Glass dropper bottles

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

I'm about to order these https://www.uline.com/Product/Detai...s-1-2-oz-Amber?model=S-20604A&RootChecked=yes

I want to upgrade my perfume organ (which is all diluted to 10%) and have dropper bottles instead of wasting so many pipettes. This will strictly be for formulating to get the basic idea down, afterwards I work with raw materials to hone down the formula. I realize the evaporation problem that comes with having dropper bottles but its something I want to try out.

My question to you all is do you know of any quality dropper bottle suppliers that you've ordered from before? This would be a blind order for me from ULINE and its always a gamble as to the quality of the bottles. So if anyone has bottles they've ordered in the US and have had success with them please let me know, thanks!

 

[mnitabach]

I can't speak to dropper bottles specifically, and I do think you're making a big mistake to set up yourself entirety organ in dropper bottles, but I can tell you that SKS Bottle & Packaging has excellent products (and they do sell dropper bottles) & customer service. sks-bottle.com

 

[hemmett]

How many materials do you have? Perhaps you can start w just a dozen or more and wait a month or two to see how the pipettes/amount of juice are doing. It really makes a difference to have quality ones or not. But you can only test this by trying. I’m in EU so can’t say if those are good, haven’t tried.

Personally, I don’t think this is a mistake at all and I can only encourage it. It saves a lot of plastic waste and space. Besides that working like this is faster and IMO more fun.

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

How many materials do you have? Perhaps you can start w just a dozen or more and wait a month or two to see how the pipettes/amount of juice are doing. It really makes a difference to have quality ones or not. But you can only test this by trying. I’m in EU so can’t say if those are good, haven’t tried.

Personally, I don’t think this is a mistake at all and I can only encourage it. It saves a lot of plastic waste and space. Besides that working like this is faster and IMO more fun.

Yeah I want to save space and TIME, and also it really does sound more fun! I have maybe 200 lol so...if those bottles don't work out I may just have to deal with it, it'll be like $200 to get all new bottles, if they're really bad I'll have to take the hit. So if anyone knows of some tried and tested bottles I can order in the US I'm all ears.

 

[greeneaj87]

Glass dropper bottles are not airtight. Volatile materials or anything diluted in ethanol will evaporate over time, which is a huge problem. I've also heard the rubber seals react with some aromamaterials but you'd have to verify that.

Use glass bottles with black phenolic polycone caps. They are very reliable.

If you dont like disposable plastic pipettes you can use glass ones (with rubber tops) but they do require cleaning which can be time consuming.

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

Well I pulled the trigger on the bottles, order placed, I'll report back in 3 months.

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

Glass dropper bottles are not airtight. Volatile materials or anything diluted in ethanol will evaporate over time, which is a huge problem. I've also heard the rubber seals react with some aromamaterials but you'd have to verify that.

Use glass bottles with black phenolic polycone caps. They are very reliable.

If you dont like disposable plastic pipettes you can use glass ones (with rubber tops) but they do require cleaning which can be time consuming.

These ones are actually made from monprene not rubber and don't dissolve the same way rubber does. Also I'm aware of the evaporation issue but I want to give them a try.

 

[houndsofloveless]

I've had all of my materials in dropper bottles for the last 9 months and have not experienced any noticeable evaporation or degradation of the bulbs I got my dropper bottles from DiscountVials, who I highly recommend.

If you're interested in reducing your use of plastic pipettes even further, I just got a Micropipette that has cut down on waste and is really fun to use.

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

Time for an update!

So I bought these bottles with the monprene droppers. As an experiment to test evaporation I filled one up with 190 proof ethanol and recorded the weight at 41.073. It's been one month and it now weighs 41.000, so in a month roughly 3-4 drops of alcohol have evaporated, not too shabby at all. I think this is completely fine for my formulating purposes, if anyones interested these are the ones I bought - https://www.uline.com/Product/Detai...s-1-2-oz-Amber?model=S-20604A&RootChecked=yes

 

[fayzi]

Time for an update!

So I bought these bottles with the monprene droppers. As an experiment to test evaporation I filled one up with 190 proof ethanol and recorded the weight at 41.073. It's been one month and it now weighs 41.000, so in a month roughly 3-4 drops of alcohol have evaporated, not too shabby at all. I think this is completely fine for my formulating purposes, if anyones interested these are the ones I bought - https://www.uline.com/Product/Detai...s-1-2-oz-Amber?model=S-20604A&RootChecked=yes

Appreciate the update. That is not too bad at all!

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

Appreciate the update. That is not too bad at all!

I know honestly I was surprised by how little evaporated, I'm so much happier with my new setup!

 

[pkiler]

It's not just the alcohol evaporation that occurs, but the materials themselves corrode the rubber bulbs, oxidizing the contents, and leading to even more alcohol evaporation.

This is why there are zero droppers in the PK lab.
When I get a bottle in with a dropper, I immediately throw away the dropper and put on a secure cap.

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

It's not just the alcohol evaporation that occurs, but the materials themselves corrode the rubber bulbs, oxidizing the contents, and leading to even more alcohol evaporation.

This is why there are zero droppers in the PK lab.
When I get a bottle in with a dropper, I immediately throw away the dropper and put on a secure cap.

I understand this is the issue with rubber but these tops are made from monprene which is a much stronger material and isn't prone to corrosion.

 

[pkiler]

I understand this is the issue with rubber but these tops are made from monprene which is a much stronger material and isn't prone to corrosion.

by monoprene, is this silicone?

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

by monoprene, is this silicone?

Found this info on Monprene

Monprene® - is composed of saturated styrene block copolymer rubbers and thermoplastic olefin resins. Monprene® exhibits a rubber-like look and feel but has much more to offer.

• FDA Compliant
• Chemical Resistant to Water, Acids, Alcohols, Detergents and Oils
• Excellent UV Stability
• Exceptional Elastic Recovery
• Exceptional Low Temperature Properties
• Upper use Temperature of 120°C (250°F)
• High Tear Strength Resistant to Skin Oils
• High Tensile Strength at Low Hardness
• Odorless

 

[pkiler]

Found this info on Monprene

Monprene® - is composed of saturated styrene block copolymer rubbers and thermoplastic olefin resins. Monprene® exhibits a rubber-like look and feel but has much more to offer.

• FDA Compliant
• Chemical Resistant to Water, Acids, Alcohols, Detergents and Oils
• Excellent UV Stability
• Exceptional Elastic Recovery
• Exceptional Low Temperature Properties
• Upper use Temperature of 120°C (250°F)
• High Tear Strength Resistant to Skin Oils
• High Tensile Strength at Low Hardness
• Odorless

Interesting, Thanks!

 

[Quay Limey]

Be interested in any longterm test results comparing the usual issues with these type of caps. If it fixes the problem then it might be a good step towards a reduction in the amount of disposable pipettes I use.

Edit : Reading above it seems it still isn't really a fix. Hey ho - pollution ahoy!

 

[Solua Botanica]

I am interested to know if the monoprene bulbs still hold up after a few more months.
@SleepingPhoenixApothecary , are you still satisfied with your dropper bottles ?
I have heard that if you empty the dropper before closing the bottle, there is less chance of degradation.
If I go this route, I think I would put a tiny bead of lab grease around the base of the bulb to minimize evaporation..
I am still on the fence about changing the way I manage my organ, so your experience can probably help me make a decision.

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

I am interested to know if the monoprene bulbs still hold up after a few more months.
@SleepingPhoenixApothecary , are you still satisfied with your dropper bottles ?
I have heard that if you empty the dropper before closing the bottle, there is less chance of degradation.
If I go this route, I think I would put a tiny bead of lab grease around the base of the bulb to minimize evaporation..
I am still on the fence about changing the way I manage my organ, so your experience can probably help me make a decision.

I am super happy with the monprene droppers. My flow is so much better now for formulating, way way more fun with these! And monprene is a different material to rubber and doesn't really degrade, so far so good, had them since August I think and yes I am very happy I got them.

 

[SleepingPhoenixApothecary]

Also my test bottle that was filled with alcohol on 9/18 is down to 40.79, from 41.073. So in 5 months....that means .28 grams have evaporated or roughly 14 drops, which in my eyes is pretty damn good.

 

[RSG]

I started out with rubber droppers. Here to confirm that they do evaporate quite a lot over time. I'd say as much as 1-2 grams of diluent/volatile per year. They are also dissolved by muguet materials, vetiver materials, citruses, patchouli, and on and on. I thought about replacing it with silicone droppers but found that there are still too many downsides. Things like when I transfer fluid that droppers can leak even with no pressure, 2 of the suppliers changed the glass part of the droppers, and now the drop weight is different. This is fine as I weigh things out, but now the drops are actually heavier and misweigh on tiny amounts compared to before. Also things like injecting air into your material, being hard to set down, having a tendency to pull a bottle over etc.

For now, I am using reusing silicone syringes 1 per material and tight caps.

 

[minorstep]

And how about those plastic-dropper glass bottles?



Do you guys trust them for keeping undiluted materials or should I remove the dropper insert and replace the lid with one of my polycone caps?
I wonder if it makes any difference long term.

 

[mnitabach]

And how about those plastic-dropper glass bottles?

View attachment 323338

Do you guys trust them for keeping undiluted materials or should I remove the dropper insert and replace the lid with one of my polycone caps?
I wonder if it makes any difference long term.

Altho I hate these bcs I don't use the dropper top & have to just remove it anyway, IME these do form a very air-tight two-part seal between the bottle, dropper-top, and cap.

 

[b neglecta]

Just another perspective on dropper bottles - I don't like using plastic pipettes, so I buy dropper bottles and then buy an extra cap per bottle. I rubber band the dropper to the bottle and leave the cap on when not in use. Zero evaporation, and relatively painless. Not as easy as leaving the droppers on, but no ticking clock either. This method would work just as well if I bought glass droppers and capped bottles, but that costs a little more and doesn't really have any advantage.