Clear vape juice can get darker when exposed to either excessive heat or oxygen in your tank or bottle. Heat causes the sugar and added sweeteners in the e-liquid to caramelize. Oxygen exposure degrades nicotine and other ingredients, causing the liquids to expire.
Why does my vape juice get dark?
Your vape juice can get dark because of another chemical reaction between nicotine and oxygen. Nicotine is a highly reactive chemical and exposing it to oxygen, or even light can cause it to react and turn e-juice into an all-too-familiar brown color.
Why does vape oil change color over time?
Because high-quality vape oils are free of additives and preservatives, the ingredients that they contain are responsible for changes in the color of the oil over time. Every time you vape, the oil is subject to the application of heat and oxygen which leads to the oxidation process.
Why does my vape juice go bad so fast?
The sugars in your juice may be turning darker, it builds up on the wicks and coils which is really hard to just clean out. That's been the problem for me in the past.
How to prevent vape juice from Browning?
Mixing is one of the worst things you can do if you want to prevent vape juice from browning. Nicotine is a highly reactive chemical, so whenever you mix juices, you expose both bottles to the air, which leads to premature expiration.
Is it bad if my vape juice turns brown?
Your vape juice can get dark because of another chemical reaction between nicotine and oxygen. Nicotine is a highly reactive chemical and exposing it to oxygen, or even light can cause it to react and turn e-juice into an all-too-familiar brown color. But this doesn't mean your darkened vape juice has gone bad.
Why did my vape juice turn dark?
The reason why e-liquid starts to darken inside the bottle is due to a chemical reaction known as oxidation. Nicotine is a highly reactive chemical and exposing it to oxygen, or even light, can cause it to react and turn vape juice into an all too familiar brown color.
Is oxidized vape juice bad for you?
Nicotine oxidation is a completely natural process of e-juice that can't be stopped. It occurs when the atoms of the nicotine molecule come in contact with the oxygen in the air. Once you have begun using a flavor, you will notice its color will change slightly. You have nothing to worry about.
What color should vape juice be?
Some juices might be best when they are amber in color, others will end up dark brown, or still others, like those light fruit flavors we talked about, may be pretty much clear when they are "ready". You should use the color to track the oxidation process and learn to identify how you best like your e-juices.
Why does vape juice go yellow?
The main reason for the e-liquid colour change is a process caused by oxidation; the gain of oxygen by a substance. It is important to note the colour change due to oxidation is expected and accounted for in the product specification to which Totally Wicked manufacture all e-liquids.
How do I know if my e-juice has gone bad?
If the smell is in any way offensive, dispose of it. Taste is obviously the best way to tell whether a juice has gone bad. If it has a peppery flavor, or it otherwise tastes unpleasant, it is time to throw it away. Nicotine oxidation plays a significant part in determining whether a vape liquid is still good.
Why does my vape cotton turn brown?
E-juices that contain sugar or sweeteners will often turn cotton wicks brown. This happens because the heat will cause the sugars in the e-juice to caramelize. The caramelization process leaves behind the brown color, which is actually just residue from the sugar, on the cotton wick.
Why Does Vape Juice Turn Brown?
E-liquids get darker from one of two chemical reactions: caramelization or oxidation.
How Can I Prevent My E-liquid From Browning in the Bottle?
Once your vape juice turns brown in its original bottle or vape tank, you can’t make it clear again. The best way to slow or prevent vape juice from browning is to store it in a cool, dry place.
FAQs About Vape Juice Turning Brown
Clear vape juice can get darker when exposed to either excessive heat or oxygen in your tank or bottle.
Why does my vape tank turn dark?
Besides the fact that oxidation is sped up tenfold inside a vape tank, the biggest culprit of e-liquid turning dark in your tank are the ingredients.
Why is my vape juice turning brown?
Why Vape Juice Turns Brown in the Bottle. The reason why e-liquid starts to darken inside the bottle is due to a chemical reaction known as oxidation. Nicotine is a highly reactive chemical and exposing it to oxygen, or even light, can cause it to react and turn vape juice into an all too familiar brown color.
How Do You Prevent Vape Juice from Darkening in the Bottle?
While you can’t prevent your e-juice from darkening entirely, there are things you can do to slow down the process:
How to make vape juice darken faster?
Shaking your juice bottle may help mix the flavors together, but the agitation increases how much oxygen is being absorbed into the vape juice, making it darken faster. By not agitating your e-juice, you can slow down the oxidation process even more. Don’t Mix Different E-liquids.
What happens when you caramelize e-liquid?
As your coil heats up to vaporize the e-liquid, these sweeteners start to caramelize and stick to the coil and cotton. Just like the process of making actual caramel, the results are very dark and gunky. When enough builds up on the coil, this caramelized gunk begins to leach out into the juice and stain it a brown color.
What happens if you leave apple slices out?
If you leave those apple slices out for a while, their white flesh starts to brown a little. Oxidation is a very normal process and should be expected from your e-juice, even if there are low amounts of nicotine. Although, the more nicotine there is the more pronounced the reaction will be, meaning even darker vape juice.
Why does nicotine change color?
Exposure to light and heat will gradually cause the nicotine in your e-liquid to change color.
Why is my vape juice dark?
But the most likely culprits are as follows (we’ll look at each in more detail further below): Sunlight Exposure. The Nicotine Has Gone Bad. Gunk on Your Coils / Wick is Seeping Through Into Tank. These are the most common reasons why your vape juice will change color into a dark, murky looking mess.
What happens if you leave E juice in the sun?
If you leave E Juice in the sun for prolonged periods of time, it will change color.
What does it mean when you have gunk on your wick?
3) Gunk on Your Coils. If you’re using a rebuildable, like an RTA tank, this can happen quite often. Usually, it means it is time to change your wick, as the gunk build-up has reached fever-pitch and is now seeping into your tank , discoloring the juice . This happens about every few days on my Kayfun tank, though a lot of how gunk builds up on your ...
How long does E juice last?
However, if it goes REALLY dark – and it’s old – the nicotine could have gone bad. E Juices do have a use-by date and most are usually good for 12 months after you’ve purchased them.
Where to store E juice?
How to stop this from happening? DO NOT leave your E Juice near direct sunlight. The best place to store it is a windowless room or inside a drawer.
Does E juice turn dark?
If you want to avoid your E Juice turning dark, it is important to regularly clean your tank – and, yes, that includes the deck as well.
Can you use blackened E juice?
Note: I wouldn’t try and use blackened E Juice. Instead, bin it and use fresh juice.
My Bottle of Vape Juice Turns Brown
You just bought a brand new bottle of vape juice, and you are enjoying the flavor.
Tips to Prevent Vape Juice From Darkening
Although you can’t entirely prevent your juice from changing over time, there are ways to slow down the process.
Why is My E-Liquid Turning Brown in Tank?
Oxidation happens quickly after your e-liquid is in your tank, but that isn’t the only variable that alters the color.
Is E-Liquid that Changes Color Safe?
We totally understand why you may be hesitant about using an e-liquid with discoloration, but should it be thrown away? Of course not.
Takeaway
Your vape juice turning dark can be an annoying occurrence. But with the information you now have, you can combat the oxidation process by following our tips. Just remember to clean your tank frequently and avoid mixing e-juices to ensure that your tank doesn’t get clogged or drastically change color again.
Why does vape oil discolor?
Like any organic compound, these various cannabinoids, terpenes, and other bioactive chemical agents can be affected by a number of factors . Chiefly, vape oil can discolor due to any of these reasons:
What does vape oil discoloration mean?
Most of the time, cart oil changing color is a sign that the oil is losing its potency. THC and THCA may degrade into to CBN or delta 8 THC. Delta 8 THC has a decreased psychoactive effect while CBN does next to nothing at all. This process is most commonly caused by sunlight and oxydization.
How to store vape cartridges?
So, to avoid cartridge discoloration and protect the ingredients of your cartridges, you should store them in a cool, dry, place out of direct sunlight. By “cool” we mean under 70°. A drawer in your air-conditioned home is ideal. However, do NOT freeze a cartridge! Not only will this cause moisture to form inside, but taking a cartridge from the freezer to vape it can cause it to heat up too fast and break.
What color cartridges are good for vaping?
In most cases, the best color for cartridge oil is a transparent hue of light yellow or amber color, close to the shades of lemonade to honey. Some vape oils, particularly delta 8 THC cartridges, are as clear and colorless as water.
How to transport vape carts?
If you do have to transport vape carts on your person or in your car on a regular basis, consider investing in a carrying case. Carrying them in an external pocket, such as a coat pocket or tote bag, is preferable to cramming them in your jeans pocket.
Does a cartridge that has discoloration hurt?
So it’s not like an older cartridge showing discoloration is going to hurt you. It is, however, likely to lose its potency.
Can terpenes be affected by ozone?
Furthermore, terpenes can also be separately affected by the same environmental factors. For instance, humulene has a boiling point of only 223°F (106°C), while also reacting quickly with ozone in direct sunlight. So the terpenes can be affected even if the THC is still potent, resulting in less flavor and entourage effects.
What is Inside Your Cannabis Vape Cartridge?
Contained within the glass or plastic tube in your vape cartridge is approximately one gram of cannabis concentrate oil full of cannabinoids and terpenes. At the bottom of the cartridge, there is a metal plate that is heated by the battery located at one end of the vape pen. The oil is vaporized and inhaled through the mouthpiece.
How The Oil in Cartridges Changes Over Time
In case you weren’t aware, your cannabis oil is made up of lipids and molecules in complex chains whose bonds are not terribly strong. The heating of the oil on a regular basis results in the breakdown of these molecular bonds. It is important to note that THC molecules in cannabis will degrade into CBN no matter what delivery method you use.
Heat Inside and Outside the Cartridge
Exposure to high temperatures over a period of time will increase the degradation of both the oil and the THC. Not only does the heat come from within the cartridge, it also comes from outside the cartridge.
3 Ways to Tell If A Vape Cartridge Is Bad
While vaping an old cartridge doesn’t actually carry any serious health risks, here are the ways to tell if your cartridge is bad:
Ways to Increase the Longevity of Your Vape Cartridge
By purchasing high-quality cartridges and storing them properly, they can last up to a year without loss of potency. It is highly recommended that you purchase vape cartridges from a trusted source such as your local medical cannabis dispensary. Make sure that they include the following information:
Remove The Cartridge From the Battery
Even when you are not using the vape cartridge, as long as the metal plate maintains contact with the battery, there will be a small amount of power generated which will continue to heat the oil. That will ultimately damage the integrity of the cannabinoids and terpenes.
VegasSparky Full Member
No stinkies for over a month now, but having a problem. During the day I vape w/a pen style 510 (or CTwist), and clearo. For the past week I've noticed within a day my clearos get hard to draw on, and the e- juice I use turns from clear/orange to black. I don't taste burnt wick, and the experience isn't nearly as satisfying as when I started.
calico21 Super Member Verified Member ECF Veteran
It sounds to me like a carmelization problem. The sugars in your juice may be turning darker, it builds up on the wicks and coils which is really hard to just clean out. That's been the problem for me in the past.
bhswmc01 Super Member Verified Member ECF Veteran
I notice this on my evods if I refill it with the same sweet flavor over a period of a week or so. Just finish the tank, then give everything a good cleaning.
Nuuze Super Member Verified Member ECF Veteran
Sweet juices and a hot coil (low ohms /1.5-1.8) causes caramelization of the sugars on my sweet juices. Plus I tend to take long draws as well so by the time I'm 2/3 done with my tank the juice tends to be really dark. Doesn't happen as much since I went back to higher 2.5 ohm coils. Hope this helps.
Coastal Cowboy This aggression will not stand, man! Verified Member ECF Veteran
Caramelization is part of the issue. Another part is heat and light, which partially oxidizes the nicotine and possibly other ingredients as well. I see the OP is in the desert southwest. It gets rather warm out there, doesn't it?
rexy Senior Member Verified Member ECF Veteran
I use a protank and my juice was turning very dark. I turned down my volts on my mod from 4 to 3.5 and now I don't have that problem. I think I was very lightly burning my juice so that I couldn't taste it-only see it.
