Vaping comes with many cool and fun advantages, but when you just start using e cigs or other appliances, there are many things to read and learn about. One aspect of this knowledge is your e liquid, and with that come shortfills and nicotine shots.
Let’s talk about shortfills and nicotine shots but first of all, why they have been created?
In May 2016, a regulation called TPD (Tobacco Products Directive) had landed and changed vaping for the European Union forever. Regulating many aspects of vaping it also expands on the strength of nicotine and the bottle size. The maximum nicotine strength in a bottle can be no more than 20mg/ml, and the bottle capacity must not exceed 10ml.
This gave an opportunity to e liquid manufacturers to find a loophole, and they came up with nicotine free shortfills. These are bottles of e liquid that are not filled to the top (hence the name „shortfills”), so you can add a nicotine shot or more (if that’s what floats your boat) into them. This way, you get the nicotine strength you want, and the directive is fulfilled too.
We now know what to put our nic shot in but what IS a nicotine shot. It is quite apparent now, but just to make sure we get the full picture, let me explain. A nicotine shot or „nic shot” is a 10ml bottle of e liquid with no flavor and 18mg concentration of nicotine.
Shortfills come in different sizes, but generally, a 60ml bottle is filled with 50ml of e liquid with no nicotine. You add the 10ml of 18mg nicotine shot, and after a thorough shake, you get a 0.3% (3mg) strength nicotine in your e liquid.
We will get into the actual mixing procedure in a minute, but first I would like to show you the different nicotine strength that you can opt for.
Nicotine strength you can opt for
- 0%- 0mg/ml – As you could see from the actual nicotine free shortfills, you can opt for no nicotine whatsoever and vape just for the clouds’ pleasure and just because why not.
- 0.3%- 3mg/ml – Is for very light smokers, who only have a few cigarettes a day
- 0.6% – 6mg/ml – For those who generally have 10 light strength cigarettes a day
- 1.2% – 12mg/ml – Ideal for those who smoke 10-15 normal cigarettes a day
Generally, the 3mg and 6mg strength are the ones that can be reached with a nicotine shot and short fills. There are calculators online like on our website to help you figure out the volume of nic shots you need. Click here and check it out under description: or see below an example:
- 50ml 0mg nicotine to make 3mg strength= 1 x 18mg nic shot
- 50ml 0mg nicotine to make 6mg strength = 2 x 18mg nic shots
- 80ml 0mg nicotine to make 3mg strength = 2 x 15mg nic shots
- 80ml 0mg nicotine to make 6mg strength = 4 x 15mg shots”
How to mix shortfills with nic shots?
Even though shortfill bottles do not contain nicotine, they still have a childproof cap (this is a TPD regulation), and the dripper on the top pops out. To mix the two liquids, pop off the dripper from the shortfill bottle, grab and open your nic shot, and squeeze in the needed amount. So into a 50ml shortfill liquid, add all the 10ml-s nic shot juice to reach a 60ml 3mg strength juice. After this, shake it very well until you see the bubbles settle down in the liquid. You can now vape it straight away, or if you let it sit a few hours or a day, it helps the e liquid to steep and the flavours to develop more.
Are there many options for shortfills and nic shots?
Oh, God, yes! When it comes to shortfills, the sky is the limit. There is a vast amount of different flavours, from fruity through tobacco to sweets and desserts. Check out the Chilled Blackcurrant Aniseed shortfills from Pimp My Vape on our site!
Nicotine shots also come in flavours even though mainly they are flavourless. However, mostly you can choose between the different PG/VG ratios. The general ratio is 70/30 VG to PG. For more clouds, choose a higher VG portion like 80/20 VG to PG, and for a better taste higher PG ratio is optional. Nic Drops nicotine shots are a great choice just as Nic Nic Ice Shot giving you an icy cold feeling on the back of your throat.
For stronger nicotine strength, you can now buy nic salt shortfills. Works the same way, but with higher strength of 20mg/ml, giving you a that hit faster.
I hope this article helped you find your way in shortfills, nic shots, and nicotine strengths. Good luck mixing and finding your desired nicotine level.
