The European Tobacco Products Directive is a law put in place to limit the sale and distribution of products containing nicotine. For vapers, the two most important components of the TPD are a limit on e-cigarette tank sizes – nothing larger than 2 ml is legal here – and a limit on the sizes of e-liquid bottles with nicotine. To be TPD compliant, a bottle of e-liquid with nicotine can be no larger than 10 ml. Small e-liquid bottles were fine during the days of eGo e-cigarettes and higher-nicotine e-liquids. With the rise in popularity of sub-ohm vaping, though, more people than ever are using lower-nicotine e-liquids and higher-power vaping devices. If you use a sub-ohm tank or rebuildable atomizer, 10 ml of e-liquid may not even be enough for a full day of vaping!
Some companies have managed to meet the demands of modern vapers by selling their e-liquids in packages of several 10 ml bottles. Doing that requires a lot of extra packaging, though, which increases the cost for the maker and the buyer. Short fill e-liquids have emerged as a better option that’s less wasteful of resources and easier on your wallet. With short fill e-liquids, you can finally buy a usable quantity of e-liquid for your sub-ohm vaping needs without violating TPD regulations.
Here’s how short fill e-liquids work.
What Are Short Fill E-Liquids?
A short fill e-liquid is a bottle of nicotine-free e-liquid that isn’t quite full. Since the TPD bottle size restriction only applies to e-liquids with nicotine, a short fill bottle can be any size. The most common size, however, is a 60 ml bottle containing 50 ml of nicotine-free e-liquid. Adding a 10 ml nicotine shot to the bottle gives you a full 60 ml bottle of e-liquid with nicotine. You end up with a bottle of e-liquid that’s big enough to keep your sub-ohm tank filled, and you can do it without violating the TPD.
How to Use Short Fill E-Liquids
Conveniently, every short fill e-liquid from Exhale Cigarettes includes the nicotine shot(s) required to make an e-liquid with a nicotine strength of 3 mg. For every 50 ml of nicotine-free e-liquid, you need to add a 10 ml nicotine shot with a strength of 18 mg to create a final blend with 60 ml of e-liquid and 3 mg of nicotine per ml. With that ratio in mind, you need to add:
- One nicotine shot to a 60 ml e-liquid bottle
- Two nicotine shots to a 120 ml e-liquid bottle
- Three nicotine shots to a 180 ml e-liquid bottle
To add a nicotine shot to a short fill e-liquid bottle, you’ll first need to remove the top from the bottle. You can usually remove the top by rocking it gently between your thumb and forefinger. Some people use wrenches to remove stubborn bottle tops. Carefully empty the entire contents of the nicotine shot into the e-liquid bottle. Replace the cap, close the bottle tightly and shake the bottle to mix the contents. Some people advocate allowing the mixture to rest for 24 hours before using it, but that isn’t really necessary. It’s a good idea, though, to shake the bottle each time you use it.
Improving Your Experience With Short Fill E-Liquids
Although filling and mixing a bottle of short fill e-liquid isn’t as convenient as it would be to buy a bottle that’s already mixed, short fill e-liquid does allow you to customize the strength of your e-liquids in a way that would otherwise be impossible. Do you want to reduce your nicotine intake? No problem. To create a final nicotine strength of 2 mg with a short fill e-liquid, add 6.25 ml of your 10 ml nicotine shot. For a nicotine strength of 1 mg, add 2.94 ml of a nicotine shot. If you want a final nicotine strength higher than 3 mg, add an extra nicotine shot. You could alternatively add your nicotine-free e-liquid to your nicotine shot bottle if you require a significantly higher nicotine strength.
If you’d like to increase the nicotine strength of a short fill e-liquid to higher than 3 mg, bear in mind that e-liquid makers calibrate their short fill e-liquids for the perfect flavour with a specific number of nicotine shots. Adding additional nicotine may muddle the flavour of the e-liquid.
When you add a nicotine shot to a short fill e-liquid bottle, you’re combining two liquids with different base ingredients and different manufacturing processes. As such, the mixture may tend to separate when it’s left alone. We recommend shaking the bottle each time you refill your tank.
About the Author
Gary Sharma is the author of Electronic Cigarette Info, a blog dedicated to sharing knowledge that can help improve the vaping experience for every e-cigarette user. Electronic Cigarette Info uses no affiliate links and no advertisements.
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