Shortfills are a large bottle of underfilled e-liquid designed for nicotine shots to be added to, in order to create a large batch of e-liquid. When the TPD (Tobacco Products Directive) came into effect in May 2017, among other things such as capping tank sizes, it prohibited the sale of e-liquids containing nicotine in bottles larger than 10ml in size.
Shortfill e-liquids most commonly come as a 50ml e-liquid in a 60ml bottle or as 100ml e-liquid in a 120ml shortfill bottle, however, there are some outliers which vary in size.
Mixing shortfill e-liquids is simply a case of adding your chosen nicotine shot into the shortfill bottle and shaking vigorously (remember to put the cap back on first). This will make sure that the nicotine has mixed and steeped properly with the e-liquid. Mixing is easy when you know how, however getting the correct measurements, figures and working out how much nicotine is right for you can be rather tricky.
This is where our trusted shortfill calculator comes in handy, simply type in your volume of e-liquid, nicotine shot strength and your desired result and we’ll do the number crunching for you.
| E-liquid (ml) | Strength of 10ml Nic Shot (mg/ml) | Nicotine Shots | Final Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 9 | 1 | 1.5mg in 60ml |
| 50 | 12 | 1 | 2mg in 60ml |
| 50 | 15 | 1 | 2.5mg in 60ml |
| 50 | 18 | 1 | 3mg in 60ml |
| 50 | 20 | 1 | 3.3mg in 60ml |
| 80 | 9 | 2 | 1.8mg in 100ml |
| 80 | 12 | 2 | 2.4mg in 100ml |
| 80 | 15 | 2 | 3mg in 100ml |
| 80 | 18 | 2 | 3.6mg in 100ml |
| 80 | 20 | 2 | 4mg in 100ml |
| 100 | 9 | 2 | 1.5mg in 120ml |
| 100 | 12 | 2 | 2mg in 120ml |
| 100 | 15 | 2 | 2.5mg in 120ml |
| 100 | 18 | 2 | 3mg in 120ml |
| 100 | 20 | 2 | 3.3mg in 120ml |
On the face of it, the shortfill is a very good idea effectively solving many of the complications of which the TPD regulations had enforced. In a lot of cases, one 50ml shortfill bottle is cheaper than six 10ml e-liquid bottles, therefore you’re saving on money as well as reducing plastic consumption, a big win-win for both your piggy bank and the environment.
In terms of health and safety, shortfills are safer than pure DIY mixing where it is common for larger quantities of raw nicotine to be used. It is always essential, even with shortfills, to take extra care when handling nicotine and e-liquid, by wearing protective equipment such as gloves and goggles.
For those of you who vape 0mg of nicotine and want to use shortfills, one word of warning; shortfill e-liquids often include extra flavour concentrate to accommodate for when the nicotine has been added (a bit like fruit squash before you add water). It has been reported that 0mg shortfills may be too intense in flavour and may shorten the life of your coils. As a result, we advise adding 10ml of flavourless e-liquid (or straight PG/straight VG or a combination of the two) to combat this and allow the shortfill to not taste too off-putting or reduce the lifespan of your coils.
We always recommend that you buy high-quality nicotine shots, as poor quality nicotine boosters can destroy the flavour of your e-liquid. We also advise that you match the VG/PG ratios of your e-liquids and nicotine shots, as sometimes this difference in the ratio can compromise taste.
Overall, shortfill e-liquid is a popular choice for many vapers for good reason. It’s far easier and convenient to carry one large bottle around if you’re vaping consistently throughout the day, more so if you’re dripping or using a high wattage sub ohm vape kit. They also allow vapers to accurately measure for themselves how much nicotine is going into their e-liquid and most importantly, they have convinced companies to bring out new ranges of juices, which means more flavours and more choice.
Here at Vape Club, we offer a large range of shortfill e-liquids and nicotine shots, for every flavour palate, in a variety of VG and PG ratios to suit your preference.
If you have any other queries surrounding vaping vs smoking or vaping in general, please do not hesitate to contact us.
