E-liquid

What is E-liquid?

E-liquid is made of four main components. Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerine (VG), flavours, and most of the time, nicotine.

PG is the thinnest of the two main ingredients and gives a stronger throat hit. It's also what carries the flavour. PG can be found in a lot of foods and is also used medically in things like inhalers. Higher PG e-liquid is most suited to lower-powered mouth-to-lung (MTL) devices.

VG is thicker and provides a smoother vape. It is what is responsible for the amount of vapour produced. VG is most commonly used as a sweetener in the food industry. Also, higher VG liquid produces large amounts of vapour. So is most suited to the more powerful direct-to-lung (DL) kits.

Nicotine comes in three main types: freebase, nicotine salts and hybrid nicotine. Freebase gives the most throat hit and more closely replicates a cigarette. Nicotine salts give a smoother vape experience, offering little to no throat hit. And finally, hybrid nicotine combines freebase and nic salts to give some throat hit, but not as much as freebase.

When receiving power from the battery, the coil vaporises the liquid which creates a vapour that replicates the action of smoking.

Examples of Freebase Liquids

Some examples of our freebase liquids include: TECC Titus, TECC Titan, Double Drip and Club Juice.

Which Type of E-liquid is Best For Me?

Different coil resistances can handle different e-liquid mixes. If you put a liquid that is too thick in a low powered device it will burn out the coil. Likewise, if you put a liquid that is too thin in a higher powered device, then it is likely to leak.

Coils above 1.0ohm: These are most often found in starter kits and lower power devices. 50/50 is perfect for these kits and 30/70 is also an option if you'd prefer more of a throat hit.

Coils below 1.0ohm: These coils are called sub ohm, and usually found in mid-range or higher power devices. 50/50 is still a valid option for these kits, however most sub-ohm vapers choose to use 70/30 liquid, as this gives more vapour.

What Strength Should I Choose?

For new vapers, the selection of nicotine strengths available can be confusing. If you're unsure about which strength to choose then see our handy table below.

What Are Nicotine Salts?

Nicotine salts, often referred to as nic salts, are a smoother vape that helps reduce or remove the throat hit from e liquid. They are most often 50/50 VG/PG or PG heavy, meaning that they are ideal for starter kits or low-powered devices.

The reason that nic salts are so smooth is due to the nicotine extraction process. When extracting nicotine from the tobacco plant, an alkali is used. This is what gives the throat hit in freebase e-liquids. By combining the liquid with an acid, it balances the PH of the liquid. This means that there is little to no throat hit when vaping nic salts.

Nic salts are a great choice for new vapers as they can help alleviate the cough that some new vapers experience. This means that nic salts allow for higher-strength nicotine to be used, without it feeling too harsh when vaped.

Examples of Nic Salt Liquids

There are plenty of nic salt liquids to choose from including Crystal Bar E-Liquid, ELFLIQ E-Liquid, Riot Bar EDTN E-Liquid and VLTZ E-Liquid.

What is Shortfill?

The Tobacco Products Directive 2016 (TPD) states that e-liquid can only be sold in 10ml bottles if it contains nicotine. Shortfill bottles usually contain 50ml or 100ml of liquid and are nicotine free. This means that nicotine shots are usually added to achieve a suitable strength.

How many nic shots to add to short fill?

Shortfills are high VG liquids, usually 70/30 VG:PG. This means that they will be less suitable for low power devices that use a coil above 1.0ohm. They are, however, perfect for sub-ohm kits and are often more convenient and better value for money.

Examples of Shortfills

The only shortfill available on Eleaf is TECC Urban Chase. This range has a flip top to easily add nic shots and comes in a variety of great flavours to get stuck in to. Some favourites are Mixed Fruit Squash, Rainbow Slush and Strawberry Kiwi.

TPD Compliance

The Tobacco Products Directive 2016 (TPD) or The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR), refer to the laws that regulate vaping products within the EU and UK. The restrictions that apply to e-liquid are:

• Nicotine containing E-liquid can't be sold in bottles bigger than 10ml.
• There can be no chemicals used in e-liquid that could be harmful to vapers.
• The maximum strength for e-liquid is 20mg (2.0%).