seek recipes that use it. So hopefully I can coordinate things such that I don't end up with nearly-full bottles which are more than a year old. My plan is to eliminate concentrate FOMO and settle on a dozen or so ADVs which I mix regularly. That will ensure consistent throughput of concentrates and regular restocking of the flavours used in my ADVs. I'll still be using the same amount of concentrates but I'd rather regularly restock Cap Vanilla Custard which is used up within a month or two than TFA Holiday Spice which is still almost untouched two years later. I don't ever have to worry that Ripe, VBIC, Meringue, Sugar Cookie, Fuji etc will go off. They are used far too commonly for that.

 

[RichJB]

To clarify the above further, some vendors offer concentrates in glass bottles with an inbuilt dropper that sits flush with the bottle neck. They would probably say that concentrates in glass won't suffer the risk of plastic leeching into the liquid and that is fair enough. But, for me anyway, ease of dispensing is the number one requirement for a concentrate bottle. Those glass bottle droppers are s-l-o-w and you cannot squeeze the glass to make it faster. Dispensing 2ml of concentrate into a mixing bottle with a glass inbuilt dropper would be an exercise in patience.

I haven't come across any bottle that dispenses faster or more accurately than the soft HDPE dropper bottles you currently use. If you want to switch to PET, my only concern would be whether it would still be as easy to dispense. I have come across thicker heavier 10ml plastic bottles (not sure if they're PET or not) which require such pressure that I'm tempted to take pliers to them. I don't want to have aching fingers after a mixing session. But I'm completely unconcerned about whether PET has a lesser effect on the concentrate than HDPE. That is again jmo, others may differ.

 

[Effjh]

HDPE for me, the child lock PET bottles sometimes lock up and are a pain to squeeze if you need to dispense larger amounts quickly.

Also flavourings aren't exactly hazardous, so don't see the need for child lock. Nic on the other hand, sure.

 

[shaunnadan]

To clarify the above further, some vendors offer concentrates in glass bottles with an inbuilt dropper that sits flush with the bottle neck. They would probably say that concentrates in glass won't suffer the risk of plastic leeching into the liquid and that is fair enough. But, for me anyway, ease of dispensing is the number one requirement for a concentrate bottle. Those glass bottle droppers are s-l-o-w and you cannot squeeze the glass to make it faster. Dispensing 2ml of concentrate into a mixing bottle with a glass inbuilt dropper would be an exercise in patience.

I haven't come across any bottle that dispenses faster or more accurately than the soft HDPE dropper bottles you currently use. If you want to switch to PET, my only concern would be whether it would still be as easy to dispense. I have come across thicker heavier 10ml plastic bottles (not sure if they're PET or not) which require such pressure that I'm tempted to take pliers to them. I don't want to have aching fingers after a mixing session. But I'm completely unconcerned about whether PET has a lesser effect on the concentrate than HDPE. That is again jmo, others may differ.

I also prefer HDPE bottles. The softness adds some sense of accuracy that once you release pressure the liquid will stop dripping out.

PET bottles have made me question my internal anger demons and often comes along with an "aargh!" As you try to squeeze blood from that stone.