What are Shortfill E-Liquids?

Why Shortfill E-Liquids Exist: The Tobacco Products Directive

Whilst vaping regulations vary by region significantly, as legacy of the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union the industry is still governed by the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) rules established by it. This directive set limits on many of the specifications which impact every vaper in the UK, including how large a vaping tank can be and what content of nicotine e-liquid can contain.

One of the parameters set by the TPD for e-liquid with nicotine, was to limit the strength to 20 mg/ml. This was done to eliminate the risk of potential accidental nicotine poisoning by consumers, coming from super high nicotine strengths without too much inconvenience.

Another predominant reason Shortfill E-Liquids exist, is due to the TPD also limiting the size of any e-liquid bottle containing nicotine to 10ml. However in the era of RDA and mesh coil tanks, 10ml of e-liquid is often not even enough to last some people a full day. Hence shortfills allow vapers who are limited by TPD regulations to buy bigger more convenient bottles of e-liquid, without violating any laws.

What are Shortfill E-Liquids exactly?

The clues in the name, the bottle isn’t totally full of e-liquid. When sold as a “50ml shortfill” for example, the capacity of the bottle would be capable of holding 60ml however contains only the 50ml of zero nicotine content e-liquid as its name would state. The purpose of this is so that the bottle can be completed, by adding in 10ml of e-liquid that contains your desired strength of nicotine.

Hence if you purchase any bottle of e-liquid labelled as shortfill on its own, what you will receive will be e-liquid entirely free of any nicotine. This is therefore ready to the put straight in the tank of a vapouriser mod for anyone who wants to receive no nicotine, however if this is not the case a separate ‘nicotine shot’ or ‘nic shot’ must be ordered to produce the finished ready to use e-liquid with the desired nicotine content. These nicotine shots are 10ml in size, and can match the flavour of the nicotine free e-liquid or be different to create a new combination. The strength of nicotine shots can vary to suit the user, and most commonly come in intervals starting at 3mg then working gradually up to 20mg.

How to correctly use shortfill E-Liquid and Hacks

Please note this section only applies to those wishing to make nicotine containing e-liquid, therefore you’ll need at least to have one bottle of shortfill e-liquid and one nicotine shot to do this.

• First pry open the nozzle top of the shortfill bottle. If this is difficult, slide a thin blunt solid object like a butter knife under the seam around the edge of the cap and gently force it upwards.
• After the bottle is open, carefully pour all of the contents of your nicotine shot in.
• Replace the shortfill nozzle top firmly, ensuring the bottle top is fully and securely closed.
• Vigorously shake the shortfill bottle for around 30 seconds, to ensure the contents can properly mix.
• Now pour the mix into your tank and enjoy!

Bear in mind a commercial e-liquid manufacturer will use dedicated machinery in production, so that the ingredients remain perfectly suspended in solution permanently. This means you never need to worry about flavours and nicotine separating, when using a pre-mixed commercial e-liquid solution. However when mixing a shortfilled e-liquid yourself this isn’t really possible no matter how hard you try unfortunately, as your hands can’t duplicate the motions and forces that the machines would normally exert. Hence for the best possible experience when using a shortfill mixed with a nic shot, we recommend giving the bottle a good thorough shake for at least 10 seconds each time before you put some in the tank.

Optimise Shortfills

• Purchasing shortfill e-liquid is almost always the most convenient and efficient method for vapers to vape.
• If you desire to receive nicotine as a part of your vaping experience, you will need at least one nicotine shot per shortfill bottle you buy.
• Always thoroughly shake your e-liquid bottle before use to ensure the nicotine strength remains evenly distributed throughout the bottle and the flavour mix is consistent if applicable.

Checkout Chief of Vapes Shortfill Ranges for all you could ever need in Shortfill E-Liquids