# Is all glycerin the same?



## rocket man (Jan 5, 2010)

Is the glycerin you get from my LHBS the same as what they sell on other sites for other purposes? Here are a couple of quotes from organic creations dot com about their glycerin. "Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it will attract moisture to your skin. The more glycerin you have in your cosmetic recipe, the more moisture will be in your finished product." "This glycerin is derived from vegetables and is food grade quality"
This stuff is about half the price of sites that sell it for wine making. Just wondering if it's the same stuff.

Also does anyone know the shelf life of glycerin?


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## rawlus (Jan 5, 2010)

vegetable-based food grade glycerin is what you want. the purest is USP which meets FDA and FCC standards for purity. be careful not to use Technical Grade glycerin, which i would say is not suitable for use in human consumption. do not use non-vegetable glycerine either. 

You can often find the USP stuff at healthfood stores.

shelf life of Vegetable Glycerine USP in a sealed container is near indefinite IMHO.


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## rocket man (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks rawlus. I'll be sure to look for food grade and possibly USP if I can find it. It sure is a better deal than paying $2.50 per 4 oz from my LHBS.


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## rawlus (Jan 5, 2010)

i have a small bottle i bought @ a healthfood store perhaps 15 years ago to use in some homemade cherry brandy i was making at the time. i haven't use it since but went to look at it before i posted and it's still in perfect shape in the pantry in the brown glass sealed bottle.

here is a good fact-sheet on glycerin and grading and it's general use


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## Lurker (Jan 6, 2010)

I asked the same question of Midwest Supplies since I am considering buying by the gal. Below is their response.

Richard,

Vegetable Glycerine Profile 
Botanical Name- Palm derived 
Origin- Malaysia 
Extraction- Isolated glycerol fats through an Hydrolysis method 
Shelf life- 5 years 
Notes- Stores well under dark and cool conditions and is extremely volatile to light exposure. 
This variety of Glycerine is suitable for food and cosmetic use and is USP standard 99.7% (the rest is water) with no added stabilizers, preservatives and other ingredients.


I hope this helps answer your questions. Thank you.


[email protected]


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## Tom (Jan 7, 2010)

I just bought a gallon of it for $44.00


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## Lurker (Jan 7, 2010)

Tom, did you get it at Midwest?


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## Tom (Jan 7, 2010)

no 
Quality Wine and Ale Supply


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## closetwine (May 12, 2011)

I'm gonna revive this for a second. There's good deals out there on glycerin. The best I found is from companies to supply to vapers. If you get it from them you want VG no nicotine/no nic.... it's food grade. It's great for people who don't need alot sitting around. Just don't get a pg/vg mix, pg wouldn't be a good thing in wine...


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## fifthhorsm (May 13, 2011)

good thing you revived this thread as in the past no warnings were discussed. glycerin is one thing i wouldn't buy according to price. for a number of years now there's been warnings about glycerin from south east asia that has a "china" connection.... like so many other things china has been selling ethylene glycol as pure food grade glycerin. thousands have lost their lives as a result. i'd only buy from a well known american company... they now know to test all lots and if for no other reason fear of law suits will keep them honest... you can't say that for any unknown brand or import brand.
mike


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## closetwine (May 13, 2011)

Yeah I agree, but most of these vaping companies (not all). Are American....


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